Revoked by Resolution A.1067(28)
Resolution
A.974(24)
FRAMEWORK AND PROCEDURES FOR THE
VOLUNTARY IMO MEMBER STATE AUDIT SCHEME
(Adopted on 1 December 2005)
THE
ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING
article 15(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization
concerning the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations and
guidelines concerning maritime safety and the prevention and control of marine
pollution from ships,
RECALLING
ALSO that one of the goals of the Organization is to ensure the consistent and
effective implementation of EVIO instruments globally and compliance with their
requirements and that, through resolutions A.777(18) and A.900(21), the
Assembly reaffirmed the contents of resolution A.500(XII) and thus the
assignment of the highest priority to promoting the implementation of
international instruments aiming at improvement of maritime safety and
protection of the marine environment,
RECALLING
FURTHER that, through resolution A.946(23), the Assembly approved the
establishment and further development of the Voluntary EVIO Member State Audit
Scheme (hereinafter referred to as the "Audit Scheme"), and requested
the Council to develop, as a matter of high priority, procedures and other
modalities for its implementation,
RECOGNIZING
that Parties to international conventions (such as the International Convention
for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended (SOLAS 1974) and its 1988
Protocol; the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, as amended
(MARPOL 73/78); the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended (COLREG 1972); the International Convention
on Load Lines, 1966 (LL 1966), as amended by its 1988 Protocol; the
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW); and the International
Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 (TONNAGE 1969) have, as part
of the ratification process, accepted to fully meet their responsibilities and
to discharge their obligations under the conventions and other instruments to
which they are party,
REAFFIRMING
that States have the primary responsibility to have in place an adequate and
effective system to exercise control over ships entitled to fly their flag, and
to ensure that they comply with the relevant international rules and
regulations,
REAFFIRMING
ALSO that States, in their capacity as port and coastal States, have other
obligations and responsibilities under applicable international law in respect
of maritime safety and security and protection of the marine environment,
NOTING
that, while States may realize certain benefits by becoming Parties to instruments
aiming at promoting maritime safety and security and the prevention of
pollution from ships, those benefits can only be fully realized when all
Parties carry out their obligations as required by the instruments concerned,
NOTING
ALSO that the ultimate effectiveness of any instrument depends, inter alia,
upon all Member States and other States:
(a) becoming
Parties to all instruments related to maritime safety, security and pollution
prevention and control;
(b) implementing
and enforcing such instruments fully and effectively;
(c) reporting to
the Organization, as required,
CONSCIOUS
of the difficulties that Governments may face in their wish to comply with all
the requirements of the various IMO instruments to which they are party,
RECOGNIZING
the assistance that the Organization's Integrated Technical Co-operation
Programme may provide to the minimization of the difficulties faced by
Governments,
BEING
DESIROUS to assist Governments to improve their capabilities and overall
performance in order to comply with the IMO instruments to which they are
party,
BEARING
IN MIND that the Audit Scheme contains references to the Code for the
implementation of mandatory IMO instruments, as appropriate; and that the Code,
in addition to providing guidance for the implementation and enforcement of FMO
instruments, forms the basis of the Audit Scheme, in particular concerning the
identification of the auditable areas,
HAVING
CONSIDERED the recommendations made by the Council at its ninety-fourth regular
session and twenty-third extraordinary session,
1.
ADOPTS the Framework and Procedures for the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit
Scheme, set out in the annex to the present resolution;
2.
URGES Governments to:
(a) volunteer to
be audited in accordance with the said Framework and Procedures, thus
contributing to the Organization's efforts to achieve consistent and effective
implementation of its instruments; and
(b) consider
contributing resources to ensure the success of the Audit Scheme, which could
include, inter alia, qualified auditors and the support they need to carry out
their duties once appointed as audit team leader or members;
3.
REQUESTS the Council to monitor the implementation of the Audit Scheme with a
view to its further improvement and development and to report to the Assembly,
as appropriate.
Annex.
PART I.
FRAMEWORK FOR THE VOLUNTARY IMO MEMBER STATE AUDIT
1.1
The purpose of this Framework is to describe the objective, principles, scope,
responsibilities and capacity-building aspect of the Voluntary IMO Member State
audit (Member State audit), which together constitute the strategy for the
audit scheme.
1.2
This Framework is supported by the Procedures for the Voluntary IMO Member
State audit and the Code for the implementation of mandatory IMO instruments.
2.1
This Framework will apply to all those involved in the Member State audit.
3.1
The audit standard shall be the Code for the implementation of mandatory IMO
instruments.
