Rules of procedure of the national defence council

03.11.2010

APPROVED by the President of the Republic with directive no. 53 of 24 March 2003
AMENDED by the President of the Republic with directive no. 44 of 30 January 2008
AMENDED by the President of the Republic with directive no. 152 of 1 July 2011

1. General Provisions

1.1. The National Defence Council (hereafter referred to as the Council) is an advisory body to the President of the Republic.

1.2. The Council operates on the basis of the Peacetime National Defence Act (RT I 2002, 57, 354; 2003, 13, 69).

1.3. The members of the Council are the President of the Riigikogu, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Justice and the Commander of the Defence Forces.

2. Duties

2.1. The Council discusses key issues from the point of view of national defence and expresses its opinions on these issues.

2.2. Issues for discussion are placed on the agenda by the President of the Republic. The members of the Council also have the right to propose issues for discussion for inclusion on the agenda.

3. Sessions

3.1. The Council meets in session.

3.2. Sessions of the Council are convened by the President of the Republic.

3.3. Sessions of the Council are chaired by the President of the Republic or the President of the Riigikogu discharging the functions of the President of the Republic.

3.4. Attendance of sessions of the Council is mandatory for all members. Members attend the sessions personally. If a member is unable to attend a session, they must inform the Office of the President of the Republic.

3.5. The Council is competent to express its opinion if the chair of a session and at least half of the members of the Council are present.

3.6. Other individuals may be invited by the President of the Republic to speak at a session of the Council.

3.7. Sessions of the Council are held as often as required.

3.8. Notification of a session of the Council having been convened is forwarded to the members of the Council and other invited attendees by the Office of the President of the Republic with a reasonable amount of advance notice. The notification indicates the date and time, venue and agenda of the session. Other materials and information related to a session are forwarded as required.

3.9. Members may be provided with additional materials related to issues for discussion on the agenda at a session. These must be dealt with in accordance with the administrative procedure.

4. Procedure for discussion

4.1. Issues are discussed at a session in the order indicated on the agenda. The chair of the session has the right to amend the order of discussion of the issues on the agenda.

4.2. Where necessary, the chair of the session has the right, at their own discretion or on the proposal of a member of the Council, to raise issues for discussion which are not on the agenda. The order in which such issues is discussed is determined by the chair of the session.

4.3. In discussing an issue on the agenda, the floor is first given to the primary presenter, then to the co-presenter. This is followed by general discussion of the issue, during which the members of the Council have the opportunity to ask the presenters, other members of the Council and invited attendees questions and express their own opinions regarding the issue under discussion.

4.4. Discussion of an issue on the agenda ends when the chair of the session determines that there has been sufficient discussion of the issue.

5. Minutes of sessions

5.1. The minutes of sessions of the Council are taken by the Defence Adviser to the President of the Republic. In order to draft the minutes, meetings of the Council are recorded. The minutes are signed by the secretary at minutes of the session in question.

5.2. The following information is recorded in the minutes:

5.2.1. the date and time of the session;
5.2 2. the members and other invited individuals attending the session;
5.2.3. the name of the chair of the session and of the secretary at minutes;
5.2.4. the agenda of the session;
5.2.5. the names of the individuals taking the floor in regard to issues on the agenda and the topics of their presentations;
5.2.6. a description of the discussions held as part of the session;
5.2.7. a description of issues raised during the session which were not on the agenda and of the discussion that took place; and
5.2.8. other relevant details.

5.3. The minutes of sessions are archived at the Office of the President of the Republic without term. Audio recordings of sessions are archived for one year. The members of the Council have the right to review minutes and recordings at the Office of the President of the Republic.

6. Administration, financing and notification of activities

6.1. The administration of the Council is organised by the Office of the President of the Republic.

6.2. The costs related to the technical servicing of the work of the Council and its activities are borne by the Office of the President of the Republic.

6.3. The public is notified of the activities of the Council by the press service of the Office of the President of the Republic. The amount of information to be published in this way is agreed upon at each session.