Rules of Procedure

Integrated Model Assembly of Nations is an indigenous rules of procedure developed by

studying an array of procedures. Please note that you will not have to submit position
papers.

LANGUAGE
English will be the official and working language of the conference.

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
The use of electronic equipment such as laptops, iPads, and tablets is allowed during
committee sessions, but allowance for Internet is at the discretion of the Executive Board.
Usage of social media, and any such use of mobile phones other than research, can lead
to the delegate being debarred from the conference.

STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARIAT

At any time, any member of the Secretariat may make an oral or written statement or
announcement to the committee regarding an update on their topic. Such an
announcement is not questionable or contestable.

GENERAL POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE STAFF

The decisions made by the Executive Board on any matters regarding debate are final and
binding on all delegates. The Executive Board will declare the opening and closing of each
meeting and may propose the adoption of any procedural motion at its discretion. During
debate, the committee staff have absolute control over the proceedings. The Executive
Board will direct the flow of formal debate, accord the right to speak, put questions before
the committee, announce decisions, rule on points of order and ensure and enforce the
observance of these rules. The Executive Board has the authority to question any delegate
and/or ask for clarification about his/her stand on any issue. Other members of the
committee staff may advise individual delegates or the committee on the possible course
of debate. The Executive Board is responsible to the Secretariat at all times. The Press
Corps is free to publish any material that lies within the scope of this conference. It is
advised to refrain from the publication of offensive and derogatory material, especially if
targeted at a select group of persons. The Press Corps enters and observes committee
proceedings on the basis that the committee has no significant objections to their
presence.

START OF THE COMMITTEE

Dias (Chairs) begins with roll call
Delegates may respond “present” or “present and voting”
Next, the Dias asks to hear any points or motions
In the first committee session, a delegate must move to open the General Speakers
List
If there are no points or motions on the floor, the Dias will recognise the Speaker on
the General Speakers List.
During the first committee session, the agenda must also be set.

DEBATE
Once the agenda has been set, debate begins, and debate commences with the General
Speaker's List.
A delegate must enlist their name on the General Speaker's List. In the General Speaker's
List, each member nation gets control of the mic for ninety seconds, which is followed by
either a yield (explained ahead) or the committee moves on to the speech of the next
speaker .Therefore, those delegates whose names are on the General Speaker's List
control the debate. To counter, delegates may motion for moderated caucuses on specific
parts of the topic area. Because a moderated caucus is meant to be rapid and
spontaneous, a delegate raises a point, and another delegate typically refutes it almost
immediately; debate proceeds at a much faster rate than that of the General Speaker's
List, and within a short duration, the committee is expected to hear a broad spectrum of
views on a specific topic. The Executive Board does not usually refuse delegates the right
to motion for moderated and unmoderated caucuses, but when caucusing has been
occurring for prolonged durations, it may exercise its discretion to refuse subsequent
motions for caucusing.
After the agenda has been determined, a continuously open General Speakers List will be
established for general debate. The General Speaker's List will be followed for all debates
on the topic area, except when procedural motions, amendments, or the introduction of
a resolution or amendment in the event of an international crisis temporarily suspends
the list. Debate may be carried out through:
1. General Speaker's List
2. Special Speaker's List
3. Moderated Caucus
4. Unmoderated Caucus
1. General Speaker's List
The General Speaker’s List is opened automatically when an agenda is adopted and is
suspended only in times of crisis or when a Moderated Caucus or Unmoderated Caucus
has been motioned for. Motions to open any other medium of debate will not close the
GSL but will only overlap it. By default, the time limit for each Speaker is fixed at 90
seconds.

2. Special Speaker's List

The Special Speaker's List is almost like the General Speaker's List, except that it must be
motioned for. This is opened to discuss a particular topic within the topic area and is open
for a specific time. While motioning to open it, the purpose and time limit must be
specified.
The motion to move into an SSL is usually only entertained during times of crisis. In an SSL,
General Speakers may only discuss the issue that the SSL was opened to discuss. After a
delegate finishes his/her speech, he has the option of yielding; however, the parameters
of such are finally up to the discretion of the Executive Board.

