ScotMUN

11th Annual Conference

2th-4th March 2018

Rules of Procedure

I) General Rules:
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1. Appointment of Directors and Delegates:

The Secretariat shall be responsible for the appointment of all Committee Directors, Assistant
Directors and Delegates prior to the conference; and may remove, replace or reassign them at any
stage if they fail to fulfil their obligations under the rules.

2. Scope:

These rules are valid in all but two committees comprising ScotMUN, and shall be considered
adopted in advance of session. No other rules of procedure are applicable.

These rules do not apply to the following committees:

UK General Election

Dual Cabinet Crisis

The rules for these committees will be decided by the Director, his/her Assistant Directors, his/her
staff and the Secretariat.

3. Interpretation:

Interpretation of the rules shall be reserved exclusively for the Secretary-General or designated
members of the Secretariat. Such interpretation shall be in accordance with the philosophy and
principles of the University of Edinburgh Model United Nations Society, and will seek to further its
goals of education, understanding, diplomacy and conflict resolution.

4. Language:

English shall be the only official and working language of the conference.

5. Statements by the Secretariat:

The Secretariat may at any time make either oral or written statements to the Committee.

6. Delegations:

Each Member State or Observer Member will be represented by one Delegate. Within each
committee, each Delegate will have one vote in Procedural matters, and Delegates representing a
Member State will have one vote in Substantive matters.

7. Credentials:

The credentials of all delegations have been accepted upon registration. Actions relating to the
modification of rights, privileges, or credentials of any member may not be initiated without the
written consent of the Secretary-General. Any representative to whose admission a member objects
shall provisionally be seated with the same rights as other representatives, pending a decision from
the Secretary-General.

8. Participation of Non-Members:

Representatives of Accredited Observers shall have the same rights as those of full members, except
that they may not vote on resolutions, but they can vote on procedural matters. A representative of
an organization which is not a member of the United Nations or an Accredited Observer may address
a ScotMUN committee only with the prior approval of the Director.

9. Etiquette:

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All participants of ScotMUN shall be courteous and respectful in their dealings with anyone directly
involved with ScotMUN (including Delegates/Directors of any Committee), and indirectly involved
through any of its partners (including but not limited to University of Edinburgh venues, sponsors,
accommodation providers, and other university students).

Participants are also expected to adhere to the ScotMUN dress code, which is business formal attire.
This dress code does not apply to the Saturday night social, where informal dress is permitted.
Formal dress is required for the Friday Committee Dinner and Ceilidh, though high heels are not
encouraged.

II) General Powers of the Directors:

10. General:

The Director shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting and may propose the adoption of
any procedural motion to which there is no significant objection. The Director, subject to these rules,
shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting. The Director shall direct discussions,
accord the right to speak, put questions, announce decisions, rule on points of order, and ensure
and enforce the observance of these rules. The Director may temporarily transfer his or her duties to
another member of the Committee staff or the Secretariat, but not any Delegate of ScotMUN.
Committee staff members may also advise delegations on the possible course of debate. In the
exercise of these functions, the Committee staff shall be at all times subject to these rules and
responsible to the Secretariat.

11. Motion to Appeal a Director’s Decision:

A Delegate may raise a Motion to appeal the Director’s decision with regards to any decision of the
Director, except those that are outlined in these rules as not open to appeal. A Delegate wishing to
raise such a Motion shall orally state their Motion immediately after the Director has announced
their decision. The Director may speak briefly in defence of their decision after which the Motion will
be put to a vote. The Director’s decision will stand unless two-thirds of the Committee vote ‘Yes’ on
the Motion to appeal the Director’s decision. If such a Motion to appeal a decision passes with a
two-thirds majority, then the decision has been overruled.

The Director’s decision not to approve a resolution or amendment is not subject to such a Motion.

Furthermore, the Director’s ruling on the order in which Motions are entertained, to allow follow-up
questions to the questions asked when a Delegate yields to Points of Information, and whether to
adopt Unmoderated Caucus, Moderated Caucus, Closure of Debate, Adjournment of the Meeting,
Adjournment of Debate, and Right of Reply, is not open to appeal. The Director’s decision to stop
entertaining Motions at any time and to move to vote on those already raised can also not be
appealed.

The vote of appeal described in this rule is a procedural vote and hence all Delegates will be required
to cast a vote - abstentions are out of order.

