iHo-IOC GEBCO GUIDING COMMITTEE (GGC) – NEW IHO REPRESENTATIVES AND APPROVAL OF REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE AND RULES OF PROCEDURE

Saatja: "REG" <[email protected]> Saaja: "'Argentina'" <[email protected]>, "'Argentina'" <[email protected]>, "'Australia'" <[email protected]>, "'Australia'" <[email protected]>, "'Bahrain'" <[email protected]>, "'Bahrain'" <[email protected]>, "'Bangladesh'" <[email protected]>, "'Bangladesh3'" <[email protected]>, "'Banglasedh2'" <[email protected]>, "'Belgium'" <[email protected]>, "'Belgium'" <[email protected]>, "'Belgium'" <[email protected]>, "'Belgium'" <[email protected]>, "'Belgium'" <[email protected]>, "'Belgium'" <[email protected]>, "'Brazil'" <[email protected]>, "'Brazil'" <[email protected]>, "'Brunei'" <[email protected]>, "'Brunei'" <[email protected]>, "'Canada'" <[email protected]>, "'Canada'" <[email protected]>, "'Canada'" <[email protected]>, "'Chile'" <[email protected]>, "'Chile'" <[email protected]>, "'China'" <[email protected]>, "'China'" <[email protected]>, "'Croatia'" <[email protected]>, "'Croatia'" <[email protected]>, "'Croatia'" <[email protected]>, "'Cuba'" <[email protected]>, "'Cuba'" <[email protected]>, "'Cyprus'" <[email protected]>, "'Denmark'" <[email protected]>, "'Denmark'" <[email protected]>, "'Denmark'" <[email protected]>, "'DomRep'" <[email protected]>, "'DPRK'" <[email protected]>, "'DPRK'" <[email protected]>, "'Egypt-ENHG'" <[email protected]>, "'Estonia'" <[email protected]>, "'Estonia'" <[email protected]>, "'Fiji'" <[email protected]>, "'Fiji'" <[email protected]>, "'Finland'" <[email protected]>, "'Finland'" <[email protected]>, "'France'" <[email protected]>, "'Georgia'" <[email protected]>, "'Germany'" <[email protected]>, "'Germany'" <[email protected]>, "'Germany'" <[email protected]>, "'Greece'" <[email protected]>, "'Greece'" <[email protected]>, "'Guatemala'" <[email protected]>, "'Iceland'" <[email protected]>, "'India'" <[email protected]>, "'India'" <[email protected]>, "'Indonesia'" <[email protected]>, "'Indonesia'" <[email protected]>, "'Iran'" <[email protected]>, "'Iran'" <[email protected]>, "'Iran'" <[email protected]>, "'Iran'" <[email protected]>, "'Ireland'" <[email protected]>, "'Italy'" <[email protected]>, "'Jamaica'" <[email protected]>, "'Japan'" <[email protected]>, "'Korea'" <[email protected]>, "'Kuwait'" <[email protected]>, "'Kuwait'" <[email protected]>, "'Latvia'" <[email protected]>, "'Malaysia'" <[email protected]>, "'Malaysia'" <[email protected]>, "'Mauritius'" <[email protected]>, "'Mauritius'" <[email protected]>, "'Mauritius'" <[email protected]>, "'Montenegro'" <[email protected]>, "'Mozambique'" <[email protected]>, "'Mozambique'" <[email protected]>, "'Mozambique'" <[email protected]>, "'Myanmar'" <[email protected]>, "'Myanmar'" <[email protected]>, "'Myanmar'" <[email protected]>, "'Myanmar'" <[email protected]>, "'Netherlands'" <[email protected]>, "'NewZealand'" <[email protected]>, "'Nigeria'" <[email protected]>, "'Norway'" <[email protected]>, "'Oman'" <[email protected]>, "'Oman'" <[email protected]>, "'Pakistan'" <[email protected]>, "'PapuaNG'" <[email protected]>, "'Philippines'" <[email protected]>, "'Poland'" <[email protected]>, "'Portugal'" <[email protected]>, "'Portugal'" <[email protected]>, "'Portugal'" <[email protected]>, "'Qatar'" <[email protected]>, "'Romania'" <[email protected]>, "'Russia'" <[email protected]>, "'SAfrica'" <[email protected]>, "'SaudiArabia'" <[email protected]>, "'SaudiArabia'" <[email protected]>, "'Singapore'" <[email protected]>, "'Slovenia'" <[email protected]>, "'Slovenia'" <[email protected]>, "'SriLanka'" <[email protected]>, "'Suriname'" <[email protected]>, "'Suriname'" <[email protected]>, "'Suriname'" <[email protected]>, "'Sweden'" <[email protected]>, "'Sweden'" <[email protected]>, "'Syria'" <[email protected]>, "'Thailand'" <[email protected]>, "'Thailand'" <[email protected]>, "'Thailand'" <[email protected]>, "'Tonga'" <[email protected]>, "'Tonga'" <[email protected]>, "'Trinidad'" <[email protected]>, "'Trinidad'" <[email protected]>, "'Tunisia'" <[email protected]>, "'Tunisia'" <[email protected]>, "'Turkey'" <[email protected]>, "'UAE'" <[email protected]>, "'Ukraine'" <[email protected]>, "'Ukraine'" <[email protected]>, "'UnitedKingdom'" <[email protected]>, "'Uruguay'" <[email protected]>, "'USNAVY'" <[email protected]>, "'USNOAA'" <[email protected]>, "'USNOAA'" <[email protected]>, "'USNOAA'" <[email protected]>, "'USNOAA'" <[email protected]>, "'USNOAA'" <[email protected]>, "'Venezuela'" <[email protected]>, "'Vietnam'" <[email protected]>, "'Astrid.Kalvik'" <[email protected]>, "'C Andreasen'" <[email protected]>, "'Celine Buisson Rosvold'" <[email protected]>, "'ECC'" <[email protected]>, "'eva.hegland'" <[email protected]>, "'hs-varna'" <[email protected]>, "'ilda.becirovic'" <[email protected]>, "'info'" <[email protected]>, "'inst.cartograf'" <[email protected]>, "'J Lowell NGA'" <[email protected]>, "'J Rogers NGA'" <[email protected]>, "'jacek.jagodzinski'" <[email protected]>, "'K Alexander NGA'" <[email protected]>, "'Minika Bjorge'" <[email protected]>, "'P Doherty NGA'" <[email protected]>, "'solvi.tunge'" <[email protected]>, "'stig.osaland'" <[email protected]>, "'svein.skjaeveland'" <[email protected]>, "'tonje.mevatne'" <[email protected]>, "'tore.halset'" <[email protected]> Teema: CL 70/2015 Kuupäev: 2015-09-21 13:25 Dear Hydrographer, Please find attached herewith : CL 70/2015 : iHo-IOC GEBCO GUIDING COMMITTEE (GGC) - NEW IHO REPRESENTATIVES AND APPROVAL OF REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE AND RULES OF PROCEDURE Yours sincerely, IHB M.MOLLET IHB File No. S3/2630 CIRCULAR LETTER 70/2015/Rev.1 21 September 2015 IHO-IOC GEBCO GUIDING COMMITTEE (GGC) – NEW IHO REPRESENTATIVES AND APPROVAL OF REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE AND RULES OF PROCEDURE References: A. IHO CL 50/2015 dated 10 July - GEBCO Guiding Committee (GGC) - Request for Nomination of Experts to Fill Vacancies B. IHO CL 49/2015 dated 10 July - GEBCO Guiding Committee (GGC) - Revised Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure Dear Hydrographer, New IHO Representatives 1. In response to the Reference A, the Directing Committee received five nominations to fill two vacant IHO positions in the IHO-IOC GEBCO Guiding Committee (GGC). The five nominations were: Admiral (Ret) Luiz Fernando Palmer Fonseca (Brazil) Captain Norhizam Hassan (Malaysia) Captain A.A. Mustapha (Nigeria) Rear Admiral (Ret) Boris Fridman (Russian Federation) Dr Graham Leslie Allen (United Kingdom) 2. The Directing Committee is pleased to see such a significant interest in the GGC and expresses its gratitude to the Member States that all nominated well-qualified candidates. 3. Following previous practice, the Curricula Vitae of the candidates were reviewed carefully by the Directing Committee and the Chairman of the GGC. Taking into account the selection criteria and relevant expertise, geographic distribution, current roles and responsibilities and potential contribution to GGC activities, the Directing Committee, with the agreement of the Chair of the GGC, sought the consent of the nominating Member States to the selection of Captain Norhizam Hassan and Dr Graham Leslie Allen to fill the two vacant IHO positions. 4. The Directing Committee is pleased to report that the nominating Member States all accepted the selection of Captain Hassan and Dr Allen and thanks them for their cooperative responses. 5. Unless an objection is raised by a Member State, the selection of Captain Norhizam Hassan and Dr Graham Leslie Allen will be effective 5 October 2015. This will allow the two newly selected members of the GGC to attend the next meeting of the GGC to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 8 to 9 October as full members. 6. The new updated membership list of GEBCO Guiding Committee expected to be effective from 5 October 2015 is provided at Annex A. Revised Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure 7. The Directing Committee thanks the 58 Member States that responded to Reference B that sought approval of the revised Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure (TOR-ROP) for the GGC (Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela). All responses were positive except an objection from Japan. Seven Member States (Colombia, Croatia, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, Portugal and UK) provided comments. 8. The comments of the Member States are provided in Annex B to this letter, together with the outcome of their review by the Directing Committee. 9. As a result of the almost unanimous positive responses, the proposed revision of the TOR-ROP of the GEBCO Guiding Committee has been approved and consequently adopted as of 11 September 2015. 