Article 1: Presiding at General Assembly Annual Meetings

1. The President of the APTA shall preside at General Assembly Annual Meetings and direct the discussions. 

2. If, for any reason whatsoever, the President can no longer preside at the General Assembly, his or her place shall temporarily be taken by the senior Vice-President. Should all the Vice-Presidents be absent, the duties of President shall temporarily devolve upon the Director of the Secretariat. 

3. The President and Vice Presidents shall attend the General Assembly as part of their institutions’ delegations and, when taking part in discussions, they shall specify whether they are speaking as the President and Vice Presidents or as their institutions’ representatives.

Article 2: Right to speak and list of speakers

1. No delegate may address the General Assembly without the President’s permission
2. The President shall call upon speakers in the order in which they indicate their desire to speak. During discussions, the President may announce the list of speakers and, with the consent of the Assembly, may declare the list closed. He or she may, however, allow a delegate to reply to a statement that was made after he or she had declared the list closed, if he considers this appropriate.
3. The President may call a speaker to order if his or her remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion and may limit the irrelevant speech.
4. The Assembly may limit the time allowed to each speaker. 


Article 3: Dialogue Partners’ right to speak

1. Subject to the President’s permission, Dialogue Partners may speak during General Assembly plenary sessions on matters within their competence. Similarly, they may also speak at committee meetings subject to the chairperson’s permission.
2. Dialogue Partners from international organizations may, in accordance with the agreements governing their relations with the APTA concluded in application of Article 13(6) of the Protocol, present their organizations’ views on matters connected with their activities.
3. Dialogue Partners may not raise points of order, put procedural motions, appeal against decisions of the President or submit proposals.
4. The President may ask Dialogue Partners to leave the conference hall when the General Assembly discusses items which are not relevant to those Dialogue Partners’ activities.

Article 4: Statements by the Director of the Secretariat or his or her representative

1. The Director of the Secretariat shall have the right to take part in the General Assembly’s discussions.
2. The Director of the Secretariat or his or her representative may speak during the General Assembly’s discussions at any time, whether in plenary session or at meetings of committees or other groups, to facilitate the discussions. 


Article 5: Definitions 

1. A point of order is a request made to the President asking him or her to use one of the powers inherent in his or her office or expressly conferred on him or her by the present Rules of Procedure. The President shall take a decision immediately. The decision shall not be put to the vote but shall be subject to appeal.
2. A procedural motion is any of the motions referred to under Articles 24, 25, and 26 of the present Rules of Procedure. A procedural motion shall be put to the vote in conformity with the applicable provisions.
3. Points of order and procedural motions are distinct from requests for information or clarification and from observations relating to practical aspects of the session’s proceedings.

Article 6: Points of order

1. A delegate may raise a point of order at any time during the discussions; a ruling shall be given immediately by the President.
2. Any delegate may appeal against the President’s ruling. The Assembly shall vote immediately on the appeal and the President’s ruling shall stand unless overruled by a majority of the Members present and voting.
3. A delegate raising a point of order may not speak on the substance of the matter under discussion.
4. Any motion calling for a decision on the competence of the General Assembly to adopt a proposal submitted to it shall be put to the vote before the vote on the substance of the proposal.
5. After the President has announced the commencement of a vote, voting shall not be interrupted until the result has been announced except on a point of order relating to the voting process. 


 Article 7: Suspension of proceedings

1. Suspension of proceedings means the temporary interruption of business.
2. If a speaker moves the suspension of proceedings during a discussion, the motion shall be put to the vote immediately.

Article 8: Adjournment of discussions

1. Adjournment of a discussion means halting the discussion on a particular subject and resuming the discussion at a subsequent sitting. 
2. If a speaker moves that a discussion be adjourned, the motion shall be put to the vote immediately. 


Article 9: Closure of discussions

1. Closure of a discussion means terminating the discussion on a specific subject until such time as the subject appears on the agenda of a subsequent General Assembly meeting.
2. A delegate may move to close a discussion at any time. Two speakers opposing the closure may then be allowed to speak, after which the Assembly shall vote on the motion. If the Assembly is in favor of the closure, the President shall declare the discussion closed. 


