Parliamentary Procedures

Parliamentary Procedures

standardized set of rules for the orderly conduct of business in organizations

Parliamentary law

body of generally accepted rules, precedents and practices commonly employed to regulate the proceedings of deliberative assemblies

English Parliament

no established law or code on parliamentary rules; merely dependent on decisions of the Chair, reports of parliamentary debates, judicial rulings and other precedents entered in the Journals of Parliament

American Parliament (Modern)

has 4 sources of parlia rules and is applied usually to legislative bodies and other common deliberative bodies

Constitution, Rules adopted by each House of Congress, Decisions of Chair on Points of Order & Other manuals like Robert’s Rules of Order

4 Sources of Parlia Rules

Ecclesia

city-state

MMMSFEGI

Fundamental Principles of Parlia Proceedings

Members have equal rights and obligations

All members enjoy certain rights and privileges but these are not absolute; there are also obligations to observe

Majority rules

it is the essence of democracy; often a numbers game – usually it is 50% plus 1

Minority must be protected

Complements the majority rule; fiscalize/balance/checks and balances

Singularlty of subject

one subject at a time in relation to precedence of motions; Consti says, “No bill which may be enacted into law shall embrace more than one subject which shall be expressed in the titles of the bill” (Sec. 26(1));

Full and free debate

there are at least two sides in each question. Such two sides must be heard before any decision is made on it.

Every motion must be voted upon.

only thru the process of voting that the true will of the body can be determined; There are however certain motions that do not need voting; it is only the CHAIR who rules on POINT OF ORDER, POINT OF INFORMATION and POINT OF PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY

point of order, point of information, and point of parliamentary inquiry

motions that do not need voting

Group interest must prevail

personality and private desires should be subordinated to that of the organization

Impartiality of the Presiding Officer

requires not only parliamentary skill but also the delicate exercise of sound personal judgment, discretion and tact; act as moderator in heated debates (suspend session and help your group); advance personal opinion only when necessary

No, he can only do so if he relinquishes the position for the meantime

Can a presiding officer participate in the deliberations?

Meetings

assembly of members for any length of time-an unbroken deliberation except for short recess

Temporary adjournment

terminates a meeting (like adjourn at noon time or meets again in the evening)

Session

a single meeting or series of meetings;

no

does an adjournment of a meeting terminate a session

the said meeting/session

what does an adjournment of a single meeting/session terminate

Meetings 

usually provided in the Constitution and by-laws; notice of meeting not anymore necessary since members are presumed to know

Special meeting

called from time to time either by the head of the organization or certain number of the members; AGENDA MUST ONLY COVER those that are SPECIFIED IN THE NOTICE; notice of meeting should be served before the meeting; if there are matters not covered in the notice, the same are unrelated and invalid.

Adjourned Meeting

merely a continuation of an original meeting (whether regular or special); only business left pending must be taken up; may be held at any time but not on or beyond the next regular meeting.

Chair/Chairperson

presiding officer who conducts a meeting

Presiding officer

may or may not or can or can not vote according to its constitution and bylaws

Chief Justice

primos interpares should vote or may vote

Senate President 

like every senator may vote

House Speaker

representatives can vote

Table

is where the meeting or session is conducted

Floor

after a member is recognized by the presiding officer, he or she is “assigned the floor,” and is the only member entitled to make a motion or to speak

Quorum

minimum number of members who must be present at a meeting to transact business legally; required number of members to transact a valid business

Order of Business

adopted schedule of business for a meeting

Second

indicates that a member, in addition to the one proposing a motion is interested in having the motion considered (shows interest in doing the motion)

Recess

short break

Caucus

a meeting to decide action towards a motion or event

Motion

• Proposal of a member of a deliberative body calling for a specific action made ORALLY.

• A decision to be made on an issue.

Specific, Simple, Easy to understand, Well-structured, contains one aspect

Characteristics of a motion

Yes 

Is the motion from the majority floor leader immediately valid?

Privileged → Subsidiary → Incidental → Main

Order of dispensing the motions

Privileged motion 

special matters of immediate and overriding importance; may interrupt debate

Subsidiary motion

assists the assembly in treating a main motion; voted upon before main motion; takes precedence over the main motion

Incidental

motions incidental to another pending motion or other matters at hand

Main 

motions that bring a business or question for consideration when there is no pending business

Steps in handling a motion

Obtain the floor → Recognition from chair → Presentation of motion → Seconding of the motion → statement of the Motion by the Chairman → Discussion of the Motion → voting on the motion → announcement of the vote

Are there any Discussions? Amendments? Objections?

What must the chair ask after the statement of motion

Majority Vote 

considered as the simple or bare majority; it could refer to the majority of legal votes, majority of total votes cast, majority of members present or majority of all the members

Percentage Vote

Proportion of a certain whole

Plurality vote

number of votes that a  winning candidate or proposition has over the closest rival although it may not constitute a majority vote

Tie vote

2 or more candidates or proposition received the same number of votes; chair breaks tie

Unanimous vote

candidate or proposition obtains the total number of legal and valid votes cast

Examples of Privileged Motions

fix the time to which to adjourn, adjourn (if unqualified), take a receess, raise a question, call for orders of the day 

Examples of Subsidiary Motions

Lay on the Table, Call for the Previous Question, Modify the Limit of the Debate, Postpone Definitely, Commit or refer to a Committee, Amend, Postpone Indefinitely

Examples of Main Motions

General Main motions; specific main motions: take from the table, reconsider, reconsider and have entered into the minutes, rescind or repeal, expunge, adopt a report or resolution, amend, adjourn

Examples of Incidental Motions

suspend the rules, withdraw or modify a motion, object to the consideration of a question, raise a point of order, raise a parliamentary inquiry, raise a point of information, appeal from the decision of the Chair, call for a division of the assemby, Ask for the division of the assembly, read papers