IIMEU - Rules of Procedure

8/3/2019 IIMEU - Rules of Procedure

1/17

General Roles of Procedure

Rule1

1.1 Official Language: English will be the official and working language of the IIMEU 2011.

1.2 Dress and conduct. In the spirit of the simulation, rules on dress and conduct arethe same as those which apply at an actual EU summit: formal attire, and behavior in

keeping with that which would prevail at a summit of the leaders of democratic states.

1.3 Rules of procedure. These vary by institution; please refer to the appropriate

section in this Guide. NOTE: Unlike Model UNs, we use a minimum of formal

procedures. In cases where interpretation and elaboration of the rules in this Guide areneeded, the members of the Secretariat will be the final authority.

1.4 Badges. Every delegate will be issued with a badge at Registration on Day One, and

should wear this at all times during the simulation.

Rule 2

2.1 Power of the Director: Ultimate power to oversee, direct and run each meeting will be

vested in the Director, who will have the sole power to open and close sessions, recognize

speakers, set time limits on speakers and debates, control discussion and debate, and

maintain order.

The Director must make every effort to be fair, to avoid partisan behavior of any kind, to

ensure the smooth flow of proceedings, to simulate as closely as possible the work of actual

EU institutions, and to make sure that all discussions are relevant and as productive as

possible.


2/17

2.2The Assistant Director shall be responsible for overseeing the entire resolution process

and approving draft resolutions. He or she must make sure that delegates are writing

resolutions in the proper format and staying in character. In addition, the Assistant Director

moderates proceedings when deemed necessary by the Director.

2.3 The Rapporteur is responsible for keeping the committee in order by maintaining the

speakers' list, calling roll, and tracking all resolutions and votes.

In addition, the Rapporteur is responsible for communications between the dais and the

Senior Secretariat.

2.4 Statements by the Secretariat: The Director-General or a member of the Secretariat

may at any time make either written or oral statements to the committee.

2.5 Responsibilities of delegates. All delegates must attend all scheduled meetings. Any

delegate who cannot avoid missing all or a substantial part of a meeting (i.e., more than ten

minutes) must register their anticipated absence with the Director in advance. They may

appoint an alternate (who will have the powers and responsibilities of the delegate), or they

may give their vote to another delegate.

Either way, they should inform the Director through a Point of Personal Privilege, otherwise

they will lose all voting rights during their absence.

Delegates are encouraged to remain seated throughout each meeting, but may leave the

chamber for short periods without the permission of the Director.


3/17

2.6 Disruptive behavior. Delegates should remember at all times the importance of the

three Cs - Cooperation, Compromise, and Consensus.

All delegates must at all times behave in accordance with the norms prevailing in a meeting

among representatives of democratic governments, and should avoid any kind of disruptive

behavior, defined as behavior that interferes with the flow of the work of the meeting.

In the event of disruptive behavior by a delegate, the Director may issue a formal warning to

that delegate. If the delegate fails to co-operate after two formal warnings, the Director may

require the delegate to be silent for a specified time, or (as a last resort) may order the

delegate to be expelled from the meeting chamber for a specified time. A silenced delegate

may vote, but any delegate expelled from a meeting will lose all voting rights for the duration

of his/her absence.

It is left to the Director to define "disruptive behavior", but it may include open hostility,

verbal abuse, constant interruption, raising of voices, delaying tactics, sleeping, a refusal to

follow the rules of procedure, a refusal to co- operate in decision-making, or consulting with

another delegate in a manner that interferes with the smooth flow of the meeting.

2.7 Votes of no confidence in the Executive Board

While it is understood that all meetings at IIMEU will be run on the basis of mutual respect

and understanding, it may be necessary in extraordinary circumstances - and solely as a last

resort - to censure or remove the Executive Board.

If a delegate feels that the any member of the Executive Board or the Executive Board as

whole is not giving fair time to all delegates, is being excessively partisan, is failing to keep

order, is clearly failing to maintain the smooth progress of the meeting, or is otherwise failing

to fulfill his/her duties in the best interests of the meeting, that delegate may as a last

resort - call for a vote of no confidence.


