COMITE MARITIME INTERNATIONAL CONSTITUTION，1981

　　Article 1

　　The Comite Maritime International is a non-governmental Organizationthe object of which is to contribute by all appropriate means andactivities to the unification of maritime and commercial law， maritimecustoms usages and practices.

　　To this end it shall promote the establishment of NationalAssociations of maritime law and shall co-operate with other internationalAssociations or Organization having the same object.Article 2

　　The domicile of the Comite Maritime International is established inAntwerp， Belgium.Article 3

　　1. The Comite Maritime International shall consist of National （ormultinational） Associations of maritime law， the objects of which conformto those of the Comite Maritime International and the membership of whichis open to persons （individuals and bodies corporate） who either areinvolved in maritime and commercial activities or are specialists inmaritime and commercial law. Member Associations should endeavour topresent a balanced view of the various interests represented in theirAssociation.

　　Where in a country there is no National Association of maritime law inexistence， and an Organization in that country applies for membership tothe Comite Maritime International， the Assembly may accept suchOrganization as a member of the Comite Maritime International if it issatisfied that the object of such Organization， or one of its objects， isthe unification of maritime and commercial law， maritime customs， usagesand practices.

　　Whenever reference is made in this Constitution to MemberAssociations， this will be deemed to include any Organization admitted asa member pursuant to this Article.

　　Only one Association or Organization in each country shall be eligiblefor membership， unless the Assembly otherwise decides. A multinationalAssociation is eligible for membership only if there is no MemberAssociation in any of its constituent countries.

　　2. Individual members of Associations may be appointed by the Assemblyas Titulary Members of the Comite Maritime International upon the proposalof the Association concerned to the maximum number of eighteen per MemberAssociation. The appointment shall be of an honorary nature and shall bedecided having regard to the services rendered by the candidates to theComite Maritime International and to the position which they have achievedin legal or maritime affairs. Titulary members shall not be entitled tovote.

　　3. Nationals of States where there is no Member Association inexistence who are interested in the objects of the Comite MaritimeInternational may be admitted as temporary members but shall not beentitled to vote.

　　4. International Organizations which are interested in the object ofthe Comite Maritime International may be admitted as members but shall notbe entitled to vote.Article 4

　　The Authorities of the Comite Maritime International are：

　　（a） the President，

　　（b） the Assembly，

　　（c） the Executive Council.Article 5

　　The Assembly shall consist of all members of the Comite MaritimeInternational； Member Associations and International Organizations shallbe represented by one delegate， who may be accompanied by a maximum of twoassistants.Article 6

　　The Assembly shall meet in March each year unless the ExecutiveCouncil decides that the meeting will take place at any other date duringthe first half year， and also at any other time if requested by thePresident， by six of its Member Associations or by theSecretaries-General. At least eight weeks notice shall be given of suchmeetings.Article 7

　　Matters to be dealt with by the Assembly， including nomination tovacant offices， shall be set out in the agenda accompanying notices of themeetings. Decisions may be taken on matters not set out in the agenda，other than amendments to this Constitution， provided no Member Associationrepresented in the Assembly objects to such procedure.

　　In the Assembly each Member Association represented in the Assemblyshall have one vote.

　　All decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a simple majority ofthose members present and voting. However， amendments to this Constitutionshall require a majority of all Member Associations. If a proposal for anamendment is not carried the Assembly may decide， by a simple majority，to reconvene with advance notice to all Member Associations of not lessthan eight weeks； at this second meeting decisions may be taken by asimple majority of those members present and voting.Article 8

　　The functions of the Assembly are：

　　（a） To elect the Officers of the Comite Maritime International andthe members of the Executive Council； to appoint and to terminate theappointment of the Administrative Officer；

　　（b） to admit new members and observers；

　　（c） to fix the rates of members' contribution to the ComiteMaritime International；

　　（d） to consider and， if thought fit， to approve the accounts andthe budget；

　　（e） to consider reports of the Executive Council and to issueinstructions on the future activity of the Comite Maritime International；

　　（f） to call International Conferences；

　　（g） to amend this Constitution；

　　（h） to adopt bye-laws not inconsistent with the provisions of thisConstitution.Article 9

　　The Officers of the Comite Maritime International shall be：

　　（a） the President，

　　（b） one or more Vice-Presidents，

　　（c） the Secretary-General （Executive），

　　（d） the Secretary-General （Administrative） and

　　（e） the Treasurer.

