ARTICLE 25

The Council shall submit to the Assembly the budget estimates and the financial statements of the Organization, together with its comments and recommendations.

ARTICLE 26

The Council may enter into agreements or arrangements covering the relationship of the Organization with other organizations, as provided for in Part XII. Such agreements or arrangements shall be subject to approval by the Assembly.

ARTICLE 27

Between sessions of the Assembly, the Council shall perform all the functions of the Organization, except the function of making recommendations under Article 16 (i).

PART VII-MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE

ARTICLE 28

(a) The Maritime Safety Committee shall consist of fourteen Members elected by the Assembly from the Members, governments of those nations having an important interest in maritime safety, of which not less than eight shall be the largest ship-owning nations, and the remainder shall be elected so as to ensure adequate representation of Members, governments of other nations with an important interest in maritime safety, such as nations interested in the supply of large numbers of crews or in the carriage of large numbers of berthed and unberthed passengers, and of major geographical areas.

(b) Members shall be elected for a term of four years and shall be eligible for re-election.

ARTICLE 29

(a) The Maritime Safety Committee shall have the duty of considering any matter within the scope of the Organization and concerned with aids to navigation, construction and equipment of vessels, manning from a safety standpoint, rules for the prevention of collisions, handling of dangerous cargoes, maritime safety procedures and requirements, hydrographic information, log-books and navigational records, marine casualty investigation, salvage and rescue, and any other matters directly affecting maritime safety.

(b) The Maritime Safety Committee shall provide machinery for performing any duties assigned to it by the Convention, or by the Assembly, or any duty within the scope of this Article which may be assigned to it by any other intergovernmental instrument.

(c) Having regard to the provisions of Part XII, the Maritime Safety Committee shall have the duty of maintaining such close relationship with other intergovernmental bodies concerned with transport and communications as may further the object of the Organization in promoting maritime safety and facilitate the co-ordination of activities in the fields of shipping, aviation, telecommunications and meteorology with respect to safety and rescue.

ARTICLE 30

The Maritime Safety Committee, through the Council, shall: (a) submit to the Assembly at its regular sessions proposals made by Members for safety regulations or for amendments to existing safety regulations, together with its comments or recommendations thereon;

(b) report to the Assembly on the work of the Maritime Safety Committee since the previous regular session of the Assembly.

ARTICLE 31

The Maritime Safety Committee shall meet once a year and at other times upon request of any five of its members. It shall elect its officers once a year and shall adopt its own rules of procedure. A majority of its members shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE 32

The Maritime Safety Committee shall invite any Member to participate, without vote, in its deliberations on any matter of particular concern to that Member.

PART VIII-THE SECRETARIAT

ARTICLE 33

The Secretariat shall comprise the Secretary-General, a Secretary of the Maritime Safety Committee and such staff as the Organization may require. The Secretary-General shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organization, and shall, subject to the provisions of Article 23, appoint the above-mentioned personnel.

ARTICLE 34

The Secretariat shall maintain all such records as may be necessary for the efficient discharge of the functions of the Organization and shall prepare, collect and circulate the papers, documents, agenda, minutes and information that may be required for the work of the Assembly, the Council, the Maritime Safety Committee, and such subsidiary organs as the Organization may establish.

ARTICLE 35

The Secretary-General shall prepare and submit to the Council the financial statements for each year and the budget estimates on a biennial basis, with the estimates for each year shown separately.

ARTICLE 36

The Secretary-General shall keep Members informed with respect to the activities of the Organization. Each Member may appoint one or more representatives for the purpose of communication with the Secretary-General.

ARTICLE 37

In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might reflect on their position as international officials. Each Member on its part undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the SecretaryGeneral and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities.

ARTICLE 38

The Secretary-General shall perform such other tasks as may be assigned to him by the Convention, the Assembly, the Council and the Maritime Safety Committee.

PART IX-FINANCES

ARTICLE 39

Each Member shall bear the salary, travel and other expenses of its own delegation to the Assembly and of its representatives on the Council, the Maritime Safety Committee, other committees and subsidiary bodies.

