Adopted in 1971.
Entirely revised in October 1983.
Amended in September 1988, April 1995, April 1996, September 1998 and April 2001.

Clear here to see the latest version of the Rules.

Contents:

• Composition
• Sessions
• Presidency
• Agenda - Decisions
• Speaking Rights - Order - Procedural Motions
• Voting - Quorum - Majorities
• Consultation and Decisions by Correspondence
• Election of members of the Executive Committee
• Approval of the Programme and Budget - Auditing of Accounts
• Secretariat
• Adoption and Amendment of Rules
  

RULE 1

1. The Council is composed of sitting members of Parliament designated by the Members of the Union in conformity with Article 18 of the Statutes.

2. Each Member of the Union shall be represented on the Council by two parliamentarians.

RULE 2

A member of the Council who is unable to attend may be replaced by another representative of the Union Member in question, duly authorized for that purpose (cf. Statutes, Art. 18.3).

RULE 3

1. Two representatives of each Associate Member of the Union may follow the work of the Council.

2. The Presidents of the Study Committees may participate in Council meetings in an advisory capacity when questions concerning the work of their Committees are being discussed (cf. Committees, Rule 16.2).

RULE 4

Representatives of international organisations may be invited by the Council to follow its work as observers. Representatives of other bodies to which observer status has been accorded by the General Assembly of the United Nations may also be invited by the Council as observers (cf. Statutes, Art. 21 (h)).

RULE 5

The date and place of the Council session shall be fixed by the Executive Committee (cf. Statutes, Art. 17 and 24.2 (c)).

RULE 6

The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council shall be elected in conformity with Article 19 of the Statutes.

RULE 7

Candidatures for the Presidency of the Council shall be communicated in writing to the Secretary General at least 24 hours before the opening of the meeting during which the election is to take place.

RULE 8

1. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast shall be elected President of the Council.

2. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority during the first round of voting, a second round and, if need be, further rounds shall be held among the candidates until one of them obtains this majority.

RULE 9

1. If the President is absent, the President shall be replaced by the Vice-President of the Executive Committee, designated in conformity with Rule 5.2 of the Rules of the Executive Committee.

2. In case of resignation, loss of parliamentary mandate or death, the President's functions shall be exercised by the Vice-President of the Executive Committee until the Council has elected a new President. The same provision shall apply when the affiliation of the Member of the Union to which the President of the Council belongs is suspended (cf. Statutes, Art. 19.4).

RULE 10

The Member of the Union to which the President belongs may designate another of its members to replace the President on the Council with the right to vote.

RULE 11

1. The President shall open, suspend and close the sittings, direct the work of the Council, see that the Rules are observed, call upon the speakers, put questions to the vote, make known the results of the voting and declare the sessions closed. The President's decisions on these matters shall be final and shall be accepted without debate.

2. The President shall decide on all matters not covered by these Rules.

RULE 12 (cf. Statutes, Art. 20)

1. The Council shall adopt its agenda.

2. A provisional agenda shall be drawn up by the Executive Committee. It shall be communicated to all members of the Council by the Secretary General at least one month before the opening of each regular session, accompanied by the necessary documents.

3. The Council shall decide, by a majority of the votes cast, on the provisional agenda recommended by the Executive Committee.

RULE 13

1. Any member of the Council may ask for the insertion of supplementary items in the agenda (cf. Statutes, art. 20.2); such a request shall be communicated immediately to the members of the Council.

2. After hearing the opinion of the Executive Committee, the Council shall decide on such a request :

(a) By a majority of the votes cast if the request is received by the Secretariat of the Union at least 15 days before the opening of the session;

(b) By a two-thirds majority of the votes cast if the request is received less than 15 days before the opening of the session.

Any member of the Council may submit a motion or a draft resolution on an item appearing on its agenda.

RULE 15

If the text of a draft resolution has not been circulated in French and in English before its discussion, any member of the Council may request the adjournment of its consideration until such time as the text has been distributed in both these languages.

RULE 16

Any member of the Council may submit amendments to a motion or a draft resolution.

RULE 17

1. Amendments, which may be submitted either orally or in writing, shall relate directly to the text. They may only envisage an addition, a deletion or an alteration with regard to the initial draft without having the effect of changing its scope or nature.

2. The President shall determine whether or not amendments are in order.

RULE 18

1. Amendments shall be discussed before the text to which they relate. They shall likewise be voted on before the text itself.

2. Sub-amendments shall be discussed at the same time as the amendments to which they relate. They shall be voted on before the amendments concerned.

RULE 19

1. If two or more amendments apply to the same words in the draft resolution, that which is furthest from the text under consideration shall have priority over the others and shall be put to the vote first.

2. If two or more amendments relating to the same words are mutually exclusive, the adoption of the first shall involve the rejection of the other amendment or amendments. If the first amendment is rejected, the next amendment in order of priority shall be put to the vote; the same procedure shall be applied for each following amendment.

3. In case of doubt regarding priority, the President shall decide.

RULE 20

Unless the President decides otherwise, the only speakers to be heard in discussing an amendment shall be the author of the amendment and a member holding a contrary opinion.

RULE 21

No member of the Council may speak without the authorization of the President.

RULE 22

1. Members of the Council shall speak in the order in which they request the floor.

2. Speakers may only be interrupted by other members on a point of order. They may, nevertheless, with the President's authorization, yield the floor so as to allow other members' requests for clarification.

3. The President shall rule immediately and without debate on all points of order.

RULE 23

On the proposal of the President, or at the request of one of its members, the Council may decide by a majority of the votes cast to limit speaking time in the discussion of a particular item on the agenda.

RULE 24

The President shall call a speaker to order when the latter does not keep to the subject under discussion or prejudices the debate by using abusive language. The President may, if necessary, withdraw permission to speak and may have the objectionable words struck from the record.

RULE 25

The President shall deal immediately with any incident which may arise during a meeting and, if necessary, take all measures required to restore the normal functioning of the Council debates.

RULE 26

1. Priority to speak shall be given to members of the Council wishing to propose:

(a) Adjournment of the debate sine die;

(b) Adjournment of the debate;

(c) Closure of the list of speakers;

(d) Closure or adjournment of the meeting;

(e) Any other motion bearing on the conduct of the meeting.

3. The mover shall make a brief presentation of the motion without entering into the substance of the question under debate.

4. In debate on procedural motions, only the mover of the proposal and one delegate holding a contrary opinion shall be heard, after which the Council shall decide.

RULE 27

Council debates shall be public. They shall be held in private only if the Council so decides by a majority of the votes cast.

RULE 28

1. Members of the Council, or their duly appointed substitutes, shall have one vote each.

2. The President shall not vote.

RULE 29

The Council shall normally vote by show of hands or by standing and sitting. However, if the President deems it necessary or a member of the Council so requests, a vote by roll-call may be taken.

RULE 30

1. Voting shall be by secret ballot for the election of the President of the Council, the appointment of the Secretary General and the election of members of the Executive Committee.

2. Results of secret ballots shall be ascertained by two Tellers appointed by the Council.

RULE 31

Subject to the special provisions relating to amendments (cf. Rule 18) and procedural motions (cf. Rule 26), the Council shall vote on proposals in the order in which they were submitted. After each vote, the Council may decide whether or not it will vote on the next proposal.

RULE 32

1. Any member of the Council may request that part, or each paragraph, of a text submitted to the Council be put to the vote separately.

2. If any objection is raised, the request for division shall be voted upon without debate.

3. If the request for division is accepted, separate votes shall be taken on those parts and paragraphs of the text on which the Council has resolved to take a separate vote. The full text, excluding such parts or paragraphs as may have been rejected, shall subsequently be put to the vote as a whole on the understanding that, should all the parts and paragraphs of the text be rejected, the text shall be considered rejected in toto.

