Eger-Xi’an Principles for
The International [Scientific] Committees of ICOMOS
July 2008
English (Official)
DOCUMENT ADOPTED BY THE 15TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF ICOMOS
AND AMENDED BY THE SCIENTIFIC COUNCILI.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL [SCIENTIFIC] COMMITTEES & THEIR ROLE WITHINICOMOS
1. The International [Scientific] Committees (ISCs) are the vehicles through which ICOMOS brings
together, develops and serves its worldwide membership according to fields of specializedinterest. ICOMOS expects the ISCs to be at the heart of scientific inquiry and exchange in their
domains and to share knowledge among them to foster a multi-disciplinary approach to
heritage protection and management, in fulfillment of the goals of ICOMOS as stated in Article
5.b. of its statutes: “Gather, study and disseminate information concerning principles,
techniques and policies” related to heritage protection. ICOMOS will support its ISCs to actively
pursue programmes that advance the field by defining research needs, stimulating andsupporting research activity, increasing exchange and dissemination in order to promote
greater understanding in the heritage field and guaranteeing the generational renewal of all
heritage professions within and outside of ICOMOS.
2. ICOMOS will support its ISCs to be accessible to all qualified individuals and groups with acapacity to contribute, be democratic in their operations, and be concerned with increasing theimpact of their programmes on standards of care in the field. ICOMOS also expects the ISCs to
be a venue for mentoring members in their early careers who seek to advance their knowledge
and develop their professional expertise.
3. The Scientific Council may establish categories for the grouping of scientific committees
according to their needs.
4. These principles are meant to guide the individual activities of all the ISCs, as well as thecooperative work among them, and with affinity organizations and external interested parties.
One primary responsibility of each ISC is to ensure the sharing and dissemination of knowledge
and information among its members and with all ICOMOS bodies. The tools of the ISCs should
respond creatively and practically to the needs in the field. These include, but are not limited to
doctrinal development; publications, periodicals and newsletters (both real and virtual); videos;public advocacy; training; conferences and workshops; discussion fora; professional
exchanges; technical assistance / cooperation; etc.
5. The resources of ISCs should be shared among the committees as possible and appropriate.
6. The ISCs are established and operate according to the Statutes of ICOMOS. Consequently,
their organisation, structure and proceedings may be required to evolve if and when such
Statutes are amended. The ISCs are set up and dissolved by the Executive Committee under
Article 14 for purposes or reasons that relate to the goals of ICOMOS.

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II.

GOVERNANCE AND OPERATING FRAMEWORKA.

The Scientific Council
1. The Council will consist of the President of each ISC or his/her designated deputy, withthe allowance that the specific statutes of an ISC may ordain a different selection process
for its representative to the Scientific Council. A designated deputy will be eligible forelection as an officer or representative to the Executive Committee. Each ScientificCouncil member is entitled to one vote on matters before the Scientific Council.
2. The Council shall elect three officers from among its membership to oversee the activitiesof the Council. These officers shall be from different ISCs and shall be elected to threeyear terms to coincide with the election of the Advisory Committee President. The officers
shall distribute the duties and responsibilities among themselves as they determine tobest meet the needs of the Scientific Council. The officers may co-opt other ISC
members to assist them in their work.
3. The officers shall represent the interests of the ISCs in the Executive Committee of
ICOMOS. Representatives shall serve as active liaisons between the Council andExecutive Committee and shall communicate regularly with the members of each of thetwo bodies. Representatives should take a lead in raising international awareness of thecapabilities of the ISCs as well as in developing strategies to support ISC activities.
4. The duties of the Scientific Council are:a) Serve as the coordinating body of the ISCs.
b) Meet at least once a year in conjunction with, and also separate from, the annual
meeting of the Advisory Committee of ICOMOS.
c) Prepare a summary annual report on ISC activities and progress made on the
Scientific Plan.
d) Advise the Executive Committee on best practices and performances, as well as bestuse of the ISC resources, as they relate to the advisory and contractual duties of
ICOMOS to UNESCO, the World Heritage Centre, ICCROM and any otherinternational, regional or national heritage organization.
e) Develop and oversee the implementation of a 3-year Scientific Plan with acorresponding budget, and present it to the General Assembly for its adoption as partof the ICOMOS Work Programme required in Article 9 of the Statutes. The ScientificPlan shall be drafted in broad consultation with the ISC membership; it shall be multidisciplinary in nature and will define areas and methods of inter-ISC cooperation. The
Plan / Programme shall include clear objectives, a work plan, and a strategy for its
completion; the budget will include the identification of existing and potential revenue
sources.
f) Identify gaps among the ISC fields of specialization, and make appropriate
recommendations to fill them.
g) Look for ways to render more effective and available to all of ICOMOS the expertiseof the ISC members and the overall work of the ISCs, especially in theconceptualization and organization of the triennial Symposium of ICOMOS.
h) Adopt a process for the triennial performance evaluation of each ISC; carry out such
evaluation; and convey its results and pertinent recommendations to the Executive
Committee of ICOMOS as part of its annual report.
i)

