PART VII Maritime Safety Committee

Article 27

The Maritime Safety Committee shall consist of all the Members.

Article 28

（a） The Maritime Safety Committee shall consider any matter within thescope of the Organization concerned with aids to navigation， constructionand equipment of vessels， manning from a safety standpoint， rules for theprevention of collisions， handling of dangerous cargoes， maritime safetyprocedures and requirements， hydrograpic information， log-books andnavigational records， marine casualty investigation， salvage and rescue，and any other matters directly affecting maritime safety.

（b） The Maritime Safety Committee shall provide machinery forperforming any duties assigned to it by this Convention， the Assembly orthe Council， or any duty within the scope of this Article which may beassigned to it by or under any other international instrument and acceptedby the Organization.

（c） Having regard to the provisions of Article 25， the MaritimesSafety Committee， upon request by the Assembly or the Council or， if itdeems such action useful in the interests of its own work， shall maintainsuch close relationship with other bodies as may further the purposes ofthe Organization.

Article 29

The Maritime Safety Committee shall submit to the Council：

（a） Proposals for safety regulations or for amendments to safetyregulations which the Committee has developed；

（b） Recommendations and guidelines which the Committee has developed；

（c） A report on the work of the Committee since the previous sessionof the Council.

Article 30

The Maritime Safety Committee shall meet at least once a year. Itshall elect its officers once a year and shall adopt its own Rules ofProcedure.

Article 31

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Convention， butsubject to the provisions of Article 27， the Maritime Safety Committeewhen exercising the functions conferred upon it by or under anyinternational convention or other instrument， shall conform to therelevant provisions of the convention or instrument in question，particularly as regards the rules governing the procedures to be followed.

PART VIII Legal Committee

Article 32

The Legal Committee shall consist of all the Members.

Article 33

（a） The Legal Committee shall consider any legal matters within thescope of the Organization.

（b） The Legal Committee shall take all necessary steps to perform anyduties assigned to it by this Convention or by the Assembly or theCouncil， or any duty within the scope of this Article which may beassigned to it by or under any other international instrument and acceptedby the Organization.

（c） Having regard to the provisions of Article 25， the LegalCommittee， upon request by the Assembly or the Council or， if it deemssuch action useful in the interests of its own work， shall maintain suchclose relationship with other bodies as may further the purposes of theOrganization.

Article 34

The Legal Committee shall submit to the Council：

（a） Drafts of international conventions and of amendments tointernational conventions which the Committee has developed；

（b） A report on the work of the Committee since the previous sessionof the Council.

Article 35

The Legal Committee shall meet at least once a year. It shall electits officers once a year and shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.

Article 36

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Convention， butsubject to the provisions of Article 32， the Legal Committee， whenexercising the functions conferred upon it by or under any internationalconvention or other instrument， shall conform to the relevant provisionsof the convention or instrument in question， particularly as regards therules governing the procedures to be followed.

PART IX Marine Environment Protection Committee

Article 37

The Marine Environment Protection Committee shall consist of all theMembers.

Article 38

The Marine Environment Protection Committee shall consider any matterwithin the scope of the Organization concerned with the prevention andcontrol of marine pollution from ships and in particular shall：

（a） Perform such functions as are or may be conferred upon theOrganization by or under international conventions for the prevention andcontrol of marine pollution from ships， particularly with respect to theadoption and amendment of regulations or other provisions， as provided forin such conventions；

（b） Consider appropriate measures to facilitate the enforcement of theconventions referred to in paragraph （a） above；

（c） Provide for the acquisition of scientific， technical and any otherpractical information on the prevention and control of marine pollutionfrom ships for dissemination to States， in particular to developingcountries and， where appropriate， make recommendations and developguidelines；

（d） Promote co-operation with regional organizations concerned withthe prevention and control of marine pollution from ships， having regardto the provisions of Article 25；

（e） Consider and take appropriate action with respect to any othermatters falling within the scope of the Organization which wouldcontribute to the prevention and control of marine pollution from shipsincluding co-operation on environmental matters with other internationalorganizations， having regard to the provisions of Article 25.

