Statutes of the Pacific Inter-Parliamentary Assembly

• The organization shall be known as the Pacific Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (PIPA);
• During the transitional period prior to the adoption of a treaty creating a regional organization, PIPA is established as a non-governmental association of Parliaments and Legislatures under the laws applicable in French Polynesia;
• Its headquarters shall be located in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
• PIPA has legal personality and has the authority to enter into regional and international agreements, including cooperation agreements with national parliaments and inter-parliamentary organizations, as well as with international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
• The working languages of PIPA are English and French.

PIPA shall:

• Promote interparliamentary contacts and dialogue, cooperation, exchanges of experience and knowledge among its members;
• Serve as the representative body of Pacific legislative assemblies in the regional and international arenas;
• Contribute to good governance, transparency, inclusivity and accountability, and contribute to the defense and promotion of human rights in the Pacific region;
• Facilitate pluralistic parliamentary input into regional policy-making and institutional processes;
• Support capacity building, peer exchanges and technical assistance among member legislatures;
• Provide a platform for common parliamentary initiatives, joint actions and resolutions in the Pacific Islands, with the aim of bringing about action by parliaments and their members;
• Guarantee that its activities shall not prejudice the sovereign rights and independent mandates of each member, including their right to act or to be represented individually in international fora.

a. Full Membership is open to all national parliaments and legislative assemblies from the Pacific Islands, as well as to all sub-national legislatures from the Pacific Islands who are institutionally connected to non-Pacific capitals.

b. Observer Status may be granted to:

1. Sub-national legislatures from Pacific Islands, where the national legislature is already a full member;
2. Representative assemblies of states, territories or minorities seeking association or partnership with PIPA;
3. Regional and international organizations who have a proven interest for parliamentary affairs in the Pacific region.

c. Admission process (full member and observer status):

1. Candidate assemblies submit a request with justification to the Secretariat, who will screen the request for admissibility under the guidance of the Board;
2. Approval of new members and observers will be tabled for the next meeting of the General Assembly; in the meantime, candidates may be invited by the Board to attend events and meetings as guests.

d. Each member participates in the activities of PIPA through delegations. Official delegations are led by a Presiding officer or an institutionally designated representative; the delegation shall reflect the legislature’s political diversity and gender balance. The maximum number of representatives in each official delegation is determined by the Board.

e. Each full-member delegation has a single vote, exercised by the head of delegation. In bicameral systems, delegations include the two houses. Observers do not have voting rights.

f. Each member shall adhere to the principles of PIPA, comply with its statutes and commit to implement its decisions and resolutions.

g. A member may withdraw from the organization at any time by submitting written notice to the Secretariat. The Secretariat shall notify the Board and the other members accordingly.

h. Members may have their voting rights suspended or, in extreme cases, be expelled from PIPA for violations of these Statutes. Decisions regarding the suspension or expulsion of a member shall be taken by the General Assembly. The member concerned shall not participate in the vote.

a. The General Assembly:

1. Serves as PIPA’s ultimate decision-making body; decisions are made by consensus;
2. Meets annually in-person upon convocation by its president; may be convened for extraordinary sessions at the request of a majority of the members, or the Board. Requests must include a proposed agenda. Extraordinary sessions may be conducted in a virtual manner;
3. Adopts: statutes and their amendments; the annual budget based on the proposal submitted by the Board; resolutions presented by members or the Board;
4. Approves new members and observers, reviews previous year’s activities and expenditure; decides on the suspension or exclusion of a member;
5. Elects the Board members every two years, while nominating among them a Chair;
6. Elects its President for the next year among attending members; the legislature that holds the Presidency hosts the General Assembly. The outgoing President becomes ex officio Deputy President of the General Assembly;
7. The host legislature of the General Assembly commits to plan and organize the event in close collaboration with the Secretariat, under the supervision of the Board. The host’s secretariat provides resources to that end.

b. The Board:

1. Oversees the operational governance of PIPA, with the support of the Secretariat;
2. Meets at least twice annually; meetings may be held physically or virtually;
3. Consists of five members representing the sub-regional and linguistic diversity of the Pacific Island region; the member supporting the Secretariat as described in article 12.b.i. is an ex officio member with full voting rights;
4. The President and Deputy President of the General Assembly are additional members without voting rights;
5. Decisions on the Board are taken by absolute majority, and collegially; a quorum of three (3) voting members is required for Board decisions to be valid;
6. The Board reports annually to the General Assembly on the year’s activities and finances.

c. The Secretariat:

1. Advises and supports members and the Board; coordinates the organization of the General Assembly and Board meetings, prepares their agenda and background documentation; executes the decisions of the General Assembly and Board, including resolutions, when they apply to the functioning of PIPA;
2. Under the supervision of the Board: manages the budget of PIPA; keeps track of the implementation of decisions and resolutions taken by PIPA, in close cooperation with the members’ General Secretaries (or Clerks, or head of administration);
3. Maintains records; coordinates all communication including online; manages events and activities; and supports technical and logistical functions for PIPA;
4. Is staffed with dedicated technical personnel recruited by the Board;
5. Member assemblies’ secretariats contribute to the implementation of activities, in particular when they are hosting them, under the coordination of PIPA’s Secretariat.

