Conduct of proceedings
Conduct of proceedings
Rule 32Public
sittings
32.1. Sittings of the Assembly shall
be public, unless the Assembly decides otherwise.
Rule 33Debate
and consideration of texts
33.1. Each item
on the agenda shall be considered on the basis of a report
from the relevant committee or
from the Bureau.
33.2. Subject
to the provisions of Rules 7.
, 8.3.
, 9.2.
and 73.4 and of paragraph 3 below, this report,
except for the Progress Report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee,
shall be distributed
at
least two weeks before the opening of the part-session. The main
committee’s report shall be made available to the committee for
opinion in time for the latter to draw up its opinion if possible
one week before the latter’s meeting. If the report is not distributed
within the time-limit laid down, and at least ten representatives
or substitutes belonging to at least five national delegations so
request when the draft agenda is considered, the debate shall be
postponed until a later part-session unless urgent procedure has
already been requested with respect to that report. However, if
at least ten representatives or substitutes belonging to at least
five delegations object, the postponement may be overruled by the
Assembly through a vote by a two-thirds majority.
33.3. In
the case of a debate under urgent procedure, the committee’s report
may not be considered until twenty-four hours after its distribution.
33.4. Following
the debate on the committee’s report or on the report of a Bureau
ad hoc committee on the observation of an election, the Assembly
shall vote on the draft text or texts which it may contain. Amendments
and sub-amendments to those draft texts may be tabled and considered
in accordance with the provisions of Rule 34
. When
all amendments and sub-amendments have been considered and voted,
the Assembly shall vote on the text as a whole. After the announcement
of the outcome of the vote, representatives or substitutes who have
not spoken in the proceedings may speak for not more than one minute
each to explain their votes.
33.5. The
Progress Report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee may contain
a special section or an appendix listing the decisions to be ratified
by the Assembly, in particular decisions taken on the basis of Rule 26
concerning
official documents. Adoption of a motion by a member to change a
Bureau decision shall require a majority of the votes cast. On any
such motion only the mover, one speaker against and the rapporteur
of the Bureau shall be heard.
Rule 34Amendments
and sub-amendments
34.1. 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.
34.2. Amendments may relate only
to texts submitted to the Assembly for adoption.
34.3. Except where an amendment
is self-explanatory, it may be accompanied by an explanatory note
of no more than 50 words to facilitate better understanding or clarify
the scope of the amendment.
34.4. An
amendment which would tend to delete, replace or render inoperative
the whole of a draft text
or
which seeks to convert a draft resolution into a draft recommendation
is not in order.
34.5. Sub-amendments shall relate
to an amendment previously tabled and may not contradict the sense
of the amendment. A sub-amendment may not be further amended.
34.6. The
President shall decide whether amendments and sub-amendments are
in order. Unless the Bureau decides otherwise and except for debates
under urgent procedure, amendments shall be tabled in accordance
with the following deadlines:
- for the first
day of a part-session, three hours before the opening of the sitting;
- for debates on
the second day, not later than 4 p.m. on the first day of the part-session;
- for debates on
the subsequent days of a part-session, not later than twenty-three and
a half hours before the opening of the sitting at which the debate
is to begin.
If the Assembly adopts changes to the
draft agenda, the President may, if necessary, propose different
deadlines to the Assembly.
Sub-amendments shall be tabled one
hour before the scheduled end of the sitting preceding that in which
the debate begins.
34.7.a. The
President may exceptionally declare an oral amendment or sub-amendment
to be in order if, in his or her opinion, it is designed to make
a clarification, to take account of new facts or to lead to conciliation.
The President chairing a sitting shall strictly interpret Rule 34.7.a on
the consideration of oral amendments. In coming to that decision,
he or she may consult the chairperson of the committee concerned.
34.7.b. An
oral amendment or oral sub-amendment judged to be in order by the
President shall not be taken into consideration if ten or more members
of the Assembly object.
34.8. Amendments
and sub-amendments shall have priority over the texts to which they
refer and shall be put to the vote before the text itself.
34.9. When an
amendment or sub-amendment is called, only the following shall be
heard: one of the signatories (or, if none of them do so, any other
member of the Assembly) in order to move it, one member to speak
against and the chairperson or rapporteur of the committee seized
for report to express the committee’s opinion.
If
a committee has not been able to take a position on amendments to
its report that have been tabled, the floor shall be given to the
rapporteur. An amendment or sub-amendment which is not moved shall
not be considered. An amendment or sub-amendment which has been
withdrawn by its signatories may be moved by any other member of
the Assembly. A rapporteur may not sign or move any amendment or
sub-amendment to a draft text presented by the committee on whose
behalf he or she is reporting except for amendments or sub-amendments
tabled on behalf of that committee.
34.10. Before
the first amendment is called, the President or any member may move
a motion that only the rapporteur or the committee chairperson should
speak on amendments. On any such motion shall only be heard the
mover, one speaker against and the chairperson of the committee
concerned.