Article 39

The Marine Environment Protection Committee shall submit to theCouncil：

（a） Proposals for regulations for the prevention and control of marinepollution from ships and for amendments to such regulations which theCommittee has developed；

（b） Recommendations and guidelines which the Committee has developed；

（c） A report on the work of the Committee since the previous sessionof the Council.

Article 40

The Marine Environment Protection Committee shall meet at least once ayear. It shall elect its officers once a year and shall adopt its ownRules of Procedure.

Article 41

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Convention， butsubject to the provisions of Article 37， the Marine Environment ProtectionCommittee， when exercising the functions conferred upon it by or under anyinternational convention or other instrument， shall conform to therelevant provisions of the convention or instrument in question，particularly as regards the rules governing the procedures to be followed.

PART X Technical Co-operation Committee

Article 42

The Technical Co-operation Committee shall consist of all the Members.

Article 43

（a） The Technical Co-operation Committee shall consider， asappropriate， any matter within the scope of the Organization concernedwith the implementation of technical co-operation projects funded by therelevant United Nations programme for which the Organization acts as theexecuting or co-operating agency or by funds-in-trust voluntarily providedto the Organization， and any other matters related to the Organization'sactivities in the technical co-operation field.

（b） The Technical Co-operation Committee shall keep under review thework of the Secretariat concerning technical co-operation.

（c） The Technical Co-operation Committee shall perform those functionsassigned to it by this Convention or by the Assembly or the Council， orany duty within the scope of this Article which may be assigned to it byor under any other international instrument and accepted by theOrganization.

（d） Having regard to the provisions of Article 25， the TechnicalCo-operation Committee， upon request by the Assembly and Council or， ifit deems such action useful in the interests of its own work， shallmaintain such close relationships with other bodies as may further thepurposes of the Organization.

Article 44

The Technical Co-operation Committee shall submit to the Council：

（a） Recommendations which the Committee has developed；

（b） A report on the work of the Committee since the previous sessionof the Council.

Article 45

The Technical Co-operation Committee shall meet at least once a year.It shall elect its officers once a year and shall adopt its own Rules ofProcedure.

Article 46

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Convention， butsubject to the provisions of Article 42， the Technical Co-operationCommittee， when exercising the functions conferred upon it by or under anyinternational convention or other instrument， shall conform to therelevant provisions of the convention or instrument in question，particularly as regards the rules governing the procedures to be followed.

PART XI The Secretariat

Article 47

The Secretariat shall comprise the Secretary-General and such otherpersonnel as the Organization may require. The Secretary-General shall bethe chief administrative officer of the Organization and shall， subject tothe provisions of Article 22， appoint the above-mentioned personnel.

Article 48

The Secretariat shall maintain all such records as may be necessaryfor the efficient discharge of the functions of the Organization and shallprepare， collect and circulate the papers， documents， agenda， minutes andinformation that may be required for the work of the Organization.

Article 49

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

Article 50

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

Article 51

In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the staffshall not seek or receive instructions from any Government or from anyauthority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any actionwhich might reflect on their position as international officials. EachMember on its part undertakes to respect the exclusively internationalcharacter of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staffand not to seek to influence them in the discharge of theirresponsibilities.

Article 52

The Secretary-General shall assume any other functions which may beassigned to him by the Convention， the Assembly or the Council.

PART XII Finances

Article 53

Each Member shall bear the salary， travel and other expenses of itsown delegation to the meetings held by the Organization.

Article 54

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

Article 55

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

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

Article 56

Any Member which fails to discharge its financial obligation to theOrganization within one year from the date on which it is due， shall haveno vote in the Assembly， the Council， the Maritime Safety Committee， theLegal Committee， the Marine Environment Protection Committee or theTechnical Co-operation Committee unless the Assembly， at its discretion，waives this provision.

PART XIII Voting

Article 57

Except as otherwise provided in the Convention or in any internationalagreement which confers functions on the Assembly， the Council， theMaritime Safety Committee， the Legal Committee， the Marine EnvironmentProtection Committee， or the Technical Co-operation Committee， thefollowing provisions shall apply to voting in these organs：

（a） Each Member shall have one vote.

（b） Decisions shall be by a majority vote of the Members present andvoting and， for decisions where a two-thirds majority vote is required， bya two-thirds majority vote of those present.

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