4/17

If another delegate seconds the motion, it will immediately be put to a vote, and requires the

support of at least two-thirds of the delegates present to be successful.

If the vote goes against the Executive Board, the IIMEU OC may issue a verbal caution,

remove the concerned member of the executive board from the meeting room for a specified

time, or arrange temporary or permanent replacement of the member by an alternate. This

will be decided either by consensus, or by a verbal vote, with each delegate having one vote,

and a simple majority prevailing.

No more than two votes of no-confidence may be called in any one meeting, and no one

delegate may make such a call more than once during IIMEU 2011 Conference.

If the Director is removed through a vote of no confidence, his/her duties will be carried out

for the duration of his/her removal by the designated Asst. Director of the forum.

Rule 3

3.1 Roll Call (Quorum)

The first order of business for each of session will be to establish roll and a quorum. This is

done by the Director at the beginning of the each individual session and does not require a

motion. The Director may record absentees informally by referring to seats left vacant.

The Director may also call on countries to identify them as present.

(Note: there is no present and voting)

If member state representatives will be delayed temporarily for some reason, courtesy

requires that they notify the Director beforehand.


5/17

3.2Voting Procedures

Where votes are taken, they should normally be open, and made by roll call in order of

seating, and recorded by the Asst. Director.

Voting will be verbal and expressed either as "Yes, No" or Abstain. Representatives of

Accredited Observers and of Non-Member States will have the same rights as those of full

members, except that they may not vote on any substantive issues.

Once a vote has been declared open, no-one will be allowed to speak other than to cast their

vote. Once all votes have been cast, the Asst. Director will tally the vote and immediately

announce the result. The decision of the Asst. Director a tally will be final.

3.2.1 Voting on procedural issues (e.g., adjournments, informal debate)

requires a simple majority of the delegates presentin the session including

Presidency.

One member, one vote!

3.2.2 Voting on matters of the agenda (sequence, division, combination of

agenda items, tabling and delegating the agenda as well as opening and

closing debate) requires a simple majority. The Director of the European

Committee may vote.

One member, one vote!

3.2.3 Voting on substantive issues, such as resolutions, requiresconsensus.

Note: there is no present and voting; or present rule in the EU!


6/17

3.3Speaking. Any delegate wishing to address any meeting must raise his/her hand and be

recognized by the Director. Verbal requests are not acceptable, nor are speaking out of turn.

Delegates must remain seated while speaking. Speakers may not be interrupted by anyone

but the Director or specified otherwise.

3.4 Laptops and cell phones. The use of laptops and cell phones is strictly prohibited

during the formal debate, moderated and the unmoderated caucus.

3.5 Visitors and Guests: Anyone may visit any meeting during a session, observe the

proceedings, and come and go as they wish, but may not address the meeting unless

expressly asked to by the Director, nor address other visitors in anything above a whisper,

nor disturb the meeting in any way.

Faculty advisors may coach and assist delegates only outside formal meetings. They may visit

meeting rooms and observe meetings, and they may confer briefly with delegates, but they

cannot interfere with, interrupt or address any meeting, cannot overrule Directors, have no

voting rights, and should avoid conferring with delegates in a meeting chamber during a

scheduled meeting. Above all, they should avoid giving advice on procedures and general

goals, leaving this to the discretion of the Secretariat.

3.6 Arbitration and the Secretariat. In the event of problems, conflicts, or questions over

procedure, the Executive Board may call for arbitration by a member of the Secretariat,

whose decision will be final. In extraordinary circumstances, the Secretariat may replace any

member of the Executive Board.A member of the Secretariat may - having given due notice to the Director - briefly interrupt

any meeting on a Point of Order or a Point of Information.

3.7 Amendments to the rules. None of these rules may be changed except by the IIMEU

OC.


7/17

Rule 4

4.1 A debate consists of introductory statements, general debate on the topic, debate on

specific amendments, and voting on amendments.