10. Accordingly, the revised version of the TOR-ROP of the GGC has now been uploaded to the IHO website under the IRCC section – Committees & WG → GEBCO → Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure. A copy is provided in Annex C. 11. In accordance with the revised TOR-ROP of the GGC, Member States may wish to consider sending representatives to future meetings of the GGC or of its subordinate bodies as Observers. Detailed information on the 32nd Meeting of the GGC and several meetings of its subordinate bodies, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 5 to 9 October, is available at the GEBCO web site (www.gebco.net) under the “about us > meetings and minutes” section. On behalf of the Directing Committee, Yours sincerely, Mustafa IPTES Director Copy to: Chair, IHO-IOC GEBCO Guiding Committee Annex A: List of GEBCO Guiding Committee Members as of 5 October 2015 Annex B: Member States’ responses to CL 49/2015 and comments from the Directing Committee Annex C: TOR-ROP of the GEBCO Guiding Committee as of 11 September 2015  Annex A to IHO CL 70/2015/Rev.1 IHO-IOC GEBCO GUIDING COMMITTEE (GGC) Intended list of GGC members as of 5 October 2015 1. IHO Appointed Members: Term Period: Mr Shin Tani (Japan) (Chair) (2013-2018) Rear Admiral Patricio Carrasco (Chile) (2013-2018) Dr Hyo Hyun Sung* (Republic of Korea) (2014-2019) Captain Norhizam Hassan (Malaysia) (New selected) (2015-2020) Dr Graham Leslie Allen (United Kingdom) (New selected) (2015-2020) 2. IOC Appointed Members: Dr Martin Jakobsson (Sweden)* (Vice-chair, Chair of SCRUM) (2013-2018) Dr Robin Falconer* (New Zealand) (2013-2018) Dr Nataliya Turko* (Russia) (2013-2018) Mr Ngouanet Chretien (Cameroon) (2013-2018) Ms Marzia Rovere (Italy) (2014-2019) 3. Ex-officio Members: Dr Martin Jakobsson (Sweden)* (Chair of SCRUM, Vice-chair) Dr Karen Marks (USA) (Chair of TSCOM) Dr Hans-Werner Schenke (Germany) (Chair of SCUFN) Ms Lisa Taylor (USA) (Director of IHO-DCDB) * Members serving a second 5-year term. NOTE: The Secretariats of the IHO and IOC are permanent Observers in the Committee.  Annex B to IHO CL 70/2015/Rev.1 MEMBER STATES’ RESPONSES TO CL 49/2015 AND COMMENTS FROM THE DIRECTING COMMITTEE REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE JOINT IHO–IOC GEBCO GUIDING COMMITTEE Colombia (vote: Yes) Recommends the approval of these Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure taking into account the work related to the development of bathymetric charts. No comment from the Directing Committee. Croatia (vote: Yes) Croatia congratulates Members of the GEBCO Guiding Committee (GGC) and other active participants on the comprehensive revision of the Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure (TOR-ROP) of the GGC. Croatia believes that the revised TOR-ROP will contribute to the realisation of the main objectives of the joint IHO-IOC GEBCO Project. No comment from the Directing Committee. France (vote: Yes) The revised objectives point in the right direction, notably concerning the role of GEBCO in identifying the gaps in knowledge in international waters and developing methods for the compilation of data. No comment from the Directing Committee. Japan (vote: No) Japan has much concern at the revised text of Art. 9 in the ToR that it might be too deeply micromanaging the issue of subordinate bodies and consequently further make harm to the practical progress of the GEBCO activities. Furthermore, there are some duplications in the revised or added text and the text of other articles in the ToR and RoP. Those might be editorial matters, but should be more elaborated as the official documents. Comment from the Directing Committee: The Directing Committee acknowledges the concern of Japan. Article 9 of the proposed revised ToR resulted from a compromise reached by the IOC Assembly after a prolonged debate. It is a fact that IHO committees are allowed to establish working groups without referring to the Member States, as provided in IHO Resolution 11/1962 as amended – Formation of IHO subsidiary organs and subordinate bodies. Noting the difficulties in developing a text which could be approved by both the IOC and the IHO, the Directing Committee considers that seeking additional adjustments to the proposed text would be counterproductive. Republic of Korea (vote: Yes) A typo was found in Article 9 of the Terms of Reference: “stabling” should be changed to “establishing”. Comment from the Directing Committee: The typo was introduced inadvertently in the text attached to IHO CL 49/2015. It has been corrected in the final version. Portugal (vote: Yes) The proposed changes and comments submitted reveal the concern of IOC, IHO and Member States in review and improve the revised documents relevant to GEBCO Guiding Committee. No comment from the Directing Committee. United Kingdom (vote: Yes) • There is no closed class of individual who may be ‘appointed’ (which should read ‘nominated’) to serve on the Guiding Committee by either the IHO or the IOC (Article 1.1, Rules of Procedure). • Article 1.1 of the Rules of Procedure provides that there ‘shall’ be 10 members of the Guiding Committee. This is directly contradicted by Article 1.3 ibid, which provides that