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For debate in the Standing Committee see Rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure
Pour débat ŕ la Commission permanente – Voir article 15 du Rčglement
Doc. 9455
7 May 2002
Membership of the immediate past Parliamentary Assembly President and the Chairpersons of political groups in the Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee
Report
Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities
Rapporteur: Mr Göran Magnusson, Sweden, Socialist Group
Summary
Under the current Rules, the Assembly does not take advantage either of the experience gained by the immediate past President, if he/she is still a member of the Assembly, or of the political group leaders by allowing them to participate systematically and actively as ex officio members in the work of the Political Affairs Committee. To achieve this objective, the Assembly proposes the following Rule changes.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly notes that according to the current Rules of Procedure, the Chairpersons of the Assembly’s Political Groups may participate in the meetings of the Political Affairs Committee, but are not ex officio members of it.
2. The Assembly also notes that the current Rules give no status to the immediate past President of the Parliamentary Assembly, although, during his/her term of office, he/she has had the opportunity to gather a considerable expertise through the contacts he/she established with leading personalities around the world.
3. It considers that in the immediate future following the end of his/her presidency, the Assembly should take advantage of his/her political experience by allowing the immediate past President to actively participate in the work of the Political Affairs Committee, as ex officio member.
4. Moreover, Chairpersons of the Political Groups should, unless they have been appointed to the Political Affairs Committee under Rule 43.6., be ex officio members of that Committee.
5. Consequently the Assembly decides:
i. to modify the heading of Rule 18 as follows :
“President and immediate past President”.ii
ii. to insert a new paragraph 3 in Rule 18 worded as follows:
The immediate past President as long as he/she remains a representative or substitute in the Assembly without interruption, shall be an ex officio member of the Political Affairs Committee, including participation as a rapporteur, but may not take part in votes, nor be elected to the Bureau of that committee. This provision will apply for an initial period of one year”.
iii. to amend Rule 17.5. as follows:
“Chairpersons of Political Groups, who are not appointed to the Political Affairs Committee according to Rule 43.6. shall be ex officio members of that committee, including participation as a rapporteur, but may not take part in votes, nor be elected to the Bureau of that committee”.II
II. Explanatory memorandum by the Rapporteur
A. Introduction
1. On 21 January 2002, the Bureau requested the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities (Rule 65.2.) to amend the Rules to enable the immediate past President of the Assembly, provided he/she still is a member of the Assembly as well as the Chairpersons of political groups to become ex officio members of the Political Affairs Committee including participation as rapporteur but without the right to vote, in case they were not appointed members of this Committee by their delegation (see Appendix).
2. This report first recalls the current principles concerning the participation of Assembly members in general committees to which they were not appointed by their national delegation under Rule 43.6. of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure. Then it considers the current situation of the immediate past President of the Assembly. Subsequently, proposals for Rule changes will be submitted to implement the aforementioned Bureau decision.
B. Current situation concerning the participation of Assembly members in general committees to which they were not appointed under rule 43.6.
3. The general principle is contained in Rule 47.4. which reads as follows:
“Members of the Assembly may attend meetings of committees of which they are not members but without the right to speak or vote”.
4. One exception to this principle is contained in Rule 17.5. which reads as follows:
“Notwithstanding Rule 43.1.1., Chairpersons of political groups, who are not members of the Political Affairs Committee, may participate in its meetings without the right to vote”.
5. Another exception relates to the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee, which however presents a particularity as compared with other general committees, insofar as its composition is concerned. The Monitoring Committee is the only one whose members are not appointed by national delegations, but by the Bureau of the Assembly on the basis of proposals from the political groups.
6. According to Resolution 1115 (1997), par. 6, on the setting up of an Assembly Committee on the honouring of obligations and commitments by member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), the Chairpersons of the Political Affairs Committee and of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights are ex officio members of that committee. This is also mentioned in a footnote to Rule 43.3.
7. Both Chairpersons have the right to vote in the Monitoring Committee. By now, none of them has yet been appointed as rapporteur by the Monitoring Committee, although this is possible in principle.
C. Current situation of the immediate past president of the Assembly
8. At present the immediate past President who still is an Assembly member, has no particular status under the Rules. However, former Assembly Presidents who are no longer Assembly members, may under the conditions mentioned in a special ruling, be granted the title of Honorary President, to which are linked some prerogatives (see p. 186 of the Rules of Procedure, 2002 edition).
9. By way of comparison, it may be noted that according to Rule 13 of the Rules of Procedure of the WEU Assembly, the predecessors of the President of that Assembly shall be members of the Presidential Committee provided they remain representatives or substitutes of the WEU Assembly without interruption.
D. Reasons of and proposals for rule changes
10. The reasons for the proposed Rule change concerning the ex officio membership of the immediate past President and the Political Group Chairpersons in the Political Affairs Committee are set out in the appended text, which was approved by the Bureau on 21 January 2002:
“During his/her term of office, the President of the Assembly has the opportunity to gather a considerable experience through the contacts he/she establishes with leading political personalities around the world. It seems logical that in the immediate future following the end of his/her presidency, the Assembly takes advantage of his/her political experience by allowing the immediate past President – provided that he/she still is an Assembly member – to actively participate in the work of the Political Affairs Committee.
