Rządowy projekt ustawy o ratyfikacji Międzynarodowej Umowy w sprawie Drewna Tropikalnego z 2006 r., sporządzonej w Genewie dnia 27 stycznia 2006 r.

Article 9
SESSIONS OF THE COUNCIL

1.
As a general rule, the Council shall hold at least one regular session a
year.

2.
The Council shall meet in special session whenever it so decides or at
the request of any member or the Executive Director, in agreement with the
Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council, and:


(a)
A majority of producer members or a majority of consumer
members; or


(b)
A majority of members.

3.
Sessions of the Council shall be held at the headquarters of the
Organization unless the Council, by special vote in accordance with article 12,
decides otherwise. In this regard, the Council shall seek to convene alternate
sessions of the Council outside headquarters, preferably in a producer country.

4.
In considering the frequency and location of its sessions, the Council
shall seek to ensure the availability of sufficient funds.

5.
Notice of any sessions and the agenda for such sessions shall be
communicated to members by the Executive Director at least six weeks in
advance, except in cases of emergency, when notice shall be communicated at
least seven days in advance.


Article 10
DISTRIBUTION OF VOTES

1.
The producer members shall together hold 1,000 votes and the consumer
members shall together hold 1,000 votes.

2.
The votes of the producer members shall be distributed as follows:

(a)
Four hundred votes shall be distributed equally among the three
producing regions of Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the
Caribbean. The votes thus allocated to each of these regions shall then be
distributed equally among the producer members of that region;


(b)
Three hundred votes shall be distributed among the producer
members in accordance with their respective shares of the total tropical forest
resources of all producer members; and
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(c)
Three hundred votes shall be distributed among the producer
members in proportion to the average of the values of their respective net
exports of tropical timber during the most recent three-year period for which
definitive figures are available.

3.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article, the total
votes allocated to the producer members from the African region, calculated in
accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, shall be distributed equally among
all producer members from the African region. If there are any remaining
votes, each of these votes shall be allocated to a producer member from the
African region: the first to the producer member which is allocated the highest
number of votes calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the
second to the producer member which is allocated the second highest number
of votes, and so on until all the remaining votes have been distributed.

4.
Subject to paragraph 5 of this article, the votes of the consumer
members shall be distributed as follows: each consumer member shall have 10
initial votes; the remaining votes shall be distributed among the consumer
members in proportion to the average volume of their respective net imports of
tropical timber during the five-year period commencing six calendar years
prior to the distribution of votes.

5.
The votes distributed to a consumer member for a given biennium shall
not exceed 5 per cent over and above the votes distributed to that member for
the previous biennium. Excess votes shall be redistributed among the
consumer members in proportion to the average volume of their respective net
imports of tropical timber during the five-year period commencing six
calendar years prior to the distribution of votes.

6.
The Council may, by special vote in accordance with article 12, adjust
the minimum percentage required for a special vote by consumer members if it
deems it necessary.

7.
The Council shall distribute the votes for each financial biennium at the
beginning of its first session of that biennium in accordance with the
provisions of this article. Such distribution shall remain in effect for the rest of
that biennium, except as provided for in paragraph 8 of this article.

8.
Whenever the membership of the Organization changes or when any
member has its voting rights suspended or restored under any provision of this
Agreement, the Council shall redistribute the votes within the affected
category or categories of members in accordance with the provisions of this
article. The Council shall, in that event, decide when such redistribution shall
become effective.

9.
There shall be no fractional votes.
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Article 11
VOTING PROCEDURE OF THE COUNCIL

1.
Each member shall be entitled to cast the number of votes it holds, and
no member shall be entitled to divide its votes. A member may, however, cast
differently from such votes any votes that it is authorized to cast under
paragraph 2 of this article.

2.
By written notification to the Chairman of the Council, any producer
member may authorize, under its own responsibility, any other producer
member, and any consumer member may authorize, under its own
responsibility, any other consumer member, to represent its interests and to
cast its votes at any meeting of the Council.

3.
When abstaining, a member shall be deemed not to have cast its votes.


Article 12
DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE COUNCIL

1.
The Council shall endeavour to take all decisions and to make all
recommendations by consensus.

2.
If consensus cannot be reached, the Council shall take all decisions and
make all recommendations by a simple distributed majority vote, unless this
Agreement provides for a special vote.

3.
Where a member avails itself of the provisions of article 11, paragraph
2, and its votes are cast at a meeting of the Council, such member shall, for the
purposes of paragraph 1 of this article, be considered as present and voting.


Article 13
QUORUM FOR THE COUNCIL

1.
The quorum for any meeting of the Council shall be the presence of a
majority of members of each category referred to in article 4, provided that
such members hold at least two thirds of the total votes in their respective
categories.

2.
If there is no quorum in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article on
the day fixed for the meeting and on the following day, the quorum on the
subsequent days of the session shall be the presence of a majority of members
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of each category referred to in article 4, provided that such members hold a
majority of the total votes in their respective categories.

3.
Representation in accordance with article 11, paragraph 2, shall be
considered as presence.


Article 14
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF

1.
The Council shall, by special vote in accordance with article 12, appoint
the Executive Director.

2.
The terms and conditions of appointment of the Executive Director shall
be determined by the Council.

3.
The Executive Director shall be the chief administrative officer of the
Organization and shall be responsible to the Council for the administration and
operation of this Agreement in accordance with decisions of the Council.

4.
The Executive Director shall appoint staff in accordance with
regulations to be established by the Council. The staff shall be responsible to
the Executive Director.

5.
Neither the Executive Director nor any member of the staff shall have
any financial interest in the timber industry or trade, or associated commercial
activities.

6.
In the performance of their duties, the Executive Director and staff shall
not seek or receive instructions from any member or from any authority
external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might
reflect adversely on their positions as international officials ultimately
responsible to the Council. Each member shall respect the exclusively
international character of the responsibilities of the Executive Director and
staff and shall not seek to influence them in the discharge of their
responsibilities.


Article 15
COOPERATION AND COORDINATION WITH
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

1.
In pursuing the objectives of the Agreement, the Council shall make
arrangements as appropriate for consultations and cooperation with the United
Nations and its organs and specialized agencies, including the United Nations
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Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and other relevant
international and regional organizations and institutions, as well as the private
sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society.

2.
The Organization shall, to the maximum extent possible, utilize the
facilities, services and expertise of intergovernmental, governmental or non-
governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector in order to
avoid duplication of efforts in achieving the objectives of this Agreement and
to enhance the complementarity and the efficiency of their activities.

3.
The Organization shall take full advantage of the facilities of the
Common Fund for Commodities.


Article 16
ADMISSION OF OBSERVERS


The Council may invite any member or observer State of the United
Nations which is not party to this Agreement, or any organization referred to in
article 15 interested in the activities of the Organization, to attend as observers
the sessions of the Council.


CHAPTER V. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

Article 17
PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

1.
The Organization shall have legal personality. It shall in particular have
the capacity to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable
property, and to institute legal proceedings.

2.
The status, privileges and immunities of the Organization, of its
Executive Director, its staff and experts, and of representatives of members
while in the territory of Japan shall continue to be governed by the
Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Japan and the
International Tropical Timber Organization signed at Tokyo on 27 February
1988, with such amendments as may be necessary for the proper functioning of
this Agreement.

3.
The Organization may conclude, with one or more countries, agreements
to be approved by the Council relating to such capacity, privileges and
immunities as may be necessary for the proper functioning of this Agreement.

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