Overview of the Constitution, the Convention and the General Rules of Conferences, Assemblies and Meetings

1. Overview of the Constitution, the Convention and the General Rules of Conferences, Assemblies and Meetings Arnaud GUILLOT LEGAL ADVISER ITU Geneva, 15-16 December 2008

2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK • WTSA Res. 1 – Rules of Procedure of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector • Rec. A.1. Work Methods for Study Groups of the ITU-T Those legal instruments as well as those working procedures adopted by any meeting of a Sector must be compatible with: • The ITU Constitution (CS) • The ITU Convention (CV) • The General Rules of Conferences, Assemblies and Meetings (GR) adopted by the Plenipotentiary Conference GR shall apply to meetings of the Sectors

3. BASIC PREROGATIVES AND POWERS OF THE CHAIRMAN • Chairing meetings • Directing the deliberations • "The chairman ... shall ... direct the deliberations …" (GR 59) • "Persons desiring to speak must first obtain the consent of the chairman." (GR 94) • "As a general rule, they shall begin by announcing in what capacity they speak." (GR 94) • "Speakers must express themselves slowly and distinctly, separating their words and pausing as necessary in order that everybody may understand their meaning." (GR 95) • "The chairman ... may at any time submit proposals likely to accelerate the debates." (GR 84)

4. BASIC PREROGATIVES AND POWERS OF THE CHAIRMAN (contd.) • Maintaining Order • "The chairman ... shall ensure that order is maintained at plenary meetings." (GR 60) • Ensuring that discussion is limited to the point at issue • "The chairman shall ensure that discussion is limited to the point at issue ..." (GR 62) • "The chairman ... may interrupt any speaker who departs [from the point at issue] and request such speakers to confine their remarks to the subject under discussion." (GR 62) • Protecting the right of each delegation/ representative of a Sector Member to express its opinion freely and fully on the point at issue • "It shall be the duty of the chairman to protect the right of each delegation to express its opinion freely and fully on the point at issue." (GR 61) • "The [Plenary] Meeting may, if necessary, decide how many speeches any one delegation may make on any particular point, and how long they may last." (GR 108) • "However, as regards questions of procedure, the chairman shall limit the speaking time allowed to a maximum of five minutes." (GR 109) • "When a speaker has exceeded the time allowed, the chairman shall notify the meeting and request the speaker to conclude briefly." (GR 110)

5. BASIC PREROGATIVES AND POWERS OF THE CHAIRMAN (contd.) • Putting questions to the vote • "The chairman ... shall … put questions to the vote …" (GR 59) • "Any question of competence that may arise shall be settled before a vote is taken on the substance of the matter under discussion." (GR 113) • Ruling on motions and points of order • "The chairman shall rule on motions of order and points of order …" (GR 60)

6. BASIC PREROGATIVES AND POWERS OF THE CHAIRMAN (contd.) • Proposing postponement of discussion, closure of list of speakers, or adjournment or suspension of a meeting • "The chairman shall … in particular, … be empowered to propose that discussion on a question be postponed or closed, or that a meeting be suspended or adjourned." (GR 60) • "During the debate, the chairman may rule that the list of speakers wishing to take the floor be read. [After reading the list of speakers, the] chairman shall add the names of other delegations which indicate that they wish to speak and may then, with the assent of the meeting, rule that the list be closed. Nevertheless, as an exceptional measure, the chairman may if finding it appropriate to do so rule that a reply may be made to any previous statement, even after the list of speakers has been closed." (GR 111) • "The list of speakers having been exhausted, the chairman shall declare discussion on the matter closed." (GR 112)

7. DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURE • Consensus: almost all decisions are adopted by this procedure, ITU’s culture being one of negotiation and consensus-building • “Sounding out”

8. DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURE (contd.) • Voting (last resort!) • Right to vote “ … each Member State shall have one vote at all .. .study group meetings … “ (CS 27) • Majority "A majority shall consist of more than half the delegations present and voting." (GR 115) • Tied votes "In case of a tie, a proposal or amendment shall be considered rejected." (GR 117) • Abstentions • "In computing a majority, delegations abstaining shall not be taken into account." (GR 116) • "When the number of abstentions exceeds half the number of votes cast (for, against, abstentions), consideration of the matter under discussion shall be postponed to a later meeting, at which time abstentions shall not be taken into account." (GR 121)

9. DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURE (contd.) • Non-participation in voting • "Delegations which are present but do not take part in a particular vote or expressly state they do not wish to take part shall not be considered … as abstaining for the purpose of applying the provisions of No. 121 below." (GR 119) • Voting procedures Votes are taken as follows: • a) by a show of hands as a general rule unless a roll call under b) or secret ballot under c) has been requested;" (GR 123) • b) by a roll call in the alphabetical order of the French names of the Member States present and entitled to vote;" (GR 124) 1 if at least two delegations, present and entitled to vote, so request before the beginning of the vote and if a secret ballot under c) has not been requested, or" (GR 125) 2 if the procedure under a) shows no clear majority;" (GR 126) • c) by a secret ballot, if at least five of the delegations present and entitled to vote so request before the beginning of the vote." (GR 127)

10. DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURE (contd.) • Steps to be followed in voting • "The chairman shall, before commencing a vote, observe any request as to the manner in which the voting shall be conducted, and then shall formally announce the voting procedure to be applied and the issue to be submitted to the vote. The chairman shall then declare the beginning of the vote and, when the vote has been taken, shall announce the results." (GR 128) • Prohibition of interruptions once the vote has begun • "No delegation may interrupt once a vote has begun, unless to raise a point of order in connection with the way in which the vote is being taken. The point of order cannot include any proposal entailing a change in the vote that is being taken or a change in the substance of the question put to the vote. Voting shall begin with the chairman's announcement that the voting has begun and shall end with the chairman's announcement of its results." (GR 131)

11. DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURE (contd.) • Reasons for votes • "The chairman shall authorize any delegations which so request to give the reasons for their vote, after the vote has been taken." (GR 132) • Order of voting on concurrent proposals • "When there are two or more proposals on any one matter, they shall be put to the vote in the order in which they were presented, unless the meeting decides to the contrary." (GR 135) • "After each vote, the meeting shall decide whether or not the following proposal shall be voted on." (GR 136) • Voting on amendments • "When two or more amendments to a proposal are submitted, the amendment furthest from the original text shall be put to the vote first; if this amendment does not obtain the support of the majority, of the remaining amendments, that furthest from the proposal shall then be put to the vote and the same procedure shall be followed until a subsequent amendment gains the support of the majority; if all the amendments submitted have been considered and none has gained a majority, the unamended proposal shall be put to the vote." (GR 141)

12. Some relevant provisions of the CS & CV to be kept in mind • Recognition of the sovereign right of each Member State to regulate its telecommunications • Preamble of the CS: Purposes of the Union CS Article 1, in particular Nos. 3.A, 5, 8, 9, 13 & 16 • Rights of Member States and Sector Members CS Article 3 • Functions and Structure of ITU-T CS Article 17 CV Article 13 (WTSAs) • Functions, duties and organization of Study Groups, Advisory Group CV Article 14 (Study Groups) CV Article 14A (Advisory Group) CV Article 20 (Conduct of Business of Study Groups) Some key provisions of CV Article 20 - No. 244 relating to vacancies of chairmanship - Nos. 246A to 247A relating to the adoption & approval of questions & recommendations - No. 248A. Possibility for the Director to invite, in consultation with the Chairman of the Study Group concerned, an organization which does not participate in the Sector to send representatives to take part in the study of a specific matter in the SG concerned or its subordinate groups

13. Some relevant provisions of the CS & CV to be kept in mind (contd.) • Associates - CV Article 19 May only participate in the work of a given Study Group or subgroups thereof (CV 241B) => only one Study Group of a Sector - CV Article 20 May not take part in decision-making or liaison activity of the Study Group

14. This overview will probably raise more questions than it answers • JUR remains at your disposal should you require any further explanation