Rules

Rules of Procedure- International Model North Atlantic Treaty Organization

PART I.  MEETINGS

 Meetings of the North Atlantic Council (hereinafter called the Council) and the subsidiary Committees will be held at a time and place designated by the sponsoring institutions.

PART II.  AGENDA

1. The agenda for regular meetings of the Council and Committees shall be drawn up by the sponsoring institutions and communicated to the members prior to the opening of the sessions.
2. The first item of business for a meeting shall be the adoption of a working agenda.
3. Additional items may be placed on the agenda, if the Council or Committees so decide by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
4. The Council may task any one of the Committees.  The task takes precedence over anything the Committee may be debating when tasked.

PART III.  REPRESENTATION

5. Each delegation to NATO shall be represented by no less than five delegates, one each for the Council and the four Committees.  Representation will be accorded to properly accredited delegations as determined by the Secretary General.
6. Each nation’s representative on the North Atlantic Council shall be the Foreign Minister.
7. Each nation shall be accorded full and proper representation on all the Committees.
8. Each nation shall have only one speaking representative on the Council.  In the committees, each nation may have up to two participating representatives.

PART IV:  SECRETARIAT

9. The sponsoring and participating institutions shall provide the staff for the Model including the Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, Chief of Staff, as well as the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the various organs and committees of the Model. This staff shall form the Secretariat.
10. Members of the Secretariat shall not count against the representative limit described in rule 9.

PART V:  THE CHAIRPERSON

11. Each of the Committees will have a Chairperson from the Secretariat who will have full powers to ensure proper functioning of the Committee.
12. The Chairperson of the North Atlantic Council shall be the Secretary General of the Model NATO.
13. The Chairperson may preside over all meetings, or may designate another member of the Secretariat to do so.
14. The Chairperson shall have the responsibility of ensuring the smooth operation of the Committee through interpretation and enforcement of the Rules.  In addition to exercising powers described elsewhere in the Rules, the Chairperson shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting, direct discussions, accord the right to speak and announce decisions.  He/she shall rule on points of order and, subject to these Rules, shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting.
15. The decision of the Chair may be appealed by any delegate.  This motion is debatable by one delegate in favor and one against, after which the motion shall be put to a vote.  The Chairperson’s decision will stand unless overruled by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
16. The Secretary General may, in exceptional circumstances, overrule an appeal or a decision of a Chairperson. The Secretary General will be the final arbiter for any disputes arising as a result of interpretation of the Rules of Procedure.

