Article 14. The Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House and Information Sharing
1. An Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House is hereby established as part of the clearing-house mechanism under Article 18, paragraph 3, of the Convention. It shall serve as a means for sharing of information related to access and benefit-sharing. In particular, it shall provide access to information made available by each Party relevant to the implementation of this Protocol.
2. Without prejudice to the protection of confidential information, each Party shall make available to the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House any information required by this Protocol, as well as information required pursuant to the decisions taken by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol. The information shall include:
(a) Legislative, administrative and policy measures on access and benefit-sharing;
(b) Information on the national focal point and competent national authority or authorities; and
(c) Permits or their equivalent issued at the time of access as evidence of the decision to grant prior informed consent and of the establishment of mutually agreed terms.
3. Additional information, if available and as appropriate, may include:
(a) Relevant competent authorities of indigenous and local communities, and information as so decided;
(b) Model contractual clauses;
(c) Methods and tools developed to monitor genetic resources; and
(d) Codes of conduct and best practices.
4. The modalities of the operation of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House, including reports on its activities, shall be considered and decided upon by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol at its first meeting, and kept under review thereafter.
