16. International Observer Scheme

(from "Chairman's Report of the Twentieth Meeting")


At its Nineteenth Meeting the Commission adopted a recommendation by the Technical Committee that the countries concerned be invited to establish regional schemes for observers to cover all whaling operations on lines proposed by a Working Group which had been set up to consider the question. The Commission deferred making consequential amendments to the Schedule because of doubts of its power to do so without the amendments having been provided for as a separate item in the agenda. The Technical Committee had given further consideration to this matter and made the following recommendations:

(i)
That the Governments of member nations concerned be requested to put into operation observer schemes as soon as possible;
(ii)
That the item "International Observer Scheme" be retained as a continuing agenda item for future meetings of the Commission;
(iii)
That the Schedule to the Convention be amended as follows:
Paragraph 1(a) line 3 - delete the words "the Antarctic"
Paragraph 1(b) line 1 - after the word "station" add -
"There shall be maintained such observers as the member countries having jurisdiction over land stations may arrange to place at each other's land stations"

On the motion of the Chairman of the Technical Committee seconded by the Commissioner for Norway the recommendations were adopted with 12 countries voting in favour and one abstention.


17. In the discussion in the Technical Committee on the proposed amendments to the Schedule some doubt had been expressed on whether this could be done in the light of the legal interpretation of Rule 12 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure requiring that any item that involves amendment of the Schedule shall be included in the provisional agenda circulated 60 days in advance of the meeting, which had been obtained since the Commission's previous meeting. The Commission accepted the Committee's recommendation that the Secretary should seek a fuller interpretation of this Rule from the Commission's legal adviser and circulate it to Commissioners for study.

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