3. Moderated Caucus
The purpose of a moderated caucus is to facilitate substantive debate at critical junctures
in the discussion. The approval of such a motion rests entirely in the hands of the Executive
Board and is not subject to appeal. During a moderated caucus, the Executive Board will
suspend the General Speaker's List and may call on delegates to speak at its discretion. A
moderated caucus is also opened for a specific purpose and a specific duration. Comments
made beyond the scope of the immediate subtopic may result in penalties. The motion to
move into a moderated caucus is raised in the following manner:
The delegate of <portfolio> would like to raise a motion to suspend the formal debate and
move into a moderated caucus on the topic <topic to be discussed> for a total time of
<duration>, and individual speakers’ time being <per Speaker's time>.
Kindly ensure that the total time for the moderated caucus should be divisible by the time
provided for individual speakers.
4. Unmoderated Caucus
An unmoderated caucus is an informal discussion amongst delegates and has no
procedural rules. Delegates generally use it to formulate working papers or resolutions. It
must be motioned for, and it also requires a purpose and a specific time. When the floor
is open, a delegate may move to suspend or adjourn the meeting. If a motion to move into
an unmoderated caucus is in order, it requires a simple majority to pass. A motion for an
unmoderated caucus may be raised for a maximum duration of 15 minutes and may be
extended for a maximum duration of minutes. A motion for an unmoderated caucus is
typically introduced for lobbying or the preparation of paperwork. The motion to move
into an unmoderated caucus is raised in the following manner: Motion to suspend formal
debate and move into an unmoderated caucus for <purpose> for a total time of
<duration>. A motion to adjourn the unmoderated caucus may only be in order once
three-quarters of the time allotted for the last meeting of the committee has lapsed.
Additionally, when the floor is open, a delegate may move to postpone debate on a
particular resolution or amendment currently on the floor. The motion requires a
twothirds majority vote for its passage, and at SASMUN is only valid once two-thirds of the
allotted committee session time has elapsed.

YIELDS
Only during formal debate, a Delegate may yield any remaining time at the end of his/her
speech in one of the following ways:
To Questions:
The Chair will use the remaining time to entertain questions for the Speaker from other
delegates of the Security Council. Delegates wishing to ask questions shall raise their
placards and wait to be recognised by the Chair. The Chair shall rule questions that are
rhetorical, leading or not relevant to the Speaker's speech out of order. Plea to follow up
shall be granted at the discretion of the Executive Board.
To Another Delegate:
A Speaker wishing to give the remaining time allotted to his/her speech to another
Delegate can do so. His or her remaining time will be offered to that delegate. If the
delegate accepts the yield, the Chair shall recognise the delegate for the remaining time.
The second delegate speaking may not yield back to the original delegate.
To the Executive Board:
A Delegate can yield any remaining time back to the Executive Board. Such a yield should
be made if the delegate does not wish his/her speech to be subject to questions. The Chair
will then move to the next speaker or ask the delegate about the speech. Only one yield is
allowed per speech (i.e. no yields on yielded time)
Note: Yields are only used while the committee is using the General Speakers’ List – they
are not allowed in a moderated caucus.

RIGHT OF REPLY
A delegate whose personal or national integrity has been affronted by that of another
delegate, within the scope of formal debate, may request the Executive Board for the Right
of Reply. After consultation with the Secretariat, the respective delegate will be severely
reprimanded and possibly excluded from further committee proceedings.
Delegates are requested to employ the Right of Reply with the utmost discretion.

POINTS Point of Personal Privilege

Whenever a delegate experiences extreme discomfort which impairs him/her from
partaking in the proceeding, he/she may rise to a Point of Personal Privilege, so that the
discomfort may be corrected. Such a point may interrupt a Speaker and so should be used
with the utmost discretion.

Point of Parliamentary Inquiry

When the floor is open, a delegate may rise to a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry to ask the
Moderator a question regarding the rules of procedure. This, however, may never
interrupt a speaker.