4.2 Types of Debate and Right to Speak:There are three types of debate:

4.2.1 Speakers List:

a. Every member who wishes to make a statement during a debate with a

Speakers List must ask to be added to the list by raising their placard when the

Director invites members to do so, or by submitting a note to the dais requesting

to be added to the Speakers List.

b. The Director can limit the number of speakers permitted beforehand. He/she

can also close the Speakers List at any time.

c. The Director will call upon the members on the Speakers List when their turn

comes.

d. The speaking time is usually two minute. The Director can announce a change

of the time limit for a set of speakers or for individual speakers at his/her

discretion. Motions to extend or limit the speaking time are also in order.


8/17

e. When a speaker has concluded their remarks, he or she will be asked by the

Director whether he or she is open to questions or brief comments from other

members. The speaker has the right not to answer any question and to refuse

comments. The Director and the speaker can limit the number of questions and

comments. The time limit for each comment or question is thirty seconds. The

time limit for each reply from the original speaker is also thirty seconds.

f. Members who wish to pose a question or make a comment to a speaker on

their remarks must raise their placard when the Director elicits such from the

Committee.

g. When the member has concluded his question or comment, the Director will

ask the speaker to answer the question or will give him/her the opportunity to

reply to the short remark. The Director can also decide not to give the speaker

the opportunity to answer.

h. If speakers whose names have been duly entered on the list and who are

actually present, are not able to speak due to lack of time, they have the right to

hand in the text of their speech to the Director in writing, in a final and legible

form, provided that it does not exceed the speaking time they would have been

allowed.

A 2-minute speech is normally equal to 1 page.

The Director may issue a summary of the speeches of those speakers at the end

of debate.


9/17

4.2.2 Motion to refer to an issue

a. A Moderated Caucus can be proposed by the Director and the Members of thecommittees at all times by a Motion to refer to an issue, specifying the time

limit for this discussion, the time limit for the speaking times, and the topic

for discussion.

A delegate would say -

like to refer to the issue of .

b. During a Moderated Caucus, members are expected to remain in the room and

follow the discussions.

c. The Director moderates the discussion, though no questions or comments are

allowed on remarks made during the motion.

d. The Director shall alert the Members when the motion is reaching its time

limit.

4.2.3 Unmoderated Caucus:

a. An Unmoderated Caucus can be proposed by the Director and the Members of

the Committees at all times by a Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus, specifying

the time limit of this informal discussion. The time limit may not exceed 20minutes.

b. During an Unmoderated Caucus, members shall remain in the room, if

possible. The Director does not moderate and the discussion is unofficial.


10/17

4.3 Temporary Adjournment

A Director or a delegate may call for a temporary adjournment of a meeting for a specified

time (no more than ten minutes), and (if necessary) be given a maximum of one minute to

explain his/her rationale.

If at least two other delegates second the motion, it will immediately be put to a vote,

and requires the support of at least a simple majority to succeed. The Director determines

the length and will allow no more than TWO temporary adjournments within a 60-minute

period. No one delegate may call for an adjournment more than once in any one meeting.

A delegate would say -

moves to have a temporary adjournment for the purpose of an informal

consultation.

4.4 Procedural Points

4.4.1 Point of Information: This must be confined to raising questions of

procedure or regarding a ruling from the Director. If the right to raise procedural

points is misused, the Director may forbid the offending member to speak for the

remainder of the item of business.

4.4.2 Point of Order: A member may raise a point of order if he/she haslegitimate reason to believe that a breach of the rules of procedure has occurred.

The point of order should only be phrased to draw attention to the concern and

will be addressed accordingly by the Director.


11/17

4.4.3 Point of Personal Privilege: A member may raise a point of personal

privilege when experiencing discomfort, such as not being able to hearanother

members speech. This point can be raised without the Director asking for points

and motions. This is the only point that may interrupt a speaker.

4.4.4 Right of Reply: A member may raise a right of reply immediately

following the remarks of another member if he/she feels that these remarks

insulted his/her dignity or national honour. The Director shall immediately rule

whether the right of reply is valid and whether the remarks could have been

reasonably considered insulting or offensive. The remarks granted to the

offended member under a right of reply must be respectful and intended to

challenge any perceived defamation, lasting no more than thirty seconds.

4.4.5 Verification of Quorum: A member may raise a verification of quorum if

he/she believes that a significant portion of the Committee is missing for debate.

