Procedures and organizational modalities relating to certain provisions contained in the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, signed in Paris on 21 November 1990, are set out below.

I. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

A. THE COUNCIL

1. The Council, consisting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the participating States, provides the central forum for regular political consultations within the CSCE process.

2. The Council will:

- consider issues relevant to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and take appropriate decisions;

- prepare the meetings of Heads of State or Government of the participating States and implement tasks defined and decisions taken by these meetings.

3. The Council will hold meetings regularly and at least once a year.

4. The participating States may agree to hold additional meetings of the Council.

5. The Chair throughout each meeting of the Council will be taken by the representative of the host country.

6. An agenda for the meetings of the Council, including proposals for the venue on a basis of rotation - and date of the next meeting, will be prepared by the Committee of Senior Officials.

B. THE COMMITTEE OF SENIOR OFFICIALS

1. A Committee of Senior officials will prepare the work of the Council, carry out its decisions, review current issues and consider future work of the CSCE including its relations with other international fora.

2. In order to prepare the agenda of the meetings of the Council, the Committee will identify the issues for discussion on the basis of suggestions submitted by the participating States. The Committee will finalize a draft agenda shortly before the meeting of the Council.

3. Each participating State will establish a point of contact which will be used to transmit suggestions for the work of the Committee to the Secretariat for collection and circulation and to facilitate communication between the Secretariat and each participating State.

4. Each meeting of the Committee will be chaired by the representative of the State whose Foreign Minister had been Chairman at the preceding Council meeting. Meetings will be convened by the Chairman of the Committee after consultation with the participating States.

Meetings of the Committee will be held at the seat of the Secretariat and will not exceed two days, unless otherwise agreed. Meetings immediately preceding a meeting of the Council will be held at the venue of the Council meeting.

5. Due to practical considerations, the first meeting of the Committee will be held in Vienna from 28 to 29 January 1991. It will be chaired by the representative of Yugoslavia.

C. EMERGENCY MECHANISM

The Council will discuss the possibility of establishing a mechanism for convening meetings of the Committee of Senior Officials in emergency situations.

D. FOLLOW-UP MEETINGS

Follow-up meetings of the participating States will be held as a rule every two years. Their duration will not exceed three months, unless otherwise agreed.

E. THE CSCE SECRETARIAT

1. The Secretariat will:
- provide administrative support to the meetings of the Council and of the Committee of Senior Officials;

- maintain an archive of CSCE documentation and circulate documents as requested by the participating States;

- provide information in the public domain regarding the CSCE to individuals, NGOs, international organizations and non-participating States;

- provide support as appropriate to the Executive Secretaries of CSCE summit meetings, follow-up meetings and inter-sessional meetings.

2. The Secretariat will carry out other tasks assigned to it by the Council or the Committee of Senior Officials.

3. In order to carry out the tasks specified above, the Secretariat will consist of the following staff:

- a Director, responsible to the Council through the Committee of Senior Officials;

- three Officers who will be in charge of organization of meetings (including protocol and security), documentation and information, financial and administrative matters. In addition to these functions, the Director may assign other duties within the framework of the tasks of the Secretariat;

- administrative and technical personnel, recruited by the Director.

E. THE CONFLICT PREVENTION CENTER (CPC)

1. The Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) will assist the Council in reducing the risk of conflict. The Center's functions and structure are described below.

2. During its initial stage of operations the Center's role will consist in giving support to the implementation of CSBMs such as:

- mechanism for consultation and cooperation as regards unusual military activities;

- annual exchange of military information;

- communications network;

- annual implementation assessment meetings;

- cooperation as regards hazardous incidents of a military nature.

3. The Center might assume other functions and the above tasks are without prejudice to any additional tasks concerning a procedure for the conciliation of disputes as well as broader tasks relating to dispute settlement, which may be assigned to it in the future by the Council of the Foreign Ministers.

