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12 October 1993
Doc. 6957
1403-7/10/93-5-E
REPORT
on the representation in the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the delegation to which belongs the President of the Assembly
(Rules 8 and 10 of the Rules of Procedure)
(Rapporteur: Lord FINSBERG,
United Kingdom, European Democratic Group)
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly considers that for reasons of political virtue the President should not have an original voting right in the Bureau of the Assembly.
2. Moreover the national delegation to which belongs the President of the Assembly should have the possibility of proposing an additional candidate to the Bureau if it is in any case represented on it following application of the appointment system for the vice-presidents of the Assembly.1
3. The Assembly therefore decides to change its Rules of Procedure as follows :
i. To add the following sentences to Rule 8 (1) : "The delegation to which belongs the President of the Assembly may propose an additional candidate to the Bureau if that delegation is in any case represented on the Bureau following application of the appointment system for the vice-presidents of the Assembly.1 This candidate shall be elected by the Assembly in accordance with Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure. He shall speak and vote on behalf of his delegation. The President may, however, vote in the case of a draw."
ii. To add a new paragraph 3 to Rule 10 : "Subject to the provisions of Rule 8 (1), the President does not vote in the Bureau and the Standing Committee".
II. Explanatory memorandum
by Lord FINSBERG
A. The problem
1. On 21 June 1993, I sent a letter to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, drawing attention to the fact that, since the creation of the Council of Europe, the work and importance of the presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly had grown out of recognition and that much now had to be done outside France.
2. I also stressed that the President could not, as the figurehead and embodiment of the Assembly, perform impartially his function as spokesman for and leader of his national delegation when presiding at the Bureau.
3. Because of this disenfranchisement of the delegation to which belongs the President of the Assembly, it should be given a proper position in the Bureau.
4. On 28 June 1993 the Bureau agreed to refer this matter to the Committee on Rules of Procedure.
B. Current situation under the Rules of Procedure
5. The President does not normally vote in the Bureau but nothing prevents him from doing so. The Rules of Procedure are silent on this issue. Rule 10 (2)2 specifies that "when in the chair [of the Assembly] the President shall neither speak in debate nor vote". Under Rule 45 (12) committee chairmen may take part in discussions and may vote but without having a casting vote.
6. In the European Parliament, Rule 23 (3) says that "should voting in the Enlarged Bureau result in a tie, the President shall have a casting vote".3
7. It is a long-standing principle in the Assembly that normally no delegation shall have more than one vote in the Bureau. This is motivated by the fact that whereas the Rules of Procedure provide for the election of vice-presidents they are in practice declared elected on the basis of a list of candidates established after agreement between national delegations and political groups (see Doc. 6881, Appendix III, of 28 June 1993).
C. Proposals
8. If the delegation to which belongs the President of the Assembly were to be given the possibility of an additional seat on the Bureau, the question arises of who shall vote in the Bureau for that national delegation.
9. One opinion would be to maintain the position that the delegation to which belongs the President of the Assembly has just one vote in the Bureau. It would be left either to the President or to the member of his national delegation to vote.
10. Perhaps a better solution would be that the President of the Assembly no longer has an original voting right in the Bureau (and in the Standing Committee). In his place the additional member of the President's national delegation would vote in the Bureau. At its meeting on 30 September 1993 the Committee on Rules of Procedure opted for this variant.
11. It may happen that a vote in the Bureau results in a tie. The Committee on Rules of Procedure proposes that, as in some other parliaments, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly should vote in that case only.
12. The additional candidate should be elected by the Assembly according to Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure if the delegation concerned is in any case represented on the Bureau in application of the system of appointment of the vice-presidents of the Assembly (see Doc. 6881, Appendix III).
13. This would require changes to Rules 8 (1) and 10 of the Rules of Procedure. Moreover in a footnote to Rule 9 (6) a reference should be made to Rule 8 (1) as amended.
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14. The Committee on Rules of Procedure agreed to submit this report to the Standing Committee on 4 November 1993.
Reporting committee: Committee on Rules of Procedure.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.
Reference to committee: decision of the Assembly's Bureau of 28 June 1993.
Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 30 September 1993.
Members of the committee: Sir Anthony Durant (Chairman), MM. Dimmer, Kozlowski (Vice-Chairmen), Mrs Aguiar, MM. Alloncle, Gudmundur Bjarnason, Borg, Cummings (Alternate: Sir Russell Johnston), Lord Finsberg, MM. Franck, Galanos, Gjellerod, Gregory, Gül, Gundersen, Junghanns, Karcsay, Laakso, Leccese, Loukota, Marten, Masson, Mignon (Alternate: Daniel), Neumann (Alternate: Mrs Blunck), de Paoli, Pukl, Rokofyllos, Schieder, Schiesser, Solé Tura, Mrs Soutendijk-van Appeldoorn, MM. Stoilov, Thissen, Vinci.
N.B. The names of those members who took part in the vote are printed in italics.
Secretary to the committee: Mr Heinrich.
1 1See Progress Report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee, Doc. 6881, Appendix III of which the Assembly took note on 28 June 1993.
2 1See also Article 28.b of the Council of Europe's Statute.
3 2 By resolution adopted on 15 September 1993 the European Parliament set up a conference of chairmen to replace the Enlarged Bureau and deleted Rule 23 (3).