The decisions of the Secretary-General or members of the Secretariat are not open to a Motion to
appeal. Delegates should note that this Motion should only be used sparingly and as a last resort,
and only after a point of order has already been raised.

12. Quorum:

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The Director may declare a Committee open and permit debate to proceed when at least one-third
of the members of the Committee are present.

Roll Call must be taken at the start of every Committee session. Quorum may be assumed unless
specifically challenged and shown to be absent by a Roll Call. The presence of the majority of
Delegates of the body concerned present on that day shall be required for any decision on a
substantive Motion to be taken.

13. Roll Call:

At the beginning of each Committee session Committee Directors will call on Member States in
English alphabetical order to state their status of attendance. Member States may reply ‘present’ or
‘present and voting’, where ‘present and voting’ means the Member State cannot abstain on a
substantive vote, i.e. the final vote on whether to adopt a resolution. Observers are required to reply
‘present’.

For the purposes of these rules, 'members present and voting’ refers only to Member States with
substantive voting rights for that Committee, even if they have chosen to be present only for that
particular session (and thus does not include Observers).

III) Debate

14. Agenda:

The first order of business for the Committee will be the consideration of the order in which Agenda
items shall be discussed. A Motion to Set the Agenda should be raised, specifying which agenda item
will be discussed first, and will require a second. If no Delegate wishes to oppose the Motion, it shall
automatically be considered as adopted by the Committee. If there are objections to this Motion, a
speakers’ list will be established for and against the Motion.

The debate on setting the Agenda may be closed if there are no more delegates willing to speak on
the motion and the speaker’s list has elapsed, or if a delegate raises a Motion to Close Debate the
Agenda. There will be two speeches against the Motion to Close Debate; unless only one Delegate
wishes to oppose the Motion. Speakers in favour of a Motion to Close Debate are not required. Only
after the speeches against closing debate have been heard shall the Motion to Close Debate on the
Agenda be voted on. The Motion requires a 2/3 majority to pass. If the Motion fails, debate will
revert back to a speaker’s list for and against the Motion to Set the Agenda.

When debate is closed, the Committee will move to an immediate vote on the Motion to Set the
Agenda. A simple majority is required to pass the Motion. If the Motion fails, the other Agenda item
will automatically be placed first on the Agenda.

In the event of an international crisis or emergency, the Secretary-General or his or her

representative may call upon a Committee to table debate on the current Agenda item in order to
address the urgent matter. After a resolution has been passed on the crisis topic, the Committee will
return to debate on the tabled Agenda item.

15. General Speakers’ List:

The committee shall at all times have an open General Speakers’ List for the topic area being
discussed. Separate speakers’ lists shall be established as needed for procedural motions and debate
on amendments.

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Delegates may add their name to the speakers’ list by submitting a request in writing to the Director
or by raising his/her placard when the Director asks for delegations wishing to be added to the
General Speakers’ List, provided that he/she is not already on the General Speakers’ List. The names
of the next several delegates to speak shall be displayed for the convenience of the committee. The
Director may choose to display other information, such as a submitted amendment, in place of the
General Speakers’ List. The speakers’ list for the second topic area will not be open until the
committee has proceeded to that topic.

The topic area’s general speakers’ list may never be closed. The speaker’s list is the default activity of
the committee. If there are no motions on the floor, debate automatically returns to the General
Speakers' List. If the Speaker’s List is exhausted, the Committee shall proceed immediately to a vote
on Closure of the Debate on the current agenda item.

16. Proposing Motions:

The Director can ask for any Motions at any point when the floor is open. The Director will ask for
Motions one by one; and may only entertain Motions that are equal to or supersede the Motions
already raised. The Director may stop entertaining Motions at any time and move to vote on those
already raised. This is at the Director’s discretion, for the purpose of moving debate forward, and is
not open to a Motion to appeal.

The Director will then entertain the raised Motions one by one, starting from highest in the order of
disruptiveness, i.e. the most superseding. In the case of several Motions having equal priority, the
Director shall decide the order. When a Motion is entertained, the Director shall ask the Committee
if there are any Seconds or Objections. If there are Seconds and no Objections the Motion is
accepted without a vote.

The Director may specifically ask for Seconds or Objections, but Delegates can also call them out, as
long as doing so does not disturb the Committee or prevent a speaker from being heard.

