Below & attached are the NA-RALO rules of procedure that were adopted
unanimously here in San Juan.
regards,
Robert
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Robert Guerra <rguerra(a)privaterra.ca>
Managing Director, Privaterra
Tel +1 416 893 0377
ORDINARY RULES OF PROCEDURE
DEFINITIONS
The following terms when used in these Rules of Procedure shall have
the meanings here indicated:
“General Assembly” or “Assembly” means any meeting or conference, or
standing constituent body of the At-Large Community, as well as
actual General Assembly sessions of a Regional At-Large Organisation;
“At-Large Structure” or “ALS” means any organisation that has applied
for, and been granted, such status by the then-current process and
according to the then-current requirements as decided by and defined
by ICANN.
“Virtual Meeting” shall mean a meeting in which all participants are
unable to participate synchronously with all other participants, such
as a meeting conducted over time via an electronic mailing list. In a
Virtual Meeting, any reference in the Rules to ‘speaking’ or to
‘speak’ shall mean ‘communicate’ and vice-versa.
I. PARTICIPATION AND ACCREDITATION
Rule 1 - Chief Participants
1.1 The two (2) representatives of each accredited At Large Structure
on or before the opening of a session of the Assembly may participate
in the work of the Assembly.
1.2 The representatives of At Large Structures that have applied for
accreditation to ALAC but not yet accredited may participate in the
work of the Assembly as observers subject to Rule 7.3.
1.3 Individuals representing themselves or other organizations who
have participated in the work of the Assembly through a connection
with an ALS previously may participate in the work of the Assembly as
observers subject to Rule 7.3.
1.4 The right to vote in the General Assembly is reserved for the
representatives of accredited ALSes per Rule 1.1 which have indicated
their consent to be bound by the terms of the Memorandum of
Understanding with ICANN, as may be amended from time to time, and
the Operating Principles or other constitutive instruments of the
Region, in the form and manner determined by the Secretariat of the
Regional At-Large Organisation.
II. ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSEMBLY
Rule 2 - Election of Officers
2.1 The Assembly shall elect a Chairperson, at least two (2) Vice-
Chairpersons and a Rapporteur by simple majority of accredited ALS
present and voting. These offices shall be automatically vacated
upon the adjournment of each General Assembly, unless the Assembly
shall decide otherwise. The Chair and Vice-Chair of a meeting may be
re-elected to serve in those positions by a later Assembly.
Rule 3 - Qualification Criteria for Officers
All officers must be official representatives of accredited At Large
Structures.
III. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
Rule 4 - Duties of the Chairperson
4.1 The Chairperson shall open and close each plenary meeting of the
Assembly. He/She shall direct the discussions, ensure observance of
these Rules, accord the right to speak, put questions to the vote and
announce decisions. He/She shall rule on points of order and, subject
to the present Rules, shall control the proceedings and the
maintenance of order. He/She shall not vote, but he/she may instruct
another member of his/her delegation to vote on behalf of the
organisation of which he/she is a representative.
4.2 Should the Chairperson be absent during a meeting, or any part
thereof, he/she shall be replaced by the Vice-Chairperson. A Vice-
Chairperson acting as Chairperson shall have the same powers and
duties as the Chairperson.
Rule 5 - Public Meetings
5.1 Meetings shall be held in public unless decided otherwise by the
Assembly.
Rule 6 - Quorum
6.1 A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the accredited and
active ALS referred to in Rule 1.1 present and represented at the
Assembly.
6.2 The Assembly shall not decide on any matter unless a quorum is
present.
Rule 7 - Order and Time Limit of Speakers
7.1 The Chairperson shall call upon speakers in the order in which
they signify their wish to speak.
7.2 For the convenience of the discussion, the Chair may limit the
time to be allowed to each speaker. The chair may also, for the same
purpose, limit the number of speakers on a question.
7.3 The consent of the Chair must be obtained whenever an observer
wishes to address the Assembly.
Rule 8 - Points of Order
8.1 During a discussion, any delegate may raise a point of order;
such a point of order shall be immediately decided upon by the
presiding officer.
8.2 An appeal may be made against the ruling of the presiding
officer. Such an appeal shall be put to the vote immediately and the
presiding officer's ruling shall stand, unless overruled by a
majority of the delegations present and voting.
Rule 9 - Procedural Motions
9.1 During a discussion, any delegate may move the suspension or
adjournment of the meeting or the adjournment or closure of the debate.
