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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    Petitions Retour au sommaire

      Rule 71 - Petitions to the Assembly

      71.1. Petitions must be addressed to the President.
      71.2. They must:
      71.2.a. show the name and address of each signatory whose signature must be authenticated in accordance with the internal legislation of the state in which he or she resides;
      71.2.b. bear on matters within the competence of the Council of Europe.
      71.3. The Bureau of the Assembly shall examine the admissibility of petitions In Order No. 342 of 22 January 1974, the Assembly:“Instructs the Bureau of the Assembly, when examining the admissibility of a petition, to ascertain whether any identical petition has been previously submitted to the Assembly or to another European parliamentary body, in which case transmission to a Committee may be refused or postponed;Further instructs the Bureau, in case the main subject of a petition raises an issue concerning human rights as defined by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to transmit the petition to the Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights which shall, before examining it on its merits and after consulting the competent services of the Council of Europe Secretariat General, make sure that there is a legitimate Assembly interest in the matter, bearing in mind the control procedures set up by the Convention;Instructs the Secretary General of the Assembly:a. to register all petitions submitted to the Bureau for a decision as to admissibility, after carrying out a preliminary examination to ascertain in particular whether, in form, they accord with the relevant Rules of Procedure;b. to notify the author or first signatory of a petition examined by the Bureau of the result of the examination as to admissibility and, where appropriate, of its transmission to a Committee.”, consulting relevant committees if necessary. On 13 March 2001 the Bureau approved the following criteria for interpreting the concepts of “registration” and “admissibility” of petitions (see Addendum to Doc. 9036):“In order to be declared admissible, a petition must:– bear on a matter within the competence of the Council of Europe (see paragraph 5 above);– bear on a matter or grievance calling for general corrective measures rather than redress of a particular wrong (paragraph 5);– be of a legitimate interest to the Assembly in its areas of competence (paragraph 6);The Bureau should declare a petition inadmissible if:– the matter it concerns is being dealt with by the competent national courts (i.e. if it is “sub judice”) (paragraph 10);– the matter it concerns is under consideration in the relevant national parliament (paragraph 10);– the petitioner has the possibility to use local remedies and subsequently to seize the European Court of Human Rights (paragraph 7);– the subject-matter of the petition is being considered by the European Court of Human Rights or if the Court has already delivered a substantive decision on it and found no violation of the ECHR (paragraph 7).If an identical petition has already been submitted to the Assembly or to another European parliamentary body, the Bureau may postpone forwarding the new petition to an Assembly committee or decide not to forward it (paragraph 6.i)”.
      71.4. A petition declared admissible shall be referred by the Bureau to the competent committees for examination.
      71.5. When a committee has examined a petition, it shall inform the Bureau of the Assembly of its conclusions and recommendations. The Bureau shall decide on any further action.