Out of Section
Geodetic and Marine Geo-Scientific Aspects of the Law of the Sea (ABLOS)
Chairman: Bjorn Geirr Harsson
Terms of Reference
For the Advisory Board on Hydrographic, Geodetic and Marine Geo-Scientific Aspects of the Law of the Sea (ABLOS) of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
Objectives
The Advisory Board has the following objectives:
| To provide advice and guidance and, where applicable, offer expert interpretation of the hydrographic, geodetic and marine geo-scientific aspects of the Law of the Sea to the parent Organizations, their Member States or to other organizations on request. |
| To review State practice and jurisprudence on Law of the Sea matters which are relevant to the work of the Board so as to be in a position to provide expert advice when needed. |
| To study, promote and encourage the development of appropriate techniques in the application of the technical provisions contained within the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. |
| To issue, review and update ABLOS publications as necessary and to review the IHO Special Publication S-51 "A Manual of Technical Aspects of the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea - 1982" (TALOS Manual). |
Constitution
The Advisory Board shall be composed of ten full members, preferably chosen with wide geographic representation. Each of the parent Organizations (IHO, IAG and IOC) shall appoint three members. The Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the UN Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS) shall have a representative in an ex-officio capacity.
There may be any number of corresponding members of the parent Organizations. These corresponding members may participate in the meetings as observers but may not vote.
Membership
The term of office of a full member is four years, after which he/she may be re-appointed or replaced. Members are expected to attend every meeting of the Board, which will normally take place once a year, and to conduct business by correspondence between meetings. In the event of a member's absence from two consecutive meetings, that member's status on the Board will be considered to have lapsed and a call will be made for a new appointment.
Although appointments are made by the parent Organizations and the appointees are accountable to their own parent Organizations, they are expected to serve as individual experts in their own right. However no statements or publications may be issued in the name of the Advisory Board without its prior approval.
Meetings
The Advisory Board shall normally meet once a year at a venue and time that minimize cost.
Seminar and Technical Conferences held in conjunction either with other Organizations or with the Advisory Board Meetings may be held at intervals no more frequently than every two years. The Proceedings of Seminars and Technical Conferences and Selected Reports of the Advisory Board Meetings will be published by the IHB.
Reporting
The Advisory Board shall report to the IHO, IAG and the IOC on its activities at least once each year and at Conferences/General Assemblies of each Organization.
Chair: C. C. Tscherning
The WG was established on the meeting of the EC in Como, Italy, Nov. 1999.
Members are:
The establishment of the working group was based on the proposals found in the following document, proposal for an Education Commission