Chairs of GEBCO sub- committees and the Director of the IHO DCDB ‘shall’ also be members of the Guiding Committee, with full voting rights. (Article 1.3 contemplates that there are likely to be more than the 10 members appointed pursuant to Article 1.1, since it provides that any individual capable of being a member pursuant to either Article 1.1 or Article 1.3 will only have one vote.). This contradiction needs to be resolved. • Article 1.3 of the Rules of Procedure refers to both ‘Sub-Committees’ and ‘a subordinate body’. The reference to ‘subordinate body’ (which by Article 9 of the Terms of Reference could be a working group or a sub-committee) should be changed to ‘Sub-Committee’, since Article 1.3 does not confer membership of the Guiding Committee upon chairs of working groups. • Persons becoming members pursuant to Article 1.3 of the Rules of Procedure are those appointed as Chairs of Sub-Committees established pursuant to Article 9 of the Terms of Reference. Article 9 places no limitation on the number of Sub-Committees that may be established. Thus, if the contradiction between Articles 1.1 and 1.3 of the Rules of Procedure is resolved in favour of Article 1.3 there would theoretically be no limitation on the number of persons who may become members of the Guiding Committee and, as noted above, no specified class(es) of person from whom members may be drawn. • The document makes no reference to the costs incurred by members of the Guiding Committee, the chairs of working groups or the members of Sub-Committees and working groups. Comment from the Directing Committee: The Directing Committee acknowledges the concern of the United Kingdom. The Directing Committee notes that Article 1.1 refers to “appointed members” (according to the terminology used in the previous versions of the ToR) while Article 1.3 is understood to refer to “ex- officio” members. It is clear from the first sentence of Article 1.3 that the chairs of working groups cannot be ex-officio members of the Guiding Committee (GGC). The Directing Committee does not foresee that the number of sub-committees will increase in the future. The impact on the operation of the GGC will be one aspect to consider when proposing and deciding on the establishment of a new sub- committee. Noting that the arrangements for funding the costs incurred by Members of the GGC and its subordinate bodies may be different in the IOC and the IHO, the Directing Committee considers that it is appropriate that the TOR and ROP do not address this aspect. The Directing Committee notes that IHO Circular Letters seeking nominations for IHO Members of the GGC and its subordinate bodies do provide criteria for the selection of the nominees and indicate that the selected experts are expected to be supported and funded by their organization (see for instance IHO CL 50/2015 dated 10 July and IHO CL 59/2015 dated 19 August). In that context and noting the difficulties in developing a text which could be approved by both the IOC and the IHO, the Directing Committee considers that seeking additional adjustments to the proposed text would be counterproductive.  Annex C to IHO CL 70/2015/Rev.1 GENERAL BATHYMETRIC CHART OF THE OCEANS (GEBCO) PROJECT – TERMS OF REFERENCE AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE JOINT IHO-IOC GEBCO GUIDING COMMITTEE (Adopted by the IOC on 22 June 2015 and the IHO on 11 September 2015) PREAMBLE GEBCO was proposed in 1899 and became a reality in April 1903 when HSH Prince Albert I of Monaco offered to organize and finance the production of a new chart series designated: “The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans” (GEBCO), under the Prince’s Scientific Cabinet. In 1922 the responsibility for GEBCO was passed to the Director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco and in 1929 was transferred to the International Hydrographic Bureau (today the IHO). Since 1973, GEBCO has been a joint Project of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The goals of the IHO-IOC GEBCO Project are to: 1. Develop and constantly improve the portrayal of global ocean depths; 2. Act as the designated international authority for undersea feature names; 3. Advance the development and application of sea floor mapping technology; 4. Encourage and facilitate ocean mapping cooperation leading to the exchange and preservation of bathymetric data and associated metadata; 5. Foster collaboration among individuals and organizations with established and developing expertise so as to assist local and regional mapping efforts to attain a global standard of quality; 6. Identify oceanic areas that are insufficiently mapped and recommend to appropriate