OSCE, Alm.del - 2013-14 - Bilag 37: OSCE PA's årlige session i Baku: Praktik og procedurer

Election of the Officers of the Assembly……………………………. 3 - 5President of the Parliamentary Assembly………………………Vice-Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly……………….Treasurer…………………………………………………………Election of the General Committee Officers……………………Voting……………………………………………………………..Voting cards………………………………………………………344455

Documents…………………………………………………………….. 5 - 9Supplementary Items…………………………………………….Amendments……………………………………………………...Compromise Amendments………………………………………Questions of Urgency……………………………………………Validation of Signatures…………………………………………Submission of Documents……………………………………….5-67-8888-99

OVERVIEWGeneral CommitteesThe Rapporteur of each General Committee will present a report which will form the basis of thedebate in the General Committee. The text of the report is the responsibility of the Rapporteur, andshould be prepared or approved by him or her.The Rapporteur will also present a draft resolution based on the report. The draft resolution, but notthe report, is subject to amendment by Members of the Assembly in accordance with the provisionsof Rule 22, paragraph 1 of the Rules of Procedure. Amendments should, therefore, relate only to thesubjects addressed by the Rapporteur in the Draft Resolution.

Plenary SessionThe draft Final Document to be debated and considered at the Plenary Session onWednesday, 2 July2014will be, in principle, a composite of the three resolutions of the three General Committees. Inthe event of incompatibilities between the texts adopted by the General Committees, a DraftingCommittee composed of representatives of the three General Committees and others appointed by thePresident will seek to reconcile them (Rule 39, paragraph 3).List of Speakers for General DebateMembers wishing to speak in the general debate in the Plenary Session onTuesday, 1 July 2014should enter their names in a register provided for that purpose in the Table Officenot later than onehour before the opening of the sitting.In all cases, the Chair shall determine the order in whichMembers shall be called to speak. Unless the Chair decides to grant additional time, no Member mayspeak for more than five minutes or for no more than one minute on a point of order (Rule 27,paragraph 7). The Chair may close the list when the number of speakers multiplied by five minutesexceeds the time available for the session. Alternatively, the Chair may reduce the time limit for eachspeaker to less than five minutes in order to allow more Members to participate in the debate (Rule27, paragraph 2)Points of order shall only be raised by Members of the Assembly (Rule 27, paragraph 8).

Election of the President and Vice-Presidents will be held in Plenary on the last day of the AnnualSession,2 July 2014.These Officers will be elected by secret ballot (Rule 5, paragraphs 1-4). Inconsidering proposed candidates the Assembly shall take into account the national composition of theAssembly (Rule 4, paragraph 9).Under Rule 4, paragraph 5, candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President must besponsored in writing by twenty-five (25) or more Members of the Assembly. Nomination papersshould be handed in atthe Table Office no later than 10.00 a.m. on Tuesday, 1 July 2014.Inaccordance with Rule 4, paragraph 5 the Bureau will verify the candidatures prior to submission tothe Assembly.The election will be held onWednesday, 2 July 2014 between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.Detailsregarding distribution of ballot papers and the organisation of the election will be announced duringthe Baku Session. Proxy voting is not allowed. Each voting member shall cast their ballot in person.In accordance with Rule 31, paragraph 3, “A Member who has an unavoidable obligation to leave theAnnual Session before the day of the election of a President, Vice-President and a Treasurer has theright to vote earlier provided that he or she has notified in writing the Assembly Presidentaccordingly. Early voting shall start only when all candidates have been duly nominated.”In the event of a second ballot, any members who have left the Annual Session will be unable to vote.In accordance with Rule 32, paragraph 4, the Chair will appoint three tellers to supervise the electionsand count the ballots. All duly appointed candidates or those that represent them have the right tomonitor voting procedure, the counting of the ballot papers and the tabulation of the votes in allpolling places.If the number of the candidates nominated is the same or less than the number of positions to befilled, the candidates shall be declared elected by acclamation (Rule 5, paragraph 4).

President of the Parliamentary AssemblyThe President will be elected for a period of one year, until the closure of the 2015 Annual Session(Rule 4, paragraph 6). The President may be re-elected only once to the same office (Rule 5,paragraph 6).In accordance with Rule 5, paragraph 1 “The President shall be elected by secret ballot and eachMember entitled to vote may cast one vote. If, on the first ballot, no candidate has obtained anabsolute majority of the votes cast, a second ballot shall be held between the two candidates whoobtain the most votes in the first ballot. The candidate who, on the second ballot, obtains the mostvotes shall be elected. In the event of a tie, the issue shall be decided by lot.”

