Art. 1
Basis

These Regulations are based on the Statute of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts adopted on May 16/17, 1999, in Warsaw.

Art. 2
Organising of the Congress

(Art. 3 Statute)

¹ The Conference of the European Constitutional Courts holds in general a Congress in every three years.

² The Congress comprises an opening and a closing session as well as the debates.

Art. 3
National reports and general report

(Art. 9 Statute)

The Circle of Presidents shall select the topics and specify at the preparatory meeting the requirements for the presentation of the national reports, the elaboration of a questionnaire and designate the general reporters.

Art. 4
Running of the Congress

(Art. 9 para.2 Statute)

¹ The Congress shall start with a solemn opening session. It ends with a special closing session.

² The Circle of Presidents decides whether the discussions take place in the plenary assembly and/or in committees.

³ The Circle of Presidents designates a chairperson for each committee.

⁴ The Circle of Presidents designates for each Congress the technical requirements for the presentation of each theme by the reporter as well as for the intervention of the participants.

Art. 5
Observers and Guests

(Art. 5 and Art. 9 para. 2 Statute)

¹ May be admitted as observers:

1. supranational European Courts;
2. European Constitutional Courts and similar institutions within Europe which do not yet seek full or associate membership;
3. commissions and institutions of the Council of Europe and the European Union which deal especially with constitutional jurisdictions;
4. non-European Constitutional Courts and similar institutions.

² May be admitted as guests:

1. the highest courts of the host country;
2. other European and non-European courts;
3. other institutions dealing with constitutional jurisdictions;
4. individuals.

³ The host court proposes at the preparatory meeting which observers and guests shall be invited to the next Congress.

⁴ The Circle of Presidents may admit, on the day preceding the opening of the Congress, other observers and guests to the Congress.

Art. 6
Rights of participation of associate members

(Art. 4 para. 2 and Art. 10 Statute)

Associate members have the following rights of participation:

1. attendance at the Congress;
2. presentation of a national report on the specific themes of the Congress;
3. taking part in the debates;
4. presentation of written proposals to the Circle of Presidents.

Art. 7
Rights of participation of observers and guests

(Art. 5 and Art.10 Statute)

¹ Observers have the following rights of participation:

1. attendance at the Congress;
2. presentation of a report on the specific themes of the Congress;
3. taking part in the debates.

² Guests have the following rights of participation:

1. attendance at the sessions of the Congress;
2. in exceptional cases, the chairperson of the session may give them permission to take part in the debates.

Art. 8
List of participants

For the preparatory meeting and the Congress, the host court provides the participants with an updated list of full members with voting right, associate members, observers and guests.

Art. 9
Circle of Presidents

(Art. 9 para. 4 and 5, and Art. 12 Statute)

¹ The Circle of Presidents meets in general on the day preceding the opening of the Congress and also before the closing of the Congress.

² In general, a preparatory meeting will be held in the first year after the last Congress in order to prepare the next Congress.

³ Other meetings of the Circle of Presidents may be held if necessary.

⁴ Decisions may be taken by way of circulation.

Art. 10
Agenda

(Art. 9 Statute)

¹ The written invitation to the meetings of the Circle of Presidents shall be accompanied by the agenda for the meeting.

² The agenda mentions the individual topics of the debates (see Encl.). It may be modified or completed at the beginning of the meeting.

³ The decisions taken shall be written down in the minutes of the meeting.

⁴ Full and associate members shall be provided in writing with the minutes.

Art. 11
Committees

The Circle of Presidents may create committees which elaborate a report regarding specific issues such as the admission or exclusion of Constitutional Courts or similar institutions or regarding organisational questions of the Conference.

Art. 12
Languages

(Art. 9 para. 2 Statute)

¹ The official languages of the debates during the Congress and at the Circle of Presidents shall be French, English, German, Russian, and, where appropriate, another official language of the host court with simultaneous translations.

² Each member may request simultaneous translation into another language, at its own expense. The host court shall take care of this additional simultaneous translation insofar as is technically possible or shall state the reasons why it cannot be arranged. If there are problems due to the fact that there are too many requests, priority shall be given to the members in order of their length of membership.

³ The Circle of Presidents may be requested to allow that an interpreter translates the intervention of a delegation, at the latter's own expense, into one of the official languages.

⁴ The written national report is to be presented in an official language of the member as well as in French or in English.

⁵ The general report will be written up in French and English.

⁶ The host court may in addition publish the general report in one of its official languages.

Art. 13
Seating order

¹ In the Circle of Presidents and in the Congress, full members take their seats in general in order of their admission as full member; if they have been admitted simultaneously, they sit in alphabetical order.

² At the Congress, full members are to be seated up-front, followed by associate members, observers and guests. The seating order of associate members, observers and guests shall be similar to that for full members.

³ The host court may change the seating order for reasons of equity.

Art. 14
Media and publicity

(Art. 12 Statute)

¹ The media (press, radio, television) is invited to the opening and closing sessions. The Circle of Presidents decides whether these two sessions are open to any other persons.

² The debates are not public.

³ The meetings of the Circle of Presidents are not open to the public.

