PROTOCOL OF AMENDMENT TO THE CONVENTION ON THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES
SRC: https://www.oas.org/juridico/english/treaties/c-12(1).html, 20041013
The Contracting States, with a view to strengthening and expanding the agricultural activities of the Organization of American States, have agreed to effect certain modifications in the Convention on the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"), opened for signature at the Pan American Union on January 15, 1944, and for that purpose have resolved to conclude a Protocol of Amendment to the said Convention, as follows:
Article I
The term "State" or "States" shall be substituted for the term "Republic" or "Republics", as the case may be, wherever the latter appears in the Convention.
Article II
Article I of the Convention is amended to read as follows:
Article I
The Contracting States hereby reorganize the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences and establish it as an international organization, which they recognize as a legal entity in accordance with their own legislation. As such, the Institute has all the rights, title and interest in and to the assets, lands and other property of any nature whatsoever of the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia, United States of America, on June 18, 1942; and it assumes all the obligations for which the Institute as a corporation became responsible.
The headquarters of the Institute shall be located at Turrialba, Costa Rica, and offices may be established at other locations in that country. The Institute may also maintain regional offices or centers in other American countries.
Article III
Article III of the Convention is amended to read as follows:
Article III
The Board of Directors, the highest authority of the Institute, is com-posed of one representative from each Contracting State. Each State shall appoint as its representative preferably a high official of its Ministry or Department of Agriculture, who is a specialist in agricultural matters. In addition, each State may designate an alternate representative and such advisers as it considers necessary.
The decisions of the Board of Directors require the affirmative vote of an absolute majority of the Contracting States, except that decisions on budgetary matters require a majority of two thirds.
The Board has the following powers:
To elect the Director of the Institute and to determine his compensation;
To remove the Director;
To consider the draft work program submitted to it by the Director, and to approve annually the work program of the Institute; To approve the budget of the Institute and to fix the annual quotas of the Contracting States;
To cooperate with the Director in technical agricultural matters;
To approve the Agreement which the Institute, as a Specialized Organization, may enter into with the Council of the Organization of American States to determine the relations that should exist between the Institute and the Organization;
To approve agreements between the Institute and other international organizations with similar objectives;
To receive from the Director an annual report on the activities, general condition, and financial status of the Institute;
To formulate its own Regulations and to approve the Regulations for the administration of the Institute.
The Board shall establish a committee of its members to prepare for meetings of the Board and to carry out such other duties as the Board may entrust to it.
The Board shall hold one regular meeting annually and may hold special meetings when agreed to by a majority of the Contracting States. The meetings of the Board shall take place at the headquarters of the Institute unless the Board decides upon some other place in a particular case.
Article IV
Articles IV, V and VI of the Convention, together with the titles thereto, are replaced by the following Article and title thereto:
THE DIRECTOR
Article IV
The Director of the Institute shall be elected by the Board of Directors in plenary session for a term of six years and he may be reelected only once. He shall hold office until his successor shall be chosen and shall assume his duties.
The Director, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, shall have ample and full powers to direct the activities of the Institute; he shall be the legal representative thereof; and he shall be responsible for carrying out all orders and resolutions of the Board.
The Director shall have, in addition, the following powers and duties:
To prepare the draft budget and the work program of the Institute for each fiscal year, and submit them to the members of the Board of Directors at least two months before the annual meeting at which they will be considered for approval;
To submit an annual report to the Board of Directors setting forth the work of the Institute during the previous fiscal year and its general condition and financial status; To make contracts and arrangements for carrying out projects and specific activities which in his opinion will be of benefit to the Institute, subject to the general policies established by the Board of Directors;
To appoint, remove, and determine the compensation of officers and employees, in accordance with the general policies determined by the Board of Directors;
To seek the greatest possible coordination between the activities of the Institute and those of other international organizations with similar objectives.
When he considers it necessary and under his responsibility, the Director may delegate the powers of his office to other officers of the Institute.
Article V
Articles VII and VIII of the Convention, together with the titles thereto, are hereby abrogated.
Article VI
Article IX of the Convention is amended to read as follows:
Article IX
The Contracting States shall contribute to the maintenance of the Institute by means of annual quotas to be fixed by the Board of Directors on the same basis that is used for determining the quotas for the maintenance of the Pan American Union. The Institute may also accept, from either official or private sources, special contributions, legacies, or donations for carrying out activities that are in keeping with the character and objectives of the Institute.
The fiscal year of the Institute begins on the first day of July and ends on the thirtieth day of June.
The annual quotas of the Contracting States shall be communicated to the respective Governments in advance, and they shall be due on the first day of the fiscal year.
Article VII
The original of the present Protocol, the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Pan American Union and opened for signature by the Governments of the American States. The Pan American Union shall inform the Governments with respect to the signatures and the respective dates thereof.
Article VIII
Only American States that are Parties to the Convention may ratify or adhere to the present Protocol.
Article IX
The Pan American Union shall send certified copies of the Protocol to the Governments of the American States for the purpose of ratification or adherence. The instruments of ratification or adherence shall be deposited with the Pan American Union, which shall notify the Governments of each deposit and the date thereof.
Article X
This Protocol shall come into force one month after the date on which all the States Parties to the Convention have deposited their respective instru-ments of ratification of or adherence to the Protocol.
However, the new quota system established by Article VI of the present Protocol shall not begin to be applied until the first fiscal year commencing six months or more after the date on which all Member States of the Organization of American States have deposited their respective instruments of ratification or adherence, unless all the Contracting States agree, through their representatives on the Board of Directors, to initiate such quota system in a previous fiscal year and agree upon the manner of doing so.
Payment of the first quota of any State becoming a Party to the present Protocol after the new quota system begins to be applied, shall be calculated on the basis of the number of full calendar months remaining in the respective fiscal year.
Until such time as the new quota system begins to be applied, the system provided for in Article IX of the Convention shall continue in effect.
Any instrument of ratification or adherence received after the date on which this Protocol comes into force shall take effect one month after the date of its deposit.
Article XI
The present Protocol, upon its entry into force, shall be deemed to be an integral part of the Convention.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized, sign the present Protocol of Amendment to the Convention, at the Pan American Union, Washington, D. C., on behalf of their respective Governments, on the dates appearing opposite their signatures.
