(1) The Tribunal shall have the power to rule on its competence. For the purposes ofthis Article,an agreement providing for arbitration under the Additional Facility shall be separable from the other terms of the contract in which it may have been included.
(2) Any objection that the dispute is not within the competence of the Tribunal shall be filed with the Secretary-General as soon as possi- ble after the constitution of the Tribunal and in any event no later than the expiration of the time limit fixed for the filing of the counter- memorial or,if the objection relates to an ancillary claim,for the filing of the rejoinder—unless the facts on which the objection is based are unknown to the party at that time.
(3) The Tribunal may on its own initiative consider,at any stage of the proceeding,whether the dispute before it is within its competence.
(4) Upon the formal raising ofan objection relating to the dispute, the Tribunal may decide to suspend the proceeding on the merits.The President of the Tribunal, after consultation with its other members, shall fix a time limit within which the parties may file observations on the objection.
(5) The Tribunal shall decide whether or not the further proce- dures relating to the objection made pursuant to
shall be oral.It may deal with the objection as a preliminary question or join it to the merits of the dispute.If the Tribunal overrules the objection or joins it to the merits,it shall once more fix time limits for the further procedures.
(6) Unless the parties have agreed to another expedited procedure for making preliminary objections, a party may, no later than 30 days after the constitution of the Tribunal,and in any event before the first session ofthe Tribunal,file an objection that a claim is manifestly with- out legal merit.The party shall specify as precisely as possible the basis for the objection.The Tribunal,after giving the parties the opportunity to present their observations on the objection,shall,at its first session or promptly thereafter, notify the parties of its decision on the objec- tion.The decision ofthe Tribunal shall be without prejudice to the right ofa party to file an objection pursuant to
or to object,in the course of the proceeding,that a claim lacks legal merit.
(7) Ifthe Tribunal decides that the dispute is not within its compe- tence or that all claims are manifestly without legal merit,it shall issue an award to that effect.