Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine and Living Resources

Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine and Living Resources in the United States

Article X

1. The Commission shall draw the attention of any State which is not a
Party to this Convention to any activity undertaken by its nationals or
vessels which, in the opinion of the Commission, affects the
implementation of the objective of this Convention.

2. The Commission shall draw the attention of all Contracting Parties to
any activity which, in the opinion of the Commission, affects the
implementation by a Contracting Party of the objective of this Convention
or the compliance by that Contracting Party with its obligations under
this Convention.

Article XI

The Commission shall seek to cooperate with Contracting Parties which may
exercise jurisdiction in marine areas adjacent to the area to which this
Convention applies in respect of the conservation of any stock or stocks
of associated species which occur both within those areas and the area to
which this Convention applies, with a view to harmonizing the
conservation measures adopted in respect of such stocks.

Article XII

1. Decisions of the Commission on matters of substance shall be taken by
consensus. The question of whether a matter is one of substance shall be
treated as a matter of substance.

2. Decisions on matters other than those referred to in paragraph 1
above shall be taken by a simple majority of the Members of the
Commission present and voting.

3. In Commission consideration of any item requiring a decision, it
shall be made clear whether a regional economic integration organization
will participate in the taking of the decision and, if so, whether any of
its member States will also participate. The number of Contracting
Parties so participating shall not exceed the number of member States of
the regional economic integration organization which are Members of the
Commission.

4. In the taking of decisions pursuant to this Article, a regional
economic integration organization shall have only one vote.

Article XIII

1. The headquarters of the Commission shall be established at Hobart,
Tasmania, Australia.

2. The Commission shall hold a regular annual meeting. Other meetings
shall also be held at the request of one-third of its members and as
otherwise provided in this Convention. The first meeting of the
Commission shall be held within three months of the entry into force of
this Convention, provided that among the Contracting Parties there are at
least two States conducting harvesting activities within the area to
which this Convention applies. The first meeting shall, in any event, be
held within one year of the entry into force of this Convention. The
Depositary shall consult with the signatory States regarding the first
Commission meeting, taking into account that a broad representation of
such States is necessary for the effective operation of the Commission.

3. The Depositary shall convene the first meeting of the Commission at
the headquarters of the Commission. Thereafter, meetings of the
Commission shall be held at its headquarters, unless it decides
otherwise.

4. The Commission shall elect from among its members a Chairman and
Vice-Chairman, each of whom shall serve for a term of two years and shall
be eligible for re-election for one additional term. The first Chairman
shall, however, be elected for an initial term of three years. The
Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall not be representatives of the same
Contracting Party.

5. The Commission shall adopt and amend as necessary the rules of
procedure for the conduct of its meetings, except with respect to the
matters dealt with in Article XII of this Convention.

6. The Commission may establish such subsidiary bodies as are necessary
for the performance of its functions.

Article XIV

1. The Contracting Parties hereby establish the Scientific Committee for
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (hereinafter
referred to as “the Scientific Committee”) which shall be a consultative
body to the Commission. The Scientific Committee shall normally meet at
the headquarters of the Commission unless the Scientific Committee
decides otherwise.

2. Each member of the Commission shall be a member of the Scientific
Committee and shall appoint a representative with suitable scientific
qualifications who may be accompanied by other experts and advisers.

3. The Scientific Committee may seek the advice of other scientists and
experts as may be required on an ad hoc basis.

Article XV

1. The Scientific Committee shall provide a forum for consultation and
cooperation concerning the collection, study and exchange of information
with respect to the marine living resources to which this Convention
applies. It shall encourage and promote cooperation in the field of
scientific research in order to extend knowledge of the marine living
resources of the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

2. The Scientific Committee shall conduct such activities as the
Commission may direct in pursuance of the objective of this Convention
and shall:

(a) establish criteria and methods to be used for determinations
concerning the conservation measures referred to in Article IX of
this Convention;

(b) regularly assess the status and trends of the populations of
Antarctic marine living resources;
(c) analyse data concerning the direct and indirect effects of
harvesting on the populations of Antarctic marine living resources;

(d) assess the effects of proposed changes in the methods or levels of
harvesting and proposed conservation measures;

(e) transmit assessments, analyses, reports and recommendations to the
Commission as requested or on its own initiative regarding measures
and research to implement the objective of this Convention;

(f) formulate proposals for the conduct of international and national
programs of research into Antarctic marine living resources.

3. In carrying out its functions, the Scientific Committee shall have
regard to the work of other relevant technical and scientific
organizations and to the scientific activities conducted within the
framework of the Antarctic Treaty.

Article XVI

1. The first meeting of the Scientific Committee shall be held within
three months of the first meeting of the Commission. The Scientific
Committee shall meet thereafter as often as may be necessary to fulfil
its functions.

2. The Scientific Committee shall adopt and amend as necessary its rules
of procedure. The rules and any amendments thereto shall be approved by
the Commission. The rules shall include procedures for the presentation
of minority reports.

3. The Scientific Committee may establish, with the approval of the
Commission, such subsidiary bodies as are necessary for the performance
of its functions.

Article XVII

1. The Commission shall appoint an Executive Secretary to serve the
Commission and Scientific Committee according to such procedures and on
such terms and conditions as the Commission may determine. His term of
office shall be for four years and he shall be eligible for
reappointment.

2. The Commission shall authorize such staff establishment for the
Secretariat as may be necessary and the Executive Secretary shall
appoint, direct and supervise such staff according to such rules and
procedures and on such terms and conditions as the Commission may
determine.

3. The Executive Secretary and Secretariat shall perform the functions
entrusted to them by the Commission.

Article XVIII

The official languages of the Commission and of the Scientific Committee
shall be English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Article XIX

1. At each annual meeting, the Commission shall adopt by consensus its
budget and the budget of the Scientific Committee.

2. A draft budget for the Commission and the Scientific Committee and any
subsidiary bodies shall be prepared by the Executive Secretary and
submitted to the Members of the Commission at least sixty days before the
annual meeting of the Commission.

3. Each Member of the Commission shall contribute to the budget. Until
the expiration of five years after the entry into force of this
Convention, the contribution of each Member of the Commission shall be
equal. Thereafter the contribution shall be determined in accordance with
two criteria: the amount harvested and an equal sharing among all Members
of the Commission. The Commission shall determine by consensus the
proportion in which these two criteria shall apply.

4. The financial activities of the Commission and Scientific Committee
shall be conducted in accordance with financial regulations adopted by
the Commission and shall be subject to an annual audit by external
auditors selected by the Commission.

5. Each Member of the Commission shall meet its own expenses arising
from attendance at meetings of the Commission and of the Scientific
Committee.

6. A member of the Commission that fails to pay its contributions for
two consecutive years shall not, during the period of its default, have
the right to participate in the taking of decisions in the Commission.

Article XX

1. The Members of the Commission shall, to the greatest extent possible,
provide annually to the Commission and to the Scientific Committee such
statistical, biological and other data and information as the Commission
and Scientific Committee may require in the exercise of their functions.

2. The Members of the Commission shall provide, in the manner and at
such intervals as may be prescribed, information about their harvesting
activities, including fishing areas and vessels, so as to enable reliable
catch and effort statistics to be compiled.

3. The Members of the Commission shall provide to the Commission at such
intervals as may be prescribed information on steps taken to implement
the conservation measures adopted by the Commission.

4. The Members of the Commission agree that in any of their harvesting
activities, advantage shall be taken of opportunities to collect data
needed to assess the impact of harvesting.


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *