The CICC has three non-permanent bodies, namely the Scientific Conference (CS), the College of Agricultural Production (CPA) and the Commission for the Promotion of Processing (CPT). They operate autonomously in support of the two permanent bodies of the CICC, namely the Council of Ministers and the Executive Secretariat.

The Commission for the Promotion and Development

• Role

The Commission for the Promotion and Processing of Cashew is the exchange body for stakeholders and organizations in the private sector of CICC members. It serves as a platform for exchange on issues of processing cashew and its derivative products and promoting consumption.

• Organization and interaction with other organs

The Commission interacts with the Council of Ministers by proposing strategies and policies for the promotion and processing of cashew and making recommendations to ensure better development of the cashew sector. The Commission is placed under the authority of a Director of Promotion and Development of the Private Cashew Sector, appointed by the Executive Secretary on the proposal of the members. He chairs the meetings of the Commission and ensures the smooth running of its meetings. The members of the Commission are appointed for a period not exceeding twenty-four (24) months, renewable once (1).

• Members designated by countries and partners

The CICC has three non-permanent bodies, namely the Scientific Conference (CS), the College of Agricultural Production (CPA) and the Commission for the Promotion of Processing (CPT). They operate autonomously in support of the two permanent bodies of the CICC, namely the Council of Ministers and the Executive Secretariat.

The Scientific Conference

• Role

The scientific conference is the body serving as a platform for scientific exchanges bringing together researchers and research institutes from CICC member countries.

• Organization and interaction with other organs

The Scientific Conference is an independent and impartial body in the conduct of its work and its scientific opinions, the conclusions of which do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CICC. It meets twice a year in ordinary session and may request the technical and financial cooperation of the CICC to carry out its missions.

It is headed by a Scientific Director appointed by the Executive Secretary on the proposal of researchers and research institutes of member countries. He may form a team with the agreement of the Executive Secretary, to carry out certain research and must involve the members of the scientific conference. The work, meeting reports and minutes of deliberations of the scientific conference are presented to the executive secretariat and may be presented to the Council of Ministers, which may or may not ratify them.

The members of the Conference are appointed for a period not exceeding twenty-four (24) months, renewable once (1). The scientific conference may define its own rules and procedures, formal or informal.

• Members designated by countries and partners

The CICC has two permanent organs, namely the Council of Ministers and the Executive Secretariat.

The Council of Ministers

• Composition

The Council of Ministers is a permanent body of the CICC which is composed of the Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Industry of the different Member States of the CICC or of the duly mandated representatives of said Ministers.

• Role

The Council of Ministers is the supreme decision-making body of the CICC, responsible for the following missions:

• Adoption of the texts necessary for the application of the convention establishing the CICC, in particular its internal regulations, acts relating to the organization and operation of the Executive Secretariat, the procedures manual, etc.
• Determination of the general policy of the CICC;
• Appointment of the Executive Secretary of the CICC and monitoring of its action;
• Recommendations to member countries of appropriate policies enabling the development of the cashew sector or the resolution of a specific problem;
• Evaluation of the application for membership of new members;
• Establishment of any body deemed necessary to achieve the objectives of the CICC;
• Approval of the CICC operating budget and its control
• execution by the Executive Secretariat;
• Review and approval of reports and work of any CICC body;
• Conclusion of agreements with strategic partners in the cashew sector.

• Sessions of the Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers meets in ordinary and extraordinary sessions.

• Regular sessions

The ordinary sessions of the CICC are held once (1) during plenary meetings, by rotation in the member countries, following alphabetical order, unless otherwise decided by the Council. This decision may notably take place during major cashew events, such as the International Exhibition of Cashew Processing Equipment and Technologies (SIETTA) and/or annual meetings.

In the event of force majeure preventing the selected country from hosting an ordinary session of the Council, the said session shall be held in order of priority in the host country of the CICC or any member country that volunteers and is able to host the session of the Council. The alphabetical order of rotation shall then resume.

• Extraordinary sessions

Extraordinary sessions may be convened at any time at the request of a member country, provided that they are approved by an absolute majority of the member countries. The extraordinary session shall be held in the country that requested it and the costs incurred shall be borne by that country.

• Organization of the Council of Ministers

The organization of the Council of Ministers includes a President and a Vice-President.

• Presidency of the Council of Ministers

The Presidency of the Council of Ministers shall be held by the Minister of the country hosting an ordinary session of the Council, unless the Council decides otherwise. This Minister shall act as President until the next ordinary session of the Council. During the exercise of his function, the President shall be competent to convene and preside over ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the Council.

• Vice-Presidency of the Council of Ministers

The Vice-Presidency goes to the country which will host the next regular session of the Council.

• Interim Presidency and Vice-Presidency

In the event of the President being unable to act, the interim shall be assumed by the Vice-President, who shall retain the prerogatives granted to the President. In the event of the impediment of the country holding the Presidency and the country holding the Vice-Presidency, the interim shall be assumed by the country where the CICC is headquartered, unless otherwise decided by the Council of Ministers.

• Calls and preparation of sessions

The convocations to ordinary and extraordinary sessions are made expressly. On behalf of the President of the Council, the Executive Secretary shall send to each person designated by the Member States, a written notification of the date of the Council sessions at the same time as the agenda, within a maximum period of two (2) months before the holding of the session. The documents necessary for the discussions relating to the items on the agenda shall also be transmitted in this context.

• Quorum

A quorum corresponding to 2/3 of the member countries is required for any meeting of the Council of Ministers.

• Agenda

The agenda shall be provisionally established by the Executive Secretariat on the instructions of the President of the Council of Ministers within a maximum period of two (2) months before the holding of the session concerned. At the beginning of each plenary session, the Council of Ministers shall adopt, after debate, the final agenda of the session. An item may be added to the agenda during a meeting unless an absolute majority of Members present objects. However, any decision taken on this item must be unanimous in order to be adopted at that meeting.

