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For debate in the Standing Committee see Rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure
Pour débat à la Commission permanente – Voir article 15 du Règlement
Doc. 9264
12 October 2001
Simplification of the procedure for placing elections
on the agenda of Assembly part-sessions
Report
Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities
Rapporteur: Mr František Kroupa, Czech Republic, Group of the European People's Party
Summary
The Assembly considers that it should be possible to place elections on the Agendas of part-sessions after their adoption and without having to use the urgent procedure.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly notes that the need may arise for it to hold an election which is not on the agenda of a part-session.
2. It recalls that in accordance with Rule 25.4 of its Rules of Procedure the Agenda may be altered only by urgent procedure, which requires a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast (Rule 50.4).
3. It also recalls that all elections are held in the Assembly chamber, without interrupting the sitting, and thus have no effect on the time reserved for debates.
4. In order to simplify the procedure, the Assembly decides to amend Rule 25.4 of the Rules of Procedure as follows:
“Except for the holding of elections, the Agenda may be altered only in accordance with the provisions of Rules 50 and 52.”II
II. Explanatory memorandum by the rapporteur
A. INTRODUCTION
1. The numerous duties incumbent on the Assembly include filling the three highest posts in the Secretariat by election, i.e. the posts of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of the Assembly, and electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.
2. These elections, for which provision is made in the legal texts of the Council of Europe, are placed on the agenda and order of business of the Assembly part-session concerned. However, it has happened in the past that an election was not placed on the Assembly’s agenda because the regulatory deadlines were not respected, with the result that use had to be made of urgent procedure (cf, for example, the election of a judge in respect of Andorra in January 19961). This is a fairly complex procedure which hardly seems appropriate in practice to the Assembly’s electoral functions. The elections are held in parallel to plenary debates, which are thus not interrupted, and they do not give rise to debate. For these reasons a motion for a resolution (Doc. 8988) was tabled in the Assembly with a view to simplifying the procedure.
3. This report presents the various elections held in the Assembly and the procedure followed, and a proposal aimed at simplifying their inclusion in the Assembly’s agenda.
4. It does not cover the election of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, which is governed by special regulations.
B. ELECTIONS HELD IN THE ASSEMBLY AND LEGAL BASIS
a. The Council of Europe Statute and statutory resolutions
5. Article 36.b. of the Statute stipulates that the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General are appointed by the Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers. It will be noted that the term used is “appointed”, not “elected”, although in practice, since the 1950s, the procedure has been for the Assembly to elect these specially-appointed officials.
6. At the suggestion of the Assembly, on 3 November 1949 the Committee of Ministers adopted Statutory Resolution (49) 20 authorising the Assembly, pending amendment of Articles 36 and 37 of the Statute, to appoint the Secretary General of the Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers.2
b. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
7. Under Article 22 of the European Convention on Human Rights, judges of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of each High Contracting Party are elected by the Parliamentary Assembly from a list of three candidates nominated by the High Contracting Party.
c. Other Council of Europe legal instruments3
8. Article 9 of Committee of Ministers Resolution (99) 50 provides for the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to be elected by the Parliamentary Assembly from a list of three candidates drawn up by the Committee of Ministers.
C. PROCEDURE FOR PLACING ELECTIONS ON THE ASSEMBLY’S AGENDA
9. The Committee of Ministers, in agreement with the Assembly, drew up special Regulations relating to the appointment of the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the Assembly. The regulations say nothing about placing these elections on the Assembly’s agenda. The same applies to the procedure adopted by the Bureau of the Assembly on 22 May 1995 concerning appointments (elections) by the Parliamentary Assembly.
10. In the absence of any special provisions, the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly apply. The elections mentioned in section B above are the subject of a communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly (Rule 22.2.b.) and are placed on the Assembly’s part-session agenda in keeping with Rule 25.2. of the Rules of Procedure. The agenda is communicated to all members of the Assembly at least two weeks before the opening of the part-session (Rule 25.6.). This means that the Bureau has to adopt the agenda by that deadline. If for some reason an election is not placed on the agenda before its adoption by the Bureau of the Assembly, it can only be added by urgent procedure (Rule 25.4.), which requires a two-thirds majority of the votes cast (Rule 50.4.).
D. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE
11. Since 1998 the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights has interviewed all the candidates for the post of judge in the European Court of Human Rights, as well as those for the post of Commissioner for Human Rights. The competent organs of the Assembly regularly call candidates for the post of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe for an interview. As these procedures take some time, the elections can be planned in advance and the need to use urgent procedure to place them on the agenda will no doubt arise less and less frequently.
12. The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities believes that the procedure in this respect should be simplified for all the elections held in the Assembly, and recommend amending Rule 25.4 of the Rules of Procedure as follows:
“Except for the holding of elections, the Agenda may be altered only in accordance with the provisions of Rules 50. and 52.”.13
13. Thus, the Bureau would have the possibility to place elections on the agenda of Assembly part-sessions after their adoption and without having to make use of the urgent procedure (Rule 50. of the Rules of Procedure).
E. CONCLUSIONS
14. The Assembly is invited to adopt the draft resolution contained in this report. The change of Rule 25.4. would enter into force as from the adoption of the resolution.
Committee responsible for the report : Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities.
Reference to committee: Doc. 8988 and Reference No. 2592 of 14 March 2001.
Draft opinion adopted by the committee on 27 September 2001.
Members of the committee : Mr Svoboda, (Chairman), MM. Vis, Pokol, N. … (Vice-Chairmen), Mrs Akgönenç, MM. Aliyev, Arzilli, Bartsch, Bernik, Bilinski (Alternate: Libicki), Bulavinov, Calmes, Ceder, Collavini, Debono-Grech, Dias, Goulet, Gremetz, Holovaty, Jung, Kiely, Kroupa, Laakso (Alternate: Mrs Dromberg), Leers, Magnusson, Maissen, Maltsev, Mrs Markovic-Dimova, MM. Melo, Michels, Mrs Mintas-Hodak, MM. Myrvoll, Occhetto (Alternate: Giovanelli), Mrs Ojuland, MM. Olekas, Olteanu, Penchev, Mrs Pericleous-Papadopoulos, Mrs Posada, Mrs Ragnarsdottir, MM. Rustamyan, Salaridze, Soendergaard, Stepaniuc, Švec, Taliadouros.
N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretary of the committee: Mr Heinrich.
1 See also the request for an election under urgent procedure at the Assembly’s 22 January 2001 sitting.
2 The 1949 text refers to the “Chief of the Administrative Services of the Assembly”. From 1956 to January 2000 the title was “Clerk of the Assembly”. Under Rule 63.1. of the Assembly’s new Rules of Procedure which came into force on 24 January 2000, “The service of the Parliamentary Assembly shall be run by the Secretary General of the Assembly who is elected by it”.
3 It will be noted that the 1991 Protocol amending the European Social Charter, which has not yet entered into force, provides in Article 3 for the Assembly to elect the members of the Committee of Independent Experts of the Charter from a list of experts of the highest integrity and of recognised competence in national and international social questions, nominated by the Contracting Parties.