RULES of PROCEDURE

official rules of parliamentary procedure

Roll Call
The Director takes attendance to see who is here. The Director calls the name of each delegate’s country. In response, the delegate will say “Present” (or “Present and Voting”). By saying Present and Voting, you’re stating that you will vote, either in favour or against the resolution no matter what. Any missing delegates will be contacted and their advisors will be notified, so please be on time for your committee sessions.

The Dais (composed of the Director and the Assistant Director/s) will introduce themselves and speak a bit about the conference and the topics at hand during the first committee session. During all committee sessions, important announcements will be made by the Dais before opening debate; make sure to come on time and listen carefully. 

Motion to Open Debate
The Director will ask, “Are there any points or motions on the floor at this time?” A delegate can raise their placard and say, “Motion to Open Debate!” The committee will then immediately vote on the motion, and debate will begin. 

(Preliminary) Speakers List
Delegates may motion to open the Preliminary Speakers List in order to discuss which topic they would like to start with. This motion requires majority support from other delegates. When this speakers list is open, the Dais will form a list of delegates that wish to speak, which delegates will indicate by raising their placards upon being prompted to. Like the regular (“Secondary”) Speakers List, the default speaking time is 60 seconds, though the Dais may adjust that time based on the needs of their committee. Additionally, no delegate may have their name on the list twice; delegates must wait until after they have spoken to re-add themselves to the list. After going through the list, the Dais will ask if there are any other points or motions on the floor. If there are none, the Dais will ask delegates to add their name to the speakers list.

Note: Your Director will determine whether or not your committee will allow the Preliminary Speakers list to be opened for discussion on which topic should be chosen. They reserve the right to rule motions to open the Preliminary Speakers List dilatory if they wish to skip setting the agenda. 

Motion to Set the Agenda (only done during the 1st committee session)
Most committees will have two topics, and delegates must decide which one to focus on first. As a result, a delegate can motion to set the topic to either one by saying “Motion to set the agenda to Topic A/B.” After taking a vote on the motion, two speakers will need to stand up and speak in favor of that topic while two other speakers will argue against picking that topic.  For example, if a delegate motions to set the order of the day to Topic A, two delegates will speak in favor of picking Topic A, while the other two will speak in favor of starting with Topic B instead. In order to choose these delegates, the Dais will open the (Preliminary) Speakers List and add delegates wishing to speak for and against the topic to it. Note that once the topic is set, this Speakers List will automatically close (without a motion, as the Preliminary Speakers List is only for discussion prior to the agenda being set). The default speaking time for each delegate will be 60 seconds (though the Dais may, once again, alter the time if that is deemed necessary). The committee will then vote—If the motion passes, then the debate will begin with Topic A. If it fails, the order will automatically be set to Topic B.

Note that the Dais reserves the right to change, increase or decrease the number of speakers for and against (though there must always be the same number of delegates speaking for and against the agenda being set to the topic in discussion).  

For committees with only one topic, after the motion is made to set the agenda to that topic a vote will immediately be taken without debating which topic to focus on.

Points and Motions:
Points and motions are tools for delegates to ask questions about committee and its proceedings, rather than the content of debate. Motions change what the committee is doing and generally require a vote. Points do not require a vote. Delegates may only introduce motions while the Speakers’ List is open and between speakers. When motions require a vote, the vote may be either substantive or procedural. Substantive votes require a two-thirds majority to pass, while procedural votes require a simple majority. Refer to the flow of debate chart at the end of this page which establishes the motions that require either a substantive or procedural vote. Points may be raised during caucuses, and some points may be used to interrupt a speaker.

There are four common points, as follow:

1) Point of Inquiry - used to ask a question about parliamentary procedure,

2) Point of Order - used when a delegate believes the Dias has made a procedural error

3) Point of Personal Privilege - used to express concerns about comfort such as the temperature of the room or the ability to hear a speaker

4) Point of Information - used to ask a clarifying question about the content of a speech or statement (only during the speakers list)

NOTE: Only a point of order and a point of personal privilege may be used to interrupt a speaker.

Voting Procedure in UNA-USA: Disruption
In UNA-USA, motions are voted on in order from most to least disruptive. In general, the Dais will be taking no more than five motions at a time. There can be multiple motions for the same type of debate (i.e., two Unmoderates Caucuses of different lengths). Here are the different motions in order from most to least disruptive: 

• Motion to Open/Adjourn Debate

• Motion to enter voting procedure

• Motion to introduce Working Papers/Draft Resolutions

• Motion for an extension to the current Moderated Caucus

• Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus (in order from longest to shortest)

• Motion for a Moderated Caucus (in order from longest to shortest, then the number of speakers)

• Default: Speaker’s List (when there are no points or motions on the floor, committee returns to the speaker’s list) 

• Motion to Open/Adjourn Debate 

At the start of each committee session a motion to open debate must be made. At this time, any other motion will automatically be ruled dilatory.

