PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CAJP-1975/02 corr. 1
8 October 2002
COMMITTEE ON JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS Original: Spanish
amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council:
consolidated text
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amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council:
consolidated text
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The General Secretariat prepared this document pursuant to the decision taken by the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs at its meeting of September 18, 2002. On that occasion, the Committee decided to ask the General Secretariat to present a working document on the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council, which would include:
· The most recent background information on the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council;
· The revised and edited text of the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council; and
· Agreements reached on each amendment, with an indication of whether or not the respective text has been approved, and pending proposals.
1. The most recent background information on the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council
First of all, it should be mentioned that the General Assembly and the Permanent Council have been adopting decisions since 1995 to improve on the Council’s procedures. In chronological order, the most recent decisions are the following:
a. On March 27, 2002, the Permanent Council approved operating standards to govern its functioning. It also decided that the standards should be forwarded to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs for inclusion, in the appropriate location, in the Rules of Procedure of the Council.
b. On April 4, 2002, the CAJP established an informal working group coordinated by Ambassador Blasco Peñaherrera, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the Organization. The Group’s mandate was to prepare a draft revision of the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council. The Committee decided to postpone consideration of that topic until the end of the thirty-second regular session of the General Assembly.
c. On May 8, 2002, the Permanent Council adopted resolution CP/RES. 816 (1319/02), amending paragraph 4 of Article 8 of its Rules of Procedure.
d. On July 31, 2002, the Permanent Council decided on the structure of its permanent committees. The Council would have the following five committees: the General Committee, the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs, the Committee on Hemispheric Security, and the Committee on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities. At the same meeting, in order to reflect the agreements reached, the delegation of Panama presented document CP/doc.3630/02, with proposed amendments to Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Rules. The Council decided to transmit the proposed texts to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs.
e. On August 29, 2002, Ambassador Peñaherrera presented to the CAJP document CP/CAJP-1965/02, “Agreements and Proposed Amendments regarding the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council.” On that occasion, it was explained that the document contained amendments that could be divided into three categories:
· The amendments introduced to the Statutes of the Council;
· The amendments resulting from agreements made by the Council at its meetings of March 27, May 8, and July 31, 2002; and
· New proposals that had not yet been considered by delegations.
The Committee decided to continue its consideration of the matter.
2. The revised and edited text of the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council
On the basis of the amendments agreed to and/or proposed, this document includes an updated version of the last official publication of the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council (document OEA/Ser.G-CP/doc.1112/80 rev. 3 – August 9, 1995).
3. Agreements reached on each amendment, with an indication of whether or not the respective text has been approved, and pending proposals
a. Agreements
Indicated in bold italics are the changes adopted by the General Assembly and the Permanent Council that amend the Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council. They affect the following articles:
8.4;
8.5, second, third, and fourth sentences;
12, last sentence;
14, fifth subparagraph;
16.d;
16.e;
16.f;
18, end;
3 articles following the present Article 34;
35.2, first sentence;
1 article following the present Article 40, 43.1;
43.2, first sentence;
43.2, last sentence;
2 articles following the present Article 44; and
1 article following the present Article 63.
In all cases, the origin of these changes has been summarized in footnotes. In some cases, since the decision did not specifically include the text, the text was prepared by editing texts from resolutions relating to the topic. In each case, the proposal indicates the source of the text.
b. Pending proposals
Proposed amendments not yet addressed are shown in this document in parentheses and underscored italics. These proposals involve amendments to the following articles:
8.2;
8.4, first sentence;
14, last subparagraph;
16.d;
16.g, end;
3 articles following the present Article 24;
3 articles at the end of Chapter IX, “Voting”; and
Deletion of the transitory provision.
In all cases, the origin of these changes has been summarized in footnotes.
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Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Council
I. NATURE AND COMPOSITION
Article 1. The Permanent Council is one of the organs of the Organization, and is composed of one representative of each member state, especially appointed by the government thereof, with the rank of ambassador. Each government may appoint such alternate representatives or advisers as it considers advisable and may, if necessary, accredit an acting representative.
II. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE
Article 2. The order of precedence of the principal, acting, and alternate representatives shall be determined according to the dates on which they present the respective documents accrediting them as such.
III. CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
Terms of office
Article 3. The chair and vice chair of the Permanent Council shall hold office for a term of three months. The terms shall begin automatically on the first day of the months of January, April, July, and October.
Order of succession
Article 4. The office of chair of the Permanent Council shall be held by each of the principal representatives in turn, following the Spanish alphabetical order of the names in Spanish of their respective states. The office of vice chair shall be filled in the same way, in reverse alphabetical order.
Article 5. If the state to which the office of chair corresponds does not have a principal representative, the vice chair shall serve as chair. If the state to which the office of vice chair corresponds does not have a principal representative, the principal representatives of the states in reverse alphabetical order shall serve in turn as vice chair on an acting basis. The incumbency of such substitute in either office shall terminate with the arrival in the Permanent Council of the principal representative of the state to which that office pertains by right.
Provisional replacement of the chair
Article 6. In the event of the temporary absence or impediment of the chair, the vice chair shall replace him or her; and in the event of the absence or impediment of both, the principal representative with the greatest seniority shall preside.
