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Issue No. 29 (May 2008)
Welcome to Portugal!
(by L. Sanches)
The Portuguese Green Card Bureau and its members are pleased to welcome delegates to the 42nd General Assembly of the Council of Bureaux taking place in Lisbon - Portugal, on the 29th and 30th of May.
About Portugal and Lisbon
Portugal is an ancient country whose history dates back to the 12th century when the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by the Christians.
With around 92, 000 square km, 10, 000,000 inhabitants and 1.7 million km² of Exclusive Economic Zone, Portugal is a country surrounded by sea with a mild Mediterranean climate.
The landscape is extremely varied, from mountains in the North covered with snow during the short winter, to sunny beaches all-year round in the South.
The Portuguese language - essentially the result of the development of Latin with fairly minor influences from other languages - has more than 200 million native speakers over four continents and is the sixth most-spoken first language in the world.
The Portuguese economy currently revolves around industry and services, namely tourism. Last year around 24 million foreign tourists visited Portugal, attracted by the great diversity of landscapes, the historical places, the pleasant hotels and the delicious food.
The traditional hospitality of the Portuguese people is only one of the aspects of the cultural openness that makes Portugal an active player on the international scene. Portugal is a member of international organizations such as the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and joined the European Union in 1986.
Lisbon is the capital and largest city in Portugal. It is also the political centre of the country, as it acts as the seat of government and is the residence of the Head of State.
As legend would have it, the city was founded by Ulysses on the north bank of the Tagus river estuary. However, history dictates that it was Julius Caesar who developed the city, and made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, also called Olissipo by the ancient Celt-Iberian tribes.
As the centre of one of the most attractive and competitive European regions, with a reasonable cost of living, Lisbon is a rich melting pot of cultures, a large and cosmopolitan capital city serving as a stopping point for a great number of routes. It also offers interesting economic possibilities and quality activities in the fields of education, science and culture.
Enjoying mild winters, cool summers made fresh by the mild Atlantic breezes, and offering some of Europe's finest hotels for both business and leisure, Lisbon is an ideal place to visit. The city itself, situated on seven hills, combines both historical and modern features.
Lisbon has more than 35 museums, modern conference centres, theatres, concert halls and unique and impressive monuments such as the medieval Castle S. Jorge at the top of Lisbon’s highest hill, built by the Visigoths and expanded by the Moors, the impressive medieval Cathedral Sé, the Tower of Belém and the Monastery of the Jerónimos, Lisbon’s biggest and most admirable religious monument.
The Portuguese insurance market
There are 76 insurance companies established in Portugal, with almost 12 thousand employees. These companies have over 51 billion Euros in assets, 45 billion of which – or almost 30% of the GDP of Portugal – are investment assets which help to finance the State and companies. The insurance sector receives over 13 billion Euros in premiums per annum from companies and citizens for the protection of people and property and for the secure management of their savings.
As regards motor insurance, the volume of premiums in 2007 was 1.994 million Euros.
Portugal, “where the land ends and the sea begins”
We look forward to receiving the participants and those accompanying them in the “Amoreiras” hill, where the General Assembly shall take place.
We await your arrival here “where the land ends and the sea begins”.
Welcome to Portugal.
Mediation
(by Alain Pire)
Changes to the Internal Regulations
Certain changes to the Internal Regulations will be put forward for approval at the Council of Bureaux General Assembly in Lisbon. The new provisions relating to the procedure of settling disputes between Bureaux by means of mediation, which are among these changes, are worth focussing on.
Disputes between Bureaux have, until now, been resolved by either negotiations, arbitration or by legal proceedings. From now on, mediation will be added to these three procedures. I feel it is important to draw the attention of the Bureaux to certain essential considerations regarding mediation and specifically regarding the role of mediator which is given to the Secretary General before using this new tool.
The resolving of disputes by means of mediation is quite the trend. Moreover, many States have adopted legislation relevant to this subject with a view to favouring its use. We generally consider that it is regarding a swift, not too costly procedure which preserves business relationships.
However, it should not be confused with other procedures, particularly that of arbitration. The most fundamental difference is undoubtedly the fact that the mediator, as opposed to the arbitrator, is not responsible for settling the dispute. Its role essentially consists of favouring the finalising of an agreement concluded between the parties.
As regards Bureaux
As regards the Bureaux, mediation is a combination of negotiation and arbitration. Mediation should never be considered as a means of substituting negotiations between Bureaux. Although this is not specified in the Mediation Rules, negotiation between parties is a natural prerequisite to any mediation procedure. To that end, it would be suitable to be reminded of the provision of the Council of Bureaux constitution which assigns the function of helping to resolve any disputes which may arise between Members of the Association to the Secretary General taking into account the decisions adopted by the General Assembly and the principles and objectives of the Association.
Any Bureau in dispute with another Bureau can therefore consult the Secretary General in order to confirm the rules applicable to the field. In this context, the response given by the Secretary General will not reflect his personal opinion but will only refer to decisions already taken by the Council of Bureaux and to the general principles of the Green Card system. If it is regarding an issue which has not been dealt with already and which is of general interest to all Bureaux then it would be recommended, as in the past, that this issue is presented to the relevant committee with a view to it being examined and that a solution to the dispute is delayed.
