It is recognized that there is no single approach to transposing obligations under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) into national law that is appropriate for all States Parties.

At a minimum, however, all States Parties need to ensure that the Convention's prohibitions are criminalised under national law, with appropriate sanctions for violation, and that appropriate transfer controls (both internal and trans-boundary) are in force. Other national measures will also likely be necessary to implement the Convention, depending on the State's situation.

A checklist for legislative components required under the BTWC (as well as the biological weapon-relevant components of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004)) is available.

Technical assistance offered under this EU Joint Action addresses legislation and measures on the following issues:

• Penal provisions criminalizing prohibited activities;
• Transfer controls (both internal and trans-boundary);
• Law enforcement measures;
• Customs regulations; and
• Regulation of permitted uses of biology and biotechnology (such as licensing procedures, transport regulations, bio-safety and bio-security measures).