Conference Rules of Procedure

AMUNI Parliamentary Rules of Procedure

Below are the official parliamentary procedures of the Auburn Model United Nations Invitational.

1. Functions of the Chair - The Chair shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting of the committee, direct its discussions, ensure observance of the rules of procedure, accord the right to speak, put forth questions, and announce decisions. The Chair shall rule on points of order and, subject to these rules, shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting and over the maintenance of order thereof. The Chair may, in the course of discussion of any item, propose to the committee the limitation of time to be allowed to speakers, the closure of the list of speakers, or the closure of debate. The Chair may also propose the suspension or adjournment of the meeting or the suspension of debate on the item under discussion.

a. The Chair shall have discretionary powers to entertain a motion or suggest to the Body that a motion would be in order, or choose not to entertain a motion and suggest that it be withdrawn. The Chair may also rule a motion out of order, thus disallowing that motion. The Associate Chair shall be responsible for the operation of the Dais, assist the chair, and, in the Chair's absence, become the acting Chair.

2.     Quorum - The Chair may declare a committee open and permit debate to proceed when at least one half of the members of the committee are present. A quorum shall be assumed to be present unless specifically challenged and shown to be absent through the request of a quorum call.

3.                 Presentation of Motions - If in the course of a speech a delegate wishes to make a motion, the Body immediately starts consideration of that motion. Making a motion during a speech automatically yields the floor back to the Chair.

4.                 Withdrawal - A motion, resolution, or amendment may be withdrawn by its mover and all sponsors at any time before voting has commenced. Once withdrawn, it may be reintroduced by any other member. A resolution may not be withdrawn after it has been amended. Signatories can only withdraw their signature outside of debate on a substantial topic.

5.                 Dilatory or Disruptive Motion - If a delegate presents a motion which is repetitive of an earlier motion or presents a motion that is clearly designed to interrupt/disrupt normal procedures of the Body, the Chair may rule the motion out of order. Such a ruling is  subject to appeal.

6.         Speeches - Speakers on a motion will be recognized by the Chair, who may call a speaker to order if his remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion. All speeches shall be made while standing in order to signify which delegate is speaking. At the conclusion of a speech without any yields, a delegate should sit down in order to signify that he or she is finished.

a.         Time Limit on Speeches – The default time limit for speeches on any main motion is set at one minute. If the committee wishes to alter the limit, it may do so by presenting a motion to the chair. The minimum time limit for substantive speeches is thirty seconds. Time limits on procedural speeches will be set by the chair, with the default time limit set at 1 minute in length.

7.                 Yields - A delegate granted the right to speak on a substantive issue may yield in one of three ways: to another delegate, to questions, or to the Chair. Only one yield is allowed per speech: a speaker who is yielded to may not yield again. Yields are in order only on substantive speeches.

a.                  Yield to the Chair - Such a yield should be made if the delegate does not wish his speech to be subject to comments.

b.                 Yield to another delegate - The delegate's remaining time shall be given to the speaker of his/her choice.

c.                  Yield to Questions - Questioners shall be selected by the Chair and limited to one question each. Question shall be asked in the form "Would the Chair please ask the delegate: [question]." The Chair may call to order any delegate whose question is dilatory or irrelevant. Only the time of the original speaker's answers to questions will be deducted from the speaker's remaining time.

8.                 Right of Reply - A delegate whose national integrity another delegate has impugned may request a Right of Reply. By doing so, the Chair may simply recognize that a delegate or nation's integrity has been impugned or may designate time to that delegate. A Chair's ruling on a Right of Reply is not subject to appeal. A Right of Reply to a Right of Reply is out of order. A Right of Reply should be provided to the Chair in writing within a reasonable time after the potential offense occurred.

9.                 Voting - Each country shall have one vote. Each vote may be a YES, a NO, or an ABSTAIN; however, there are no abstentions on procedural matters. Members present and voting shall be defined as members casting an affirmative or negative vote. All matters shall be voted upon by a show of placards, except in the case of a Roll Call Vote. After the Chair has announced the beginning of voting, no delegate shall interrupt the voting except on a Point of Order. During voting, all talking shall cease, all delegates shall remain seated and delegates will not be permitted to leave the committee room except in emergency (as determined by the Chair).

10.         Roll Call Vote - A delegate may make this request after the closure of debate during voting procedure but prior to the start of a vote being taken on a draft resolution, with the motion being made on a single draft resolution. A Roll Call Vote requires five seconds and no debate is permitted. In a Roll Call Vote, the Chair shall call the roll in alphabetical order. Delegates may vote Yes, No, Abstain, or pass. A delegate who passes during the first sequence of the roll call must vote during the second sequence. The Chair shall then announce the outcome of the vote.

11.        Precedence -Motions shall be considered in order of precedence by how disruptive the motion will be to the normal flow of parliamentary procedure, as determined by the Chair.

12.         Point of Order - During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may rise to a Point of Order to address the body of improper parliamentary procedure. The Point of Order shall be immediately decided on by the Chair in accordance with the rules of procedure. The Chair may rule out of order those points which are dilatory. Such a decision is not subject to appeal. A Point of Order may interrupt a speaker only when the speech itself is not following proper parliamentary procedure or fails to address the topic at hand.

