A democratic spirit dominates ISC's statutes and operating procedures, as shown by its systematic use of voting by correspondence or at meetings. The organization's ability to function on extremely limited resources demonstrates its strong sense of mission. Its main activities are international congresses, international centers, international courses, international conferences, prizes for outstanding scientific works in criminology, and the publication of an international journal of criminology. The international governmental organizations interested in criminology are the United Nations; the International Labor Organization; the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; the World Health Organization; and the Council of Europe. The four types of nongovernmental organizations interested in criminology are the organizations which are interested in penology, professional organizations, organizations which are only occasionally interested in criminology, and certain other organizations like the International Academy of Legal and Social Medicine. The variety of organizations and their relationships demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of criminology and suggest the existence of different doctrines. Notes, 11 references, lists of publications from international meetings, and organizations, and a list of the winners of the Denis Carroll prize are included.