The UK-Kenya Committee of Senior Officials,

Having regard to the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Kenya (‘Kenya’), a Member of the East African Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the ‘UK’), of the other part, done at London on 8 December 2020 (the ‘Agreement’),

Whereas Article 106 of the Agreement establishes a Committee of Senior Officials and provides that this shall determine its own rules of procedure,

Has adopted this decision:

1. Article 1

The rules of procedure of the Committee of Senior Officials, as set out in the Annex to this decision, are hereby adopted.

2. Article 2

This decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done in duplicate in London and Nairobi on 6 July 2022.

3. Annex to Decision No.1/2022

3.1 Rules of procedure of the Committee of Senior Officials

Set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Kenya, a member of the East African Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, (‘the Agreement’)

3.2 Article 1: composition and chair

1. The Committee shall be composed of Permanent Secretaries or Principal Secretaries, as the case may be, from the Republic of Kenya (‘Kenya’) and representatives from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the ‘UK’) at Senior Official level.

2․ The Committee shall be co-chaired by a representative of each of the parties.

3.3 Article 2: meetings

1. Subject to any directions which may be given by the EPA Council, or as may otherwise be agreed by the parties, the Committee shall meet at least once in each year, and may hold extraordinary meetings whenever circumstances so require at any time agreed by the parties. The Committee shall also meet preceding the meetings of the EPA Council.^{[footnote 1]}

2. Each meeting of the Committee shall be held at a date and place agreed by both parties. If both parties agree, the meetings of the Committee may be held by video or teleconference. The meetings of the Committee shall be organised by the secretariat.

3.4 Article 3: delegations

Before each meeting, the co-chairs shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegations of the parties.

3.5 Article 4: observers and experts

1. The co-chairs may agree to invite observers on an ad hoc basis, in particular one or more of the contracting parties to the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Such observers may participate in the meeting, upon agreement between the co-chairs.

2. The co-chairs may determine that any part of meetings involving sensitive matters may be closed to observers.

3. The co-chairs may agree to invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects and only for the parts of the meeting where such specific subjects are discussed.

3.6 Article 5: secretariat

1. The secretariat function shall be carried out for periods of 12 months and shall alternate between officials of Kenya and officials of the UK.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the first period shall begin on the date these rules of procedure are adopted and end on 31 December of that year. The secretariat shall be held first by an official of the UK.

3.7 Article 6: documents

Where the deliberations of the Committee are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated as documents of the Committee by the secretariat at least 14 days before the beginning of the meeting.

3.8 Article 7: correspondence

1․ All correspondence addressed to the Committee shall be directed to the secretariat.

2․ The secretariat shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Committee is forwarded to the co-chairs and circulated, where appropriate, as documents referred to in Article 6.

3․ All correspondence from, or addressed directly to, the co-chairs shall be forwarded to the secretariat and shall be circulated, where appropriate.

3.9 Article 8: agendas for meetings

1․ A provisional annotated agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the secretariat on the basis of proposals made by the parties. It shall be forwarded by the secretariat to the parties no later than 3 weeks before the beginning of the meeting.

2․ The provisional annotated agenda shall include items that are requested for inclusion no later than one month before the meeting. Any relevant supporting documents shall be shared with the secretariat at least 3 weeks before the meeting. If the secretariat has not received relevant supporting documents 3 weeks before the meeting, it may remove the corresponding item from the provisional annotated agenda.

3․ The agenda shall be adopted by the Committee at the beginning of each meeting. An item other than those appearing on the provisional annotated agenda may be placed on the agenda if the parties so agree.

4․ The co-chairs may by mutual consent decide to reduce or increase the time periods specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

3.10 Article 9: minutes

1․ Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the secretariat as soon as possible, within a month of the meeting, unless the co-chairs agree otherwise.

2․ The minutes shall, as a general rule, summarise each item on the agenda, specifying where applicable:

(a) all documents submitted to the Committee

(b) any statement that a member of the Committee has asked to be entered

(c) the decisions taken, recommendations adopted or made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items

3․ The minutes shall also include a list of participants in the meeting, a list of any observers to the meeting and a list of any experts that provided information on specific subjects.

4․ Approval of the minutes shall be confirmed by the parties in writing within 2 months of the date of the meeting. Once approved, copies of the minutes shall be signed by the co-chairs. Each party shall receive a signed copy of the minutes.

3.11 Article 10: decisions and recommendations

1․ In the performance of its functions, the Committee shall:

(a) take decisions

(b) make recommendations for consideration by the EPA Council

by consensus and in accordance with paragraph 1(b) of Article 107 of the Agreement. Some decisions taken or recommendations made may be in response to reports or recommendations made to the Committee by other Committees and institutions established under the Agreement.

2․ The Committee may take decisions and make recommendations in the period between meetings as well as during meetings of the Committee. In the period between meetings, this shall be done by an exchange of notes between the parties and shall be recorded in the minutes of the next Committee meeting.

3․ Decisions of and recommendations made by the Committee shall be entitled ‘decision’ or ‘recommendation’ respectively, and followed by a serial number, the date of their adoption and a description of their subject. Each decision shall provide for the date of its entry into force, which shall be subject to completion of the respective internal procedures of the parties where necessary.

4․ Decisions of and recommendations made by the Committee shall be signed by the co-chairs. Where a meeting of the Committee is held by technological means, decisions and recommendations may be signed in duplicate (each copy being equally authentic) by the co-chairs. Each co-chair shall forward an electronic copy of their respective signed decision or recommendation to the secretariat for circulation to the members of the Committee.

5․ Decisions and recommendations shall be forwarded by the secretariat to the parties as documents of the Committee as soon as possible. Recommendations made to the EPA Council shall be submitted to the Council by the secretariat as soon as is appropriate.

6․ Each party may decide on the publication of the decisions of the Committee in its respective official publication.

3.12 Article 11: publicity and confidentiality

1․ Unless otherwise decided, meetings of the Committee shall not be public.

2․ The parties may agree to publish outline agendas or relevant read-outs of the meetings of the Committee.

3․ When a party submits information designated as confidential to the Committee, the other party shall treat that information as confidential and shall not otherwise use or disclose that information without the specific permission of the party providing the information, except where this is necessary to comply with legal requirements.

3.13  Article 12: languages

The working language of the Committee shall be English.

3.14 Article 13: expenses

1․ Each party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Committee, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard to postal and telecommunications expenditure.

2․ Subject to paragraph 3, expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the party hosting the meeting.

3․ Where meetings of the Committee are held by video or teleconference, each party bears its respective cost associated with holding the meeting by such means, unless agreed otherwise.

3.15 Article 14: amendment of rules of procedure

1․ These rules of procedure may be amended by a decision of the Committee in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 10 hereof.

2․ The Committee shall review these rules of procedure in the event that another contracting party to the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community accedes to the Agreement in future.