I- COMPOSITION

RULE 1

1.  The Conference shall be composed of Speakers of Member Parliaments of the Union or their representative, in addition to a maximum of four parliamentarians from each member of the Union in conformity with Article 4 of the Statute.
2.  Chairmen or Representatives of Regional or International Organizations or Inter-Parliamentary Unions may participate in the conferences of the Union as observers upon recommendation of the Executive Committee and the approval of the General Committee. Parliaments of the OIC Observers may also participate in  Conferences of the Union as observers. The Observers shall have the right to express their views but not to vote ( Article 2-3 of the Statute).
3.  The Observers can participate in the open sessions of the Conferences of the Union.
4.  Observers may only speak on the invitation of the Chairman.

RULE 2 

1. Non-Governmental Organizations, scholars, scientists and prominent figures may, at the request of any Member Parliament, follow the proceedings of the Conference.

II- SESSIONS

RULE 3
 

1. The Conference shall convene once a year, the venue and date of which shall be proposed by the Executive Committee and approved by the General Committee. The General Committee may change the venue and date of the Conference or postpone it. In case there can be no decision on hosting the Conference, it shall be convened at the Headquarters, following coordination with the General Committee (Article 5 of  Statute).
2. The date of each Conference shall be determined by the General Committee according to the proposal by the Executive Committee and in consultation with the Parliament of the host country, if possible six months in advance.
3. The Conference shall be preceded by a Session of the General Committee, as well as an Executive Committee Meeting.

RULE 4

1.  The convocation of Conferences shall be sent to all Member Parliaments, Observers and other invitees, at least four months before the opening of the Sessions.

RULE 5

1.  In case the Conference is held in camera, it may decide that no Observer attends and no records of the sitting be kept.

RULE 6

1.  In conformity with an agreement concluded with the Secretary General acting on behalf of the Union, the Parliament hosting the Conference shall be responsible for providing all necessary facilities for the session.
2.  The Conference may, however, decide whether it is necessary in certain cases for other Member Parliaments to bear part of the expenses of organizing a Conference Session.

RULE 7

1.  Any Member of the Union may request the convening of an Extra-Ordinary Conference. The Chairman shall convene the Extra-Ordinary Conference if the request is approved by a majority of the Union Members. (Article 4.7 of the Statute).

III- CHAIRMANSHIP

RULE 8

1.  The Speaker of the Parliament of the Host Country shall be elected as Chairman of the Conference for one year, by acclamation, at the beginning of the first session.
2.  The outgoing Speaker shall run the inaugural Session, pending the election of the Chairman.
3.  The Conference shall elect also the two Vice-Chairmen from amongst the heads of delegation from other geographic regions, as well as a Rapporteur from amongst the delegates.

RULE 9

1.  The Chairman of the Conference shall preside over the Extra-Ordinary Conference Sessions during his term of office.
2.  In case of absence of the Chairman of the Conference, the interim Chairmanship shall be assumed by the Vice-Chairman whose region is scheduled to host the next Conference.
3.  The Bureau of the Conference shall be composed of the Chairman of the Conference, the two Vice-Chairmen and the Rapporteur. The Bureau, assisted by the Secretary General, shall take the responsibility for the Conference proceedings (Article 4.3 of. Statute).

RULE 10

1.  The Chairman shall open, suspend and close the sittings, direct the work of the Conference, ensure the respect for the Rules, call upon speakers, put questions to vote, announce the results of the voting and declare the Conference closed. The Chairman’s decisions in these matters shall be final and shall be accepted without debate.
2.  The Chairman shall decide on all matters not covered by these Rules, after having taken the advice of the Bureau of the Conference, Secretary General   and Legal Adviser of the General Secretariat.

IV- COMMITTEES

RULE 11

1.  The Conference may, when necessary, set up its own committees or other subsidiary bodies to examine the issues on its agenda. These bodies submit their reports and recommendations to the Conference or the General Committee, as decided by the Conference (Article 4.5 of. Statute).
2.  The Steering Committee of the Conference shall be composed of the Chairman of the Conference, the Chairman of the General Committee, the two Vice–Chairmen of the Executive Committee and the Rapporteur of the Conference. The Chairmen of other committees may take part in its working in an advisory capacity.
3.  This Committee, which shall be assisted by the Secretary General, shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the effective organization and smooth functioning of the Conference proceedings.   

V- AGENDA- DEBATES- RESOLUTIONS

RULE 12

1. On the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the General Committee shall draw up a provisional agenda to be submitted to the Conference (Article 6.1 of the Statute) for its approval.
2. The Secretary General shall communicate the provisional agenda to all Member Parliaments at least three months before the opening of the Conference.
3. The Conference may amend or approve the proposed draft agenda.
4. The Conference shall adopt its agenda at the beginning of its first Session. (Article 7.1 of the Statute)
5. The Extra-Ordinary Conference can only consider the item(s) for which it is convened (Article  4-7   of the Statute).