4.1
To promote the consistent and effective implementation of FMO instruments and
thus contribute to the enhancement of global and individual Member State
performance in compliance with the requirements of the instruments to which
they are party.
5.1
The objective of the audit is to determine to what extent Member States are
implementing and enforcing the applicable IMO instruments. In order to achieve
this, the audit will observe and assess:
.1 compliance
with the Code for the implementation of mandatory IMO instruments;
.2 that the
Member State has enacted legislation, as appropriate, for the applicable IMO
instruments relating to maritime safety and prevention of pollution to which it
is a Party;
.3 the
administration and enforcement of the applicable laws and regulations of the
Member State;
.4 the mechanism
and controls in place by which the delegation of authority by a Member State to
a recognized organization and for the purposes of implementing convention
requirements related to safety and protection of the environment is effected;
.5 the Member
State's control, monitoring and feedback mechanism with respect to its own
survey and certification process and, as applicable, of its recognized
organization(s); and
.6 the extent to
which the Member State discharges any other obligations and responsibilities
under the applicable IMO instruments.
5.2
In addition, the audit will:
.1 foster
capacity-building and the provision of related technical assistance by
identifying areas which would benefit from further development to the extent
which technical assistance could assist the Member State in discharging its
responsibilities;
.2 provide the
audited Member State with feedback to assist in improving its capacity to
implement the applicable instruments;
.3 provide all
Member States with feedback on generic lessons learned from audits of Member
States, so that the benefits can be widely shared, while taking care to
preserve the anonymity of the audited Member State; and
.4 systematically
feed back any lessons learned from the audits, as may be appropriate, for
further consideration by the Organization of the effectiveness and
appropriateness of its legislation.
6.1 Sovereignty and
universality
6.1.1
Audits should be constructive in approach and carried out on a voluntary basis,
at the request of the Member State to be audited, and in accordance with the
established procedures. Nevertheless, the benefits of the scheme would be
greater if all Member States of the Organization volunteered themselves to be
audited. Audits should therefore be organized and conducted in such a way as to
encourage Member States to submit to audit. All Member States will benefit from
positive and constructively conducted audits.
6.2 Consistency, fairness,
objectivity, and timeliness
6.2.1
Audits should be pragmatic, fair and carried out in accordance with an agreed
time frame. Recognizing and appreciating that different Member States may have
different and equally valid ways of discharging their responsibilities,
therefore, audits should be conducted by appropriately trained and qualified
auditors, in a consistent and objective manner. Consistency and uniformity in
the quality of audits must be ensured.
6.3 Transparency and
disclosure
6.3.1
Audit interim and final reports should be confidential and available only to
the audited Member State, the audit team and the Secretary-General. An audited
Member State may make available to other parties details of the findings and of
its own subsequent actions.
6.3.2
An audit summary report should be given to the Organization in a standardized
format and, after consultation with the audited Member State, circulated for
information to all Member States on a periodic basis.
6.3.3
The Secretariat should consolidate the summary reports and identify lessons
learned in a standardized format. A consolidated report should, accordingly, be
issued on a periodic basis.
6.4.1
Audits should be conducted in such a manner that the Member State being audited
can contribute to the audit process within an established time frame.
6.5.1
Audits should lead to continual improvement of the implementation and
enforcement of the applicable IMO instruments by the Member State. In this regard,
the Member State should carry out appropriate and agreed follow-up activities.
7.1.1
Under the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
1982 (UNCLOS) and of IMO conventions, Administrations are responsible for
promulgating laws and regulations and for taking all other steps which may be
necessary to give those instruments full and complete effect so as to ensure
that, from the point of view of safety of life at sea and protection of the
marine environment, a ship is fit for the service for which it is intended and
is manned with competent maritime personnel.
7.1.2
In taking measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine
environment, States shall act so as not to transfer, directly or indirectly,
damage or hazards from one area to another or transform one type of pollution
into another. (UNCLOS, article 195).
7.2.1
Recognizing the foregoing, including paragraph 4.1, the following IMO mandatory
instruments should be covered by audits for the purpose of determining how the
relevant obligations and responsibilities relating to maritime safety and
protection of the environment are carried out by Member States, and with a view
to further enhancing their performance:
.1 the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended (SOLAS
1974);
.2 the Protocol
of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea,
1974, as amended (SOLAS PROT 1978);
.3 the Protocol
of 1988 relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea,
1974, as amended (SOLAS PROT 1988);
.4 the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as
modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, as amended (MARPOL 73/78);
.5 the Protocol
of 1997 to amend the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution
from Ships, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL PROT
1997);
.6 the
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW 1978);
.7 the
International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (LL 66);
.8 the Protocol
of 1988 relating to the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (LL PROT
1988);
.9 the
International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 (Tonnage 1969);
and
.10 the
Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,
1972, as amended (COLREG 1972).
