Preamble

the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom (1950) and its additional Protocols, proclaimed by the Council of Europe, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights;

the Headquarters Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and CERN of 11 June 1955 and the Statutory Agreement between the French Republic and CERN of 13 September 1965, revised on 16 June 1972, taking due account of the clarifications and interpretations contained in the relevant exchanges of letters.

The texts of the Convention and its Protocols are not the only ones to be considered, but also the evolving interpretations of case law and the specific context of CERN and its relations with host States.

Article V.2.2 a       Attendance at meetings of the Staff Council

Delegates must attend diligently meetings of the Staff Council and remain available for its work.

Article V.2.3           Election

¹ Elections shall be held every two years during the fourth quarter of odd-numbered years leading to a renewal of all seats..

² The distribution of seats to be filled shall be determined in accordance with the Rules for Election. This distribution must guarantee a fair representation between the different organic units and categories of staff.

³ Staff delegates representing members of personnel employed by the Organisation shall be elected by members of the Association of the electoral college to which they belong, in accordance with the Rules for Election established by the Staff Council.

⁴ Staff delegates representing non staff members shall be elected in accordance with the Rules for Election established by the Staff Council.

Reorganisation of sections with no change in content. Exchange between sections 1 and 3.

Article V.2.3 a       Cooptation

1 The Staff Council, on the proposal of the President of the Staff Association, may co-opt a candidate who stood in the last elections to fill each seat not filled on the Staff Council or following a resignation, namely:

1. The candidate who obtained the most votes in the same Electoral College as the outgoing Delegate, or;
2. The candidate who received the most votes, all Electoral Colleges combined, or;
3. In exceptional and duly justified cases, another candidate.

² Decisions to co-opt will be voted on by the Staff Council and the members will be informed.

³ The number of delegates co-opted in this way may not exceed 10% of the number of seats on the Staff Council.

Codifying the process

Article V.2.8         Replacement

¹ Should a staff delegate resign, have his status cancelled or be dismissed the Staff Council may decide to proceed by co-optation or to hold a by-election in his electoral college to replace him.

² The replacement staff delegate shall terminate the mandate of the staff delegate he replaces.

³ A by-election may be held at any time during the year.

Opens up replacement options

Article V.4.6         Closed session

¹ On the proposal of the Executive Committee or a staff delegate, supported by a second delegate, the Staff Council may decide by a vote to hold a closed session to deliberate a specific subject.

Article V.5.2         Voting

⁴ On the request of a delegate eligible to vote on the subject in question, supported by another such delegate, the Staff Council may decide by vote to proceed to a secret ballot. In such an event, a vote by calling over names may not be requested. Secret ballots are counted under the supervision of the Chairperson of the meeting by a person who is not entitled to take part in the vote on the matter in question.

Article V.5.5         Quorum

² The quorum shall be verified by the session chairman before each vote and recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Article VI.1.1        Composition

¹ The Executive Committee shall comprise

a minimum of nine members of the Staff Council representing staff members with as fair a representation of the electoral colleges and benchmark job categories of staff members as possible; and

By integrating the benchmark job categories, the Executive Committee aims to more accurately reflect the diversity of functions and responsibilities within the Association.

Article VI.2.1         Election

¹ The Executive Committee shall be elected by the Staff Council from among its ordinary members, after each election of staff delegates.

² The election of the Executive Committee shall be held by a majority list block vote in accordance with the provisions set out in the Rules of the Staff Council.

³ Each candidate list must nominate one person as a candidate for the position of President of the Staff Association. This person must have been a member of the Staff Council for at least one year on the date on which the candidate list is submitted.

• Change of paragraphs
• Addition of conditions for candidates for the Presidency of the Staff Association, to ensure that candidates have sufficient knowledge of the issues and workings of the Staff Association, thereby enhancing its stability and effectiveness.

Article VI.2.2 Verification and monitoring by the Electoral Commission

¹ The Electoral Commission ensures the smooth running of the Executive Committee election process.

² The Electoral Commission checks the composition and compliance of the lists of candidates for the Executive Committee with the criteria set out in these Statutes. It shall inform the Staff Council of the validity of each list before the opening of the elections.

³ In the event of non-compliance with these criteria, the Electoral Commission will ask the candidate for the post of President concerned to adjust the composition of their list, insofar as this is objectively possible.

⁴ If no solution can be found, the Staff Council may, after a reasoned debate and on the basis of the Electoral Commission's report, decide by a qualified majority vote to approve a non-compliant list. Failing this, the Staff Council may decide, by a second qualified majority vote, to extend the candidacy period (which automatically entails a delay in the election process) and to re-examine the situation at the end of this extension. If none of these options is adopted, the non-compliant list is declared null and void.

New article defining the tasks of the Electoral Commission with regard to executive committee elections, in order to

• Increase transparency,
• Guarantee the conformity of candidacies and
• Prevent potential irregularities.

Article VII.1.1 Subject matter and procedure

Five working days shall pass between the sending of the electronic mail opening the vote, accompanied by any necessary explanation, the date by which they must be returned and the closing date for voting.

Article VIII.1.1 Composition and election

¹ The ordinary General Assembly shall elect each year, from among the staff members of the Association, an election committee composed of at least three scrutineers, at least one of whom must be a staff. The Committee takes its decisions by a majority of its members.

Article VIII.1.2 Competencies

¹ The Electoral Commission is the only body competent to supervise and validate the various election processes within the Association. It is responsible for:

• Supervising the election of the Staff Council, validating and proclaiming the results, including those of any by-elections, in accordance with the Election Rules;
• Supervising the election of the Executive Committee and validating and proclaiming the results, in accordance with the Staff Council Regulations.

² In addition to the above, it shall be responsible for :

• Checking that voters have the correct electoral status ;
• Checking that candidates meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Articles of Association and the Internal Regulations.
• Verifying the representativeness of the lists of candidates for the Executive Committee in accordance with Article VI.1.1.

³ In the event of a dispute concerning an election process, a decision shall be taken by the Electoral Commission by a unanimous vote of its members, or failing that, by all the members of the Staff Council by a qualified majority vote.

• The proposed amendment strengthens the rigour, legitimacy and transparency of the electoral process within the Association and clarifies and centralises competences.
• In addition, it adds a clear dispute resolution mechanism that was not clearly defined previously.

Article XII.1.1       Statutes

These Statutes shall enter into force on dd/mm/yyy.¹

¹ The date will be set by the Staff Council by delegation from the General Assembly

A footnote was added and the date of entry into force of the amended version was entrusted to the Staff Council in order to avoid an exceptional General Assembly.

Any amended version of the Statutes approved by a General Assembly must be presented to the Director general.