RULE 13

1.  Members of the Union may submit to the Executive Committee or to the General Committee, proposals to include supplementary item(s) in the provisional agenda of the Conference, not less than two months before the Conference convenes (Article 6.2 of the Statute). An explanatory note and a draft resolution should be attached to such proposals.
2.  A two-third majority of participating members must approve any request for inclusion of an emergency supplementary item received by the General Secretariat at least 30 days before the opening of the Conference relating to an event of particular importance occurring during the 30 days preceding the opening the Conference in order to be taken into consideration.

RULE 14
 

1. Any delegation may submit a proposal or a draft resolution on a subject included in the agenda.
2. Draft resolutions relating to the subject items in the agenda approved by the General Committee shall be deposited with the Secretariat of the Conference not later than the opening of the last plenary sitting dedicated for the discussion of that item to which they refer.

RULE 15

1.  The procedure for submission of draft resolution on supplementary items shall be determined by the Conference on the recommendation of the Steering Committee.
2.  The supplementary items may be referred by the Conference to an ad-hoc Committee, which shall debate it and prepare a report and/or a draft resolution for consideration, by the Conference.
3.  The emergency supplementary items shall be dealt with according to an ad-hoc procedure approved by the Conference, on the proposal of the Steering Committee.

RULE 16

1.  The Annual Report of the Secretary General shall provide the basis for the General Debate by which the Conference will commence its proceedings   (Article 18-1  of the Statute).  

RULE 17

1.  The Conference shall discuss subject matters that fall in the scope of its objectives, as provided for in “the objectives of the establishment of the Union”. It shall adopt appropriate resolutions, proposals and recommendations thereon (Article 4.4 of the. Statute).

VI- SPEAKING- ORDER- PROCEDURAL PROPOSALS

RULE 18
 

1. No delegate may speak without authorization of the Chairman.
2. Members of the Conference shall speak in the order in which they request the floor and they shall address the chair.
3. Speakers may only be interrupted by other members on a point of order. They may, with the Chairman’s authorization yield the floor so as to allow other members’ request for clarification.
4. The Chairman shall rule immediately and without debate on all points of order.

RULE 19
 

1. No more than two representatives of each delegation may speak in the General Debate. For this debate, every delegation shall be entitled to 10 minutes’ speaking time unless the Steering Committee decides otherwise. When two speakers from the same delegation are registered for this debate, they shall share the speaking time in the most appropriate way.
2. With a view to ensuring the smooth running of the debates, the Steering Committee may alter the above speaking time to suit the circumstances.
3. While observing the provision of paragraph 1 above, the Chairman may, at the end of the corresponding sitting, give the floor briefly to a delegation wishing to exercise its right of reply.

RULE 20

1.  The Chairman shall call a speaker to order when the latter does not keep to the subject under discussion or prejudice the debate by using abusive language. The Chairman may, if necessary, withdraw permission to speak and may have the objectionable words omitted from the record.

RULE 21

1. The Chairman shall deal immediately with any incident, which may arise during the meeting and, if necessary, take any measure required to restore the smooth working of the Conference.     

RULE 22

1.  The procedural motions shall have priority over the substantive questions; debate on the latter shall be suspended while the formers are being considered.
2.  The mover shall make a brief presentation of the motion without entering into the substance of the question under debate.
3.  In the debate of procedural motions, only the mover of the proposal and one delegate holding a contrary opinion shall be heard after which the Conference shall decide.

RULE 23

1.  Debates of the Conference shall be public. They shall be held in private only if the Conference so decides by a two-third majority of the participating members.   
    

VII- QUORUM-CONSENSUS-VOTING

RULE 24

1.  The Conference shall convene only with the presence of more than half the number of its Member Parliaments (Article 7.3 of the Statute)
2.  The quorum shall be established on the basis of delegations effectively participating at the first plenary meeting. The Secretary General shall announce this quorum at that time.

RULE 25

1.   All resolutions and decisions shall be adopted, to the extent possible, by consensus. Otherwise, they shall be adopted by a two-third majority of the votes of the delegates of the delegation present and voting (Article 7.3 of the Statute).

RULE 26

1.  Each delegation has one vote for its member each, maximum five votes.
2.  The Chairman shall not vote, unless is one of the five members constituting the delegation of his Parliament to the Conference.

RULE 27

1.  A vote may only take place when at least half of the member parliaments  are present in the meeting.
2.  The Conference shall normally vote by a show of hands or standing and sitting. However, if the Chairman deems it necessary or a member of the Conference so requested a vote by roll call/ secret ballot maybe taken
3.  In case of voting, only positive and negative votes shall be taken into consideration.

RULE 28

1.  The Conference shall vote on the texts submitted by the specialized Committees, without holding a debate on the substance of these texts.
2.  No debate may be opened nor any vote taken on a question, which the Conference has already examined, or on which it has taken a decision.

RULE 29

1.  Any delegate may request that part, or each paragraph, of a text submitted to the Conference be put to the vote separately.
2.  If any objection is raised, the request for division shall be voted upon without debate.

RULE 30

1.  Nobody may interrupt a vote once it has commenced, except to obtain clarification as to the manner in which the voting is being conducted.
2.  Delegates who wish to explain their vote briefly may be authorized to do so by the Chairman, after voting has taken place.
3.  No explanation of vote shall be admissible on amendments and procedural motions.

