Logo Assembly Logo Hemicycle

Modification of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure

Resolution 1234 (2000)

Author(s):
Parliamentary Assembly
Origin
See Doc. 8870, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, rapporteur: Mr Vis. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf ofthe Assembly, on 9 November 2000.
Thesaurus
1. The Assembly approved a general revision of its Rules of Procedure on 4 November 1999.
2. In Resolution 1202, the Assembly held that its Rules should be “up-to-date, consistent and effective”. It considers it necessary to modify those Rules whose interpretation or application raised difficulties during the 2000 Ordinary Session, in particular the rule regarding quorums.
3. The Assembly consequently decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as follows (the changes to the current wording are underlined):
3.1 Add the following footnote to Rule 5.2: “This does not prevent the Provisional President from addressing the Assembly for five minutes at the most”.
3.2 in Rule 20.5, delete the words “by standing up”;
3.3 replace Rule 34.1 as follows: “For amendments and sub-amendments to be tabled, they must be signed by at least five Representatives or Substitutes, or approved by the committee submitting the report or an opinion”.
3.4 Delete Rule 37.4.
3.5 Replace Rule 39.3Note as follows: “39.3. If need be, the President may decide that the Assembly shall vote by show of hands or by sitting and standing.”
3.6 in Rule 39.4, add after the words “in case of a show of hands”: “or of a vote by sitting and standing”;
3.7 in Rule 39.5, replace the words “if at least twenty members so request” by the words “if at least one sixth of the Representatives of the Assembly authorised to vote, belonging to at least five national delegations, so requestNote”;
3.8 replace Rule 39.7 as follows: “Voting by roll call shall begin after the warning bells have been run. The President asks if all members have voted before declaring the vote closed and announcing the result. The votes are recorded in the minutes of proceedings of the sitting in the alphabetical order of the Representatives’ names. If the electronic voting system cannot be used for technical reasons when the Assembly is to proceed to a roll-call, the roll shall be called in alphabetical order, beginning with the name of a Representative drawn by lot. Voting shall be by word of mouth and shall be expressed by ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘abstention’ only”;
3.9 replace Rule 39.8 as follows: “Once the President has declared the vote closed, a member may not change his or her vote”;
3.10 replace Rule 41 as follows:
3.10.1 “41.1. The Assembly may deliberate, decide the orders of the day, approve the minutes of proceedings, decide upon procedural motions, and agree to adjourn, whatever the number of Representatives present.”
3.10.2 “41.2. All votes other than votes by roll call shall be valid whatever the number of members voting, unless, before the voting has begunNote, the President has been requested to ascertain whether there is a quorum. At least one-sixth of the Representatives authorised to voteNote, belonging to at least five national delegations, have to vote in favour of the request. To ascertain whether there is a quorum, the President, before proceeding to a vote on the subject matter that prompted the request, invites Representatives to mark their presence in the Chamber using the electronic voting system.”
3.10.3 “41.3. The quorum is one-third of the number of Representatives of the Assembly authorised to voteNote.”
3.10.4 “41.4. A vote by roll call shall not be valid, nor the result made public, unless one-third of the Representatives authorised to voteNote took part. The President may decide to ascertain whether there is a quorum, using the procedure of Rule 41.2, before proceeding to a vote by roll-call”.
3.10.5 “41.5. In the absence of a quorum, the vote shall be postponed until the next sitting or, on a motion from the Chair, until a subsequent sittingNote. The Assembly proceeds to the next item on the orders of the day.”;
3.11 replace Rule 43.4.a as follows: “43.4.a. The Assembly may set up ad hoc committees for specific purposes. A motion to set up an ad hoc committee is considered by the Bureau. If the Bureau approves it, it refers the proposal to the committee concerned by the proposal’s subject matter, for report, and to the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, for opinion”;
3.12 in Rule 45.3, replace the word “so” by the words “full member or alternate of the committee concerned”.
4. This resolution shall enter into force at the first part of the 2001 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly (22 January 2001).