Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting

"According to Article IX of the Treaty, every year (before 1994 every two years) the original twelve Parties to the Treaty and those Parties that demonstrate their interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial research activity there - together called the Consultative Parties - meet "for the purpose of exchanging information, consulting together on matters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica, and formulating and considering and recommending to their Governments measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the Treaty". This is the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). The measures, often called “Recommendations”, include a large number of documents in which the principles of the Antarctic Treaty and the Environment Protocol are translated into specific regulations and guidelines.

The entry into force of the Environment Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty in 1998 saw the establishment of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). The CEP meets concurrent with the ATCM, and a large part of the ATCM agenda is dealt with in the CEP. Besides the regular ATCM and meetings of the CEP, the Antarctic Treaty also has Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, which are usually called together to treat particular topics, and Meetings of Experts."