RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE AND SPECIALISED COMMITTEES
Rule 1
Chair
The Joint Committee shall be co-chaired by a Member of the European Commission and a representative of the Government of the United Kingdom at ministerial level, or by high-level officials designated to act as their alternates. The European Union and the United Kingdom shall notify each other in writing of the designated co-chairs and their alternates.
The decisions of the co-chairs provided for by these Rules of Procedure shall be taken by mutual consent.
A co-chair who is unable to attend a meeting may be replaced for that meeting by a designee. The co-chair, or his or her designee, shall inform in writing the other co-chair and the Secretariat of the Joint Committee of the designation as early as possible.
The designee of the co-chair shall exercise the rights of that co-chair to the extent of the designation. Any reference in these Rules of Procedure to the co-chairs shall be understood to include a designee.
Rule 2
Secretariat
The Secretariat of the Joint Committee (the “Secretariat”) shall be composed of an official of the European Commission and an official of the Government of United Kingdom. The Secretariat shall, under the authority of the co-chairs, perform the tasks conferred on it by these Rules of Procedure.
Rule 3
Participation in meetings
Before each meeting, the European Union and the United Kingdom shall inform each other through the Secretariat of the intended composition of the delegations.
Where appropriate and by decision of the co-chairs, experts or other persons who are not members of delegations may be invited to attend meetings of the Joint Committee in order to provide information on a particular subject.
Rule 4
Meetings
The Joint Committee shall hold its meetings alternately in Brussels and London, unless the co-chairs decide otherwise.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the co-chairs may decide that a meeting of the Joint Committee be held by videoconference or teleconference.
- Each meeting of the Joint Committee shall be convened by the Secretariat at a date and place decided by the co-chairs. Where either the European Union or the United Kingdom has made a request for a meeting, the Joint Committee shall endeavour to meet within 30 days of such request. In cases of urgency it shall endeavour to meet sooner.
Rule 5
Documents
Written documents on which the deliberations of the Joint Committee are based shall be numbered and circulated to the European Union and the United Kingdom by the Secretariat as documents of the Joint Committee.
Rule 6
Correspondence
The European Union and the United Kingdom shall send their correspondence addressed to the Joint Committee to the Secretariat. Such correspondence may be sent in any form of written communication, including by electronic mail.
The Secretariat shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Joint Committee is forwarded to the co-chairs and is circulated, where appropriate, in accordance with Rule 5.
All correspondence from or addressed directly to the co-chairs shall be forwarded to the Secretariat and shall be circulated, where appropriate, in accordance with Rule 5.
Rule 7
Agenda for the meetings
For each meeting a draft provisional agenda shall be drawn up by the Secretariat. It shall be transmitted, together with the relevant documents, to the co-chairs no later than 15 days before the date of the meeting.
The provisional agenda shall include those items, the inclusion of which in the agenda has been requested by the European Union or the United Kingdom. Any such request, together with any relevant document, shall be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.
No later than 10 days before the date of the meeting, the co-chairs shall decide on the provisional agenda for a meeting. They may decide to make that provisional agenda, or any part thereof, public before the beginning of the meeting.
The agenda shall be adopted by the Joint Committee at the beginning of each meeting. On request by the European Union or the United Kingdom an item other than those included in the provisional agenda may be included in the agenda by decision of the Joint Committee.
In exceptional cases, the co-chairs may decide to derogate from the time limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2.
Rule 8
Minutes
Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat, within 21 days from the end of the meeting, unless the co-chairs decide otherwise.
The minutes shall, as a rule, summarise each item on the agenda, specifying where applicable:
- the documents submitted to the Joint Committee;
- any statement that one of the co-chairs requested to be entered in the minutes; and
- the decisions adopted, recommendations made, joint statements decided upon and operational conclusions adopted on specific items.
The minutes shall include a list of the names, titles and capacity of all individuals who attended the meeting.
