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Article 2 



The Organisation shall have a consultative and purely technical 

 nature. It shall be the object of the Organisation to bring about : 



(a) The coordination of the activities of national hydrographic 

 offices ; 



(b) The greatest possible uniformity in nautical charts and docu- 

 ments ; 



(c) The adoption of reliable and efficient methods of carrying out 

 and exploiting hydrographic surveys ; 



(d) The development of the sciences in the field of hydrography and 

 the techniques employed in descriptive oceanography. 



Article 3 



The Members of the Organisation are the Governments Parties to 

 this Convention. 



Article 4 



The Organisation shall comprise : 



— The International Hydrographic Conference, hereinafter referred 

 to as the Conference ; 



— The International Hydrographic Bureau, hereinafter referred to 

 as the Bureau, administered by the Directing Committee. 



Article 5 



The functions of the Conference shall be : 



(a) To give general directions on the functioning and work of the 

 Organisation; 



(b) To elect the members of the Directing Committee and its Presi- 

 dent ; 



(c) To examine the reports submitted to it by the Bureau ; 



(d) To make decisions in respect of all proposals of a technical or 

 administrative nature submitted by the Member Governments or by 

 the Bureau ; 



(e) To approve the budget by a majority of two thirds of the Mem- 

 ber Governments represented at the Conference ; 



(f ) To adopt, by a two thirds majority of the Member Governments, 

 amendments to the General Eegulations and Financial Eegulations; 



(g) To adopt, by the majority prescribed in the preceding para- 

 graph, any other particular regulations that may prove to be neces- 

 sary, notably on the status of the directors and staff of the Bureau. 



Article 6 



1. The Conference shall be composed of representatives of the Mem- 

 ber Governments. It shall meet in ordinary session every five years. An 

 extraordinary session of the Conference may be held at the request of 

 a Member Government or of the Bureau, subject to approval by the 

 majority of the Member Governments. 



2. The Conference shall be convened by the Bureau on at least six 

 months' notice. A provisional agenda shall be submitted with the no- 

 tice. 