RULE 33

1. Nobody may interrupt a vote once it has commenced, except to obtain clarification on the manner in which the voting is being conducted.

2. Members of the Council who wish to explain their vote briefly may be authorized to do so by the President, after voting has taken place.

3. No explanation of vote shall be admissible on amendments and procedural motions.

RULE 34

1. A vote may only take place if at least half the members of the Council or their duly appointed substitutes participating in the session are present in the meeting room at the time.

2. For each session, the quorum shall be established on the basis of the number of members of the Council or substitutes effectively participating in the first meeting. The quorum shall be announced by the Secretary General at that time.

RULE 35

1. The majorities required shall be the following:

(a) For the insertion of supplementary items in the Council agenda, a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if the request is received by the Secretariat less than 15 days before the opening of the session (cf. Rule 13.2 (b));

(b) For the election of the President, an absolute majority of the votes cast (cf. Rule 8);

(c) For any other decision, a majority of the votes cast.

3. When a two-thirds majority is required, the number of affirmative votes must be equal to at least one-third of the total number of Council members or their substitutes participating effectively at the session (cf. Rule 34).

4. If the votes are equally divided, the proposal under consideration shall be considered as rejected.

RULE 36

1. In the interval between sessions the President of the Council or the Executive Committee, acting through the Secretary General, may if necessary consult the Council by correspondence.

2. For the result of this consultation to constitute a valid decision, the Secretariat must have received replies from at least half of the Members of the Union represented on the Council within 40 days of the date of despatch of the communication by which the Members were consulted.

RULE 37

1. In conformity with Article 21 (l) of the Statutes, the Council shall elect the members to fill vacant seats on the Executive Committee.

RULE 38

Candidatures for an election to the Executive Committee, with the exception of the case provided for in Article 23.6 of the Statutes, shall be communicated in writing to the Secretary General at least 24 hours before the Council meeting at which they are to be considered.

RULE 39

The Council shall elect candidates who have obtained an absolute majority of the votes cast. If the requisite number of candidates is not elected in the first round of voting, further rounds shall be held until all the vacant seats are filled. In calculating the majority, partially completed ballot papers shall be counted.

RULE 40

The Council, on the proposal of the Executive Committee, shall establish the annual programme and budget of the Union (cf. Statutes, Art. 21 (i) and 24.2 (e)).

RULE 41 (cf. Financial Regulations, Rule 12)

The Union's accounts, after having been examined by the External Auditor, shall be submitted each year by the Secretary General to the two Auditors appointed by the Council from among its members (cf. Statutes, Art. 21 (j)). When audited, they shall be presented for approval to the Council which shall then sanction the Secretary General's financial administration.

RULE 42 (cf. Secretariat, Rule 6)

1. The Secretary General or the Secretary General's representative shall assist the President in directing the work of the Council.

2. The Secretary General or the Secretary General's representative may be invited by the President to speak on any question under consideration.

RULE 43

1. The Secretariat of the Union shall receive all documents, reports and draft resolutions and distribute them in English and French. It shall ensure the simultaneous interpretation of the debates in these two languages, as well as in Arabic and Spanish.

2. It shall prepare provisional summary records of the meetings which shall be circulated to all Members of the Union within 60 days of the close of the session and submitted for approval by the Council at the opening of its next session.

RULE 44

The Secretary General shall submit to each ordinary session of the Council a written report on the state and work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

RULE 45

1. The Council shall adopt and amend its Rules by a majority of the votes cast.

2. Proposals for amending the Council's Rules shall be formulated in writing and sent to the Secretariat of the Union at least three months before the next meeting of the Council. The Secretariat shall communicate such proposals immediately to all Members of the Union. It shall communicate any proposals for sub-amendments at least one month before the meeting of the Council.

3. If circumstances so warrant, the Council may establish special Rules of procedure for any extraordinary session it convenes in conformity with the provisions of Article 17.2 of the Statutes. Such special Rules shall be approved by the Council no later than at the regular session immediately preceding the event in question.