The Director has the right to regard this as a dilatory point. If the point does

appear to be valid, a head count will be conducted to determine the new

quorum. All future votes on procedural motions will account for this revised

quorum.

4.4.6 Plea to follow up: If a delegate feels unsatisfied or feels that question put

forward by him was not answered; the delegate can raise a Plea to follow up

stating. The Director may reject a plea to follow up.


12/17

4.5 Order of Precedence of Points

In case of one or more point or motion submitted at once, the order of precedence shall be as

follows:

-Point of Personal Privilege

-Point of Order

-Point of Information

-Right of Reply

-Verification of Quorum

-Plea to follow up

4.6 Motions

Motions can be used to combine or divide agenda items, to table an issue, or to refer an issue

to a committee for further study. Motions are also in order (determined always by the

Director) to close debate on an issue and bring it to a vote. Motions are always subject to a

second by two delegates and are brought to a vote immediately.

The following are the procedural motions that may be entertained in the Committee:

4.6.1 Motion for a Moderated Caucus

A member may make a Motion for a Moderated Caucus to allow for a deeper

examination of a particular clause or provision under the topic for debate. The

Director can either approve the motion or put it a vote. A simple majority is

required to adopt the motion. Furthermore, in order for the motion to be valid, it

must be made with a proposed overall time limit, a proposed limit for speaking

times, and a topic.

4.6.2 Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus

A member may make a Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus so that disputed

points can be clarified in an informal setting. The Director can either approve the

motion or put it to a vote. A simple majority is required. The Director also has

the possibility to declare a temporary adjournment of the session without a

motion from a member.


13/17

4.6.3 Motion to Close Debate

A member may make a Motion to Close Debate, whether that be to close the

general debate, to close debate on the amendments, or to close the debate on a

specific amendment. If there are no immediate objections to the motion, it

should be put to a vote. One member may speak in favour and one member may

speak against the motion. A two-thirds majority is required. Once a motion for

closure of debate has passed, the debate will be closed immediately and none of

the speakers still on the list of speakers will have the possibility to issue their

remarks.

4.6.4 Motion to Extend/Limit Speaking Time

A member may propose to change the speaking time. This motion can be raised

only when the Director asks for points and motions. The Director may put this

motion to a vote. A simple majority is required.

4.7 Handling a Motion

4.7.1 Members may raise procedural motions at all times, except during

Moderated Caucus, Unmoderated Caucus, and voting procedure.

Three steps by which a motion is brought before the group

A member makes a motion.

Another member seconds the motion.

The Director states the question on the motion.

Three steps in the consideration of a motion

The members debate the motion (unless no member claims the floor for thatpurpose).

The Director puts the question to a vote.

The Director restates the question.

The Director takes the vote:

"All in favor of the motion, say aye."

"Those opposed, say no."

The Director announces the result of a vote.


14/17

A minimum of TWO seconds are required before a motion is put to vote, as and

when applicable.

4.7.2 There are no abstentions during votes on procedural motions.

4.7.3 The Director is allowed to dismiss dilatory procedural motions.

4.7.4 No motion may interrupt a speaker.

Rule 5

5.1 Closure of debate. The Director will normally decide on the closure of a debate, but a

delegate may move for closure, and (if necessary) be given a maximum of one minute to

explain his/her rationale. If at least two other delegates second the motion, it willimmediately be put to a vote, and requires the support of a majority of delegates to be

successful. The Director will declare the debate closed if the vote is successful.

5.2 Closure of meeting. The Director will normally decide on the closure of a meeting, but a

delegate may move for closure, and (if necessary) be given a maximum of one minute to

explain his/her rationale. If at least two other delegates second the motion, it will

immediately be put to a vote, and requires unanimity to be successful. The Director will then

close the meeting if the vote is successful. No one delegate may call for a closure of a meeting

more than once in any one meeting.

5.3 Extension of meeting. Any meeting may be extended as long as there is a consensus in

favor, and as long as that extension does not prevent delegates from being at another

previously scheduled meeting in another forum.


