/pub/history/military/a-weu/document File: 1368crpp.tho Document 1368 19th May 1993 Revision and interpretation of the Rules of Procedure REPORT (1) submitted on behalf of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges (2) by Mr. Thompson, Chairman and Rapporteur ______ I. REVISION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE RULE 15 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE ______ Draft Decision on amending Rule 15 on the Standing Committee The Assembly, DECIDES To replace paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Rule 15 by the following text: "4. It shall be convened by the President of the Assembly at the request of the Presidential Committee, which shall fix the date and duration of its meetings. 5. The Standing Committee shall examine committee reports included in its agenda by the Presidential Committee. 6. An urgent matter may be placed before it by the President, either on his own initiative or following a request by the Council or by not less than a quarter of the representatives or substitutes. In this case, the President of the Assembly shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the Standing Committee has a draft text before it and receives appropriate information allowing it to discuss the text in full knowledge of the facts. 7. The Standing Committee shall act on behalf of the Assembly. 8. Unless otherwise specified in the present rule, procedure in the Standing Committee shall be the same as in plenary sittings of the Assembly. 9. The provisions of Rule 24 on reports of debates and Rule 25 on the timetable of sittings and orders of the day shall not be applicable to the Standing Committee. 10. The Chairman of the Standing Committee shall take part in discussions and votes without a casting vote. 11. The provisions of Rule 21 (b) on speeches in committee shall be applicable to the Standing Committee." ------------------- Explanatory Memorandum ---------------------- (submitted by Mr. Thompson, Chairman and Rapporteur) 1. In the draft decision above, a complete redrafting of provisions relating to the Standing Committee is proposed. 2. In the light of the conditions in which the first two meetings of the committee were convened and held, a number of remarks may be made: 3 (i) Procedure for discussions in the Standing Committee, as set out in Rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure, more closely resembles procedure governing plenary sittings than that for committee meetings. It therefore seems simpler to refer to Assembly procedure and indicate the exceptions. These exceptions relate mainly to linguistic arrangements and the participation of the President of the Assembly, at the same time Chairman of the Committee, in discussions and votes. Reference to procedure applicable to the Assembly means that there is no longer any need for the details given in the present text of Rule 15 relating to the rights of rapporteurs and the time-limit for submitting reports. 4 (ii) The committee acts on behalf of the Assembly and the texts it adopts are not subject to ratification by the latter. Hence, the words "if necessary" should be deleted so that the relevant phrase reads "the Standing Committee [acts] on behalf of the Assembly". 5 (iii) There appeared to be a juridical vacuum in respect of the convocation of urgent meetings of the Standing Committee in the absence of specific provisions in the Rules of Procedure relating to the event of the Standing Committee considering a matter which had not been the subject of a committee report. 6. Two methods of convocation should therefore be distinguished in the Rules of Procedure: (a) convocation by the President of the Assembly to examine committee reports included in the agenda of the Standing Committee by the Presidential Committee; (b) convocation of urgent meetings which might be requested in conditions similar to those for an extraordinary session (Rule 3). In this case, it would be for the President of the Assembly to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Standing Committee may express its opinion on a text prepared by a rapporteur and have appropriate information. 7. Since, unlike the Standing Committee of the Council of Europe, the Standing Committee of the WEU Assembly may not have a matter placed before it by a committee, there is no need to make special provision for referring to the Assembly a report examined by the Standing Committee. 8. Such referral could result only from a decision by the Standing Committee, which it is hard to imagine if it has had a matter placed before it by the Presidential Committee. 9. In respect of urgent procedure, it is for the President of the Assembly to hold consultations in order to be prepared for such procedure to be refused. To this end, the President of the Assembly should, as far as possible, consult the chairmen of political groups, without being obliged to do so and a fortiori without their unanimous approval being required. 10. By assimilation with the convocation of an extraordinary session in accordance with Rule 3, it is proposed that urgent meetings may be convened at the request of not less than a quarter of members of the Assembly. In practice, this would be done at the request of one or more chairmen of political groups or delegations. It would be allowable if the number of members of political groups or delegations requesting urgent procedure were equal to not less than a quarter of representatives and substitutes. ========================================== II. INTERPRETATION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO URGENT PROCEDURE RULE 44 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE ______ Time-limit for tabling requests for urgent procedure 1. During the last session, two motions for a resolution with a request for urgent procedure were tabled during the penultimate sitting, one on the situation in East Timor and the other on crimes committed in former Yugoslavia. 2. Finally, at the last sitting, a motion for a recommendation on emergency assistance to Somalia was tabled without a request for urgent procedure. To be significant, this action had to be broiught to the attention of the Council very swiftly without waiting for its possible adoption by the Standing Committee at the end of March. 3. The problems raised by the situation in former Yugoslavia, East Timor and Somalia were known well before the opening of the session. The appropriate rule should be interpreted as follows: (i) a motion with a request for urgent procedure should be tabled at the beginning of the session; (ii) the tabling of a motion with a request for urgent procedure at the end of the session is justified only if the motion concerns events that have occurred during the session. 1. Adopted unanimously by the committee. 2. Members of the committee: Mr. Thompson (Chairman); MM. Amaral, N... (Vice-Chairmen); Mrs. Aguiar, MM. Andre, Battistuzzi (Alternate: Ferrarini), Bolinaga, Chevalier, Cuco, Diaz de Mera, Dicks, Dumont, Lord Finsberg, MM. Hughes, Junghanns, Konen, Leccese (Alternate: De Carolis), Lejeune, Ottenbourgh, Scheer, von Schmude, Mrs. Soutendijk van Appeldoorn, Mr. Stoffelen, Mrs. Terborg, MM. Trabacchini, Visibelli, N.... N.B. 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