European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission

Filename: 1957-EuropeanInlandFisheriesAdvisoryCommission.EN.txt
Source:

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EUROPEAN INLAND FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMISSION

Source: Unofficial Text

Rule I Membership

1. Membership in the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission is open to European Member Nations of the Food and Agriculture Organization in accordance with the provisions of Article VI, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Organization. Membership shall comprise such eligible Nations as have notified the Director-General of the Organization of their desire to be considered as members.

2. Each Member Nation of the Commission shall, before the opening of each session of the Commission, communicate to the Director-General of the Organization the name of its representative who should, as far as possible, have responsibilities related to inland fisheries.

Rule II Officers

1. The Commission shall elect a Chairman, a first Vice-Chairman and a second Vice-Chairman from among the representatives to the Commission at the end of each session, who shall remain in office until the election of the new Chairman and new Vice-Chairmen at the next session. The outgoing Chairman and Vice-Chairmen shall be eligible for re-election.

2. The Chairman, or in his absence a Vice-Chairman, shall preside at meetings of the Commission and exercise such other functions as may be required to facilitate the work of the Commission. The Vice-Chairman acting as Chairman shall have the same powers and duties as the Chairman.

3. In the event that both the Chairman and the Vice-Chairmen are unable to serve, the Director-General of the Organization or his representative shall act as Chairman, until new officers have been elected.

4. The Director-General of the Organization shall appoint from among the staff of the Organization a Secretary of the Commission who shall be responsible to him.

5. The Commission may appoint one or more rapporteurs.

Rule III Executive Committee

1. The Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Commission shall constitute the Executive Committee whose duty shall be to direct and conduct the business and affairs of the Commission between its sessions.

2. The Chairman of the Commission shall be Chairman of the Executive Committee.

3. The Executive Committee shall periodically inform all Members of the Commission, through the Director-General, of any action taken. Such action shall be subject to confirmation at the next session of the Commission.

4. The Chairman of the sub-commissions established by the Commission shall be invited to attend at least one session of the Executive Committee each year for consultations regarding the coordination of activities.

5. When the Executive Committee deals with special problems, the Chairman of the Executive Committee may, in consultation with the Vice-Chairmen, invite not more than two additional members of the Commission to attend in an advisory capacity the meetings of the Executive Committee at which such problems are considered.

Rule IV Sessions

1. The Commission shall hold sessions at such periodic intervals as shall be requested by a majority of the Members of the Commission or considered necessary by the Director-General of the Organization.

2. The sessions of the Commission shall be convened by the Director-General of the Organization, who shall decide on the place where they are to be held, in consultation with the Chairman and the competent authorities of the host country.

3. Notice of the date and place of each session of the Commission shall, at least three months before the session, be communicated to all the Members of the Commission.

4. Each Member of the Commission shall have one representative who may be accompanied by an alternate and advisers. An alternate or adviser shall not have the right to vote except when substituting for the representative.

5. Meetings of the Commission shall be held in public unless the Commission decides otherwise.

6. A majority of the Members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.

Rule V Agenda

1. The Director-General of the Organization, in consultation with the Chairman of the Commission, shall prepare a provisional agenda for each session of the Commission.

2. The first item on the provisional agenda shall be the adoption of the agenda.

3. Any member of the Commission may request the Director-General of the Organization to include specific items in the provisional agenda.

4. The provisional agenda shall be circulated by the Director-General of the Organization to all the members of the Commission at least three months before the opening of the session.

5. Any Member of the Commission and the Director-General of the Organization may, after the despatch of the provisional agenda, propose the inclusion of specific items in the agenda with respect to matters of an urgent nature. These items shall be placed on a supplementary list, which, if time permits before the opening of the session, shall be despatched by the Director-General of the Organization to all Members of the Commission, failing which the items shall be communicated to the Chairman of the Commission, for submission to the Commission.

6. After the Agenda has been adopted, the Commission may, by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, amend the agenda by the deletion, addition or modification of any item. No matter referred to the Commission by the Conference or Council of the Organization may be omitted from the Agenda.

7. Documents to be submitted to the Commission at any session shall be furnished by the Director-General of the Organization to the Members of the Commission, the other Member Nations of the Organization attending the session and to the non-member nations and international organizations invited to the session, at the time the agenda is despatched or as soon as possible thereafter.

Rule VI Voting and Procedures

1. Each Member of the Commission shall have one vote.

2. Decisions of the Commission shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast, unless otherwise provided in these Rules.

3. Upon the request of any Member of the Commission, voting shall be by roll-call, in which case the vote of each Member shall be recorded.

4. When the Commission so decides, voting shall be by secret ballot.

5. In addition to the above Rules, the provisions of Rule XII of the General Rules of the Organization shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Rule VII Observers

1. Any Member Nation of the Organization that is not a Member of the Commission and any Associate Member, that has a special interest in the work of the Commission may, upon request communicated to the Director-General of the Organization, attend as observer sessions of the Commission, its sub-commissions or ad hoc working parties. It may submit memoranda and participate without vote in the discussions.