PART VI:  CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

17. The Chairperson may declare the meeting open if one-third of the members are present.  The presence of a majority is required for a decision to be taken.
18. Committee Session will begin with a General Speaker’s List. Every time debate is limited, a new speaker’s list will be created. Speaker’s time is set by the Chair, but may be amended per request and vote of the Committee. If at any time the Committee would like to move into a Moderated or Unmoderated Caucus, the appropriate motion must be made, seconded, and voted upon by the Committee Members.
19. Proposals must be submitted in writing to the Chair before they may be considered by the Council or Committee.
20. A proposal may be withdrawn by its sponsor at any time prior to voting, providing that the motion has not been amended.
21. The motions below shall have precedence over all other proposals or motions before the meeting:
    1. Point of Order
    2. Point of Information
    3. Point of Inquiry;
    4. To suspend the meeting;
    5. To adjourn the meeting;
    6. To suspend debate on the item under discussion;
    7. To close debate on the item under discussion;
    8. To change the agenda;
    9. To limit debate on the item under discussion;
    10. To Divide the Question;
    11. To amend the item under discussion;
    12. To reconsider an item;
    13. Right of Reply.
22. During the discussion of any matter, a representative may rise to a Point of Order, and the point of order shall be immediately decided by the Chairperson in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.  A Point of Order may relate to the maintenance of order, the observance of Rules, or the way in which the presiding officers exercise the powers conferred upon them.  An argument for or against the pending question shall not be recognized as a valid point of order.  A point of order is the only circumstance under which a speaker may be interrupted.  The Chair may refuse to recognize points of order if it is his/her judgment that the delegate has not maintained the restraint and decorum which should govern the use of such a right, or if in his/her judgment the point is clearly dilatory in nature.
23. A Point of Information is raised to the Chairperson if a delegate wishes to obtain a clarification of procedure or a statement of the matters before the body.  Delegates may not interrupt a speaker on a Point of Information.
24. A delegate requesting clarification or additional information will rise to a Point of Inquiry.  A Point of Inquiry may be used to question a speaker only after he/she has finished his/her remarks and may not interrupt any speaker. A questioner will address the Point of Inquiry to the Chair, who will then ask the speaker if he/she wishes to yield.
25. During the discussion of a matter, a delegate may move for the Suspension of the meeting.  Should the Chair entertain it, it shall immediately be put to a vote.  The suspension of a meeting requires a majority of the members present and voting.
26. At the conclusion of the final summit, a delegate may move for the Adjournment of the meeting until the following year. This motion is only in order for the Council and requires a two-thirds majority.
27. During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may move to Suspend debate on the item under discussion.  Two representatives may speak in favor of the motion and two against the motion, after which the motion shall immediately be put to a vote.  This motion requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
28. A delegate may move for Closure of debate on the item under discussion; whether or not any other delegate has signified his/her desire to speak.  Two delegates may speak in favor of the motion and two against, after which time the motion shall be put to an immediate vote. This motion requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
29. Agenda items will be considered in the order in which they appear on the agenda, unless that order is altered by the passage of a motion To Change the Order of Consideration of Agenda Items.  This motion is only in order during the first session of the conference. Once the agenda has been set, it may not be changed unless the committee is tasked with a crisis by the Council. A majority vote is needed for passage.
30. When discussing an item on the agenda, a delegate may move to Limit Debate. The purpose of this motion is to focus the committee’s attention on the topic or individual draft resolution or amendment. Once this motion has passed, debate is limited to introducing and discussing any draft language under that topic. A delegate may also limit debate to a draft language or amendment, meaning all discussion must be relevant to the document at hand. Once limited, debate on a topic or document can be suspended or closed. This motion requires a second and a simple majority.
31. In the Council, a delegate may move to Divide the Question, so that parts of a Draft Language or an amendment could be voted on separately.  If objection is made to the request for division, the motion shall be voted upon.  Permission to speak on the motion shall be accorded to two speakers in favor and two against.  If the motion for division is carried, those parts of the proposal shall then be put to a vote as a whole.  If all operative parts of the proposal or of the amendment have been rejected, the proposal or the amendment shall be considered to have been rejected as a whole. This motion is only in order in the Council.
32. An Amendment is that which adds to, deletes, or alters part of the Draft Language. Amendments must be submitted in writing to the Chair during the discussion of a Draft Language and must receive his/her approval.  The Chair may, at his/her discretion, limit the number of amendments or request delegates to combine similar amendments.
33. Amendments shall be numbered in the order in which they are received. Once the Amendment is introduced, all sponsors of the draft language to which the Amendment pertains must be asked if the Amendment is Friendly or Unfriendly. If the Amendment is deemed Friendly by all Sponsors, then it is automatically adopted into the Draft Language. If the Amendment is deemed Unfriendly by any of the Sponsors, then it is dismissed and voted upon by the Committee. The Committee may limit debate to any dismissed Amendment and at the closure of debate on the Amendment, the Amendment will be voted upon by the Committee. Regardless of limitation, all dismissed Amendments must be voted upon by the Committee after the closure of debate on relevant Draft Language.
34. When a proposal has been adopted or rejected it may not be considered at the same session unless approved by a two-thirds majority.  Permission to speak on a Motion to Reconsider will be accorded to speakers opposing and favoring the motion.
35. The Chair may accord a Right of Reply in the case of grave personal insult and injury. The offense to which the delegate is responding must occur within formal debate. The right of reply must be submitted in writing to the chair. Upon the chair’s approval, the delegate may motion for a right of reply. The time granted for a right of reply is at the Chair’s discretion. There may not be a right of reply in response to another delegate’s right of reply.

PART VII:  VOTING

36. Each member state shall be accorded one vote in the Council and Committees.
37. For the purposes of these Rules the term Members present and voting means members who are voting on substantive issues. The term Members Present means a member may not vote on substantive issues. Members who abstain are considered not voting. Thus, they are not counted in the final total, which changes the majority.
38. All decisions of the Council must be approved unanimously by all members present and voting, with the exception of procedural decisions as noted in these Rules.  This unanimity rule applies to both substantive proposals passed by the North Atlantic Council and to the communiqués passed by the committees.
39. All substantive decisions of the Committees must be approved by a two-thirds majority of all members present and voting, but with the realization that unanimous consent is desirable.
40. The Council shall only consider the final approval of communiqués during the Summit session on Sunday.
41. Approved Committee Communiqués are forwarded to the Council for consideration in accordance with Rules 39 and 40.
42. The Chair shall note the time and date of communiqué approval, and place the communiqué on the Council’s Sunday agenda.
43. Procedural motions shall be voted on in accordance with the relevant parts of the Rules.
44. Immediately prior to a vote, the Chair shall describe to the body the item to be voted on, and shall explain the consequences of a “yes” or a “no” vote.  Voting shall begin upon the Chair’s declaration “we are in voting procedure,” and end when the results of the vote are announced. Once in voting procedure, no delegate shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order concerning the actual conduct of the vote. Following Closure of Debate, and prior to entering voting procedure, the Chair shall pause briefly to allow delegates the opportunity to make any relevant motions.  Relevant motions prior to a vote include: Suspension of the Meeting, Adjournment of the Meeting, or Division of the Question.
45. Voting shall normally be carried out by a show of placards, unless a representative requests a Roll Call Vote.  Roll call votes take place in English in alphabetical order by nation. This motion only requires multiple seconds.
46. After the Chair has announced the beginning of voting, no delegate may interrupt the vote except on a point of order concerning the voting.  Delegates may not communicate with each other at this time, and the chamber shall be sealed, except to members of the Secretariat, the Committee, and the faculty advisors.
47. The term No with rights may be used by members wishing to explain their vote after voting has concluded. This right may be limited by the Chair.
48. A nation may record a formal Reservation if a particular part of a proposal is partially unacceptable to that nation.  This reservation is raised at the time of voting and will be formally recorded on the proposal in question.

