Governance of the BIPM

The Organization has two governing organs:

• The CGPM: a plenary and policy-making body and the BIPM’s supreme authority, composed of representatives of Member States.
• The CIPM: a non-plenary executive organ, with a policy-making function, composed of 18 independent members, charged with implementing the metrological work that the Member States decide to execute in common.

The above governing organs are assisted by an administrative and technical secretariat, which is sometimes referred to as being the administrative organ. Its functions are performed by BIPM staff, including the BIPM Director as well as the other members of staff that he nominates.

The governance structure established by the Metre Convention follows the classical three-body institutional architecture of most international organizations. The Director of the BIPM and the staff, is subordinated to the CIPM, which is subordinated to the CGPM.

The provisions of the Metre Convention signed in 1875 (the scan of certified copy of which can be found here), and in particular Articles 1, 3 and 7, provide further details on the above-mentioned information.