Consultative Committee

4. The Consultative Committee, composed of representatives from all participating States, will be responsible to the Council. As a rule, these representatives will be the Heads of Delegation to the CSBM negotiations until the Helsinki Follow-up Meeting.

The Consultative Committee will:

- hold the meetings of the participating States which may be convened under the mechanism on unusual military activities;

- hold the ann ual implementation assessment meetings;

- prepare seminars on military doctrine and such other seminars as may be agreed by the participating States;

- supervise the Secretariat of the the Center;

- provide the forum for discussion and clarification, as necessary, of information exchanged under agreed CSBMS;

- have overall responsibility for the communications network within the mandate of the CPC.

5. The Consultative Committee will work according to CSCE procedures. It will determine its own work program and may decide to hold additional meetings.

Meetings of the participating States, convened at the request of one or more participating States according to the procedures concerning unusual military activities, will be organized by the Director of the CPC Secretariat. Until the appointment of the Director this function will be carried out by the Executive Secretary of the CSBM negotiations.

Secretariat

6. The Secretariat will carry out the tasks assigned to it by the Consultative Committee to which it will be responsible. In particular, it will establish and maintain a data bank, for use of all participating States, compiled on the basis of exchanged military information under agreed CSBMs and will publish Yearbooks on that basis.

7. The Secretariat will consist of the following staff:

- a Director;

- two officers in charge of organization of meetings (including protocol and security), communication, documentation and information, financial and administrative matters;

- administrative and technical personnel recruited by the Director.

8. The first meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Conflict Prevention Center will be convened on 3 December 1990 and chaired by Yugoslavia.

G. THE OFFICE FOR FREE ELECTIONS

1. The function of the Office for Free Elections will be to facilitate contacts and the exchange of information on elections within participating States. The Office will thus foster the implementation of paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (the relevant provisions are contained in Annex 1).

2. To this end, the Office will:

- compile information, including information provided by the competent authorities of the participating States, on the dates, procedures and official results of scheduled national elections within participating States, as well as reports of election observations, and provide these on request to governments, parliaments and interested private organizations;

- serve to facilitate contact among governments, parliaments or private organizations wishing to observe elections and competent authorities of the States in which elections are to take place;

- organize and serve as the venue for seminars or other meetings related to election procedures and democratic institutions at the request of the participating States.

3. The Office will take into account the work of and cooperate with other institutions active in this field.

4. The Office will carry out other tasks assigned to it by the Council.

5. The Office's personnel will be composed of:

- a Director, who will be responsible to the Council through the Committee of Senior Officials;

- an Officer;

- administrative and technical personnel, recruited by the Director of the Office.

H. PROCEDURES AND MODALIFIES CONCERNING CSCE INSTITUTIONS

Staffing Arrangement

1. The director of each institution will be of senior rank, seconded by his/her government, and appointed by the Council to a three-year, non-renewable term, on a basis of rotation.

2. In the event that the director can no longer fulfill his functions, the Chairman of the Council will, after consultation with the participating States, appoint a temporary director until the next meeting of the Council.

3. The officers will be seconded by their governments. Their terms of office will normally last two years. An extension of one year may be agreed upon by the director and the participating State seconding the officer.

4. The appointment of officers will be based on a system of rotation which will follow the French alphabetical order. The beginning of the rotation will be determined by lot for each position in the institution. Vacant positions will be offered to the participating States following this order until the position is filled.

5. No participating State will have its nationals occupy more than one seconded position in the CSCE institutions, unless no other participating State is willing to second its national to a vacant position.

6. Each officer will be nominated by the participating State concerned after consultation with the director who will then make the appointment.

7. Administrative and technical personnel will be contracted by the director of the institution. Arrangements will be made, as required, for interpretation and translation services.

8. The director of each institution will determine its working arrangements.

9. Staff will be accredited by the seconding State to the host country where they will enjoy full diplomatic status.

Costs

10. The costs:

- of seconded personnel will be borne by the seconding country;

- of installation of the CSCE institutions will be shared according to CSCE procedures;

- of operation, including cost of official travel of staff once appointed, will be shared according to CSCE procedures;

- of the premises of the institution as well as the necessary security arrangements including those for meetings held at the seat of the institution, will be borne by the host country.

