Rules of Procedure of the Assembly (January 2023)

(Resolution 1202 (1999) adopted on 4 November 1999) with subsequent modifications of the Rules of Procedure* * Resolutions 1220 (2000), 1234 (2000), 1235 (2000), 1266 (2001), 1275 (2002), 1284 (2002), 1296 (2002), 1325 (2003), 1343 (2003), 1348 (2003), 1356 (2003), 1368 (2004), 1369 (2004), 1379 (2004), 1395 (2004), 1431 (2005), 1432 (2005), 1445 (2005), 1447 (2005), 1448 (2005), 1490 (2006), 1491 (2006), 1503 (2006), 1504 (2006), 1515 (2006), 1529 (2006), 1554 (2007), 1583 (2007), 1584 (2007), 1585 (2007), 1658 (2009), 1698 (2009), 1699 (2009), 1712 (2010), 1780 (2010), 1799 (2011), 1841 (2011), 1842 (2011), 1854 (2011), 1903 (2012), 1911 (2012), 1937 (2013), 1965 (2013), 2002 (2014), 2058 (2015), 2102 (2016), 2169 (2017), 2182 (2017), 2208 (2018), 2278 (2019), 2287 (2019), 2349 (2020), 2350 (2020), 2360 (2021), 2392 (2021), 2405 (2021)<br><br>Wherever used herein, the masculine form refers to both women and men, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The words "President", "Vice-President", "Secretary General", "Representative", "Substitute", "chairperson", etc. refer to persons of both sexes.

Rules of Procedure of the Assembly

Parts: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII.

Complementary texts

Parts: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII.

Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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    Complementary electoral procedure See Resolution 2349 (2020) of the Assembly. Retour au sommaire Atteindre l'élement suivant Atteindre l'élement précédent

      Complementary electoral procedure See Resolution 2349 (2020) of the Assembly.

      i. - Scope

      1. When exceptional circumstances do not allow an Assembly part-session to be held under normal conditions, namely in the physical presence of all members, and make it impossible to hold an election by secret ballot during that part-session in accordance with the usual procedure, See Appendix X on the procedure which applies to the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly. the Bureau of the Assembly may decide that the election shall be held by individual electronic voting or by postal voting, provided that the conditions of security, confidentiality and accessibility, which it deems necessary, are guaranteed. The decision of the Bureau shall be taken by a simple majority of the votes cast with a quorum of one third of the members.
      2. This alternative electoral procedure shall ensure the highest guarantees of transparency, accessibility, security (including data protection), confidentiality, fairness of the results and full and unquestionable credibility of the vote. It shall guarantee equal rights and equal treatment of Assembly members and delegations and ensure an equal playing field among candidates.
      3. Under the same circumstances, the Bureau may decide that the procedure for electing the President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly (Rules 15 and 16 ), shall be conducted by secret ballot using the electronic voting system.

      ii. - Individual electronic voting procedure in elections

      1. When it draws up the draft agenda for a part-session of the Assembly, the Bureau of the Assembly shall set the date(s) and time(s) of the election.
      2. The voting register shall be established on the basis of the list of Assembly members composing the Assembly at the relevant part-session (representatives and duly authorised substitutes for the sitting concerned, as notified within the prescribed deadline; Not later than three working days before the opening of the part-session (see Rule 67.4.c. of the Rules of Procedure). they shall provide the secretariat with their personal e-mail address and mobile phone number.
      3. A single voting register shall be established for all the ballots held on the same day.
      4. A delegation cannot have more voting members than it holds seats in the Assembly.
      5. If a second round of voting is organised, the voting register shall be established on the same basis as described above and shall include representatives and duly authorised substitutes for the sitting concerned, as notified within the prescribed deadline.
      6. Members shall receive, by e-mail to their personal mailbox, the curricula vitae of the candidates, as well as, for the election of a judge, the recommendations of the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights.
      7. Members shall receive detailed instructions in advance and shall be notified by e-mail of the opening of the vote(s); connection to the voting platform shall follow a secure procedure (typing in a unique code received by e-mail or by SMS on the mobile phone, as well as a personal e-mail address); an e-mail shall inform members of the closure of the vote(s).
      8. In the event of multiple ballots, the voting operations shall take place simultaneously; members shall have access to each ballot separately, but they are free to decide not to vote on one or more ballots.
      9. Once voting has closed, the results shall be made available to the tellers appointed by the political groups (one teller per group appointed among its members in advance of the election).
      10. The President of the Assembly shall publicly announce the results of the vote(s) as soon as possible; these shall be published on the Assembly’s website, together with the list of members who actually took part in the vote(s).
      11. Technical assistance shall be provided by the Council of Europe Secretariat to members during the voting process.

      iii. - Postal voting in elections

      1. The Bureau of the Assembly shall draw up the timetable for the election and the deadlines for each phase of the operations (including taking into account the possible organisation of a second round.
      2. Each national delegation shall decide on the names of the members (representatives and duly authorised substitutes) who will be entitled to vote in a given ballot and notify the list of these names to the Secretariat of the Assembly in order to establish the voting register; a delegation cannot appoint more voting members than it holds seats in the Assembly.
      3. The Table Office shall send to each member thus designated, via the delegation, the postal voting material, namely ballot papers and envelopes, sworn declarations and return envelopes, in as many copies as there are members of the delegation entitled to vote; the Table Office shall use the same international transport company to send the material to all delegations.
      4. Members shall receive, by e-mail to their personal mailbox, the curricula vitae of the candidates, as well as, for the election of a judge, the recommendations of the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights.
      5. The ballot papers and envelopes sent shall be strictly identical for all members and delegations and shall not bear any distinguishing marks, so as to ensure the complete confidentiality of the vote.
      6. Each member entitled to vote shall complete the ballot paper received, place it in the envelope provided and seal it, and sign the sworn declaration.
      7. A sealed envelope – in which all the envelopes containing the ballot papers of the members of the delegation entitled to vote, as well as their sworn declarations are enclosed – shall be sent to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly by an international transport company, under the responsibility of the speaker of the national parliament concerned, who shall certify the regularity of the vote at delegation level.
      8. The opening of the sealed envelopes and the counting of the votes shall be carried out at the Secretariat of the Assembly on a date fixed by the Bureau of the Assembly, under the supervision of tellers appointed by the political groups (one teller per group appointed among its members in advance of the election) and physically present in Strasbourg; the tellers shall be responsible for opening the envelopes and be able to certify that the counting and tabulation of the results strictly comply with the rules, in particular those concerning the confidentiality of the vote.
      9. A sealed envelope in which the ballot papers of several members of a delegation are enclosed, and containing more ballot papers than there are names on the delegation voting list, or more ballot papers that there are sworn declarations transmitted together, shall result in the annulment of all the votes of the delegation concerned.
      10. The President of the Assembly shall publicly announce the results of the vote as soon as possible; the results shall be published on the Assembly’s website.
      11. The voting register shall be made available to any Assembly member or any candidate on request.
      12. The above provisions shall apply to the organisation of a second round.