Article 10: Order of priority of motions

The motions listed below shall take precedence, in the order in which they are listed, over all other proposals or motions: 

1. Motion to suspend proceedings, 
2. Motion to adjourn the discussion on a specific subject, 
3. Motion to close the discussion on a specific subject.

Article 11: Withdrawal of motions and proposals

1. A motion or proposal may be withdrawn by its sponsor at any time before it has been put to the vote.
2. Any delegate may reintroduce a motion or proposal thus withdrawn, with its original priority, provided that he or she does so promptly and that the motion or proposal has not been substantially changed.

Article 12: Proposals with financial implications

If a draft resolution or proposal of any kind is likely to have financial implications, the President and Vice Presidents shall be requested to give its opinion.

Article 13: Reconsideration of proposals already voted on

1. If a proposal has been adopted or rejected, it shall not be reconsidered at the same session, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise.
2. Permission to speak on a motion to reconsider shall be granted only to two speakers opposing the motion, after which it shall immediately be put to the vote.
3. Correction of a clerical or arithmetical error in any document relating to a proposal which has already been adopted shall not require reopening of the discussion on the proposal, if the error is of no consequence. 


Article 14: Types of decision

1. As a rule, the General Assembly takes decisions in plenary session by adopting resolutions. However, certain decisions which the General Assembly is called upon to make do not require resolutions. In such cases, the outcome of the voting recorded in the summary record of the meeting shall constitute the decision. Inter alia, decisions on appointments to office and on applications for membership of the APTA fall into this category.
2. When the General Assembly expresses opinions on certain issues or makes recommendations to the Members, it may adopt a statement, which has advisory effect to all Members and Dialogue Partners.

Article 15: Voting rights

1. Each institution represented shall have one vote.
2. Only one delegate from each Member shall be entitled to vote in the General Assembly. It is usually the head of the delegation who votes in plenary session. He or she may delegate his or her voting rights to a member of his or her delegation.
3. A proxy vote by one Member on behalf of the other Member shall deem invalid. 


Article 16: Procedure for counting votes according to the majority required

1. Decisions shall be taken by a simple majority except in cases where a two thirds majority is required by the Protocol.
2. The majority shall be decided by a count of those present and casting an affirmative or negative vote. Those who abstain may justify their attitude.
3. Those abstaining shall be considered as not voting; they may, however, take the floor to explain their abstention.

Article 17: Decisions requiring a two-thirds majority

1. Decisions amending the APTA’s Protocol require a two-thirds majority of the Members present at the Annual Meeting.
2. Decisions on the following subjects require a two-thirds majority of Members present and voting:
   1. Applications for membership; and
   2. Election of the President and the Vice Presidents of the APTA, in conformity with Article 15 of the Protocol.

Article 18: Voting procedure

1. Voting shall be by a single ballot, except where a two thirds majority is required. In the latter case, if the required majority is not obtained in the first ballot, a second vote shall be taken. 

2. Voting shall be by a show of hands or by roll-call.
3. If a proposal can be adopted by a simple majority and voting is by a show of hands, the President may announce that he or she will not have the votes counted. If no delegate raises a point of order in that connection, the President shall first ask those in favor of the motion to vote. If there is a clear majority in favor of the proposal, the President shall immediately ask for votes against and then for abstentions, without having the votes in favor counted. If there is doubt as to the outcome of the vote, the President may ask delegates to vote again and have all votes counted.
4. A delegate may at any time propose that voting be by roll-call. The roll-call shall be taken in alphabetical order. The vote of each Member participating in a roll-call shall be recorded in the summary record of the meeting.
5. After voting has ended, delegates may make brief statements, solely to explain why they voted as they did. The sponsor of a proposal shall not explain his or her vote on that proposal, unless it was amended before the voting.
6. The President shall announce the results of the ballot in the following order:
   1. Number of institutions represented at the General Assembly and entitled to vote;
   2. Number of abstentions;
   3. Number of invalid votes;
   4. Number of votes expressed;
   5. Number of votes constituting the majority required;
   6. Number of votes in favor and number against or, depending on the ballot, number of votes obtained each candidate, in decreasing order.

