AG/RES.
1634 (XXIX-O/99)
PROCEDURES FOR PREPARING AND ADOPTING INTER-AMERICAN LEGAL
INSTRUMENTS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on
June 7, 1999)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on preparing
and adopting legal instruments within the inter-American
system (CP/doc.3193/99 rev. 1), presented in fulfillment of
resolution AG/RES. 1560 (XXVIII-O/98), "Procedures for
Preparing and Adopting Inter-American Legal Instruments
within the Organization of American States"; and
CONSIDERING:
That the Organization of American States is the Hemisphere's
forum par excellence for the development and codification of
international law;
That the OAS has a long history of preparing basic
inter-American legal instruments;
That full participation by a greater number of the member
states will strengthen and build on that process;
That the procedural guidelines for preparing inter-American
legal instruments should encourage full participation and
ensure that the member states will be kept duly informed in
a timely fashion throughout the process and be able to air
their views;
That the guidelines should also ensure that the instruments
ultimately adopted will be of the highest legal caliber;
That, at the time of preparing relevant inter-American legal
instruments, it is advisable to recall that the "Declaration
on Equal Rights and Opportunity for Women and Men and Gender
Equity in Inter-American Legal Instruments" [AG/DEC. 18
(XXVIII-O/98)] recommends to the member states that "any
relevant inter-American instruments adopted in the future on
the rights of individuals expressly ensure the equality of
women and men before the law, equal opportunity for men and
women, and gender equity"; and
That it is advisable to establish a single procedure that is
still flexible enough to be adapted for use in preparing
various types of legal instruments,
RESOLVES:
To adopt the following recommended guidelines for preparing
and adopting inter-American legal instruments within the
Organization:
RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING AND ADOPTING
INTER-AMERICAN LEGAL INSTRUMENTS
Scope
1. The sole purpose of the following recommendations is to
guide and facilitate the preparation of inter-American legal
instruments where a procedure has not already been expressly
provided for or the states have not agreed on the
corresponding procedure for a specific case.
2. The implementation of one or more of these
recommendations shall not prejudice the application of or
the need to apply the other provisions of this resolution,
as agreed by the states.
Proposal
3. At any time within the appropriate forum, all member
states shall have the authority to propose any topic for
consideration as the subject matter of an inter-American
legal instrument. For the purposes of this resolution,
"inter-American legal instrument" means any treaty,
convention, or any other agreement having legal effect
adopted by the member states within the framework of the
Organization.
4. The delegations may apply these procedures in the
consideration and adoption of documents other than treaties,
conventions, or agreements, as they deem pertinent.
5. If the proposal is not rejected by the forum in which it
is introduced, a preliminary study shall be requested.
Preliminary Study
6. The preliminary study shall be prepared by the General
Secretariat within a reasonable time. The Secretariat may
request the advice of the organs, agencies, and entities it
considers pertinent.
7. The preliminary study shall contain the following:
a. Specification of existing legal instruments in force on
the proposed topic;
b. Specification of current projects to prepare
international legal instruments on the proposed topic; and
c. A recommendation as to the need for preparing an
inter-American legal instrument on the topic and, if
appropriate:
i.
A recommendation as to the method to be used to prepare the
legal instrument; and
ii. A recommendation as to the type of legal instrument to
be adopted.
8. The Permanent Council shall be notified when a
preliminary study has been initiated.
9. When the preliminary study has been completed, the
General Secretariat shall forward it to the forum that
requested it.
10. If the aforementioned forum concludes that it is
advisable to prepare an inter-American legal instrument, the
matter shall be submitted to the Permanent Council for
consideration.
11. If the Permanent Council approves of this conclusion, it
shall specify the procedure for preparing the instrument.
Preparatory Work and Initial Drafts
12. Throughout the entire preparatory process and
negotiating phase of an inter-American legal instrument, the
Secretariat for Legal Affairs (SLA) of the General Secretariat
shall provide advisory services and legal support, and shall
transmit information to the states. Timely notification
shall be made to the missions of the member states or their
designees regarding meetings and developments in connection
with the preparation of legal instruments.
13. As soon as the preparatory process has been determined,
member states shall be notified thereof and of the
opportunity for consultations. Member states may also
participate by completing questionnaires, presenting their
views through their delegations, and providing written
comments on the drafts.
14. The Permanent Council shall instruct a working group of
that organ to carry out the preparatory work and draw up the
initial drafts.
15. To carry out the task, the working group may establish
the standards, guidelines, and objectives to govern the
preparation of the draft. It may entrust the drawing up of
the initial draft, among other things, to the Inter-American
Juridical Committee, the proposing organ, or to any other
body considered appropriate.
16. The preparatory work may include the following:
a. An analysis of the preliminary study;
b. Consideration of comments by the member states; and
c. Consideration of comments made by the institutions from
which they have been requested.
17. Prior to negotiations and adoption of the final draft,
member states shall be given sufficient time and the
opportunity to analyze the initial draft.
18. The final draft legal instrument shall be prepared in
all official languages of the OAS. All versions shall be
reviewed by a drafting committee for accuracy before
presentation to the member states.
19. The final draft legal instrument shall be distributed to
the member states well in advance of the date scheduled for
its consideration by the Permanent Council.
20. Once the above process has concluded, the final draft
instrument shall be transmitted to the Permanent Council so
that it may determine procedures for possible adoption. |