4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA

(from "Chairman's Report of the Fifty-First Annual Meeting")


The Chairman outlined his proposals for meeting management, including a daily order of business, and requested that no repeat Resolutions should be submitted. He asked Commissioners to limit themselves to one intervention only on each subject. The provisional annotated agenda, which had been circulated 60 days in advance of the meeting, was adopted. Japan requested that Agenda Items 23.1 Voting Procedures, 23.3 Observers and 22.6 Observer status of Greenpeace should be considered first. The Chairman referred Agenda Items 7 Sanctuaries and 13 Revised Management Scheme to the Technical Committee for initial consideration. The Agenda as adopted is given on p. 59.

Japan requested that the credentials of all the delegations and observers should be checked by a Credentials Committee, which the Chairman established. This Committee met during an adjournment in Agenda Item 23.1 and was attended by the Chairman, Secretary, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Dominica, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, St Lucia, UK and USA. The Credentials Committee noted that all Governments had been asked to submit credentials in February 1999. Members of the Committee expressed concern that some credentials were presented by fax or e-mail with originals to follow, and that some credentials had been signed by the Commissioner.

The Secretary reminded the Credentials Committee of the Commission's decision at the 35th (1983) Annual Meeting that

It was agreed that for this purpose [the form of accreditation by governments] by the term 'governments' is meant the Minister of Foreign Affairs (including: on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs), the Minister responsible for whaling or whale conservation (including: on behalf of this Minister), the Commissioner, the Diplomatic Mission (Rep. int. Whal. Commn 34:28).

The Credentials Committee decided that all credentials should be accepted this year, but Japan indicated that it would submit proposals next year to clarify matters. It believed it irrational and contradictory for Commissioners to sign their own credentials; Government Ministries were the proper authorities.

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