Parliamentary

procedure

Parliamentary procedure is the accepted

rules, ethics, and customs governing
meetings of an assembly or organization.
Its object is to allow orderly deliberation
upon questions of interest to the
organization and thus to arrive at the
sense or the will of the majority of the
assembly upon these questions.[1] Self-
governing organizations follow
parliamentary procedure to debate and
reach group decisions, usually by vote,
with the least possible friction.

The European Parliament during a

plenary session in 2014

In the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland,

Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and
other English-speaking countries,
parliamentary procedure is often called
chairmanship, chairing, the law of meetings,
procedure at meetings, the conduct of
meetings, or the standing orders. In the
United States, it is referred to as
parliamentary law, parliamentary practice,
legislative procedure, rules of order, or
Robert's rules of order.[2]

Rules of order consist of rules written by

the body itself (often referred to as
bylaws), usually supplemented by a
published parliamentary authority adopted
by the body. Typically, national, state or
provincial 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.
History
The term parliamentary procedure gets its
name from its use in the parliamentary
system of government.[3]

In the 16th and 17th century, the

parliaments of England began adopting
rules of order.[4] In the 1560s, Sir Thomas
Smyth began the process of writing down
accepted procedures and published a
book about them for the House of
Commons in 1583.[4] Early rules included:

One subject should be discussed at a

time (adopted 1581)[4][5]
 Personal attacks are to be avoided in
debate (1604)[4]
Debate must be limited to the merits of
the question (1610)[4]
Division of a question into parts to be
voted on separately (1640)[4]

Westminster procedures

The Westminster parliamentary

procedures are followed in several
Commonwealth countries, including the
United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, India, and South Africa.

In Canada, for example, the House of

Commons uses House of Commons
Procedure and Practice as its primary
procedural authority. Others include Arthur
Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and
Forms of the House of Commons of
Canada, Sir John George Bourinot's
Parliamentary Procedure and Practice in the
Dominion of Canada, and Erskine May's
The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage
of Parliament from Britain.[6]

American procedures

The rules of the United States Congress

were developed from parliamentary
procedures used in Britain.[7] Many
nations' legislatures follow American
parliamentary procedures, including
Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico and
South Korea.

Other

The procedures of the Diet of Japan

moved away from the British
parliamentary model, when in Occupied
Japan, there were efforts to align
Japanese parliamentary procedures with
American congressional practices.[8] In
Japan, informal negotiations are more
important than formal procedures.[9]
In Italy, written rules govern the Houses of
the Parliament. The Constitutional Court
judges the limits beyond which these
regulations cannot go, exceeding the
parliamentary or political function
(judgement n. 120 of 2014)[10] and on their
bad application when a law is passed.[11]

Parliamentary authority
usage patterns
Parliamentary procedure is based on the
principles of allowing the majority to make
decisions effectively and efficiently
(majority rule), while ensuring fairness
towards the minority and giving each
member or delegate the right to voice an
opinion.[12] Voting determines the will of
the assembly. While each assembly may
create their own set of rules, these sets
tend to be more alike than different. A
common practice is to adopt a standard
reference book on parliamentary
procedure and modify it through special
rules of order that supersede the adopted
authority.

A parliamentary structure conducts

business through motions, which cause
actions. Members bring business before
the assembly by introducing main
motions. "Members use subsidiary
motions to alter a main motion, or delay or
hasten its consideration."[13] Parliamentary
procedure also allows for rules in regards
to nomination, voting, debate, disciplinary
action, appeals, and the drafting of
organization charters, constitutions, and
bylaws.

Organizations and civic groups

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised[14]

aspires to be a comprehensive guide:
"New editions have marked the growth of
parliamentary procedure as cases
occurring in assemblies have pointed to a
need for further rules or additional
interpretations to go by."[15] Robert's Rules
of Order The Modern Edition[16] and The
Standard Code of Parliamentary
Procedure[17] aspire to be concise. "This
book is a basic reference book but does
not claim to be comprehensive. For most
organization and for most meetings, it will
prove very adequate."[18] "Alice Sturgis
believed that confusing or unnecessary
motions and terminology should be
eliminated. Her goal was to make the
process simpler, fairer, and easier to
understand, and The Standard Code of
Parliamentary Procedure did just that
..."[19]
A common text in use in the UK,
particularly within trade unions, is Walter
Citrine's ABC of Chairmanship.

