Duties of the President, discipline
and order
Rule 20President and immediate
past President
20.1. The
President shall open, suspend and close sittings, direct the debates
of the Assembly, rule on the admissibility of motions for recommendations
and resolutions, amendments and written declarations tabled by members,
ensure observance of the Rules, maintain order, call on speakers,
close debates, ascertain whether a quorum exists, put questions
to the vote and announce the result of votes. The President shall
perform a similar role in relation to the Standing Committee and
the Bureau and chair the Presidential Committee and the Joint Committee.
The President shall represent the Assembly in its external and international
relations.
20.2. The
President shall not vote on any matter on the agenda, including
draft texts or elections. His or her duly designated substitute
may exercise this right to vote. When in the Chair, the President
shall not speak in debate. He or she may on that occasion be replaced
by his or her duly designated substitute. If the President wishes
to speak on an item on the agenda, he or she shall not occupy the
Chair for any part of that item.
20.3. For
as long as he or she remains a representative or substitute in the
Assembly, and provided that he or she has not resigned as President
or has not been dismissed from office pursuant to Rule 55
, the immediate past
elected President shall be an
ex officio member of
the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, the Committee
on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States
of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) and the Committee
on Rules, Ethics and Immunities. Rule 44.6 shall not apply to him
or her.
