BERNE CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF
LITERARY AND ARTISTIC WORKS (Paris Text 1971)

Article 23

(1) The Assembly shall have an Executive Committee.

(2)

• (a) The Executive Committee shall consist of countries elected by the Assembly from among countries members of the Assembly. Furthermore, the country on whose territory the Organization has its headquarters shall, subject to the provisions of Article 25 (7) (b), have an ex officio seat on the Committee.
• (b) The Government of each country member of the Executive Committee shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
• (c) The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has appointed it.

(3) The number of countries members of the Executive Committee shall correspond to one fourth of the number of countries members of the Assembly. In establishing the number of seats to be filled, remainders after division by four shall be disregarded.

(4) In electing the members of the Executive Committee, the Assembly shall have due regard to an equitable geographical distribution and to the need for countries party to the Special Agreements which might be established in relation with the Union to be among the countries constituting the Executive Committee.

(5)

• (a) Each member of the Executive Committee shall serve from the close of the session of the Assembly which elected it to the close of the next ordinary session of the Assembly.
• (b) Members of the Executive Committee may be re-elected, but not more than two-thirds of them.
• (c) The Assembly shall establish the details of the rules governing the election and possible re-election of the members of the Executive Committee.

(6)

• (a) The Executive Committee shall:
  • (i) prepare the draft agenda of the Assembly;
  • (ii) submit proposals to the Assembly respecting the draft program and triennial budget of the Union, prepared by the Director General;
  • (iii) approve, within the limits of the program and the triennial budget, the specific yearly budgets and programs prepared by the Director General;
  • (iv) submit, with appropriate comments, to the Assembly the periodical reports of the Director General and the yearly audit reports on the accounts;
  • (v) in accordance with the decisions of the Assembly and having regard to circumstances arising between two ordinary sessions of the Assembly, take all necessary measures to ensure the execution of the program of the Union by the Director General;
  • (vi) perform such other functions as are allocated to it under this Convention.
• (b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Executive Committee shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(7)

• (a) The Executive Committee shall meet once a year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, preferably during the same period and at the same place as the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
• (b) The Executive Committee shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, either on his own initiative, or at the request of its Chairman or one fourth of its members.

(8)

• (a) Each country member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote.
• (b) One half of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.
• (c) Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of the votes cast.
• (d) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
• (e) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one country only.

(9) Countries of the Union not members of the Executive Committee shall be admitted to its meetings as observers.

(10) The Executive Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.