2. Nations which, while not Member Nations of the Organization, are Members of the United Nations, may, upon their request and subject to the provisions adopted by the Conference of the Organization relating to the granting of observer status to nations, be invited to attend in an observer capacity sessions of the Commission, its sub-commissions and ad hoc working parties. The status of nations invited to such sessions or meetings shall be governed by the relevant provisions adopted by the Conference of the Organization.

3. Subject to the provisions of Rule VI, paragraph 4, of these Rules, the Director-General of the Organization may invite international organizations to attend sessions of the Commission in an observer capacity.

4. Participation of international organizations in the work of the Commission and the relations between the Commission and such organizations shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Organization and the General Rules of the Organization as well as by the general regulations of the Organization in relations with international organizations. All such relations shall be dealt with by the Director-General of the Organization.

Rule VIII Records and Reports

1. At each session, the Commission shall approve a report embodying its views, recommendations and decisions, including when requested a statement of minority views. Such other records for its own use as the Commission may on occasion decide, shall also be maintained.

2. The conclusions and recommendations of the Commission shall be transmitted to the Director-General of the Organization at the close of each session, who shall circulate them to Members of the Commission and to nations and international organizations that were represented at the session and, upon request, to other Member Nations of the Organization for their information.

3. Recommendations having policy, program or financial implications for the Organization shall be brought by the Director-General to the attention of the Conference or Council of the Organization for action.

4. Subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Director-General of the Organization may request Members of the Commission to supply information in order to keep the Commission informed on action taken on the basis of recommendations made by the Commission.

Rule IX Subsidiary Bodies

1. The Commission may establish such sub-commissions on problems of major importance and general interest.

2. Membership in these subsidiary bodies shall consist of selected Members of the Commission or of individuals appointed in their personal capacity. The designation of the members of the subsidiary bodies shall be made by the Commission.

3. The representative of the Members of the subsidiary bodies shall, insofar as possible, be specialists in the fields of activity of the respective subsidiary bodies.

4. The Commission may decide the convening of ad hoc working parties, either of representatives of Members of the Commission or of experts serving in an individual capacity, in order to study problems that because of their specialized nature could not fruitfully be discussed during the normal sessions of the Commission. Experts attending such ad hoc working parties in an individual capacity shall be designated by the Commission.

5. The terms of reference of sub-commissions, and ad hoc working parties shall be determined by the Commission.

6. The establishment of subsidiary bodies and the convening of ad hoc working parties shall be subject to the availability of the necessary funds in the relevant chapter of the approved budget of the Organization. The determination of such availability shall be made by the Director-General of the Organization.

7. Sub-commissions shall report their conclusions and recommendations to the Commission. Ad hoc working parties shall report to the Commission or a sub-commission as directed by the Commission.

8. Each subsidiary body and ad hoc working party shall elect its own officers who shall be eligible for re-election.

9. The Rules of the Commission shall apply mutatis mutandis to its subsidiary bodies and ad hoc working parties.

10. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the establishment of subsidiary bodies, the Commission shall have before it a report from the Director-General of the Organization on the administrative and financial implications thereof.

Rule X Expenses

1. Expenses incurred by representatives of Members of the Commission, their alternates and advisers, when attending sessions of the Commission, Executive Committee, sub-commissions, ad hoc working parties, as well as the expenses incurred by observers at sessions, shall be borne by the respective governments or organizations.

2. Expenses of experts invited by the Director-General of the Organization to attend sessions or meetings in their individual capacity shall be borne by the Organization.

3. Any financial operations relating to the Commission and its subsidiary bodies shall be governed by the appropriate provisions of the Financial Regulations of the Organization.

Rule XI Languages

1. English and French shall be the official languages of the Commission.

2. The Commission shall at the beginning of each session decide which of the official languages shall be used as working language or languages. Any representative using another language than one of the working languages shall provide for interpretation into one of the working languages.

Rule XII Amendment and Suspension of Rules

1. Amendment of, or additions to these Rules may be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the membership of the Commission provided that 24 hours' notice of the proposal for the amendment or addition has been given. Amendments or additions to these Rules shall come into force upon approval by the Director-General of the Organization, subject to confirmation by the Council of the Organization, as appropriate.

2. Any of the above Rules of the Commission, other than Rule I-1, Rule II-4, Rule IV-2 and 6, Rule V-6, Rule VI-2, Rule VII, Rule VIII-3 and 4, Rule IX-5, 6 and 10, Rule X and Rule XII-1, may be suspended by the Commission by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, provided that 24 hours' notice of the proposal for the suspension has been given. Such notice may be waived if no representative of the Members of the Commission