The
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (
Bureau international des poids et mesures in
French), is an international
standards organization, one of three such organizations established to maintain the
International System of Units (SI) under the terms of the
Metre Convention (
Convention du Mètre). The organization is usually referred to by its French
initialism,
BIPM.
The other organisations that maintain the SI system, also known by their French initialisms are the General Conference on Weights and Measures (French Conférence générale des poids et mesures) (CGPM) and the International Committee for Weights and Measures (French Comité international des poids et mesures) (CIPM).
The BIPM was created on 20 May 1875, following the signing of the Metre Convention, a treaty among 51 nations (as of August 2008[update]).[1] It is based at the Pavillon de Breteuil in Sèvres, France, where it enjoys extraterritorial status. As such, it escaped German occupation during World War II.[citation needed]
Under the authority of the Metre Convention, the BIPM helps to ensure uniformity of SI weights and measures around the world. It through a series of consultative committees, whose members are the national metrology laboratories of the Convention's member states, and through its own laboratory work.