PART VIII:  GENERAL

49. These Rules may be suspended only by unanimous decision of the Council or Committee that so desires.
50. The official language of the sessions is English.
51. Delegates are expected to dress in business attire for the duration of the meetings.

PART IX:  AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

52. The following awards shall be given at the closing ceremony of the Model NATO:
    1. Mark Rubin Memorial Outstanding Chair Award
    2. Committee Leadership Award
    3. Outstanding Delegation in Committee Award
    4. Outstanding Overall Delegation Award
    5. Austin Cloyd Memorial Award (Working Group on NATO Operations)
    6. Outstanding Partner Nation Award*
53. The Mark Rubin Memorial Outstanding Chair Award shall be given to the top chairperson, as determined by a vote of the faculty advisors and other supporting faculty on Saturday.  The award honors the late Mark Rubin, one of the founding fathers of Model NATO.
54. Each committee’s faculty advisor(s), including those assigned to the Council, will nominate a single individual for the Committee Leadership Award. This award shall go to the individual who has made the most significant contribution to fostering consensus, capturing the essence of complex issues, and leading the respective committee toward effective action.  The decision of the faculty advisors will be communicated to the chair of the Awards Committee before the conclusion of committee sessions on Saturday.
55. Immediately prior to the adjournment of each Committee or the Council on Saturday, the delegates shall vote for the Outstanding Delegation in Committee Award. Each delegation votes for up to three delegations they believe contributed most to the accomplishments of the committee. Chairs and vice chairs do not vote. There is no ranking on individual ballots.  The Outstanding Delegation in Committee Award is appropriate for all committees or the Council except for the Working Group (see below).
56. Delegates to the Working Group on NATO Operations will vote for the Austin Cloyd Memorial Award.  Each delegation will vote for up to three delegations they believe contributed most to the accomplishments of the group.  This award honors Ms. Austin Cloyd, a 2007 Virginia Tech delegate to the Working Group who died in the Virginia Tech tragedy.  Chairs and vice-chairs do not vote.
57. The Outstanding Partner Nation Award may be given if the chair of the Awards Committee, in conjunction with other faculty advisors, determines that the awards are appropriate for a given conference.  The number of awards is based on the number of partner nations involved in the conference and the final vote tally.  Normally, the venue for this award will be the Working Group.  However, the chair may determine the applicability of the award to other committees on a case by case basis.  If given, delegations to the selected committees will have the opportunity to nominate those delegations that are appropriate for this category of award at the conclusion of committee sessions on Saturday.  Chairs and vice-chairs do not vote.
58. The Awards Committee shall tally the votes for Outstanding Delegation in Committee, the Austin Cloyd Memorial Award, and, if appropriate, the Outstanding Partner Nation.  The delegation receiving the most votes in a committee or the Council shall get 5 points, the one receiving the second most shall get 3 points, and the one with the third most shall get 1 point. In the case of a tie, all delegations will receive the point value corresponding to their tied rank. Each delegation’s points shall be totaled across the 5 committees.
59. The three delegations receiving the most points will normally receive Outstanding Overall Delegation Awards and the next three highest-ranking delegations will receive Honorable Mentions, but faculty advisors may confer additional or fewer awards in each category according to the final vote tally.
60. Faculty who incorporate the Model NATO simulation into a credit-bearing course are discouraged from employing measures such as number of communiqués passed, speaking time in committees, or awards won at conference for the purpose of course evaluation as such external pressures can distort the simulation. To maximize the experience for all participants and make it as realistic as possible, it is recommended that faculty advisors emphasize pre-conference and/or post-conference evaluation instruments in their course design.