Repealed as of 1 January 2023 by the Secretary General Decision of 30 December 2022 on entry into force of the Staff Rules implementing Staff Regulations
Rule No. 1338 of 29 September 2011 on the Committee for Health and Safety[1]
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
HAVING REGARD to Article 62, paragraph 1, of the Staff Regulations;
HAVING REGARD to Article 49 of the Staff Regulations;
HAVING REGARD to the recommendations of the Working Group on Staff Participation concerning staff participation in internal mechanisms;
CONSIDERING that certain aspects of Rule No. 1083 of 21 May 2002 on the Committee for Health and Safety need revising and that the Rule should therefore be replaced by a new Rule;
HAVING CONSULTED the Staff Committee in accordance with Article 5, paragraph 3, of the Regulations on Staff Participation (Appendix I to the Staff Regulations);
D E C I D E S :
Part I - Mandate
Article 1 - Aim
The Committee for Health and Safety (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”), shall be responsible for assessing and proposing to the Secretary General means of protecting the health and safety of persons on the Organisation’s premises, and for ensuring compliance with the rules on health and safety.
Article 2 – Attributions
1. The Committee gives opinions to the Secretary General on matters concerning working conditions related to health and safety.
2. To this end, the Committee shall:
§ agree on an annual work programme, also addressing professional risk prevention, before the end of the preceding year and transmit it to the Secretary General; the Committee may add new tasks to the work programme during the course of the year, with the agreement of the Secretary General;
§ examine any question either included in its annual work programme or at the request of the Secretary General;
§ give its opinion, at the request of the Secretary General, on proposed internal regulatory measures in its field of competence;
§ conduct enquiries into work-related diseases and any accident that has or might have had serious consequences, and make appropriate proposals on how to avoid accidents;
§ conduct regular inspections of the Organisation’s premises in line with the work programme;
§ prepare an annual report on working conditions related to health and safety in the Organisation.
Part II - Composition
Article 3 – Members
1. The Committee shall consist of:
§ the Chair appointed for two years by the Secretary General, having consulted the Chair of the Staff Committee; s/he should not be directly involved in health and safety operations of the Organisation in his or her professional capacity;
§ four members, including a staff member responsible for security and safety, and four substitutes appointed by the Director General of Administration for two years;
§ four members and four substitutes appointed for two years by the Staff Committee bearing in mind the composition of the Staff Committee;
2. A substitute shall sit on the Committee only in the absence of a member.
3. The terms of office of the Chair, the members and the substitutes shall begin on 1 July and run until 30 June of the second year of their mandate.
Article 4 – Other participants
1. The Organisation’s doctor and the Organisation’s Welfare Officer shall sit on the Committee in an advisory capacity.
2. The Committee may decide to invite representatives of the Organisation’s Trade Unions to participate in its deliberations on specific subjects. The Committee may also decide to invite to its meetings, inspections or enquiries any in-house or other person having knowledge and competencies related to the matter under consideration. These decisions shall be regarded as questions of procedure.
Part III – Meetings
Article 5 – Convocation and frequency of meetings
The Committee shall meet at the request of the Secretary General or of the Staff Committee. The Committee shall meet at least three times a year.
Part IV – Opinions
Article 6 – Opinions and follow-up
1. The Committee shall strive to adopt its opinions by consensus. In the event of consensus not being reached, any member of the Committee may require that his or her views be recorded in the said opinion.
2. The Committee shall address its opinions to the Secretary General. S/he shall inform the Committee of any follow-up to these opinions.
Part V - Procedure
Article 7 – Agenda
1. The Chair shall draw up the draft agenda for Committee meetings.
2. The agenda shall be adopted by the Committee at the beginning of the meeting. The adoption of the agenda shall be regarded as a question of procedure.
Article 8 – Documentation
The draft agenda and the documents shall be sent to members, in one of the official languages, at least ten working days before a meeting, unless the Chair decides otherwise for reasons of urgency.
Article 9 – Confidentiality
The Committee’s documents, deliberations, opinions and meeting reports shall be public unless the Committee decides otherwise or if the protection of personal data requires confidentiality. This decision shall be regarded as a question of procedure.
Article 10 – Quorum
The proceedings of the Committee shall be valid only if at least six of its members or, in their absence, substitutes are present.
Article 11 – Voting on procedural matters
1. Procedural matters shall be settled by a majority of the votes cast.
2. Each member of the Committee and the Chair shall have one vote.
3. Where the question arises as to whether or not a matter is procedural in nature, it may only be regarded as such if there is a majority of the votes cast to that effect.
4. For the purposes of this Rule "votes cast" shall mean the votes of members cast for or against. Members abstaining shall be regarded as not having cast a vote.
Article 12 – Secretariat
The Secretary General shall appoint the Secretary of the Committee. The Secretary shall not be a member or substitute of the Committee.
Part VI – Final Provisions
Article 13 - Entry into force
1. This Rule repeals Rule No. 1083 of 21 May 2002. It shall enter into force on the first day of the month following its signature by the Secretary General.
2. All references to Rule No. 1083 of 21 May 2002 contained in other instruments shall be read as making reference to this Rule.
Article 14 – Transitional provisions
The Chair, appointed by the Secretary General, the two members and four substitutes appointed by the Director General of Administration and the four members and four substitutes appointed by the Staff Committee shall be appointed further to the entry into force of this Rule. Their mandates shall run until 30 June 2013.
Strasbourg, 29 September 2011
The Secretary General
(signed) Thorbjørn JAGLAND