Art. 15
Financial contribution of full members

(Art. 4 para. 1, Art. 9 para. 2(d), Art. 11 para. 1, 2(a)and 3 Statute)

¹ In principle, full members bear their own travel and hotel expenses.

² The general costs of organising the Congress and which are to be born in equal parts according to Art. 11 para. 2(a) Statute are the following

1. rental of the premises;
2. printing costs;
3. costs for the translation of written documents;
4. interpretation costs;
5. administrative overheads;
6. costs for local transportation.

³ The Circle of Presidents decides whether and how far the following costs may be part of the general Conference costs in accordance to Art. 11 para. 2(a) Statute:

1. costs for food;
2. costs to any recreational events;
3. specific costs of providing an Internet site for the Conference;
4. costs for specific security measures.

⁴ The Circle of Presidents will furthermore decide on the number of delegates per country whose costs will be born by the budget of the Conference.

Art. 16
Financial contribution of associate members and observers

(Art. 4 para. 2 and Art. 11 para. 2(b) Statute)

¹ Associate members and observers bear their own travel and hotel expenses.

² Associate members and observers may be required to pay a participation fee for each participant. That fee comprises the costs for food, any recreational events as well as a reduced, fixed amount which contributes to the general Conference costs set forth in Art. 11 para. 2(a) Statute.

³ The costs for special programs are billed separately.

⁴ The amount of the participation fee is decided based on the proposal made by the host court.

Art. 17
Financial contribution of guests

(Art. 5 Statute)

¹ In general, guests bear their own travel and hotel expenses.

² Guests do not contribute to the general Conference costs set forth in Art. 11 para. 2(a) Statute and do not pay for the costs of food or any recreational events.

³ Costs for special programs will in general be charged to the guests.

⁴ The host country remains free to cover partly or entirely all other costs.

⁵ The Circle of Presidents may moreover decide that these costs be partly or entirely included in the general Conference costs.

Art. 18
Entry into force

(Art. 14 Statute)

¹ These Conference Regulations shall enter into force on the day of their adoption by the Circle of Presidents.

² They are drawn up in French, English, German and Russian.

³ The French version shall be authentic.

Unanimously adopted at the final vote of the "Circle of Presidents"
on May 16, 2002, at Brussels

Enclosure - Example of an agenda for the Circle of Presidents in view of the preparation of the Conference

Permanent themes (preparatory meeting or main Conference)

· approval of the agenda
· election of the chairperson for the Conference (Art. 9 para. 3 Statute)
· theme of the next Conference (Art. 9 para. 2(c) Statute)
· venue of the next Conference (Art. 9 para. 2(c) and 5 Statute)
· date of the next Conference (Art. 9 para. 2(c) Statute)
· choice of other Conference languages, especially those of the host country (Art. 9
   para. 2(c) Statute; Art. 12 Regulations)
· elaboration of the questionnaire (Art. 3 Regulations)
· requirements for the presentation of the national reports (Art. 3 Regulations)
· designation of the general reporter/s (Art. 3 Regulations)
· invitation of guests to the Congress (Art. 9 para. 2(b) Statute; Art. 5 para 2 Regulations)
· invitation of observers to the Congress (Art. 9 para. 2(b) Statute; Art. 5 para 1 Regulations)
· organising of the Congress (plenary assembly - committees) (Art. 4 Regulations)
· organising of the discussions (chairpersons of the committees; enrollment and speaking order of    the participants) (Art. 4 Regulations)
· adoption of a final press communiqué of the Congress (Art. 9 para. 2(g) and Art. 12 para. 1 and 3    Statute)

Financial decisions (preparatory meeting or main Conference)

· budget for general Conference costs (Art. 11 para. 2(a) and Art. 11 para. 3 Statute; Art. 15 para. 2 Regulations):
     1. rental of the premises
     2. printing costs
     3. costs for the translation of written documents
     4. interpreter costs
     5. administrative overheads
     6. local transportation costs

· decision making whether and how far the following costs are also general Conference costs for full members according to Art. 11 para. 2(a) Statute (Art. 15 para. 3 Regulations):
     1. costs for food
     2. costs for any recreational events
     3. costs of an Internet site
     4. costs for specific security measures
     5. number of delegates per country

· amount of the participation fee paid by associate members and observers (Art. 4 para. 2, Art. 5, Art. 9 para. 2(e) and Art. 11 para. 2(b) Statute; Art. 16 Regulations)
· amount of the financial contribution paid by guests (Art. 5 Statute; Art. 17 Regulations)
· acceptance of financial contributions by third parties (Art. 9 para. 2(f) and Art. 11 para. 2(c) Statute)

Other themes, if necessary

· special proposals of full members (Art. 4 para. 1 Statute)
· written proposals of associate members (Art. 4 para. 4 Statute; Art. 6 Regulations)
· admission, suspension and exclusion of members (Art. 9 para. 2(a) Statute)
· adoption or modification of the Conference Regulations (Art. 9 para. 2(h) Statute)
· modification of the Statute (Art. 9 para. 2(i) Statute)
· dissolution of the Conference (Art. 9 para. 2(j) Statute)
· creation of committees (Art. 11 Regulations)