At the end of each committee session, a motion to adjourn debate must be made. Delegates will vote on this motion before being dismissed.

Moderated Caucuses
After the topic is set, many Directors will encourage their delegates to motion for the first Moderated Caucus.

Most debate in Model UN committees takes place in the form of moderated caucuses. Moderated caucuses are fast-paced timed debates during which delegates can discuss specific sub-topics and propose solutions that delegates are working on. They will prove useful to help delegates decide who to work with, what sub-topics are most important, and how to proceed in an unmoderated caucus.

Example: If you are a delegate in a committee discussing access to clean water, a delegate can say: “Motion for a 10-minute moderated caucus with 30-second speaking time to discuss water purification technology.” The delegate who proposed the motion has the ability to choose whether they speak first or last in the moderated caucus. 

Note that the motion has 3 parts:

Overall Length: the whole caucus will last for that amount of time. In this example, it was 10 minutes.

Speaking Time: Each speaker in the 10-minute Moderated Caucus has a 30-second time limit to talk about the topic of the Moderated Caucus. The way this works is that the Director says “All those wishing to speak at this time please raise your placard.” The Director picks one speaker, who speaks for 30 seconds, and this process repeats until the 10-minute length of the moderated caucus is over. Note that the speaking time must divide into the overall length. See the chart below for common time breakdowns.

Specific Topic: Each moderated caucus is focused on something specific—that is, in this case, water purification technology.

Yielding
Note that once you are finished speaking while the Speakers List is open or during a Moderated Caucus (during any substantial speech), you must yield your time to either (1) the Chair/Dais, (2) Questions, or (3) Another Delegate. The specific phrasing is “I yield my time to …” and the Dais will recognize that you have yielded your time.

Yielding to the Chair/Dais - This is when you are done speaking and do not wish to have any questions asked about the speech you just gave. The Dais will then call on the next person to speak

Yielding to Questions - This allows other delegates to question things that you mentioned. You may only use whatever time you have remaining out of your overall speaking time to address questions. 

Yielding to Another Delegate - This gives your remaining time to another delegate to speak. After saying “I yield my time to the Delegate of …,” they will immediately speak. 

Unmoderated Caucus
The unmoderated caucus is where Working Papers, Draft Resolutions, and any amendments actually get written (in many ways, a free for all). At YMUNK, delegates will have the chance to get out of their seats and move around the committee room.  Delegates will talk with fellow delegates to get a sense of who they would like to work alongside, and then, forming blocs and groups, begin to write clauses that solve specific subtopics of each issue. Typically each bloc in the committee will submit one working paper to the Dais, and each may receive feedback on Working Paper clauses they are writing from the Dais prior to submission (the same is the case for Directives in Specialized and Crisis Committees). 

The maximum and minimum numbers of sponsors (official submitters of a working paper) and signatories (the number of delegates that must sign off on a resolution agreeing that it should be debated in committee) will vary per committee and will be announced by the Dais Team. 

A motion for an unmoderated caucus looks like: “Motion for a 10-minute unmoderated caucus.” Note that there is no specific topic, it only needs an overall time length. NOTE: The committee will continue to cycle through moderated and unmoderated caucuses (usually abbreviated as “Mods” and “Unmods”) and the Speaker’s List until Working Papers are written and submitted to the Dais Team. The Dais Team will check over the Working Papers and work with different blocs of delegates to prepare them for presentation to the committee.

Right of Reply
The right of reply is a procedural tool that allows a delegate to respond briefly to remarks made by another delegate, typically if the delegate feels personally insulted or misrepresented. If a delegate deems that such a response is necessary to another delegate’s comment or speech, they may raise a right of reply in the form of a point of personal privilege or by getting recognised by the director. If the director considers the right of reply necessary and fair, the delegate will have a limited amount of time, determined by the director, to respond in a diplomatic manner and clarify any misunderstandings.

Additional Notes

• Speak in the 3rd person and refer to yourself by your assigned country (Instead of “I” say “The Delegate of…”)

• Make sure to raise your placard every time you wish to speak. 

• Points of Personal Privilege and Points of Order can be made at any time

• Points of Information and Inquiry can only be made at specific points in committee.