Requests for current affairs and urgent debates (Rules 50.2 and 52.2 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure)

Resolution 1447 (2005)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Text adopted by the Standing Committee acting on behalf of the Assembly on 6 June 2005 (see Doc. 10490, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, rapporteur: Mr Manzella).

Thesaurus

1. The Parliamentary Assembly considers that urgent and current affairs debates are useful procedures that enable it to express its views on certain events rapidly.

2. It notes that the Rules of Procedure do not set a specific deadline for submitting requests for urgent debates. However, requests for current affairs debates must be submitted, at the latest, one week before the opening of an Assembly part-session or a meeting of the Standing Committee.

3. The Assembly considers that it is appropriate to lay down more precise rules governing requests for urgent debates and to make those governing requests for current affairs debates more flexible. This would make it easier for the meeting of the Bureau immediately preceding a part-session of the Assembly or a meeting of the Standing Committee to evaluate such requests.

4. The Assembly accordingly decides:

to add at the end of the first sentence of Rule 50.2 of its Rules of Procedure the following words: “in time for the last Bureau meeting before the opening of the Part-Session”;

to replace the second sentence of Rule 52.2 with the following: “It shall be submitted in writing in time for the last meeting of the Bureau before the opening of the part-session or the meeting of the Standing Committee.”;

that these new provisions will enter into force as soon as this resolution is adopted.