|
Pre.6 |
Considering the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea opened for signature on 10 December 1982 and, in particular, Articles 56, 64 and 116 to 119 thereof, |
|
Pre.8 |
Bearing in mind the Western Indian Ocean Tuna Organization Convention which was opened for signature on 19 June 1991, |
|
Pre.9 |
Considering that the aforementioned objectives could best be achieved through the establishment of a Commission set up under Article XIV of the Constitution of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, |
|
Pre.10 |
Have agreed as follows: |
|
Art.1.1x |
The Contracting Parties hereby agree to establish the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Commission”) within the framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (hereinafter referred to as “FAO”). |
|
Art.2.1x |
The area of competence of the Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Area”) shall be the Indian Ocean (defined for the purpose of this Agreement as being FAO statistical areas 51 and 57 as shown on the map set out in Annex A to this Agreement) and adjacent seas, north of the Antarctic Convergence, insofar as it is necessary to cover such seas for the purpose of conserving and managing stocks that migrate into or out of the Indian Ocean. |
|
Art.4.1 |
1. Membership in the Commission shall be open to Members and Associate Members of FAO |
|
Art.4.2 |
2. The Commission may, by a two-thirds majority of its Members, admit to membership any other States that are not Members of FAO, but are Members of the United Nations, or of any of its Specialized Agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, provided that such States: |
|
Art.5.2 |
2. In order to achieve these objectives, the Commission shall have the following functions and responsibilities, in accordance with the principles expressed in the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: |
|
Art.5.2.f |
(f) to transmit to the Director-General of FAO (hereinafter referred to as the “Director-General”) reports on its activities, programme, accounts and autonomous budget and on such other matters as may be appropriate for action by the Council or the Conference of FAO; |
|
Art.6.3 |
3. The Commission may adopt and amend, as required, its own Rules of Procedure by a two-thirds majority of its Members, which Rules shall not be inconsistent with this Agreement or with the Constitution of FAO. |
|
Art.6.7 |
7. The Commission may adopt and amend, as required, the Financial Regulations of the Commission by a two-thirds majority of its Members, which Financial Regulations shall be consistent with the principles embodied in the Financial Regulations of FAO. The Financial Regulations and amendments thereto shall be reported to the Finance Committee of FAO which shall have the power to disallow them if it finds that they are inconsistent with the principles embodied in the Financial Regulations of FAO. |
|
Art.6.8 |
8. In order to ensure close cooperation between the Commission and FAO, FAO shall have the right to participate without vote in all meetings of the Commission and subsidiary bodies established in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article XII. |
|
Art.7.1 |
1. Any Member or Associate Member of FAO that is not a Member of the Commission may, upon its request, be invited to be represented by an observer at sessions of the Commission. It may submit memoranda and participate without vote in the discussions. |
|
Art.7.2 |
2. States which, while not Members of the Commission nor Members or Associate Members of FAO, are Members of the United Nations, any of its Specialized Agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency may, upon request and subject to the concurrence of the Commission through its Chairperson and to the provisions relating to the granting of observer status to nations adopted by the Conference of FAO, be invited to attend sessions of the Commission as observers. |
|
Art.8.1 |
1. The Secretary of the Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”) shall be appointed by the Director-General with the approval of the Commission, or in the event of appointment between regular sessions of the Commission, with the approval of the Members of the Commission. The staff of the Commission shall be appointed by the Secretary and shall be under the Secretary's direct supervision. The Secretary and staff of the Commission shall be appointed under the same terms and conditions as staff members of FAO; they shall, for administrative purposes, be responsible to the Director-General. |
|
Art.8.3 |
3. The expenses of the Commission shall be paid out of its autonomous budget except those relating to such staff and facilities as can be made available by FAO. The expenses to be borne by FAO shall be determined and paid within the limits of the biennial budget prepared by the Director-General and approved by the Conference of FAO in accordance with the General Rules and the Financial Regulations of FAO. |
|
Art.12.6 |
6. The establishment by the Commission of any sub-commission which requires funding by the Commission, and of any committee, working party or other subsidiary body shall be subject to the availability of the necessary funds in the approved autonomous budget of the Commission or of FAO as the case may be. When the related expenses are to be borne by FAO, the determination of such availability shall be made by the Director-General. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the establishment of subsidiary bodies, the Commission shall have before it a report from the Secretary or the Director-General, as appropriate, on the administrative and financial implications. |
|
Art.13.4 |
4. Any non-Member of FAO that becomes a Member of the Commission shall be required to make such contribution towards the expenses incurred by FAO with respect to the activities of the Commission as the Commission may determine. |
|
Art.13.5 |
5. Contributions shall be payable in freely convertible currencies unless otherwise determined by the Commission with the concurrence of the Director-General. |