Receive, evaluate and formulate appropriate responses to requests for technicalassistance from the Executive, Advisory, and National Committees of ICOMOS.

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j)

Receive and evaluate proposals for the formation of new ISCs and makerecommendations concerning their approval to the Executive Committee of ICOMOS.

k) Formulate its own recommendation, or evaluate recommendations from others,
regarding the dissolution of existing ISCs.
l)

Investigate issues or complaints regarding the activities, governance, policies or
performance of an ISC, and take the appropriate action to solve them, or refer themto the Executive Committee of ICOMOS.

m) Work closely with the ICOMOS Secretary General, President, Treasurer -General,
and Vice President responsible for ISCs to coordinate the work of the ISCs with the
ICOMOS Secretariat, and to disseminate it to the heritage community and thegeneral public.

B.

The Scientific Committees
1. While desiring to accord the ISCs the maximum of independence and flexibility in supportof their objectives, the Committees are expected to work within the framework
established by statutes, rules of procedure and budgets of ICOMOS, as well as by these
Principles.
2. The ISCs shall adopt goals and objectives that reflect the needs expressed by theirmembers; and be supported by appropriate statutes, budgets, rules of procedure andprogrammes. Scientific committees are encouraged to meet as frequently as
convenient to advance their scientific work, but shall meet at least once every
three years. Thee organizing committee for each General Assembly, beginningwith 2008, shall set aside at least one half-day for meetings of the ISCs
3. In addition, each ISC is encouraged to integrate into its triennial work programme training
initiatives that address:a) The enhancement and actualization of the professional competence of its experts,
especially those related to World Heritage issues, andb) The needs of new and junior members and young professionals in developing their
specialization and competence in the specific field.
4. As a general rule, the work of the ISCs relies on the volunteer work of its members. If
funds are available or required to dispense honoraria to ISC members, the ISC shallpresent to the Scientific Council for its approval, a plan for the team selection andpayment of honoraria to its members, to ensure that all work meets ICOMOS
requirements for ethics and transparency.
5. Each ISC shall be free to establish its officer structure and governing mechanisms. The
Bureau will be composed of at least a president, a vice-president and asecretary-general from three separate countries. All members of the bureau
must be expert members. ISCs managing a monetary budget are encouraged tohave a Treasurer. The Committee shall ensure the Bureau has representation fromdifferent countries and provides key regional representation.

a) The Executive Committee of ICOMOS will appoint the first set of officers of an ISC.
The members of the ISC will elect subsequent officers according to the committee's
own statutes.
b) Officers will be elected to a period of three years, and may serve a maximum of threesuch consecutive terms in each office, but in no case shall any one serve more thanfifteen consecutive years.

-3-c) In accordance with Article 12 of the ICOMOS statutes, the President of each ISC will
be an ex-officio member of the Advisory Committee of ICOMOS. The President may
designate a Deputy to assume all pertinent responsibilities before the Advisory
Committee.
6. ISC Bureaus shall be responsible for the overall financial and programmatic managementof the work of the committees; and for establishing the appropriate sub-committees, task
forces and/or working groups to ensure its proper functioning.
7. Elections for officers shall be verifiable. Each Committee shall establish a fair andtransparent voting system according to its needs and circumstances (including postal orelectronic). Regardless, of the mode, the results of all elections must be verifiable without
sacrificing the integrity of the individual vote. It is recommended that a neutral party
receives votes and provides results.
8. Each ISC shall prepare and submit to the Scientific Council an annual report. The
contents of the annual report shall be specified by the Coordinators of the ScientificCouncil in consultation with the Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee. The
Coordinators shall, whenever possible, seek to consolidate the annual report with othersubmissions required or requested by the Executive Committee to avoid duplicate
submissions.
9. The establishment of an ISC Secretariat is strongly recommended for the proper
functioning of the ISC. If no Permanent Secretariat exists, its duties should be specificallydelegated to the ISC officers. The duties of the Secretariat shall include but not be limitedto:a) Maintaining the archival record and institutional memory (in paper or electronic
format) of the ISC. Changes of location in the Secretariat should include the transferof the ISC archives.
b) Serving the Bureau of the ISC.
c) Ensuring the dissemination of information to all members of the ISCd) Be directly in charge of, or make provisions for, the development, maintenance andexpansion of the ISC Website, and if pertinent, a listserv.
9. Each ISC is to have its own website with reference to the ICOMOS website.

