108. The Council recalled that it had examined at its Sixtieth Session 2 a suggestion made by the Twenty-Seventh Session of the CCLM for an amendment of Rule XI of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO), the application of which had given rise to a long and difficult debate at the Sixteenth Session of the Conference 3. In the light of the discussion at the Council, the CCLM, at its Twenty-Eighth session, had re-examined the matter, with particular regard to the time-limits for the submission of proposals at Conference sessions 4.
109. The Council concurred with the view of the CCLM that, in revising the provisions of Rule XI GRO, it was necessary to eliminate ambiguities and to avoid both excessive rigidity and situations in which delegations would be faced with last minute proposals to be dealt with at very short notice.
110. Having regard to the general pattern prevailing in rules of procedure of Organizations within the United Nations system, the Council noted that such rules, while normally requiring a minimum period of advance circulation, did not contain any provisions which would bar the introduction of proposals after a particular time. The Council felt that a provision along similar lines in the FAO Basic Texts would best ensure a balance between freedom of debate and protection of delegates against “surprise” proposals.
111. While recommending, therefore, the deletion of the time-limit contained in the existing Rule XI-I GRO which had given rise to the difficulties at the Sixteenth Session of the Conference, the Council recommended that the requirement concerning advance circulation of proposals be made more effective by making it applicable not only to plenary meetings but also to Commissions and Committees of the Conference and by extending it to a full twentyfour hour period, thus giving delegations time for the necessary consultations on any new proposals before they were put to the vote.
112. Accordingly, the Council decided to submit to the Conference for its consideration the following draft amendment to Rule XI GRO prepared by the CCLM:
| Present Text: | Proposed New Text: |
| Proposals and amendments at plenary meetings of the Conference | Proposals and amendments |
| 1. Formal proposals relating to items on the agenda may be introduced at plenary meetings up to the date on which all items on the agenda have been allocated to commissions or committees of the Conference, or until seven days after the opening of the session, whichever date is the earlier. | 1. Proposals relating to an item on the agenda shall be introduced in or referred to the commission or committee to which the relevant item has been allocated, except where the item concerned is to be considered at plenary meetings without prior referral to a commission or committee. |
| 2. All such proposals shall be referred to the commissions or committees to which the item on the agenda has been allocated. Thereafter all proposals relating to items on the agenda must be raised in the first instance in the commission or committee to which the item has been allocated, or in an appropriate committee of the commission concerned. | 2. Proposals and amendments shall be introduced in writing and handed to the Secretary-General of the Conference, who shall arrange for their circulation as Conference documents. |
| 3. Proposals and amendments for plenary meetings shall be introduced in writing and handed to the Chairman of the Conference, who shall circulate copies to the delegations. Subject to a contrary decision of the Conference in a specific instance, no proposal be discussed or put to the vote at any plenary meeting unless copies of it have been circulated to all delegations not later than the day preceding the meeting. The Chairman of the Conference may, however, permit the discussion and consideration of amendments or of motions as to procedure, even though these amendments and motions have not been circulated or have only been circulated the same day. | 3. Except as may be decided otherwise by the Conference at a plenary meeting or by a commission or committee, proposals shall not be put to the vote unless copies thereof have been circulated at least twenty-four hours before the vote. The Chairman of the Conference or of the commission or committee concerned may permit voting on amendments even though these amendments have not been circulated or have been circulated less than twenty-four hours before the vote. |
| 4. A proposal may be withdrawn by its proposer at any time before voting on it has commenced, provided that the proposal has not been amended. A proposal which has thus been withdrawn may be reintroduced by any member. | 4. A proposal may be withdrawn at any time before voting on it has commenced, provided that the proposal has not been amended. A proposal which has thus been withdrawn may be reintroduced by any member. |
113. The Council considered certain further draft amendments submitted by the CCLM within the context of the Examination of the Basic Texts undertaken by the Director-General in consultation with the CCLM 1. These draft amendments related partly to the General Rules of the Organization and partly to the Rules of Procedure of the Council 2.
1 Report of the Fifty-Fifth Session of the Council, para. 250.
114. The Council examined first the amendments to the General Rules of the Organization as proposed by the CCLM and decided to submit to the Conference for its consideration the following amendments:
In order to bring the English version of the introductory phrase of Rule II-2 and of Rule II-4 GRO into line with the French and Spanish versions of these provisions, the word “include” should be substituted for the words “consist of”.
In order to reflect the procedure for the appointment of members applied in respect of the “open” Committees of the Council, as opposed to the election procedure applicable to the Committees of limited membership, Rule XXIV-5(a) GRO should be amended by inserting the words “or appoint” after the word “elect”.