If there are both Seconds and Objections, any speeches in favour or against the Motion shall be
heard (if required by the rules for that Motion) and it shall then be put to a vote in accordance with
the rules for that Motion. If there are no Seconds or the vote fails; the Motion is discarded and the
Director shall move to the next most superseding Motion as established above. This continues until a
Motion is passed or the floor returns to the General Speakers’ List. If a Motion passes, all other
Motions previously raised are removed from the floor and must be raised anew when the Director
next calls for Motions.

Note that all procedural Motions require a simple majority of members present and voting to pass,
unless otherwise specified.

17. Withdrawing a Proposal:

A Motion may be withdrawn by its proposer at any time before voting has commenced. A Motion
thus withdrawn may be reintroduced by any Delegate. Any Motion approved by the Committee may
not then be withdrawn by the Committee member who moved its introduction.

18. Order of Precedence of Motions:

The order of priority of Motions which may be raised while the floor is open, from most to least
disruptive, is:

1. Adjourning the Meeting

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2. Suspending the Meeting

3. Closing Debate

4. Adjourning Debate

5. Resuming Debate

6. Introducing Draft Resolutions

7. Introducing Amendments

8. Introducing a Friendly Amendments

9. Introducing Working Papers

10. Unmoderated Caucuses

11. Moderated Caucuses

Motions introduced after others of the same type cannot supersede those others except at the
discretion of the Director. A longer Motion of one type does not supersede a shorter Motion of the
same type.

19. Unmoderated Caucus:

A Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open prior to closure
of debate and the Director asks for Motions. The Delegate raising the Motion must briefly explain its
purpose and specify an overall time limit for the caucus, not to exceed twenty minutes (including
any Motions to extend the caucus). A simple majority is required to adopt the Motion. The Director
may rule the Motion out of order if the Director feels that Motion is not constructive to debate at
that point in time. This decision of the Director is not open to appeal.

20. Moderated Caucus:

A Motion for a Moderated Caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open prior to closure of
debate and the Director asks for Motions. In a moderated caucus, the Director will temporarily
depart from the General Speakers’ List and call on Delegates to speak at the Director’s discretion.
The Delegate making the Motion must briefly explain its purpose and specify a time limit for the
caucus, not to exceed twenty minutes (including any Motions to extend the caucus), and a time limit
for the individual speeches. A simple majority is required to adopt the Motion. The Director may rule
the Motion out of order if the Director feels that Motion is not constructive to debate at that point
in time. This decision of the Director is not open to appeal.

Motions to Extend a Moderated Caucus may not exceed the time of the initial caucus.

21. Adjournment of Debate:

A Motion for adjournment of debate requests adjourning the Agenda item under discussion. If a
Motion for Adjournment passes, the Agenda item is considered dismissed, all documents on it
tabled, and no further action will be taken on it. A successful Motion for Adjournment means that
the Committee proceeds to the second Agenda item under discussion, or an alternative Agenda item
as directed by the Secretariat.

A Motion for Adjournment is in order at any time when the floor is open prior to closure of debate
and the Director asks for Motions.

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Before voting on this Motion (but after Seconds and Objections have been heard), permission to
speak on the Motion shall be accorded only to two Delegates favouring and two opposing the
adjournment, or in case only one Delegate wishes to oppose the Motion, one speaker for and one
speaker against the Motion shall be considered; where after the Motion shall be put to a vote
immediately, requiring the support of a simple majority of the members present and voting to pass.

The Director may at his or her discretion rule this Motion out of order, if for instance the Committee
has already moved to the second Agenda item. The decision of the Director is not open to appeal.

22. Resumption of Debate:

A Motion for Resumption of Debate requests reopening debate on an Agenda item previously
adjourned.

Immediately before moving into voting procedure on this Motion (but after Seconds and Objections
have been heard), permission to speak on a Motion to resume debate shall be accorded to two
speakers opposing the Motion, after which the Motion will be put to a vote, requiring the support of
a majority of the members present and voting to pass.

23. Closure of Debate:

A Motion for the Closure of Debate requests ending all discussion on the Agenda item and moving
into final voting procedures on all substantive proposals introduced under debate, i.e. all Draft
Resolutions. Once this Motion has been successfully passed, debate has been closed, and voting
procedures completed, the Committee shall immediately adopt the second Agenda item, or an
alternative Agenda item as directed by the Secretariat.

A Motion for Closure of Debate is in order at any time when the floor is open prior to closure of
debate and the Director asks for Motions. Note however that the Director may rule the Motion out
of order if the Director feels that there should be further debate before moving to voting
procedures. This decision of the Director is not open to appeal.

