Identifying Sources of International Customs Law - Essay Example

Name: xxxxxxxxxxx Course: xxxxxxxxxxx Institution: xxxxxxxxxxx Title: Identifying sources of International Customs Law Date: xxxxxxxxxxx @ 2010 Identifying sources of International Customs Law Introduction The World Customs Organization is essentially an intergovernmental association that acts as the voice of the customs community world wide. The functions of this organization revolves around the development of national conventions, the facilitation of international trade, the enforcement of customs regulations and the sustenance of intellectual property rights among many other functions. Moreover, the World Customs Organizations upholds an international Harmonized Systems that oversees the agreed customs valuations and the World Trade Organization.1 This paper seeks to examine the existing structure of the World Customs Organizations. It will survey the various committees within the World Customs Organization. Furthermore, this paper will establish where these committees derive their authority from World Customs Organization charter and the legal implications of the decisions made by these committees. In addition, this paper will explain the role of the Policy Commission and will in turn attempt to advice the DG on where its authority is derived. Structure of the World Customs Organizations The World Customs Organization is governed by a council that oversees the running of the organization daily. Nevertheless, in order for the organization to achieve its various objectives the organization is divided into different structures that operate congruently in order to achieve is objectives in the customs community. The committee structure within the World Customs Organization is made up of the council, the policy commission, the finance committee, the audit committee, the technical committee and the harmonized systems committee among many others. The function of the council is to oversee and ensure that the committees in the World customs organization are effectively functioning. The council brings together the committees and coordinates its activities. The policy commission is essentially a high level working unit that plays the role of capacity building, providing technical support and training.2 The Audit and finance committees delegates on monetary issues and ensure that there is accountability and efficient administration of funds. The technical committee works to ensure that the interpretation of customs regulations and laws governing goods valuation are uniformed. Moreover, this committee upholds close cooperation between the World Customs Organization and the World trade Organization. The Harmonized system committee coordinates with the World trade Organization (WTO), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the United Nations Environmental Programme and other bodies in order to achieve its objectives in the customs community. The enforcement committee works with a broad network of partners to protect the interests of the customs community. 3 Provisions of the WCO Charter on Committee authority The committees in the World Customs Organizations derive their authority from the World Customs Organization Charter. This charter aims at providing an overview of the roles that each committee undertakes in the World Customs Organizations and other areas of accreditation. The charter gives insights on the core values and functions of the various committees in the continuous improvement of services in the customs community. Furthermore, the charter defines the mandate or authority of each committee in order to create awareness of the expected standards and mechanisms of service delivery. Generally, the charter epitomizes the commitment of the various committees in the World Customs Organizations towards effective service delivery in the customs community. In reference to the World Customs Organizations charter the authority of the council was derived in Article III of the WCO conventions. The council was formed by the convention with the aim of creating uniformity and harmony in the overall customs systems. The charter provides that the council is the supreme body of the WCO and as a result the council delegates the final decisions revolving around the organization’s operations and activities. The charter further provides that all the WCO committee report to the council. 4 The finance committee derives its mandate from the WCO Council through the administrative support of the WCO Secretariat this is in reference to rule 28 of the “Rules of Procedure of the Customs Co-operation Council.” The key role of the finance committee revolves around the provision of advice and support to the council and the policy commission in regards to financial and budgetary issues. 5 According to the WCO charter, the audit committee derives its mandate from Rule 21 of the “Rules of Procedure of the Customs Co-operation Council.” The audit committee acts as the main advisory of the council and the policy commission. The committee works independently under the direction of WCO Council and Secretariat. Furthermore, the WCO provides that the audit committee works to ensure that the WCO resources are protected and used effectively. 6 The Technical Committee on Rules of Origin (TCRO) derives its authority from Article 4.2 of the Origin Agreement in the WCO charter. When TCRO was formed its key mandate as described in Article 9.1 and 9.2 of the Origin Agreement included, coordinating technical exercise in work programme and as depicted in Article 4.1 and 4.2 the TCRO is granted the mandate of assuming responsibilities in furnishing advice or information regards to origin determination of custom goods.7 The Technical Committee on Customs Valuations derives its authority from Article 18 of the Agreement on implementation of “Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.” This committee undertakes the responsibility of examining technical problems emerging from the daily administration of customs valuation systems and giving appropriate solutions. Moreover, the committee prepares and disseminates annual reports regarding technical features and operation aspects. According to the WCO charter the Harmonized System Committee derives its