34.11. Following a proposal presented
by the chairperson of the committee seized for report, amendments
which have been unanimously approved by the committee shall be declared
as adopted by the Assembly, unless ten or more members of the Assembly
object. In these circumstances Rules 34.7 and 34.8.
shall not be applied. This paragraph
shall also apply to discussion of a report presented by a committee
to the Standing Committee.
34.12. Any amendment which has been
rejected by the committee seized for report by a two-thirds majority
of the votes cast shall not be put to the vote in plenary and shall
be declared as definitively rejected, unless ten or more members
of the Assembly object.
34.13.a. If
two or more contradictory amendments relate to the same paragraph,
the amendment which differs most from the text shall have priority
over the others and shall be taken first. If it is agreed to, the
other amendments thereby fall; if it is rejected, the amendment
which is next in priority shall be considered, and similarly for
each of the remaining amendments. In case of doubt as to the order,
the President shall give a ruling, if necessary after consulting
the chairperson of the committee concerned.
34.13.b. The same procedure shall
be followed if two or more contradictory sub-amendments relate to
the same amendment.
34.13.c. The President
can propose that complicated amendments be considered and voted upon
in parts, unless the chairperson of the committee concerned objects.
Rule 35Right
to speak
35.1. No
member of the Assembly may speak unless called by the President.
Members shall speak from their places and shall address the President.
35.2. Except
as provided in Rules 36
and 37
, members wishing to speak in a debate
shall enter their names in the speakers’ register. The speakers’
list is the responsibility of the President.
35.3. A
speaker may not be interrupted, except that, with the permission
of the President, he or she may give way during his or her speech,
to allow another representative to put a question to him or her
on a particular point or to raise a point of order.
35.4. If
a speaker departs from the subject, the President shall call him
or her to order. If a speaker is called to order twice on the same
item of business, the President may, on the third occasion, forbid
him or her to speak on that item.
35.5. Rapporteurs
on an item of business may be called when they so request.
35.6. A representative
who wishes to make a personal statement shall be heard for no more than
two minutes at such time as the President may decide. No debate
may arise on a personal statement.
35.7. Comments on
any questions of procedure shall last not more than 30 seconds.
Rule 36Points of order
36.1. A representative shall have
a prior right to speak if he or she asks leave to raise a point of
order.
This must be confined
to raising questions of procedure for a ruling from the Chair. If
the right to raise points of order is misused, the President may
forbid the offending representative to speak for the remainder of
the item of business.
Rule 37 Procedural
motions
37.1. A
member shall have a prior right to speak if he or she asks leave:
37.1.a. to
move a dilatory motion;
37.1.b. to move
the adjournment of the Assembly
or of a
debate
;
37.1.c. to
move the closure of a debate
;
37.1.d. to
move reference of the report back to committee either during the
opening sitting when the draft agenda is adopted, or when the report
is debated anytime before the vote on the whole of any draft text
begins.
None of these procedural motions may
be moved more than once during a debate.
The procedural motions mentioned in
paragraphs a. to c. shall be in order
only if notice has been given in writing to the President before
the end of the previous sitting. If these motions and also the reference
of a report back to committee mentioned in paragraph d. are moved
in the course of the first sitting of a part-session, such notice
must be given two hours before the start of the sitting.
37.2. The above
matters shall take precedence over the main question, the proceedings
on which shall be suspended while they are being considered.
37.3. In
debate on the above matters the following only shall be heard: the
mover of the motion, one speaker against the motion, and the rapporteur
or the chairperson of the committee concerned.
37.4. During
a debate, the President may give the floor to the rapporteur(s)
and to members speaking on behalf of their political groups who
indicate, by raising a blue card, their intention to ask another
member not belonging to the same political group, in response to
that member’s speech, a question lasting no more than thirty seconds,
directly related to the speech and the subject of the debate. The
member to whom the question is put may respond within the same time limit.
The rapporteur(s) may make use of at most two blue cards per debate,
and members speaking on behalf of their political groups one blue
card per debate. This procedure shall not apply to exchanges with
guest speakers.
Rule 38Organisation
of debates
38.1. The Bureau
may at its discretion propose to the Assembly the modalities and
time-table for a sitting or an item of business.
38.2. The Assembly shall decide
upon any such proposal without debate.
Rule 39Free
debate
39.1. The Assembly may hold a free
debate lasting for not more than one hour. The President shall call
the members of the Assembly or the members of delegations of special
guests, observers or partners for democracy wishing to speak on
any subject of their choice not appearing on the agenda of the part-session.
The Assembly may hold only one such debate during a part-session.
Speakers must have their names entered in the speakers' register.
Their statements must comply with the principles set out in Rule 22.6.
on acceptable words.
This debate shall not give rise to a vote.
