Rules of Procedure of the Assembly (January 2023)

(Resolution 1202 (1999) adopted on 4 November 1999) with subsequent modifications of the Rules of Procedure* 

Bureau, Presidential Committee and Standing Committee Retour au sommaire Atteindre l'élement suivant Atteindre l'élement précédent

Bureau, Presidential Committee and Standing Committee

Rule 14 - Bureau of the Assembly and Presidential Committee

14.1. The Bureau is responsible for the co-ordination of the activities of the Assembly and of its committees. It assists the President in his or her functions and guides the external relations of the Assembly.
14.2. The Bureau shall take decisions on the organisation of part-sessions and plenary sittings. It shall carry out other duties assigned to it under the Rules of Procedure, by the complementary texts to the Rules or according to decisions taken by the Assembly.
14.3. The Bureau shall consist of the President, of twenty Vice-Presidents of the Assembly elected according to the system of apportionment of Bureau seats and the chairpersons (or their representatives) of the political groups and of the Assembly’s general committees. Chairpersons of the national delegations of the member states holding the current, the previous and the next two chairmanships of the Committee of Ministers shall be ex officio members of the Bureau entitled to vote. They may not be the Bureau's rapporteurs for its reports. They cannot be replaced. The President does not participate in a vote except in the case of a tie.
14.4. The Presidential Committee shall consist of the President of the Assembly, the chairpersons of the political groups (or their representatives) and the Secretary General of the Assembly. The Presidential Committee is a consultative body for the Bureau and the President of the Assembly. It shall prepare meetings of the Bureau and may be entrusted by it with liaison tasks.

Rule 15 - Election of the President

15.1. The President of the Assembly shall be elected after the credentials of the representatives and substitutes have been examined under Rule 6. No representative may stand as a candidate for the office of President unless nominated in writing by ten or more representatives or substitutes at least forty-eight hours before the opening of the session or part-session.
15.2. If only one candidature is proposed to the Assembly, the candidate shall be declared elected without a ballot. When there are several candidates, the President shall be elected by secret ballot in accordance with Rules 40.11. and 41.1.c. .
15.3. As soon as the President has been elected, the provisional President shall leave the Chair.
15.4. The President shall remain in office until the opening of the next ordinary session. Should the office of President fall vacant, or if the President is unable to discharge his/her duties, the most senior Vice-President shall act until the election of a new President at the following part-session. The President so elected shall remain in office until the opening of the next ordinary session. The President may be re-elected once for a further term, consecutive or not. However, a President elected in the course of a session for an incomplete term may be re-elected for two further terms.
15.5. The President, if appointed a member of a government , shall immediately lose his or her office of President.

Rule 16 - Election of Vice-Presidents

16.1. After the election of the President, the election of the twenty Vice-Presidents shall, where appropriate, take place.
16.2. One Vice-President shall be elected in respect of each national delegation entitled to a seat under the system of apportionment of Bureau seats referred to in Rule 14.3. . Where no candidature is proposed by a national delegation entitled to a seat, that seat shall remain vacant until such a candidature is proposed.
16.3. No representative or substitute may be elected Vice-President unless proposed in writing by the chairperson of the national delegation concerned, on behalf of that delegation while taking into account the principle of gender equality. A delegation may propose a man as Vice-President only if it includes at least 40% women.
16.4. The candidates proposed by the national delegations shall be declared elected without a ballot. However, a vote shall be held by secret ballot in respect of one or several candidates in accordance with Rules 40.11 and 41.b, if so requested in the Chamber, at the moment when the candidatures are presented, by at least twenty representatives or substitutes. Where a candidate is not elected after the second ballot, that seat shall remain vacant until a candidate presented by the national delegation in accordance with Rule 16.3. obtains the requisite majority.
16.5. The Vice-Presidents shall take precedence by age.
16.6. Vice-Presidents shall remain in office until the opening of the next ordinary session. A Vice-President shall be replaced in the course of the session when he or she is no longer a member of the Assembly, in the event of death, resignation or dismissal pursuant to Rule 54 , or when the delegation to which they belong is renewed. A new Vice-President shall be elected, in accordance with the above provisions, at the opening of a part-session. In the order of precedence, he or she shall come after the Vice-Presidents previously elected.

Rule 17 - Standing Committee

17.1. The Standing Committee shall:
17.1.a. fix the date of the opening and resumption of ordinary sessions, subject to the provisions of Rule 1.2. ;
17.1.b. prepare the work of the Assembly, ensure its continuity of action and, when the occasion arises, act on its behalf , in particular by:

- considering and adopting, on behalf of the Assembly, texts contained in committee reports placed on its agenda, in accordance with paragraph 4 below or with Rule 52 on urgent procedure; and

- considering questions relating to credentials in accordance with the provisions of Rules 6 to 9.

17.2. Before the close of the first part of an ordinary session, the Assembly shall constitute its Standing Committee.
17.3. The membership of the Standing Committee shall be as follows:
17.3.a. President of the Assembly (who shall be Chairperson of the Standing Committee);
17.3.b. Vice-Presidents of the Assembly (who shall be the Vice-Chairpersons of the Standing Committee);
17.3.c. The chairpersons of the political groups or, in their absence, a member representing the group concerned;
17.3.d. The chairpersons of national delegations or, in their absence, a member of the delegation duly designated;
17.3.e. The chairpersons of the general committees listed in Rule 44.1. or, in their absence, one of the vice-chairpersons of the committee concerned.
17.4. The Standing Committee shall be convened by the President of the Assembly whenever he or she deems it necessary and at least twice a year. It may not meet when the Assembly is in session. The draft agenda for its meetings shall be submitted to the Bureau.
17.5. Subject to any provision to the contrary in this rule or in Rule 41 (Majorities required) or Rule 52 (Urgent procedure in the Standing Committee), procedure in the Standing Committee shall be governed by Rule 47 (Procedure in committee) and Rule 48 (Meetings of committees).
17.6. A report placed on the draft agenda of a meeting of the Standing Committee shall be distributed to all members of the Assembly at least two weeks beforehand.
17.7. During the adoption of the agenda by the Standing Committee, a report may be withdrawn and referred to the plenary Assembly if such a request is made by the chairperson of the committee concerned or by at least ten members of the Standing Committee and adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. This provision shall neither apply to reports placed on the agenda of the Standing Committee in accordance with the urgent procedure (Rule 52 ), nor to reports submitted to the Standing Committee by decision of the Assembly.
17.8. All members of the Standing Committee have the right to vote.