Contents:

• I. Role and Composition
• II. Sessions
• III. Presidency
• IV. Agenda
• V. Deliberations - Quorum - Voting
• VI. Report and Recommendations to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians
• VII. Secretariat
• VIII. Adoption and Amendment of the Rules

RULE 1

1. The Forum of Women Parliamentarians shall be assisted by a Bureau, whose Rules it shall approve.

2.In accordance with the provisions of Rule 29.2 of the Rules of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, the role of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians is to:

(a) Prepare session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and facilitate its normal working in conformity with the Statutes of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Rules of the Forum;
(b) Ensure the continuity of work and the coordination of the initiatives of women parliamentarians; and
(c) Ensure, particularly through its Bureau, coordination between the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the other bodies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The Bureau shall be constituted in conformity with the provisions of Rule 31 of the Rules of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians.

RULE 3

1. The Bureau shall meet on the occasion of both annual sessions of the Assembly.

2. It shall hold a first sitting before the opening of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and a second sitting during the days to follow; if necessary, a further sitting may be organized during the Assembly.

3. The convocation of the Bureau, together with the provisional agenda, shall be sent to the members of the Bureau at least one month before the date of the session.

RULE 4

1. After each renewal of half of the regional representatives, every two years, the Bureau shall propose to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians the candidature of three of its members to hold office as President, First Vice-President and Second Vice-President of the Bureau.

2. The Bureau shall take a decision on these candidates in conformity with the provisions of Rules 9 to 11 of these Rules.

3. The President and Vice-Presidents of the Bureau shall hold office for two years until the next renewal of half of the Bureau (cf. Rule 33 of the Rules of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians).

4. Should the President die, resign or lose her seat in Parliament, the First Vice-President shall serve as President for the remainder of the term.

5. Should a Vice-President die, resign or lose her seat in Parliament, the Bureau shall nominate to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians a candidate to replace her for the remainder of the term.

RULE 5

1. The President shall direct the work of the Bureau, suspend and close the sitting, see that the Rules are observed, call upon the speakers, put questions to the vote, make known the results of the voting and declare the sessions closed. Her decisions on these matters shall be final and shall not be open to debate.

2. The President shall decide on all matters not covered by these Rules, on the basis of the general provisions contained in the Rules of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians.

RULE 6

1. A provisional agenda for each session of the Bureau shall be established by the Secretary General in consultation with the President of the Committee in the light of the work and decisions of the latter at its previous session. The provisional agenda shall be sent to the members of the Bureau at least one month before the session.

2. The final agenda of each session shall be adopted by the Bureau at the start of its work.

RULE 7

1. Any member of the Bureau may request the inclusion of supplementary items in the provisional agenda.

2. After hearing the opinion of the President, the Bureau shall decide on such a request in accordance with the provisions of Rules 9 to 11 of these Rules.

RULE 8

The members of the Bureau shall deliberate in camera.

RULE 9

The Bureau may deliberate and take decisions irrespective of the number of Bureau members present. However, a vote may take place only if at least half of the Bureau members or their duly mandated replacements (c.f. Rule 32 of the Rules of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians) are in attendance.

RULE 10

1. Each member of the Bureau shall be entitled to one vote.

2. The President shall participate in the voting only in case of a tie.

RULE 11

1. The Bureau shall normally vote by show of hands. However, if the President deems it necessary or if a member of the Bureau so requests, a secret ballot shall be held.

2. The Bureau shall take all its decisions by a majority of the votes cast.

3. In calculating the number of votes cast, only positive and negative votes shall be taken into consideration.

RULE 12

The Bureau shall report on its work to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and shall present to it opinions or recommendations on all matters that fall within its competence.

RULE 13

1. At each Assembly, the Bureau shall appoint one of its members to report to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians on the work carried out since the previous session. The Bureau shall make that appointment at the start of its second sitting.

2. Only members of the Bureau having taken part in the two sittings to be covered by the report may act as Rapporteurs to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians. The same person may not be appointed as Rapporteur more than once.

3. Should the appointed Rapporteur be unable to present the report, she shall be replaced by another member who took part in the sittings to be covered by the report. The Bureau may appoint this substitute at the same time as the Rapporteur.

RULE 14

1. The Secretary General or his/her representative shall assist the President in directing the work of the Bureau.

2. The Secretary General or his/her representative may be invited by the President to speak on any question under consideration.

RULE 15

1. The IPU Secretariat shall receive or prepare all documents needed for the deliberations of the Bureau and shall distribute them in English and French; only these documents may be distributed in the meeting room.

2. It shall ensure simultaneous interpretation in these two languages, as well as in Arabic and Spanish.

RULE 16

The Bureau shall establish its own Rules which shall then be presented to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians for its approval (cf. Statutes, Article 22).

RULE 17

1. Subject to the provisions of Rule 9, the Bureau shall adopt its Rules by the majority of the votes cast by the members present at the time of voting.

2. Proposals to amend the Rules of the Bureau must be formulated in writing and sent to the IPU Secretariat at least three months before the next meeting of the Bureau. The Secretariat shall communicate such proposals immediately to all members of the Bureau and shall do likewise with any proposals for sub-amendments.

Statutes

Rules of the Assembly

Rules of the Governing Council

Rules of the Executive Committee

Rules of the Standing Committees

Rules of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians

Rules of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians

Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians

Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU

Rules of the Secretariat

Financial Regulations

Rights and responsibilities of observers

---

HOME PAGEMAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITYIPU STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTS