Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

A. POSSIBLE REMEDIAL REVISIONS TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC ASSEMBLY-Continued IX. VOTING IN COMMITTEES

Article 32.

1. A Committee shall normally vote by a show of hands.
2. In exceptional circumstances the Chairman may
decide to hold a rollcall vote of members of the Committee
by national delegation.

3. Election shall be by secret ballot. If, after the first
ballot, no candidate for Chairman has obtained an absolute
majority of the vote cast, the candidate who, in the second
ballot, obtains the most votes, shall be elected. In the
event of a tie the issues shall be decided by lot. Vice-
Chairmen and Rapporteurs shall be elected by the same
procedure. When only one candidate is proposed, election
may take place by acclamation.

4. The decision of a Committee shall be by simple
majority subject to subparagraph 3 above.

5. A vote in committee shall not be valid unless a third of the members of the Committee are present.

6. The right to vote is an individual one. An alternate, authorized to sit in the place of a delegate absent or unable to take his seat, may vote. National delegations shall appoint the number of delegates entitled to vote, and up to the same number of alternates, as set out in Article 27 above and in Appendix III to these Rules of Procedure.

7. The Chairmen of the Committee may take part in
discussions and may vote, but without having a casting
8. Any member of a Committee who is prevented from
vote.
attending a sitting of that Committee may arrange to
be replaced by another delegate or an alternate.

9. Alternates designated to replace full members of
in the Committee as the member himself. An alternate
Committees shall have the same rights and obligations
may be appointed as a Rapporteur, but not as Chairman

or Vice-Chairman.

Article 33.

1. A record shall be kept, by the Committee Secretary,
of votes cast. The result of a vote on a draft recommenda-
tion, resolution, opinion or order, shall be presented to
the Drafting Committee.

2. Minutes of proceedings shall be drawn up for each
Committee meeting under the responsibility of the Com-
mittee Secretary and shall be distributed to members of
the Committee.

persons than members of the Committee concerned,
3. Minutes of Proceedings are confidential documents
of committees which shall not be distributed to other
members of the Standing Committee and Secretaries
of national delegations,

Revision 11: Section IX. Article 33. Paragraph 3.
Purpose: To reflect a decision by the Assembly that
the Assembly Committees shall meet in open session un-
less determined otherwise.

3. Minutes of Proceedings OF CLOSED SESSIONS
are confidential documents of committees which shall not
be distributed to other persons than members of the
Committee concerned, members of the Standing Com-
mittee and Secretaries of national delegations.

A. POSSIBLE REMEDIAL REVISIONS TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC ASSEMBLY-Continued
X. DELEGATION SECRETARIES

Article 34.

National delegations shall appoint delegation Secre-
taries who shall be entitled to be present at meetings of
the Assembly and its Committees, and shall have access
to the Assembly chamber and to Committee rooms.

They are asked to help the Secretary General in main-
taining close and effective administrative links between
the Assembly and the parliaments.

XI. CONSULTATIVE STATUS

Article 35.

The Assembly may, on the proposal of the Standing Committee, make suitable arrangements for consultation with international governmental and non-governmental organizations which deal with matters which are within its competence. It may invite such organizations to submit written reports to it, debate such reports and hear representatives of these organizations.

1. The official languages of the Assembly shall be
languages shall be interpreted.
English and French. Speeches in either of the two official
2. A speaker wishing to use another language shall be
personally responsible for ensuring its interpretation into

one of the official languages.

1. The Secretariat shall be responsible for the distri-
bution of documents for each sitting.

2. The Secretariat shall ensure the publication of
reports, recommendations, resolutions, opinions and orders
of the Assembly. A record of the plenary sessions of the
Assembly shall also be made, and this record shall be
available to all members. Corrections of form and style
may be made to the record, at the discretion of the
President, up to a period of three months following the
previous sitting of the Assembly.

1. Official press communiques may only be issued:
-regarding the work of the Assembly as a whole,
on the express instructions of the President (or acting
President);

-regarding the work of the Committees, on the
express instructions of the appropriate Committee
Chairman and with the agreement of the Committee.
2. Delegates shall otherwise be free to make use of the
good offices of the International Secretariat to issue press
releases on their own responsibility, without committing
the Assembly in any way. Such a release should be
preceded by an indication that the statements in the
communique are those of the delegate concerned and do
not necessarily reflect the views of the North Atlantic
Assembly.

3. Officers of Committees shall not communicate to the
press details of draft reports, recommendations and resolu-
tions, opinions and orders prior to their discussion in
Committee.

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