• Participation in sessions

The participation of Member States in the various sessions is subject to the regular and complete payment of contributions. Members who are not up to date with their contributions do not in principle participate in the sessions of the Council of Ministers, unless an exception is made by approval of the members of the Council by an absolute majority of the members. In this context, Member States do not have deliberative votes.

Any member by right who has accumulated at least three (3) years of unpaid contributions shall be notified that he will no longer take part in the sessions of the Council of Ministers except as an observer member. The participation of observers is subject to the approval of the Council of Ministers. Member States shall be represented at the sessions by the Ministers responsible for cashew or by any duly mandated designated representative. A representative may not represent more than one Member State.

• Holding of sessions

The President of the Council of Ministers shall preside over the plenary sessions. He shall be assisted in his duties by the Executive Secretary, who shall act as secretary of the session unless otherwise decided by the Council of Ministers. The President of the Council of Ministers or, where applicable, the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, acting as President of the Council, shall ensure that the quorum is reached, declare the opening and closing of each session, direct the debates, ensure that institutional procedures are applied, give the floor, regulate the deliberations, and ensure that order and discipline are maintained during the sessions. Participation in the sessions of the Member States shall be formalised by the representatives signing in attendance sheets.

• Public speaking and languages

Speaking at sessions of the Council of Ministers or international meetings shall be in one of the official languages ​​of the CICC, in particular French, English or Portuguese. Where appropriate, the provision of interpretation services may be decided and included in the CICC budget, approved by the Council of Ministers. Any member whose representative intends to speak in a language other than one of the working languages ​​of the CICC or in a language requiring interpretation services not included in the approved budget shall provide the said interpretation services at his own expense. No one may speak without first obtaining the permission of the President. The President may call a speaker to order if his remarks are not relevant to the point under discussion and may order that they be omitted from the minutes of the session. During the debates, he may propose to the Council that the speaking time and the number of interventions by each representative be limited. When the debate is so limited and a representative exceeds the time allotted to him, the Speaker shall call him to order. A representative may at any time move the closure of the debate on the item under discussion, even if other representatives have indicated a desire to speak. Permission to speak on the subject of closure shall be accorded only to two speakers opposing closure, after which the motion shall be immediately put to the vote.

• Suspension or adjournment of session

During the discussion of any question, a representative may move the suspension or adjournment of the session. Motions to this effect shall not be discussed, but shall be immediately put to the vote.

• Decisions of the Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers shall endeavour to take its decisions by unanimity of its members. However, if consensus is not reached and a vote is necessary, decisions shall be taken by vote of an absolute majority of the member countries present at the session concerned unless otherwise provided. Voting shall be by show of hands unless an absolute majority of members present and voting request a secret ballot. Each member shall have only one vote and abstentions shall not be counted in the ballot.

• New review of a decision

When a decision has been taken by the Council, it may be reconsidered only if the Council so decides by at least the same majority as was necessary for the adoption of the original decision. As a general rule, a decision taken by the Council may not be reconsidered on the same day. Permission to speak on a motion for reconsideration shall be granted only to the mover of the motion and, at the most, to two representatives in favour and two representatives opposed to the motion, after which the motion shall be immediately put to the vote.

• Final communiqué and minutes

A final communiqué or minutes of the deliberations are drawn up and read at the end of each session of the Council of Ministers.

• Deficiency / interlude between sessions

The Council of Ministers may appoint two or three representatives of States or plenipotentiaries to take decisions normally assigned to the Council of Ministers in the event of the latter’s failure to act or between two plenary sessions. The above-mentioned decisions may always be reviewed and amended by the Council of Ministers at its next plenary session.

The CICC has two permanent organs, namely the Council of Ministers and the Executive Secretariat.

The Executive Secretariat

• Composition

The Executive Secretariat is a permanent body of the CICC, which includes its Executive Secretary as well as the (rest of) the CICC staff.

• Roles

The Executive Secretariat is responsible for:

• Represent and defend the interests of the CICC;
• Implement CICC policy;
• Recruit CICC staff members, in accordance with the rules established by the Council of Ministers on recruitment;
• Develop CICC budget projects;
• Organize all CICC activities;
• Provides secretariat services for sessions of the Council of Ministers;
• Conduct research on the development strategies of the sector, impact studies of certain policies on the sector, collection and analysis of global data on cashew, publication of work on the economic, commercial and legal policies of the cashew sector in the desired geographical areas.
• Collect and review cashew statistics on stocks, production, consumption, prices and their structure, international trade, the value chain;
• Analyze the different elements that influence the supply and demand for cashew in a given sensitive area and the impact of possible substitute products on the marketing of cashew and its derivatives;
• Analyze information on the marketing conditions for cashew, its co-products and derivative products, as well as the tariff and non-tariff barriers applied to it;
• Conduct any other research enabling an improvement in the cashew economy, in particular the mobilization of technical and financial partners and the promotion of the cashew sector among countries and stakeholders who are not yet involved.

• Appointment of the Executive Secretary

The CICC Executive Secretariat is headed by an Executive Secretariat appointed by the Council of Ministers. He is thus the highest official of the CICC, responsible to the Council of Ministers for the administration and operation of the CICC Executive Secretariat.

• Mandate of the Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretary of the CICC has a term of four (4) years, renewable once.

• Interaction with the Council of Ministers

The Executive Secretary provides secretariat services for sessions of the Council of Ministers, in particular by participating in establishing the agenda for sessions, in the activities of convening members, transmitting technical documents to members, and in establishing reports and minutes of sessions.