13. Recess or Adjournment - Whenever the floor is open, a delegate may motion for Recess to suspend all committee functions until the committee reconvenes. The Chairs may rule such motions out of order. Such a decision is not subject to appeal. Such motions are not debatable and shall be immediately moved to a vote, requiring a majority to pass.

14.  Caucusing - A motion to Caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open, and prior to closure of debate. Once recognized, the delegate must briefly explain the purpose and time limit of the caucus. The motion shall immediately be put to a vote with a simple majority vote required for passage. The delegate must specify the type, Moderated or Unmoderated (see below). Such a motion is subject to the Chair's approval, as well as a vote of the Body.

a. Moderated Caucus: A moderated caucus is a suspension of the formal debate for the purposes of discussing a specific topic (i.e. working paper, resolution) for a designated period of time to be divided evenly for speeches among interested delegates. Such motions should specify the duration of the suspension of the meeting, the duration of speaking time (default is set at 30 seconds per speech), and the topic to be discussed. All discussion is to be limited to this specific topic and all speeches/discussions not on topic will be ruled dilatory by the Chair.

b.     Unmoderated Caucus: An unmoderated caucus is a suspension of the formal debate for the purposes to provide delegates the opportunity to network and caucus freely beyond the confides of formal debate. Such motions should specify the duration of the suspension of formal debate (default is set at 10 minutes, but can requested for shorter or longer durations). During this period, delegates will be free to move around the conference space, to caucus with fellow delegates, to work on working papers or resolutions, etc.

15. Tabling - When an amendment or resolution is currently on the floor, but prior to the closure of debate, it may be placed upon the table by motion. This motion requires a majority vote. Such an action delays consideration of the matter until it is removed from the table, thus if a resolution or amendment is tabled after having moved into the closure of debate, that matter would not be voted upon by the body. This motion is debatable with a two pro and two con speaker.

16. Removal from table - Removing a resolution from the table, i.e., resuming discussion of the matter may be accomplished by a majority vote after at least one other item of business has been considered. This motion is not debatable. A motion to untable must be made prior to the closure of debate.

17. Evolution of a Resolution - This rule will detail the production of a resolution from start to finish:

     a. Working Papers: Before a document is accepted by the Dais to be voted on, it is referred to as a working paper--a working paper must have a combination of 25% of the delegates present listed as either signatories or sponsors of the working paper. 

i. A Sponsor should have added substantive language or ideas to the working paper and is required to vote in favor of any completed resolution they remain as a sponsor of.

ii. A Signatory is a member-state that would like to have the ideas in the working paper debated, but does not necessarily agree with all elements of the document. A signatory may vote yes or no on any completed resolution they are a signatory on.

    b. Draft Resolutions: Once a working paper has been accepted by the Dais, it should be referred to as a draft resolution and it will be given a title that reflects its substantive nature. Once a document becomes a draft resolution, there can be no changes to preambulatory clauses. Draft resolutions require the approval of a majority of delegates present during voting procedure to become formal resolutions. 

   i. Amendments to Draft Resolutions: Any changes to draft resolutions must be submitted as amendments. Member- states wishing to propose an amendment to a draft resolution should 1) submit their proposed amendment in writing to the Dais and 2) then make a motion to amend the desired resolution on the floor. The Dais will then formally introduce the amendment and open it for discussion. Amendments are substantive matters, so member-states present may vote yes, no, or abstain. A simple majority of member-states approval is required for an amendment to be added to the language of a draft resolution. All amendments must be submitted and voted upon prior to entering voting procedure on a draft resolution. 

ii. Withdrawal: A sponsor of a draft resolution that wishes to revoke its sponsorship may do so at any time by submitting a motion to withdraw to the Dais in writing. 

iii. Voting Procedure: Once all debate (speaking list) has been concluded/exhausted OR the schedule dictates a closure of debate, delegates can motion to move immediately into voting procedure by motioning for a closure of debate (requires a simple majority). If the motion passes, the body moves immediately into voting procedure on all matters on the floor for consideration. The dais will usually offer to take a motion for a short unmoderated caucus prior to the start of voting to permit delegates to finalize their positions on all matters to be voted upon and/or use the facilities. Once in voting procedure, delegates will proceed in voting on every draft resolution that was on the floor at that time one at a time in order of how they were received by the dais. During voting procedure, delegates should avoid leaving the committee room as voting will continue in their absence and only delegates present will be able to place their vote. Resolutions are substantive matters, so delegates are able to vote yes, no, or abstain on each draft resolution as amended. 

iv. Division of the Question - If a resolution has two or more operative clauses then a delegate may, at any point during the consideration of a resolution (prior to the closure of debate), move to Divide the Question. This motion must include the way in which the delegate wishes for the question to be divided. When dividing the question, one is separating the resolution/amendment into two or more parts and voting on each part separately. Prior to voting on this motion, there will be one pro and one con speaker if there is  opposition to the motion. This motion requires a simple majority to pass. If the motion passes, the resolution will then be voted in that manner (i.e. the number of divisions) during voting procedure.

20. The rules herein are subject to changes as needed and will be announced prior to or during conference as appropriate.