INTERPOL – International Criminal Police Organization

General Assembly

• Supreme governing body of INTERPOL.
• Composed of representatives from all member countries (196).
• Meets once a year for about four days.
• Decision-making principle: One country, one vote.
• Functions:
  • Sets policies and directions.
  • Ensures INTERPOL’s activities meet the needs of member states.

Executive Committee

• 13 members, representing all regions.
  • Elected by the General Assembly, the Executive Committee has 13 members comprising the President of the Organization, three vice-presidents and nine delegates. They are all from different countries and the geographical distribution is balanced.
• Governing body supervising execution of General Assembly decisions.
• Oversees administration and work of the General Secretariat.
• Meets three times a year.
• Its role is to:
  • Supervise the execution of the decisions of the General Assembly;
  • Prepare the agenda for sessions of the General Assembly;
  • Submit to the General Assembly any programme of work or project which it considers useful;
  • Supervise the administration and work of the Secretary General.

President of INTERPOL

• Elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years
• Provides high-level guidance and representation.
• Role
  • Preside at meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee and direct the discussions;
  • Ensure that the activities of the Organization are in conformity with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee;
  • Maintain, as far as possible, direct and constant contact with the Secretary General of the Organization.
• The role of President is part-time and unpaid, with the holder retaining their full-time post within their national authority.

General Secretariat

• Headquarters in Lyon
• Headed by the Secretary-General 
  • The Secretary General is responsible for the day-to-day decision-making and functioning of all General Secretariat duty stations around the world.
  • This includes supervising all the policing activities, expertise, databases and services INTERPOL provides to its 196 member countries to support them in the fight against international crime, and also the ‘corporate’ functions that assist this work.
• INTERPOL is a membership-based organization, and the General Secretariat is the body that coordinates its policing and administrative activities.
• The General Secretariat runs INTERPOL’s day-to-day activities to support member countries in their international policing.

National Central Bureaus (NCBs)

• Each member country has an NCB.
• In each country, INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) provides the central point of contact for the General Secretariat and other NCBs. 
• An NCB is run by national police officials 
• India’s NCB is under the CBI.