Contents:

• Objectives
• Composition
• Sessions
• Presidency
• Agenda
• Speaking Rights - Order - Procedural Motions
• Decisions
• Vote - Quorum - Majorities
• Report and recommendations to the Inter-Parliamentary Council
• Co-ordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians
• Secretariat
• Adoption and Amendment of the Rules

RULE 1

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall be held on the occasion of each round of Statutory Meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and shall report on its work to the Inter-Parliamentary Council.

RULE 2

The Meeting shall have the following objectives:

(a) To promote contacts and co-ordination among women parliamentarians on all topics of common interest;

(b) To foster democracy by promoting parity and partnership between men and women in all fields, particularly in politics, and to encourage and support the action of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to those ends;

(c) In the same spirit, to encourage and promote the participation of women parliamentarians in the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and to promote their equitable representation at all levels of responsibility within the Organisation;

(d) To pre-study certain questions considered by the Inter-Parliamentary Conference or by the Inter-Parliamentary Council and, as appropriate, to prepare recommendations on these subjects;

(e) To establish mechanisms for relaying information on the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to women MPs and women politicians not taking part in IPU meetings.

RULE 3

Women members of national Parliaments who have been designated as delegates to the Statutory Meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union under the provisions of Article 11 of the Statutes take part in the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians.

RULE 4

1. Women representatives of international parliamentary assemblies admitted as Associate Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union may also take part in the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. Their participation shall be subject to the rules governing the participation of Associate Members in the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

2. Male members of Parliaments may follow the work of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. Subject to the approval of the participants, the President may give them the floor.

RULE 5

The representatives of international organisations and other entities having the status of observers may follow the work of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. Their participation shall be subject to the rules governing the participation of observers at meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

RULE 6

1. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and its Co-ordinating Committee shall meet on the occasion of the Statutory Meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in a place and on dates decided by the governing bodies of the Union (cf. Statutes, Arts. 10, 18 and 22(b)).

2. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall take place on the day before the opening of the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. If necessary, an additional sitting may be organised during the Statutory Meetings, particularly for the election of the new regional representatives to the Co-ordinating Committee.

3. The Convocation of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, together with the provisional agenda, shall be sent to all Members and Associate Members of the Union at least one month before its opening.

RULE 7

The Meeting shall elect its President among the women members of the host Parliament. If the host Parliament does not comprise a woman member, the President of the Co-ordinating Committee shall chair the Meeting; in her absence, the First Vice-President or the Second Vice-President of the Committee shall chair the Meeting.

RULE 8

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall be opened by the President of the Co-ordinating Committee who shall conduct the election of the President of the Meeting. In the absence of the President of the Co-ordinating Committee, the Meeting shall be opened by the First Vice-President or the Second Vice-President of the Committee.

RULE 9

Should the President of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians have to be absent for part of the session, she shall be replaced provisionally by the President of the Co-ordinating Committee or, in the latter's absence, one of the two Vice-Presidents.

RULE 10

1. The President shall direct the work of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, suspend and close the sitting, 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. Her 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, after having taken the advice of the Co-ordinating Committee or its Bureau, if necessary.

RULE 11

1. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall adopt its agenda.

2. A provisional agenda shall be drawn up by the Co-ordinating Committee in the light of the work and proposals of the previous Meeting of Women Parliamentarians.

3. The agenda shall include one but not more than two substantive items for debate which may relate to the competence of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference: the consideration of such items may give rise to the presentation of draft resolutions to the Conference (see Rule 22 below). The agenda shall also include items relating to the activities and functioning of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians itself, as well as items possibly of interest to the general policy of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, its functioning and programme; the consideration of these items may give rise to recommendations to be addressed to the Inter-Parliamentary Council.

4. The provisional agenda and the Convocation of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall be communicated to all Members and Associate Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union at least one month before the opening of the Meeting. An annotated agenda is also communicated to them prior to the opening of the Meeting, together with all necessary documents.

5. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall take a decision on the provisional agenda by a majority of the votes cast (see Rule 23 below).

RULE 12

1. Any participant may ask for the insertion of supplementary items in the agenda of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians.

2. After hearing the opinion of the President of the Co-ordinating Committee or, in her absence, one of the two Vice-Presidents, the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall decide on such a request by a majority of the votes cast (see Rule 23 below).

RULE 13

No participant or observer may speak without the authorisation of the President of the Meeting.

RULE 14

1. During the consideration of subjects for debate, participants and observers shall indicate their wish to speak by filling in a registration form which shall be handed during the sitting to the Secretary of the Meeting.

2. In principle, participants and observers shall speak in the order in which they request the floor. However, the President may alter this order so as to facilitate dialogue and no list of speakers shall be established or circulated.

3. In order to promote a debate of concepts, participants shall refrain from reading presentations prepared in advance and presenting reports on national situations. Similarly, observers shall refrain, unless expressly so requested, from making statements presenting the general activity of the organisation or institution which they represent.

4. Unless the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians decides otherwise, statements shall not exceed three minutes.

RULE 15

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

RULE 16

1. On the proposal of the President or at the request of a participant, the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians may decide to alter speaking time in the discussion of a particular item on the agenda.

2. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall decide on such a request by a simple majority (see Rule 23 below).

RULE 17

1. 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 and may, if necessary, withdraw permission to speak. The President may have the objectionable words struck from the record.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 above, the President may, at the end of the sitting, give the floor briefly to a delegation wishing to exercise its right of reply.

RULE 18

1. The President shall deal immediately with any incident which may arise during a meeting and, if necessary, take all measures required to restore the smooth functioning of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians.

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

RULE 19

1. Priority to speak shall be given to participants 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 speaker holding a contrary opinion shall be heard, after which the Meeting shall decide.

5. No proposal for an adjournment sine die shall be allowed on questions on which the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians has been instructed by the Inter-Parliamentary Conference or by the Inter-Parliamentary Council to report.

RULE 20

The debates of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall be public. The Meeting may, however, decide by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast that they be held in camera.

RULE 21

1. Any representative of a Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union may present a motion or draft recommendation to the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians to be addressed to the Inter-Parliamentary Council on an item appearing on the latter's agenda. Such a motion or draft recommendation may be presented orally or in writing.

2. Any representative of a Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union may present amendments to such a motion or draft recommendation. Amendments, which may be presented orally or in writing, shall relate directly to the motion or draft recommendation in question; they may only envisage an addition, a deletion or an alteration to the initial draft without having the effect of changing its scope or nature.

3. The President of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall determine whether a motion, draft recommendation, amendment or sub-amendment presented to the Meeting by a participant is in order. In case of doubt regarding admissibility, the President of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians may consult the Bureau of the Co-ordinating Committee.

4. Amendments shall be discussed before the motion or draft recommendation to which they relate; they shall be voted on before the text itself. 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.

5. If two or more amendments apply to the same words in a motion or draft recommendation, that which is furthest from the text under consideration shall have priority over the others and shall be put to the vote first. 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 to each of the following amendments. Sub-amendments shall be dealt with according to the same procedure.

6. Unless the President decides otherwise, the only speakers to be heard in discussing an amendment or a sub-amendment shall be its author and a speaker holding a contrary opinion.

7. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall take a decision on motions, draft recommendations, amendments and sub-amendments by simple majority vote (see Rule 23 below).

RULE 22

1. So that the Inter-Parliamentary Conference may benefit from the specific input of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, the latter may decide by simple majority vote (see Rule 23 below) to entrust a small number of participants with gathering the ideas expressed in the substantive debate and preparing a draft resolution on that question to be submitted to the Inter-Parliamentary Conference.

2. The draft resolution shall be based on the summary of the ideas as presented at the close of the substantive debate and endorsed by the Meeting. The participants entrusted with preparing the draft resolution will work in consultation with the President of the Meeting and the Bureau of the Co-ordinating Committee.

RULE 23

1. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall take decisions by acclamation or, failing that, by the majority of the votes cast.

2. Each delegation may express a maximum of two votes. No participant may cast more than one vote. Only women parliamentarians present in person shall have the right to vote. The President of the Meeting shall not vote.

3. A vote may only take place if at least half of the Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union announced as being represented at the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians are present in the hall at the time of the vote.

4. For each session, the quorum shall be established on the basis of the number of delegations effectively participating in the first sitting of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and shall be announced by the Secretary General at that time.

RULE 24

1. With the exception of elections which shall be held in conformity with the provisions of Rule 25, decisions of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall normally be held by show of hands. However, if the President deems it necessary or if one participant so requests, a vote may be held by roll-call. The President of the Meeting shall in each case decide on the method of voting to be followed. Only positive and negative votes shall be taken into account. If the votes are equally divided, the proposal under consideration shall be considered as rejected.

2. Subject to the special provisions relating to amendments (cf. Rule 21) and procedural motions (cf. Rule 19), the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall vote on proposals in the order in which they are submitted. After each vote the Meeting may decide whether or not it will vote on the next proposal.

RULE 25

1. If necessary, the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians may decide to hold a secret ballot for the election of the regional representatives of the Co-ordinating Committee and the President and two Vice-Presidents of the Co-ordinating Committee.

2. Results of votes by secret ballot shall be ascertained by two Tellers appointed by the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians on the proposal of the President of the Meeting or of the Co-ordinating Committee.

