Actually, for animals, the person who is naming the new species submits that name and all supporting documents to The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). Based on the rules, The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, The commission of 28 members from 20 countries decides on the validity of the name.

For plants, the new name is reviewed by a meeting of the International Botanical Congress (IBC) that applies the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature(ICBN. They meet every 6 years in a different location around the world. In 2005 it was in Vienna and the next will be in 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.