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PROVISIONAL RULES OF PROCEDURE

PROVISIONAL RULES OF PROCEDURE

The Rules shall apply to the meetings of the Council of Ministers, the Standing Committee, the Programming Committee, the Technical Committees or any other ad hoc SAARC bodies that may be set up by the Heads of State or Government, or the Council of Ministers, or the Standing Committee.

COMPOSITION OF DELEGATION
Rule 1

1. Each State participating in the Meeting shall be represented by a Head of Delegation and other representatives of the State, as may be required.

2. The names of the representatives shall be submitted to the host country and the Secretary-General as early as possible, preferably not less than one week before the date fixed for the opening of the Meeting.

APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS OF THE MEETING
Rule 2

The Meeting may appoint the following officers from among the representatives of the states participating in it: a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and other officers for sub-committees, working groups, drafting groups.

ACTING CHAIRPERSON
Rule 3

1. If the Chairperson finds it necessary to be absent from a meeting or any part thereof, he/she shall designate the Vice-Chairperson to take his/her place.

2. The Vice-Chairperson acting as Chairperson shall have the same powers and duties as the Chairperson.

PARTICIPATION BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Rule 4

The Secretary-General, or, in his/her absence, an officer of the Secretariat who shall be designated by the Secretary-General, shall act in that capacity at the Meeting.

STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARIAT
Rule 5

The Secretary-General, or any officer of the Secretariat designated by the Secretary-General for the purpose, may, subject to Rule 10, make statements concerning any questions under consideration.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE MEETING
Rule 6

The Meeting shall adopt a report at the conclusion of its session.

CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
Rule 7[1]

The Chairperson may declare a meeting open and permit the debate to proceed only when the representatives of at least five Member States are present. The presence of all the Member States shall be required for any decision to be taken.

GENERAL POWERS OF THE CHAIRPERSON
Rule 8

1. The chairperson shall preside over the Meeting. He/she shall declare the opening and the closing of each sitting, direct the discussions, ensure observance of the Rules of Procedure, accord the right to speak and announce decisions. He/she shall rule on points of order. The Chairperson, subject to these Rules, shall have complete control of the proceedings and over the maintenance of order thereat.

2. The Chairperson in the exercise of his/her functions remains under the authority of the Meeting.

POINTS OF ORDER
Rule 9

During the discussions on any matter, a representative may at any time raise a point of order, which shall be immediately decided by the Chairperson in accordance with these Rules.

SPEECHES
Rule 10

1. No one may address the Meeting without having previously obtained the permission of the Chairperson. Subject to Rule 9, the Chairperson shall call upon speakers from member countries in the order in which they signify their desire to speak.

2. Debate shall be confined to the question before the Meeting and the Chairperson may call the speaker to order if his/her remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion.

3. The Meeting may limit the time allowed to speakers and the number of times participants may speak on a question.

BASIC PROPOSALS
Rule 11

All draft proposals or reports submitted to the Meeting following its last session shall constitute the basic proposals for consideration by the Meeting.

SUBMISSION OF OTHER PROPOSALS AND SUBSTANTIVE AMENDMENTS
Rule 12

Other proposals and substantive amendments shall normally be introduced in writing and handed over to the Chairperson of the Meeting for circulation to delegates in the language of the Meeting. As a general rule, no proposal shall be discussed unless copies of it have been circulated to all delegations. The Chairperson may, however, permit discussion and consideration of amendments even though these have not been circu- lated in advance, if the Meeting so decides.

DECISION MAKING
Rule 13

The Meeting shall adopt its decisions and make recommendations on the basis of unanimity.

LANGUAGE OF THE MEETING
Rule 14

1. English shall be the language of the Meeting.

2. A representative may deliver his/her statement(s) in his/her national language if he/she provides for interpretation into English.

RECORD OF MEETING
Rule 15

Sound recordings of the meetings of the plenary may be kept.

PUBLIC AND CLOSED MEETINGS
Rule 16

1. All the meetings under SAARC shall be closed meetings.

2. If it is decided to have inaugural and closing ceremonies of some of the meetings, these shall be held in public.

STATUS AND PARTICIPATION OF INVITEES
Rule 17

1. Representatives of the international organizations of the United Nations System or those international organizations outside the System with which SAARC has reached an agreement for cooperation shall be admitted as invitees to inaugural and closing ceremonies.

2. They may also be invited to be present during discussions on proposals or projects involving collaboration with their organizations.