STANDING COMMITTEE 209 SC 05 E   Original: English NAT O   Pa rl ia me n ta ry  As s e mb l y THE DURATION OF THE MANDATES OF ASSEMBLY OFFICERS International Secretariat     October 2005

209 SC 05 E 1 1. In  preparation for  the  addition  of  seven  new  member  delegations,  the Assembly  updated and modified its Rules of Procedure 2004.  One aspect of the changes was to increase the number of elected positions within the Assembly.  The number of Vice-Chairmen on Committees and the Mediterranean Special Group was increased from two to three, and the number of Assembly Vice- Presidents was increased from four to five. 2. It is also relevant to note that the updating of the Rules included harmonizing the mandates for officers of the Mediterranean Special Group with those of the mandates of the officers of the Committees  and  Sub-Committees.    The  mandates  of  the  officers  of  the  Mediterranean  Special Group  were  renewable  only  once  while  those  of  Committee  and  Sub-Committee  officers  were renewable three times.  The Rules were harmonized by making the mandates of the officers of the Mediterranean Special Group renewable three times. 3. Thus, the current situation regarding mandates is as follows: The Assembly’s President and five Vice-Presidents have one-year mandates which can be renewed once. The Assembly’s Treasurer has a two-year mandate which is renewable twice. Chairmen,  Vice-Chairmen,  and  Rapporteurs  of  Committees,  Sub-Committees  and  the Mediterranean Special Group have one-year mandates which are renewable three times. 4. During the Standing Committee meeting in Ljubljana in May 2005, the duration of mandates was  debated,  and  several  members  put  forward  proposals  for  changes  which  they  felt  might achieve a better balance between continuity and rotation among the Assembly’s elected officers.   However, in some cases, the members concerned indicated that their first preference would be to maintain the current arrangements.  It was decided to defer further discussion until a subsequent meeting. 5. Before summarizing the various proposals that were put forward, a few observations are in order and these might assist the Standing Committee’s discussions. 6. There  was  a  consensus  that  the  Treasurer’s  mandate  should  be  considered  separately from those of the other members of the Bureau: the President and the five Presidents.  There was a  clear  feeling  that  the  Treasurer’s  position  required  the  type  of  continuity  which  is  currently specified in the Rules.  Thus, in the summaries presented on page 2 of this document, the term “Bureau” does not include the Treasurer.  Furthermore, there was no suggestion that the mandates of the officers of the Mediterranean Special Group should be different from those of the officers of the  Committees  and  Sub-Committees,  nor  that  a  distinction  should  be  drawn  between  the mandates of Committee officers and Sub-Committee officers.  Consequently, in the summaries on page   2   of   this   document,   the   term   “Committees”   is   used   to   represent   the   Committees, Sub-Committees and the Mediterranean Special Group. 7. Obviously, there are no procedural obstacles to changing the Rules to adjust the duration of mandates if that were the wish of the Assembly’s membership.  The question of whether to make such a change depends on whether members are content with the balance between continuity and change in the officers of Committees, Sub-Committees and the Mediterranean Special Group, or whether it is felt that the turnover should be more rapid for the Committees, and less rapid for the members of the Bureau (excluding the Treasurer).   8. That  said,  any  change  in  the  duration  of mandates  would  raise  questions  about  practical implementation.    For  instance,  would  the  duration  of  mandates  apply  retroactively,  or  would  the new durations apply only to newly elected officers?

204 SC 04 E 2 Summary of Proposals Raised in May 2005 Proposal 1 No change for either the Bureau or the Committee officers’ mandates Proposal 2 No  change  for  the  Bureau’s  mandates.    The  mandates  for  Committee officers should be for one year, renewable twice. Proposal 3 The mandates for the Bureau would be for one year, renewable twice.  The mandates for Committee officers should be for one year, renewable twice. Proposal 4 The  mandates  for  the  Bureau  would  be  for  two  years  and  not  renewable.   The  mandates  for  Committee  officers  would  be  for  two  years  and  not renewable. Table 1: Summary of Proposals on Mandates Proposal 1 Bureau 1 1 2 (No change) Committees 1 3 4 Proposal 2 Bureau 1 1 2 Committees 1 2 3 Proposal 3 Bureau 1 2 3 Committees 1 2 3 Proposal 4 Bureau 2 0 2 Committees 2 0 2 _______________________