Exceptional procedures
Rule 54Current
affairs debates
54.1. The Assembly
may hold one or two current affairs debates on a subject matter
which is not on the draft agenda of the part-session as approved
by the Bureau and for which the Assembly has not decided on urgent
procedure.
54.2. A
request for a current affairs debate shall be addressed to the President
of the Assembly by at least twenty representatives or substitutes,
by one political group, by one national delegation or by one committee.
It shall be submitted in writing in time for the last meeting of
the Bureau before the opening of the part-session.
54.3. The
Bureau of the Assembly may decide to accept only one request, to
accept two requests or to reject all requests.
This decision
shall be endorsed by the Assembly.
54.4. A current
affairs debate may not exceed one and a half hours. It shall be
opened by a member chosen by the Bureau, who shall have a total
of ten minutes, of which, indicatively, seven minutes for the introduction
of the debate and three minutes for the reply at the end of the debate.
54.5. At
the end of a current affairs debate, the Assembly shall not vote
but the Bureau may subsequently propose that the subject be referred
to the appropriate committee for report.
54.6. Rules 54.1.
to 54.5.
shall apply
mutatis mutandis to
a current affairs debate which may be requested to be held at the
Standing Committee.