The case of the Monitoring Committee proves that the position of “ex officio member”, granted in this committee to the Chairpersons of the Political Affairs Committee and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, has been very advantageous for the Committee and allowed these persons to positively contribute to the work. In the same spirit it should be recalled that the present position, in the Political Affairs Committee, of the Chairpersons of political groups, who are not members of this committee (Rule 17.5. of the Rules of Procedure) prevents them from participating in the committee’s activities as full members”.
11. The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities considered that it would be preferable if the immediate past President and the Chairpersons of Political Groups had, as ex officio members, of the Political Affairs Committee, no voting rights and were not eligible to the Bureau of that Committee. The absence of voting rights aims at preventing that the inclusion of ex officio members modifies the current allocation of seats and voting rights to national delegations on the Political Affairs Committee according to Rule 43.2.
It sometimes happens in the Assembly that rapporteurs wo are substitutes, are not entitled to vote in plenary on the draft text contained in their report (Rule 11.5.).
12. To make the immediate past Assembly President, provided that he/she still is an Assembly member, an ex officio member of the Political Affairs Committee, the following Rule changes would be necessary:
a. Change the heading of Rule 18 as follows:
“President and immediate past President”.
b. Insert a new paragraph 3 in Rule 18 worded as follows:
“The immediate past President as long as he/she remains a representative or substitute in the Assembly without interruption, shall be an ex officio member of the Political Affairs Committee, including participation as a rapporteur but may not take part in votes, nor be elected to the bureau of that committee”.13
13. To make the Political Group Chairpersons ex officio members of the Political Affairs Committee, Rule 17.5. should be amended as follows:
“Chairpersons of political groups who are not appointed to the Political Affairs Committee according to Rule 43.6., shall be ex officio members of that committee including participation as a rapporteur, but they may not take part in vote, nor be elected to the Bureau of that committee”.
14. In addition, the following footnote should be added to Rule 43.1.1.:
“Plus the immediate past President of the Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Political Groups, as ex officio members.”
15. It should be pointed out that the proposal approved by the Bureau on 21 January 2002 also includes the following sentence:
“As regards the immediate past President, this provision would apply for an initial period of one year”.
Accordingly, this text should be added at the end of the new paragraph 3 of Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure.
It is understood that the one year period should start from the adoption of the proposed new provision.
16. If the immediate past President or a political group Chairperson was a substitute in the Assembly and appointed as a rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee, Rule 11.5. of the Rules would apply.
E. Final remarks
17. The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities unanimously adopted the draft resolution contained in this report and agreed to present it to the Standing Committee on 29 May 2002.
18. The new provisions should enter into force on their adoption.
APPENDIX
Membership of the immediate past President
and the Chairpersons of political groups in the Political Affairs Committee
Proposal submitted by the Presidential Committee
and approved by the Bureau on 21 January 2002
1. During his/her term of office, the President of the Assembly has the opportunity to gather a considerable experience through the contacts he/she establishes with leading political personalities around the world.
2. It seems logical that in the immediate future following the end of his/her presidency, the Assembly takes advantage of his/her political experience by allowing the immediate past President - provided that he/she still is an Assembly member – to actively participate in the work of the Political Affairs Committee.
3. The case of the Monitoring Committee proves that the position of “ex officio member” granted in this committee to the Chairpersons of the Political Affairs Committee and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights has been very advantageous for the Committee and allowed these persons to positively contribute to its work.
4. In the same spirit, it should be recalled that the present position, in the Political Affairs Committee, of the Chairpersons of political groups who are not members of this committee (Rule 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure) prevents them from participating in the committee’s activities as full members.
5. Therefore it is proposed to amend the Rules of Procedure in order to enable the immediate past President of the Assembly, provided he/she still is member of the Assembly, and the Chairpersons of the political groups to become ex officio members of the Political Affairs Committee, including participation as a rapporteur but without the right to vote, in case they were not appointed members of this Committee by their national delegation. As regards the immediate past President, this provision would apply for an initial period of one year.
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Committee responsible for the report : Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities
Reference to committee: Bureau decision of 21.01.2002
Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 24 April 2002
Members of the committee : Mr Holovaty, (Chairperson), MM. Vis, Pokol, Olteanu (Vice-Chairpersons), Mrs Akgönenç, MM. Aliyev, Arzilli, Mrs Auken, MM. Bartsch, Bernik, Bulavinov, Calmes, Ceder, Collavini, Debono Grech, Dias, Mrs Doktorowicz, MM. Goulet (Alternate: Mr Branger), Gremetz, Jung, Kiely, Laakso, Leers, Magnusson, Maissen, Mrs Markovic-Dimova, MM. Melo, Mezihorak, Michels, Mrs Mintas-Hodak, MM. Monsen, Occhetto, Olekas (Alternate: Mr Cekuolis), Penchev, Mrs Pericleous-Papadopoulos, Mrs Posada, Mrs Ragnarsdottir, MM. Rustamyan, Salaridze, Sharandin, Stepaniuc, Svec, Taliadouros, N… (United Kingdom) (Alternate: Mr Bruce).
N.B. The names of members who took part in the vote are printed in italics.
Secretary of the committee: Mr Heinrich