Rules of order
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative assembly, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions. Some bodies rely more on precedent and on the judgment of the presiding officer, whereas others rely more heavily on the written rules.
Rules of order consist of rules written by the body itself, but also usually supplemented by a published parliamentary authority adopted by the body. Typically, national, state, and other full-scale legislative assemblies have extensive internally written rules of order, whereas non-legislative bodies write and adopt a limited set of specific rules as the need arises.
In the United States, most state legislatures follow Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure. The United States Senate follows the Standing Rules of the Senate. Most other deliberative assemblies follow Robert's Rules of Order. US organizations dedicated to promoting the general use of parliamentary procedure include the National Association of Parliamentarians and the American Institute of Parliamentarians.
In the United Kingdom, Thomas Erskine May's A Practical Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (often referred to simply as Erskine May) is the accepted authority on the powers and procedures of the Westminster parliament.
In Quebec, commonly used rules of order for ordinary societies include Victor Morin's Procédures des assemblées délibérantes (commonly known as the Code Morin[1]) and the Code CSN.
In other countries the Rules of order usually followed are quite different.
[edit] Common Parliamentary Authorities
- Australian
- Canada
- Bourinot's Rules of Order by Sir John George Bourinot (the basis of the Parliament of Canada's Rules of Order)
- UK
- A Practical Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (a.k.a. Erskine May) by Thomas Erskine May
- USA
- Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice by Thomas Jefferson
- Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure by Paul Mason
- Robert's Rules
- Robert's Rules of Order by Henry M. Robert
- Webster's New World: Robert's Rules of Order Simplified and Applied by Robert McConnell Productions
- The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure by Alice Sturgis
- Misc
- Cannon's Concise Guide to Rules of Order by Hugh Cannon
- Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure by George Demeter