Immediately before voting on this Motion (but after Seconds and Objections have been heard),
permission to speak on the Motion shall only be accorded to two Delegates opposing the closure,
unless only one Delegate wishes to oppose the Motion. After this the Motion shall be put to a vote
immediately. No speeches are required in favour of closing debate. Closure of Debate shall require a
two-thirds majority of all members present and voting.

24. Suspension of the Meeting:

A Motion for the Suspension of the Meeting requests a temporary pause of proceedings. It is usually
used at the end of a Committee session. While the floor is open, a Delegate may move for the
Suspension of the Meeting, specifying a time for reconvening. A simple majority of members present
is required to adopt the Motion.

The Director may rule the Motion out of order if the Director feels that it is not yet time for the end
of a session. This decision of the Director is not open to appeal.

This Motion should be used to propose lunch or short breaks of the session, rather than through
unmoderated caucuses, which require a substantive purpose.

25. Adjournment of Meeting:

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The Adjournment of the Meeting means the end of the committee for the 9th session of ScotMUN.
The committee shall then reconvene at its next session at ScotMUN 2017.

As this motion effectively ends this session of the committee, it should only be entertained by the
Director in the last session of the committee. The Director’s Decision on whether to entertain this
motion is not open to appeal.

Adjournment of the Meeting before the last session of the committee must be approved by the
Secretary-General. The Secretary-General’s decision is not open to appeal.

A simple majority is required for this motion to be adopted.

IV) Speeches

26. Right to Speak

No Delegate may address a session without having been recognised by the Director – with the
exception of Unmoderated Caucuses. The Director may at their discretion call a Delegate to order if
his or her speech is not relevant to the subject under discussion; is considered offensive; infringes
upon the sovereignty of a Member State; or otherwise goes against the rules and spirit of ScotMUN.

28. Time Limit on Speeches:

The Director may limit the time allotted to each speaker. The minimum time-limit shall be thirty
seconds. When a delegate exceeds his/her allotted time, the Director may call the speaker to order
without delay.

On the General Speaker’s List, the default time for speeches is assumed to be 90 seconds, unless the
Director states otherwise. Delegates may raise a motion to change the speaking time on the General
Speaker’s List. In order to be adopted (after Seconds and Objections), the motion requires a simple
majority in a procedural vote.

For any other speeches not part of a Moderated Caucus, the default time for speeches is assumed to
be 60 seconds, except for a Motion for Closure of Debate or a Motion to Close Debate on the
Agenda, where it is 30 seconds, unless the Director states otherwise.

29. Yields:

A delegate granted the right to speak on a substantive issue may yield in one of three ways: to
another Delegate, to questions, or to the Director.

a. Yield to another delegate:

His/her remaining time shall be given to that delegate, who may not make a further yield.

b. Yield to questions:

The Director may select questioners. Follow-up questions will be allowed only at the
discretion of the Director.

Only answers to questions will be deducted from the speaker’s remaining time.

The Director further has the right to call to order any delegate whose statement does not
contain a clear question, is rhetorical, leading, intended to state their own views and/or not
designed to elicit information.

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c. Yield to the chair:

Such a yield should be made if the delegate does not wish to yield to questions or another
delegate. The Director will then move to the next speaker on the speakers’ list.

30. Right of Reply:

A delegate whose personal or national integrity has been impugned by another delegate may
request a Right of Reply. Request for a Right of Reply must be submitted to the Director in writing,
along with a brief explanation for the reason of the request.

The Director's decision whether to grant the Right of Reply is not open to appeal, and a delegate
grant a Right of Reply will not address the committee except at the request of the Director. The
Director may also set the time for the right of reply.

A Right of Reply to a Right of Reply is always out of order.

V) Points

31. Raising Points:

Any of the points below may be raised by any Delegate at any point provided that it does not
interrupt a speaker (with the exception of a Point of Personal Privilege in certain circumstances). A
Delegate wishing to raise a point shall, at the appropriate time, raise their placard and state the
point they wish to raise and then wait for the Director to ask them to state it fully. The Director shall
then take any action required as per the Rules below. Points supersede any Motions or speakers.

32. Point of Personal Privilege:

If there is a circumstance preventing a Delegate from participating in the proceedings to their fullest
ability, or if the Delegate is in personal discomfort, he or she may rise to a Point of Personal
Privilege.