authority from Article 7 of the Harmonized System convention. The committee acts under the direction of the WCO Council, the Policy Commission and the WCO Secretariat. This committee examines policy matters revolving around Harmonized Systems and promotes the application of Harmonized Systems.8 The decisions made by the WCO committees have several legal implications for instance, the laws and regulations proposed by the various committees and thereafter imposed are applicable throughout the customs community. In addition decisions made by the WCO committees contribute to the overall customs practices and procedures thus determining international exchange and trade. The decisions of the WCO committee facilitate international trade by upholding the appropriate standards, laws and regulations of customs control.9 Part 2- The Policy Commission The Policy Commission is a dynamic steering unit to the WCO Council. This commission concerns itself with policy related matters of WCO operations. The policy commission initiates procedures, practices and policies of the WCO with the aim of assisting the council to actualize its overall objectives. The commission under the guidance of its chair person operates under the directive of the council. The key roles of the policy commission include, acting as the advisory body of the WCO council and monitoring the progress of the WCO activities on behalf of the council. Moreover, the Policy Commission examines and makes recommendation of the WCO budget programme each financial year. In regard to policy issues that are somewhat indistinct the commission examines these issues and makes recommendations to the council or other relevant committees to conduct further research. In addition, the policy commission is essentially a high level working unit that plays the role of capacity building, providing technical support and training. The policy commission plays an integral role in the governance of the World Customs organization. For instance, this commission establishes performance indicators and benchmarks for the various WCO bodies. The commission reports to the council regarding the performance of the various WCO bodies, this in turn promotes precision and integrity in the performance of customs duty with the organization. Moreover, the commission develops rules and regulations for governing the committees as they embark on formulating and adopting policy statements and institutional rules and guidelines. In collaboration with the council the policy commission develops a long range policy agenda for the customs community. The policy commission also plays an integral role in identifying the needs and priorities of the customs community. It actualizes this by analyzing the organization’s agendas and the needs of the personnel. In addition the policy commission assesses and propagates recommendations to the council and secretariat regarding governance policies, the limit capacity of the organization and a review of the performance of the organization. In particular circumstances revolving around legal issues the policy commission solicit legal services from constituent and advisory bodies. Furthermore, the policy commission promulgates the overall governing laws and regulations of the WCO organization as it is deemed necessary. It also establishes the geographic areas that fall under the World Customs Organization and creates conditions of operation. In reference to the World Customs Organizations charter the authority of the Policy Commission is derived from Article III of the WCO conventions. Article III of the WCO conventions provides that the policy commission has the mandate of delegating over issues revolving around policy matters in the operations of the WCO. Furthermore, the Policy Commission is mandated by the WCO conventions to at as the main advisory body of the WCO Council and Secretariat. Moreover, the WCO convention gives the Policy Commission the authority to monitor the operations of the WCO Committees on behalf of the council. The Policy Commission also has the authority of making recommendations to the council for further research in regards to controversial policies10. Conclusion The World Customs Organization is basically an intergovernmental association that acts as the voice of the customs community world wide. The role of this organization revolves around the development of national conventions, the facilitation of international trade, the enforcement of customs regulations and the sustenance of intellectual property rights among many other functions. In order for the organization to achieve its various objectives the organization is divided into different structures that operate congruently in order to achieve is objectives in the customs community. The committees in the World Customs Organizations derive their authority from the World Customs Organization Charter. The charter defines the mandate or authority of each committee in order to create awareness of the expected standards and mechanisms of service delivery. In reference to the World Customs Organizations charter the authority of the Policy Commission is derived from Article III of the WCO conventions. The key roles of the policy commission include, acting as the advisory body of the WCO council and monitoring the progress of the WCO activities on behalf of the council. The WCO convention gives the Policy Commission the authority to monitor the operations of the WCO Committees on behalf of the council11. References Attorney-General's Dept, 2001, Customs act 1901, AusInfo publishers, Sydney. Commonwealth Consolidated Acts, 1991, Customs ACT 1901, Retrieved on February 25, 2010 Geoffrey, J, 1992, Administrative penalties: Customs Act 1901, Part XIII, Division 4, Volume 51 of Discussion paper, Australian Law Reform Commission publishers, Sydney. Newton, H, 1987, Customs regulations in force under the Customs act 1901, A.G.P.S. publishers, Sydney. Sokol, J & Wulf, L, 2005, Customs modernization handbook, World Bank Publishers, New York. Wollaston, P & Newton, H, 1994, Customs law and regulations, Brooks & co Publishers, UK. Wilcox, C, A charter for world trade, Macmillan Publishers, New York. World Customs Organization. Committee Structure. Retrieved on March 14, 2010 Read More