The IRP shall be composed and shall operate in accordance with the provisions of Annex VII.

The IRP shall, by November 1 of each year, or later if agreed by the IRP, provide to the Meeting of the Parties a list of qualified applicant vessels eligible to receive a DML.

The IRP shall hold at least three meetings a year, one of which will preferably be held on the occasion of the ordinary Meeting of the Parties.

The IRP shall be made up of representatives of the Parties ("governmental members"), three representatives of non-governmental environmental organizations with recognized experience in matters pertaining to this Agreement and with offices in the territory of a Party, and three representatives from the tuna industry that operates under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the Agreement Area ("non-governmental members").

Modifications may be recommended by the IRP.

The rules of procedure of the IRP may be modified by the Meeting of the Parties.

e. Distributing to the IRP information received from Parties on the actions taken on possible infractions identified by the IRP;

a. Assisting in the convening and organization of IRP meetings;

The following criteria shall be applied to attendance at IRP meetings:

The decisions at the meetings of the IRP shall be adopted by consensus among the governmental members.

For infractions described in (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g), a Party will be deemed to have provided such concurrence if it does not object to the IRP within six months of a referral of a possible violation from the IRP.

d. The Director may invite representatives of intergovernmental organizations as observers, with prior notification to IRP members, unless any governmental member of the IRP objects in writing.

g. Presenting to the members of the IRP information received from the Parties referred to in Paragraph 1(e) of this Annex; and

h. Carrying out other tasks necessary for the accomplishment of the IRP's functions, as assigned by the Parties.

a. There shall be no restrictions on the number of persons a Party can include in its delegation to an IRP meeting.

The non-governmental members shall have a two-year term of membership, starting at the first meeting of the IRP immediately after their election.

The IRP may convene additional meetings at the request of at least two of the Parties, provided that a majority of the Parties support the request.

f. Publishing the Annual Report of the IRP and making it available to the public, in accordance with the instructions given by the Meeting of the Parties;

If the mortality in any given year increases above levels which the IRP considers to be significant, the IRP shall recommend that the Parties hold a meeting to review and identify the causes of mortality and formulate options to address such causes.

c. Preparing minutes of all meetings and draft special reports and documents dealing with the activities of the IRP;

The members of the IRP and any other participants invited to attend IRP meetings as observers shall treat all the information presented at such meetings in accordance with the provisions of confidentiality set forth in Article XVIII of this Agreement.

The meetings shall be in Spanish and English, and IRP documents shall also be produced in both languages.

The functions of the International Review Panel (IRP), established pursuant to the La Jolla Agreement, shall be those set forth in Annex VII.

f. Each observer is limited to two delegates, but may bring more with the approval of two-thirds of the governmental members of the IRP.

In compliance with Article XII of this Agreement, the International Review Panel (IRP) shall have the following functions:

The IRP meetings shall be chaired by a Presider elected by the governmental members at the beginning of each meeting, who shall decide on matters of order.

For the infraction described in (e), a Party will be deemed to have provided such concurrence if it does not object to the IRP within 12 months of such referral.

d. Each alternate may attend the meetings of the IRP, but shall have no speaking rights if all the members of his/her respective sector are present.

c. Any State not a member of the IATTC and any State or regional economic integration organization not a signatory to this Agreement may be represented by an observer, with prior notification to IRP governmental members, unless any governmental member of the IRP objects in writing.

Each Party shall promptly inform the IRP of enforcement actions it has taken pursuant to this Agreement, and the results thereof.

d. Providing to each Party, for its consideration, recommendations and information concerning possible infractions identified by the IRP for vessels under its jurisdiction;

b. Presenting information required by the IRP for carrying out its functions and responsibilities, including observer IRP forms and field data forms providing information on the activities of the vessels, dolphin mortality, and the presence, condition, and use of the dolphin safety equipment and gear;

In cases of urgency, and without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 9 of this Annex, the IRP may take decisions by correspondence through a vote of the governmental members, under the following procedures:

i. Perform a periodic net alignment to ensure the proper location of the dolphin safety panel during the backdown procedure, based on criteria established by the IRP.

