About the Council on Legislation
T he Council on Legislation, Rotary's “parliament,” meets every three years to deliberate and act upon all proposed enactments and resolutions submitted by clubs, district conferences, the General Council and Conference of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, and the RI Board. The Council itself also makes proposals.
The Council on Legislation is an important part of Rotary’s governance process. While the Board of Directors sets policies for Rotary International, the Council is where Rotary clubs have their say in the governance of the association. Every three years, each district sends a representative to the Council, which reviews proposed legislation. Every club and district is entitled to submit legislation to the Council, and some of Rotary’s most important work has resulted from Council action. Women were admitted into Rotary because of the action of the 1989 Council on Legislation, and PolioPlus was born as the result of the 1986 Council.
The Council comprises more than 500 representatives from every part of the Rotary world. Voting members include one elected representative of the clubs of each Rotary district. Some nonvoting members include the chair and vice chair of the Council, the RI president, members of the RI Board, and past RI presidents.
2010 Council
The next Council on Legislation is tentatively scheduled for 25-30 April 2010 in Chicago. Mark Daniel Maloney will serve as Council chair, John Boag will serve as Council vice-chair, and Rolf Hörndler will serve as parliamentarian.
Council representatives were selected during the 2007-08 Rotary year.
The deadline to submit legislation to the 2010 Council on Legislation has passed.
What’s new for the 2010 Council?
The 2007 Council made a number of changes to the legislative process for the 2010 Council including changing the deadline to receive legislation (31 December 2008), the deadline for amendments, the definition of defective legislation, and the number of recommended legislative items per district. Further information on these changes can be found below and in What’s new for the 2010 Council.
Contact information:
General Secretary
c/o Council Services Section
Rotary International
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201 USA
Fax: 847-556-2123
E-mail: Council Services
More resources
2007 Council
All documents are in PDF format.
2010 Council
All documents are in PDF format, unless otherwise noted.