commonly known as Interpol, the successor to the International Criminal Police Commission, founded in Vienna in 1923.

The current Interpol constitution was adopted in 1956. As of Sept. 1, 1975, the organization had 120 member countries, including Cuba, Rumania, and Yugoslavia. Each member country has a National Central Bureau, working in cooperation with other countries to combat offenses under ordinary law.

Interpol’s governing bodies are the general assembly, which is convened annually, and the president, who is elected by the assembly. There are also an executive committee and a general secretariat, headed by a secretary general.

The organization is chiefly active in the struggle against juvenile crime, illegal traffic and nonmedical use of narcotics, counterfeiting and forgery of securities, and hijacking on domestic and international airlines.

Interpol’s official publication is the journal International Criminal Police Review (published since 1946). The organization has its permanent headquarters in Paris.