Ogranization of the ICAO Assembly
The ICAO General Assembly is normally held every three years, and the last event (the 39th Assembly) took place in 2016. The next Assembly (the 40th) will be held in September 2019. All ICAO Member States and invited International Organizations gather in ICAO Headquarters in Montréal, Canada, and the duration is typically of two weeks. The Assembly can convene extrordinary meetings in other locations and at other moments than the normal three years interval, should special circumstances arise and require to do so. This special gathering would be decided by the ICAO Council if at least 20% of the Member States agree to hold such special meeting.
Powers and Responsibilities of the Assembly
The Assembly has many powers that it can exercise and also many responsibilities to carry during its meetings. Namely, the Assembly is in charge of the election of the Member States that will be represented on the ICAO Council, of the examination and appropriate actions to be taken with regards to the reports the Council has produced, the approval of the budgets of ICAO, etc.
The Assembly and its many commissions may also elect to refer specific matters to other bodies for action. It can also delegate to the ICAO Council certain powers. Finally, the Assembly can take care of any other matter not currently covered or assigned to the Council or to another group. The Assembly normally comprises five different commissions: technical, administrative, economic, legal and technical cooperation. It is also during the Assembly that amendments to the Chicago are approved and sent for ratification by States.
Did You Know?
Working Papers from the last
ICAO Assembly are available
for download free of charge.