Crisis

General Rules of Debate

  • The decisions of the Chair are final, unless overridden by the Secretariat.

  • Only the Chair, a member of the house recognized by the Chair for a point or motion, or the speaker holding the floor has the right to speak.

  • The Chair may, if circumstances warrant it, extend or reduce debate times, limit the number of presenting sponsors or signatories, and rule any motions dilatory should they upset the flow of debate.

  • Except by a decision of the Chair or Secretariat, there will be no suspension of the rules or changes in the order of debate.

  • Direct conversation between delegates is prohibited, and must take place through the chair or through note-passing.

  • All delegates must adhere to the GECMUN Code of Conduct as identified on the onboarding form for the conference. Should an individual go against any of the terms outlined in the code, disciplinary measures will be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the rest of the participants of the conference.

Agenda

  1. The agenda is the main topic that will be debated inside the committee;

  2. The agenda is set by student officers and the secretariat;

  3. A motion to set the agenda will be out of order for single-agenda committees.

Roll Call

  1. The chair shall start each session by conducting a roll call where delegates may respond either present, or present and voting. Delegates will be called in alphabetical order.

    1. Present: the delegate is present in the committee and has the right to abstain during substantive voting procedures

    2. Present and Voting: the delegate is present in the committee and does not have the right to abstain during substantive voting procedures

      1. Non-Governmental Organizations and Observer States may only state Present during roll call.

  2. The quorum is set to ⅔ of the committee.

    1. If a committee has not met the quorum, the chair should report back to the secretariat for further instructions.

Opening Speech

  1. All delegates are required to present a 60 seconds speech at the start of the conference.

  2. Delegates are encouraged to present their country or character’s stance and potential resolutions.

  3. Once a delegate has spoken, any time remaining will be yielded back to the chair.

Speakers' List

  1. The Speakers’ list serves as the default for the committee if no points or motions are voiced by delegates. There is no limit on the amount of delegates who can be added to the list, but a country may not be added if they are already currently on the list; they may only appear once on the list at any given time.

  2. Delegates can be added to the list at any time during a committee session by notifying the Chair to be added.

  3. The default speaking time for a delegate is one minute, but this can be left to the discretion of the delegate who proposes to open the list. Should the entire speaking time not be elapsed by a delegate, they must explicitly yield their time back to the Chair.

Yielding

  1. Delegates may yield the remaining time of their speech (from a speakers’ list and an authorship speech) in the following ways under the discretion of the chair:

    1. Yield the time back to the chair,

    2. If there’s 30 or more seconds left, yield to Points of Informations:

      1. Delegates shall specify the number of Points of Informations, or to any and all delegates

      2. Follow-ups are allowed, but not to the second degree,

    3. If there’s 30 or more seconds left, yield to another delegate:

      1. Pre-yielding agreements are not required,

      2. Yielding to a second degree shall be out of order

Directives

Private Directive

  • A private directive consists of a submitter, recipient, and content.

    • Submitter: the author is the only submitter of a private directive

    • Recipient: the recipient may be the director or any other creative, fictional, or historical person, organization, or entity relevant to the crisis situation

    • Content: the content must include an actionable direction, request, or question that is appropriate and relevant for the current crisis situation

      • Content that may be illegal or highly offensive in modern settings must be filtered by the director. Such content should be forwarded to the Secretariat for review, and the director may not approve it until the Secretariat completes their review.

  • A private directive must be within the portfolio power of the submitter.

  • A private directive must be submitted to the director or head chair for review.

  • A directive has no effect until it is approved and executed by the director, which can be in the form of a written or verbal reply or future crisis update.

  • A denied directive cannot be resubmitted for a reapproval.

Public Directive

  • A public directive consists of a main submitter, an optional co-submitter, sponsors, and content.

    • Main Submitter: the primary author is the main submitter of a private directive

    • Optional Co-submitter: if there are co-submitters who have contributed to the creation of the directive, they may be included as co-submitters

    • Sponsors: delegates who support the public directive can be listed as sponsors, given their explicit verbal or written approval

  • A public directive must have at least a third of the committee’s sponsorship to be submitted for review. A sponsorship should be counted by including the main submitter and co-submitters. Directives that do not meet this requirement must be denied automatically.

  • A public directive must be within the portfolio power of the submitter, co-submitters, and the committee as a whole.

  • A public directive must be submitted to the director or head chair for review, after which the motion to introduce a public directive can be raised.

  • A directive has no effect until it is approved and executed by the director, which can be in the form of a written or verbal reply or future crisis update.

  • A denied directive cannot be resubmitted for a reapproval.

For the process of introducing a public directive, refer to Motion to introduce a Public Directive.

This section of the Crisis Rules of Procedure has been adapted from the No Borders MUN 2021 Crisis Rules of Procedure.