With a view to dispelling any doubts as to the Council's authority to establish intersessional ad hoc bodies composed of a limited number of Council Members, for the study of particular matters, the following sentence should be added at the end of Rule XXV-10 GRO:
“The Council may also establish ad hoc committees consisting of a limited number of Council Members, to meet between Council sessions for the purpose of examining, and reporting on, such questions as the Council may have referred to them.”
115. The Council further examined two proposals of the CCLM concerning amendments to Rule VI of the Rules of Procedure of the Council. Both amendments were intended to align with current practice the provisions relating to the preparation and distribution of Council records and documents. The Council concurred with the proposals of the CCLM and accordingly decided, in accordance with Rule VIII of its Rules of Procedure:
to replace the present text of Rule VI-1, by the following version:
“1. Verbatim records shall be kept of all plenary meetings of the Council. The provisional verbatim records shall be circulated to all members participating at the session in order to give them an opportunity to check the accuracy of the record of their interventions. The final version of the verbatim records shall be sent as soon as possible after the closure of the session to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Organization.”
to delete Rule VI-3.
116. The Council recalled that the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts established to examine the Finances of the United Nations and Specialized Agencies had inter alia recommended that:
“If the organizations decide to adapt their internal regulations in order to follow the recommendations made by the Committee concerning budget preparation format and practices, they should try as far as possible to reconcile and standardize their respective financial regulations when making the necessary amendments thereto.” 1
117. The Council noted that at its Thirtieth Session, the Finance Committee had reviewed amendments to the Financial Regulations relating to custody of funds, investments of funds and delegation of authority, and also covering internal control and the accounts, and had recommended that the Council endorse these amendments. The Finance Committee had also recommended that, as a result of the introduction of programme budgeting, Financial Regulation 4.4(b) (iii) be deleted.
118. The Council further noted that the Finance Committee had recognized that if certain of the amendments to the Financial Regulations that it had recommended were to be adopted, consequential amendments to Rule XXVII-7 GRO would be required. The amendments to this Rule proposed by the Finance Committee were submitted to the Twenty-Eighth Session of the CCLM which endorsed the Finance Committee's proposed amendments with one minor drafting change to the Spanish text of Rule XXVII-7(q) GRO.
119. The Council endorsed the amendments to the Financial Regulations and General Rules of the Organization recommended by the Finance Committee and the CCLM and, recalling that it had already endorsed an amendment to Rule XXVII-7(o) GRO at its Fifty-Ninth Session, recommended the draft resolution for adoption by the Conference as shown in Appendix F to this report.
120. The Council considered document CL 61/18 which provided information on the consultations which the Director-General had been authorized to carry out by the Sixtieth Session of the Council with respect to the establishment of a Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission under Article VI-1 of the Constitution.
121. The Council noted that out of the twenty-one Member Nations bordering the Western Central Atlantic or interested in the fisheries of that area, only fifteen had already expressed themselves in favour of the proposed body and that there had been no negative reaction. It was informed that the expenses to be incurred by FAO for servicing the new body would be met from the budget item relating to the provision of Secretariat services to the regional fishery bodies established within the framework of the Organization. It was pointed out that in order to be effective, the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission would require the fullest possible participation by the countries concerned.
122. The Council adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 4/61
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WESTERN CENTRAL ATLANTIC FISHERY COMMISSION
THE COUNCIL,
Noting that the Western Central Atlantic was an area as yet inadequately served by international fishery bodies,
Noting further that the need for international cooperation for the conservation, development and utilization of the living resources, especially shrimps, of that area had been recognized,
Recalling that in accordance with a recommendation made by the Committee on Fisheries at its Eighth Session after a thorough examination of the type of body that should be set up, its terms of reference and area of competence, the Council had authorized the Director-General at its Sixtieth Session to consult all the countries eligible to become members of the proposed body and in the light of these consultations to take the necessary action to establish the body in accordance with the relevant provisions of the FAO Basic Texts, it being understood that it would not be concerned with management and regulation of the fisheries,
Noting that a majority of the Member Nations bordering the Western Central Atlantic or interested in the fisheries of that area had expressed themselves in favour of the proposed body,
Hereby establishes under Article VI-1 of the Constitution of the Organization a commission to be known as the “Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission”, the Statutes of which shall be as follows:
1. The Commission's area of competence shall be all marine waters of the Western Central Atlantic bounded by a line drawn as follows:
From a point on the coast of South America at 5° 00' N latitude in a northerly direction along this coast past the Atlantic entry to the Panama Canal; thence continue along the coasts of Central and North America to a point on this coast at 35°00' N latitude; thence due east along this parallel to 42°00 W longitude; thence due north along this meridian to 36°00' N latitude; thence due east along this parallel to 40°00' W longitude; thence due south along this meridian to 5°00' N latitude; thence due west along this parallel to the original point at 5°00' N latitude on the coast of South America.