RULE 26

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

2. Participants who wish to explain their vote briefly, may be authorised 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 27

1. An overall report on the work of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and its Co-ordinating Committee shall be presented to each session of the Inter-Parliamentary Council.

2. This report shall be presented by the President of the Meeting or, in her absence, by the President or one of the two Vice-Presidents of the Co-ordinating Committee.

RULE 28

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians may also make proposals and recommendations to the Inter-Parliamentary Council concerning the general policy, functioning and programme of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

RULE 29

1. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall be assisted by a Co-ordinating Committee whose Rules it shall approve.

2. The Co-ordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians shall:

(a) Prepare the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and facilitate its smooth working in conformity with the Statutes of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and these Rules;

(b) Ensure the continuity of work and the co-ordination of the initiatives of women parliamentarians;

(c) Ensure, particularly through its Bureau, co-ordination between the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and the other bodies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

1. The Co-ordinating Committee shall meet on the occasion of the sessions of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, during Statutory Meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

2. It shall hold a first sitting before the opening of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and a second sitting during the days following the Meeting; if necessary, a further sitting may be organised during the Statutory Inter-Parliamentary Meetings.

RULE 31

1. The Co-ordinating Committee shall be composed of the following persons:

(a) The women members of the Executive Committee, ex officio during their term of office on the Executive Committee;

(b) The former Presidents of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, ex officio for two years as from the time when they chaired the Meeting;

(c) Two representatives from each of the geopolitical Groups which meet on the occasion of Inter-Parliamentary meetings ; these representatives shall be elected ad personam by the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians for a two?year term of office and shall be eligible for re-election for a further two-year period; a substitute for each regional representative shall be elected at the same election.

RULE 32

1. After each renewal of the regional representatives, every two years, the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall, on the proposal of the Co-ordinating Committee, elect the President, First Vice-President and Second Vice-President of the Co-ordinating Committee from among parliamentarians of different regions. Any parliamentarian who is a member of the Committee may be elected to one of these three posts; with regard to the regional representatives, only titular members may be so elected.

2. When the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians takes a decision on the proposals of the Co-ordinating Committee, it may, if necessary, hold a secret ballot in accordance with the provisions of Rule 25.

3. In conformity with the provisions of Article 24 of the Statutes of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the President of the Co-ordinating Committee shall be an ex officio member of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

4. The President and Vice-Presidents shall hold office for the full term of the Co-ordinating Committee, i.e. two years.

5. If the President dies, resigns or loses her seat in Parliament, the First Vice-President shall assume office as President of the Co-ordinating Committee for the remainder of the term.

6. If a Vice-President dies, resigns or loses her seat in Parliament, the Co-ordinating Committee shall propose a replacement to the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians; the person thus elected shall hold office for the remainder of the term.

RULE 33

In accordance with the provisions of its own Rules, the Co-ordinating Committee shall appoint, at the time of each round of Statutory IPU Meetings, one of its members to report to the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians on the work carried out at its two previous sittings.

RULE 34 (cf. Rule 6 of the Rules of the Secretariat)

1. The Secretary General or the Secretary General's representative shall assist the President in directing the work of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and its Co-ordinating Committee.

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

RULE 35

1. The Secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union shall receive all documents, reports or draft resolutions and distribute them in English and French; only these documents may be distributed in the meeting room. It shall ensure the simultaneous interpretation in these two languages, as well as in Arabic and Spanish.

2. The Secretariat shall prepare the provisional summary record of the meetings which shall be circulated to members within 60 days of the close of each session and submitted for the Meeting's approval at the opening of the next session.

RULE 36

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall establish its own Rules which shall then be presented for approval by the Inter-Parliamentary Council (cf. Statutes, Article 23).

RULE 37

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall adopt its Rules by the majority of the votes cast (see Rule 23 above).

RULE 38

1. Any Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union may propose an amendment to the Rules of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians.

2. Such proposals must be formulated in writing and sent to the Secretariat of the Union at least three months before the next session of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and of the Inter-Parliamentary Council. The Secretariat shall communicate such proposals immediately to all Members and Associate Members of the Union. It shall also send them any proposals for sub-amendments at least one month before the next session of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and of the Inter-Parliamentary Council.

3. The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall take a decision on proposed amendments by the majority of the votes cast (see Rule 23 above).

4. Any amendment to its Rules adopted by the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians shall be submitted to the approval of the Inter-Parliamentary Council.

5. The consideration of any proposal to amend the Rules shall be automatically included in the agenda of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and of the Inter-Parliamentary Council.

6. After hearing the opinion of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians expressed through a simple majority vote, the Inter-Parliamentary Council shall decide on such proposals by a two-thirds majority vote.