III.

FORMATION OF NEW INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES
A.

Proposal
1. National Committees, specialized institutions or groups of at least 10 (ten) like-minded
ICOMOS members, preferably representing different world regions, sharing a particularexpertise, and wishing to form or sponsor a new ISC, shall submit a proposal to the
Scientific Council, who in turn will present it to the Executive Committee along with its
recommendations. The proposal will include:a) Mission statement or a statement of need for the new committee, including its
potential for cooperation with other ISCs.
b) Manner in which the proposed committee will contribute to the progress of the current
ICOMOS Scientific Plan / Programme.
c) Long-term aims/goals and associated programmes of activities.
d) Proposed Committee statutes.
-4-e) Proposed roster of members, ensuring broad representation.
f)Annotated roster of affinity organizations or groups working in the field of interest,
identifying proposed institutional partners, if any.

g) Roster of proposed officers, along with professional credentials / curriculum vitae foreach.
h) Location of proposed Committee secretariat, including a letter of commitment to that
effect.
i)

B.

Proposed budget and details of financial and administrative support secured or to be
secured.

Incubation Period
1. Once the Executive Committee approves the formation of a new ISC, it shall be
constituted for an incubation period of three years as a probationary task force.
2. During the incubation period, the group shall work as a fully functional ISC, and shall be
required to meet all the programmatic, administrative and reporting duties of ISCs
3. At the end of the three year incubation period, the Scientific Council shall evaluate theprobationary task force and make appropriate recommendations to the Executive
Committee for:a) Its constitution as a permanent ISC;b) An extension of its probationary status;c) Its dissolution.
4. The Task Force may appeal any decision of the Scientific Council before the Executive
Committee.

C. Hybrid ISCs, or Committees shared with and responding simultaneously to ICOMOS andother affinity organizations
1. Under certain conditions, an ISC may be established in cooperation with one or moreaffinity organization in order to serve both. In such cases, the statutes may be adapted tosuit the needs of ICOMOS and the other organization(s) involved. Nonetheless, the spiritof these principles shall be respected. The Scientific Council will evaluate all suchproposals for Hybrid ISCs and make its recommendations known to the Executive
Committee of ICOMOS.

IV.

MEMBERSA.

General principles
1. The various membership categories in the ISCs shall be open to all members of
ICOMOS, within the provisions stated below. It is the intention of ICOMOS that its ISCs
continually gather a membership that will include the most recognized experts in its fieldof specialization, be representative of all of the world regions or pertinent regions, andrecruit young or beginning professionals seeking such specialization; and that all begiven ample opportunities and stimulus to become actively engaged in the work of theCommittee. A structure of membership is recommended, as follows.

-5-2. All members of the ISCs shall be familiar with the Statement of Ethical Commitment first
adopted by ICOMOS in Madrid in 2002, and abide by it at all times. Failure to behave
accordingly may result in dismissal.
3. All ISCs are to adopt criteria for minimum participation for all members, aswell as grounds to exclude inactive members.
4. The categories of members for the ISCs will consist of the following, each with specificrights and responsibilities.

B.

Expert Members
1. There are no numerical limits to the number of Expert Members in an ISC. Any member
of ICOMOS with proven or established expertise in the relevant field may be an Expert
Member of the Committee. It is up to each ISC to adopt minimum criteria and atransparent and well-understood methodology to assess and verify the individualcompetence and expertise of applicants as well as to terminate the membership of agiven Expert Member. All Expert Members must be ICOMOS members and may remain
members so long as they are ICOMOS members and meet the ISC criteria forparticipation.
2. Experts Members may be nominated by their National Committee, be self-nominated, or
directly invited by the ISC. Nominations may be accepted at any time.
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Expert Members shall have the right to participate in any aspect of the work of thecommittee.

