Rules of Procedure (Basic Version)
Language
English is the official language of the conference, and must be spoken by delegates at all times.
This includes un-moderated caucuses and breaks. |
Courtesy
During committee sessions, delegates are expected to exercise diplomatic courtesy when addressing members of the committee and the Chairs.
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Staff
Each committee shall consist of a Chair, Co-Chair and Administration Staff.
If necessary, a member of staff may be removed by the Secretariat. |
Authority
The Chair shall exercise ultimate authority over their respective committee proceeding in an equitable and objective manner. The Chair's competence may not be questioned by delegates.
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Delegates' Rights
A country delegation shall be represented by one voting delegate per committee. All delegates shall have speaking and voting rights. However, observer delegates will not have voting rights on the topic.
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Roll Call
Attendance will be conducted by the Co-Chair or Administration Staff through a Roll Call at the beginning of every committee session. The roll call is made in alphabetical order by its English name.
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The Agenda
The Agenda reflects the order in which topics will be addressed by the committee. This is the first thing the committee will consider. Only topics set on the provisional Agenda provided by MUNKi2013 shall be considered by a committee.
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Delays
Delegates who come in late will not be allowed to enter the room as long as another delegate holds the floor. The delegate will have to write a note to the Assistant Chair to be recognised as present.
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Speaker's list
A Speaker’s list is opened following a "Motion to Open Debate" or "Motion to Set the Agenda" from a Delegate and the subsequent approval of the Chair. A Delegation can add its name to the List only if it is not already on it. The Delegate may either raise his/her placard when the Chair calls for Delegates to do so or send a note to the Co-Chair. Debate is automatically closed when the Speaker's List is exhausted. This means that the committee will move into voting procedures, and that the conference will end, if there is only one topic.
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Parliamentary Procedure
(A specific debating procedure first adopted in the UK Parliament, then developed. All Model UNs worldwide follow similar rules on procedure)
Present/Present&voting
At Roll Call, the Co-Chair will call out the names of the delegations in alphabetical order. A delegate may answer either "present" or "present and voting"
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Procedural/Substantive
A parliamentary procedure has a lot of formalities to ensure that a democratic process is upheld. Therefore, there are a lot of votes, and there is a difference between types of matters that require a vote.
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Quorum
quo·rum /ˈkwôrəm Committee activities and debate shall start when at least one quarter (1/4) of the Delegates are present. If quorum is not met thirty (30) minutes after the scheduled start time of the committee session, the committee shall be dismissed until the next scheduled time, unless otherwise instructed by the Conference Secretariat. Quorum shall be assumed when committee activity begins.
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Majority
A procedural or substantive matter requiring a simple majority to pass implies that fifty percent plus one vote (50% + 1) of the committee must vote in favour of the matter to pass. If the vote is a tie, the matter will be considered to have failed.
A procedural or substantive matter requiring a two-thirds (2/3) majority to pass implies that two-thirds (2/3) of the committee must vote in favour for a matter to pass. |
Voting by raising placards
Voting
When the Chair announces that the committee is entering voting procedure, no entering or exiting from the room will be permitted, unless there is an emergency or until voting procedure has come to an end. At this time, Motions to Divide the Question or for Roll Call Voting are in order.
Each Delegate of the committee has one vote and must demonstrate his/her voting intentions by raising his/her placard at the Chair's request unless there is a Roll Call vote. Delegates must vote in favour, against or abstain (unless they are "Present and Voting", in which case in favour or against only will be allowed. No Delegate shall vote on behalf of another Delegate.
Roll Call Motions may only be in order for substantive matters. This Motion is automatically accepted unless the Chair rules it out of order; the decision is not subject to appeal. During Roll Call, a Delegate may choose to pass. The Chair will place the Delegate at the bottom of the voting list. A Delegate who has passed once during a voting sequence may not pass again but must vote definitively.
A Delegate may request a right of explanation after voting. Upon completion of voting, the Delegate will be permitted to explain the reasons as to why he/she has chosen to vote a certain way. The Chair may limit the speaking time at his/her discretion.
A committee can vote on and pass more than one Resolution on a given topic. Draft Resolutions will be voted on in the order that they were numbered by the Chairs.
Each Delegate of the committee has one vote and must demonstrate his/her voting intentions by raising his/her placard at the Chair's request unless there is a Roll Call vote. Delegates must vote in favour, against or abstain (unless they are "Present and Voting", in which case in favour or against only will be allowed. No Delegate shall vote on behalf of another Delegate.
Roll Call Motions may only be in order for substantive matters. This Motion is automatically accepted unless the Chair rules it out of order; the decision is not subject to appeal. During Roll Call, a Delegate may choose to pass. The Chair will place the Delegate at the bottom of the voting list. A Delegate who has passed once during a voting sequence may not pass again but must vote definitively.
A Delegate may request a right of explanation after voting. Upon completion of voting, the Delegate will be permitted to explain the reasons as to why he/she has chosen to vote a certain way. The Chair may limit the speaking time at his/her discretion.
A committee can vote on and pass more than one Resolution on a given topic. Draft Resolutions will be voted on in the order that they were numbered by the Chairs.