Karlsruhe Agreement on Cross-border Cooperation between Local Authorities and Public Bodies (Karlsruhe Agreement) - Purpose

1. The purpose of this Convention is to facilitate and promote cross-border cooperation between German, French, Luxembourgish, and Swiss territorial authorities and local public entities within their competencies, and in compliance with domestic law and international obligations of the contracting parties.

1. This Convention applies to the following territorial and local public authorities

1. in the Federal Republic of Germany

a) in the State of Baden-Württemberg to municipalities and districts,

b) in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate to municipalities, municipal associations, districts, and the Palatinate District Association,

c) in Saarland to municipalities, districts, and the Saarbrücken City Association as well as their associations and legally independent public institutions;

2. in the French Republic to the Region of Alsace and the Region of Lorraine, to municipalities, departments and their associations within these regions, as well as their public institutions, insofar as the territorial authorities participate in this cross-border cooperation;

3. in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to municipalities, municipal syndicates, and public institutions under municipal supervision as well as to nature parks in their capacity as territorial authorities;

4. in the Swiss Confederation

a) in the Canton of Solothurn to municipalities and districts,

b) in the Canton of Basel-Stadt to municipalities,

c) in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft to municipalities,

d) in the Canton of Aargau to municipalities,

e) in the Canton of Jura to municipalities and districts as well as their associations and legally independent public institutions.

2. The states referred to in paragraph 1 number 1 and the cantons referred to in paragraph 1 number 4 can enter into non-international law agreements with each other as well as with the territorial and local public authorities mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article concerning cross-border cooperation projects, insofar as these fall within their competence under national law and do not conflict with external interests and, in particular, international obligations.

3. The state representatives in the French departments and regions are authorized to work jointly with the competent authorities of the respective states and cantons to examine how initiatives between French territorial authorities on one hand and the states and cantons on the other can be facilitated when their effective implementation is hindered by different national legal provisions in the affected states; the French territorial authorities shall not be impaired in their free exercise of powers.

4. The Contracting Parties may, by mutual agreement and in writing, extend the scope of this Convention to further territorial authorities or their associations and public institutions as well as other legal persons under public law; the condition is that participation is permissible under national law and territorial authorities are involved in the forms of cross-border cooperation.

5. Territorial authorities and local public bodies within the meaning of this Convention are the entities mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2, and 4.

6. In this Convention, the term "cross-border cooperation" refers to cross-border cooperation between territorial authorities and local public bodies, excluding the cross-border cooperation practiced by sovereign states, which is not governed by this Convention.

1. Territorial authorities and local public entities may conclude cooperation agreements within the areas of competence that they share under the applicable national law. The cooperation agreements must be in written form. They are to be prepared in one original copy in the language of each contracting party, with each version being equally binding. Cooperation agreements with a Luxembourgish or Swiss territorial authority or local public entity may be drafted in German or French.

2. The purpose of cooperation agreements is to enable the partners to coordinate their decisions, provide services, and operate public facilities that are of joint local interest. To this end, cooperation agreements may provide for the creation of cooperative entities, which, according to the respective national law of the contracting parties, may have or not have separate legal personality.

3. In the case of the Federal Republic of Germany, it may be considered by the federal states on a case-by-case basis, if and to the extent that the conditions under national law are met, to transfer sovereign rights to cross-border neighboring entities within the meaning of Article 24, Paragraph 1a of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.

**1. Each territorial authority or local public body entering into a cooperation agreement must comply with the procedures and controls applicable to it under national law before concluding the agreement. Similarly, any measures taken by a territorial authority or local public body to implement a cooperation agreement are subject to the procedures and controls provided for by national law.**

**2. The cooperation agreement must specify its duration. Likewise, the conditions for terminating the cooperation must be regulated.**

**3. Powers exercised by a local authority on behalf of or under instruction, as well as regulatory and police powers, cannot be the subject of a cooperation agreement.**

**4. A cooperation agreement cannot result in changes to the legal status or the powers of the territorial authorities or local public bodies involved in it.**

**5. The cooperation agreement must regulate the liability of the participating territorial authorities or local public bodies towards third parties.**

**6. Cooperation agreements must specify which law applies to the obligations contained therein. It must be the law of one of the contracting parties. For disputes concerning compliance with these obligations, the courts of the contracting party whose law has been chosen are competent.**

1. In the cooperation agreement, it can be specifically stipulated that a territorial authority or local public body may carry out tasks of another territorial authority or local public body in its name and according to its instructions, in compliance with the domestic law of the entity authorized to issue instructions.

