AARHUS CONVENTION

Third meeting of the Parties - Riga, Latvia, 11-13 June 2008

Main page of the Third Meeting of the Parties

Election to the Compliance Committee

Newly elected members of the Compliance Committee

The Meeting elected four new Compliance Committee members to replace four members wholse term had expired and one new member, Taking into account decision II/5, through which it was decided to expand the membership of the Committee to nine. Thirteen nominees had been originally proposed.

Delegations had been encouraged to conduct consultations with a view to reaching a consensus on five candidates in the course of the tenth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties.

The consultation process was completed successfully and the Meeting re-elected Mr. Jonas Ebbesson (Sweden), Ms. Svitlana Kravchenko (Ukraine) and Mr. Gerhard Loibl (Austria) and elected Ms. Ellen Hey (Netherlands) and Mr. Alexander Kodjabashev (Bulgaria) by consensus to serve until the end of the fifth ordinary meeting.

Background

At its first meeting, the Parties to the Convention adopted a decision on review of compliance, decision I/7, which established a compliance mechanism for the Convention ( Lucca, October 2002). The basis for the decision was provided by Article 15 of the Convention, which requires the Parties to set up arrangements of a non-confrontational, non-judicial and consultative nature to review compliance with the Convention.

Decision I/7 establishes a Compliance Committee as the main body for the review of compliance. The primary role of the Committee is to report and make recommendations to the Meeting of the Parties for it to decide upon and take appropriate action.

Decision I/7 established a Compliance Committee consisting of eight members serving in a personal capacity. These individuals are to be nationals of Parties or Signatories to the Convention who are persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the fields to which the Convention relates, including persons having legal experience.

Through decision II/5, adopted at the second meeting of the Parties (Almaty, May 2005), the number of Committee members was increased to nine with effect from the third meeting of the Parties.

Nomination for election

Parties, Signatories and non-governmental organizations falling within the scope of article 10, paragraph 5, of the Convention and promoting environmental protection may nominate candidates for election as follows:

- Nominations shall be sent to the secretariat in at least one of the official languages of the Convention not later than 12 weeks before the opening of the meeting of the Parties during which the election is to take place;

- Each nomination shall be accompanied by a curriculum vitae (CV) of the candidate not exceeding 600 words and may include supporting material;

- The secretariat shall distribute the nominations and the CVs, together with any supporting material, in accordance with rule 10 of the Rules of Procedure.

Election

The Meeting of the Parties elects the members of the Committee by consensus or, failing consensus, by secret ballot.

At each ordinary meeting thereafter, the Meeting of the Parties shall elect four or five members, as appropriate, for a full term of office. Outgoing members may be re-elected once for a further full term of office, unless in a given case the Meeting of the Parties decides otherwise. A full term of office commences at the end of an ordinary meeting of the Parties and runs until the second ordinary meeting of the Parties thereafter. The Committee elects its own Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.

Geographical representation

The Committee may not include more than one national of the same State. In the election of the Committee, consideration should be given to the geographical distribution of membership and diversity of experience. Rotation

Impartiality and conscientiousness

Every member serving on the Committee shall, before taking up his or her duties, make a solemn declaration in a meeting of the Committee that he or she will perform his or her functions impartially and conscientiously.

For further information on the Compliance Committee, click here.

Nominations to the Compliance Committee at Third Meeting of the Parties

The following individuals had been nominated to serve on the Compliance Committee following the third session of the meeting of the Parties: