The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) is an international intergovernmental scientific research organisation established through the Convention signed on 26 March 1956 by eleven founding States and registered with the United Nations on 1 February 1957. It is situated in Dubna not far from Moscow in the Russian Federation. The main fields of JINR's activity are theoretical and experimental studies in elementary particle physics, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics. The research policy of JINR is determined by the Scientific Council, which consists of eminent scientists from the Member States as well as famous researchers from China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Switzerland, the USA, and the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN).