Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Council of Foreign Ministers, Volume II

C.F.M. Files: Lot M–88: Box 2061: CFM Documents

Paper Prepared by the Council of Foreign Ministers⁹¹

secret
C.F.M. (46) 204 (Revised)

Paris, 9 July, 1946.

Organization and Procedure of the Peace Conference

I. Organs of the Conference

1. The draft Treaties prepared by the Council of Foreign Ministers shall be submitted to the Plenary Conference composed of all Member States represented by the Heads of their Delegations. The Conference shall refer them to Commissions for study, the various sections of the Treaties being referred to the competent Commissions.

The Plenary Conference shall receive reports drawn up by the Commissions, discuss them and adopt all recommendations they deem appropriate.

2. A General Commission, composed of one representative from each of the Member States, shall be set up to assist the Plenary Conference. It shall co-ordinate the work of the various Commissions.

3. The following Commissions will be set up to study the various sections of the Treaties and to make recommendations to the Plenary Conference.

(a) Commissions for Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland to consider the political and territorial clauses of each Treaty. These Commissions will in each case consist of the representatives of the Members of the Council who prepared the Draft Treaties and of the Member States at war with the enemy State in question.

(b) Two Economic Commissions: the first to consider the economic and financial clauses of the Treaty with Italy and to be composed of representatives of the States at war with Italy; the second to consider the economic and financial clauses of the Treaties with Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland and to consist of representatives of the Members of the Council who prepared the Draft Treaties and of the Member States at war with any one of the enemy States in question.

(c) A Military Commission to consider the military, naval and air clauses of all five Treaties.

(d) A Legal and Drafting Commission.

The Military and Legal and Drafting Commissions will be composed of representatives of all the Member States.

All the Commissions may set up Sub-Commissions in order to study particular questions.

II. Chairmen, Rapporteurs

The Chairmanship of the Conference will be held in the first place by the representative of the host Government and thereafter in turn by each of the Members of the Council of Foreign Ministers in the French alphabetical order, each Chairman holding office for three days.

Each Commission will elect a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman respectively and appoint Rapporteurs.

III. Invitation to Other States

The Conference will invite Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland to state their views in accordance with the conditions which will be laid down.

The Conference may invite other countries which are not members of the Conference to state their views.

IV. Official and Working Languages

English, French and Russian will be the official and working languages of the Conference and Commissions.

V. Secretariat

1. Under the direction of the Secretary General who will be appointed by the Conference at his [its] first meeting the organisation of the Conference will include:

• —an Administrative Secretariat;
• —a Secretariat responsible for the work of the Conference and the Commissions;

2. The Administrative Secretariat would be exclusively French.

3. A Secretariat of eight members will be set up including a representative of each of the Members of the Council who prepared the Draft Treaties, and an equal number of Members appointed by the Conference.

The additional staff necessary for the working of the Secretariat will be provided by the French Government and the various delegations.

VI. Voting

(a) Plenary Conference

Decisions of the Conference on questions of procedure shall be adopted by a majority vote. Decisions on all other questions and recommendations will be adopted by a two-thirds majority.

(b) Commissions

Should a two-thirds majority be obtained in any Commission, the Commission’s report will be presented as a recommendation, but the minority shall have the right to present its views and to ask for a decision. Should a two-thirds majority in any Commission not be obtained, the Commission will submit two or more reports to the Conference, each member retaining his full right to present his own point of view and to request that this should be the subject of a decision in the Conference.

VII. Amendments and Suspensions

The Conference may decide to amend or suspend the provisions of the Rules of procedure after their adopting.

91. The earlier draft of this paper was discussed and amended by the Council of Foreign Ministers at its 38th Meeting, July 9, 1946; see the United States Delegation Record and the Record of Decisions of that meeting, pp. 836 and 850. The text printed here is that which was finally approved by the Council.