For instance, Points of Personal Privilege may be raised when the Delegate cannot hear what has
been said, if the Delegate cannot see something being projected on a screen, or if the Delegate is
not comfortable with the temperature in the room.

A Point of Personal Privilege may only interrupt a speaker if the Delegate raising the point cannot
hear the speaker. If appropriate, the Director will request that the speaker raise their voice, speak
more clearly or take any other appropriate action.

Points of Personal Privilege for any other circumstance may not interrupt a speaker.

33. Point of Order

During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may rise to a Point of Order to draw attention to
improper parliamentary procedure, either by the Director, or by a Delegate that has escaped the
Director’s attention.

A representative rising to a Point of Order may not speak on the substance of the matter under
discussion. A Point of Order may only interrupt a speaker when the speech itself is not following
proper parliamentary procedure.

The Point of Order shall be immediately decided by the Director in accordance with these rules of
procedure. This decision of the Director is open to appeal.

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34. Point of Parliamentary Inquiry:

When the floor is open, a delegate may rise to a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry to ask the Director a
question regarding any procedural matter, such as the rules. A Point of Parliamentary Inquiry may
never interrupt a speaker.

VI) Written and Substantive Proposals:

35. Pre-Conference Work:

Though all delegates are encouraged to research thoroughly on the agenda items due to be
discussed at ScotMUN, the purpose of committee sessions is to negotiate a resolution over the
duration of ScotMUN. Therefore, it is strictly prohibited to pre-write resolutions or working papers
before the beginning of the conference. Any delegate found to be in breach of this rule by the
Director shall be disqualified from any awards, and the document in question shall not be
introduced.

However, delegates may include prewritten research within resolutions or working papers in the
form of quoted statements, references to UN documents or diagrams (in the case of working
papers).

36. Working Papers:

Working Papers are intended to aid the Committee in its discussion and formulation of Resolutions
and need not be written in Resolution format.

Delegates may propose Working Papers for Committee consideration by raising a Motion to
Introduce a Working Paper. Working Papers are not official documents, but do require the approval
of the Directors before a Motion to introduce them is raised. Working papers should be assigned a
number by the Director before a Motion to introduce them is raised. Introduction requires a Second
but does not require a vote.

Delegates may not refer to any Working Paper that has not been submitted to the Director during
debate.

Working Papers do not require the signatures of any Committee members. They will be displayed on
projectors where possible, but will not be printed by the Secretariat, except with the consent of the
Secretary-General in exceptional circumstances.

37. Draft Resolutions:

A Draft Resolution may be introduced through the procedure outlined in Rule 36, once it has been
signed by one-fifth of the number of Committee Members present and voting, and has received
prior approval of the Directors.

A Delegate counts as a Sponsor only if the Delegate has authored, or helped to write, the Draft
Resolution. The role of a Sponsor indicates full support of all clauses of the Draft Resolution and no
more than four Delegates may sponsor any Draft Resolution.

A Delegate counts as a Signatory if the Delegate has agreed to sign the Draft Resolution. Signing a
Draft Resolution need not indicate support of the Draft Resolution, and the Signatory has no further
obligations. Note that Sponsors of a Resolution do count towards the total number of Signatories.
Observers may both sign and sponsor Draft Resolutions. Draft Resolutions shall be written in the

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same style with regards to form, grammar and punctuations as those resolutions of the Committee
being modelled. Sponsors and Signatories should be listed alphabetically.

38. Introducing a Draft Resolution:

Once a draft resolution has been approved and given a reference number by the Director, a delegate
may propose a Motion to Introduce a Draft Resolution. Before Seconds and Objections, the Director
shall call upon one of the Sponsors to read out the operative clauses; yields are out of order. The
Committee will then proceed directly to a procedural vote which requires a simple majority to pass.

More than one Draft Resolution may be on the floor at any one time, but no more than one
Resolution may be passed per agenda item. Once a Resolution has been passed on an agenda item
or all Draft Resolutions have been put to a vote, the Committee shall proceed to the next agenda
item, or to any special agenda item or crisis stipulated by the Secretariat.

39. Competence:

A Motion of Competence, to question the competence of the Committee to discuss a certain Draft
Resolution or Amendment, must be raised before the proposal is introduced after it has been read
out to the committee.

The motion requires a majority to pass, and shall have one speaker for and one speaker against the
motion. If no Delegate wishes to speak against, the committee shall immediately move to a
procedural vote. If the Motion is adopted, the Draft Resolution or Amendment shall not be
introduced.

