On 29 September 1954, the convention establishing CERN entered into force

On 29 September 1954, the convention establishing CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, entered into force. The document was opened for signature in Paris on 1 July 1953, and participants could join it until the end of that year.

It was preceded by an agreement signed in Geneva on 15 February 1952. That agreement created a council of representatives of European states, which planned a common international laboratory and other forms of cooperation in nuclear physics. On 30 June 1953 in Paris, the term of that treaty was extended by a supplementary agreement.

Tasks of the organization

The convention described the organization's tasks as follows: cooperation among European countries in research of a fundamental nature, and the construction and operation of international laboratories for studying high-energy particles with accelerators and auxiliary equipment. The organization did not engage in military tasks, and the results of its work were to be published or otherwise made available. The exchange of scientists, the dissemination of information and the training of researchers were mentioned separately.

Conditions for entry into force

For the convention to take effect, it had to be ratified or accepted by seven states whose contributions under the scale of the financial protocol amounted in total to no less than 75 percent. Switzerland was required to be one of those seven states, since Geneva had been chosen as the seat of the organization. The Council could move it to another location by a two-thirds majority of all members.

The structure of the organization included a Council and directors-general, each of whom had the staff of their laboratory under them. The Council was responsible for scientific, technical and administrative policy, approved programs and the budget, examined expenditure and published audited annual accounts. The text of the convention was later amended: amendments recommended at a Council session in December 1967 entered into force on 17 January 1971.

Image: Torbjorn Toby Jorgensen CC BY-SA 2.0 · License

Translation editor: Ловушкин А.