Rules of Procedure

PART I: MEETINGS

  1. Meetings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be held between 29 January-1 February 2024 at Tevfik İleri Anatolian Religious High School.

  2. The official language is English for the committee.

PART II: AGENDA

  1. The preliminary agenda for regular meetings of the Council and Committees was drawn up by the secretariat and communicated to the members. The declared agenda is "Supporting the African Union".

  2. The agenda shall be set by the members prior to the opening speeches.

PART III: REPRESENTATION

  1. Each NATO country and partner country shall be represented by one delegate.

PART IV: THE CHAIRBOARD

CHAIRBOARD

  1. The secretariat shall assign a committee board who will have full powers to ensure the proper functioning of the committee.

  2. The committee board consists of a chair, a vice chair, an academic assistant, and a rapporteur.

  3. The Chairperson may preside over all meetings or may designate its vice-chair to do so.

  4. The chairboard shall announce the opening and the closing of each session, direct the flow of debate, grant the right to speak, ask questions, announce decisions, rule on points of order, and enforce adherence to these rules.

Rapporteur

  1. The rapporteur of the committee shall:

    1. Make notes of everything spoken within the context of the meeting,

    2. Receive and distribute the documents of the committee,

    3. In the absence of the Vice Chair, take his place, if needed.

Academic Assistant

  1. The academic assistant may help the delegates by:

    1. Providing details concerning the debate and the agenda item

    2. Answering questions of delegates regarding academic matters if it does not interfere with the debate.

PART V: CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

Quorum

  1. The chairboard may permit the debate to proceed when at least one-third of the delegates participating in the work of the assembly are present. This number of present members shall be required for any decision to be taken.

Right of Reply

  1. The chairboard shall accord the right of reply to a delegate participating who may request it if it's seen as useful to the flow of debate by the chairboard.

  2. A right of reply may not be raised for a right of reply speech.

  3. A right of reply speech shall be at most 45 seconds long, and be done following the speech in which the right of reply was raised.

Motions

  1. Delegates should give their motions after the chairboard's call for the opening of the floor.

  2. After the floor is open points have the top priority in the order.

  3. Delegates should give their motion after gaining the chairboard's recognition by raising their placards.

  4. If there is more than one motion, the motion stated with a longer time range than the other motions shall be voted first.

  5. A motion requires a second and no objections to pass. If there is an objection the chairboard will have a procedural voting.

  6. The chairboard preserves every right to grant motions without going for voting and limiting the time for the motions.

  7. A motion sentence may be structured like the following: "Motion to talk about ___ in moderated/unmoderated caucus for ___ minutes, individual speaker time being ___ minutes.".

Motion to adjourn the meeting

This motion may be raised to suspend all the activities of the body until the next ILERIMUN conference and requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

Motion to suspend the meeting

This motion may be raised to Suspend the Meeting in order to suspend all functions of the body until the next meeting.

Motion to close the debate

  • A delegate may at any time move to the closure of the debate. In addition to the proposer of the motion, permission to speak on the motion shall be accorded only to one representative in favor and to one opposing the adjournment, after which the motion shall, subject to the order of motions, be immediately put to the vote.

  • This motion may be overruled by the chairboard.

Motion to extend the caucus

This motion may only be raised during a caucus to extend its total duration.

Motion to terminate the caucus

This motion may be raised during a caucus unless there is already an entertained speaker for the related motion at that particular moment.

Order of Motions

  1. The motions below shall have precedence in the following order over all other motions before the meeting:

    1. To suspend the meeting;

    2. To adjourn the meeting;

    3. To close the debate.

Points

1. Point of Personal Privilege

Whenever a delegate experiences personal discomfort, he or she may raise this point to request the discomfort to be corrected. This point may only interrupt a speaker if the delegate speaking is inaudible.

2. Point of Order

If there are any concerns about the application of the rules of procedure in the committee this point may be raised. This point may never interrupt a speaker.

3. Point of Parliamentary Inquiry

When the floor is open, this point may be raised in order to ask a question regarding the rules of procedure. This point may never interrupt a speaker.

4. Point of Information

Any kinds of questions that cannot be obtained by the other points may be asked as a point of information when the floor is open. This may never interrupt a speaker.

Caucuses

  1. The time given for a caucus cannot exceed 20 minutes.

  2. Caucuses cannot be given an extension that is longer than the original caucus's duration

  3. Delegates cannot give an extension to extension.

  4. Caucuses may be terminated prior to the chairboard's consent.

  5. The first caucus of each session shall be a moderated caucus.

  6. The individual speaker time should be stated for a moderated caucus.

  7. There are two types of caucuses:

Moderated Caucus

1. Delegates are not permitted to 
    a.Talk without the chairboard's permission
    b.Walk around 
    c.Talk to other delegates.
2. Delegates may communicate by message papers.

Unmoderated Caucus

1. Delegates may
    a. Talk without chairboard's permission
    b. Walk around
    c. Talk to other delegates.

PART VI: DECISION MAKING

General Agreement

  1. The Committee shall make its best endeavors to ensure that a general agreement is achieved on the work of the committee.

Voting Rights

  1. Each representative participating shall have one vote.

Meaning of the Phrase "Present and Voting"

  1. "Present and voting" means that the delegate is present and will be casting an affirmative or negative vote. Present and voting representatives shall not abstain.

Method of Voting

  1. The committee shall normally vote by show of hands, except that a delegate may request roll-call voting, which shall then be taken in the English alphabetical order of the names of the participants. The name of each present state shall be called, and the representative shall reply "yes", "no" or "abstension". The representative may request an explanation of vote speech by stating "with rights".

