6 Principles

  6.1.1 Audits should be constructive in approach and carried out on a voluntary basis, at the request of the Member State to be audited, and in accordance with the established procedures. Nevertheless, the benefits of the scheme would be greater if all Member States of the Organization volunteered themselves to be audited. Audits should therefore be organized and conducted in such a way as to encourage Member States to submit to audit. All Member States will benefit from positive and constructively conducted audits.

  6.2.1 Audits should be pragmatic, fair and carried out in accordance with an agreed time frame. Recognizing and appreciating that different Member States may have different and equally valid ways of discharging their responsibilities, therefore, audits should be conducted by appropriately trained and qualified auditors, in a consistent and objective manner. Consistency and uniformity in the quality of audits must be ensured.

  6.3.1 Audit interim and final reports should be confidential and available only to the audited Member State, the audit team and the Secretary-General. An audited Member State may make available to other parties details of the findings and of its own subsequent actions.

  6.3.2 An audit summary report should be given to the Organization in a standardized format and, after consultation with the audited Member State, circulated for information to all Member States on a periodic basis.

  6.3.3 The Secretariat should consolidate the summary reports and identify lessons learned in a standardized format. A consolidated report should, accordingly, be issued on a periodic basis.

  6.4.1 Audits should be conducted in such a manner that the Member State being audited can contribute to the audit process within an established time frame.

  6.5.1 Audits should lead to continual improvement of the implementation and enforcement of the applicable IMO instruments by the Member State. In this regard, the Member State should carry out appropriate and agreed follow-up activities.