The Rules of Procedure of the Codex Alimentarius Commission describe and formalize working procedures appropriate to an intergovernmental body. They provide for:

• conditions of membership of the Commission;
• appointment of Commission officers, including the chairperson, three vicechairpersons, regional coordinators and a secretary, and prescribe their responsibilities;
• establishment of an Executive Committee to meet between Commission sessions, to act on behalf of the Commission as its executive organ;
• frequency and operation of Commission sessions;
• nature of agendas for Commission sessions;
• voting procedures;
• observers;
• preparation of Commission records and reports;
• establishment of subsidiary bodies;
• procedures to be adopted in the elaboration of standards;
• allocation of a budget and estimates of expenditure; and
• languages used by the Commission.

Interest in Codex Alimentarius activities has been growing steadily since the Commission began, and the increasing involvement of developing countries in its work has been a highlight of the progress made, as well as a vindication of the foresight shown by the founders of the Commission.

(a) protecting the health of the consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade; (b) promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non governmental organizations; (c) determining priorities and initiating and guiding the preparation of draft standards through and with the aid of appropriate organizations; (d) finalizing standards elaborated under (c) above and, after acceptance by governments, publishing them in a Codex Alimentarius either as regional or world wide standards, together with international standards already finalized by other bodies under (b) above, wherever this is practicable; (e) amending published standards, after appropriate survey in the light of developments.

Chairperson	Dr. Claude J. S. MOSHA (United Republic of Tanzania)
Vice-Chairpersons	Dra. Karen HULEBAK (United States of America)
	Sra. NORAINI Mohd Othman (Malaysia)
	Dr. Wim VAN ECK (The Netherlands)

GUIDE ON CONDUCT OF pLENARY MEETINGS
In view of the events associated with the approval of the standard for Emmenthal cheese at the 30th Session of the Codex Commission (namely, Switzerland’s opposition to the decision of the Chair of the Commission invoking the General Rules of the FAO and managed to have the matter being voted on), Argentina suggested that article XII of the General Rules of the FAO be included in the Procedural Manual of the Commission at the 60th Session of the Executive Committee held in December 2007.
Given this situation, although the proposal was not adopted, the Codex Secretariat has circulated the “Guide on Conduct of Plenary Meetings”, which we make available to all the delegates of the region.