The Organization of Global Negotiations

8

Decision-making Rules

The overwhelming majority of the parties is willing to adopt an international instrument… That majority should not be frustrated (Estrada, 1997, report to COP 3).

Introduction

Decision-making rules are central to the organization of negotiations in intergovernmental regimes, as it is through these rules that the regime must sustain the delicate balance between state sovereignty and global interests upon which it is based. As discussed in Chapter 3, however, the climate change regime does not have an agreed rule for taking most substantive decisions, due to the inability of the parties to agree on voting rules in the rules of procedure. Although the remaining rules of procedure are routinely applied at each session, rule ...