Vice-Presidents of the Parliamentary AssemblyIn Baku there will be elections for three Vice-Presidents who will serve for three years until theend of the 2017 Annual Session.Vice-President Walburga HABSBURG DOUGLAS (Sweden): elected in Belgrade (2011) fora three-year mandate is eligible for re-election.Vice-President Emin ONEN (Turkey): elected in Istanbul in 2013 for a one-year mandate iseligible for re-election.Vice-President Ilkka KANERVA (Finland):mandate is eligible for re-election.elected in Istanbul in 2013 for a one-year

The Vice-Presidents may be re-elected once to the same office (Rule 5, paragraph 6). A Vice-President who has served less than two three year terms is eligible for re-election (Rule 5, paragraph7). The Assembly will vote on all three positions of Vice-President simultaneously. The threecandidates obtaining the greatest number of votes will serve for three years until the end of the 2017Annual Session (Rule 4, paragraph 7).TreasurerThe Treasurer shall hold office from the close of the Annual Session in which he or she is elected tothe close of the second Annual Session thereafter (Rule 4, paragraph 8). The Treasurer may be re-elected twice to the same office (Rule 5, paragraph 6).Mr. Roberto BATTELLI (Slovenia): elected in Vilnius in 2009, re-elected in Belgrade in 2011and re-elected in Istanbul in 2013 for an additional two-year term. His mandate will concludein 2015. Therefore,there will not be an election of the Treasurer in Baku.

Election of General Committee OfficersGeneral Committees shall elect a Chair, a Vice-Chair and a General Rapporteur, who are the Officersof General Committees, at the close of the sitting at each Annual Session for the following year (Rule36, paragraph 5). Candidates shall be sponsored in writing. Unless the General Committee decidesotherwise, they shall be nominated before the opening of the last scheduled meeting of the GeneralCommittee during the Annual Session.The General Committee Officers shall be elected by a majority of votes cast in a secret ballot. If nocandidate has obtained a majority, a second ballot shall be held between the two candidates havingobtained the highest number of votes in the first ballot. In the event of a tie, the issue shall be decidedby lot. If there is only one candidate nominated for an office the candidate shall be declared electedby acclamation. In the event of a vacancy arising during the course of the year, the President mayappoint a substitute (Rule 36, paragraph 5).

VotingUnder Rule 32, paragraph 1, the Assembly shall vote by a show of hands except in cases where a roll-call vote or secret ballot is required. Only affirmative and negative votes shall count in calculating thenumber of votes cast. The number of abstentions shall be recorded.Under Rule 32, paragraph 5, the Chair may with the consent of the Assembly put paragraphs orresolutions, or a number of paragraphs thereof to the vote en bloc, but any member may request aseparate vote on each or a particular paragraph.Where the Assembly's accounts show that a participating State country has not made its duecontribution for a period of 9 months, Members of its delegation shall not be allowed to vote until thecontribution has been received (Rule 41, paragraph 5).Voting CardsEach delegation will receive colour-coded voting cards for the three General Committees and for theplenaries.The voting cards for the three General Committees will be distributed according to Rule 36,paragraphs 2 and 4. The OSCE PA International Secretariat will distribute the voting cards dividedequally, to the extent possible, among the General Committees. The difference between voting cardsdistributed for each committee shall not exceed one.

Supplementary ItemsRule 21 of the Rules of Procedure states:1. The agenda of the Annual Session may be supplemented by an item or a motion on any matterwithin the competence of the OSCE, which does not relate directly to subjects proposed bythe General Rapporteurs to the three General Committees. Such a supplementary item shall bein the form of a draft resolution with signatures ofat least twenty Membersrepresentingatleast four different countries. In addition, a Member of the Assembly cannot be a co-sponsor of more than four supplementary items.The first signatory of a supplementaryitem will be its principal sponsor.A supplementary item must be received by theSecretariat after the General Rapporteurs have submitted their reports, but at least 35days before the opening of the first plenary session. The Standing Committee may place5