Voting

  1. There are two types of voting procedures:

    1. Procedural vote,

    2. Substantive vote,

  2. A procedural vote pertains to all procedural matters including (in the order of precedence):

    1. Motion for a moderated/unmoderated caucus (½ Majority),

    2. Motion to modify speaking time (⅔ Majority),

    3. Motion to table debate (⅔ Majority),

    4. Motion to resume debate (⅔ Majority),

    5. Motion to adjourn the meeting/session (⅔ Majority),

    6. Motion to suspend the rules (⅔ Majority),

  3. A substantive vote pertains to all substantive documents including:

    1. Public directives.

  4. Abstentions on procedural votes are out of order:

    1. Delegates who have responded “present and voting” during the roll call may not abstain from voting.

Right of Reply

  1. When the delegate feels that his/her national/personal integrity has been violated or threatened by another delegate, he/she may send a note to the chair to request a right of reply. Once granted, the delegate may speak for 30 seconds:

    1. Under the chair’s discretion, the accused delegate may respond to the right of reply.

Points

Point of Personal Privilege

  1. Delegate may rise this point when a delegate experiences personal discomforts (ex: voice of the delegate or chair, temperature of the room)

  2. It may interrupt a speech only when the delegate cannot hear the voice of the delegate on the podium.

Point of Order (Point of Parliamentary Procedure)

  1. Delegates may raise this point when a delegate feels that the debate is not following the correct procedure.

  2. It may interrupt a speaker only when the speech itself is not following proper procedure.

Point of Inquiry

  1. Delegates may raise this point and ask the student officer when he is confused or not aware of the proper Rules of Procedure.

  2. This point cannot interrupt a speaker.

Point of Clarification

  1. This point is used when a delegate wants clarification regarding the content of the speech to the speaker, usually after operative clauses of a resolution and amendment are read out.

  2. Delegates may use this point when they are not able to understand the resolution due to the terminology, acronyms, abbreviations of words or audibility of the speaker.

Point of Information

  1. This point is used when a delegate has a question in regards to the content after a speech.

  2. The point must be in a question form, and may occur during a Speakers’ List or when a delegate opens the floor to Points of Information.

Motions

Motion to Extend the Speaking Time

  1. The default speaking time without a Motion to Extend the Speaking Time is 90 seconds.

  2. The motion shall be immediately put to a vote, and requires a simple majority to pass.

  3. If the motion passes, the General Debate of the committee must be carried out by abiding by the speaking time.

  4. If the motion fails, the committee continues to debate with the previous speaking time.

Motion to move into a Moderated Caucus

  1. A delegate must specify the purpose, total duration time, and individual speaking time.

  2. Procedural voting must be taken and requires a simple majority to pass.

  3. The student officer may change the time limit or rule the motion out of order.

  4. Since the General Speakers’ List will be suspended, delegates will deliver their speeches in their own seats with designated speaking time.

  5. There is no yielding in a Moderated Caucus.

  6. A Moderated Caucus cannot be finished until the designated time has elapsed.

  7. The maximum duration for the Moderated Caucus is 20 minutes.

Motion to move into an Unmoderated Caucus

  1. A delegate must specify the purpose and total duration.

  2. Procedural voting must be taken and requires a simple majority to pass.

  3. The student officer may change the time limit or rule the motion out of order.

  4. Unmoderated Caucus is a time for delegates to freely move around, have informal debate with fellow delegates, or write draft resolutions.

  5. The maximum duration for the Unmoderated Caucus is 30 minutes. However, this can be changed under the chair’s discretion.

  6. The maximum duration of an unmoderated caucus for the purpose of drafting resolutions is 40 minutes.

Motion to introduce a Public Directive

  • A public directive must be approved by the director before this motion is raised.

  • Only the main submitter of a public directive can raise this motion.

  • This motion will start a debate process for a public directive that will involve introducing, discussing, and voting.

    • The delegate who raised the motion will read their public directive to the committee.

    • The delegate who raised the motion will accept Points of Clarification.

    • The delegate must deliver a 2 minute authorship speech.

      • The delegate who raised the motion will accept Points of Information in regards to the directive for a maximum of 15 minutes.

        • All delegates in the committee with a right to speak may ask a question.

        • If there are no questions, the duration for Points of Information may be reduced by the chair.

    • The chair must entertain a motion for a moderated or unmoderated caucus to discuss the implications for the raised public directive.

      • Any delegate may raise a motion for a moderated or unmoderated caucus and can set an appropriate duration.

      • Any other motions will be denied.

      • If no delegates are raising a motion, the committee will automatically move into a moderated caucus, with an individual speaking time of 30 seconds, and a total duration of 15 minutes.

    • After the time for a caucus has expired, the committee may optionally extend a caucus once.

    • Finally, the committee will move into voting procedures for the public directive.

      • A public directive must receive a two-thirds majority for it to pass.

This section of the Crisis Rules of Procedure has been adapted from the No Borders MUN 2021 Crisis Rules of Procedure.

Motion to Adjourn the Meeting

  1. When there are less than 30 minutes remaining in the session, a delegate may move to adjourn the meeting.

    1. The Motion to Adjourn the Meeting must specify at which point in time the meeting will be resumed, except for the last session on the last day of the conference.

  2. The student officer may rule on this motion.

  3. This motion shall be put to an immediate procedural vote, and requires a simple majority to pass.

Motion to Suspend the Rules

  1. This motion can be raised when a delegate feels impracticality, health problems, or other problems regarding the Rules of Procedure.

  2. A delegate may make a Motion to Suspend the Rules, specifying the rule he wants to suspend, the purpose, and total duration.

  3. This motion shall be put to an immediate vote, and requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

  4. This motion must be approved by the Secretariat before it is implemented.

Order of Precedence

  1. Point of Personal Privilege

  2. Point of Order

  3. Point of Inquiry

  4. Motion to Set the Agenda

  5. Motion to Suspend the Rules

  6. Motion to Adjourn the Session/Meeting

  7. Motion to Modify the Speaking Time

  8. Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus

  9. Motion for a Moderated Caucus

  10. Motion to introduce a Public Directive

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