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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    Exceptional procedures Retour au sommaire Atteindre l'élement suivant Atteindre l'élement précédent

      Rule 53 - Current affairs debates

      53.1. 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.
      53.2. 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.
      53.3. The Bureau of the Assembly may decide to accept only one request, to accept two requests or to reject all requests. When proposing to the Assembly to hold a current affairs debate, the selection criteria for the Bureau shall be the following: the topicality of the subject-matter (as opposed to the urgency); the interest in the subject-matter by a large number of members of the Assembly and member States of the Council of Europe; the input which a debate could provide for an Assembly committee thereafter to draw up a report; the visibility in the media which a debate could engender.The Bureau shall have right to transform a request for a current affairs debate into an urgent procedure debate. The Bureau shall have right to change the title of a current affairs debate. For both the transformation of a request and the change of the title by the Bureau, the prior agreement of those who made the original request (or their representatives) shall be required. If such an agreement is not obtained, the Bureau cannot proceed with neither transformation of a request nor change of the title. This decision shall be endorsed by the Assembly. If a member of the Assembly objects to the decision of the Bureau to reject a request for a current affairs debate, and if the Assembly endorses the decision of the Bureau, by a majority of the votes cast, the Assembly will not hold such a current affairs debate. If the Assembly rejects the decision of the Bureau, by a majority of the votes cast, the Assembly will hold this current affairs debate.A member of the Assembly who objects to the decision of the Bureau to reject all requests for a current affairs debate shall specify their objection, clarifying which specific current affairs debate they wish to propose to be held by the Assembly. If the Assembly approves the decision of the Bureau, by a majority of the votes cast, the Assembly will hold no current affairs debate. If the Assembly rejects the decision of the Bureau, by a majority of the votes cast, the Assembly will hold the current affairs debate which has been the subject of the contestation.The Assembly does not have the competence to turn a request for a current affairs debate into a debate under urgent procedure. The Assembly does not have the competence to change the title of a current affairs debate.
      53.4. A current affairs debate may not exceed one and a half hours. It shall be opened by one of the members who requested the debate, as chosen by the Bureau. He or she shall be allowed ten minutes.
      53.5. 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.
      53.6. Rules 53.1. to 53.5. shall apply mutatis mutandis to a current affairs debate which may be requested to be held at the Standing Committee.