Procedure to be followed by the C.I.P. in case of an official request on behalf of a State to apply for C.I.P. membership

1. As soon as the Permanent Office has received the official notification from the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium regarding a State’s request, it will transmit to the applicant State:
   
   - a copy of the Agreement of 1 July 1969,
   - the Summary Report of C.I.P. decisions in effect,
   - an example of a Proof House regulation and necessary facilities.
   
   The applicant State will confirm to the Permanent Office that it has reviewed the content of these documents and is ready to meet the requirements and obligations established by the C.I.P. to accede to the Agreement.
2. In order to evaluate a request to accede to the C.I.P., the following documents must be made available:
   
   - all regulations in effect in the candidate country within the field covered by the C.I.P. Agreement,
   - the legal texts highlighting the role of firearms and Proof Houses within the administrative structure of the candidate country,
   - a detailed list of Proof Houses or control laboratories.
   
   These documents must be furnished in their original form, accompanied by a translation into the official language of the C.I.P. (i.e. French).
3. Immediately following receipt of the documentation, the Permanent Office will transmit it to all Heads of Delegation and C.I.P. Member States for review. If at this point the documentation presented is still insufficient for an adequate review of the request for accession, the Permanent Office of the C.I.P. will demand the missing documentation without delay.
4. Within two months following receipt of the official notification addressed to the Permanent Bureau by the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium regarding the official request for accession, the Permanent Office will coordinate, in agreement with the candidate country, a visit by an ad hoc committee of C.I.P. experts to the candidate country (central services and Proof Houses).
   
   This group of experts will include the Director of the Permanent Office as well as the Presidents of the Sub-Commissions. The Presidents of the Sub-Commissions may designate a representative in their stead. C.I.P. Member States not represented may also participate in this visit by sending an expert of their choice who is an official member of the delegation.
   
   This visit aims, in particular, to evaluate the ability of the Proof Houses to carry out, under satisfactory conditions, the tests specified in § 2 of the article of the Agreement. It will also help build an understanding of the role of firearms in the administrative structure of the candidate country.
5. Within two weeks of the return of the group of experts, each of its members will submit a report on the visit to the Permanent Office on behalf of the Sub-Commission he or she represented. If the candidate country had, prior to its official request for C.I.P. membership, any contact or cooperation with a delegation or Proof House of a C.I.P. Member State, the latter must provide an informative account of its relationship with the candidate country to the Director of the C.I.P. Permanent Office. Within a maximum of two months following the receipt of such a report, the Director of the Permanent Office will forward a summary document detailing the various reports to all the Heads of Delegation.
6. This summary will only be declarative in nature, but may nevertheless serve as an important basis for decision-making for each of the Member States.
7. Additional requests for information by the Heads of Delegation of C.I.P. Member States regarding firearms testing, the control of munitions, and the legal basis for responsible institutions in the candidate country may be addressed to the Permanent Office. The Office will then forward them as soon as possible to the competent authority of the candidate country, with a deadline for the response set at a maximum of one month. Any responses received, or any failure to respond to the request for information within the established time frame, must be notified as soon as possible to the requesting State.