| Origin | By resolution 42.4, adopted at its 7th session, in 1952, the General Conference decided to convert the Procedure Committee into a Legal Committee of a more technical nature; it would advise on any legal question referred to it by the General Conference or any of its organs.
The Legal Committee is governed by Rules 36, 37, 38 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference. |
| Functions | The Committee considers proposals for the amendment of the Constitution and of the present Rules; agenda items referred to it by the General Conference; appeals submitted by sponsors of draft resolutions to the General Conference that have been considered inadmissible by the Director-General under Rule 80; legal questions submitted to it by the General Conference or any of its organs. The Committee also considers the initial special reports relating to any international convention or recommendation transmitted by Member States. The Committee submits its reports either directly to the General Conference or to the referring organ or the organ which has been designated by the General Conference.
(Abstracts from Rule 37 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference) The Legal Committee may be consulted on any question concerning the interpretation of the Constitution and of the rules and regulations (Abstracts from Rule 38 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference) |
| Composition | The Legal Committee consists of 21 Member States elected at the preceding session. According to 32C/Resolution 78, the number of its members will be increased to 24, as of the election will take place during the 33rd session of the General Conference. At its 32nd session, the General Conference elected the following Member States to be members of the Committee from the beginning of the 33rd session until the beginning of the 34th session: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, India, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritania, Saint Lucia, United States of America.
The Committee elects its own chairperson. |
| Membership | Current membership of the Legal Committee
21 members from the beginning of the 32nd session (2003) until the beginning of the 33rd session (2005): GROUP I - France - Germany - Netherlands - Portugal - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland GROUP II - Czech Republic - Russian Federation GROUP III - Argentina - Chile - Colombia - Guatemala - Venezuela GROUP IV - Iran (Islamic Republic of) - Japan GROUP V - Algeria - Cameroon - Côte d’Ivoire - Egypt - Ghana - Lebanon - Syrian Arab Republic |
| Meetings foreseen during the biennium | The Committee established for a session of the General Conference shall meet whenever necessary before the opening of the next ordinary session of the Conference if convened by the President of the latter acting on his own initiative or at the request of the Executive Board.
(Rule 36 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference) |