ARTICLE 40

The Council shall consider the financial statements and budget estimates prepared by the Secretary-General and submit them to the Assembly with its comments and recommendations.

ARTICLE 41

(a) Subject to any agreement between the Organization and the United Nations, the Assembly shall review and approve the budget estimates.

(b) The Assembly shall apportion the expenses among the Members in accordance with a scale to be fixed by it after consideration of the proposals of the Council thereon.

ARTICLE 42

Any Member which fails to discharge its financial obligation to the Organization within one year from the date on which it is due, shall have no vote in the Assembly, the Council, or the Maritime Safety Committee unless the Assembly, at its discretion, waives this provision.

PART X-VOTING

ARTICLE 43

The following provisions shall apply to voting in the Assembly, the Council and the Maritime Safety Committee:

(a) Each Member shall have one vote.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in the Convention or in any international agreement which confers functions on the Assembly, the

Council, or the Maritime Safety Committee, decisions of these organs shall be by a majority vote of the Members present and voting and, for decisions where a two-thirds majority vote is required, by a twothirds majority vote of those present.

(c) For the purpose of the Convention, the phrase "Members present and voting" means "Members present and casting an affirmative or negative vote". Members which abstain from voting shall be considered as not voting.

PART XI-HEADQUARTERS OF THE ORGANIZATION

ARTICLE 44

(a) The headquarters of the Organization shall be established in London.

(b) The Assembly may by a two-thirds majority vote change the site of the headquarters if necessary.

(c) The Assembly may hold sessions in any place other than the headquarters if the Council deems it necessary.

PART XII-RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

ARTICLE 45

The Organization shall be brought into relationship with the United Nations in accordance with Article 57 of the Charter of the United Nations as the Specialized Agency in the field of shipping. This relationship shall be effected through an agreement with the United Nations under Article 63 of the Charter of the United Nations, which agreement shall be concluded as provided in Article 26.

ARTICLE 46

The Organization shall co-operate with any Specialized Agency of the United Nations in matters which may be the common concern of the Organization and of such Specialized Agency, and shall consider such matters and act with respect to them in accord with such Specialized Agency.

ARTICLE 47

The Organization may, on matters within its scope, co-operate with other inter-governmental organizations which are not Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, but whose interests and activities are related to the purposes of the Organization.

ARTICLE 48

The Organization may, on matters within its scope, make suitable arrangements for consultation and co-operation with non-governmental international organizations.

ARTICLE 49

Subject to approval by a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, the Organization may take over from any other international organi

zations, governmental or non-governmental, such functions, resources and obligations within the scope of the Organization as may be transferred to the Organization by international agreements or by mutually acceptable arrangements entered into between competent authorities of the respective organizations. Similarly, the Organization may take over any administrative functions which are within its scope and which have been entrusted to a government under the terms of any international instrument.

PART XIII-LEGAL CAPACITY, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

ARTICLE 50

The legal capacity, privileges and immunities to be accorded to, or in connection with, the Organization, shall be derived from and governed by the General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 21st November, 1947, subject to such modifications as may be set forth in the final (or revised) text of the Annex approved by the Organization in accordance with Sections 36 and 38 of the said General Convention.

ARTICLE 51

Pending its accession to the said General Convention in respect of the Organization, each Member undertakes to apply the provisions of Appendix II to the present Convention.

PART XIV-AMENDMENTS

ARTICLE 52

Texts of proposed amendments to the Convention shall be communicated by the Secretary-General to Members at least six months in advance of their consideration by the Assembly. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, including the concurring votes of a majority of the Members represented in the Council. Twelve months after its acceptance by twothirds of the Members of the Organization, other than Associate Members, each amendment shall come into force for all Members except those which, before it comes into force, make a declaration that they do not accept the amendment. The Assembly may by a two-thirds majority vote determine at the time of its adoption that an amendment is of such a nature that any Member which has made such a declaration and which does not accept the amendment within a period of twelve months after the amendment comes into force shall, upon the expiration of this period, cease to be a party to the Convention.

ARTICLE 53

Any amendment adopted under Article 52 shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who will immediately forward a copy of the amendment to all Members.

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