 VIII- AMENDMENTS

RULE 31

1.  Any delegation may submit amendments to a motion  or  a draft resolution, as well as sub-amendments
2.  Amendments shall be submitted in writing. Amendments and sub-amendments may be submitted until the Conference adopts the texts to which they relate.

RULE 32

1.  Amendments and sub- amendments shall relate to the text. They may call for an addition, a deletion or an alteration with regard to the initial draft, without having the effect of changing its scope or nature.
2.  Amendments and sub-amendments shall be voted before the text to which they relate.  
3.  The Chairman of the Conference shall determine whether or not amendments and sub- amendments, which are to be voted on in the plenary sitting, are in order.

 RULE 33

1.  Unless the Chairman decides otherwise, the only speakers on an amendment or sub- amendment shall be the sponsors of the amendment, one delegate holding a contrary opinion and, if needed be, the Rapporteur of the Committee concerned.      

IX- CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT

RULE 34

1.  The Secretary General of the Union shall be responsible for the organizing of the Secretariat of the Conference. The Secretary General or Assistant Secretaries General shall assist the Chairman in directing the work of the Conference.
2.  The Secretary General, the Assistant Secretaries General or the Secretary General’s representative may at any time, at the request of the Chairman, submit to the Conference advice on any question which the meeting has under consideration.

RULE 35

1.  The Secretary General shall receive all documents, reports and draft resolutions and distribute them, together with the summary records of the sitting in the three working languages of the Union.
2.  The Secretary General shall transmit to the Member Parliaments as rapidly as possible all documents related to the Conference.
3.  The Secretariat of the Conference shall ensure the simultaneous interpretation of the debates in the working languages of the Union.

RULE 36

1.  The General Secretariat of the Union shall keep the documents of the Conference in its archives and, in general, carry out all the tasks, which the Conference may think fit to entrust to it.
2. The final summary record of the proceedings shall be published and distributed before the following Conference by the General Secretariat.

 X- CLOSING OF THE CONFERENCE

RULE 37

1.  At the close of each Conference, the Chairman shall enumerate the principal resolutions adopted.
2.  Delegations shall inform their respective parliaments and governments of the resolutions, decisions and recommendations adopted by the Conference in conformity with the Article 4.6 of the Statute, with the view to obtaining the most active possible support for the implementation of these resolutions and decisions.

XI- ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF THE
RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CONFERENCE
AND THE STATUTE

RULE 38

1.  The Conference shall adopt and amend its Rules of Procedure by a majority of the participating cast.
2.  Proposals for amending the Rules of Procedure of the PUOICM Conference shall be formulated in writing and sent to the General Secretariat of the Union at least two months before the Conference meets. The General Secretariat shall communicate such proposals immediately to all Member Parliaments. It shall also, if necessary, communicate to Member Parliaments any proposals for sub-amendments at least one month before the meeting of the Conference.
3.  Consideration of any request to amend the Rules of Procedure shall be included automatically in the agenda of the Conference.

RULE 39   

1.  The Conference may, on the request of a Member Parliament, amend the Statute of the Union.
2.  The proposals for amending the Statute of the PUIC shall be formulated in writing with an explanatory note and sent to the General Secretariat at least four months before the General Committee Session. The General Secretariat shall communicate such proposal(s) attached to explanatory note within one month to all Member Parliaments and to the first subsequent Meeting of the Executive Committee for examination and submission, with its view points to the General Committee.
3.  The amendment(s) shall not be put into effect unless adopted by the Conference with two-third majority of the Members participating and voting.

XII-THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA

Rule 40    
The Presidential Troika shall be composed of the current, previous and next Presidents of the PUIC Conference.(Article 8-1 of the Statute)

Rule 41
The Presidential Troika may, through consensus of its members, engage in contacts with international organizations with a view to defining the stances of the Union, or strengthening its contacts or international position.  The Troika may, in coordination with the Secretary-General of the Union, delegate any members of the Conference or General Committee. (Article 8-2 of the Statute)

Rule 42
The Presidential Troika may, in cases of urgent necessity, and following necessary consultations, issue an urgent statement on any emergency issue, and in conformity with the principles and objectives of the Union as well as its resolutions and established positions. (Article 8-3 of the Statute)

Rule 43
The PUIC Secretary General shall coordinate the work of the Presidential Troika. The General Secretariat shall prepare the reports on the work of the Presidential Troika and report its decisions to PUIC members within two weeks from their date of issuance. (Article 8-4 and 8-5 of the Statute)

Rule 44
The Conference or the Presidential Troika in coordination with the Secretary General, in case of urgent matters, may constitute a delegation for a special task, and shall define the delegation's nature, duration, number of members as well as the head of the delegation.  (Article 9/1 and 2 and 4 of the Statute)

Rule 45
Head of delegation and the PUIC General Secretariat shall submit to the General Committee and then to the Conference the conclusions of the delegation. (Article 9/3 of the Statute)