2. The terms of reference of the Commission shall be:
to promote and assist in the collection of national statistics and biological data relating to fisheries in general and the shrimp fisheries in particular; and to provide for the compilation and dissemination of these data on a regional basis;
to facilitate the coordination of national research programmes and to promote, where appropriate, the standardization of research methods;
to promote the interchange of information relating to the fisheries of the region;
to promote and coordinate, on a national and regional basis, studies of the effect of the environment and of pollution on fisheries, and studies of appropriate methods of control and improvement;
to promote and assist the development of aquaculture and stock improvement;
to encourage education and training through the establishment or improvement of national and regional institutions and by the organization of training centres and seminars;
to assist Member Governments in establishing rational policies for the development and utilization of the resources consistent with national objectives and the conservation and improvement of the resources; and
to promote and coordinate international aid to further the achievement of the objectives referred to in the preceding sub-paragraphs.
3. Membership in the Commission shall be open to all Member Nations and Associate Members which notify the Director-General of the Organization of their desire to be considered as members;
4. The participation as observers of Member Nations and Associate Members that are not members of the Commission, of non-Member Nations of the Organization and of international organizations shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the principles adopted by the Conference.
5. The Commission may establish such subsidiary bodies as it deems necessary for the accomplishment of its task, and in particular to deal with special problems arising in subdivisions of its area of competence, subject to the availability of the necessary funds in the relevant chapter of the approved budget of the Organization; the determination of such availability shall be made by the Director-General. Before taking any decision involving expenditure in connection with the creation of subsidiary bodies, the Commission must have before it a report from the Director-General on the administrative and financial implications thereof.
6. The Secretary of the Commission shall be appointed by the Director-General and shall be administratively responsible to him.
7. At each Session the Commission shall adopt a report which shall be transmitted by the Director-General to Member Nations and Associate Members and to interested international organizations. Any conclusions and recommendations having policy, programme, or financial implications shall be brought to the attention of the Conference by the Director-General.
8. Any financial operations relating to the Commission and its subsidiary bodies shall be governed by the appropriate provisions of the Financial Regulations of the Organization. Expenses incurred by representatives of Members of the Commission, their alternates or advisers, when attending sessions of the Commission or its subsidiary bodies, as well as the expenses incurred by observers at sessions, shall be borne by the respective governments or organizations.
9. The Commission may adopt and amend its own rules of procedure which shall come into force upon approval by the Director-General, subject to confirmation by the Council.
123. The Council examined the amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations of the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease which the Commission had adopted at its Nineteenth Session (April 1973). It noted that most of the amendments became necessary as a consequence of the Commission's decision to introduce a biennial budget cycle and that this decision had also made it possible for the Commission to revise its Financial Regulations so as to bring them into line, as far as possible, with the Organization's Financial Regulations.
124. The Council noted that the Finance Committee, upon having considered the amendments adopted by the Commission, had recommended that they be approved by the Council at its Sixty-First Session so as to enable the Commission to initiate its budget cycle concurrently with the Organization's 1974–75 biennium.
125. The Council accordingly adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 5/61
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, RULES OF PROCEDURE AND FINANCIAL REGULATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE CONTROL OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE
THE COUNCIL,
Having examined the amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations of the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease which the Commission had adopted at its Nineteenth Session in April 1973.
Noting that these amendments, which were primarily intended to give effect to the Commission's decision to introduce a biennial Budget cycle corresponding to that of the Organization, had been considered by the Finance Committee and recommended for approval by the Council,
1. Approves the amendments to the Constitution of the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease as adopted by the Commission and reproduced in Appendix G to this report,
2. Confirms the amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations as adopted by the Commission and reproduced in Appendix N to the Report of the Thirtieth Session of the Finance Committee.
126. The Council was informed that since its previous session no non-Member Nation had attended FAO sessions.
127. The Council recalled that the question of the participation of liberation movements in meetings of FAO that may deal with matters pertaining to the territories concerned had been brought to its attention by the Director-General at its Sixtieth Session. 1 It noted that the Director-General had subsequently submitted the question to the CCLM for study and recommendation.
128. The CCLM had examined the question in the light of a Secretariat study which gave a factual account of the antecedents of this matter in the United Nations and FAO as well as a summary of the relevant provisions of the FAO Basic Texts. The CCLM had felt that this question opened up a number of alternatives, on which policy guidance by the Council, and possibly by the Conference, was necessary.
129. The Council, having considered the report of the CCLM and the Secretariat study attached thereto, agreed that, in view of the nature of the policy issues involved, this matter should be submitted to the Conference for guidance.