For any vessel exceeding its DML, as it may be adjusted pursuant to this Annex, during a given year, the amount of such excess, plus an additional 50 percent of that amount, unless the IRP recommends otherwise, shall be deducted from DMLs assigned to that vessel by a Party under whose jurisdiction the vessel operates over subsequent years in a manner prescribed by the IRP.

No vessel may have its initial DML adjusted upward by any Party if the IRP had determined, and the Party with jurisdiction over the vessel concurs, that during that year or the previous year:

c. The Director shall circulate the proposal as well as the accompanying documentation, receive and count the votes, and inform the IRP members of the results of a vote as soon as the voting closes.

c. If a non-governmental position becomes permanently vacant, because of death, resignation, or failure to participate in three consecutive meetings of the IRP, the alternate shall fill the position for the remainder of that position's term.

Within six months following entry into force of this Agreement, the IRP, in cooperation with the scientific staff of the IATTC, shall develop and recommend a system by which to measure DML utilization in order to deter frivolous requests for DMLs.

Any Party may adjust the DMLs of its qualified vessels which meet the criteria set forth in Section I, paragraph 2, of this Annex either upward or downward, provided that no vessel is assigned an adjusted DML in excess of 50 percent above its initial DML, unless its performance in successfully reducing dolphin mortalities, as measured by the IRP, is in the upper 60 percent of the performance of the international fleet as a whole, as determined by the IRP, based upon the prior year's data.

In cases involving unusual or extraordinary circumstances not foreseen in this Annex, the Parties, as recommended by the IRP, may take such measures as are necessary, consistent with the provisions of this Annex, in order to implement the DML system.

The individual Parties with qualified vessels that will be fishing for tuna in association with dolphins shall manage their DMLs in a responsible manner, provided that no individual vessel shall receive a total annual DML in excess of the DML established for 1997 by the IRP, and reported in the Minutes of the 14th Meeting of the IRP, held on February 19-20, 1997, under the La Jolla Agreement. No Party shall allocate to the total of its qualified vessels a greater number of DMLs than those that such Party has been allocated under Sections I and III of this Annex.

a. The proposal shall be circulated to all members of the IRP, in writing, with all pertinent documentation, at least fourteen days before the proposed effective date of the resolution, action, or measure; the votes shall be transmitted to the Director no less than seven days before the proposed effective date;

No initial assignment of DMLs may result in any vessel receiving a DML in excess of the ADML unless its performance in reducing dolphin mortalities, as measured by the IRP based upon the previous two years' data, is better than the average performance of the international fleet as a whole.

In respect of violations, each Party, taking into consideration the recommendations of the IRP, shall apply, consistent with its national laws, sanctions of sufficient gravity as to be effective in securing compliance with the provisions of this Agreement and of measures adopted pursuant thereto and to deprive offenders of the benefits accruing from their illegal activities.

No vessel may be eligible to receive an additional allocation of DML by a Party unless it has on board all of the required dolphin safety gear and equipment throughout the year; and no such upward allocation may be made for a vessel which has exceeded its initial DML prior to April 1, unless due to force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, as agreed by the Meeting of the Parties, in consultation with the IRP.

Any vessel which is assigned a full-year DML and does not set on dolphins prior to April 1 of that year, or which is assigned a second-semester DML and does not set on dolphins by December 31 of that year, or which is assigned a per-trip DML from the RDA and does not set on dolphins during that trip, unless as a result of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, as agreed by the IRP, shall lose its DML and may not set on dolphins for the remainder of that year.

Each party shall promptly inform the IRP of enforcement actions it has taken pursuant to this Agreement, and the results thereof.

In respect of violations, each party, taking into consideration the recommendations of the IRP, shall apply, consistent with its national laws, sanctions of sufficient gravity as to be effective in securing compliance with the provisions of this Agreement and of measures adopted pursuant thereto and to deprive offenders of the benefits accruing from their illegal activities.