Rules of Order

The rules of order of a group are the rules used in the proceedings of its meetings, so as to aid in settling disputes over matters such as whether or not a member can be denied the right to speak on a proposal before the assembly. The rules of order used by the PPCA are those contained in Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th Edition, with some additional Special Rules of Order. While this book is not freely available, most members do not need to acquire a copy and if they do, it is not very expensive (most bookstores sell it for under $15). More interested members may want to look at ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief, 2nd Edition', which is a slightly cheaper but much shorter and less technical work aimed at introducing people to the rules of order. Likewise, most members do not regularly need to refer to the special rules of order.

This page is a higher-level summary of the rules used by the Party in its general meetings.

=Background=

This section is a fair amount of parlimentary history and rationale. You don't have to read it. Seriously. It's long. This author has tried to make sure that the rest of this can be read without having read this section first. But if you're interested in the background of the rules that we use, as well as a few of the author's opinions on the subject and also on how it relates to the Internet, read on.

The rules of parliamentary law have been developed over the course of centuries in order to allow members of an assembly---a group of people trying to come to a decision---to find a procedure by which everyone is fairly treated and can contribute, so that if a decision is made that they do not agree with, they will at least recognize that the decision was fairly made, and so they will comply with the decision at least until they can convince enough others to change it. The source of modern parliamentary law is believed to be the British House of Commons, but nowadays parliamentary law is used in a wide variety of contexts.

The rules used by different assemblies vary, and rightly so. Any decision-making assembly may differ from another in any number of ways, including character, purpose, powers, and the amount of business that it needs to address. As such, they vary from gigantic, frequently-meeting bodies such as the European Parliament, down to small boards of directors that meet on a very infrequent basis.

One thing that all deliberative assemblies have in common, though, is the need for rules. Sometimes these rules can be informal, such as proceeding by consensus only. Other times, they are long documents designed to address every aspect of procedure so that nearly every question can be easily answered.

RONR is one such body of work, and its first edition was the first set of parliamentary rules that were not written with one specific body in mind. While many---most, even---of the rules contained within will only rarely see application, they do enable settling unusual disputes that may arise. The rules contained in RONR are based on a set of guiding principles, including:
 * Every member of the decision-making body has a right to participate in the decision-making process, including to introduce matters, to debate them (subject to certain limitations), and to vote on each decision.
 * Each member is entitled to exactly one vote, and a decision is normally made by a majority of votes, with larger thresholds being required for decisions that may come into conflict with rights of a member. Non-members do not get a vote.
 * All decisions of the body must be made at meeting where all members can actively participate (footnote: RONR specifically requires aural---that is, sound---communication between participants, partially due to the reduced expressivity of text-based forms of communication, and partially because the extension of parliamentary procedure to text-based communication is still an area of active research by the parliamentary community. The Party, in its constitution & bylaws, has elected to relax this requirement.), and only those members present are entitled ot participate in the decision-making process.
 * Within the bounds of the rules establishing it, the assembly is free to act and, in particular, to control how it goes about business.
 * When not all members are present, the members present are empowered to make decisions on behalf of the body as a whole, so long as the rights of the absent members are respected.
 * Only one proposal may be before an assembly at a time. It must be disposed of before any other business may be introduced, except when that other business is related to the earlier business, or is of sufficient importance to warrant priority consideration, in which case the discussion of the previous proposal is temporarily suspended.
 * A session---a meetin or series of meetings with a single connected purpose and the intent to carry business from one meeting to the next---is not capable of putting any question out of reach of a future session.

