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Length of term of office and re-eligibility of committee chairpersons

Resolution 1937 (2013)

Author(s):
Parliamentary Assembly
Origin
Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 31 May 2013 (see Doc. 13219, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, rapporteur: Mr Gross).
Thesaurus
1. The bureaux of Parliamentary Assembly committees are elected at the first meeting of the committees in each ordinary session, during the January part-session of the Assembly, on the basis of an agreement reached between the political groups, for the duration of the session up to the opening of the next annual session.
2. The Assembly considers it expedient to forestall the problems that might arise if a committee chair or vice-chair is vacated during the year, particularly where a chairperson or vice-chairperson forfeits his or her membership of the Assembly following national parliamentary elections. For this purpose, it thinks that a former chairperson or vice-chairperson, who thus has experience of the post, could reasonably be permitted to stand for re-election in order to complete the remainder of the term of office. It considers nonetheless that the proposed amendment of the Rules of Procedure does not apply to sub-committees.
3. Accordingly, the Assembly decides to amend its Rules of Procedure by adding to Rule 45.7 in fine the following sentence: “If a committee chair or vice-chair falls vacant in the course of a session, a former chairperson or vice-chairperson of that committee who has served two complete terms may be elected for an incomplete term until the end of that session.”
4. The Assembly decides that the amendments to the Rules of Procedure set out in this resolution shall enter into force upon their adoption.