7.2.2
With regard to the STCW Convention, as amended, the audit should not seek to
duplicate existing mandatory audit requirements contained in that convention.
Only the aspects of that convention that are not covered by audits in
accordance with the applicable provision of that convention should fall fully
within the scope of the audit scheme, and there should be verification only of
the parts of that convention that have been previously evaluated (see appendix
1 of this Framework).
7.3 Obligations and
responsibilities
7.3.1
The scheme should cover those obligations and responsibilities contained in the
applicable IMO mandatory instruments to the extent that such instruments have
entered into force for the Member State and under which a Member State is
required to act in its capacity as flag State, port State and/or coastal State.
7.3.2
The obligations and responsibilities should be such that measures related to
maritime safety and protection of the environment which are undertaken by the
Member State can be audited, in accordance with the Code for the implementation
of mandatory IMO instruments.
7.4 Areas to be covered by
the scheme
7.4.1
The scheme would cover the Member State's implementation and enforcement of
applicable IMO mandatory instruments in its legislation; an effective control
and monitoring mechanism; effectiveness in promulgating IMO rules and
regulations; enforcement action for the contravention of its laws and
regulations; and other obligations and responsibilities under the applicable
instruments.
7.4.2
With due regard to the implementation and enforcement of mandatory FMO
instruments, the administrative, legal and technical areas which should provide
the minimum scope for an audit are:
.1 jurisdiction;
.2 organization
and authority;
.3 legislation,
rules and regulations;
.4 promulgation
of IMO mandatory instruments, rules and regulations;
.5 enforcement
arrangements;
.6 control,
survey, inspection, audit, verification, approval and certification functions;
.7 selection,
recognition, authorization, empowerment and monitoring of recognized organizations,
as appropriate, and of nominated surveyors;
.8
investigations required to be reported to IMO; and
.9 reporting to
IMO, other Administrations, and organizations.
7.4.3
In those instances where work to give effect to the Member State's responsibilities
is divided between different organizations or offices, audits should address
whether the respective tasks are clearly defined and should be conducted on a
technical basis with the entity assigned those tasks.
8.1
The Secretary-General is responsible for:
.1 the
implementation of the audit scheme;
.2 formal
appointment and maintenance of an appropriate list of audit team leaders and
auditors;
.3 establishing
an audit team for each Member State audit;
.4 ensuring that
audit team leaders and auditors are competent as defined in section 4 of the
Procedures;
.5 ensuring that
audit team members meet required standards of training to achieve consistency
in the quality of audits;
.6 concluding a
Memorandum of Co-operation with the Member State to be audited, prior to the
audit;
.7 ensuring that
the audits are planned in accordance with the overall IMO audit timetable;
.8 liaising with
and assisting developing and least developed countries to gather resources from
external sources such as the Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme
(ITCP);
.9 ensuring that
the Member State to be audited is offered the opportunity of receiving a visit
by the audit team leader in advance of the actual audit in order to be provided
with information about the intention behind the scheme, the scope of the audit,
how such an audit is carried out, and all other information needed to enhance
understanding and co-operation between the audit team and the Member State to
be audited;
.10
communicating the agreed audit summary report to all Member States;
.11
consolidating audit summary reports and identifying lessons learned in a
standardized format to be issued on a periodic basis in support of the work of
the Organization;
.12 maintaining
appropriate records of the findings of the actual audits of Member States; and
.13 managing the
audit scheme and possible follow-ups.
8.2
The Member State is responsible for:
.1 fully
facilitating the audit, in accordance with the Memorandum of Co-operation;
.2 agreeing with
the Secretary-General on the person who is to be the audit team leader and on
the total membership of the audit team;
.3 responding to
audit team findings by preparing an action plan; and
.4 implementing
a programme of actions to address the findings.
8.3
The audit team leader is responsible for:
.1 the detailed
planning of the actual audit;
.2 the conduct
of audit interviews and meetings, etc. in accordance with the Procedures, and
assigning and maintaining overall responsibility over the other team members
conducting such interviews, meetings, etc.;
.3 preparing and
completing the audit reports (interim and final) and the mission report;
.4 reporting
details of any finding to the audited Member State;
.5 preparing and
agreeing with the Member State on the audit summary report to be submitted to
the Secretary-General;
.6 assisting in
the verification of corrective actions taken by the Member State; and
.7 conducting a
follow-up audit, as appropriate.
9.1
In order to obtain the full benefits from the scheme, consideration of
capacity-building matters is essential,