Key Benefits:
ACT
(October 28)
Official Journal No. 43,164 of 31 October 1997
By means of which "the Convention on the International Hydrographic Organization, OHI", signed in Monaco on May 3, 1967, is approved.
COLOMBIA CONGRESS
Having regard to the text of the Convention on the International Hydrographic Organization, OHI, signed in Monaco on 3 May 1967.
(To be transcribed: attached photocopy of the full text of the international instrument mentioned, duly authenticated by the Head of the Legal Office, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
INTERNATIONAL HYDROGRAPHIC ORGANIZATION CONVENTION
The Governments Parties to this Convention.
Whereas the International Hydrographic Bureau was established in June 1921 to contribute to making global navigation easier and safer, perfecting letters and nautical documents;
Eager to continue on an intergovernmental basis their collaboration on hydrography;
Concome in the following:
This Convention establishes an International Hydrographic Organization, hereinafter referred to as the Organization, based in Monaco.
The Organization has an advisory and purely technical character. Its purpose is to achieve:
a) Coordination of the activities of national hydrographic services;
b) The greatest possible uniformity of nautical cards and documents;
c) The adoption of safe and effective methods for the execution and exploitation of hydrographic uprisings;
d) The progress of the sciences related to Hydrography and the techniques used for oceanographic uprisings.
They are members of the Organization of the Governments Parties to this Convention.
The Organization will understand:
-The International Hydrographic Conference, hereinafter referred to as the Conference;
-The International Hydrographic Bureau, hereinafter referred to as the Bureau, headed by the Management Committee.
The attributes of the Conference are:
a) Imparting general guidelines on the operation and work of the Organization;
b) Proceed to the election of the members of the Management Committee and its Chairman;
c) Browse the reports presented to you by the Bureau;
d) pronounce on all proposals of technical or administrative order submitted by the Member Governments or by the Bureau;
e) Approve the budget by a two-thirds majority of the Member Governments represented in the Conference;
(f) Adopting by a two-thirds majority of the Member Governments the amendments to the General Regulation and the Financial Regulation;
g) Adopt for the majority provided for in the preceding paragraph any other particular regulation whose establishment may be necessary, in particular with regard to the conditions of service of the Directors and the staff of the Bureau.
1. The Conference shall be composed of the representatives of the Member Governments. It will hold regular meetings every five years. It may hold an extraordinary meeting at the request of a Member Government or the Bureau, subject to the approval of the majority of Member Governments.
2. The Conference shall be convened by the Bureau at least six months in advance. A provisional agenda shall be attached to the call.
3. The Conference will elect its President and Vice-President.
4. Each Member Government shall have one vote. However, in votes on the matters referred to in Article 5 (b), each Member Government shall have a number of votes determined by a scale established on the basis of the tonnage of its fleets.
5. Decisions of the Conference shall be taken by a simple majority of the Member Governments represented therein, except where the Convention provides for other provisions. In the event of a tie in a vote, the President shall be empowered to take a decision. In the case of a decision to be incorporated in the list of technical resolutions, the majority shall in any case understand, at least, the affirmative votes of one third of the Member Governments.
6. In the interval between Conferences, the Bureau may consult the Member Governments on matters relating to the technical functioning of the Organization. The voting procedure shall be in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article, with the majority, in this case, being calculated with respect to all Members of the Organization.
7. The Conference shall constitute its own committees, including the Finance Committee referred to in Article 7.
1. The control of the financial management of the Organization shall be carried out by a Finance Committee in which each Member Government may be represented by a delegate.
