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FAQ on procedures at CAC45

This FAQ page will provide information regarding the arrangements for the session including updates on COVID-19 prevention measures currently in place in FAO and details regarding voting procedures should they be required.

For general information on CAC45 and meeting documents go to the CAC45 meeting page.


This page was last updated on 3 November 2022.

How many delegates can sit in the FAO Plenary Hall per Member?

As of September 2022 and in line with the COVID-19 prevention measures currently in place in FAO, in-person participation in the Plenary Hall is limited to one representative from each Member.

Members can alternate the delegate present in the Plenary Hall.

The current reduced capacity of the Plenary Hall (based on a 1 metre distance guideline) is for 5 seats on the podium and 198 delegates on the floor.

What if my delegation is bigger than one?

There is currently no limit on the size of a delegation entering FAO HQ and overflow rooms are provided for additional members of a delegation in the Red and Green Rooms on the first floor of building A (under the Plenary Hall). These two rooms both have a reduced capacity of approximately 100. 

Participation in these rooms is via Zoom and Members will need to bring all their own equipment (laptop, headphones and microphone).

Can a CAC45 delegate go anywhere in FAO HQ?

The ground floor of the premises is established as a “free circulation zone” for access and informal gathering. This zone includes catering outlets as well as meeting rooms on the second and third floor of Buildings A, B, C and D.

The terrace on the 8th floor can also be accessed and the canteen has been completely renovated and there is a new Uzbekistan Lounge also on the 8th floor which has a bar.

Can Codex Observers sit in the Plenary Hall?

Due to space limitations related to health and safety measures only virtual participation is currently available to Observers. However, an overflow room will be available for those Observers who wish to be physically present in FAO during CAC45.

Will regional groups have access to their own meeting rooms?

Yes, these have been allocated as follows:

CCAFRICA: Ethiopia Room. Building C second floor.

CCASIA: Philippines Room. Building C second floor.

CCEURO: German Rom. Building C second floor.

CCLAC: Mexico Room. Building D second floor.

CCNE: Lebanon Room. Building D second floor.

CCNASWAP: Queen Juliana. Building B third floor.

Delegates CANNOT enter FAO HQ on Sunday 20 November 2022.

How will the order of interventions from delegations be managed?

Those in the Plenary Hall will press a physical button to request to speak, in the usual way. Participants on Zoom will use the "raise hand" function. The Codex Secretariat and FAO Meeting Services staff will ensure that the Chairperson sees the requests for the floor in the order in which they were made.

The usual convention will be followed that Members speak followed by Observers.

What will be the procedure for voting at CAC45?

Voting procedures follow Rule XII of the General Rules of FAO, found in the Basic texts of the Organization.

Paragraph six of Rule XII states that "Voting shall be by show of hands, roll call or secret ballot."

 

The default modality for voting is “show of hands”. A Member can request that the modality is changed to “roll call”.

The majority of the Commission can decide to change the modality to “secret ballot” and that majority would be determined by “show of hands or “roll call”.

NOTE: Elections are always decided by secret ballot if there is more than one candidate for an elected position.

How can a Member vote?

Voting in any meeting modality is in person only.

Planned times for voting will be made available in the provisional programme.

Rules on the composition of delegations allow Members to include any person in their delegation, including nationals from other countries. The only limitation that applies is that no delegate to CAC45 can also be included in the CAC45 delegation of another Member.

This means that Members who cannot participate in-person could exercise their voting rights by including a person already based in Rome on their delegation or a person that has the opportunity to travel to Rome for the purpose of voting (e.g. from their diplomatic Representation in a nearby city or country).

How will a quorum be established for voting?

Rule VI.7 of the Procedural Manual states "the majority of the Members of the Commission attending the session shall constitute a quorum, provided that such a majority shall be not less than 20 percent of the total membership of the Commission, nor less than 25 Members."

The quorum in Codex is the “majority of the Members of the Commission attending the session”, which means that more than half of the Members registered for the session should constitute a quorum.

As a practical example:

  • if 100 Members have registered, at least 51 Members will need to be present to constitute a quorum;
  • “such a majority should be not less than 20% of the total membership of the Commission”, which is 38 Members if the whole Codex Membership includes 188 Members.

The Codex Secretariat understands the "nor less than 25 Members" refers to a time in Codex when there were fewer Members than today.