AMENDMENTS PROPOSED UNANIMOUSLY BY MEMBERS OF

THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

 

 

 

Rule 5.

 

Replace paragraph 8 of Rule 5 with the following text:

 

 

 

Election of Officers

 

8.     When a Vice-President ceases to be a Member of Parliament but continues to be a Member of the Assembly in accordance with Rule 3(1), he or she will have to resign as Vice-President before the beginning of the Annual Session in order to allow the Assembly to elect another Member to replace him or her for the rest of his or her term.

 

Rule 6 and Rule 7. 

 

Delete existing Rule 6 and Rule 7 and replace with the following text:

 

 

 

Bureau

 

1.     The Bureau shall consist of the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the Officers of the three General Committees and the President Emeritus. The President Emeritus shall, ex-officio, be a non-voting Member of the Bureau.

 

  2. The Bureau shall meet at the invitation of the President, or at the request of two-thirds of the voting Members of the Bureau. The President shall take the Chair of the Bureau. In the absence of the President, a Vice-President designated by the President shall take the Chair and may exercise the same rights. In the absence of such designation, the Chair shall be held by the Vice-President qualified under Rule 5, Paragraph 7.      

 

3.    The Bureau shall be responsible for ensuring that the decisions of the Standing Committee are carried out, and ensure the efficient operation of the Assembly in between meetings of the Standing Committee, including approval of the annual audited accounts. It shall consider the preparations for the Annual Sessions, Winter and Fall Meetings and for Extraordinary Sessions.

 

4.     The Bureau shall take decisions by two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

 

5.     Unless the Bureau decides otherwise, its meetings shall be closed to the public.

         


New Rule.

 

After Rule 13, insert the following new Rules:

 

Fall Meetings

 

 

1.       The Assembly shall hold its Fall Meetings once a year for no more than three days.

 

2.       The Fall Meetings shall consist of meetings of the Standing

                   Committee and Special Conferences.

 

3.       The Fall Meetings shall take place in one of the OSCE Participating or Partner States, as decided by the Standing Committee.

 

4.       The Fall Meetings shall be open to the public, unless a Meeting

                   decides otherwise.

 

 

Mediterranean Forum

 

The Assembly shall hold a Mediterranean Forum once a year, preferably in conjunction with one of the other statutory meetings of the Assembly.

 

 

 

 

Rule 15.

 

Amend Rule 15.1 as follows:

 

 

1.    There shall be an Agenda of the Annual Session, proposed by the President, after consultation with the Bureau, for approval by the Standing Committee. The Assembly may amend the Agenda. The final Agenda shall be adopted by the Assembly. The President shall also propose an Agenda for the Winter Meeting and the Fall Meetings. The Standing Committee at the Winter Meeting and the Fall Meetings will approve its agenda on the proposal of the President. The General Committees during the Winter Meeting will approve their agendas at the proposal of their Chairs. The Bureau may also propose issues to be included in the agendas of the General Committees. The draft agendas, proposed by the Bureau and the Chairs, will be communicated to the National Delegations normally six weeks before the opening of the Annual Session or the Winter and the Fall Meetings.

 

Rule 18.

 

 

It is proposed that Rule 18 should read as follows:

 

 

Rule 18

 

Register of attendance

 

Each National Delegation shall submit an official list of its Members to the Secretariat before each Annual Session, Winter Meeting, Fall Meetings and other meetings.

 

 

 

Rule 19.

 

In Rule 19, add a new paragraph 6 as follows:

 

 

 

6.         A delegation may submit, through the International Secretariat, one written question a year – of maximum 300 words – to be answered by the Chairman-in-Office within 6 weeks. When a written question stays unanswered, the President of the OSCE PA shall focus the attention of the OSCE Chairmanship upon it and report back to the Assembly at its next meeting. 

 

 

 

 

 

Rule 20.1.

 

It is proposed to amend Rule 20.1 as follows:

 

The agenda of the Annual Session may be supplemented by an item or a motion on any matter within the competence of the OSCE, which does not relate directly to subjects proposed by the General Rapporteurs to the three General Committees. Such supplementary item shall be in a form of a draft resolution and it shall be received at the Secretariat at least twenty-one days before the opening of the first plenary session with signatures of at least twenty Members representing at least four different countries. The first signatory of a supplementary item will be its principal sponsor. The Standing Committee shall decide by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast whether to include a supplementary item on the agenda of the Annual Session. The Standing Committee shall then decide by a majority of the votes cast whether to refer a supplementary item to the competent General Committee or to submit it to the plenary.

 

 

 

 

Rule 35.

 

Amendment to Rule 35, add new paragraph 4 as follows:

 

 

4.     The Vice-Chair of each General Committee shall be responsible for the preparation of a report on the follow-up of the resolutions adopted by the General Committee and the Parliamentary Assembly.  These reports shall be presented by the Vice-Chairs at the Winter Meeting. The President of the Parliamentary Assembly shall assign the resolutions adopted directly by the Assembly, to an appropriate General Committee for a follow-up report, after having consulted its Chairman.

 

 

Rule 38.

 

It is proposed to amend Rule 38 as follows:

 

1.       The Secretary General shall be appointed, on the proposal of the Bureau, by a secret ballot in the Standing Committee by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. The appointment shall be for five years and may be renewable twice by a majority of the votes cast in the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee, on the proposal of the Bureau, may consider further renewal of the term in office of the Secretary General by a majority of the votes cast. The Standing Committee will set his or her duties, remuneration and conditions of employment consistent with the annual budget.

 

2.       In the exercise of his or her duties, the Secretary General shall be responsible to the President and to the Assembly.

  

3.       The Standing Committee shall confirm by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast the senior appointments made by the Secretary General to the two posts of Deputy Secretaries General, one of whom shall be designated as Finance Officer.

 

4.       The Secretary General and the members of the Secretariat shall not engage in any action incompatible with their positions as international civil servants.

 

5.       The Secretariat shall be located in Copenhagen.

 

 

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