Adopted by the Decision of

Adopted by the Decision of REGULATIONS OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE BALTIC ASSEMBLY The present Regulations shall establish the structure, principles of activities, responsibility and powers of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly. The Regulations of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly shall be approved and amended by the session of the Baltic Assembly. The headquarters of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly (hereinafter referred to as the BA Secretariat) shall be located in Riga, Latvia. Principles of Activities of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly BA Secretariat shall follow such principles of organisational work which, in the course of the execution of the duties and responsibilities of BA Secretariat, would guarantee: observance of the interests of Baltic Assembly member states, as well as lawful use of the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly; strengthening of the co-operation with other regional, international and inter-parliamentary organisations. Structure of the Apparatus of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly The apparatus of BA Secretariat shall comprise: the Secretary of the Baltic Assembly, secretaries of the national delegations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the staff of BA Secretariat. In order to select a candidate for a post of BA Secretary, the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly shall hold an open competition. A candidate to the office of BA Secretary must meet the following requirements: to have citizenship of Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania, to have command of one of the national languages of the Baltic Assembly and of at least two foreign languages (English and Russian), to have knowledge in the sphere of organisational work, to have understanding of a political situation, political processes going in the Baltic Assembly Member States and the countries with the organisations whereof the Baltic Assembly maintains close relations. The winner of the competition shall be presented to the session for the confirmation of appointment as BA Secretary. BA Secretary shall be appointed to the post in compliance with the principle of consensus of the national delegations. The Chairman of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly shall conclude an employment contract with BA Secretary on the basis of the decision of the session of the Baltic Assembly. The tenure of the office of BA Secretary shall be 3 years with the right to be appointed for a new term of office. Labour relations of BA Secretary with the Baltic Assembly shall be regulated by these Regulations, the employment contract, and effective legal acts of the Republic of Latvia and the legal acts of the Baltic Assembly Member States. A secretary of the national delegation of a Baltic Assembly Member State (secretary of the national delegation) shall be appointed to his office and shall bear responsibility for his work in compliance with the law of the appropriate Baltic Assembly Member State and the present Statute. The national delegations of the Baltic Assembly shall inform the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and BA Secretary about the appointment or replacement of their secretaries. BA Secretary shall draw up a list of the staff of the Baltic Assembly and submit it to the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly for consideration. The list of the staff shall be drawn up taking into consideration the planned activities, established priorities and existing funds of the Baltic Assembly. The list of the staff shall be approved by the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly. Employees of the staff of BA Secretariat shall be employed and dismissed by BA Secretary proceeding from the structure and budget of BA Secretariat. The staff of BA Secretariat shall be subordinate to BA Secretary. Their labour relations shall be established by employment contracts, job description, the present Regulations, the Statute of the Baltic Assembly and effective legal acts of the Republic of Latvia. BA Secretary shall draw up job description of each member of the staff of BA Secretariat. Job description shall establish duties and powers of an appropriate staff member. Tasks of the Secretary of the Baltic Assembly BA Secretary shall be directly responsible to the Chairman of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly. The tasks of the Secretary of the Baltic Assembly shall be as follows: to manage the staff of BA Secretariat in Riga, Latvia; to hold meetings with the secretaries of the national delegations and the staff of BA Secretariat; to collect, summarise and disseminate the information received from international and parliamentary organisations with which the Baltic Assembly has made the agreements or in the work of which the Baltic Assembly participates as an organisation, as well as to exchange information and to furnish it to the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and secretariats of the national delegations; to co-operate and exchange information with the Secretariat of the Baltic Council of Ministers. The received information shall be furnished to the secretaries of the national delegations of the Baltic States; to prepare for publication the documents of a session and the material on the activities of the Baltic Assembly; to perform the duties of secretary at meetings of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly; to compile and preserve archives of the Baltic Assembly (documents, minutes of the sittings, etc.); to confirm and sign financial documents (orders, accounts, etc.) within the budgetary funds of the Baltic Assembly and its Secretariat, as well as the powers of BA Secretary; to draw up, together with the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly, an initial draft budget of the Baltic Assembly; to organise book-keeping and activities in compliance with the requirements and procedure established by legal acts of the Republic of Latvia and by BA Budget and Audit Committee; to keep and lawfully use the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly; to supervise the lawful use of the Baltic Assembly symbols; to co-ordinate joint events with the partners of the Baltic Assembly. Tasks of the Secretary of the National Delegation to the Baltic Assembly The tasks of the secretary of the national delegation shall be as follows: to prepare, co-ordinate and provide technical servicing of the events of the Baltic Assembly which are held on the territory of the State he represents; to render assistance to the head and deputy head of the national delegation in directing the delegation; to provide technical assistance to the members of the national delegation; to participate in meetings of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and in its meetings with the partners in co-operation; to render assistance, if required, to the members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly during official negotiations with the partners and the organisations in the work whereof the Baltic Assembly participates; to keep relations and exchange information with BA Secretary; to co-ordinate and organise the information activities of the Baltic Assembly in the State he represents; to maintain relations and co-operation with senior officials of the Baltic Council of Ministers in the State he represents; to prepare and take minutes of the joint meetings of the national delegation and foreign delegations; to provide technical organisation, to render assistance and to take minutes of the official meetings of the committees of the Baltic Assembly in foreign states; to provide technical organisation and to prepare a session of the Baltic Assembly in the State he represents, and to participate in the work of the national delegation at the sessions held in other Baltic States; to organise the work of the national Judging Committee of the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and Science; to supervise the lawful use of the Baltic Assembly symbols on the territory of the State he represents; to keep and lawfully use the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly, assigned to its authority. Responsibilities of the Secretary of the National Delegation of the Presiding State The secretary of the national delegation of the presiding State in the Baltic Assembly shall be responsible for the technical and organisational servicing of BA sessions, Presidium, committees, Drafting Committee, party groups (factions). The responsibilities of the secretary of the national delegation of the presiding State shall additionally include: jointly with BA Secretary, direction of the organisation and preparation of the work of a session of the Baltic Assembly; organisation of technical servicing of sittings of the session, committees and the Drafting Committee; provision of technical and organisational assistance to the work of the Joint Judging Committee of the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and Science; organisation of events of the national delegations with the partners of the Baltic Assembly. Responsibilities of the Staff of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly The responsibilities of a staff member of BA Secretary shall be as follows: appropriate execution of his official duties as provided for in his employment contract and job description; when necessary, assistance to other members of the apparatus of BA Secretariat, as well as to the members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly, committees and national delegations; keeping and lawful use of the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly, assigned to his authority. Final Provisions The presents Regulations of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly shall be an annex to the Baltic Assembly Statute and shall come into force from the moment of the approval thereof at the session of the Baltic Assembly. All amendments or supplements to the present Regulations must be approved at the session of the Baltic Assembly. 9 December 2000, Vilnius