In English-speaking Canada, popular

authorities include Kerr & King's
Procedures for Meeting and Organizations.
The Conservative Party of Canada uses
Wainberg's Society meetings including rules
of order to run its internal affairs.

In French-speaking Canada, commonly

used rules of order for ordinary societies
include Victor Morin's Procédures des
assemblées délibérantes (commonly
known as the Code Morin)[20] and the Code
Confédération des syndicats nationaux.

Legislatures

Legislative assemblies in all countries,

because of their nature, tend to have a
specialized set of rules that differ from
parliamentary procedure used by clubs
and organizations.

In the United Kingdom, Thomas Erskine

May's 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.
There are also the Standing Orders for
each House.[21]

Of the 99 state legislative chambers in the

United States (two for each state except
Nebraska, which has a unicameral
legislature), Mason's Manual of Legislative
Procedure governs parliamentary
procedures in 70; Jefferson's Manual
governs 13, and Robert's Rules of Order
governs four.[22] The United States Senate
follows the Standing Rules of the United
States Senate, while the United States
House of Representatives follows
Jefferson's Manual.
Mason's Manual, originally written by
constitutional scholar and former
California Senate staff member Paul
Mason in 1935, and since his death
revised and published by the National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
governs legislative procedures in
instances where the state constitution,
state statutes, and the chamber's rules are
silent.[23][24][25]

According to the NCSL,[24] one of the many

reasons that most state legislatures use
Mason's Manual instead of Robert's Rules
of Order is that Robert's Rules applies best
to private organizations and civic groups
that do not meet in daily public sessions.
Mason's Manual, however, is geared
specifically toward state legislative bodies.

Parliamentarians
In the United States, individuals who are
proficient in parliamentary procedure are
called parliamentarians (in other English-
speaking countries with parliamentary
forms of government, "parliamentarian"
refers to a member of Parliament).

Several organizations offer certification

programs for parliamentarians, including
the National Association of
Parliamentarians and American Institute
of Parliamentarians. Agriculture teachers
who coach teams in the parliamentary
procedure contest of the National FFA
Organization (formerly Future Farmers of
America) can earn the title Accredited
Parliamentarian. Parliamentarians perform
an important role in many meetings,
including counseling organizations on
parliamentary law, holding elections, or
writing amendments to the constitution
and bylaws of an organization.

See also
Group decision-making
Lawmaking procedure in India
 Parliamentary procedure in the
corporate world
Robert's Rules of Order