The minutes shall be approved in writing by the co-chairs within 28 days of the date of the meeting or by any other date decided by the co-chairs. Once approved, two authentic versions of the minutes shall be signed by the members of the Secretariat. The European Union and the United Kingdom shall each receive one of these authentic versions. The co-chairs may decide that signing and exchanging electronic copies satisfies this requirement.
The Secretariat shall also prepare a summary of the minutes. After having approved the summary, the co-chairs may decide to make it public.
Rule 9
Decisions and Recommendations
In the period between meetings, the Joint Committee may adopt decisions or recommendations by written procedure, if the co-chairs decide to use this procedure. The written procedure shall consist of an exchange of notes between the co-chairs.
Where the Joint Committee adopts decisions or recommendations, the words “Decision” or “Recommendation”, respectively, shall be inserted in the title of such acts. The Secretariat shall record any decision or recommendation under a serial number and with a reference to the date of its adoption.
Decisions adopted by the Joint Committee shall specify the date at which they take effect.
Decisions and recommendations adopted by the Joint Committee shall be signed by the co-chairs and shall be sent by the Secretariat to the parties immediately after the signature.
Rule 10
Publicity and Confidentiality
Unless otherwise decided by the co-chairs, the meetings of the Joint Committee shall be confidential.
Where the European Union or the United Kingdom submits information considered as confidential or protected from disclosure under its laws and regulations to the Joint Committee or any specialised committee, the other party shall treat that information received as confidential.
Without prejudice to paragraph 2, the European Union and the United Kingdom may each decide individually on whether to publish, the decisions and recommendations adopted by the Joint Committee in their respective official publication journals.
Rule 11
Languages
The official languages of the Joint Committee shall be the official languages of the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The working language of the Joint Committee shall be English. Unless otherwise decided by the co-chairs, the Joint Committee shall base its deliberations on documents prepared in English.
Rule 12
Expenses
The European Union and the United Kingdom shall each meet any expenses they incur as a result of participating in the meetings of the Joint Committee.
Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the European Union for meetings held in Brussels, and by the United Kingdom for meetings held in London.
Expenditure in connection with interpretation to and from the working language of the Joint Committee at meetings shall be borne by the party requesting such interpretation.
Rule 13
Specialised committees
Without prejudice to paragraphs 2 to 3 of this Rule, Rules 1 to 12 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the specialised committees unless decided otherwise by the Joint Committee.
The specialised committees shall be co-chaired by representatives designated by the European Commission and the Government of the United Kingdom. The European Union and the United Kingdom shall notify each other of the designated representatives.
All information and reports to be provided by a specialised committee pursuant to Article 165(4) of the Agreement shall be submitted to the Joint Committee without undue delay.
Rule 14
Annual report
For each calendar year, the annual report on the functioning of the Agreement provided for in Article 164(6) of the Agreement shall be drawn up by the Secretariat by 1 May of the following year. It shall be adopted and signed by the co-chairs.
RULES OF PROCEDURE
RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
I. Definitions
1. For the purposes of these Rules of Procedure, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) “Party” means the European Union or the United Kingdom;
(b) “complainant” means any Party that requests the establishment of an arbitration panel under Article 170 of the Agreement;
(c) “respondent” means the Party that is alleged to be in violation of a provision of the Agreement;
(d) “representative of a Party” means a servant of, or any person appointed by a Party who represents that Party for the purposes of a dispute under the Agreement;
(e) “adviser” means a person designated by a Party to advise or assist that Party in connection with proceedings before an arbitration panel;
(f) “assistant” means a person who, under the terms of his or her appointment, conducts research for or provides assistance to a member of an arbitration panel under the direction and control of that member.
II. Notifications
2. The following rules shall apply to notifications between the Parties and the arbitration panel:
(a) the arbitration panel shall send all requests, notices, written submissions and other documents to both Parties at the same time;
(b) where a Party addresses a request, notice, written submission or other document to the arbitration panel, it shall send a copy thereof to the other Party at the same time; and
(c) where a Party addresses a request, notice, written submission or other document in relation to the dispute to the other Party, it shall send a copy thereof to the arbitration panel at the same time.
