International Centre Statutes
PARIS. 11 October 1977
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
STATUTES OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF SERIAL PUBLICATIONS
The International Centre for the Registration of Serial Publications was established in Paris as a result of an agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the French Republic (ref. document SC-76/WS/4, Paris, January 1976) with the aim of introducing and operating an automated system for the registration of serials, covering the full range of recorded knowledge known as the International Serials Data System (ISDS).
At its first meeting in Paris on 11 and 12 October 1976, the ISDS General Assembly amended the text of the Statutes of the International Centre which form Annex I to the above-mentioned agreement. The amended text of the Statutes is reproduced in this document.
Article 1
The Centre established in Paris shall be responsible for the introduction and operation of an automated system for the registration of periodicals in all branches of knowledge. It shall co-operate, to the extent necessary, with national and regional centres working in the same field.
The Centre shall be an autonomous institution whose activities are conducted for the benefit of the Member States and Associate Members of the Organization in -the manner laid down in these Statutes.
Article 2
Member States and Associate Members of the Organization wishing to benefit from the work of the Centre shall send to the Director-General of the Organization a notification to this effect, in which they announce their accession to these Statutes. The Director-General shall inform the Centre and the Member States and Associate Members of such notification.
Article 3
The organs of the Centre shall be:
the General Assembly;
the Governing Board;
the Technical Advisory Committee;
the Director.
Article 4
The General Assembly shall consist of one representative of each of the Member States and Associate Members of the Organization which have acceded to these Statutes and one representative of the Director-General.
It shall meet every two years.
It shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
It shall appoint the members of the Governing Board referred -to in Article 5 (1) (c).
It shall lay down the general policy governing the Centre's activities.
It shall fix the amount of the contributions of the Member States and Associate Members of the Organization which have acceded to these Statutes. In no case should the financial contribution of any Member State, with the exception of voluntary contributions, exceed 20 per cent of that part of the budget not covered by the contributions of both the Organization and the host State.
It may adopt amendments to these Statutes by majority vote including the votes of the representative of the host State and the representative of the Director-General of the Organization.
Article 5
The Centre shall be controlled by a Governing Board composed of :
(a) one representative of the host State;
(b) one representative of the Director-General of the Organization;
(c) ten representatives of the States which have acceded to these Statutes, who shall be elected by the General Assembly. Half of the States represented in the Governing Board are renewable every two years;
(d) one representative of the Intergovernmental Council for the Central Information Programme.
Representatives of any other intergovernmental or non-governmental organization contributing to the operation of the Centre may be allowed by the Board to attend its sessions, without the right to vote.
The Governing Board shall elect its own Chairman.
The Governing Board shall be endowed with all powers necessary for the administration of the Centre. it shall adopt the Centre's programmes of work and its budget. It shall approve the annual reports submitted to it by the Director of the Centre.
The Governing Board shall meet in ordinary session once a year and in extraordinary session if summoned by the Chairman, either on his own initiative or on that of the Director-General of the Organization, or on demand of half of its members.
The Governing Board shall draw up its own rules of procedure. Its decisions shall be taken by simple majority vote, except in respect of approval of the budget and the decisions provided for in Article 10 (2) which shall require a two-thirds majority, including the votes of the representative of the host State and the representative of the Director-General of the Organization.
For a transitory period, the number of the representatives of the States which have acceded to the Statutes and which are elected by the General Assembly can be less than 10 on the first Governing Board; in that case the term of office of the representatives will end with the second General Assembly meeting.
Article 6
The Director of the Centre shall be assisted by a Technical Advisory Committee. The members of this Committee shall be chosen and appointed by the Director of the Centre, in consultation with the Director-General of the Organization. These appointments must be approved by the Governing Board of the Centre.
Article 7
The Centre shall be administered by a Director assisted by the staff required to carry out the responsibilities of the Centre and appointed in the manner laid down in the following paragraph.
The Director shall be appointed by the Government of the host State, in agreement with the Director-General of the Organization.
The Secretariat shall consist of persons appointed by the Director, in accordance with the procedures laid down by the Governing Board.
Article 8
The Director shall exercise the following responsibilities :
He shall direct the work of the Centre in conformity with the programmes or directives adopted by the Governing Board.
He shall submit to the Governing Board the draft programmes and the draft annual budget.
He shall convene the General Assembly, in consultation with the Director-General of the Organization, and shall prepare its provisional agenda.
He shall convene the Governing Board, prepare the provisional agenda for its sessions and submit to it any proposals which he considers desirable for the running of the Centre.
He shall draw up and submit to the Governing Board and to the General Assembly the reports on the activities of the Centre.
He shall represent the Centre in legal proceedings and in all its actions as a legal entity.
Article 9
The resources of the Centre shall consist of the contributions which it receives from the Organization and from the Government of the host State, of any contributions which it may receive from other Member States or Associate Members of the Organization or from any other organization and of any remuneration which it may receive for the supply of services in the course of its work.
Contributions other than those of Member States and Associate Members will be submitted to the Governing Board for approval
The respective contributions of the host State and of the Organization shall be fixed for two-year periods by exchange of letters between the Centre and its contributories after each session of the General Conference of the Organization.
The amount of the Contributions of the other Member States or Associate Members of the Organization referred to in Article 2 of these Statutes shall be determined by the General Assembly on a proposal of the Governing Board according to the dispositions of Article 4.
Article 10
The Member States and Associate Members of the Organization which have acceded to these Statutes may withdraw from them by notifying the Director of the Centre in writing; the latter shall inform all the Member States and Associate Members which have acceded to these Statutes of the receipt of such notification. That decision shall take effect as from the receipt of notification by the Director of the Centre unless a later date is specified in the notification. The party withdrawing from these Statutes shall renounce all share in the assets of the Centre.
If the Organization or the host State withdraws from the Centre, the latter shall be put into liquidation and the Governing Board shall take all measures which it considers suitable, particularly as regards disposing of the Centre's assets. Before putting the Centre into liquidation, the Governing Board shall consider all possibilities of transferring it to another Member State or Associate Member of the Organization.