Regulation, Law, Compliance and Governance

The IMO and the international regulatory framework glossary

Terminology of the IMO as a UN specialized agency: the Assembly, Council, and the four committees (MSC, MEPC, LEG, FAL) with their sub-committees, the instrument hierarchy of conventions, codes, resolutions, and circulars, the tacit-acceptance amendment procedure, and the oversight machinery of the III Code, the mandatory Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), and GISIS. Covers accession, adoption, and the founding of IMCO.

70 defined terms.

A

A.1001(25): IMO Assembly resolution adopting the 2007 Guidelines on Places of Refuge for Ships in Need of Assistance.
Accession: Act by which a non-signatory state becomes party to a treaty already in force.
Adoption: Formal act by which an IMO body settles the final text of an instrument or amendment.
Advisory Opinion: Non-binding legal opinion that may be sought from ITLOS on questions referred under treaty provisions.
Amendment Procedure: Process by which IMO conventions are modified, typically by tacit acceptance for technical annexes.
Annex VII Arbitration: UNCLOS dispute mechanism cross-referenced in IMO compliance practice.
Assembly: Highest IMO governing body, composed of all Member States, meeting biennially.
Audit Scheme: See IMSAS, the IMO Member State Audit Scheme.

B

Basic Documents: IMO publication compiling the Convention on the IMO and core resolutions on organization and procedure.
BLG Sub-Committee: Former Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases, restructured in 2013 into PPR and CCC.
Brussels Diplomatic Conference: 1948 conference that adopted the Convention establishing IMCO, the predecessor name of IMO.

C

CCC Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers.
Circular: Non-binding IMO output such as MSC.1/Circ. or MEPC.1/Circ. used for guidance and clarifications.
Code: Mandatory or recommendatory IMO instrument given force through a parent convention (for example ISM, ISPS, IMDG).
COLREGs: Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972; the IMO rules of the road governing lights, shapes, sound signals, and collision avoidance.
Committee: Standing IMO body, namely MSC, MEPC, LEG, TC, and FAL.
Compulsory Pilotage: Issue handled through SOLAS V and IMO resolutions on ships' routeing.
Consultative Status: Recognition granted by IMO Council to NGOs that may attend meetings as observers.
Convention: Binding international treaty adopted under IMO auspices.
Council: 40-member executive organ of IMO elected by the Assembly, meeting twice yearly.

D

Diplomatic Conference: Plenipotentiary meeting that adopts a new IMO convention or major protocol.
Director-General: Head of UN specialized agencies; the IMO equivalent is the Secretary-General.

E

Entry into Force: Date a convention becomes legally binding, governed by tonnage and ratification thresholds.
Explanatory Notes: Interpretive IMO documents accompanying conventions and codes.

F

FAL Committee: Facilitation Committee, dealing with facilitation of international maritime traffic under the FAL Convention.
Final Act: Document of a diplomatic conference recording adoption of a new instrument and associated resolutions.
Flag State Implementation: Subject of the FSI Sub-Committee, restructured in 2013 into III.
Framework Convention: Convention setting broad principles, supplemented by technical annexes (for example MARPOL).

G

GISIS: Global Integrated Shipping Information System, IMO's public and restricted-access database platform.
Guidelines: Recommendatory texts adopted by Assembly or Committee resolutions.

H

Headquarters Agreement: 1968 agreement with the United Kingdom on IMO premises at 4 Albert Embankment, London.
HTW Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping.

I

III Code: IMO Instruments Implementation Code, mandatory under SOLAS, MARPOL, Load Lines, Tonnage 1969, COLREG, and STCW.
IMCO: Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, IMO's name from 1948 until 1982.
IMDG Code Amendments: Biennial cycle with one-year grace, settled through CCC and MSC.
IMO: International Maritime Organization, UN specialized agency for shipping safety, security, and pollution prevention.
IMO Convention: 1948 Convention on the International Maritime Organization, the constituent instrument.
IMO Resolution: Numbered decision of the Assembly (A.), Council (C.), or a Committee (MSC., MEPC., LEG., FAL., TC.).
IMSAS: IMO Member State Audit Scheme, mandatory audit of flag, port, and coastal state obligations.
Instrument: Generic term covering conventions, protocols, codes, and resolutions adopted under IMO.

J

Joint MSC/MEPC Working Group: Cross-committee group on matters such as the human element or autonomous ships.

L

LEG Committee: Legal Committee, dealing with private and public international maritime law issues.
LEG/CONF: Numbering for diplomatic conferences convened by the Legal Committee.

M

MARPOL Annex Amendment: Adopted by MEPC under tacit acceptance under Article 16 of MARPOL.
Member State: One of the parties to the IMO Convention, currently 176 plus three Associate Members.
MEPC: Marine Environment Protection Committee.
MSC: Maritime Safety Committee.

N

NCSR Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue.
NGO Consultative Status: Status granted by IMO Council to international non-governmental organizations.

O

Observer Status: Granted to intergovernmental organizations under agreements of cooperation.
Official Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

P

PPR Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response.
Protocol: Instrument that modifies or supplements a convention, for example the 1978 and 1988 SOLAS Protocols.

R

Ratification: Formal consent of a state to be bound by a treaty it has signed.
Reservation: Unilateral statement modifying legal effect of treaty provisions; IMO conventions generally restrict reservations.
Resolution Numbering: A.xxx(yy) where xxx is the consecutive number and yy is the Assembly session.

S

SDC Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction.
Secretariat: Permanent IMO staff under the Secretary-General.
Secretary-General: Chief administrative officer of IMO, elected by Council and approved by Assembly.
Signature: Initial act of consent to a treaty, usually subject to later ratification.
Specialized Agency: Status of IMO within the UN system under a 1948 relationship agreement.
SSE Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment.
Strategic Plan: Six-year IMO planning document setting strategic directions.
Sub-Committee: Subsidiary body that reports to MSC, MEPC, or both (currently seven sub-committees).

T

Tacit Acceptance: Amendment procedure under which technical amendments enter into force unless a specified number of parties object.
TC Committee: Technical Cooperation Committee.
Trust Fund: Voluntary funding mechanism for IMO technical cooperation projects.

U

United Nations System: IMO is one of 15 UN specialized agencies, reporting to ECOSOC on technical matters.

W

WMU: World Maritime University, IMO's postgraduate institution in Malmo, Sweden.
Working Group: Subsidiary group within a committee or sub-committee tasked with specific items.

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