Levels of Rules

Corporate Charter

absolute highest ranking set of rules= document that makes groups exist

• says its purpose and its structure.

• Sometimes, it has special rules regarding some decisions (like any motion that is important, like a business merge, needs a 2/3 vote).

bylaws

*More specific rules on how the actual organization operates

• It goes in depth on meetings, elections, and decisions.

• These must have notice and a specific vote amount (usually 2/3) in order to amend.

• They also cannot be suspended, besides some very weird situations

Rules of Order

Robert’s Rules of Order itself. Dictates how meetings are run.

• Rules that are related to “details of the administration of a society”.

• think of a game night. You may say that turns must go clockwise and must be set to 1 minute per person.

• These can be adopted with a simple majority vote without notice, so they are pretty weak.

Custom

• are a bit more informal than Standing Rules

• just like cultural customs, they are tradition

• not necessarily written down