Article 7. If the offices of chair and vice chair of the Permanent Council should both devolve upon the principal representative of the same state, he or she shall be the chair. The office of vice chair shall devolve upon the principal representative of the state next in reverse alphabetical order, and thus successively.
Functions of the chair
Article 8. The chair of the Council:
1. Shall call the meetings, open and adjourn them, direct the discussions, recognize speakers in the order in which they request the floor, put motions to a vote and announce the results thereof, decide on points of order in accordance with the provisions of Article 46 of these Rules of Procedure, install the committees, and, in general, comply with and enforce the provisions of these Rules of Procedure.
2. May attend functions or ceremonies when invited to do so in his or her capacity as such.
(2. Shall represent the Permanent Council at functions or ceremonies when invited to do so in his or her capacity as such.)[1]/
3. Shall appoint the committee of representatives to receive, on behalf of the Council, the heads of state or government who attend protocolary ceremonies and meetings.
4.[2]/ May consult the members of the Council to prepare the work for forthcoming meetings. For that purpose, the chair may also consult with the secretary general, the assistant secretary general, the vice chair, and the next chair of the Permanent Council, together with the coordinators of the countries of the subregional groups, as well as with the chairs of the permanent committees.[3]/
4. (Shall consult the members of the Council in preparing the work for a forthcoming meeting.) [4]/ For that purpose, the chair may also consult with the secretary general, the assistant secretary general, the vice chair, and the next chair of the Permanent Council, together with the coordinators of the countries of the subregional groups, as well as with the chairs of the permanent committees.
5. Shall give welcome and farewell addresses to representatives on the Council. Congratulations or condolences shall be expressed by the chair of the Permanent Council. When bidding farewell to permanent representatives, the subregional group coordinators shall take the floor in addition to the chair of the Permanent Council. These remarks shall not be repeated by the delegations [5]/
6. Shall carry out such other functions as are expressly attributed to him or her by the Statutes, the Charter, and other inter-American treaties, and those which are specifically entrusted to him or her by the General Assembly, the Meeting of Consultation, and the Permanent Council.
IV. AD HOC COMMITTEES FOR THE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Establishment
Article 9. In the exercise of its functions, the Permanent Council may establish ad hoc committees with the consent of the parties to a dispute.
Membership and mandate
Article 10. The ad hoc committees shall have the membership and the mandate that the Permanent Council agrees upon in each individual case, with the consent of the parties to the dispute.
Duration of the terms of office of the members
Article 11. The duration of the terms of office of the members of the ad hoc committees shall be as determined by the Permanent Council in each case at the time it establishes such committees.
V. COMMITTEES, SUBCOMMITTEES, AND WORKING GROUPS
Establishment
Article 12. The Permanent Council may establish such permanent and special committees and working groups as it deems necessary. Special committees and working groups shall be temporary. Special committees and/or working groups shall be established to carry out temporary mandates that have not been assigned to other bodies.[6]/
Article 13. The committees may establish subcommittees and working groups, and must specify their mandate in each case.
Permanent committees
Article 14. The following are permanent committees of the Permanent Council, without prejudice to any others that may be established as such:
General Committee;
Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs;
Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs;
Committee on Hemispheric Security; and
Committee on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities.[7]/
(Steering Committee) [8]/
General Committee
Article 15. The General Committee shall be composed of one representative of each member state. The chair and vice chair of the Permanent Council shall be the chair and vice chair of the General Committee, respectively.
Article 16. The General Committee shall have the following duties:
a. To advise the Permanent Council and its chair on matters that are within the area of competence of the Council and which, not having been assigned to other committees, have been assigned to the General Committee;
b.[9]/ To consider and to make recommendations to the Council, to its chair, and to the chairs of the other committees on the course and coordination of their respective work, for which purpose it may establish a subcommittee on coordination made up of those chairs;
c. To examine periodically, by mandate of the Permanent Council, current working methods and procedures so as to maximize efficiency and make the best possible use of time in its work;
d. To consider the reports of the organs, agencies, and entities referred to in Article 91.f of the OAS Charter, and to prepare the corresponding draft resolutions. The reports of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights shall continue to be considered by the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs;[10]/
(d. To study and report to the Permanent Council on the reports presented by the organs, agencies, and entities referred to in Article 91.f of the Charter, with the exception of the reports assigned to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs pursuant to these Rules of Procedure); [11]/
e. To consider other reports presented by the organs, agencies, and entities, as well as the reports presented by the units of the General Secretariat; [12]/
f. To prepare draft resolutions on the topics assigned to it by the Permanent Council or those that are outside the purview of other permanent committees; [13]/ and
g. Such other functions as are assigned by the (Permanent) Council.[14]/
Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs
Article 17. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs to study topics of this nature entrusted to it by the Permanent Council.
Article 18. The Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs shall study the reports of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights referred to in Article 91.f of the Charter, and shall submit a report thereon to the Permanent Council.[15]/
Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs
Article 19. The Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs shall have the following duties:
a. To recommend to the Permanent Council any programs within the Council's purview that may serve the General Secretariat as a basis for preparing the proposed program-budget of the Organization, as stipulated in Article 112.c of the Charter;