The IMF and World Bank meet each autumn in what is officially known as the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group and each spring in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
There are equivalent numbers and the same constituency systems as is used at the Executive boards of the institutions.
There have been complete bans on outdoor protests in the 2003 meetings in Dubai, United Arab Emirates as well as the 2006 meeting in Singapore, where only indoor demonstrations within a designated area is permitted.
Some argue that such bans are out of safety concerns, while others consider them an effort to curb dissent.
These measures have led to retaliatory actions by NGOs who targeted the organisers, as well as the IMF and World Bank for allegedly picking venues which are known to impose such restrictions.