Rule VIII: Suspension of Rules
1. At the first session in each biennium, the Committee shall elect a Chairman, a first Vice-Chairman and four other Vice-Chairmen from among the representatives of its Members, who shall remain in office until the election of a new Chairman and new Vice-Chairmen and who will act as a Steering Committee during sessions.
2. The Chairman, or in his absence the first Vice-Chairman, shall preside at meetings of the Committee and exercise such other functions as may be required to facilitate its work. In the event of the Chairman and the first Vice-Chairman not being able to preside at a meeting, the Committee shall appoint one of the other Vice-Chairmen or, failing these, a representative of its Members to take the chair.
3. The Director-General of the Organization shall appoint a secretary, who shall perform such duties as the work of the Committee may require and prepare the records of the proceedings of the Committee.
1. The Committee shall hold sessions as provided in Rule XXX.4 and 5 of the General Rules of the Organization.
2. Any number of separate meetings may be held during each session of the Committee.
3. The sessions of the Committee shall in the years immediately following a regular session of the Conference be held at the seat of the Organization; in other years they may be held in another place in pursuance of a decision taken by the Committee in consultation with the Director-General.
4. Notice of the date and place of each session shall normally be communicated at least two months in advance of the session to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization, and to such non-member States and international organizations as may have been invited to attend the session.
5. Each Member of the Committee may appoint alternates and advisers to its representative on the Committee.
6. Presence of representatives of a majority of the Members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum for any formal action by the Committee.
1. Participation of international organizations in an observer capacity in the work of the Committee shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization1, as well as by the general rules of the Organization on relations with international organizations.
2. Attendance by non-member States of the Organization at sessions of the Committee shall be governed by the principles relating to the granting of observer status to nations adopted by the Conference.
3.
1. The Director-General, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, shall prepare a provisional agenda and shall normally circulate it at least two months in advance of the session to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization and to all non-member States and inter national organizations invited to attend the session.
2. All Member Nations of the Organization and Associate Members acting within the limits of their status may request the Director-General normally not less than 30 days before the proposed date of the session to insert an item in the provisional agenda. The Director-General shall thereupon circulate the proposed item to all Members of the Committee, together with any necessary papers.
3. The first item on the provisional agenda shall be the adoption of the agenda. The Committee in session may by general consent amend the agenda by the deletion, addition or modification of any item, provided that no matter referred to it by the Council or on the request of the Conference be omitted from the agenda.
4. Documents not already circulated shall be dispatched with the provisional agenda, or as soon as possible thereafter.
1. Each Member of the Committee shall have one vote.
2. The decisions of the Committee shall be ascertained by the Chairman, who shall resort, upon the request of one or more Members, to a vote, in which case the pertinent provisions of Rule XII of the General Rules of the Organization shall apply mutatis mutandis.
1. At each session, the Committee shall approve a report to the Council embodying its views, recommendations and decisions, including when requested a statement of minority views. Any recommendations adopted by the Committee which affect the programme or finances of the Organization shall be reported to the Council with the comments of the appropriate subsidiary committees of the Council.
2. Reports of sessions shall be circulated to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization and to non-member States invited to attend the session, as well as to interested international organizations entitled to be represented at the session.
3. The comments of the Committee on the report of any of its subsidiary bodies and, if one or more Members of the Committee so request, the views of those Members shall be incorporated into the Committee's report. If any Member so requests, this part of the Committee's report shall be circulated as soon as possible by the Director-General to the States or international organizations which normally receive the reports of the subsidiary body in question. The Committee may also request the Director-General, in transmitting the report and records of its proceedings to Members, to call particular attention to its views and comments on the report of any of its subsidiary bodies.
4. The Committee shall determine the procedures in regard to press communiqués concerning its activities.
1. In accordance with the provisions of Rule XXX.10 of the General Rules of the Organization, the Committee may, when necessary, establish subcommittees, subsidiary working parties or study groups, subject to the necessary funds being available in the relevant chapter of the approved budget of the Organization, and may include in the membership of such subcommittees, subsidiary working parties or study groups Member Nations that are not Members of the Committee and Associate Members. The membership of such subcommittees, subsidiary working parties and study groups established by the Committee may include States which, while not Member Nations or Associate Members of the Organization, are members of the United Nations, any of its specialized agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency.
2. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the establishment of subsidiary bodies, the Committee shall have before it a report from the Director-General on the administrative and financial implications thereof.
3. The Committee shall determine the terms of reference of its subsidiary bodies, who shall report to the Committee. The reports of the subsidiary bodies shall be made available for information to all members of the subsidiary bodies concerned, all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization, non-member States invited to the sessions of the subsidiary bodies, and to interested international organizations entitled to attend such sessions.
The Committee may decide to suspend any of the foregoing Rules of Procedure, provided that 24 hours' notice of the proposal for the suspension has been given and that the action contemplated is consistent with the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization2. Such notice may be waived if no Member objects.
The Committee may, by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, amend its Rules of Procedure, provided that such amendment is consistent with the Constitution and the General Rules of the Organization. No proposal for the amendment of these Rules shall be included in the agenda of any session of the Committee unless notice thereof has been dispatched by the Director-General to Members of the Committee at least 30 days before the opening of the session.
1 It is understood that in this context the terms "Constitution" and "the General Rules of the Organization" are to be taken to include all general rules and policy statements formally adopted by the Conference and intended to supplement the Constitution and the Rules, such as the "Statement of principles relating to the granting of observer status to nations", and the general rules regarding relationships between the Organization and governmental and non-governmental organizations.
2 See footnote to Rule III, paragraph 1.