11. The host countries undertake to enable the institutions to function fully and enter into contractual and financial obligations and to accord them appropriate diplomatic status.

12. In order to function effectively, CSCE institutional structures created by the Summit will require agreed administrative, financial and personnel arrangements.

13. To this end a panel, chaired by the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Committee and composed of the Executive Secretaries of the Paris Summit and of the New York Meeting of Foreign Ministers, as well as the representatives of the host countries of the new CSCE institutions, will submit a report and proposals to participating States by the end of December 1990. This report and these proposals will be considered by an ad hoc group of experts of the participating States who will meet in Vienna under the responsibility of the Committee of Senior Officials from 14 to 18 January 1991 and make final recommendations on the above. This meeting will be convened and chaired by the representative of the State chairing the Committee of Senior Officials.

14. The Committee of Senior Officials will consider these recommendations and take the necessary decisions at its first meeting.

The first director of each institution will be nominated by the first meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials and confirmed by the Council through a silence procedure within one week. The Executive Secretariat of the CSBM negotiations in Vienna will provide services for the first meeting of the Consultative Committee of the CPC and for the first meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials.

15. The CSCE Secretariat, the Conflict Prevention Center and the Office for Free Elections are accountable to the Council which is empowered to determine their tasks and methods of operation. Arrangements relating to the procedures, modalities and the locations of these institutions may be reviewed at the Helsinki Follow-up Meeting.

I. COMMUNICATIONS

The Council, acting upon recommendation of the Consultative Committee and of the Committee of Senior Officials, as appropriate, may decide that the communication network, established as part of the agreement on additional CSBMS, be used for other CSCE-related purposes.

J. APPLICATION OF CSCE RULES OF PROCEDURE

The rules of procedure, working methods, the scale of distribution of expenses and other modalities of the CSCE will be applied mutatis mutandis,unless otherwise decided.

II. MEETINGS OF EXPERTS

A. SEMINAR OF EXPERTS ON DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS

The Seminar of Experts on Democratic Institutions will be held in Oslo from Monday, 4 November 1991 to Friday, 15 November 1991. Its purpose is to hold discussions of ways and means of consolidating and strengthening viable democratic institutions in participating States, including comparative studies of legislation on human rights and fundamental freedoms, drawing inter alia upon the experience acquired by the Council of Europe and the activities of the Commission "Democracy through Law". The agenda, timetable and other organizational modalities are set out in Annex II.

B. MEETING OF EXPERTS ON NATIONAL MINORITIES

The Meeting of Experts on National Minorities will be held in Geneva from Monday 1 July 1991 to Friday, 19 July 1991. Its purpose is to hold a thorough discussion on the issue of national minorities and of the rights of persons belonging to them, with due attention to the diversity of situations and to the legal, historical, political and economic backgrounds. It will include:
- an exchange of views on practical experience, in particular on national legislation, democratic institutions, international instruments, and other possible forms of cooperation;

- a review of the implementation of the relevant CSCE commitments and consideration of the scope for the improvement of relevant standards;

- a consideration of new measures aimed at improving the implementation of the aforementioned commitments.

The agenda, timetable and other organizational modalities are set out in Annex III.

III. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE CSCE AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS

1. The Committee of Senior Officials will keep the cost-effectiveness of CSCE institutions, activities and personnel under review and report to the Council.

2. The following scale of distribution will be effective as of 22 November 1990:

(6) The participating States declare that the will of the people, freely and fairly expressed through periodic and genuine elections, is the basis of the authority and legitimacy of all government. The participating States will accordingly respect the right of their citizens to take part in the governing of their country, either directly or through representatives freely chosen by them through fair electoral processes. They recognize their responsibility to defend and protect, in accordance with their laws, their international human rights obligations and their international commitments, the democratic order freely established through the will of the people against the activities of persons, groups or organizations that engage in or refuse to renounce terrorism or violence aimed at the overthrow of that order or of that of another participating State.

