PROVISIONAL RULES FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS/ONLINE MEETINGS DURING THE
CURRENT COVID19 PANDEMIC:
Article 1
Definitions; applicability of the existing OSCE PA Rules of Procedure
a.
The current OSCE PA Rules of Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to these emergency
provisions, provided they do not contradict the purpose of the following simplified
procedures.
Definitions:
•
“Consensus Principle” refers to decision-making
without a formal vote (no counting of
for/against/abstentions). A consensus decision will be considered adopted if there is no
objection raised.
•
“Silence Procedure” refers to a written form of decision-making
by consensus. A subsidiary
body proposes a decision to the main body in writing, setting a deadline. If
–
within the
deadline
–
nobody objects, the decision will be considered as adopted.
b.
Article 2
Meetings
a.
In principle, Assembly meetings as places for parliamentary interaction require the
physical presence of members. Exceptionally, in a large-scale international emergency
situation which prevents a significant number of members from travelling to the venue of
a statutory meeting and/or prevents the host country from organizing the statutory meeting
because of official security measures, the Standing Committee can declare an Emergency
Situation by a consensus-minus one-decision of its members taken through the Silence
Procedure. Once the decision is taken, the following rules apply to meetings of the bodies
of the Assembly.
Exceptional Session:
aa. An Annual Session that had to be cancelled shall be scheduled as an exceptional
in-person meeting as soon as the obstacle for a physical meeting has been removed
and based on the host Parliament's confirmation of its capacity to adapt in due time
to all aspects deriving from this rescheduling, unless the next regular Annual
Session is to take place less than six months after the removal of the obstacle.
bb. If such a Session cannot be held as an in-person meeting within six months after
the decision it shall take place as a remote Session consisting of meetings of the
Standing Committee, the three General Committees and one Plenary Session. The
Agenda of the remote Session will consist of reports, topical debates and elections
of Assembly and Committee Officers. Other decisions shall be limited to
administrative issues and Questions of Urgency (Rule 26) with the following
modification of Rule 26 Paragraph 1 Al. 2:
Such questions of urgency must be
pertinent to the OSCE process and relate to an event which has taken place or
come to public knowledge less than twenty-four days before the date for which
the regular Annual Session was scheduled or during the time of the emergency.
Other meetings of the Standing Committee outside the Annual Session: The Bureau
shall decide whether the Standing Committee can meet online in a video-conference.
Bureau: If the Bureau is prevented from meeting physically because of the emergency, it
may meet online at any time and take decisions through a show of hands. The same applies
to the Bureaus of the General Committees.
b.
c.
d.
1