page 9 4.- where the annual fee laid down in Article 47 of this Law has not been paid within the prescribed time limits. Article 34 Cancellation shall be pronounced by an order of the Minister responsible for agriculture after hearing the person concerned and on the basis of a reasoned opinion from the Technical Committee for Seed, Seedlings and New Plant Varieties. The order shall be published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic. The holder of the new plant variety certificate may file an appeal against the cancellation order within a period of one month as from the date of its publication. To that end, he shall be required to support his appeal, where appropriate, with the results of an expert examination carried out by a reference laboratory within a period of one month as from filing of the appeal. In the event of the expert opinion being favorable to the petitioner, the latter shall recover all his rights in the plant variety that is the subject matter of the cancellation order. A list of the reference laboratories shall be laid down by an order of the Minister responsible for agriculture. Article 35 The holder of a new plant variety certificate may relinquish, at any time, all or a part only of his rights deriving from the plant variety that is the subject matter of the new plant variety certificate. Relinquishment shall be effected by means of a written declaration to be transmitted to the competent authority. However, relinquishment concerning a certificate encumbered with third party rights may not be accepted unless accepted by the holders of the rights concerned. CHAPTER IV PROTECTION OF BREEDERS’ RIGHTS Article 36 Any violation of the rights of a holder of a new plant variety certificate shall be qualified as infringement liable to sanctions in accordance with the applicable legislation and shall further imply the civil liability of the offender. However, such violation may not be considered as such unless it has been committed knowingly. Thus, the use of the protected variety for basic variation for the breeding of a new variety shall not be deemed a violation.