5. The 104th session of WP.29/AC.2, considering the coordination and organization of work of the World Forum, was held on 8 November 2010 under the chairmanship of Mr. B. Gauvin (France) and was attended by Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union (EU).

6. WP.29/AC.2 considered the provisional agenda for the current session (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1086, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1086/Corr.1 and ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1086/Add.1) and recommended the modifications mentioned in para. 3 above.

7. WP.29/AC.2 considered the legal questions related to the 1958 Agreement raised at the November 2009, March 2010 and June 2010 sessions of the World Forum. WP.29/AC.2 noted that a proposal on legal questions and for amending the guidelines for transitional provisions was expected to be considered by the World Forum during the session (see para. 71 below). The secretariat reported that the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) had stated that the corrections to the cover pages and symbols of Regulations and their amendments could not be legally considered as Corrigenda to the Regulations. For this reason, the three Corrigenda adopted by the Administrative Committee of the 1958 Agreement (AC.1) under agenda item 4.2.19 of the June 2010 session had been rejected by OLA. WP.29/AC.2 noted that OLA had suggested that the documents concerned should be reissued with the necessary corrections. WP.29/AC.2 also noted that the Document Management Section (DMS) had not accepted this suggestion and that the secretariat was considering an alternative solution. It was recommended that the proposal under agenda item 4.10.1, the document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2010/138 contains a proposal to correct the cover page of the 08 series of amendments to Regulation No. 17, should be deleted (see para. 3(d) above).

8. WP.29/AC.2 noted the position of GRE concerning the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) document of the informal group on ITS (WP.29-150-22) and recalled that at the next session of WP.29 in March 2011, all the comments from the GRs should be made available for their consideration. It was clarified that the informal group on ITS will not meet during this session. The secretariat reported on the future launching of a public consultation, through the website, of a strategic note and background document for the incorporation of ITS into the legal instruments administered by the subsidiary bodies of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC). The secretariat added that a road map would be completed once the comments were received.

9. The secretariat informed the Administrative Committee about the ongoing process to select a suitable candidate for the new P3 post.

10. The secretariat reported on a recent meeting with the Asian Injury Prevention (AIP), FIA Foundation and the Global Road Safety Partnership regarding the introduction of protective helmets and visors in some countries of Asia. Hot and humid weather conditions as well as the costs of protective helmets, which have to fulfil the provisions of Regulation No. 22, result in limited use of protective helmets. The three organizations had suggested that WP.29 develop a new Resolution with basic provisions for light-weight protective helmets. The above-mentioned organizations were of the opinion that the introduction of helmets with these requirements could be a first step for a later introduction in these countries of protective helmets in conformity with the current provisions of Regulation No. 22. WP.29/AC.2 recommended that a proposal should be transmitted to the Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP) for consideration at a further session.

11. The Administrative Committee noted that, in the case of electric vehicles, the provisions of some Regulations, which were drafted for conventional vehicles, could represent a safety risk for passengers. WP.29/AC.2 recommended that WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies should identify such potential risks, perform a technical analysis of the findings and propose amendments to the Regulations concerned to eliminate such risks.

12. WP.29/AC.2 reviewed the draft agenda of the 152nd session of the World Forum and recommended the amendments mentioned in paragraph 3 above. It was also recommended that agenda item 5.1 be considered by the World Forum and the rest of the agenda items regarding the 1998 Agreement be considered by the Executive Committee of the 1998 Agreement (AC.3). It was also recommended that the Administrative Committee of the 1997 Agreement (AC.4) should not meet during this session.

13. WP.29/AC.2 reviewed the draft agenda of the 153rd session of the World Forum, scheduled to be held in Geneva from 8 to 11 March 2011.

14. WP.29/AC.2 noted that, following the decision of the Bureau of the ITC at its June 2010 session, a meeting of the Chairs of its Subsidiary Bodies would be organized during the March 2011 session of ITC. It was recommended that Mr. B. Kisulenko, Chair of the World Forum, should represent WP.29.

15. Furthermore, the secretariat reported on (a) the statistics of the World Forum covering the period 2002–2009, (b) the launching of the Latin America New Car Assessment Programme (Latin NCAP) in Uruguay and © the need to harmonize the concepts and use of the terms “Administrative Department”, “Technical Services” and “Competent authorities” in the Regulations. The secretariat was invited to prepare a document on the latter issue for consideration by WP.29/AC.2 at its March 2011 session.

16. The World Forum adopted the report of the Administrative Committee on its 104th session and its recommendations.