3. Any notification referred to in point 2 shall be made by e-mail or, where appropriate, any other means of telecommunication that provides a record of the sending thereof. Unless proven otherwise, such notification shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date of its sending. All notifications shall be addressed to the Legal Service of the European Commission and to the Legal Adviser of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, respectively.
4. The International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall, upon the written request of the Parties or the arbitration panel, act as a channel of communications between the Parties and the arbitration panel.
5. Minor errors of a clerical nature in any request, notice, written submission or other document related to the proceedings before the arbitration panel may be corrected by delivery of a new document clearly indicating the changes.
6. If the last day for delivery of a document falls on a weekend or legal holiday applicable to the European Commission or to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, as the case may be, the document may be delivered on the next working day. No later than 30 September of each year, the European Union and the United Kingdom shall inform each other as well as, in the case referred to in point 4, the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, of the legal holidays applicable to the European Commission and to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, respectively.
III. Appointment and replacement of members of an arbitration panel
7. If, pursuant to Article 171(5) of the Agreement, one or more members of an arbitration panel are to be selected by lot, the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall promptly inform the Parties of the date, time and venue of the selection. The Parties may choose to be present during the selection. However, the absence of one or both of the Parties shall not preclude the selection from being carried out.
8. The International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall notify, in writing, each person who has been selected to serve as a member of an arbitration panel of his or her appointment. Each person selected shall, within 5 days from that notification, confirm his or her availability to the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and to both Parties.
9. Where a Party considers that a member of the arbitration panel does not comply with the Code of Conduct set out in Part B and for that reason needs to be replaced, that Party shall notify the other Party within 15 days from the time at which it obtained sufficient evidence of that member’s alleged non-compliance.
10 The Parties shall consult each other within 15 days from the notification referred to in point 9. They shall inform the member of the arbitration panel of the alleged non-compliance and may request that member to take steps to remedy the situation. They may also jointly decide to remove that member and to select a new member in accordance with Article 171 of the Agreement.
If the Parties fail to agree on whether to replace a member of the arbitration panel other than its chairperson, either Party may request that this matter be referred to the chairperson of that panel, whose decision shall be final.
If the chairperson of the arbitration panel finds that the member of the arbitration panel does not comply with the Code of Conduct, a new member of the arbitration panel shall be selected in accordance with Article 171 of the Agreement.
11. If the Parties fail to agree on whether to replace the chairperson, either Party may request that this matter be referred to one of the remaining persons who have been jointly proposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom to act as chairperson in accordance with the third sentence of Article 171(1) of the Agreement (the “selected person”). The name of the selected person shall be drawn by lot by the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
If the selected person finds that the chairperson does not comply with the Code of Conduct, a new chairperson shall be selected in accordance with Article 171 of the Agreement from among the persons who have been jointly proposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom to act as chairperson, with the exception of the selected person
IV. Financial issues
12. The Parties shall share equally the expenses arising from the establishment and operation of an arbitration panel, including the remuneration and expenses to be paid to the members of that arbitration panel.
13. The Parties shall agree with the arbitration panel, within 7 days of its establishment, on:
(a) the remuneration and expenses to be paid to the members of the arbitration panel, which shall be reasonable and in accordance with WTO standards;
(b) the remuneration to be paid to assistants; for each member of the arbitration panel, the total amount of remuneration to be paid to assistants shall be reasonable and in any event shall not exceed one third of the remuneration of that member.
Such agreement may be reached by any means of communication.
V. Timetable and written submissions
14. The arbitration panel shall, after consulting the Parties, establish an indicative timetable of the proceedings within 7 days of its establishment.
15. The complainant shall address its written submission to the arbitration panel no later than 20 days after the date of establishment of the indicative timetable. The respondent shall address its written submission to the arbitration panel no later than 20 days after the date on which it has received a copy of the written submission of the complainant.
VI. Operation of the arbitration panel
16. The chairperson of the arbitration panel shall preside over all its meetings. The arbitration panel may delegate to the chairperson the authority to make administrative and procedural decisions.
