Report | Doc. 12717 | 16 September 2011
The terms of reference of Parliamentary Assembly committees – implementation of Resolution 1822 (2011) on the reform of the Parliamentary Assembly
Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
Summary
In adopting Resolution 1822 (2011) on the reform of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Assembly took various measures in order to strengthen its political relevance, visibility and effectiveness, and rationalise the use of its operational resources. In order to implement some of these decisions, which include a reduction in the number of committees from 10 to eight and a transfer of competences, the Assembly is invited to revise the general and specific terms of reference of its committees.
Regarding the general terms of reference, special emphasis is placed on committees’ institutional relations and working relations, both inside and outside the Council of Europe, and on the follow-up to adopted texts. Committees will be entitled to appoint general rapporteurs covering a particular topic.
Regarding the specific terms of reference, the Assembly is also invited to adopt the terms of reference of the newly created Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, and revise the terms of reference of the other committees affected by the restructuring.
A. Draft resolution
(open)Appendix
General terms of reference applicable to all Assembly committees
B. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Vareikis, rapporteur
(open)1. Introduction
2. General terms of reference of committees
- European parliamentary assemblies and national parliaments (of member or non-member states), with which the committees “establish and maintain working relations” (paragraph 5);
- Council of Europe bodies (the European Court of Human Rights, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the Commissioner for Human Rights), subordinate structures (the Council of Europe partial agreements, the Council of Europe monitoring bodies and the committees of experts) and structures of the Committee of Ministers (the relevant rapporteur groups, working groups and liaison committees of the Ministers’ Deputies and rapporteurs of the Ministers' Deputies), whose activities are followed by the committees and with which they maintain working relations (paragraph 7);
- European and international organisations whose activities are followed by the committees and with which they maintain working relations (paragraph 9);
- European and international non-governmental organisations with which the committees “establish and maintain working relations” (paragraph 10).
3. Specific terms of reference of committees
- to reduce the number of Assembly committees from 10 to eight, by merging three committees: the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, the Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs and the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs – into a single Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development;
- to transfer budgetary and financial matters from the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development to the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs;
- to transfer responsibility for preparing the annual report on the activities of the OECD and the report on the activities of the EBRD from the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development to the Political Affairs Committee;
- to transform the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population into the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons and to transfer the issue of population to the new Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development;
- to transform the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men into the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, and to transfer to it issues related to the rights of national and other minorities and to discrimination in all areas hitherto assigned to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights;
- to deal with “deep security” issues.
4. Other implications of the restructuring of committees
4.1. Transitional measures regarding the implications for committees’ work programmes
4.1.1. Extension of the time limit for reference to committee in the case of certain reports
4.1.2. Apportionment of reports
4.2. Names of committees
4.3. Appointment of Assembly general rapporteurs
- the committees must determine the terms of reference, purpose and term of office of such rapporteurs beforehand;
- these terms of reference are submitted for approval to the Bureau, whose decision would be subject to ratification by the Assembly.
5. Conclusion
Appendix – Historical background of the Parliamentary Assembly committees
(open)At its constitutive session, in 1949, the Parliamentary Assembly decided to establish six general committees: Committee on General Affairs, Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, Committee on Economic Questions, Committee on Social Questions, Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions, Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions.
The Assembly decided to set up the Committee on Population and Refugees in 1952 and the Committee on Budgetary Affairs and Administration in 1954 (Resolution 50).
In 1956, the Assembly reviewed the structure of its committees for the first time (Resolution 105 on rationalising the constitution and terms of reference of Assembly committees) with 10 general committees: General Affairs Committee, Economic Committee, Social Committee, Legal Committee, Cultural Committee, Committee on Rules of Procedure, Committee on Agriculture, Committee on Local Authorities, Committee on non-represented Nations, Committee on the Budget.
In 1957, the General Affairs Committee was renamed the Political Committee. The Assembly decided the following year to re-establish the Committee on Population and Refugees (Resolution 144 (1958)) and in 1961 to restore the previous name of the Cultural Committee to Cultural and Scientific Committee (Resolution 197).
In 1966, two committees were appointed to replace the Cultural and Scientific Committee, namely the Cultural Committee and the Committee on Science and Technology, bringing the total number of general committees to 12 (Resolution 326).
In 1968 the Assembly decided again to carry out a general review of the structure of all its committees (Resolution 373 on the rationalisation of Assembly committees, sub-committees and working parties) bringing the total to 13, the Working Party on Parliamentary and Public relations being given the status of a general committee: Political Affairs Committee, Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, Committee on Social and Health Questions, Legal Affairs Committee, Committee on Culture and Education, Committee on Science and Technology, Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities, Committee on Rules of Procedure, Committee on Agriculture, Committee on European Non-Member Countries, Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations, Committee on Population and Refugees, Committee on the Budget.
No major reform was made for over 30 years regarding the structure and mandates of Assembly committees; however, several committees were renamed and given additional competences:
- in 1974, the Committee on the Budget was renamed the Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme;
- in 1979, the Committee on Population and Refugees became the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography (Resolution 685) and the Committee on European Non-Member Countries was renamed the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries (Resolution 702);
- in 1986, the Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities was renamed the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities;
- in 1988, the Committee on Social and Health Questions became the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee;
- in 1989, the Legal Affairs Committee became the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights;
- lastly, in 1994, the Committee on Agriculture was renamed the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (Order 496).