If the negotiations are unsuccessful then the Bureaux will have the mediation procedure at their disposal. This procedure can only succeed if all parties are willing to come to an agreement. Throughout the process they will be helped by the mediator to conclude an agreement. What will the role of the mediator be? A series of interesting information regarding mediation has been published on the Hill Dickinson Bureau website (www.hilldickinson.com). The role of mediator is described using the following terms:
A Mediator offers a neutral and independent catalyst and can bring a fresh mind to the problem. He/She is trustworthy. He/She has no personal stake in the outcome. He/She can aid communication between parties.
A Mediator can help the parties to understand the other parties’ case.
The Mediator may be able to overcome emotional or other blockages to settlement, save face or overcome deadlock because he is independent and detached. The Mediator can often suggest new avenues to explore.
These few lines describe what should be expected of a mediator. He/She is not there to settle the dispute but to help the parties come to an agreement among themselves in order to resolve the dispute and to foster future relationships on new foundations.
Confidentiality
Finally, it is worth highlighting an essential characteristic of mediation; that of confidentiality. Only parts of the content of the agreement to be developed will be known by the mediator and will be kept secret. It will not be able to serve as a precedent. The confidentiality therefore allows all parties to find innovative solutions to end specific situations of conflict.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can confirm that mediation can only be an effective process of settling disputes if all those party to the dispute respect not only the rules of but also the spirit in which mediation is done.
Main amendments to the new Constitution
(by J. P. Tranberg)
The tasks given to the Working Group
From the tasks given to the Working Group it follows that the amendments to the Constitution were not of a revolutionary character, but merely bringing individual Articles of the Constitution up to date.
The tasks of the Working Group were to consider whether the individual Articles in the Constitution are appropriate, the language is understandable and the structure of the Articles is logical. Furthermore, the WG should consider whether the roles and the powers of the President, the Secretary General and the Management Committee are appropriate.
In particular the WG should consider the question of financing the President's costs, in particular the President's travelling costs. The WG shall consider if costs for Members of other Committees and working groups, especially travelling costs, shall be financed by the Council of Bureaux (CoB).
On looking at the tasks I think the most important amendments are:
- Securing a logical and consistent lay-out, so that the Articles follow on in a chronological order and that the same principle is applied to the individual Articles. As an example we can mention the new Article 4 on Membership, which has been redesigned, starting with General Provisions, going on to Admission to Membership, Status of Members, Obligation of Members, Measures and Sanctions, Suspension and Reinstatement, Termination of and Admission to Membership and concluding with Resignation. The Articles on the General Assembly, the Signatories to the Multilateral Agreement, the Management Committee and the other Permanent Committees all have the same design. The Articles begin with Composition and then Functions and Powers, Meeting, Quorum, Voting Procedures and conclude with Member Information.
- Making a clear hierarchic structure between the different bodies of the Association. The supreme body is the General Assembly which has the power to deal with any question which comes within the general objectives of the Association. The Management Committee has the power to suggest and propose matters to the General Assembly. The President and the Secretary General have the executive power of the Association. The Secretary General is the CEO of the Association while the President is the chairman of the board (the Management Committee) and thus sees to the overall efficient running of the Association.
- That it is the General Assembly which approves the appointment of Members to the Management Committee and the other Permanent Committees and approves the Chairmen of the Permanent Committees on proposals from the Management Committee. The proposals from the Permanent Committees have to be approved by the Management Committee before being presented to the General Assembly. This ensures that the Management Committee is involved in any issues which are going to be presented at the General Assembly.
- Starting the process of changing the name from "Council of Bureaux" to "the International Association of National Motor Insurers' Bureaux". It will take some time because the name "Council of Bureaux" appears in many documents.
- That Both the President and the Vice President are now Members of the Management Committee with the same voting rights as the other Members of the Management Committee. The Vice President is not allowed to be a Member of the Management Committee at the time of his/her election. Any person has the possibility of being appointed as Vice President. To ensure that an experienced and fit and proper Vice President is appointed, the General Assembly approves the appointment on recommendation by the Management Committee.
- Inserting a new clause 4 in Article 16 saying that the wording in the Constitution implying the masculine gender shall also include the feminine gender.
- That the President’s travelling costs will be covered by the Association. The travelling cost of the President is estimated to be around 35,000 Euros a year and thus quite a big burden if borne by the Member Bureau of the President. That the Presidents travelling costs are covered by the Association makes it easier for smaller Bureaux to put forward a President.
- Writing the paper called "Comments and rationale for the Proposed Amendments to the Constitution" as a set of explanations to all the amendments, which should make it easier to understand the contents of the Articles and the reason for the individual Articles.
Conclusion
As mentioned at the beginning no revolutionary changes have been made, just bureaucratic - in the positive sense of the word – redrafting, in order to have a Constitution which is consistent in both the order of the Articles as well in the lay-out and the content of the Articles.
The aim was to write a Constitution which did not need to be amended in the near future. Although this might be wishful thinking, it was never the less the aim of the work.
Next meetings
2008
- 4th June 2008, Meeting of the Correspondents Working Group (Brussels)
- 21st August 2008, Meeting of the Monitoring Committee (Krakow)
- 25th & 26th September, Meeting of the Management Committee (Startegy) (provisional)
- 21st October 2008, Meeting of the Financial Stability Working Group (Brussels)
- 22nd October 2008, Meeting of the Specific Rules Committee (Brussels)
- 23rd October 2008, Meeting of the General Rules Committee (Brussels)
- 20th November 2008, Meeting of the Management Committee (provisional)
2009
- 29th January 2009, Meeting of the Management Committee (provisional)
- 26th March 2009, Meeting of the Management Committee (provisional)
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