2. If the provision of public services by the territorial authority or local public body of one contracting party is entrusted or transferred to a territorial authority or local public body of another contracting party or to one of the institutions of cross-border cooperation mentioned in Articles 10 and 11, the regulations and procedures of the domestic law of each of the contracting parties shall apply.

1. If a cooperation agreement provides for the awarding of public contracts, the awarding is subject to the law of the contracting party applicable to the local authority or the cooperation entities mentioned in Articles 10 and 11, under whose responsibility the awarding takes place.

2. If local authorities or local public bodies of the other contracting parties are directly or indirectly involved in the financing of the public contract, the cooperation agreement must list the obligations of each local authority or local public body regarding the procedures for notification, public tendering, and selection of applicants, taking into account the nature and cost of such a measure.

3. Local authorities and local public bodies shall take all appropriate measures to enable each of them to fulfill their obligations under national law without prejudice to the law applicable to these public contracts.

1. Cooperation Agreements are binding only upon the territorial authorities and local public entities between which they are concluded. The contracting parties bear no liability whatsoever for the consequences of the contractual obligations arising from Cooperation Agreements entered into by territorial authorities or local public entities, nor for the implementation of these Cooperation Agreements.

2. If a Cooperation Agreement is declared void in one of the participating contracting parties in accordance with its national law, the other contracting parties shall be informed of the declaration of nullity without delay.

1. To establish effective cross-border cooperation, cooperative agreements may provide for the creation of entities without legal personality (Art. 9), the creation of entities with legal personality or participation in them (Art. 10), or the creation of cross-border local purpose associations (Art. 11).

2. If a local authority or local public entity intends to create an entity for cross-border cooperation outside the state to which it belongs or to participate in such an entity, it requires prior approval in accordance with the domestic law of the contracting party to which it belongs.

3. The competent supervisory authority informs the competent authorities of the contracting parties about the measures it intends to take, as well as the results of the control, insofar as this information may affect the cooperation of the local authorities or local public entities participating in it.

4. The statutes and decisions of a cross-border cooperation entity shall be drafted in the language of each of the contracting parties. In the case of cross-border cooperation entities in which a Luxembourgish or Swiss local authority or local public entity is involved, they may be drafted in German or French.

1. Territorial authorities and local public entities may establish common institutions without legal personality and without financial sovereignty according to Article 3; these include, in particular, conferences, municipal working groups, expert and reflection groups, as well as coordination committees that examine issues of common interest, develop proposals for cooperation, exchange information, or help ensure that the relevant entities take the necessary measures to achieve the intended objectives.

2. An institution without legal personality cannot adopt decisions binding upon its members or third parties.

3. A cooperation agreement that provides for the establishment of an institution without legal personality must contain provisions regarding

a) the fields in which the institution is to operate,

b) the establishment and functioning of the institution,

c) the duration for which the institution is established.

4. An institution without legal personality is subject to the law specified in the cooperation agreement.

1. Territorial Authorities and Local Public Bodies may participate in or establish entities with legal personality, provided that these entities are among those that, according to the domestic law of the Contracting Party where they are based, are permitted to include foreign territorial authorities.

1. Territorial authorities and local public bodies may establish cross-border local associations that undertake tasks and provide services in which each of them has an interest. The cross-border local association is subject to the domestic law applicable to public entities for municipal cooperation of the Contracting Party in whose territory it has its registered office.

2. The cross-border local association is a legal entity under public law. It acquires its own legal personality from the day the founding resolution becomes legally effective. It possesses legal capacity and financial autonomy.

1. The local authorities or local public bodies participating in a cross-border local special-purpose association shall agree on a charter.