only fifteen supplementary items on the agenda of the Annual Session.The StandingCommittee shall decide by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast whether to include asupplementary item on the agenda of the Annual Session. The Standing Committee shall thendecide by a majority of votes cast whether to refer a supplementary item to the competentCommittee or to submit it to the plenary.2. If more than one supplementary item is presented on the same issue, the President may ask theprincipal sponsors of the draft resolutions on the same issue to hold consultations in order topresent a compromise draft resolution. If such a compromise draft resolution is received at theSecretariatat least fourteen days before the opening of the first plenary sessionwithsignatures of the principal sponsors andat least ten signatories of each of the two or moredraft resolutions in question,it shall be presented to the Annual Session as a supplementaryitem and all other draft resolutions on the same issue shall fall. The principal sponsor of thedraft resolution which was received first shall be the principal sponsor of the compromisedraft resolution. If there is no agreement on a compromise draft resolution, the draft resolutionwhich was received first shall be presented to the Annual Session and others on the same issueshall fall.3.Supplementary Items which obtain the level of support required by Rule 21.1 and haveno amendments meeting the requirements of Rule 22.1, but which are not placed on theagenda of the Annual Session by the Standing Committee under Rule 21.1, shall bereferred directly to the plenary or competent Committee.The principal sponsor of suchan item may speak for one minute in support, another member may speak for one minuteagainst, and immediately thereafter it shall be put to the vote without further debate. If carriedthe item shall be included in the final document as an annex. Such items shall not beamendable.4.Supplementary items which have been debated at the previous Annual Session shall notbe considered eligible for debate. In special circumstances,where an item is deemedurgent and topical the President in consultation with the Vice Presidents may place it on theagenda of the Annual Session for debate. The President’s decision shall be binding upon theAssembly and not debatable.

AmendmentsParagraph 1 of Rule 22 of the Rules of Procedure states:Amendments to the draft resolutions presented by the General Rapporteurs or tosupplementary items shall be submitted in writing and signed byat least five Membersrepresentingat least two participating States.Amendments to the draft resolutions preparedby the General Rapporteurs shall be received at the Secretariat with the required signaturesatleast fourteen days before the opening of the first plenary session.Amendments tosupplementary items shall be received at the Secretariat with the required signaturesat leastseven days before the opening of the first plenary session.The first signatory of anamendment will be its principal sponsor.The forms for submitting amendments to supplementary items will be forwarded to youshortly.

Members are also reminded of certain other provisions of Rule 22 (Amendments) of the Rules ofProcedure:The Amendments will be considered in the same Committee in which the resolution, orsupplementary item, to which the Amendment relates, is considered. The Chair of theCommittee shall decide whether the Amendment is in order. If the Chair decides that theAmendment is not in order because it is not relevant to the Committee’s area of competenceor is not a compromise amendment in accordance with Rule 23, any sponsor of thatAmendment may refer the matter to the President. The President will determine whichCommittee is competent to deal with the Amendment;Each Amendment may only relate to one paragraph;If two or more Amendments relate to the same paragraph, they will be voted upon accordingto the following order:

Compromise AmendmentsParagraph 1 of Rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure states:A compromise amendment may be submitted in writing and signed byat least ten Members,representingat least three participating States,including at least two principal sponsors ofamendments already submitted in accordance with Rule 22 on the same issue to the same draftresolution.Any compromise amendment shall be submitted no later than 10 a.m. on theday before the Assembly or relevant Committee starts consideration of amendments.

Questions of UrgencyRule 26 of the Rules of Procedure states:1. Questions of urgency may be placed on the agenda of the Assembly at any time on theproposal of the Standing Committee, or in the absence of a meeting of the StandingCommittee, on the proposal of the Bureau. Such questions of urgency must be pertinent to theOSCE process andrelate to an event which has taken place or come to public knowledgeless than twenty-four days before the opening of the first plenary session.2. Such question of urgency shall be in a form of a draft resolution andit shall be signed by atleast twenty-five Members representing at least ten countries.The first signatory of thedraft resolution shall be the principal sponsor of the question of urgency.3. In the event of the Standing Committee or the Bureau deciding not to recommend theinclusion of such an item on the agenda, the proposers shall have the right to appeal in writingto the Assembly, which may decide by a majority of two thirds of the Members of theAssembly to place the proposal on the agenda.

2. The signatures of Members of the Assembly who signed an amendment are validprovidedthey register for and attend the Annual Session.3. In the event that a Member of the Assembly who registered for but cannot attend the AnnualSession due to unavoidable obligations, his or her signatures shall remain validprovided thatthe President of the Assembly is notified accordingly by the Head of a Delegation.Registration, according to established practice, is accomplished by being physically present at theAnnual Session.

OFFICERS OF THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLYMEMBERS OF THE BUREAUNameMr. Ranko KrivokapicMs. Walburga Habsburg DouglasMr. Emin OnenMr. Ilkka KanervaMr. George TsereteliMr. Robert B. AderholtMs. Doris BarnettMs. Vilija Aleknaite AbramikieneMs. Isabel PozueloMr. Alain NeriMr. Roberto BattelliVacantCountryMontenegroSwedenTurkeyFinlandGeorgiaUSAGermanyLithuaniaSpainFranceSloveniaPositionPresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentVice-PresidentTreasurerPresident EmeritusTermTo end 2014 SessionTo end 2014 SessionTo end 2014 SessionTo end 2014 SessionTo end 2015 SessionTo end 2015 SessionTo end 2015 SessionTo end 2016 SessionTo end 2016 SessionTo end 2016 SessionTo end 2015 Session