Rules and Procedures
Rules of procedure
You may also download the rules of
procedure here.
Go to :
Section
I: Officers of the conference
Section II - Functions
of the officers
Section II - Subordinate
bodies, committees and working parties
Section III- Preparation
and meetings of the conference
Annex (voting
requirements)
Section I
Officers of the conference
Rule 1
1.1 A President and two Vice-Presidents shall be elected by the Conference
annually at the end of its last session, by a majority of the members
present and voting.
1.2 The President and Vice-Presidents may be re-elected but the combined
duration of these consecutive appointments will be limited to a total
of four years for each position for each individual.
Rule 2
2.1 The Conference shall have a Secretary-General who shall be appointed
by the Conference annually at the end of the ordinary session, by
a two-thirds majority of all Members.
2.2 The Secretary-General may be re-elected.
Rule 3
EMBO shall make a Secretary available to the Conference by common agreement
between the President of the Conference and the Chair of the EMBO Council.
Section
II
Functions of the officers
Rule 4
4.1 In addition to the functions of the Secretary-General, as defined
in Article V of the Agreement, the Secretary-General shall have the responsibilities:
(i) to ensure that the Conference activities respect the Agreement under
which it was established and its Rules of Procedures;
(ii) to ensure that the finances of the Conference are correctly managed
and monitored;
(iii) to propose new initiatives for consideration by the Conference;
(iv) to provide an annual report of the actions of the Conference;
(v) to prepare a provisional agenda for the Conference meetings in agreement
with the President;
(vi) to ensure that the agenda is circulated to the Conference at least
21 days before each ordinary session;
(vii) to ensure that the documentation required by the Conference is
prepared and circulated in a timely manner, if possible, at least 10
days before the date of the session;
(viii) to represent the Conference, if so requested by the Conference
or after consultation with the President;
(ix) to prepare a summary of the decisions immediately after each Conference
session and a summary record giving the substance of the discussion of
the Conference and recording the decisions reached. This summary record
shall be signed by the President following acceptance by the Conference.
4.2 If the Secretary-General can no longer carry out his/her duties,
the President shall appoint, in agreement with the Vice-Presidents
and in consultation with the Chair of EMBO, a Secretary-General ad
interim, whose term of office shall expire with the appointment of
a new Secretary-General by the next ordinary or extraordinary session
of the Conference.
Rule 5
5.1 The President shall:
(i) be responsible for approving the agenda for each meeting of the Conference;
(ii) without prejudice to later provisions of these Rules of Procedure,
conduct the debates of the Conference and ensure that the Rules of Procedure
are respected;
5.2 If the President is unable to attend, the chair shall be taken by
one of the Vice-Presidents.
Rule 6
6.1 The Secretary of the Conference shall:
(i) support the Secretary-General in the delivery of his/her responsibilities;
(ii) carry out the specific tasks attributed to this officer in the Financial
Rules;
6.2 The Secretary’s activities shall be supported by the EMBO staff
when carrying out the above duties in keeping with Article II of the
EMBC Agreement.
Rule 7
7.1 The Conference may call for advice upon any qualified individual
or expert it chooses.
Rule 8
8.1 Participation as a delegate shall be subject to production of credentials
issued by the competent Minister or an appropriate Government authority.
8.2 The credentials of the delegates shall be examined by the Secretary
prior to each session.
8.3 A delegate shall continue to hold that position until such time as
the Secretary is notified of the termination of this appointment or
until the quota of 2 delegates for that country is filled by more recent
appointments.
Section
II
Subordinate bodies, committees and working parties
Rule 9
9.1 The Conference may set up subordinate bodies when this mechanism
is deemed to help the functioning of the Conference in accordance with
Article IV. 3e of the terms of the EMBC Agreement.
9.2 In each case, the terms of reference, the person who should act as
the Chair, the composition of the subordinate body and the duration
for which it should exist shall be decided at the time of its establishment.
9.3 All subordinate bodies shall report to the Conference at each session.
9.4 Expenses incurred by delegates or advisers appointed to subordinate
bodies by the Conference will be reimbursed by the EMBC.
Rule 10
On receipt of an application for membership of the EMBC, a Working Group,
established under Rule 9, composed minimally of the Secretary-General
of the EMBC, the President of the EMBC, the Vice-Presidents of the
EMBC, and the Secretary of the EMBC, will consider the application
for its merits on scientific grounds, on any possible consequences
to the functioning of the EMBC, if the new Member State is elected,
and will provide an opinion on whether the proposed Member State
fulfils the four special requirements laid down by the Conference
(CEBM/91/7) or other criteria defined by Conference. The Conference
will receive this report prior to voting on any application for full
membership of the EMBC.
Section
III
Preparation and meetings of the conference
Rule 11
11.1 Officers and delegates to the Conference, the Executive Director
and the Chair of EMBO are entitled to request the President that any
point they wish to have examined be placed on the draft agenda.
11.2 The draft agenda for any session of the Conference shall be considered
for adoption at the opening of the session. It may thereafter be modified
during the session only if the Conference so decides. Papers may only
be tabled, through the Secretary, during a session of the Conference,
if the EMBC so decides.
Rule 12
12.1 Wherever possible the Conference shall, at the close of each ordinary
session, fix the date of its next ordinary session. Where circumstances
so require, the President may change this date in consultation with
the Secretary-General, the Secretary and the Vice-Presidents.
12.2 When extraordinary sessions are required, their dates shall be fixed
by the President in consultation with the Secretary-General, the Secretary
and the Vice-Presidents.
12.3 The length of sessions shall be determined, in the light of the
agenda, by the President in agreement with the Secretary-General and
the Secretary.
12.4 The Secretary, in consultation with the President, shall convene
both ordinary and extraordinary session two months in advance. In an
emergency, the notice may be reduced to one month.
12.5 Meetings of subordinate bodies and working parties shall be convened
by the Secretary in consultation with the Chairs of the bodies or working
parties concerned. The Secretary shall make arrangements for their meetings.
12.6 No decision involving expenditure additional to that adopted in
the annual budget shall be deemed to be approved by the Conference until
it has approved an estimate for the additional expenditure involved.
Rule 13
At meetings of the Conference simultaneous interpretation shall be provided
for statements delivered in English, French or German. Conference documents
shall in principle be issued in all three languages: where time does
not allow a full translation to be made, summaries shall be provided
in the working language or languages affected.
Rule 14
The Secretary to the Conference shall draw up lists of delegates and
observers attending the Conference in the French alphabetical order
of the names of the countries, followed by those of the organisations,
which they represent.
Rule 15
15.1 The proceedings of the Conference shall be valid if more than half
of all States Members are represented.
15.2 If during a session a quorum is lacking, the President may suspend
the session, or declare an informal discussion.
Rule 16
16.1 The President shall open and close meetings, grant or withdraw the
right to speak, put proposals to vote, and announce decisions. He/She
shall rule on points of order and shall in particular be entitled to
propose that the discussion be suspended or deferred.
16.2 The President shall be subject to the authority of the Conference
in the discharge of his/her duties.
16.3 While in the chair (see Rule 5.2), a Vice-President shall have the
same rights and duties as the President.
Rule 17
17.1 Meetings of the Conference shall not be open to the public unless
the Conference decides otherwise.
17.2 The Conference may also invite the government of a non-Member State
or an intergovernmental, governmental or non-governmental organisation
to be represented at any of its deliberations. Such invitation shall
not entail co-operation within the meaning of Article III.3 of the Agreement.
17.3 The Conference may also invite private persons to attend meetings
in their individual capacity.
17.4 The names of advisers that accompany delegates with credentials
must be communicated in writing to the Secretary of the Conference no
later than the opening of the relevant session of the Conference by one
of the authorities designated in Rule 8.1 or by the delegation concerned.
17.5 Delegates and advisers have the right to speak in the debates of
the Conference. All other attendees may participate only upon invitation
by the President.
Rule 18
18.1 The President shall call upon speakers in the order in which they
have asked for the floor.
18.2 Priority shall be given to a delegate speaking on a point of order,
on which the President shall rule forthwith.
18.3 Points of order need not to be handed to the President in writing
or distributed. The following motions shall in particular be deemed points
of order: a motion that the question be referred back; a motion that
consideration of a particular issue be deferred; a motion that the meeting
stand adjourned; and a motion that the meeting proceed to the next item
on the agenda.
18.4 The ruling of the President may be challenged, but the discussion
thereon shall be confined to the challenger and to the President.
18.5 If the difference of opinion persists, it shall at once be put to
the vote.
Rule 19
19.1 Any delegate to the Conference or any adviser may table resolutions
or amendments.
19.2 Every draft resolution must be handed to the President in writing.
The text shall be distributed as early as possible before the vote.
19.3 Where a number of amendments are tabled to the same draft resolution,
the President shall decide in what order they shall be discussed and
put to the vote, subject to the following provisions:
(i) all resolutions or amendments shall be put to the vote;
(ii) an amendment may be put to the vote separately or as the antithesis
of another amendment, at the discretion of the President; and
(iii) if a resolution is amended as the outcome of a vote, the resolution
as amended shall be put to the Conference for a final vote.
19.4 A delegate who has moved a proposal or tabled an amendment may withdraw
it subject to the agreement of any other delegate who has seconded it,
except where an amendment constituting a modification of it is still
under discussion or has been adopted.
19.5 A proposal or amendment withdrawn by its sponsor may be reintroduced
by another delegate, in which case it shall be debated and put to the
vote.
Rule 20
20.1 Each Member State shall have one vote in the Conference, subject
to provisions of Article II.3 and Article IV.4.a (ii) of the Agreement
concerning activities specified as Special Projects and Article IV.4.a
(iv) of the Agreement concerning unpaid contributions.
20.2 Votes shall normally be taken at the Conference by show of hands
unless a Member State requests a roll-call, which shall then be taken
in the French alphabetical order of the names of the Member States,
beginning with a Member State whose name shall be drawn at random by
the Chair. The vote of each Member State participating in a roll-call
shall be included in the record of the session.
20.3 In the cases of Article III.2 of the Agreement concerning admission
of the New Members and of Article XI.6 of the Agreement concerning
deprivation of membership, there will be an open vote. Upon the demand
of two or more Members present, voting on any matter may be by secret
ballot. In the case of votes by secret ballot, the number of abstentions
shall be recorded. In voting by secret ballot, two tellers selected
from among the delegates present shall assist in the counting of votes.
20.4 Decisions of the Conference, to be valid, shall require the voting
majorities specified in the relevant provisions of the Agreement and
set out in the annex to the present Rules. In applying these rules, Member
States which abstain from voting are to be considered as not voting and
such abstentions shall not prevent a decision from being considered as
unanimous or as taken with the specified majority. However, abstentions
are in all cases to be recorded.
20.5 Except when otherwise provided in the Agreement or these Rules,
decisions of the Conference shall be taken by a majority of the Members
present and voting.
Rule 21
The conclusions of the deliberation of the Conference shall not be considered
to be confidential unless a specific decision is made to deem them
such. Official press releases must be approved by the President or
by a person expressly delegated by the President for that purpose.
Rule 22
22.1 Between sessions the Secretary, with the agreement of the Secretary-General
and the President, may transmit proposals to Member States in writing
with a view of securing a decision on them.
22.2 Provided no opposition has been expressed or no reservations lodged
at the expiry of a period fixed for reply, which shall not be less
than two months, the proposed decision shall become effective and the
Secretary shall immediately so notify Members; it shall be reported
to the next session of the Conference.
Rule 23
In the event of conflict between the provisions of these Rules of Procedure
and the terms of the Agreement the provisions of the latter shall prevail.
Annex
Requirements for voting majorities laid down in the Agreement establishing
the European Molecular Biology Conference
1. Modification of the General Programme, or the means of its execution
-
Unanimous decision of the Member States present and voting (Art. II.2)
2. Approval of Special Projects -
Two-thirds majority of Members present and voting (Art. II.3)
3. Admission of other European States, as well as States which have made
an important contribution to the work of EMBO from its foundation as
Members –
Unanimous vote of Members present and voting (Art. III.2)
4. Establishment of co-operation with non-Member States, national bodies
or international governmental or non-governmental organisations and definition
of the conditions and terms of such co-operation –
Unanimous vote of Members present and voting (Art. III.3)
5. Decision to meet in extraordinary session –
Two-thirds of all the Members (Art. IV.1)
6. Establishment of subordinate bodies –
Two-thirds majority of Members present and voting (Art. IV.3.e)
7. Determination or variation of the maximum credits that may be committed
during the period of an indicative scheme –
Unanimous vote of the Members present and voting (Art. IV.3.f)
8. Adoption of the ordinary budget –
Two-thirds majority of Members present and voting (Art. IV.3.g)
9. Adoption of financial regulations –
Two-thirds majority of Members present and voting (Art. IV.3.j)
10. Appointment of a Secretary-General for a defined period of time –
Two-thirds majority of all Members (Art. V.1)
11. Approval of the receipt of gifts offered by private organisations
or individuals –
Two-thirds majority of Members present and voting (Art. VI.2.c)
12. Decision upon the scale of Members’ contributions –
Two-thirds majority of all Members (Art. VII.1)
13. (a) Modification of the scale of contributions for Members affected
by special circumstances -
Two-thirds majority of all Members (Art. VII.2)
(b) Fixation of level of per capita income to be considered a special
circumstance in fixing Members’ contributions –Two-thirds majority
of all Members (Art. VII.2)
14. Request for amendment of the Agreement –
Not less than two-thirds of all Members (Art. IX.1)
15. Decision to prolong or amend the Agreement or discontinue collaboration
within its framework after five years –Two-thirds majority of all
Members (Art. XI.4.c)
16. Deprivation of membership – Two-thirds majority of all Members
(Art. XI.6)
General provisions
Except where otherwise stipulated in the Agreement, decisions of the
Conference shall be taken by a majority of the Members present and voting
(Art. IV.4.b).
|