(7) To ensure that the will of the people serves as the basis of the authority of government, the participating States will

(7.1) -- hold free elections at reasonable intervals, as established by law;

(7.2) -- permit all seats in at least one chamber of the national legislature to be freely contested in a popular vote;

(7.3) -- guarantee universal and equal suffrage to adult citizens;

(7.4) -- ensure that votes are cast by secret ballot or by equivalent free voting procedure, and that they are counted and reported honestly with the official results made public;

(7.5) -- respect the right of citizens to seek political or public office, individually or as representatives of political parties or organizations, without discrimination;

(7.6) -- respect the right of individuals and groups to establish, in full freedom, their own political parties or other political organizations and provide such political parties and organizations with the necessary legal guarantees to enable them to compete with each other on a basis of equal treatment before the law and by the authorities;

(7.7) -- ensure that law and public policy work to permit political campaigning to be conducted in a fair and free atmosphere in which neither administrative action, violence nor intimidation bars the parties and the candidates from freely presenting their views and qualifications, or prevents the voters from learning and discussing them or from casting their vote free of fear of retribution;

(7.8) -- provide that no legal or administrative obstacle stands in the way of unimpeded access to the media on a nondiscriminatory basis for all political groupings and individuals wishing to participate in the electoral process;

(7.9) -- ensure that candidates who obtain the necessary number of votes required by law are duly installed in office and are permitted to remain in office until their term expires or is otherwise brought to an end in a manner that is regulated by law in conformity with democratic parliamentary and constitutional procedures.

(8) The participating States consider that the presence of observers, both foreign and domestic, can enhance the electoral process for States in which elections are taking place. They therefore invite observers from any other CSCE participating States and any appropriate private institutions and organizations who may wish to do so to observe the course of their national election proceedings, to the extent permitted by law. They will also endeavor to facilitate similar access for election proceedings held below the national level. Such observers will undertake not to interfere in the electoral proceedings."

I. Agenda

1. Formal opening of the Seminar. Address by a representative of the host country

2. Opening statements by representatives of the participating States.

3. Contributions by the Council of Europe and the Commission "Democracy through Law".

4. Discussion of ways and means of consolidating and strengthening viable democratic institutions in participating States, including comparative studies of legislation on human rights and fundamental freedoms, drawing inter alia upon the experience acquired by the Council of Europe and the activities of the Commission "Democracy through Law".

5. Closing statements by representatives of the participating States and summing up.

6. Formal closure of the Seminar.

II. Timetable and other organizational modalities

1. The Seminar will open on Monday, 4 November 1991, at 3 p.m., in Oslo. It will close on Friday, 15 November 1991.

2. All Plenary Meetings will be open. The meetings of the Study Groups will be closed.

3. Agenda items 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 will be dealt with in the Plenary

4. Agenda item 4 will be dealt with in the Plenary as well as in the following three Study Groups:

*Study Group A:

- Constitutional reforms
- The rule of law and independent courts
- Division of power between legislative,executive and judicial authorities

**Study Group B:

- The organization of elections
- The organization of political parties
- The organization of independent non-governmental organizations (trade unions, employers' organizations)
- The role of the media

***Study Group C:

- Comparative studies of legislation in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

5. Meetings of the Plenary and of the Study Groups will be held according to the attached work programme. The work programme may be modified by consensus.

Opening statements by representatives of the participating States should, as a rule, not exceed 12 minutes per delegation and will be held in the following order: Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Holy See, Finland, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Turkey, Germany, United States of America, San Marino, Monaco, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Luxembourg, Romania, Ireland, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom, Greece, France, Denmark, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Canada, Norway, Malta, Spain, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Netherlands, Italy, Hungary.