9.2 Such a motion shall be put to the vote immediately. Subject to
Rule 8.1, such motions shall have precedence in the following order
over all other proposals or motions before the meeting:
(a) Suspension of the meeting;
(b) Adjournment of the meeting;
(c) Adjournment of the debate on the question under discussion;
(d) Closure of the debate on the question under discussion.
Rule 10 - Working Languages
10.1 The working languages of the Assembly shall be as decided by the
Assembly from time to time.
10.2 Speeches made at the Assembly in one of the working languages
shall be simultaneously interpreted into the other working languages,
subject to the availability of interpreters and funding for the
interpretation service.
Rule 11 - Resolutions and Amendments
11.1 Draft resolutions and amendments may be proposed by the
participants referred to in Rule 1 and shall be transmitted in
writing to the Secretariat of the Assembly, which shall circulate
copies to all participants.
11.2 As a general rule, no draft resolution or amendment shall be
discussed or put to the vote unless it has been circulated
sufficiently in advance to all participants in the working languages
of the Assembly.
(Added clause below 20/11.2 so as to apply as well to virtual meetings)
Rule 12 - Voting
12.1 Each accredited active At Large Structure referred to in Rule 1,
subject to Rule 1.4, shall have one vote in the Assembly, save always
that observers shall not have the right to vote.
12.2 Subject to the provisions of Rules 6.2 and 16, decisions shall
be taken by a majority of the At Large Structures present and voting;
for the purpose of the present Rules, the expression "At Large
Structures present and voting" shall mean At Large Structures casting
an affirmative or negative vote. At Large Structures abstaining from
voting shall be regarded as having not voted.
12.3 Voting shall normally be by a show of hands. Electronic voting
shall also be permitted where the Chair indicates that this manner of
voting shall be used.
12.4 When the result of a vote by show of hands is in doubt, the
presiding officer may take a second vote by a roll-call. A vote by
roll-call shall also be taken if it is requested by not less than two
delegations before the voting takes place.
12.5 When an amendment to a proposal is moved, the amendment shall be
voted on first. When two or more amendments to a proposal are moved,
the Assembly shall first vote on the amendment deemed by the
presiding officer to be furthest removed in substance from the
original proposal, and then on the amendment next furthest removed
therefrom and so on, until all the amendments have been put to the vote.
12.6 If one or more amendments are adopted, the amended proposal
shall then be voted upon as a whole.
12.7 A motion is considered an amendment to a proposal if it merely
adds to, deletes from or revises part of that proposal.
12.8 The Assembly shall endeavour, when discussing any non-procedural
question, to decide issues before it by general agreement. Voting
shall be relied upon only to the extent that is necessary in cases
where general agreement cannot be reached. Where a vote on a non-
procedural question shall be required, the measure shall be carried
if it receives a two-thirds vote of those ALSes present and voting.
12.9 The number of votes cast for or against any motion shall be
limited by the following calculation with respect to any Assembly
that is international in nature:
a) The number of countries or territories covered by the entire
membership of the Assembly shall form the numerator.
b) The denominator shall be 100.
c) The result of the division of (a)/(b) shall be multiplied by 100.
d) The result of 12.9(c) shall be known as the Maximum Percentage.
e) The votes cast by delegates representing ALSes normally domiciled
in any one country may not in the aggregate exceed the Maximum
Percentage. This calculation shall be separately applied to votes for
and against any motion.
Suspend 12.9 to be revisited by or at the Los Angeles (Fall 2007)
ICANN meeting.
Rule 13 - Procedures for the Presentation of Candidatures
13.1 The Secretariat shall ask all accredited ALS whether they intend
to stand for election in the General Assembly at least two months
prior to the opening of the General Assembly. Candidature must be
declared and filed with the Secretariat at least four weeks prior to
the opening of the General Assembly.
13.2 At least four weeks prior to the opening of the General Assembly
the Secretariat shall send to all accredited representatives the list
of ALS and their candidates. This list of candidatures may be revised
as necessary, subject to other qualification rules that may be
adopted by the General Assembly.
13.3 This list of candidatures shall be finalized and closed at least
48 hours before the opening of the General Assembly.
IV. SECRETARIAT OF THE MEETING
Rule 15 - Secretariat
15.1 The Secretariat shall be elected on an annual basis by the
General Assembly. He/She shall not vote, but he/she may instruct
another member of his/her delegation to vote on his/her behalf. He/
She may, at any time, make either oral or written statements to the
Assembly on any question under discussion.