|
Art.13.7 |
7. Contributions and donations and other forms of assistance received shall be placed in a Trust Fund administered by the Director-General in conformity with the Financial Regulations of FAO. |
|
Art.14.1x |
The Commission, after consultation with the Director-General, shall determine the place of its headquarters. |
|
Art.17.1 |
1. Acceptance of this Agreement by any Member or Associate Member of FAO shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of acceptance with the Director-General. |
|
Art.17.2 |
2. Acceptance of this Agreement by any State referred to in paragraph 2 of Article IV shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of acceptance with the Director-General. Acceptance shall become effective on the date on which the Commission approves the application for membership. |
|
Art.17.3 |
3. The Director-General shall inform all Members of the Commission, all Members of FAO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of all acceptances that have become effective. |
|
Art.18.1x |
This Agreement shall enter into force as from the date of receipt by the Director-General of the tenth instrument of acceptance. Thereafter, with respect to each Member or Associate Member of FAO or State referred to in paragraph 2 of Article IV which subsequently deposits an instrument of acceptance, this Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which such acceptance takes effect or becomes effective in accordance with Article XVII above. |
|
Art.19.1x |
Acceptance of this Agreement may be made subject to reservations in accordance with the general rules of public international law as reflected in the provisions of Part II, Section 2 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969. |
|
Art.20.2 |
2. Proposals for amendments may be made by any Member of the Commission or by the Director-General. Proposals made by a Member of the Commission shall be addressed to both the Chairperson of the Commission and the Director-General and those made by the Director-General shall be addressed to the Chairperson of the Commission, not later than 120 days before the Session of the Commission at which the proposal is to be considered. The Director-General shall immediately inform all Members of the Commission of all proposals for amendments. |
|
Art.20.3 |
3. Any amendment to this Agreement shall be reported to the Council of FAO which may disallow an amendment which is clearly inconsistent with the objectives and purposes of FAO or the provisions of the Constitution of FAO. |
|
Art.20.5 |
5. Amendments involving new obligations for Members of the Commission shall, after adoption by the Commission, subject to paragraph 3 above, come into force in respect of each Member only upon its acceptance thereof. The instruments of acceptance of amendments involving new obligations shall be deposited with the Director-General. The Director-General shall inform all Members of the Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of such acceptance. The rights and obligations of any Member of the Commission that has not accepted an amendment involving new obligations shall continue to be governed by the provisions of this Agreement in force prior to the Amendment. |
|
Art.20.7 |
7. The Director-General shall inform all Members of the Commission, all Members and Associate Members of FAO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the entry into force of any amendment. |
|
Art.21.1 |
1. Any Member of the Commission may withdraw from this Agreement at any time after the expiry of two years from the date upon which the Agreement entered into force with respect to that Member, by giving written notice of such withdrawal to the Director-General who shall immediately inform all the Members of the Commission and the Members and Associate Members of FAO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations of such withdrawal. Withdrawal shall become effective at the end of the calendar year following that in which the notice of withdrawal has been received by the Director-General. |
|
Art.21.3 |
3. Any Member of the Commission that gives notice of withdrawal from FAO shall be deemed to have simultaneously withdrawn from the Commission, and this withdrawal shall be deemed to apply to all the territories for the international relations of which the Member of the Commission is responsible, with the exception of territories belonging to an Associate Member which is a Member of the Commission in its own right. |
|
Art.23.1x |
Any dispute regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement, if not settled by the Commission, shall be referred for settlement to a conciliation procedure to be adopted by the Commission. The results of such conciliation procedure, while not binding in character, shall become the basis for renewed consideration by the parties concerned of the matter out of which the disagreement arose. If as the result of this procedure the dispute is not settled, it may be referred to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the Statute of the International Court of Justice, unless the parties to the dispute agree to another method of settlement. |
|
Art.24.1x |
The Director-General shall be the Depositary of this Agreement. The Depositary shall: |
|
Art.24.1x.a |
(a) send certified copies of this Agreement to each Member and Associate Member of FAO and to such non-Member States as may become party to this Agreement; |
|
Art.24.1x.b |
(b) arrange for the registration of this Agreement, upon its entry into force, with the Secretariat of the United Nations in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations; |
|
Art.24.1x.c |
(c) inform each Member and Associate Member of FAO which has accepted this Agreement and any non-Member State which has been admitted to membership in the Commission of: |
|
Art.24.1x.d |
(d) inform each Member and Associate Member of FAO and any non-Member States as may become party to this Agreement of: |