A Motion of Competence should only be called if it is not in the Committee’s mandate to discuss
what is proposed by the document, or if it is not in its power to implement it should it pass.

40. Panel of Authors:

After a Draft Resolution has been introduced, any of its Sponsors may call for a Panel of Authors to
be convened for the purpose of answering questions raised by the Committee relating to the Draft
Resolution. The granting of a Panel of Authors shall be decided at the discretion of the Director. This
decision of the Director is open to appeal.

If granted, the Director shall set a time limit of no more than fifteen minutes during which members
of the Committee may ask short questions to the Sponsors for the sole purpose of clarifying the
content or meaning of the Resolution. Both the time taken for questions and for answers count
towards the time limit.

Delegates should note that the Panel of Authors is not meant for the debate of principles, but is
instead a forum for strict clarification of the details of a Draft Resolution.

41. Amendments:

An amendment is a proposal that adds to, deletes from or revises part of a draft resolution.
Delegates may amend any draft resolution that has been introduced. Amendments shall normally be
submitted in writing and are subject to the approval of the Director. An Amendment can only have
one Sponsor and require signatures of at least one-eighth of Members present. However, being a
Sponsor or Signatory of a Draft Resolution does not preclude or oblige Delegates to sponsor or sign
amendments.

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The Director may rule amendments that go against the principles of the resolution to which they are
submitted and are not designed to improve the resolution out of order.

Amendments to amendments are out of order; however, an amended part of a resolution may be
further amended. Preambulatory clauses may not be amended, except at the discretion of the
Director or Secretariat.

42. Introducing and Incorporating Amendments:

A delegate may motion to introduce an Amendment when the floor is open. Amendments will be
entertained in the order in which they were submitted. Delegates may not call for debate on a
specific amendment, except at the discretion of the Director. The Director will call upon the Sponsor
of the Amendment to read it out, and then ask for Seconds and Objections. If there are no Seconds,
the Amendment will not be introduced. If there are no Objections, the Amendment will be
automatically introduced. If there are both Seconds and Objections a procedural vote will be taken,
requiring a simple majority to pass. Upon successful introduction of an amendment, a Speakers’ List
will be established with two speakers for and two speakers against the Amendment. A Delegate may
Motion to extend the Speaker’s List by up to three speakers for and three against.

Delegates should note that the vote on the Motion to Introduce an Amendment is separate from
incorporating the Amendment into the Draft Resolution. The Motion to Introduce is procedural and
does not necessarily mean that a delegate is in support of the Amendment.

Once the Speaker’s List has elapsed, the Committee shall move directly to vote on incorporating the
Amendment into the Draft Resolution. This is a procedural vote and requires a simple majority to
pass.

43. Friendly Amendments:

If an Amendment is signed and supported by all Sponsors of a Draft Resolution, and once it has been
approved by the Director, it may be introduced as a Friendly Amendment by one of its Signatories.
There can be no Objections to introducing a Friendly Amendment, and hence Friendly Amendments
do not require a vote to be introduced. Friendly Amendments do however require a vote to be
included in the Draft Resolution.

There shall be no speaker’s list for a Friendly Amendment, and the Committee shall go straight into a
procedural vote and requires a simple majority to pass.

Friendly Amendments may be reintroduced as normal Amendments if they fail.

44. Procedural Voting:

Each member of the Committee, including Observers, shall have one vote on a procedural Motion.
Delegates will express their vote by raising their placards, and a simple majority is required unless
explicitly stated elsewhere in these rules. Delegates must vote for or against in procedural votes;
abstentions are not in order.

Delegates must raise their placard above their shoulder within 3 seconds of the Director’s request
for votes, unless physically unable to do so.

Delegates may not raise their placard unless specifically asked to do so by the Director or if a
Delegate is raising a Point. Delegates may not raise a motion during another Delegate’s speech.

45. Substantive Voting:

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The decision to adopt a Draft Resolution that has been introduced and debated can only be taken
through a substantive vote. Only one Draft Resolution may be passed per agenda item. After Closure
of Debate and any Motions to Reorder Draft Resolutions or Motions to Divide the Question have
been entertained, and immediately before moving into final voting procedures, the Director will call
for two speakers in favour and two speakers against adopting the first Draft Resolution. This
Speaker’s List cannot be extended, and when it has elapsed the Committee must move immediately
to a substantive vote on the first Draft Resolution.