15.3 The Secretariat shall receive, translate and distribute all
official documents and shall arrange for the interpretation of the
discussions, as provided in Rule 10. It shall also perform all other
duties necessary for the proper conduct of the work of the Assembly.
15.4 The Secretariat shall act as Chair of the meeting in order to
conduct elections for the Chair and Vice-Chair, and shall cease to be
Chair upon the election of the referenced officers.
15.5 Where there is a fee for membership of the organization of which
the Assembly is the decision-making body, the Secretariat will
provide information on the status of all compulsory and voluntary
contributions to all requestors, as applicable, prior to the opening
of the Assembly.
V. ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE
Rule 16 - Adoption
The General Assembly shall adopt its Rules of Procedure by a decision
taken in plenary meeting by a simple majority of the representatives
of ALS present and voting.
Rule 17 - Amendment
The Assembly may amend these Rules of Procedure by a decision taken
in plenary meeting by a two-thirds majority of the representatives of
ALS present and voting.
VI. ADDITIONAL RULES OF PROCEDURE
Rule 18 – Invocation of the UN General Assembly Rules of Procedure
18.1 Any delegate may, on a point of order, invoke any rule or rules
of the then-current United Nations General Assembly Rules of
Procedure where certain of those Rules would, in their view,
facilitate the work of the Assembly. Subject to Rule 18.6, any UNGA
Rule may be invoked.
18.2 The Chair of the Assembly may likewise invoke any rule or rules
from the same source for the same reasons.
18.3 When Rule 18.1 or 18.2 is invoked, the Chair may terminate the
operation of the rules so invoked at a time of his or her choosing,
or, if he believes that the invocation is not in the interests of the
Assembly, may refuse to allow the invocation.
18.4 Where the UNGA Rules of Procedure are invoked through the
provisions of Rule 18.1 or 18.2, should a conflict arise between the
rule or rules invoked and these rules, these Rules shall take
precedence, except where the combination of these Rules and those
invoked would result in an impractical or unworkable process in the
judgment of the Chair.
18.5 The following terms in the UNGA Rules of Procedure shall have
the following meanings when invoked under this Rule:
“President” shall mean “Chair”
Vice-President” shall mean “Vice-Chair”
“Member” “Members”, or “Members of the United Nations” shall mean
that class of delegate referred to in Rule 1.2 of these Rules
“Secretary-General” shall indicate the senior person responsible for
the operations of the Secretariat.
“United Nations” shall mean “Regional At-Large Organisation” or the
relevant other process or body of the At-Large community, including
the entire community where that would be the logical intent in the
context of the rule, which is availing itself of these Rules of
Procedure.
“Important Questions” shall mean “matters of substance”
“Security Council” shall mean “At-Large Advisory Committee”
18.6 The following UNGA Rules may not be invoked under either Rule
18.1 or 18.2. Where a range of rules is indicated, that range shall
be inclusive of the indicated beginning and ending Rules:
Rules 4, 49, 51, 52, 55, 98(a), 98(b), 134 – 138, 142 – 151
VII. MODIFICATIONS TO THE RULES WHERE A VIRTUAL MEETING IS HELD
19 When a Virtual Meeting of the Assembly is held, the following
Rules shall not apply:
6, 12.3
20 When a Virtual Meeting of the Assembly is held, the following
Rules shall replace the original:
6.1 A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of all active and
accredited ALS’s.
7 The Chair shall communicate the beginning and the ending of the
debate upon a given topic. Members shall be out of order if they
continue to communicate to the meeting on a question after the Chair
has communicated the ending of debate and out of order communications
shall not form a part of the record of the Assembly.
11.2 As a general rule, no draft resolution or amendment shall be
discussed or put to the vote unless it has been circulated
sufficiently in advance, but in no case less than two weeks, to all
participants in the working languages of the Assembly.
Should a vote in a virtual meeting not be quorate, then the chair
shall extend the close of the vote for an equal amount of time as the
original voting period. By the end of this extension, no quorum will
be required.
12.4 All Voting shall be conducted electronically. The Chair shall
declare the length of time not less than 14 days during which votes
shall be cast, and the date and time of the closing of the vote. The
Secretariat shall ensure that the results of the vote, including the
votes cast and by which voter, are available to all representatives.