References
1. Robert 2011, p. l.
2. Bliss, Edwin (1993). The Standard Code of
Parliamentary Procedure (https://archive.or
g/details/standardcodeofpa00stur)
(Third ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
p. xx. ISBN 0-07-062522-0. "The term
'Robert's Rules of Order' is commonly used
today as a synonym for parliamentary
procedure."
3. Robert III, Henry M.; et al. (2011). Robert's
Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief (http
s://archive.org/details/isbn_978051719003
6) (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo
Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-306-82019-9.
4. Robert, Henry M.; et al. (2011). Robert's
Rules of Order Newly Revised (https://archi
ve.org/details/isbn_9780306813542)
(11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.
pp. xxxiii–xxxiv. ISBN 978-0-306-82020-5.
5. Slater, Victor Louis. (2002). The Political
History of Tudor and Stuart England: A
Sourcebook, p. 72 (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=kVxZ-I7lVQMC&pg=PA72&dq
=) . ISBN 9780203995402
6. "Parliamentary Procedure – General Article
– Compendium of Procedure Home –
House of Commons. Canada" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20100204021216/http://w
ww.parl.gc.ca/compendium/web-content/c
_g_parliamentaryprocedure-e.htm) .
Parliament of Canada. 2011. Archived from
the original (http://www.parl.gc.ca/compen
dium/web-content/c_g_parliamentaryproce
dure-e.htm) on Feb 4, 2010. Retrieved
15 February 2011.
7. Jefferson, Thomas. (1820). A manual of
parliamentary practice for the use of the
Senate of the United States, p. vi (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=46k-AAAAYAAJ
&pg=PR6&dq=) .
8. Reischauer, Edwin O. and Marius B. Jansen.
(1977). The Japanese Today: Change and
Continuity, p. 250 (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=BTPNlLIy2soC&pg=PA250&dq
=) .
9. Mulgan, Aurelia George. (2000). The
Politics of Agriculture in Japan, p. 292 (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=l_78iQKta
JMC&pg=PA292&dq=) .
10. The "functionalist" criterion (set by the Bill,
on the initiative of Senator Maritati: Bill n.
1560/XVI) identified – inside parliamentary
Institutions – acts of political bodies which,
on the one hand, are not linked to the
functions (legislative, political address or
inspection) but which, on the other hand,
are not classified as high-level
administration: Buonomo, Giampiero
(2014). "Il nodo dell'autodichia da Ponzio a
Pilato" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160
324160801/https://www.questia.com/proje
cts#!/project/89413589) . Golem
Informazione. Archived from the original (ht
tps://www.questia.com/projects#!/project/
89413589) on 2016-03-24. Retrieved
2016-04-11.
11. (in Italian) G. Buonomo e M. Cerase, La
Corte costituzionale ancora irrisolta sul
ricorso delle minoranze parlamentari (ord.
n. 17/2019), Forum di Quaderni
costituzionali, 13 febbraio 2019 (https://ww
w.academia.edu/38400055/La_Corte_costi
tuzionale_ancora_irrisolta_sul_ricorso_delle
_minoranze_parlamentari_coautore_M._Cer
ase_) .
12. Robert 2011, p. li
13. Sturgis, Alice (1993). The Standard Code of
Parliamentary Procedure (https://archive.or
g/details/standardcodeofpa00stur)
(Third ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
p. 16. ISBN 0-07-062522-0.
14. Robert, Henry (2020). Robert's Rules of
Order Newly Revised (12th ed.). New York:
Public Affairs, Hachette Book Group.
ISBN 978-1541736696.
15. Robert, Sarah (1981). Robert's Rules of
Order Newly Revised (https://archive.org/de
tails/scottforesmanr00robe) (1981 ed.).
Glenview, Illinois: Scott Foresman and
Company. p. preface, pg. ix. ISBN 0-673-
15471-8.
16. Patnode, Darwin (1989). Robert's Rules of
Order the Modern Edition (https://archive.or
g/details/robertsrulesofo400robe) . New
York: The Berkley Publishing Group. ISBN 0-
425-11690-5.
17. Sturgis, Alice (1988). The Standard Code of
Parliamentary Procedure (https://archive.or
g/details/standardcodeofpa00stur) . New
York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. ISBN 0-07-062522-0.
18. Patnode, Darwin (1989). Robert's Rules of
Order The Modern Edition (https://archive.o
rg/details/robertsrulesofo400robe) . New
York: The Berkley Publishing Group. p. 17.
ISBN 0-425-11690-5.
19. Sturgis, Alice (1988). The Standard Code of
Parliamentary Procedure (https://archive.or
g/details/standardcodeofpa00stur)
(Third ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
p. xxi - "To the Reader" preface, by Edwin C.
Bliss. ISBN 0-07-062522-0.
20. Code Morin at University of Victoria (http
s://web.archive.org/web/1999100818193
1/http://web.uvic.ca/~cpssa/morineng.ht
m) ; retrieved 2013-1-13.
21. "Standing Orders" (https://www.parliament.
uk/site-information/glossary/standing-orde
rs/) . UK Parliament.
22. Using Mason's Manual of Legislative
Procedure: The Advantages to Legislative
Bodies (https://web.archive.org/web/20191
212161525/http://www.ncsl.org/research/a
bout-state-legislatures/masons-manual-for-
legislative-bodies.aspx) , National
Conference of State Legislatures.
23. See, for example, Standing Rules of the
California Assembly, in HR 1, 2007-08
Regular Session (http://www.leginfo.ca.go
v/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=hr_1&ses
s=CUR) .
24. National Conference of State Legislatures
web site (http://www.ncsl.org)
25. National Conference of State Legislatures
(2000). Mason's Manual of Legislative
Procedure. Denver, CO: NCSL. ISBN 1-
58024-116-6.

External links
The Robert's Rules Wikisource
has the text of
Association (http://ww
the 1905 New
w.robertsrules.com) International
Encyclopedia
Compendium of article
"Parliamentary
Procedure for Canada's Law".
House of Commons (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/2016090412
2247/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Hou
se/compendium/web-content/c_a_index
-e.htm)
National Conference of State
Legislatures: Using Mason's Manual of
Legislative Procedure (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20191212161525/http://ww
w.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislat
ures/masons-manual-for-legislative-bodi
es.aspx)
 National Association of
Parliamentarians (http://www.parliamen
tarians.org/)
American Institute of Parliamentarians
(https://web.archive.org/web/20151117
170758/http://aipparl.org/site/)

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