The CERN Council is the highest authority of the Organization and has responsibility for all-important decisions. It controls CERN’s activities in scientific, technical and administrative matters. It approves programmes of activity, adopts the budgets and reviews expenditure. The Council is assisted by the Scientific Policy Committee and the Finance Committee. The Director-General, appointed by the Council, manages the CERN Laboratory. The Director-General is assisted by a directorate and runs the Laboratory through a structure of departments.
Council
CERN is run by 23 Member States, each of which has two official delegates to the CERN Council. One represents his or her government’s administration; the other represents national scientific interests. Each Member State has a single vote and most decisions require a simple majority, although in practice the Council aims for a consensus as close as possible to unanimity.
Scientific Policy Committee
The Scientific Policy Committee evaluates the scientific merit of activities proposed by physicists and makes recommendations on CERN’s scientific programme. Its members are scientists elected by their colleagues on the committee and appointed by Council on the basis of scientific eminence without reference to nationality. Some members are also elected from Non-Member States.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee is composed of representatives from national administrations and deals with all issues relating to financial contributions by the Member States and to the Organization’s budget and expenditure.