ocean- going organizations and institutions that such areas are surveyed; 7. Promote education and training in ocean mapping through high level courses in Ocean Bathymetry acknowledged by the IHO and IOC; 8. Bring together the ocean mapping community and users of bathymetry thereby leading to products that are more widely used. GEBCO is an IHO and IOC Project that is open to all those interested in mapping the ocean floor. It relies largely on the voluntary efforts of an international collaborating community of scientists and hydrographers with the support of the IHO and the IOC. GEBCO is led by the Joint IHO-IOC GEBCO Guiding Committee. Terms of Reference The GEBCO Guiding Committee shall: 1. Guide the IHO-IOC GEBCO Project, under the general governance of IHO and IOC while recognising and following IHO and IOC policies. 2. Prepare and disseminate maps, grids, data files and other appropriate depictions of the ocean floor. 3. Identify the needs of the various user communities of the bathymetry of the world’s oceans; study the ways and means whereby these needs can be met. 4. Identify the necessary resources, both human and financial, for its undertakings and make appropriate recommendations to its parent organizations. 5. Stimulate the flow of data relevant to the GEBCO Project by actively identifying sources of new data and encouraging and promoting the release of data to appropriate data banks, with the objective of ensuring that maximum available data are provided to the IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB). 6. Supervise the development, maintenance and routine updating of GEBCO products. Activities are to include but are not restricted to: (1) Study and set out procedures for new compilations of bathymetry. (2) Develop standards and methodologies for the production of bathymetric maps and grids and recommend their adoption to the IHO and IOC and to the seafloor mapping community. (3) Supervise the development, production and updating of a worldwide grid of digital bathymetric data. (4) Supervise the preparation and maintenance, in association with national and international bodies, of an authoritative IHO/IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names. (5) Study and implement the best distribution mechanism for the effective use of GEBCO products by all users. 7. Investigate and develop appropriate logistical and financial arrangements necessary for the furtherance of the GEBCO Project, recognising and taking into account the relevant IHO and IOC policies, and seeking the assistance of the Secretariats of the IHO and IOC as appropriate. 8. Integrate into its products the geographical names of undersea features that appear in the IHO- IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names. 9. As required, establish subordinate bodies (sub-committees and working groups) to fulfil the Committee Work Programme and approve the Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure of those bodies, reviewing annually the continuing need for each subordinate body. The GEBCO Guiding Committee will report annually and intersessionally if necessary, to the IHO and IOC for endorsement on the status of subordinate bodies and encompass their comments before establishing, reviewing, modifying, and/or terminating subordinate bodies; actions which must be included as GGC agenda items to allow sufficient prior consideration by the IHO and IOC secretariats and member states. 10. Direct and monitor the work of its subordinate bodies. 11. Engage with regional mapping projects to encourage their compatibility with, and eventual inclusion in, GEBCO products.  12. Build capacity by encouraging and enabling the training and scientific education of new generations of ocean mapping operational experts worldwide. 13. Pursue, in dialogue with the IHO and IOC, policies that facilitate the suitability of GEBCO products not only for scientific users but also, where appropriate, for educational and socio- economic purposes in the broadest sense. 14. Take all practical opportunities to advocate the scientific and societal benefits of mapping the seafloor. 15. Report annually to the IHO and to the IOC, through their respective governing bodies and should also propose activities to be considered in the IHO’s and IOC’s work programmes, identifying and requesting, where necessary, the required funding support. 16. Prepare an annual GEBCO Work Plan and budget and propose it to each meeting of the IHO and IOC, through their respective governing bodies. The Guiding Committee should consider and submit to the IHO and IOC governing bodies proposals for new work items under the GEBCO Work Plan, taking into account the financial, administrative and wider stakeholder consequences. 