4. Voting at elections of the ISC bureaux as well as on amending the ISC’s statutes will bedone by Expert Members designated by the National Committee, restricted to one perstate. In the event that the ISC considers the designated member to be unsatisfactory, it
can appeal before the SC which will make a recommendation to the Executive
Committee re that designation. All other issues and decisions shall be voted on by all
Expert Members, without limitation.

C.

Associate Members
1. Members of ICOMOS who wish to gain knowledge and build up an expertise in a given
field through active volunteer work may apply to be an Associate Member of an ISC.
2. The ISC will select Associate Members from among the applicants. The ISCs will strive toincorporate Associate Members in their work.
3. Associate Members are conditionally accepted for a period of three years, after whichtime their contribution to the Committee will be evaluated using a transparent and wellunderstood methodology to assess their contributions to the Committee. The Associate
Membership shall be:a) Extended for another similar period of time, with a maximum of three such triennial
extensions, orb) Upgraded to Expert Member, orc) Rejected on the basis of no participation or unsatisfactory performance.
4. When appropriate, an ISC may ask a National Committee to designate one or more
Associate Members to help build up the particular expertise in countries where such aneed exists.
5. Associate Members are accorded no voting rights.
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D.

Non-ICOMOS Members
Non-ICOMOS Members who can make an important contribution to the ISC may be invited toparticipate in committee meetings and activities and will be encouraged to apply for ICOMOS
membership. Non-ICOMOS Members are accorded no voting rights. No person should bea voting member unless he/she is in good standing of ICOMOS (or the otherorganization where there is a joint committee e.g. ICOMOS/IFLA).

E.

Institutional Members. When in the interest of ICOMOS and of an ISC, and at the ISC’s
discretion, the optional category of Institutional Membership may be established as follows:
1. Institutional Members shall be institutions, academic programs, government agencies, or
any other juridical entity whose work and mission are closely aligned to those of the ISC.
2. Acceptance of an Institutional Member shall be through ballots from Expert Members.
3. Institutional Memberships will be valid for one triennium, and may be renewed indefinitely
for additional three-year periods.
4. An Institutional Member may designate from its staff one person with the required
qualifications to be its representative and spokesperson in the Committee. The
Committee may accept that individual as an Expert Member.
5. Institutional Members are accorded no voting rights. However, if the Institutional Member
has a representative accepted as an Expert Member of the Committee, that Expert
Member shall have the same voting rights as any other Expert Member.

F.

V.

VI.

Honorary Members. Honorary Members may be proposed for election by Expert Membersof the Committee. Honorary Members may participate in all activities of the Committee.
Honorary Members area accorded no voting rights. Honorary Members may use the title of:“Honorary Member, ICOMOS ***** Committee.”

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
1.

When it is in it own interest, one or more ISC may enter into temporary or permanent,bilateral or multilateral partnerships with any institution or agency whose work, mission and/or
resources may help advance the goals of the ICOMOS Scientific Plan / Programme or thework of the ISC.

2.

Institutional Partnerships shall in no way curb or limit the independence of action and thoughtof ICOMOS and of its ISCs

3.

Institutional Partnerships with a single ISC shall require the approval of the majority of theCommittee’s Expert Members.

4.

Approval from the Scientific Council shall be required for any simultaneous partnership by
one or more institutions with multiple ISCs.

COMPLIANCE
1.

The statutes of all ICOMOS ISCs shall comply with these Principles and with the Statutes of
ICOMOS.

2.

All existing ISCs are required to revise their statutes and to bring them into compliance withthese Principles within three years of this document’s adoption by the Fifteenth General
Assembly of ICOMOS in Xi’an, China.

3.

This document supersedes and replaces the following documents:-7-a) Directives for the International Specialized Committees of ICOMOS” (Summa
Vesuviana), adopted 12 December 1982b) Guidelines for ICOMOS International Committees, undated;c) Guidelines for International Committees, Paris, 19-20 February 1985d) The Eger Principles for International Scientific Committees, adopted in Colombo, August
1993
4.

The Scientific Council shall review the activities of the ISCs. Where it finds that an ISC is outof compliance with the provisions of these Principles, it shall provide advice and guidance tothe ISC to assist the Committee to come into compliance. If a Committee remains out ofcompliance, the Council shall refer to matter to the Executive Committee withrecommendations for corrective action.

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