AGREEMENT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF A GENERAL FISHERIES COUNCIL
FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
OF A GENERAL FISHERIES COUNCIL
FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
The Agreement for the Establishment of a General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean (GFCM) was approved by the FAO Conference at its Fifth Session (November 1949).
In accordance with Article IX (now XII), the Agreement came into force on 20 February 1952, date of receipt of the fifth instrument of acceptance. The Agreement was registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations on 5 April 1952 under No. 1691.
Amendments were approved by the Twelfth Session of the Conference (1963). At its Thirteenth Session (July 1976), the GFCM adopted further amendments to the Agreement. The amendments to the Agreement were approved by the Seventieth Session of the FAO Council (December 1976). The amendments referred to in this paragraph entered into force for all the parties to the Agreement.
Parties to the Agreement
The following participants deposited their instruments of acceptance on the corresponding date indicated:
Participant: Acceptance
Algeria: 11 Dec 1967
Albania: 10 Apr 1991
Bulgaria: 3 Nov 1969
Croatia: 22 May 1995
Cyprus: 10 Jun 1965
Egypt: 19 Feb 1951
France: 8 Jul 1952
Greece: 7 Apr 1952
Israel: 20 Feb 1952
Italy: 29 May 1950
Japan: 12 Jun 1997
Lebanon: 14 Nov 1960
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: 14 May 1963
Malta: 29 Apr 1965
Monaco: 14 May 1954
Morocco: 17 Sep 1956
Romania: 19 Feb 1971
Spain: 19 Oct 1953
Syrian Arab Republic: 12 Dec 1975
Tunisia: 22 Jun 1954
Turkey: 6 Apr 1954
United Kingdom: 20 Nov 1950
Yugoslavia: 12 Oct 1951
Declarations and Reservations
Bulgaria
(Reservation made upon acceptance):
"The People's Republic of Bulgaria will not consider itself bound by the decisions of the International Court of Justice with respect to disputes referred to the latter, in accordance with Article XIII of the Agreement, without the consent of the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria being given with regard to the specific dispute."
At its Twenty-second Session held in Rome from 13 to 16 October 1997,
the GFCM adopted two sets of amendments which were approved by the
FAO Council at its 113th Session (4-6 November 1997). The first
set of amendments concerned changes inter alia to allow for regional
economic integration organizations that are Members of FAO to become
members of GFCM and to change the name of GFCM into "General
Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean". These amendments came
into force upon the concurrence of the FAO Council and do not
need any further procedure for acceptance. The second set of
amendments which provides for new obligations for the Contracting
Parties requires formal acceptance from these Parties. such
amendments will come into force only on their acceptance by
two-thirds of the members of the Commission and thereafter for each
Member on its acceptance thereof.
Participant: Acceptance