CFM Files
United States Delegation Journal
USDel (PC) (Journal) 9
The Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution proposed by the Yugoslav Delegation:
“Should a proposal submitted by an Allied state having a common frontier with the enemy state whose case is being discussed not be adopted either by a two-thirds majority or by a simple majority, the government of the said Allied state may submit the proposal directly to the Council of Foreign Ministers for consideration.”
The Australian Delegation withdrew its amendment which proposed that recommendations of the commissions be adopted by simple majority vote. The Netherlands Delegation withdrew its similar amendment. Article VI, paragraph b, of the rules of procedure suggested by the Council of Foreign Ministers was then adopted unanimously. Article VII concerning amendments and suspensions was also adopted unanimously.
Mr. Byrnes then proposed an amendment in the form of an addition to Article II reading as follows:
“No member of the delegation of a state represented on the Council of Foreign Ministers shall be eligible for the chairmanship of a commission. No member of the delegation of a state, any representative of which has been elected chairman of a commission, shall be eligible for the chairmanship of another commission.” These amendments were accepted unanimously.
Mr. Byrnes then proposed that the following text be added to Article III:
“The Secretariat shall be directed to invite representatives of Italy Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland to appear and present their views to the Conference at plenary sessions beginning on August 10. The commissions may provide for such further hearings before [Page 131] the ex-enemy states as they may deem necessary.”52 This amendment was adopted unanimously.
Mr. Kosanovich (Yugoslavia) proposed that Albania be invited to the plenary conference. Mr. McNeil (U.K.) stated the view that this was a matter for the decision of the Conference and not of the Committee on Procedure. Mr. Kosanovich withdrew his proposal.
The Committee decided to add the following paragraph to the draft rules of procedure:
“Verbatim records of the plenary sessions of the Conference shall be made. In the case of commissions a summary record of the decisions taken shall be made which shall contain, either in the body of the text or as an annex, the actual declarations made on proposals submitted to the Secretariat by the delegations themselves.”
The Chairman proposed that on all matters of procedure not covered by the rules adopted for the Conference, the latter be guided by the rules of procedure of the General Assembly of the United Nations. After some discussion, in which the Soviet Delegation made the point that on some matters the United Nations rules of procedure obviously were impracticable, it was decided to adopt the following text as Article IX of the draft rules of procedure:
“In all questions of procedure not covered by the present rules the Conference and its commissions shall be guided by the princples which have, in similar cases, been adopted as the basis of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly of the United Nations.”53
- The remarks made by Byrnes at this point were released to the press August 7, 1946.↩
- The Chairman proposed that the draft rules just adopted be forwarded to the Conference. The Secretariat was directed to have the text reproduced for submission to the Plenary Conference (C.P. (Plen) Doc. 1, vol. iv, p. 796).↩