2. The Commission shall meet on the occasion of the meetings of the Conference. It may hold extraordinary meetings.
To achieve the objectives set out in Article 2, the Bureau shall be responsible, inter alia, for:
a) Establish a close and permanent link between national hydrographic services;
b) To study any issue related to Hydrography, as well as related sciences and techniques, and to gather the necessary documents;
c) Promoting the exchange of water letters and documents between the hydrographic services of the Member Governments;
d) Spread all useful documentation;
e) Provide the advice and advice requested to you, especially countries whose hydrographic services are on the way to creation or development;
f) Stimulating the coordination of hydrographic uprisings with consequent oceanographic activities;
g) Extending and facilitating the application of oceanographic knowledge for the benefit of navigators;
(h) Cooperate with international organizations and scientific institutions pursuing similar objectives.
The Bureau shall be composed of the Management Committee and the necessary technical and administrative personnel to the Organization.
1. The Management Committee shall administer the Bureau in accordance with the provisions of this Convention and its Regulations and in accordance with the guidelines given by the Conference.
2. The Management Committee shall be composed of three different members of the different nationalities chosen by the Conference, and shall then elect one of them for the purpose of exercising the functions of the Committee's Chairman. The mandate of the Management Committee is five years. If the vacancy of a Director occurs in the interval between two Conferences, an election may be carried out by correspondence in accordance with the conditions laid down in the General Regulation.
3. The Chairman of the Management Committee shall represent the Office.
The operating procedures of the Organization shall be defined by the General Regulation and the Financial Regulation listed as Annex to this Convention, but which are not an integral part of the Convention.
The official languages of the Organization will be French and English.
The Organization has legal personality and enjoys in the territory of each of its Members, subject to the agreement of the Member Government involved, of the privileges and immunities that are necessary for the exercise of its functions and the Compliance with its objectives.
The expenses necessary for the operation of the Organization will be covered by:
(a) The annual ordinary contributions of the Member Governments, according to a scale based on the tonnage of their fleets;
b) Donations, legacies, grants and other resources, with the approval of the Finance Committee.
Any Member Government that is in a two-year delay in the payment of its contributions shall be deprived of the rights and benefits granted to the Member Governments by the Convention and by the Regulations until it pays its due contributions.
The budget of the Organization shall be prepared by the Management Committee, examined by the Finance Committee and approved by the Conference.
Any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention which is not settled by negotiation or by the good offices of the Management Committee shall be submitted, on the request of one of the parties to the dispute, to the an arbitrator appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice.
1. This Convention shall be opened in Monaco on 3 May 1967, and then on the Legation of the Principality of Monaco in Paris from 1 June 1967 to 31 December 1967, to the signature of any Government which, by date 3 May 1967, participates in the work of the Bureau.
2. The Governments referred to in paragraph I above may become Parties to this Convention:
a) Signing without reservation of ratification or approval, or
b) Signing it with reservation of ratification or approval and then depositing an instrument of ratification or approval.
3. The instruments of ratification or approval will be given to the Legation of the Principality of Monaco in Paris, for its deposit in the archives of the Government of the Principality of Monaco.
4. The Government of the Principality of Monaco shall communicate to the Governments referred to in paragraph I above and to the Chairman of the Management Committee, any signature and deposit of an instrument of ratification or approval.
1. This Convention shall enter into force three months after the date on which twenty-eight Governments have become Parties to it, in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article XVIII.
2. The Government of the Principality of Monaco shall notify all the signatory governments and the Chairman of the Management Committee of that date.
Once it has entered into force, this Convention shall be open to the accession of the Government of any maritime State which so communicates to the Government of the Principality of Monaco; specifying the tonnage of its fleet and prior approval of the two-thirds of the Member Governments. Such approval shall be notified to the Government concerned by the Government of the Principality of Monaco. The Convention shall enter into force for the Government of that State on the date on which it has deposited its instrument of accession with the Government of the Principality of Monaco, which shall be responsible for communicating it to all Member Governments and to the President. of the Management Committee.
1. Any Contracting Party may propose amendments to this Convention.
2. The proposals for amendments shall be examined by the conference and shall be adopted by a majority of two-thirds of the Member Governments represented at the Conference. Where the Conference has approved a proposal for amendment, the Chairman of the Management Committee shall ask the Government of the Principality of Monaco to submit it to all Contracting Parties.
