However, the convention wasn't ratified by its member countries due to the outbreak of World War I.
Although international in its missions, the BIH was, throughout its history, essentially French in terms of its funding.
In reality, the BIH's direction was entrusted to a directeur-adjoint (deputy director) or a chef des services du B.I.H.
[2] From 1956 until 1987 the BIH was part of the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services (FAGS).
Its tasks related to the correction of time with respect to the celestial reference frame and the Earth's rotation were taken over by the IERS.