10 3. The Secretariat shall be a functionally autonomous institutional body within the African Union system with an independent legal personality; 4. The Secretariat shall be autonomous of the African Union Commission; 5. The Funds of the Secretariat shall come from the overall annual budgets of the African Union; 6. The roles and responsibilities of the Secretariat shall be determined by the Council of Ministers of Trade. Article 14 Decision-Making 1. Decisions of the AfCFTA institutions 1 on substantive issues shall be taken by consensus. 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Committee of Senior Trade Officials shall refer, for consideration by the Council of Ministers, matters on which it has failed to reach consensus. The Council of Ministers shall refer the matters to the Assembly where consensus could not be reached. 3. Decisions on questions of procedure shall be taken by a simple majority of State Parties, eligible to vote. 4. Decisions on whether or not a question is one of procedure shall also be determined by a simple majority of State Parties, eligible to vote. 5. Abstention by a State Party eligible to vote shall not prevent the adoption of decisions. Article 15 Waiver of Obligations 1. 1 In exceptional circumstances, the Council of Ministers may waive an obligation imposed on a State Party to this Agreement, upon request by a State Party, provided that any such decision shall be taken by three fourths2 of the States Parties, in the absence of consensus. The Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Committee of Senior Trade Officials. A decision to grant a waiver in respect of any obligation subject to a transition period or a period for staged implementation that the requesting State Party has not performed by the end of the relevant period shall be taken only by consensus. 2