17. Monitor the execution of the GEBCO Work Plan and receive reports from its Subordinate Bodies, including an evaluation of performance and progress achieved against agreed objectives. Rules of Procedure 1. Membership 1.1 The Committee shall consist of five Members appointed by the IHO, and five Members appointed by the IOC. The Secretariats of the IHO and IOC, in close consultation with the Committee Chair, will seek to strive that all appointed Members are, as far as possible, from different regions so as to achieve a balanced and diverse representation. 1.2 Appointed Members shall serve for a term of five years, renewable by a majority recommendation of the Committee for one additional five-year term and with the approval of the corresponding parent organization. The Chair shall inform the relevant parent organization of any foreseeable vacancy in a timely manner. 1.3 The Chairs of GEBCO Sub-Committees established under Article 9 of the Terms of Reference and the Director of the IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB), shall also be voting Members of the Committee. If a Member of the Committee mentioned under paragraphs 1.1 and 1.2 above is also the Chair of a subordinate body, that Member shall have only one vote on the Committee. 1.4 Representatives of the Secretariats of the IHO and IOC shall be permanent Observers in the Committee. The Secretariats of the IHO and IOC will also be recognised as permanent Observers in all subordinate bodies established by the Committee. 1.5 The Committee may invite other suitably qualified individuals to take part in specific meetings as Expert Contributors. 1.6 Members of the Guiding Committee serve as experts1 in their personal capacity rather than as representatives of their organization and/or country. 1 So far as IOC is concerned, the Guiding Committee is classed as a Joint Group of Experts under the IOC guidelines for subsidiary bodies. 1.7 Members are expected to attend every meeting of the Committee. Members who are absent for two consecutive meetings will normally be considered to have resigned and new nominations shall be sought. No substitution shall be allowed at meetings. 1.8 Business may be conducted between meetings by appropriate communication systems. 1.9 All documents related to meetings and decisions of the Committee and Sub-Committees and other relevant documents will be posted on the GEBCO web site linked to the IHO and IOC web sites. 2. Office Bearers 2.1 The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected by the Committee from the voting Members of the Committee and normally should be from different parent organizations. The Chair and Vice-Chair are each elected for up to a five-year term, but not exceeding their current membership of the Committee. They can be re-elected for one additional term by the Committee. The Chair shall conduct the business of the Committee. If the Chair is unable to carry out the duties of the office, the Vice-Chair shall assume the Chair with the same powers and duties. 2.2 The Committee shall appoint a Secretary for a five-year term which can be renewed by the Committee. If resources permit and at the Committee’s request, a secretary may be provided by either the Secretariat of the IHO or the IOC. The function of the Secretary shall be defined by the Guiding Committee. 3. Meetings 3.1 Representatives from Member States of IHO and IOC may participate as observers in Committee meetings. 3.2 Meetings shall be held at least every two years. The venue and date of the next meeting will normally be decided at the previous meeting, in order to facilitate participants’ travel arrangements. 3.3 The quorum to hold a meeting shall be two more than half of the voting Members of the Committee. 3.4 An extraordinary meeting can be called by the Chair or any Committee Member, with the agreement of the simple majority of all voting members of the Committee. 3.5 The working language of the Committee shall be English. 3.6 The Committee shall strive to make decisions by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions shall be taken by simple majority vote of the Members entitled to vote. The Chair shall have the casting vote if there is a tie. 4. Amendment and Revision 4.1 These Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure shall be endorsed and approved by the IHO and IOC according to their current procedures. The Committee may propose to IHO and IOC changes to these Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure with the approval of two thirds of the Committee. Any changes shall enter in force after being endorsed and approved by both IHO and IOC.