Appendix C — Minor treaty actions

Minor treaty actions are generally technical amendments to existing treaties which do not impact significantly on the national interest.

Minor treaty actions are tabled with a one-page explanatory statement. The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has the discretion to formally inquire into these treaty actions or indicate its acceptance of them without a formal inquiry and report.

The following minor treaty action was considered by the Committee during the consideration of this Report. In this case the Committee determined not to hold a formal inquiry and agreed that binding treaty action may be taken.

Minor treaty actions tabled on 20 September 2011

§  International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946
Notification of Amendments to the Schedule As amended by the International Whaling Commission at the 63rd Annual Meeting Jersey, Channel Islands, July 2011

This minor treaty action relates to the ban on commercial whaling contained in this Convention.  The ban on commercial whaling is routinely extended by twelve months at each meeting of the Commission through an amendment to Schedule A of the Convention.

The Committee has in the past treated these extensions as minor treaty actions as they do not change the extant situation in relation to commercial whaling.

In this instance, the Committee has agreed to continue to deal with the amendment as a minor treaty action.