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Notification to the Parties

No. 1999/33 Geneva, 30 April 1999

CONCERNING:

Explanatory memorandum on the submission of
draft resolutions and decisions

1. At its 10th meeting, the Conference of the Parties adopted a decision directed to the Secretariat (Decision 10.96) as follows:

"A model explanatory memorandum shall be developed in good time for the Parties to use when preparing draft resolutions for the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties."

2. Accordingly, the Secretariat has prepared an explanatory memorandum, which is attached to the present Notification. It would welcome any comments from the Parties about this document, and will take into account any comments received when revising the memorandum in preparation for future meetings of the Conference of the Parties.

3. The Secretariat is at the service of the Parties to provide advice on the preparation of documents for meetings of the Conference of the Parties and to provide comments on the substance of any draft resolutions or decisions.

 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
ON THE
SUBMISSION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS AND DECISIONS

INTRODUCTION

Background

When the Conference of the Parties to CITES meets, every two to three years, it may adopt proposals to amend the appendices to the Convention and it may also adopt two other types of decisions. These are formally recorded as Resolutions and as Decisions.

There has been some uncertainty about the difference between Resolutions and Decisions. As a result, a number of the documents that have been submitted in the past for consideration by the Conference of the Parties were incorrectly labelled.

Some Parties have also not been aware of the appropriate form in which to submit documents for consideration at meetings of the Conference of the Parties, nor of the 'rules' that have been agreed that guide the preparation and submission of documents.

Because of these difficulties, the Conference of the Parties agreed at its 10th meeting that:

A model explanatory memorandum shall be developed in good time for the Parties to use when preparing draft resolutions for the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties

The Secretariat has therefore prepared this document to respond to this instruction, and to provide a guide to the preparation and submission of documents for meetings of the Conference of the Parties.

Agenda items for meetings of the Conference of the Parties

Any Party may propose the inclusion of a subject in the Agenda of a meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

As a rule, proposals for agenda items should be received by the Secretariat at least 150 days before the meeting where they are to be discussed (i.e. by 12 November 1999 for the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties).

Documents to be considered by the Conference

For each item to be discussed at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties, a supporting document must be submitted. This should be received by the Secretariat 150 days before the meeting. It may accept documents after this deadline only in exceptional cases (for example, where there is an urgent enforcement problem to be resolved). (NB: This does not apply to proposals to amend Appendices I and II, which may not be accepted after the deadline of 150 days.)

Some of the documents submitted are for information only. This should be clearly indicated, so that the Conference of the Parties can deal with them appropriately. However, the majority of documents submitted contain proposals, either as draft resolutions or draft decisions.

Length of documents

Participants in meetings of the Conference of the Parties have a great deal to read. Documents submitted should therefore be as concise as possible. It is important, besides, to remember that all documents have to be translated and duplicated; costing time and money. The Conference recommends that, as a general rule, documents submitted should not be more than 12 pages long.

Form of documents

It will help the Secretariat very much if documents submitted for consideration are sent both in printed form and in electronic form.

Documents sent electronically can be provided on diskette or sent by e-mail (to CITES@unep.ch). The Secretariat prefers to receive documents in Word 97 format, but other editable formats are acceptable.

'DECISIONS' AND 'RESOLUTIONS' - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Decisions are generally to be implemented within a short time and then become obsolete.

They include instructions to Committees, working groups or the Secretariat, unless the tasks to be done are part of a long-term procedure.

For historical reasons, some of the current Decisions are not in accordance with this explanation. These cases are to be corrected.

After each meeting of the Conference, the Secretariat has to update the list of Decisions. They have to include all the new recommendations (or other forms of decision) that are not included in the Resolutions and delete any Decisions that are no longer in effect (for example, because they have been implemented or superseded).

Resolutions are generally of a long-lasting nature.

They include: decisions regarding the budget and the financial contributions of the Parties; terms of reference of Committees; interpretations of the provisions of the Convention; and recommendations designed to harmonize the implementation of the Convention and to improve the effectiveness of the Convention.

Only the Conference of the Parties may decide whether a Resolution is no longer in effect. The Secretariat publishes all the current Resolutions, including the new ones, after each meeting of the Conference of the Parties. If the Conference adds points to an existing Resolution or makes minor changes, a revised version is published.

PRESENTATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS AND DRAFT DECISIONS

Documents that present a draft decision or draft resolution should be in two parts: an introductory text and a proposal.

THE INTRODUCTORY TEXT

This part of the document explains why it is being presented. Generally the introductory text will present information on a problem that is being experienced in the practical implementation or enforcement of the Convention. It should then provide a brief explanation of the proposed solution to the problem.

THE PROPOSAL

This part of the document is generally in an annex and consists of the draft text of a resolution or a decision. See below and in Annexes 1 and 2 the format to be followed.

