Organisation of Assembly business
Organisation of Assembly business
Rule 24Official
documents
24.1. The official documents of
the Assembly shall be published and marked “Parliamentary Assembly”.
24.2. The official
documents of the Assembly are the following:
24.2.a. The
agenda for a part-session and the official report of debates;
24.2.b. Questions
addressed to the Committee of Ministers by representatives or substitutes, and
the answers of the Committee of Ministers;
24.2.c. Motions tabled
by representatives or substitutes;
24.2.d. Reports
of committees and amendments and sub-amendments to
the draft texts examined within the framework of these reports;
24.2.e. Recommendations and
opinions addressed to the Committee of Ministers;
24.2.g. Written declarations tabled
by representatives or substitutes;
24.2.h. Any documents
deemed to be official documents by the President of the Assembly.
Rule 25Tabling
of motions for recommendations and resolutions
25.1.a. A recommendation
is a proposal by the Assembly addressed to the Committee of Ministers,
the implementation of which is beyond the competence of the Assembly,
but within that of governments.
25.1.b. A resolution embodies
a decision by the Assembly on a question of substance which it is
empowered to put into effect, or an expression of view for which
it alone is responsible. In addition, a resolution may deal with
a question of form, transmission, execution or procedure.
25.2. A
motion for a recommendation or resolution not exceeding 300 words
shall be signed by at least twenty representatives or substitutes
belonging to at least five national delegations or be adopted with
the requisite quorum by a committee, as defined in Rule 47.3.
, provided that the motion
comes within the committee's specific terms of reference.
Once tabled, a motion
cannot be withdrawn by its authors and no signature may be withdrawn
or added to it.
Motions
shall not contain propaganda for commercial purposes or on behalf
of persons or associations whose ideas or activities are incompatible
with the Council of Europe’s principles. They shall also address
areas falling within the Council of Europe’s sphere of competence
and shall not contain racist, xenophobic or intolerant language
or words and expressions whose meaning constitutes an affront to
human dignity.
25.3. A
motion for recommendation to initiate a complementary joint procedure
between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly
in response to a serious violation by a member State of its statutory
obligations shall be presented in both official languages and signed
by at least one fifth of the component members (representatives
and substitutes) of the Assembly, belonging to at least three political
groups and fifteen national delegations.
25.4. The
President shall decide whether such a motion is in order. He or
she may consult the committee concerned and possibly the Bureau.
A motion which is in order shall be printed and distributed as soon
as possible.
Rule 26Reference
to committee
26.1. The
Bureau shall reach a decision on all documents mentioned in Rule 24.2.c.
. and, if appropriate,
h., if necessary after consulting one or more committees, and may
decide that the documents shall be referred to one or more committees,
forwarded to one or more committees for information, or that no
further action be taken. A document forwarded for information may not
give rise to a committee report to the Assembly.
26.2. The Bureau may refer a specific
matter to a committee for a report to the Assembly, particularly
as part of the action to be taken on an adopted text, provided that
the matter has not already been referred to it.
26.3. The
Bureau shall submit these decisions for ratification as soon as
possible, either by the Assembly or the Standing Committee. These
decisions shall become available to members through the Progress
Report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee or in a separate
document. Rule 33.5.
, second
and third sentences, shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
A document may be referred to only one committee for report, though
it may be referred to any other committee for an opinion. If a draft
report adopted by a committee proposes any amendments to the European Convention
on Human Rights, the Bureau shall request an opinion from the Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on this draft report.
26.4. A
reference to committee shall lapse in two years or, at the request
of the committee concerned, by a decision of the Assembly. References
to the Monitoring Committee for periodic review, as defined in paragraph
8 of the terms of reference of the Assembly Committee on the Honouring
of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of
Europe (Monitoring Committee), shall lapse after three years.
Rule 27 Agenda
27.1. Any
matter within the competence of the Assembly may be placed on the
agenda. The Progress Report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee
shall be placed on the agenda.
27.2. A
part-session may include a debate on general policy.
27.3. On
the basis of a list of reports already approved by committees but
not yet debated and of reports to be approved in time for the part-session,
the Bureau shall draw up a draft agenda for each part-session showing
at which sittings the items are to be considered. The draft agenda
shall be communicated to all members of the Assembly at least two
weeks before the opening of a part-session.
27.4. The
draft agenda may be brought up to date by the Bureau and, where
possible, shall also be submitted to the Standing Committee. It
shall be submitted to the Assembly for approval at the first sitting
of a part-session. If the Bureau gives a favourable opinion on a
request for a debate under urgent procedure or for a current affairs
debate, it shall propose to the Assembly the necessary re-organisation
of the draft agenda, principally where necessary by the withdrawal
of one or more items of equivalent length.
27.5. Adoption
of a motion to alter the draft agenda shall require a majority of
the votes cast.
Adoption
of any subsequent motions to alter the agenda shall require a two-thirds
majority.
27.6. On any
motion covered by paragraph 5 above, only the following shall be
heard: the mover, one speaker against and a spokesperson of the
committee concerned.