15/17

Rule 6

6.1 Resolution (Conclusions of the Committees)

A resolution on an agenda item, essentially a brief paragraph prefaced with the following

operative phrases recommends, emphasizes, insists on, notes, welcomes, etc. must

have five signatures from five participants (one of whom may also be the Commission

Director).

Due to time constraints, in this simulation the Conclusions will be submitted in an outline

format and will contain the resolutions agreed upon by delegates during negotiating

sessions.

A proposed resolution must be submitted to the Director before it can be formally

considered for the Conclusions of the Presidency. Multiple resolutions can (but do not

necessarily have to) be agreed upon for each agenda item, so long as they are not conflicting.

As Conclusions of the Presidency are agreed upon through consensus, (voting is used only as

a last resort) resolutions should have considerable support before they are formally

proposed and discussed in formal debate.

The Director will ask if there are any member states who are opposed to the resolution. If

there are none, the resolution will be passed and be included in the Conclusions of the

Presidency.

If there are objections, debate and negotiation will continue until a consensus is reached orthe resolution is abandoned.

A vote on a resolution can be used if consensus cannot be reached to pass resolutions, but

this is considered a last resort and only occurs in rare circumstances.


16/17

6.2 Amendments to a Proposal

The amendments will be debated during the amendments debate and immediately following

the general debate. They will be debated in the order in which they appear in the text. If two

or more contradictory amendments relate to the same paragraph, the amendment which

differs most from the text shall have priority over the others and shall be taken first. If it

passes, the other amendments thereby fail; if it is rejected, the amendment which is next in

priority shall be considered, and similarly for each of the remaining amendments. In case of

doubt as to the order, the Director shall give a ruling.

6.2.1 Every member can propose amendments to a proposal. Amendments must

be handed in to the Director in the designated form.

6.2.2 An amendment which would tend to delete, replace or render inoperative

the whole of a draft text is not in order. The Director can dismiss dilatory

amendments.

6.2.3 Amendments can be handed in at all times during a reading.

6.2.4 When a proposed amendment is to be debated, the Director calls upon the

member who submitted it to present it. Apart from reading out loud the text of the

proposed amendment, the member should explain it in a few brief sentences. After

that, the Director shall open a speakers list regarding the amendment. No speech

on amendments may last for more than one minute.

6.2.5 An amendment can make changes to several paragraphs in the text if these

changes are linked with each other and if it would make no sense to split the

amendment up into several amendments. The Director can dismiss an amendmenton the grounds that it changes several paragraphs at a time but could be split up

into several amendments.

6.2.6 The member who proposed an amendment can withdraw that amendment at

all times. If he/she does so, the Director will ask whether another member is

willing to take over the amendment. If no other member immediately takes over

the amendment, it is deemed void.


17/17

6.2.7 Sub-amendments (a.k.a. Amendments to the Amendments) shall relate to an

amendment previously discussed and may not contradict the sense of the

amendment. A sub-amendment may not be further amended.

6.2.8 Friendly amendment: A member who discovers a spelling, grammatical or

stylistic mistake in the proposal or in an amendment being debated may propose a

friendly amendment. The friendly amendment should be in a written form and can

be delivered to the Director at all times. The Director decides on the matter. The

Director also has the possibility to propose a friendly amendment.

6.3 Voting on Amendments

When the debate on amendments has been closed, the Director announces the beginning of

the amendment voting procedure. No amendments may be submitted during the voting

procedure and no member is allowed to enter or exit the Chambers. Guests may be asked to

leave the room.

The amendments that have been debated will be voted on following their order of

appearance in the text. The Director will read out the text of the amendment to be voted on.

The members will vote directly afterward, without debate. A simplemajority is needed for

the amendment to be accepted. Abstentions are permissible inthe Committee.

All the passed amendments become part of the amended proposal.

Rule7

Judging and Awards

The judges and members of the presidency will both be involved in the judging

deliberations. The members of each session will make nominations for awards.

Participants are evaluated on their preparedness, accurate representation of country

position, and use of diplomacy including correct use of parliamentary procedure,

negotiating skill, and ability to make compromises

IIMEU - Rules of Procedure

Documents

Transcript of IIMEU - Rules of Procedure