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Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament
8th parliamentary term - July 2018
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CONTENTS
APPENDIX
INDEX
NOTE TO THE READER
COMPENDIUM OF THE MAIN LEGAL ACTS RELATED TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

TITLE VII : SESSIONS
CHAPTER 4 : MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN THE EVENT OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT OF MEMBERS

Rule 165 : Immediate measures

1.   The President shall call to order any Member who disrupts the smooth conduct of the proceedings or whose conduct fails to comply with the relevant provisions of Rule 11.

2.   If the offence is repeated, the President shall call the Member to order a second time, and the fact shall be recorded in the minutes.

3.   If the disturbance continues, or if a further offence is committed, the Member may be denied the right to speak and may be excluded from the Chamber by the President for the remainder of the sitting. In cases of exceptional seriousness, the President may also resort to exclusion of the Member concerned from the Chamber for the remainder of the sitting immediately and without a second call to order . The Secretary-General shall, without delay, see to it that such disciplinary measures are carried out, with the assistance of the ushers and, if necessary, of Parliament's Security Service.

4.   Should disturbances threaten to obstruct the business of the House, the President shall close or suspend the sitting for a specific period in order to restore order. If the President cannot make himself or herself heard, he or she shall leave the chair; this shall have the effect of suspending the sitting. The President shall reconvene the sitting.

5.   The President may decide to interrupt the live broadcasting of the sitting in the case of defamatory, racist or xenophobic language or behaviour by a Member.

6.   The President may order the deletion from the audiovisual record of the proceedings of those parts of a speech by a Member that contain defamatory, racist or xenophobic language.

That order shall take immediate effect. It shall, however, be subject to confirmation by the Bureau not later than four weeks thereafter, or, if the Bureau does not meet during that period, at its next meeting.

7.   The powers provided for in paragraphs 1 to 6 shall be vested, mutatis mutandis, in the presiding officers of bodies, committees and delegations as provided for in the Rules of Procedure.

8.   Where appropriate, and bearing in mind the seriousness of the breach of the standards of conduct of Members, the Member in the chair of a part-session, body, committee or delegation may, no later than the following part-session or the following meeting of the body, committee or delegation concerned, ask the President to apply Rule 166.

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