Procedural Voting

Voting on any matter other than draft resolutions and amendments is considered procedural. Abstentions shall not be allowed. A simple majority is required for the voting to be successful. Every member present must vote. If the number of votes cast does not equal the number of members present, the chair board shall take the vote repetitively until every member has used their vote.

Substantive Voting

Substantive voting includes voting on draft resolutions and amendments. Once the committee closes the debate on the general topic area, it will move into substantive voting procedures. At this time, the chambers are sealed, and no interruptions will be allowed. The only motions that will be in order are a “Motion to Divide the Question, Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions, Motion to Vote by Acclamation, and Motion for a Roll Call Vote”. The abstaining members shall be excluded from the quorum to calculate a simple majority. A “No” vote by any member of the Council is considered a veto, and the draft resolution will not pass if it receives a veto.

Voting by Acclamation

The Committee Directors may ask if there are any objections to passing the matter by acclamation, just before votes involving procedural voting. Any objection will be seen as a request for a vote.

Roll Call Voting

A delegate has the right to request a roll call vote after a debate on a draft communique is closed or for any other substantive vote. A roll call vote is only for substantive votes. Delegates may vote “Yes,” “Yes with Rights”, “No,” “No with Rights”, or “Abstain,”. Delegates who vote either “Yes with Rights” or “No with Rights” reserve the right to explain their vote only when the delegate is voting against the policy of his/her country.

Conduct During Voting

  1. After the chairboard starts the voting procedure, no representative shall interrupt the voting except for a point of order concerning the process of voting.

Explanation of Vote

  1. Delegates who request "with rights" speech may make a 45-second speech, only about the reason behind their votes.

Order of Voting on Proposals

  1. If two or more proposals, relating to the same question, unless the Committee decides otherwise, be voted on in the order they were submitted. If deemed necessary, the Committee may decide to vote on the next proposal.

  2. Revised proposals shall be voted on in the order in which they were first submitted unless the revision is substantially different from the original. In that case, the original shall be considered withdrawn.

Amendments

Delegates may amend any draft resolution that has been introduced by adding to, inserting into, deleting from, or revising parts of it. Only one amendment may be introduced at any given time. An amendment must have the approval of the Chair and the signatures of 12 members

  1. A motion to introduce an approved amendment may be made when the floor is open. After this motion, the Chair may read the amendment aloud, time permitting. The motion will pass by a simple majority. General debate will be suspended and a Speakers’ List will be established for and against the amendment.

  2. A motion to close the debate will be in order after the Committee has heard 2 for speeches and 2 against speeches for the amendment proposed.

  3. When debate is closed on the amendment, the Committee will move to an immediate vote. Amendments need a simple majority to pass. Votes on amendments are substantive votes.

  4. After the vote, the debate will resume according to the general Speakers’ List.

PART VII: FLOW OF THE COMMITTEE

Setting the Agenda

  1. The delegates are expected to raise a motion to set the agenda.

  2. This motion requires a second.

Roll Call

  1. At the beginning of each session, the chairboard shall record the status of the Members present and determine the required majorities.

  2. The roll call shall be performed in the English alphabetical order.

  3. Members shall state their status as "present" or "present and voting when" they are called upon.

  4. Members who have not replied to the roll call will be treated as absentees, even if they are physically present until they send a message paper to the chairboard stating their presence.

  5. Members that have missed more than half of the time allocated for the session cannot alter their statuses from ‘absent’. Such Members cannot join the debate, nor exercise their voting rights. Members marked absent may not join the debate or vote until their status is changed by the chairboard.

Opening Speeches

  1. Every delegate should deliver an opening speech after the agenda is set in the first official session.

  2. The opening speeches cannot exceed 1.30 minutes.

General Speakers List

  1. A general speakers list shall be formed by the chairboard at the beginning of every official session except for the first session.

  2. Delegates who wish to speak should raise their placards prior to the chairboard's call.

  3. The GSL speeches cannot exceed 1 minute.

  4. Delegates must come to the lectern after having the floor to give their speeches.

  5. Delegates wishing to remove their names from the general speakers' list should send a message paper stating their will to the chairboard.

  6. The chairboard preserves every right to close the general speakers' list due to the flow of the committee.

PART VIII: OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

Communique

  1. A draft communique will be formed throughout the sessions by writing clauses.

  2. When a decision is reached during the debate, members may choose to proceed with the drafting procedure.

  3. Only unmoderated caucus shall be used for drafting.

  4. After the clause has been drafted, the committee shall proceed with the voting procedure or a debate to improve the clause further.

  5. Clauses can only have subclauses.

  6. Clauses that are up for vote should have ten sponsors or a main submitter.

  7. Following the voting process, the clause shall be included in the draft communique.

  8. All committee actions, including operations and press releases, have to be documented in the draft communication.

  9. Following discussion of all issues and decision-making, the committee will vote on the draft communiqué.

  10. The draft communiqué will become the official council communiqué if the voting on it is successful.

  11. There must be no objections to the draft communiqué for the vote to be successful; otherwise, it fails.

Press Release

  1. When the council receives an update or a crisis, these documents may be written.

  2. The goal of press releases is to announce specific decisions and actions made by the council, which may include operations, interfering with ongoing crises, etc.

  3. Press releases can only be written in unmoderated caucuses.

Operations

  1. The council may decide to write an operation to resolve a problem in the event of a crisis or an update.

  2. The operation can only take place if it adheres to the policies of the North Atlantic Council.

  3. Members may agree to use the council's military and economic powers in any type of action.

  4. All where, what, when, why, who, and how inquiries should be answered in operations.

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