LEG 71/5, ANNEX
GUIDELINES ON WORK METHODS AND ORGANIZATION OF WORK
OF THE LEGAL COMMITTEE
PURPOSE AND APPLICATION
1 The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a basis for the Legal Committee to conduct its work in an efficient and effective manner having regard to the available resources of the Organization.
2 The guidelines are applicable to the work of the Committee as well as to working groups and correspondence groups set up by the Committee. The Chairmen of the Committee and working groups, and correspondence group "leaders" should make all efforts to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines.
3 The guidelines and its appendix shall be kept under review and be updated as necessary in the light of experience gained in their application.
CO-ORDINATION OF WORK AND REVIEW OF WORK PROGRAMMES
4 The Committee should periodically examine its work programme and review the allocation of meeting weeks and future work programme.
5 The Committee should periodically review the status of all conventions, protocols and other major instruments under its purview.
WORKING ARRANGEMENTS
6 In compliance with resolutions A.500 (XII) and A.777(18), the Committee, in organizing its work, should assign priorities in its work programme and strictly adhere to such priorities.
7 When a new subject is proposed for inclusion in the Committee's work programme, specific indication of the action required should be included in the proposal and the proponent should document the need for the measure proposed and its relation to the objectives of the Organization and indicating, where possible, its degree of priority and a target completion date so that the Committee may make an informed decision as to the action to be taken.
8 The Committee should:
.1 decide on items to be included in the work programme of the Committee, with clear instructions for the work to be undertaken;
.2 establish priorities and target dates for the completion of the consideration of such items.
9 Before including a subject in the work programme, the Committee should be satisfied that there is a compelling need for the work to be carried out on the basis of background information submitted by the proponent and ensure that the proposal is consistent with the intent of resolution A.500(XII).
9bis When an issue is referred to the Commitee by another Committee of the Organization for specific action, the Committee, before including the subject in question in the work programme, must decide that the requirements of paragraph 9 are fully satisfied, even if the issue, in accordance with the criteria of the referring Committee satisfies the requirements of resolutions A:500(XI) and A.777(18).
10 In respect of subjects requiring research, contributions from other organizations and appropriate entities should be encouraged and taken into account.
Working groups and correspondence groups
11 The Legal Committee should limit the number of working groups formed during its sessions to a maximum of three, bearing in mind the difficulties small delegations experience in being represented on such groups and the fact that such groups work without interpretation.
12 When appropriate, working groups should make full use of the five working days of a session submitting their reports to the next session of the Legal Committee. When working group reports are to be prepared during a session, all efforts should be made to keep such reports as short as possible.
13 In addition to working groups, the Committee may form drafting groups. In no case should more than five groups (e.g. 3 working and 2 drafting groups) meet simultaneously during a session. If additional drafting groups are needed, they should meet outside normal working hours.
14 To facilitate the consideration of an issue, a correspondence group may be established in accordance with the guidelines set out in the appendix. The Committee may further agree on any informal arrangement with a view to encouraging efforts to resolve issues when no concensus has been found in the Committee.
15 When working groups, drafting groups and correspondence groups are formed, the terms of reference should be agreed by the Committee before the group starts work, and should normally be made available to every member of the group.
16 Subject to approval by the Council, intersessional meetings of working groups may be convened without services for interpretation.
PREPARATION AND INTRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS
17 Documents should be prepared in single spacing and be as concise as possible so as to facilitate their timely processing. In order to enhance the clear understanding of documents, the following should be observed:
.1 substantive documents should conclude with a summary of the action requested; and
.2 information documents should conclude with a summary of the information contained therein.
To facilitate the processing of documents, they should be accompanied by computer diskettes, preferably in Word Perfect, where available.
18 Reports of the Committee should, in general, contain under each section only:
.1 a summary of key documents and listing of other documents submitted by Governments, international organizations and the Secretariat;
.2 a summary of views expressed during consideration of an item, which may have influenced the decision taken (thus not allowing the reports to turn into summary records). Statements by delegations should be included therein only at their express request; and
.3 a record of the decisions taken.
SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS
19 To ensure that all documents are available at IMO Headquarters in all three working languages well in time before a meeting of the Committee so as to enable the timely study of documents and thus promote the participation of all members in the decision-making process of the Committee, the following provisions should apply:
.1 basic and bulky documents (6 pages and over) should be received by the Secretariat not later than 9 weeks before the opening of any meeting of the Committee;
.2 all other documents should be received by the Secretariat not later than 4 weeks before the opening of any meeting of the Committee; and
.3 information documents should also be received by the Secretariat not later than 4 weeks before the opening of any meeting of the Committee.
OBSERVANCE OF THE GUIDELINES
20 These guidelines should be observed strictly. This will assist delegations in preparing adequately for each meeting and enhance their participation in the debate and decision-making process during meetings.
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APPENDIX
GUIDELINES FOR CORRESPONDENCE GROUPS
Purpose
1 The purpose of establishing a correspondence group is to facilitate the consideration of an issue by a Committee on the basis of a consolidated draft text prepared by a "lead country" or the Secretariat through consultation with interested delegations by correspondence thereby decreasing the volume of papers submitted and processed.
Prerequisites
2 In addition to paragraphs 14 and 15 of the guidelines on work methods and organization of work, correspondence groups should only be established after the Committee has agreed to consider the issue and has endorsed terms of reference for the group. The work of correspondence groups does not pre-empt formal consideration in the Legal Committee of the positions taken by Governments or organizations.
Participation
3 Participation in correspondence groups is open to all delegations (Governments and organizations) which can provide the necessary expertise on a timely basis or which have a particular interest in the issue under consideration. Any Member Government or international organization can join in the work of the correspondence group subsequent to the establishment of the group and any contribution should be accepted at any stage of the work of the group.
Method of work
4 When establishing a correspondence group, a "lead country", "lead organization" or the Secretariat should be designated to co-ordinate the work of the group.
5 Responsibilities of group "leaders" should include:
.1 preparation, maintenance and circulation of list of participants;
.2 preparation and circulation of draft texts and comments thereon;
.3 preparation and submission to the Secretariat, (see paragraph 9 below), of the report of the correspondence group including any consolidated draft texts;
.4 introduction of the above mentioned report and consolidated draft texts to the Committee; and
.5 establishment of deadlines for the receipt of comments and proposals and the preparation of draft texts.
6 Responsibilities of participants should include:
.1 active participation in the work of the group through submission of comments, proposals etc.;
.2 compliance with the deadlines established for the submission of comments on draft texts, proposals etc.; and
.3 relaying to other group members copies of comments, proposals, etc. submitted to the group "leader".
7 The responsibilities of the Secretariat, in those cases where the Secretariat acts as a group "leader", should be the same as those listed under paragraph 5 above. The Secretariat may also be requested to circulate consolidated draft texts etc. on behalf of the group "leader".
Outcome of correspondence groups' work
8 The results of work carried out by correspondence groups should normally take the form of a consolidated draft text reflecting the information received from members of the group. Such texts should be accompanied by a succinct report summarizing the work and indicating which members have provided input
to the process. Where it has not been possible to prepare an agreed consolidated draft document, texts or issues on which there was a disagreement should be clearly indicated in the draft document or the report as appropriate.
Submission of correspondence groups' reports
9 Correspondence groups' reports should be submitted to the first session of the Committee following conclusion of the groups' work. They should be submitted in time to meet the deadline established for submission of documents. Normally the work of the correspondence groups should not overlap with sessions of the Committee. In case the group has not finalized its work in time to meet such a deadline, a progress report should be made to the Committee.