IMO Institutional Structure and Law-Making Process - Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels - page 15

2.2 Actors in the IMO Law-Making Process

The IMO Convention of 1948 created room for three types of entities to participate
in the IMO law-making process. These are member states (including associate
members), inter-governmental organisations as observer organisations, and inter-
national non-governmental organisations as organisations with consultative status.

2.2.1 Member States

Presently, IMO has 170 Member States 1 and three Associate Members 2
representing all regions of the world. Subject to the relevant provision of the
IMO Convention 1948, all States are eligible to become Members of the organisa-
tion. 3 United Nations members are allowed to become members of the organisation
by joining as a party to the IMO Convention 1948. There is an elaborate mechanism
for gaining membership for the countries which are not members of the United
Nations. 4 Any Territory or group within a Member State may be an associate
member if it is a territory to which the Convention has been made applicable
under Article 72, by the Member having responsibility for its international relations
or by the United Nations. Member States of the IMO may be divided into different
groups depending on their interest in the organisation.

2.2.1.1 Port, Coastal and Flag States

The first dynamic of IMO members interests is the conflict between the interest of

port or coastal and flag States. However, this type of binary division is practically
impossible because a country may be a port state while simultaneously being a
coastal or flag state. Nevertheless, a State may consider one of these roles more
important than the other due to its economic, geographical and environmental
interests. For example, a State with a huge merchant fleet may largely represent
the interests of its shipping companies because revenue from this sector is a major
source for national income. This is particularly true for

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flag of convenience (FOC)

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1

IMO, Member States, http://www.imo.org/About/Membership/Pages/MemberStates.aspx , last
accessed on 14 June 2014.
2 They are: Faroes; Hong Kong, China; and Macao, China. Ibid.
3 Convention on the International Maritime Organization , opened for signature 6 March 1948,
article 1(a), 289 UNTS 48 (entered into force 17 March 1958) (hereinafter the IMO Convention
1948 or the IMCO Convention 1948), art 4.
4 IMO Convention, arts 5 and 5.