Article 19: Applications for membership

Applications for membership require a two thirds majority of the General Assembly for acceptance.

The representatives of institutions whose applications for membership have been accepted shall no longer be Dialogue Partners at the General Assembly; they shall take their places as delegates of full Members of the APTA. Representatives of institutions whose applications for membership have not been accepted may continue to attend the General Assembly meeting as Dialogue Partners, unless the Assembly decides otherwise.

Article 20: Voting on resolutions 

1. Draft resolutions shall be voted on in their entirety, it being understood that only one draft resolution may be voted on at a time. A delegate may move that paragraphs of a draft resolution be voted on separately, in which case the complete text of the resolution shall subsequently be put to the vote. A clerical or arithmetic mistake may be corrected without a vote. 
2. The General Assembly may not vote on a draft resolution unless copies of it have been circulated. 
3. A “draft resolution” is understood to be:
   1. Either a document submitted directly to the General Assembly in plenary session,
   2. Or a document which has been submitted beforehand to a committee; in this case, the preliminary draft resolution may be amended by the committee.
4. Amendments and counterproposals may be discussed immediately, unless a majority requests that written copies of them be distributed first. Discussions shall be strictly limited to the text affected by the proposal or amendment.
5. If an amendment to a draft resolution is proposed, the amendment shall be voted on first. Before proceeding with the vote, the President shall read out the amendments if written copies of them have not been circulated. 
6. If there are several amendments the President shall put them to the vote separately, commencing with the ones farthest removed in substance from the original proposal. If the adoption of one amendment necessarily implies the rejection of another amendment, the latter shall not be put to the vote. 
7. If one or more amendments are adopted, the draft resolution, as amended, shall then be put to the vote. Voting shall take place solely on the amended text. If an amendment has been accepted by the original sponsor, that amendment shall be deemed to be an integral part of the original proposal and no separate vote shall be required thereon.

Article 21: Voting on amendments to the Protocol 

1. Any proposal to amend the Protocol – whether it is a proposal from a Member or from the President and Vice Presidents – shall be communicated by the Secretariat to the APTA’s Members at least 90 days before submission to the General Assembly for consideration.
2. Amendments to the Protocol cannot be adopted without the approval of a two thirds majority of the APTA’s Members present at the Annual Meeting.

Article 22: Voting on amendments to the General Regulations 

An amendment to the General Regulations may be proposed: 

1. By a Member of the APTA, provided the proposal has been sent to the General Secretariat at least 90 days before the opening of the General Assembly meeting; 
2. By the President and Vice Presidents or the Director of the Secretariat; 
3. During a General Assembly meeting, in case of urgent necessity, provided that a written, reasoned proposal is submitted jointly by three Members, and provided that the proposal is not an amendment which has already been submitted and rejected during the meeting.

Article 23: Eligibility of President and Vice Presidents members

1. 1.Only delegates of Members may stand for election to the President and Vice Presidents. 
2. Once their terms of office have expired:
   1. The President may be immediately entitled to stand for re-election to the same post;
   2. The Vice-Presidents may be immediately entitled to stand for re-election to their same posts;
   3. Ordinary members of the
Committee may be immediately eligible for re-election to their same posts, it being understood that they may stand for election to the post of President or Vice President. 
3. The President and Vice Presidents shall be nationals of different countries.

Article 24: Procedure for electing members of the President and Vice Presidents

1. Elections to seats on the President and Vice Presidents shall take place by show of hands during the last plenary session of the General Assembly.
2. A two-thirds majority shall be required for the President and Vice Presidents to be elected for a renewable two-year term of office. Should no candidate obtain a two-thirds majority after two ballots, a simple majority shall suffice.
3. Delegates wishing to stand for election shall inform the Secretariat of their names and institutions and of the posts on the President and Vice Presidents for which they are candidates. The Secretariat shall draw up the list of candidates for each vacant post.
4. The President shall read out to the General Assembly the list of candidates, as drawn up by the Secretariat, for each vacant post. After counting the votes, he or she shall announce the result of the vote and declare the ballot closed.

Article 25: Replacement of a member of the President and Vice Presidents

If a member relinquishes its Presidency or Vice-Presidency, or if the member ceases to be a delegate to the APTA, the General Assembly shall elect another member to replace them; the term of office of the newly elected member shall end on the same date as the predecessor’s.

Article 26: Appointment of the Director of the Secretariat 

The appointment of the Director of the Secretariat shall be done by the President, in coordination with the Vice Presidents. It shall be informed to the Members through the Liaison Working Group.

Article 27: Equally divided votes 

If two candidates obtain the same number of votes, a second ballot shall be taken. If the outcome is not decisive, lots shall be drawn to determine the successful candidate.

Article 28: Order of business at committee meetings

1. Each committee shall elect its own chairperson.
2. Committee meetings shall be subject to the same rules as plenary sessions of the General Assembly. 
3. Committees may not, on their own initiative, add new items to their agendas.
4. Delegations present at committee meetings shall be entitled to vote under the same conditions as at General Assembly plenary meetings.

Article 29: Committee reports

Committees shall report verbally on their work to the General Assembly in a plenary meeting, either through their chairpersons or through rapporteurs they have appointed.

Article 30: Consultation of committees outside General Assembly Annual Meetings 

Committees may be consulted between Sessions, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise. The President, after consulting the Director of the Secretariat, may allow a committee to meet.

Article 34: Travel and subsistence expenses for those attending the General Assembly 

1. In principle, the travel and subsistence expenses of all delegations to the General Assembly shall be borne by the Members and Dialogue Partners concerned, unless otherwise agreed. 
2. The travel expenses of President and Vice Presidents, and their subsistence expenses for the period corresponding to the General Assembly session, shall be borne by the institutions from which they come. 
3. Costs to participate in a program, an event or other activities organized for APTA Members should be borne by the sending institutions unless otherwise agreed.

Article 35: Amendment of the present Rules of Procedure

1. The present Rules of Procedure may be amended by the General Assembly meeting in a plenary session, following the same procedure as applies to amendments to the General Regulations.
2. Amendments to the present Rules of Procedure, including the addition of new articles, shall not be incompatible with the Protocol and the General Regulations.

Article 36: Conflict between the present Rules of Procedure and the Protocol or General Regulations 

The present Rules of Procedure are adopted under the authority of, and are subject to, the Protocol and the General Regulations. In the event of a conflict between a provision of the present Rules of Procedure and a provision of the Protocol or of the General Regulations, the Protocol and General Regulations shall prevail.The Secretariat shall send copies of the adopted resolutions to Members via the Liaison Working Group as soon as possible.

Article 31: Secretariat

1. The Director of the Secretariat shall be ex officio the Secretary of the General Assembly. He or she may delegate this function. 
2. The Director of the Secretariat shall engage, direct and supervise the personnel necessary for the Assembly’s secretariat. 
3. It shall be the duty of the Secretariat to receive and circulate all documents, reports, resolutions and summary records relating to the General Assembly and its committees.

Article 32: Summary records

1. Summary records of the discussions that take place during the General Assembly plenary meetings and committee meetings shall be distributed as soon as possible.
2. Delegates and any other persons, such as President and Vice Presidents, who have taken part in General Assembly discussions, shall inform the Secretariat in writing of all corrections they wish to have made to the summary records, as soon as possible and no later than 30 days following the end of the General Assembly Annual Meeting. 


Article 33: Communication of resolutions adopted

The Secretariat shall send copies of the adopted resolutions to Members via the Liaison Working Group as soon as possible.