17. Unless otherwise provided in the Agreement or in these Rules of Procedure, the arbitration panel may conduct its proceedings and deliberations by any means of communication.
18. Only members of the arbitration panel may take part in the deliberations of the arbitration panel, but the arbitration panel may permit the members’ assistants to be present at its deliberations.
19. The drafting of any ruling or decision shall remain the exclusive responsibility of the members of the arbitration panel, and shall not be delegated to any other person.
20. The International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall provide secretariat services and other logistic support to the arbitration panel.
21 Where a procedural question arises that is not covered by the Agreement or by these Rules of Procedure, the arbitration panel may, after consulting the Parties, decide on the procedure to be followed, provided that the latter is compatible with the Agreement and with these Rules of Procedure.
22. If the arbitration panel considers that there is a need to change any of the time periods for the proceedings referred to in these Rules of Procedure or to make any other procedural or administrative adjustment, it shall inform the Parties in writing, after consulting the Parties, of the reasons for the change or adjustment and the time period or adjustment needed.
VII. Hearings
23. Based upon the indicative timetable established pursuant to point 14, after consulting the Parties and the other members of the arbitration panel, the chairperson shall notify the Parties of the date, time and venue of the hearing. That information shall be made publicly available, unless the hearing is closed to the public.
The arbitration panel may decide, in agreement with the Parties, not to hold a hearing.
24. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the hearing shall be held in The Hague, in the premises of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
25. The arbitration panel may convene additional hearings if the Parties so agree.
26. All members of the arbitration panel shall be present during the entirety of the hearing.
27 Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the following persons may attend the hearing, irrespective of whether the hearing is open to the public or not:
(a) representatives of a Party;
(b) advisers;
(c) assistants;
(d) interpreters, translators and court reporters of the arbitration panel; and
(e) experts, as decided by the arbitration panel.
28 No later than 5 days before the date of a hearing, each Party shall address to the arbitration panel and to the other Party a list of the names of persons who will make oral arguments or presentations at the hearing on behalf of that Party and the names of other representatives and advisers who will be attending the hearing.
29 The arbitration panel shall conduct the hearing in the following manner, ensuring that the complainant and the respondent are afforded equal time in both argument and reply:
(a) argument:
(i) argument of the complainant;
(ii) argument of the respondent;
(b) reply:
(i) reply of the complainant;
(ii) counter-reply of the respondent.
30 The arbitration panel may direct questions to either Party at any time during the hearing.
31. The arbitration panel shall arrange for a transcript of the hearing to be prepared and delivered to the Parties as soon as possible after the hearing. The Parties may comment on the transcript and the arbitration panel may consider those comments.
32. Each Party may address a supplementary written submission to the arbitration panel concerning any matter that arose during the hearing within 10 days after the date of the hearing.
VIII. Questions in writing
33. The arbitration panel may at any time during the proceedings submit questions in writing to one or both Parties.
34. Each Party shall have an opportunity to provide comments in writing on the other Party’s responses to questions submitted by the arbitration panel within 5 days after the date on which it has received a copy of those responses.
IX. Confidentiality
35. Any information submitted by a Party to the arbitration panel which that Party has designated as confidential shall be treated as confidential by the other Party and by the panel. When a Party submits to the arbitration panel a written submission which contains confidential information, it shall also provide, within 15 days, a submission without the confidential information and which shall be disclosed to the public.
36. Nothing in these Rules of Procedure shall preclude a Party from disclosing its own written submissions, responses to questions submitted by the arbitration panel or transcript of oral argument to the public, provided that, when making reference to information submitted by the other Party, it does not disclose any information designated by the other Party as confidential.
37. Hearings before the arbitration panel shall be open to the public except where the submission and arguments of a Party contain confidential information or where the Parties otherwise agree that the hearing shall be closed to the public. In such case the Parties shall maintain the confidentiality of the hearings of the arbitration panel.
X. Ex parte contacts
38. The arbitration panel shall not meet or otherwise orally communicate with a Party in the absence of the other Party.
XI. Urgent cases
39. In cases of urgency referred to in Article 173(2) of the Agreement, the arbitration panel, after consulting the Parties, shall adjust, as appropriate, the time periods referred to in these Rules of Procedure. The arbitration panel shall notify the Parties of those adjustments.
