International Whaling Commission

IWC Resolution 2000-3

Resolution on the Revised Management Scheme

WHEREAS the concept of the Revised Management Scheme and its main elements were identified by the Commission in a Resolution adopted by the Commission in 1992 (RIWC 43:40);

WHEREAS the structure of the RMS was specified in Commission Resolution 1994-5 (RIWC 45:43-44);

WHEREAS the Commission identified in Resolution 1996-6 the three remaining elements of the RMS still to be completed, namely:

1. an effective observation and inspection scheme;
2. arrangements to ensure that total catches over time are within the limits set under the Revised Management Scheme;
3. incorporation into the Schedule the specification of the Revised Management Procedure and all other elements of the Revised Management Scheme.

WHEREAS the Working Group on the RMS has prepared a draft text (IWC/52/14 Appendix 4), which is not yet finalized, for a revision of Chapter V of the Schedule ("Supervision and Control");

WHEREAS the Scientific Committee has provided, and the Working Group on the RMS has amended, a recommendation for arrangements on total catches over time;

WHEREAS the process of development of the RMS has already taken several years;

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:

CONSIDERS that it is important for the future of the Commission that the process of completion of the RMS proceed expeditiously;

REAFFIRMS that the Revised Management Scheme shall be structured as agreed in Resolution 1994-5, and shall include, but not be limited to, the elements identified in the 1992 and subsequent Resolutions of the Commission on the RMS;

INSTRUCTS the Secretary, in consultation with the Chairman, and taking such independent legal advice as is necessary, to prepare a draft for a Schedule amendment that would incorporate the structure and elements of the RMS, including the RMP, into the Schedule;

FURTHER INSTRUCTS the Secretary to circulate the draft text to Commissioners and Contracting Governments for consideration and comment before the 30 November 2000;

AGREES to re-convene the Working Group on the RMS before the end of February 2001 for the purposes of:

1. making further progress on the draft text in IWC/52/14 Appendix 4 for a revision of Chapter V of the Schedule;
2. developing a text, based on the draft to be prepared by the Secretary, for the incorporation of the structure and elements of the RMS, including the RMP, into the Schedule;

FURTHER INSTRUCTS the Secretary to circulate the report from the above meeting and the resulting suggested Schedule texts to Commissioners and Contracting Governments for consideration and comment at least 60 days before the 53rd annual meeting;

NOTES that this Resolution cannot and does not commit the Commission to amend the Schedule now or at any future time;

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