Article 19 Liability

1. For the purpose of tobacco control, the Parties shall consider taking legislative action or promoting their existing laws, where necessary, to deal with criminal and civil liability, including compensation where appropriate.
2. Parties shall cooperate with each other in exchanging information through the Conference of the Parties in accordance with Article 21 including:
   • (a) information on the health effects of the consumption of tobacco products and exposure to tobacco smoke in accordance with Article 20.3(a); and
   • (b) information on legislation and regulations in force as well as pertinent jurisprudence.
3. The Parties shall, as appropriate and mutually agreed, within the limits of national legislation, policies, legal practices and applicable existing treaty arrangements, afford one another assistance in legal proceedings relating to civil and criminal liability consistent with this Convention.
4. The Convention shall in no way affect or limit any rights of access of the Parties to each other’s courts where such rights exist.
5. The Conference of the Parties may consider, if possible, at an early stage, taking account of the work being done in relevant international fora, issues related to liability including appropriate international approaches to these issues and appropriate means to support, upon request, the Parties in their legislative and other activities in accordance with this Article.