If the Draft Resolution is not adopted, the same procedure with two speakers in favour and two
against is repeated for each subsequent Draft Resolutions, in the order they are set to be voted
upon.

In a substantive vote, members may vote ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Abstain’; members ‘present and voting’
cannot abstain. Observers may not vote. Delegates will express their vote by raising their placards,
except if a delegate Motions for a Roll Call Vote.

A Motion for A Roll Call Vote can only be raised for a substantive vote and will be automatically
adopted, except at the discretion of the Director.

In the case of a Roll Call vote, the Director will call upon each Member State in alphabetical order to
state their vote aloud. During a Roll Call Vote, delegates may also ‘Pass’. If a Delegate passes, the
Director will call upon the Delegate again at the end of the first round of voting, and the Delegate
must reply either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ only. Alternatively, Delegates may vote ‘No with rights’ (see Rule 47).

After the Director has announced the beginning of voting, no Delegate can interrupt the voting
except on a Point of Personal Privilege or a Point of Order relating to the conduct of voting.
Delegates may not leave the Committee room while voting is taking place.

The adoption of a Draft Resolution requires a simple majority.

46. Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions:

If two or more Draft Resolutions are on the floor, they will be voted on in the order in which they
were introduced, unless the Committee decides otherwise. A Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions
will be in order immediately after Closure of Debate, but prior to entering final voting procedures.

The Motion must state in which order the Draft Resolutions shall be voted on. The Director may hear
more than one Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions before moving on to vote on each of them in
the order they were raised.

The Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions requires a Second and shall be voted on, requiring a simple
majority to pass. If a Motions passes, the other Motions will not be voted on and cannot be raised
again.

If all Motions fail, the Committee will move into final voting procedures, voting on the Draft
Resolutions in their original order.

47. Division of the Question:

A delegate may propose that the operative clauses of a Draft Resolution shall be voted on
separately.

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Preambulatory clauses and sub-operative clauses may not be separated in a division of the question.
A Motion to Divide the Question will be in order immediately after Closure of Debate, but prior to
entering final voting procedures. It is superseded by a Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions.

The Motion must state how the operative clauses should be divided. The Director may hear more
than one Motion to Reorder Draft Resolutions before moving on to vote on each of them, where the
most radical division will be voted upon first, unless the Director states otherwise.

A Motion to Divide the Question requires a Second and shall be voted upon, requiring a simple
majority to pass. Permission to speak on the motion for division shall be given only to one speaker in
favour and one speaker against.

If the motion passes, the resolution will be divided accordingly, and a separate procedural vote will
be taken on each divided part to determine whether or not it is included in a new final draft. The
parts of the original Draft Resolution that are subsequently passed will be recombined into a new
version of the Draft Resolution, together with its original preambulatory clauses. This new version
will then be voted upon as normal during final voting procedures, instead of the original version.

If a Motion to Divide the Question is passed, all other Motions are removed, but can be raised again
if they relate to other Draft Resolutions. A Draft Resolution that has already been subject to a
division, cannot be subject to another.

Vetoes in the Security Council apply during a Division of the Question.

A Motion for a Roll Call Vote is in order during a Division of the Question.

48. Definition of Majority:

Unless specified otherwise in these rules, decisions of the Committee shall be made by a simple
majority of those present during the session. In a substantive vote, abstentions are not counted as
votes for or against, so a simple majority of 'Yes' over 'No' votes is required, unless specified
otherwise by the Committee Specific Procedures.

A simple majority is defined as more votes in favour than against. A tie is taken as a failure. A two-
thirds majority requires at least twice as many votes for as against.

49. Right to Explain Vote:

A sponsor of a proposal or Motion may speak in explanation of their vote against the proposal, if it
has been amended. Herein representatives may choose to vote 'No with Rights' and make a brief
statement consisting solely of the explanation of their vote after voting has been completed. Any
requests for an explanation of vote must be submitted to the Director in writing before debate on
the Agenda Item is closed, in which case the Director may use their discretion to grant the Delegate
the right to briefly address the Committee immediately after voting on the Agenda Item has come to
an end.

Voting with rights is only to be used in extraordinary circumstances such as: a Delegate voting
against a Resolution they have sponsored, or voting against their countries public policy but in
favour of their national interest.

ScotMUN would like to thank Marco Bauder for the majority of and inspiration for these rules.

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