Due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the Standing Committee, in consultation with the Secretariat, decided to postpone MOP8, which had been scheduled for 5 – 9 October 2021, to the second half of 2022. As a consequence, there was need for organizational, administrative and financial arrangements to be made so that the Secretariat could continue to function in 2022 until a new triennial budget will be adopted at MOP8 for 2023-2025. The Contracting Parties, on an exceptional basis, decided to consider and adopt Resolutions intersessionally through employing a written silence procedure, also known as a “no objection” procedure.

This procedure for adopting resolutions, which first had to be authorised by a written procedure itself, is considered adopted through Resolution Ex.1, effective 16 October 2021. The procedure was established in line with UN General Assembly Decision 74/544 that is being applied mutatis mutandis in lack of a relevant regulation in the Agreement text.