In 1997, the Assembly adopted Resolution 1107 on the committee structure in the Assembly and decided to set up a committee on the honouring of obligations and commitments by member states of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) and to abolish the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries, keeping the format to a total 13 committees.
The following year, the Assembly decided to set up a Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (Resolution 1144 (1998)). With Resolution 1176 (1998) it further defined the terms of reference of its 14 committees: Political Affairs Committee, Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Committee on Culture and Education, Committee on Science and Technology, Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities, Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations, Committee on the Budget, Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Committee on the honouring of obligations and commitments by member states of the Council of Europe.
In 2000, the Assembly undertook to reform its working methods and committee structure. In Resolution 1220 (2000), it decided to reduce the number of committees from 14 to 10. To this end, the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations were both abolished, the Committee on Science and Technology was merged with the Committee on Culture and Education (under the new title Committee on Culture, Science and Education), while the Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food was merged with the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities (under the new title Committee on the Environment and Agriculture).
The last modification made to the terms of reference of Assembly committees, before the ongoing reforms, was undertaken in 2005 (Resolution 1425). On that occasion, and for the first time, the Assembly adopted general terms of reference applicable to all Assembly committees, in addition to their specific terms of reference.
Resolution 1822 (2011) reduces the number of committees to eight. This report establishes the terms of reference of the following committees:
I. Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy (AS/Pol)
This committee is the successor to the General Affairs Committee that was established in 1949. Its title was changed to Political Committee in 1957 and to Political Affairs Committee in 1968.
II. Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (AS/Jur)
This committee was established in 1949 with the title Legal and Administrative Questions and known from 1956 until 1968 as the Legal Committee, and from 1968 until 1989 as the Legal Affairs Committee, when the title was changed to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.
III. Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development (AS/Soc)
This Committee is the successor to three committees – the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, the Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs and the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs – whose merger was decided by the Assembly in 2011 (Resolution 1822).
- The Committee on Economic Questions was established in 1949. Its title was changed in 1956 to Economic Committee and again in 1968 to Committee on Economic Affairs and Development in order to clarify that it was the committee responsible for developing countries. It kept this name till 2011.
- The committee on social questions was established in 1949. It was known as the Social Committee from 1956 to 1968 and then became the Committee on Social and Health Questions until 1988. It was then renamed as the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee at its own request to reflect its increasing preoccupation with matters relating to children, young people and the family.
- A Special Committee on Municipal and Regional Affairs was established in 1953. It became a general committee in 1956 named the Committee on Local Authorities. The subject of regional planning was added to the committee’s title in 1968; the environment was added in 1986. It was named the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities from 1998 until 2001.
The Special Committee on Agriculture was created in 1949 and again as from 1952. It became a general committee in 1956 named the Committee on Agriculture. Its title was changed to Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in 1994 and it was renamed the Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food in April 2000.
In 2001, the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs was set up when the Committee on Environment and Agriculture merged with the Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food.
IV. Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons (AS/Mig)
During the ordinary sessions of the Assembly in 1950 and 1951, a Special Committee on Refugee Questions was appointed. In 1952, the Assembly decided to set up the Committee on Population and Refugees as a general committee. However, the committee was abolished in 1956, but was set up again two years later. In 1979 (Resolution 685), the committee was given the title Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography in order to reflect its growing concern with general migration problems. In 2003, the word “demography” was replaced by “population”. In 2011 (Resolution 1822), the title of the Committee was changed to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, in order to reflect the political importance of highlighting and dealing with the issue of displaced persons in Europe alongside migration and refugees.
V. Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media (AS/Cult)
This Committee was appointed in 1949 as the Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions. It was renamed in 1956 as the Cultural Committee and again in 1961 as the Cultural and Scientific Committee (Resolution 197). In 1966, the Assembly established a Cultural Committee and a Committee on Science and Technology, with separated terms of reference (Resolution 326). In 1968, the Cultural Committee was renamed the Committee on Culture and Education. In 2001, the Committee on Culture and Education and the Committee on Science and Technology merged under the name Committee on Culture, Science and Education.
VI. Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination (AS/Ega)
This Committee is the successor to the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, created in 1998 by Resolution 1144. Its mandate was enlarged in 2011 by Resolution 1822 to cover all equality and non-discrimination issues.
VII. Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs (AS/Pro)
This committee was established in 1949 as the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges. The part of the title concerning “privileges” was removed in 1956. The words “and Immunities” were added to the committee’s title in 1998 (Resolution 1176). The words “and Institutional Affairs” were added in 2008 (Resolution 1583). Its mandate was enlarged in 2011 by Resolution 1822 to cover budgetary and financial matters.
Budgetary and administrative matters were dealt with by the Committee on the Budget between 1954 and 2001, with its own terms of reference – which between 1974 and 1998 included the intergovernmental work programme of the Council of Europe – and from 2001 until 2011 by the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development.
VIII. Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) (AS/Mon)
Established by Resolution 1115 (1997). The appendix to Resolution 1115, which includes the committee’s terms for reference, was modified by Resolution 1431 (2005) and Resolution 1515 (2006).