Decision

22 September 2021: Decision No.1/2021 of the Joint Committee for United Kingdom-Palestinian Authority Trade and Cooperation on adopting the rules of procedure

Published 4 November 2021

THE JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Interim Political, Trade and Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the United Kingdom”), of the one part, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (“the Palestinian Authority”), of the other part (together, “the Parties”), done at Ramallah on 18 February 2019, hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”,

Whereas:

1. The Agreement incorporates the provisions of the EU-Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement, as amended by the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union, of the one part, and the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of the other part, providing further liberalisation of agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products and amending the Euro-Mediterranean Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation between the European Community, of the one part, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of the other part done at Brussels on 13 April 2011 (“the amended EU–Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement”), in effect immediately before the amended EU–Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement ceased to apply to the United Kingdom.

2. Incorporated Article 63(3) provides that the Joint Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

ARTICLE 1

The Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee as set out in the Annex to this Decision are adopted.

 

ARTICLE 2

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

Done in duplicate at London and Ramallah, on 22 September 2021

For the Joint Committee

Nick Clements, Deputy Director, Department for International Trade, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Suha Awadallah, Chief of Staff, Ministry of National Economy

ANNEX I

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE

Rule 1: General Provisions

1. The Joint Committee shall be composed of representatives of the United Kingdom and the Palestinian Authority.

2. The Joint Committee shall be chaired alternately for a period of 12 months by a representative of the United Kingdom and the Palestinian Authority. The first period shall begin, with the United Kingdom as Chair, on the date of the first meeting of the Joint Committee and end on 31 December 2021.

3. The Joint Committee shall be responsible for ensuring the effective operation of the Agreement. As provided for under incorporated Article 63 of the Agreement, and for the purpose of attaining the objectives thereof, the Joint Committee shall have the power to take decisions that are binding on the Parties, in the cases provided for in the Agreement as well as in other cases necessary for the purposes of attaining the objectives set out in the Agreement. The Joint Committee may also formulate any resolutions, recommendations or opinions which it considers desirable for the attainment of the common objectives and the smooth functioning of the Agreement.

Rule 2: Meetings

1. The Joint Committee shall meet once a year, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties. Special sessions of the Joint Committee may be held when circumstances require if the Parties so agree.

2. The meetings of the Joint Committee shall be held alternately in the territories of the Parties, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

3. Each meeting of the Joint Committee shall be held on a date and in the format agreed by the Parties. A meeting of the Joint Committee may also be held by technological means if the Parties so agree.

4. Each meeting of the Joint Committee shall be convened by the Secretariat at a date and location agreed by the Parties.

5. The Parties may agree to invite representatives of other bodies of the Parties, independent experts or other observers on an ad hoc basis to attend the meetings of the Joint Committee.

Rule 3: Secretariat

An official of the Government of the United Kingdom and an official of the Palestinian Authority shall act jointly as secretaries of the Joint Committee.

Rule 4: Delegations

1. The Parties shall inform each other, through the Secretariat, of the intended composition (including names, positions and institutions) of their respective delegations of their delegation at least one month before the date of each meeting of the Joint Committee, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

2. Each Party shall endeavour to include in the composition of its delegation officials of that Party having expertise relevant to the issues to be discussed.

Rule 5: Correspondence

1. Each Party shall send its correspondence addressed to the Joint Committee via the Secretariat. Such correspondence may be sent in any form of written communication, including by electronic mail.

2. The Secretariat shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Joint Committee is delivered to the members of the Joint Committee and is circulated, where appropriate.

3. All correspondence from, or addressed directly to, the Chair shall be forwarded to the Secretariat and shall be circulated, where appropriate.

Rule 6: Documents

Written documents exchanged formally within the Joint Committee, whether at or between meetings, shall be numbered and circulated to the members of the Joint Committee by the Secretariat as documents of the Joint Committee.

Rule 7: Confidentiality

1. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, the meetings of the Joint Committee shall not be open to the public.

2. When a Party submits information designated as confidential to the Joint 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.

Rule 8: Agendas for Meetings

1. The secretary of the host party shall draw up a draft agenda for each meeting of the Joint Committee, in consultation with the secretary of the other party, and shall circulate this, together with relevant documentation, to the members of the Joint Committee no later than 10 working days before the date of the meeting.

2. The draft agenda shall include items in respect of which the Secretariat has received a request for inclusion in the agenda by a Party. Any such request, together with any relevant documentation, shall be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 15 working days before the date of the meeting.

3. The agenda shall be adopted by the Joint Committee at the beginning of its meeting. Items other than those appearing on the draft agenda may be added to the agenda if the Parties so decide.

4. The Parties may agree to modify the time periods specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Rule 9: Minutes

1. Draft minutes of each meeting of the Joint Committee shall be drawn up by the Secretary of the Party hosting the meeting, within 10 working days of the end of the meeting, unless Parties otherwise agree. The draft minutes shall be transmitted for comments to the Secretary of the other Party, who may submit comments within 14 working days from the date of receipt of the draft minutes.

2. Where a meeting of the Joint Committee is held by technological means, the Parties may agree that a Secretary of either Party shall draw up the draft minutes of that meeting, before transmitting those draft minutes for comments to the Secretary of the other Party, in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 1.

3. The minutes shall, as a general rule, summarise each item on the agenda, specifying where applicable: (a) the documentation submitted to the Joint Committee; (b) any statement that a member of the Joint Committee has requested to be entered in the minutes; and (c) the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.

4. The minutes shall include as an annex a list of participants setting out for each of the delegations the names and functions of all individuals who attended the meeting, in addition to any observers or experts who also attended.

5. The Secretariat shall revise the draft minutes on the basis of comments received and the draft minutes, as revised, shall be submitted to the Chair for approval. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the draft minutes shall be approved within three months after each meeting of the Joint Committee and shall be signed by the representative of each Party, with a copy of the signed minutes being transmitted to each Party via the Secretaries.

Rule 10: Decisions, Recommendations and Opinions

1. The Joint Committee shall adopt its decisions, recommendations and opinions by mutual agreement of the Parties.

2. The decisions, recommendations and opinions of the Joint Committee shall be entitled respectively “Decision”, “Recommendation” and “Opinion”, followed by a serial number, the date of their adoption and a description of their subject. Each decision of the Joint Committee shall be signed by the relevant representative of each Party and shall specify the date of its entry into force, which shall be subject to completion of the respective applicable legal requirements and procedures of the Parties.

3. In the period between meetings, the Joint Committee may adopt decisions, recommendations and opinions by written procedure.

4. Where a meeting of the Joint Committee is held by technological means, such as by videoconference or teleconference, decisions may be signed in duplicate (each copy being equally authentic) by the Chair and a representative of the other Party. The Parties shall forward electronic copies of their respective signed decisions to the Secretariat for circulation to the members of the Joint Committee.

5. Each Party may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Committee in its respective official publication.

Rule 11: Working Language

The working language of the Joint Committee shall be the official languages of the Parties, English and Arabic.

Rule 12: Expenses

1. Each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Joint Committee.

2. Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.

3. Expenditure in connection with interpretation in meetings, or translation of documents, shall be borne by the Party hosting that meeting.

4. Where a meeting of the Joint Committee is held by technological means, each Party shall bear its own expenses in connection with that meeting.

Rule 13: Working Groups and Other Bodies

1. The Joint Committee may decide to set up any other committee that can assist it in carrying out its duties.

2. The Joint Committee shall determine the composition and duties of such committees and how they shall function.