1. This Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by States or regional economic integration organizations that are Parties to the Convention.
2. This Protocol shall enter into force for a State or regional economic integration organization that ratifies, accepts or approves this Protocol or accedes thereto after its entry into force pursuant to paragraph 1 above, on the ninetieth day after the date on which that State or regional economic integration organization deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or on the date on which the Convention enters into force for that State or regional economic integration organization, whichever shall be the later.
3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 above, any instrument deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as additional to those deposited by member States of such organization.
735. This Article establishes the formal requirements for the entry into force of the Protocol– i.e. when the Protocol will become binding on States or regional economic integration organizations (REIOs). Procedures for ratification, accession, acceptance or approval of the Protocol will vary according to the domestic requirements of the State concerned. However, in each case, in order to become bound by the Protocol, a State or REIO will need to deposit an instrument of ratification, accession, acceptance or approval with the Depositary of the Protocol: the United Nations Secretary General.
736. Two separate issues are addressed in Article 37:
when the Protocol itself enters into force as a binding legal instrument (Article 37(1)); and
when the Protocol enters into force, or becomes binding, on individual States (Article 37(2)).
737. Article 37(1) determines the date of entry into force of the Protocol itself. This is 90 days after 50 Parties to the CBD have deposited their instrument of ratification or acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary. In accordance with Article 41 CBD, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) is the Depositary of the Protocol. In practice, instruments of ratification, accession, acceptance or approval will be lodged with the Treaty Division of the UN Office of Legal Affairs at UN Headquarters in New York, USA.
738. For the first 50 States that have ratified, approved or acceded to the Protocol, the Protocol will enter into force in accordance with Article 37(1).
739. Under Article 37(2), the date of entry into force for States depositing their instruments of ratification, accession or approval after the Protocol itself has entered into force will vary, according to the specific situation of that State, as follows:
If the State is already a Party to the CBD, the Protocol will enter into force 90 days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the Protocol. This is also the case if a State becomes a Party to the CBD during this period.
If the State is not already a Party to the CBD, then even if it deposits the required instrument of ratification, etc. under the Protocol, the Protocol will only enter into force for it on the date that it becomes bound by the CBD – i.e. in order to become a Party to the Protocol, the CBD must also be in force for that State This follows from the CBD requirement that only a Party to the CBD may become a Party to its Protocols (Article 32(1) CBD).
740. Once the Protocol has entered into force for a particular State or REIO, then that State or REIO is described as a Party to the Protocol.