2. The charter of a cross-border local special-purpose association must include provisions, in particular, on

1. the local authorities or local public bodies that comprise it,

2. the association's objective, the association's tasks, and the relations between the association and the local authorities or local public bodies that comprise it, especially regarding liability for activities conducted by the association on their behalf,

3. the name and seat of the association as well as the association's territory,

4. the responsibilities of the association's bodies, the association's functioning, and the number of representatives of the association's members in the bodies,

5. the procedure for convening the members,

6. the quorum,

7. the manner of decision-making and the majorities required for it,

8. the mode of operation of the association, especially regarding personnel administration,

9. the criteria according to which the association's members must contribute to meeting financial needs, as well as budgetary and accounting regulations,

10. the prerequisites for amending the charter, particularly when members join or leave the association,

11. the duration for which the special-purpose association is established, and the conditions for its dissolution subject to the provisions listed below,

12. the conditions for the settlement of the special-purpose association after dissolution.

3. The charter of the cross-border local special-purpose association must establish the conditions under which the charter can be amended. Amendments to the charter require a two-thirds majority of the statutory number of representatives of the local authorities and local public bodies in the association assembly. The charter may provide additional regulations. For cross-border local special-purpose associations that include local authorities or local public bodies from three of the four contracting parties, a three-quarters majority is required.

1. Organs of the Cross-Border Local Purpose Association are the Assembly of the Association, the Chairperson, and one or more Deputy Chairpersons. The Deputy Chairpersons are to be elected from among the members that are territorial authorities and local public bodies not belonging to the Contracting Party whose citizen the Chairperson is. Each territorial authority or local public body possesses at least one seat in the Assembly of the Association; no territorial authority or local public body may hold more than half of the seats alone. The statute of the Cross-Border Local Purpose Association may, in compliance with the domestic law of each of the Contracting Parties, provide for additional organs.

2. The appointment of representatives of the territorial authorities or local public bodies to the Assembly of the Association and their mandate are governed by the domestic law of the Contracting Party to which the respective territorial authority or local public body belongs.

3. The Assembly of the Association decides on matters arising from the purpose of the Association.

4. The Chairperson ensures the execution of the decisions of the Assembly of the Association and represents the Cross-Border Local Purpose Association in all legal matters. He may delegate parts of his duties to one or more Deputy Chairpersons under his own responsibility and supervision.

1. The cross-border local special-purpose association is financed through the contributions of its members, which constitute compulsory expenditures for the members. The association can also finance itself through revenues generated from services it provides.

2. The cross-border local special-purpose association submits an annual budget, which is decided upon by the association assembly; it prepares a financial statement and an annual report, which are to be confirmed by experts; the experts must be independent of the territorial authorities or local public entities forming the association.

3. Insofar as a cross-border local special-purpose association is authorized to take out loans, an agreement concerning the borrowing and the details of loan repayment is to be made among all association members. In the event of difficulties or the dissolution of the cross-border local special-purpose association, the territorial authorities or local public entities are liable in proportion to their former participation, unless otherwise determined by the statutes. The liability of the territorial authorities or local public entities as members of the association for its obligations persists until they are fulfilled.

1. The dissolution of a cross-border local special-purpose association occurs by operation of law either upon the expiration of the period for which it was established or upon the achievement of the objective pursued by its formation. Dissolution can also occur pursuant to a unanimous resolution by the association members, provided that the claims of third parties are secured by the terms of the liquidation.

1. This Convention shall also apply to agreements on cross-border cooperation between territorial authorities and local public bodies that were concluded before its entry into force. These agreements shall be adjusted to comply with the provisions of this Convention within five years of its entry into force, insofar as possible.

2. The competencies and powers of other bodies existing under interstate cross-border cooperation shall remain unaffected.

1. This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the day on which the last contracting party notifies the other contracting parties that the necessary domestic requirements for the entry into force of the Convention have been met.

1. This Convention is concluded for an indefinite period.

2. Each Contracting Party may terminate this Convention by giving written notice to the other Contracting Parties at least one year in advance, effective at the end of a calendar year.

3. If this Convention is terminated, the cooperation measures that became effective before the termination and the provisions directly relating to the forms of cooperation shall remain unaffected.