Everything about Parliamentary Procedure totally explained
Parliamentary procedure is the body of
rules,
ethics, and
customs governing meetings and other operations of
clubs,
organizations,
legislative bodies, and other
deliberative assemblies. It is part of the
common law originating primarily in the practices of the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom, from which it derives its name.
In the
United States, parliamentary procedure also referred to as
parliamentary law,
parliamentary practice,
legislative procedure, or
rules of order. In
Britain,
Australia,
New Zealand,
South Africa, and other English-speaking countries it's often referred to as
chairmanship,
chairing, the
law of meetings,
procedure at meetings, or the
conduct of meetings.
At its heart is the rule of the majority with respect for the minority. Its object is to allow
deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and to arrive at the sense or the will of the assembly upon these questions. Parliamentary procedure is used in organizations of
self-governing people to conduct
debate with the least possible friction in order to as efficiently as possible
make group decisions. These decisions are usually determined by
voting.
Overview
In the
United States and
Canada,
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised is the authority most often used by non-legislative deliberative assemblies.
Robert's Rules is based on the common law of parliamentary procedure found in the United States.
Commonwealth countries (except for Canada) follow a somewhat similar, but distinctively different set of rules, sometimes referred to as
Westminster procedure. Both sets of parliamentary procedure originate from the procedure used in the British House of Commons. Legislative assemblies in all countries, because of their nature, tend to have a specialized set of rules that in some areas differs greatly from the common parliamentary procedure used by clubs and organizations.
Parliamentary procedure is based on the principles of allowing the majority to make decisions effectively and efficiently (
majority rule) and ensuring fairness towards the minority, as well as giving each member or
delegate the right to voice his or her opinion
Voting is used to determine the will of the assembly. While each assembly may create their own set of rules, these sets tend to be more alike than different. A common practice is to adopt a standard reference book on parliamentary procedure and then modify it by adopting
special rules of order that take precedence over certain rules in the adopted authority.
Business is conducted through
motions, which cause actions. Members bring business before the assembly by introducing
main motions, or dispose of this business (through
subsidiary motions and
incidental motions). Parliamentary procedure also allows for rules in regards to nomination, voting, disciplinary action, appeals, dues, and the drafting of organization
charters,
constitutions, and
bylaws.
Organizations and civic groups
In civic groups and other organizations,
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised is the most commonly used parliamentary authority. Other authorities are
The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (widely used in medical organizations), and
Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure.
Legislatures
Of the 99
state legislatures in the
United States,
Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure governs parliamentary procedures in 70;
Jefferson's Manual governs 13, and
Robert's Rules of Order governs five.
Mason's Manual, originally written by constitutional scholar and former
California Senate staff member
Paul Mason in 1935 and since his death revised and published by the
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), governs legislative procedures in instances where the
state constitution,
state statutes, and the chamber's rules are silent.
According to the NCSL,
[ one of the many reasons that most state legislatures use Mason's Manual instead of Robert's Rules of Order is because Robert's Rules applies best to private organizations and civic groups that don't meet in daily public sessions. Mason's Manual, however, is geared specifically toward state legislative bodies.
]Parliamentarians
In the United States and Canada, individuals who are proficient in parliamentary procedure are called parliamentarians. (In other English-speaking countries with parliamentary forms of government, "parliamentarian" refers to a member of Parliament.)
Several organizations offer certification programs for parliamentarians, including the National Association of Parliamentarians and American Institute of Parliamentarians. Agriculture teachers who coach teams in the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) parliamentary procedure contest can earn the title Associate Parliamentarian (AP). Parliamentarians perform an important role in many meetings, including counseling organizations on parliamentary law, holding elections, or writing amendments to the constitution and bylaws of an organization.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Parliamentary Procedure'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://parliamentary_procedure.totallyexplained.com">Parliamentary procedure Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