One complaint frequently offered about rules of order is that they are unnecessary, or that the assembly (such as a general meeting of the Party), ought to be able to proceed on a simpler basis, such as consensus, or "just vote". In this author's opinion, this is usually inadvisable. For instance, if a member simply puts forward a proposal and it is voted on and decided with no debate, then a member opposing the proposal may feel treated unfairly given that he could not explain why it was that he felt it was a bad idea. Moreover, like many things in life, it is difficult to appreciate their necessity until a failure is seen first-hand. When they are working properly, they won't seem necessary at all since everything will be working smoothly! It's similar to getting regular checkups from your physician---you don't think it's much of a big deal until you find that you have cancer that could have been discovered years earlier given the opportunity (though the consequence of failing to use the rules appropriately is less severe).

It should be noted, however, that for the most part, action can legitimately be taken in violation of the rules. Violations can continue until a member requests that the rules be followed. In this fashion, most rules are merely defaults, which any member can demand be used. As long as everyone is satisfied, any other rules can be used. The only exceptions are particularly serious violations of rules which should not be violated, such as denying a member their right or violating a higher authority such as the constitution or bylaws of an organization, that will render a decision null and void.

=The Chair=

A meeting is facilitated by a presiding officer, also called the chair. In the Pirate Party, the chair of general meetins is usually the President, or the Vice-President if the President is not available. The chair is responsible to ensure the smooth running of the meeting, to enforce the rules, and to aid members in their understanding and use of the rules. The rules are not meant to get in the way. If a member ever has a question about something, they should not hesitate to ask the chair!

If you member feels that a rule is being violated or the chair has made an error, even if you aren't totally sure, you should raise a point of order by saying something along the lines of "Point of order: You counted a tie vote but there was really one more in favor." Almost every decision made by the chair is subject to appeal. If you disagree with a ruling given by the chair, you can quickly respond by indicating that you appeal the decision. Depending on the circumstances, the appeal may be debated, and then it is put to a vote, and a majority decides whether to uphold the ruling of the chair.

=The Floor=

In order to speak or to introduce a motion, a member must have the floor, meaning that it is their turn to speak. If you want the floor, please send a private message (use '/msg ') to the chair asking for it. The chair will add you to a list of people who want the floor on a given item.

If you have something extremely important and time-sensitive, such as raise a point of order, you may do so even if another has the floor. You should not interrupt someone speaking unless it is urgent.

=Motions=

In parliamentary procedure, any proposal that some action be taken is called a motion. A motion is handled in the following steps:


 * 1) A member who has the floor introduces the motion. (e.g. "I move that the Party supports Stephen Harper's government.")
 * 2) Another member seconds the motion by saying "Second" or something similar without seeking the floor.
 * 3) The chair states the motion so that it is clear to everyone that the motion is now under consideration (e.g. "It has been moved that the Party supports Stephen Harper's government.")
 * 4) The members debate the motion.
 * 5) The motion is voted on.

=Suggested Rules=


 * 1) A member who wants the floor should PM the chair asking for the floor, unless it is urgent. If a member asks for the floor in-channel and it is not urgent, the chair should consider the request with lower priority.
 * 2) A member who wants the floor should have prepared his motion or speech in advance. Once a member is called, that member has 30 seconds to respond, or else the chair will move on. If a member does this twice in a row, they will lose their place in line. This doesn't prevent a member from exercising his right to debate or to move motions when no one else is seeking the floor.
 * 3) The chair should indicate who is next in line when he assigns the floor, to let them get ready.
 * 4) Speeches are limited to two speeches per member per topic, each 5 minutes long.
 * 5) A member should indicate when he is done (or when he is willing to take questions). If a member is silent for 45 seconds while he has the floor, then the chair can assign the floor to another member. Likewise, if 45 seconds pass during questions with no questions asked, the chair will move on.
 * 6) The chair should only wait for 30 seconds for a request for unanimous consent on a procedural matter. On a substantive matter, a vote should be taken as it is not significantly longer.
 * 7) The chair should name everyone (so as to cause their clients to highlight) before beginning a vote.
 * 8) The chair should send official announcements such as votes and results by /notice.
 * 9) Voting lasts for two minutes.
 * 10) A point of order raised within one minute of the offending action is always considered timely.