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Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament
9th parliamentary term - January 2021
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CONTENTS
NOTE TO THE READER
COMPENDIUM OF THE MAIN LEGAL ACTS RELATED TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

TITLE V : RELATIONS WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES
CHAPTER 5 : RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Rule 144 : Debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law

1.   A committee, an interparliamentary delegation, a political group or Members reaching at least the low threshold may ask the President in writing for a debate to be held on an urgent case of a breach of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

2.   The Conference of Presidents shall draw up a list of subjects to be included in the final draft agenda for the next debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law on the basis of the requests referred to in paragraph 1 and in accordance with the provisions of Annex IV. The total number of subjects included in the agenda shall not exceed three, including sub-chapters.

In accordance with Rule 158, Parliament may abandon a topic due to be debated and replace it with an unscheduled topic. Motions for resolutions on the subjects chosen may be tabled by a committee, a political group or Members reaching at least the low threshold by the evening of the day on which the agenda is adopted. The President shall set the precise deadline for tabling such motions for resolutions.

3.   The total speaking time for the political groups and non-attached Members shall be allocated in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 171(4) and (5), up to a maximum time for debates of 60 minutes per part-session.

Any time remaining after the time required to introduce the motions for resolutions and any speaking time allocated to the Commission and Council has been deducted shall be divided among the political groups and the non-attached Members.

4.   At the end of the debate there shall be an immediate vote. Rule 194, concerning explanations of vote, shall not apply.

Votes taken under this Rule may be organised on a collective basis under the responsibility of the President and the Conference of Presidents.

5.   If two or more motions for resolutions are tabled on the same subject, the procedure set out in Rule 132(4) and (5) shall apply.

6.   The President and the Chairs of the political groups may decide that a motion for a resolution is to be put to the vote without debate. Such a decision shall require the unanimous agreement of all the Chairs of the political groups.

The provisions of Rules 197 and 198 do not apply to motions for resolutions included on the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Motions for resolutions are tabled for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law only after the list of subjects has been adopted. Motions for resolutions that cannot be dealt with in the time allocated for the debate lapse. The same applies to motions for resolutions for which it is established, following a request under Rule 178(3), that a quorum is not present. The authors are entitled to retable such motions either for consideration in committee under Rule 143 or for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law at the next part-session.

A subject may not be included on the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law if it is already on the agenda for that part-session.

There are no provisions in the Rules to allow a joint debate on a motion for a resolution, tabled in accordance with the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, and a committee report on the same subject.

When a request is made under Rule 178(3) to establish whether a quorum is present, that request shall be valid only for the motion for a resolution which is to be put to the vote and not for those which follow.

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