XII. Translation and interpretation
40. The language of proceedings before the arbitration panel shall be English. Decisions of the arbitration panel shall be issued in English.
41. Each Party shall bear its own costs of the translation of any documents submitted to the arbitration panel which are not originally drafted in English, as well as any costs relating to interpretation during the hearing related to its representatives or advisers.
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF ARBITRATION PANELS
Definitions
- For the purposes of this Code of Conduct, the definition of “assistant” set out in the Rules of Procedure shall apply. In addition, “candidate” means a person whose name is on the list referred to in Article 171(1) of the Agreement and who is under consideration for selection as a member of an arbitration panel under that Article.
Responsibilities to the process
- Every candidate and member of an arbitration panel shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety, shall be independent and impartial, shall avoid direct and indirect conflicts of interests and shall observe high standards of conduct so that the integrity and impartiality of the dispute settlement procedure is preserved. Former candidates or members of an arbitration panel shall comply with the obligations set out in points 8, 9 and 10.
Disclosure obligations
- Prior to the confirmation of their selection as a member of an arbitration panel under the Agreement, candidates shall disclose to the Parties in writing any interest, relationship or matter of which they are aware that is likely to affect their independence or impartiality, or that might reasonably create an appearance of impropriety or bias in the proceedings before the arbitration panel.
- Candidates and members of an arbitration panel shall communicate matters concerning actual or potential violations of this Code of Conduct only to the Joint Committee for consideration by the European Union and the United Kingdom.
- Members of an arbitration panel shall at any stage of the proceedings before the arbitration panel disclose to the Parties in writing any interests, relationships or matters of the nature referred to in point 3 of which they are or become aware.
Due diligence of members of an arbitration panel
- Upon selection, members of an arbitration panel shall perform their duties thoroughly and expeditiously throughout the course of the proceedings before the arbitration panel, and with fairness and diligence. In particular, they shall:
(a) consider only those issues that were raised in the proceedings before the arbitration panel and are necessary for a ruling, and shall not delegate this duty to any other person;
(b) take all appropriate steps to ensure that their assistants are aware of, and comply with, points 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10.
Independence and impartiality of members of an arbitration panel
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Member of an arbitration panel:
(a) shall be independent and impartial, and avoid creating an appearance of impropriety or bias, and shall not be influenced by self-interest, outside pressure, political considerations, public clamour, loyalty to the European Union or the United Kingdom, or fear of criticism;
(b) shall not directly or indirectly incur any obligation or accept any benefit that would in any way interfere, or appear to interfere, with the proper performance of their duties;
(c) shall not use their position as a member of an arbitration panel to advance any personal or private interests and shall avoid actions that may create the impression that others are in a special position to influence them;
(d) shall not allow financial, business, professional, family or social relationships or responsibilities to influence their conduct or judgement;
(e) shall avoid entering into any relationship or acquiring any financial interest that is likely to affect their impartiality or that might reasonably create an appearance of impropriety or bias;
(f) shall not discuss any aspect of the subject matter or the conduct of the proceedings before the arbitration panel with one or both of the Parties in the absence of the other members of the arbitration panel.
Obligations of former members of an arbitration panel
- All former members of an arbitration panel shall avoid actions that may create the appearance that they were biased in carrying out their duties or derived advantage from any decision or ruling of the arbitration panel.
Confidentiality
- No member or former member of an arbitration panel shall at any time
(a) disclose or use any non-public information concerning any proceedings before the arbitration panel or that was acquired during such proceedings, except for the purposes of those proceedings and in any case shall not disclose or use any such information to gain personal advantage or advantage for others or to adversely affect the interest of others;
(b) disclose the deliberations of the arbitration panel, or the views of any member of the panel.
- No member of an arbitration panel shall disclose a ruling of the arbitration panel or parts thereof prior to its publication in accordance with the Agreement.
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