JEOFFREY G.

PUNZALAN POLSCSI-130

ABSS 4-2

Parliamentary procedure protects the rights of people to join together to accomplish common
goals and enables them to debate and take action in a fair manner with the least amount of
controversy. All parliamentary procedure is built on the principle that there must be a careful balance
of the rights of the organization as a whole, the rights of subgroups and the rights of individual
members. Parliamentary procedure should be used to help and not hinder decision making. Robert
said “the assembly meets to transact business, not to have members exploit their knowledge of
parliamentary law.” (Robert’s Rules Guideline p.1) It is also a procedure 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.

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, or dispose
of this business through subsidiary motions and incidental motions. Parliamentary procedure also
allows for rules in regards to nomination, voting, disciplinary action, appeals, dues, and the drafting
of organization charters, constitutions, and bylaws.

History.

Parliamentary procedure, also called rules of order, originated in the early British Parliaments. In the
1560s Sir Thomas Smith wrote an early formal statement of procedures in the House of Commons,
which was published in 1583. Lex Parliamentaria (1689; “Parliamentary Law”) was a pocket manual
for members of Parliament and included many precedents that are now familiar. Drawing from the
Journal of the House of Commons, it included points such as the following: 1. One subject should be
discussed at a time. 2. The chair must always call for the negative vote. 3. Personal attacks and
indecorous behaviour are to be avoided in debate: “He that digresseth from the Matter to fall upon
the Person ought to be suppressed by the Speaker. No reviling or nipping words must be used.” 4.
Debate must be limited to the merits of the question: “A member speaking, and his speech, seeming
impertinent, and there being much hissing and spitting, it was conceived for a Rule, that Mr. Speaker
may stay impertinent speeches.” Depending heavily on procedures developed in the British
Parliament, colonists in America governed under written charters and grants, an experience that
influenced the framing of state constitutions and the Constitution of the United States. The first work
to interpret and define parliamentary principles for the new American government was A Manual of
Parliamentary Practice, written by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. The
modern system of general parliamentary law and practice is, in many respects, at wide variance with
the current systems of procedure of both the British Parliament and the U.S. Congress. Rules
designed for legislatures that use a bicameral system with paid memberships,that meet in continuous
session, that require a majority for a quorum, and that delegate their duties largely to committees
address special legislative requirements. They are, as a whole, unsuited to the needs of an ordinary
assembly. An early attempt in the United States to serve “assemblies of every
description…especially…those not legislative in their character” was the Manual of Parliamentary
Practice, by Luther S. Cushin, a jurist and clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Robert’s Rules of Order, codified by U.S. Army officer General Henry M. Robert, which has gone
through various editions and re-printings and continues to be published in periodic editions, has had a
lasting impact on the development of parliamentary procedure.

Order of Business in Parliamentary Procedures.

Parliamentary procedure is all about setting a standardized format of interaction, which

means that it is based around a uniform order of business. Things happen in a specific order. This
keeps everyone on the same page and ensures that no items are neglected or forgotten. The
standard order of business looks like this:

1. Reading the Minutes 4. Special Orders

2. Reports of Officers 5. Unfinished Business

3. Reports of Other Special Committees 6. New Business

That's the basic order of events. So, what's that mean? Parliamentary procedure always
begins with a reading of the minutes, or the record of the last meeting. This gives everyone a chance
to review old information and make any changes to the record if necessary. From there, the
chairperson opens the floor to officers or committees who can report on the activities of a specific
branch within the organization. Once this is done, the chairperson may bring up any special items
that require immediate attention, or will move into unfinished business from the last meeting. Once
the unfinished business has been resolved, it's finally time to introduce new business. The
chairperson opens the floor to everyone in the room, and people have an opportunity to bring up their
issues before the group. The new issue is presented, debated, voted upon, and resolved. Once all
business has been concluded (or time has run out), the chairperson can adjourn the meeting.