The 1992 Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents is designed at protecting human beings and the environment against industrial accidents by preventing them as far as possible, by reducing their frequency and severity and by mitigating their effects. It promotes active international cooperation between the contracting Parties, before, during and after an industrial accident.

The aim of the Convention is to help its Parties to prevent industrial accidents that can have transboundary effects, to prepare for them and to respond to them. The Convention also encourages its Parties to help each other in the event of such an accident, to cooperate on research and development, and to share information and technology. For more detailed information on the Convention see also "Introduction".

The Convention was adopted in Helsinki on 17 March 1992 and entered into force on 19 April 2000. The Conference of the Parties was constituted as the Convention's governing body at its first meeting in Brussels on 22-24 November 2000. For the current ratification status see "Parties".

The Protocol on Civil Liability for Damage and Compensation for Damage Caused by Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents on Transboundary Waters, adopted in Kiev on 21 May 2003, is a joint instrument to the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents and to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International lakes.