• Members may submit resolutions on topics of regional interest or matters pertaining to PIPA, no later than fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the General Assembly; a resolution proposal requires support from one-third of members to be tabled;
• The Board may also submit resolutions on topics of regional interest or matters pertaining to PIPA;
• Resolutions are adopted by the General Assembly;
• Between two General Assemblies, members may table resolutions on urgent matters;
• Resolutions must not include personal attacks or violate fundamental legal principles or good morals; nor address issues purely related to domestic politics with no regional relevance;
• Resolution proposals are submitted to the Secretariat which, under the oversight of the Board, screens them for admissibility;
• The Secretariat transmits all draft resolutions to members no later than 7 days before the meeting during which they will be discussed.

• Sub-committees are created at the request of a quarter of the full members, or at the request of the Board;
• Sub-committees define their objective, membership, procedures and voting processes, in alignment with the present statutes;
• When a sub-committee has a membership base that does not include all PIPA members, other members are automatically granted the observer status in the sub-committee;
• All sub-committees report annually on their activities to the General Assembly.

a. The Board develops an annual budget, with the support of the Secretariat, to be approved by the General Assembly.

b. The budget is composed of an operational budget and a development budget:

1. The operational budget includes the minimal amount required for the organization of the annual General Assembly, as well as the Secretariat annual running costs;
2. The development budget is established for additional activities, partnerships and innovation.

c. Budget management in all its dimensions, including the budget allocated for the organization of the General Assembly, is the responsibility of the Secretariat, under the oversight of the Board.

d. The budget submitted to the General Assembly must be balanced.

a. Funding sources include:

1. Member contributions;
2. External partnerships and grants.

b. In order to guarantee PIPA’s autonomy, it shall aim at fully funding its operational budget through members’ contributions.

c. Member contributions are based on the principle of equitability. Members shall fall within three tiers (1: reduced contribution; 2: standard contribution; 3: increased contribution), based on the GDP of their jurisdiction.

d. Members commit to transferring their contribution annually, according to the schedule included in the annual budget.

e. Participation costs to General Assemblies and activities, including transportation and accommodation costs, will be borne by each member individually, except when third-party funding is available.

• Tier 1 (GDP < USD 100M): USD 10,000 annually;
• Tier 2 (GDP USD 100M – 7B): USD 15,000 annually;
• Tier 3 (GDP > USD 7B): USD 30,000 annually;
• The annual budget may propose revisions to the tiered system.

a. PIPA cooperates with regional organizations of the Pacific, as well as with other national, regional and international intergovernmental, non-governmental and inter-parliamentary organizations which are motivated by the same ideals.

b. Partnerships shall be developed by the Board with support from the Secretariat; partnership instruments are signed by the Chair of the Board on behalf of PIPA.

Rules of Procedure may be adopted and approved by the General Assembly. These rules are intended to address matters not provided for in the present Statutes, in particular those relating to proceedings and additional procedures in the General Assembly, and the internal administration of PIPA.

Amendments to these statutes may be proposed by any member and must be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 30 calendar days before a General Assembly.

a. During the period of creation of PIPA’s governance structures, the PIPG Secretariat shall act as the interim Secretariat of PIPA.

b. During the transitional period before PIPA becomes a full-fledged regional treaty-based organization:

1. The Assembly of French Polynesia will be the member supporting PIPA Secretariat’s operational functions;
2. The governance structures, in particular the composition of the Board and its processes, will be reviewed on an annual basis.

In the event of dissolution, one or more liquidators shall be appointed, and any remaining net assets, if applicable, shall be transferred to a non-profit organization in accordance with the decisions of the Extraordinary General Assembly ruling on the dissolution.

a. These statutes shall enter into force upon adoption by the constitutive General Assembly of PIPA, held on 28 August 2025 in Fiji.

b. These statutes repeal the statutes of the Pacific Islands Parliaments Group (PIPG) signed on 10 September 2019.