　　The Secretary-General （Administrative） may be the Treasurer at thesame time.

　　The Officers of the Comite Maritime International shall be elected fora period of three years and shall be eligible for re-election.

　　Any Member Association whose representative is elected President orVice-President may appoint an additional delegate to the Assembly.Article 10

　　The President of the Comite Maritime International presides over theAssembly， the Executive Council and the International Conferences. He isan ex-officio member of any International Subcommittee and Working Groupappointed by the Executive Council.

　　With the assistance of the Secretaries-General he carries out theresolutions of the Assembly and of the Executive Council， supervises thework of the International Subcommittees and Working Groups and representsthe Comite Maritime International externally， in particular in keeping intouch with other International Organizations.

　　In general， his duty is to ensure the continuity and the developmentof the work of the Comite Maritime International.Article 11

　　The Executive Council shall consist of：

　　（a） the President，

　　（b） the Secretary-General （Executive），

　　（c） the Secretary-General （Administrative），

　　（d） Six members （whether or not they be members of the Assembly）elected by the Assembly for a period of three years and eligible forre-election.Article 12

　　The functions of the Executive Council are：

　　（a） To maintain contact with：

　　（i） the Officers of the Comite Maritime International，

　　（ii） the Member Associations，

　　（iii） appropriate Intergovernmental Organizations and otherInternational Associations；

　　（b） To prepare documents for：

　　（i） Member Associations advising them of developments in thefield of unification of maritime and commercial law and practice，

　　（ii） Intergovernmental Organizations and other InternationalAssociations informing them of the views of the Comite MaritimeInternational on the subject in question；

　　（c） To initiate new work within the objects of the Comite MaritimeInternational， to appoint Sub-committees and Working Groups to undertakesuch work and to supervise them；

　　（d） To seek advice of specialists in its study of legal problems；

　　（e） To widen the scope of membership of the Comite MaritimeInternational；

　　（f） To edit publications；

　　（g） To carry into effect the decisions of the Assembly；

　　（h） To report to the Assembly on the work done and on theinitiatives adopted.Article 13

　　Five members of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum. TheExecutive Council may， however， make decisions without a meeting havingbeen convened provided that all members are consulted. All decisions shallbe taken by a simple majority vote. The President or， in his absence， theSecretary-General （Executive） shall have a casting vote where the votesare equally divided.

　　The Executive Council may delegate to working groups such of its workas it thinks fit. Reports of such working groups shall be submitted to theExecutive Council and to no other body.Article 14

　　The functions of the Administrative Officer， who may be a bodycorporate， are；

　　（a） to convene all meetings of the Assembly， of InternationalConferences， and of International Subcommittees；

　　（b） to circulate the agenda， minutes and reports of such meetings；

　　（c） to make all necessary arrangements for such meetings；

　　（d） to carry into effect the decisions of the Assembly and of theExecutive Council；

　　（e） to prepare the balance sheet and budget and to present theaccounts not later than the 31st of January of each year；

　　（f） to circulate all relevant reports and/or documents；

　　（g） in general to carry out the day by day business of thesecretariat of the Comite Maritime International.Article 15

　　The Comite Maritime International shall meet in InternationalConferences upon the initiative of the Assembly and at least every fouryears for the purpose of discussing topics on an agenda drawn up by theAssembly.

　　The International Conference shall be composed of all members of theComite Maritime International and such observers as are invited by theExecutive Council.

　　Each Member Association which has the right to vote may be representedby seven delegates， exclusive of the delegate of that Association to theAssembly and his assistants and of Titulary Members. InternationalOrganizations members of the Comite Maritime International may berepresented by two delegates.

　　Each Member Association shall have one vote； no other members orOfficers of the Comite Maritime International shall have the right tovote.

　　The right to vote cannot be delegated by one Association to another.

　　The resolutions of International Conferences shall be taken by asimple majority of the Member Associations present and voting.Article 16

　　The Administrative Officer shall receive a salary， as determined bythe Executive Council.

　　Officers of the Comite Maritime International， Chairman ofInternational Subcommittees and Working Groups， and members of theExecutive Council are entitled to claim travelling expenses whentravelling exclusively on behalf of the Comite Maritime International.

　　The Executive Council may also authorize the reimbursement of otherexpenses of the Officers of the Comite Maritime International.