Any draft resolution or draft decision that has budgetary and workload implications for the Secretariat must contain or be accompanied by a budget for the work involved and an indication of the source of the funding.

Content and format of Resolutions

Resolutions are "soft law". That is to say, for the Parties, they have the effect of recommendations. They should therefore not repeat what is already said in the text of the Convention, which is "hard law" (legally binding on the Parties).

Unless practical considerations dictate otherwise, a draft resolution should not include:

a) instructions or requests to Committees, Working Groups or the Secretariat, unless they are part of a long-term procedure;

b) decisions on the presentation of the appendices; or

c) recommendations (or other forms of decision) that will be implemented soon after their adoption and will then be obsolete.

When a draft resolution is intended to be exhaustive, or to treat a subject comprehensively, or to make significant changes in the way in which a subject is dealt with, it should be prepared so that, if adopted, it will replace and repeal all existing Resolutions (or, as appropriate, the relevant paragraphs) on the same subject.

Resolutions are in two parts: a preamble and an operative part.

The preamble of a resolution provides a list of the main considerations that lead the Conference of the Parties to adopt the resolution, each consideration being in a separate paragraph.

It should be concise!

It points out the relevant parts of the Convention, the relevant previous resolutions and the problems or other considerations that are to be taken into account.

It provides the assumptions and explanations for the operative part of the resolution.

The order of the paragraphs should follow a logical structure, usually reflecting the structure of the operative part.

All explanatory text should be included in the preamble, not in the operative part.

The operative part of a resolution presents the agreement/s of the Conference of the Parties on the subject being dealt with.

This part begins with the words "The Conference of the Parties to the Convention".

It continues with one or more sections each starting with a verb reflecting the nature of the agreement/s (e.g. DECIDES, AGREES, ESTABLISHES, RECOMMENDS, URGES, INVITES, DIRECTS, INSTRUCTS, etc.).

Content and Format of Decisions

Decisions have no preamble.

If directed to Committees or the Secretariat, they should be written as instructions (e.g. the Standing Committee shall...; the Secretariat shall...).

A deadline for implementation may be included.

If directed to bodies that are not answerable to the Conference of the Parties (such as the secretariats of other conventions or intergovernmental organizations), they should be written as suggestions, urgings, invitations, etc.

As a rule, decisions should not be directed to the Parties unless they are being given a deadline for a specified task.

REVISIONS TO EXISTING RESOLUTIONS

A document presenting a proposal to amend one or more paragraphs of an existing Resolution should contain only an introductory text (see above) and an annex that specifies the amendments to the existing Resolution.

No preamble should be presented. However the document may propose amendments (additions, deletions, changes) to the preamble as well as to the operative part. (For example, if it is proposed to delete text in the operative part, this change might make certain text in the preamble irrelevant, in which case it should also be deleted.)

For example, the annex might simply say, "In Resolution Conf. 9.26, replace the third paragraph under RECOMMENDS by the following text". The new text would follow.

Annex 1

STRUCTURE OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

INTRODUCTORY TEXT

Explanation why the document is being presented.

Usually comprises:

presentation of a problem experienced in the practical implementation or enforcement of the Convention

outline of the proposed solution

PROPOSAL (as an annex)

Preamble

Comprises paragraphs beginning with, e.g.:

 

 

AWARE

NOTING

 

 

CONCERNED

OBSERVING

 

 

CONSCIOUS

RECALLING

 

 

CONSIDERING

RECOGNIZING

 

 

CONVINCED

 

Operative Part

Begins with: "THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION"

Continues with paragraphs or sections beginning, e.g.:

(for decisions directed to the Conference itself or adopting an interpretation, for example)
AGREES
DECIDES

(for decisions directed to the Parties, for example)
INVITES
RECOMMENDS
URGES

(for decisions directed to organizations, for example)
INVITES
URGES

(for instructions to a Committee or the Secretariat, for example)
DIRECTS
INSTRUCTS

(when repealing or replacing an existing Resolution)
REPEALS (always the final paragraph)

 

Annex 2

STRUCTURE OF DRAFT DECISIONS

INTRODUCTORY TEXT

Explanation why the document is being presented.

Usually comprises:

presentation of a problem experienced in the practical implementation or enforcement of the Convention

outline of the proposed solution

PROPOSAL (as an annex)

No preamble.

The body to which the Decision is directed must be indicated.

Usually this is the Standing Committee, the Animals Committee, the Plants Committee, the Nomenclature Committee, the Identification Manual Committee or the Secretariat).

Therefore each draft decision presented begins with, e.g.:

"The Standing Committee shall..."

Preferably a deadline for implementation of the Decision should be included.

If directed to bodies that are not answerable to the Conference of the Parties (such as the secretariats of other conventions or intergovernmental organizations), the text should be written as an invitation, urging, recommendation, etc.