3. The amendment shall enter into force for all Contracting Parties, three months after the Government of the Principality of Monaco has received notifications of approval from two thirds of the contracting parties. The Government shall inform the contracting parties and the Chairman of the Management Committee, specifying the date of entry into force of the amendment.
1. At the expiry of the five-year period, counted from its entry into force, this Convention may be denounced by any of the Contracting Parties, subject to notice of at least one year, by notification to the Government of the Principality of Monaco. The complaint shall take effect on 1 January following the expiry of the notification period and shall entail the waiver by the Government concerned of the rights and benefits conferred by it as a member of the Organization.
2. The Government of the Principality of Monaco shall communicate to the Contracting Parties and to the Chairman of the Management Committee any notification of denunciation received.
Once this Convention has entered into force, the Government of the Principality of Monaco shall register with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of United Nations.
In testimony of which, the undersigned, duly authorized to do so, sign this agreement.
In Monaco, on the third day of May of a thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven, in a single copy in French and English, both texts being equally authentic; this copy shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Principality of Monaco and the latter transmit certified copies of that document to all Signatory Governments and Parties and also to the Chairman of the Management Committee.
Note: By Decision No. 5, the XIII H.I. Conference, approved a different system for the election of the Directors. A new text of the second paragraph of Article X of the Convention was adopted. This correction was notified to the Contracting Parties in accordance with Article XXI of the Convention. On the date of publication of this edition, most of the two-thirds of the Member Governments have been reached. The text adopted at the 13th Conference is then included and will replace the previous text if it is finally adopted.
" 2. The Management Committee shall be composed of three Directors, one the President and two other Directors, each of a different nationality, elected by the Conference. The Conference will first elect the President and then the other two Directors. The term of office of the Management Committee shall be five years. If a position of Director is vacant during the period between two Conferences, a correspondence election may be held, as provided for in the general regulation. "
The undersigned Head of the Legal Office
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
NOTES:
That the present reproduction is faithful copy taken from the certified text of the "Convention Relating to the International Hydrographic Organization" -O.H.I.-, signed in Monaco on 3 May 1967, which rests in the archives of the Legal Office of this Ministry.
Dada en Santa Fe de Bogotá, D. C., a los veininueve (29)
days of the month of July of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-six (1996).
Chief Legal Office,
HECTOR ADOLFO SINTURA VARELA.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF PUBLIC POWER
REPUBLIC OF THE REPUBLIC
Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C.
Approved. Submit to the honorable consideration
National Congress for Constitutional Effects.
Fdo.). CESAR GAVIRIA TRUJILLO
The Foreign Minister,
(Fdo.) NOEMI SANIN DE RUBIO.
DECRETA:
ARTICLE 1o. Approve "The Convention Relating to the International Hydrographic Organization" -O.H. I-, signed in Monaco on May 3, 1967.
ARTICLE 2o. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1o. of Law 7a of 1944, "The Convention Relating to the International Hydrographic Organization" -O.H. I-, signed in Monaco on 3 May 1967; which by the first article of this law is approved, will force the country from the date on which the international link with respect to the same.
ARTICLE 3o. This law applies as of the date of its publication.
The President of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
AMYLKAR ACOSTA MEDINA.
The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
PEDRO PUMAREJO VEGA.
The President of the honorable House of Representatives,
CARLOS SQUIRLA BALLESTEROS.
The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,
DIEGO VIVAS TAFUR.
COLOMBIA-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Contact and post.
Execute previous Constitutional Court review,
pursuant to Article 241-10 of the Political Constitution.
Dada en Santa Fe de Bogotá, D. C., at 28 October 1997
ERNESTO SAMPER PIZANO
The Foreign Minister,
MARIA EMMA MEJIA VELEZ.
The Minister of National Defense,
GILBERTO ECHEVERRI MEJIA.
The Minister of the Environment,
EDUARDO SUMMER OF THE ROSE.