6. Prior to the opening of the Seminar delegations are encouraged to circulate through the Executive Secretariat written contributions on the issues to be dealt with in the Study Groups.

7. The Council of Ministers will take into account the summing up carried out under Agenda item 5.

8. At the opening and closing Plenary Meetings, the Chair will be taken by a representative of the host country. After the opening Plenary Meeting, the Chair will be taken in daily rotation, in French alphabetical order, starting with a representative of the United States of America.

9. The Chair at the opening meetings of the Study Groups will be taken by a representative of the host country. Thereafter, the Chair will be taken in daily rotation, in French alphabetical order starting:

- in Study Group A with a representative of Monaco;
- in Study Group B with a representative of Romania;
- in Study Group C with a representative of Malta.

10. In conformity with paragraph 74 of the Final Recommendations of the Helsinki Consultations, the Government of Norway will designate an Executive Secretary. This designation will be subject to approval by the participating States.

11. The other rules of procedure, the working methods and the scale of distribution of the expenses of the CSCE will, mutatis mutandis, be applied to the Seminar.

II. Agenda

1. Formal opening of the Meeting. Address by a representative of the host country.

2. Opening statements by representatives of the participating States.

3. Contribution by the Council of Europe.

4. Thorough discussion on the issue of national minorities and of the rights of persons belonging to them, with due attention to the diversity of situations and to the legal, historical, political and economic backgrounds:

(a) exchange of views on practical experience, in particular on national legislation, democratic institutions, intemational instruments and other possible forms of cooperation;

(b) review of the implementation of the relevant CSCE commitments and consideration of the scope for the improvement of relevant standards;

(c) consideration of new measures aimed at improving the implementation of the aforementioned commitments.

5. Closing statements by representatives of the participating States and summing up.

6. Formal closure of the Meeting.

II. Timetable and other organizations modalities

1. The Meeting will open on Monday, 1 July 1991, at 3 p.m., in Geneva. It will close on Friday, 19 July 1991.

2. The meetings of the Plenary will be open. The meetings of the Subsidiary Working Bodies will be closed.

3. Agenda items 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 will be dealt with in the Plenary.

4. Agenda item 4 will be dealt with in three Subsidiary Working Bodies (established according to the three sub-items) in a structured and balanced way. Agenda item 4 will also be dealt with in the Plenary meetings.

5. Meetings of the Plenary and of the Subsidiary Working Bodies will be held according to the attached work programme.

6. Opening statements by representatives of the participating States should, as a rule, not exceed 15 minutes per delegation and will be held in the following order: Yugoslavia, Iceland, Hungary, Bulgaria, San Marino, Cyprus, United Kingdom, United States of America, Malta, Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, Holy See, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Germany, Canada, Monaco, Luxembourg, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France, Finland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Denmark.

7. Participants are encouraged to circulate written contributions on the subjects for consideration in one or more of the working languages of the CSCE prior to the Meeting through the Executive Secretary to all other participating States in order to allow a thorough preparation of the relevant discussions.

8. The Council of Ministers will take into account the summing up carried out under Agenda item 5.

9. At the opening and closing Plenary meetings, the Chair will be taken by a representative of the host country After the opening meeting, the Chair will be taken in daily rotation, in French alphabetical order of the participating States, starting with a representative of Ireland.

10. The Chair at the opening meetings of the Subsidiary Working Bodies will be taken by a representative of the host country. Thereafter the Chair will be taken in daily rotation, in French alphabetical order starting:

- in Subsidiary Working Body A with a representative of Switzerland;
- in Subsidiary Working Body B with a representative of France;
- in Subsidiary Working Body C with a representative of Romania.

11. In conformity with paragraph 74 of the Final Recommendations of the Helsinki Consultations, the Government of Switzerland will designate an Executive Secretary. This designation will be subject to approval by the participating States.

12. The other rules of procedure, the working methods and the scale of distribution of the expenses of the CSCE will, mutatis mutandis, be applied to the Meeting of Experts on National Minorities.