Point of Order
During the discussion of any matter, if a delegate feels that there is a factual inaccuracy in
the speech of another delegate or feels that he/she has been misquoted by another
delegate, so much so that it affects the committee’s dynamic, then he may raise a Point of
Order against the delegate. The delegate will be required to submit the source of the point
of order, along with quoting the exact statement of the other delegate. A point of order
can also be raised to address any errors made by the Executive Board about any Rules of
Procedure. Erroneous attempts to make a point of order may draw penalties. At SASMUN,
points of order must be written, and the delegate making it must quote the delegate
he/she feel made the error verbatim. This note must be sent to the Executive Board, and
if the Executive Board feels it is satisfactory, it will be read out in committee.
The Executive Board will duly note good points of order.

Point of Information
This point is used to ask a delegate a question so they may clarify a speech (Not always
permitted and used only during the Speakers List). The delegates can abstain from
answering the Point of Information and can also choose “Answer via Chit”.

FORMAL VOTING
This is a form of voting used during the voting on resolutions, wherein there would be
three rounds of voting. A vote can be a "Yes", "No", "Yes with Rights", "No with Rights",
"Abstain", or "Pass".

Should a member not be present and voting during a substantive vote, that member shall
not vote (equivalent to "Abstain"). All votes on substantive issues will be conducted by roll
call. No outside observers may be present during a vote, and the Chairperson will
correspond with security staff to ensure that the room is sealed before proceeding with
the vote. Voting may be interrupted only by a Point of Personal Privilege. During a roll call
vote, the Executive Board will assume control of the committee.

During the first round of voting, delegates may vote for their member nations in
alphabetical order, choosing to vote for a "Yes", "No", "Yes with Rights", “No with Rights",
"Abstain" or "Pass". A delegate from a member nation which does not pass may request
the right to explain his/her vote. A member nation that passes in the first sequence must
vote during the second sequence. The right to explain that a member nation's vote is
suspended in this second round. Member nations that requested the right to explain their
votes may do so with a time limit set by the Chairperson. A third sequence will ensue in
which members may change their votes by expressing this desire, in writing to the
Executive Board. After allowing a pause in the committee session for those who wish to
change their votes, the Executive Board will tabulate and announce the final result,
following which the door of the hall will reopen. The Secretariat will shortly release the
official result of the vote.
PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS
Motions at SASMUN will be voted upon in order of disruptiveness, and
not in order of introduction.
The following is a list of motions in descending order of disruptiveness:
1. Motion to Open/Adjourn/Close Debate
2. Introduction of a Resolution/Directive
3. Introduction of an Amendment to a Resolution/Directive
4. Introduction of a Working Paper
5. Motion to move into Formal Voting Procedure
6. Unmoderated Caucus
7. Motion to open a Special General Speaker’s List
8. Introduction of a Question & Answer Session
9. Extension of a Moderated Caucus
10. Introduction of a Moderated Caucus Closure of Debate

When the floor is open, a delegate may move to close debate on a substantive or
procedural matter under discussion. When closure of debate is motioned for, the
Executive Board will recognise two General Speakers against the motion. No General
Speakers in favour of the motion shall be heard. If the committee is in favour of closure,
the Executive Board will declare the closure of debate, and the resolution or the
amendment being debated will be put to immediate vote

PAPER WORK Working Papers

Working Papers are the paperwork which has the committee’s views on a particular
subtopic of the main agenda at hand. They provide direction to the committee and
indicate how the committee discussions are flowing. A working paper needs no signatories
but needs the signature of the Executive Board before being copied and/or distributed.
Before introduction to the committee, a Working Paper needs to be approved by the
Executive Board. A Working Paper needs a simple majority to be introduced on the floor
of the committee. In case there are multiple working papers on the floor, the Executive
Board may use their discretion to decide the order in which they are put to vote. If a
Working Paper is passed, it must be incorporated into the resolution. Informal voting takes
place for the passage of a working paper. A working paper has a prescribed format and
must incorporate the name(s) of the author(s), sub-topic within the agenda being
discussed, and an index number assigned by the Executive Board. The prescribed format
for a working paper can be found towards the end of this document.

Resolutions
A resolution is a document which contains the solution to an entire agenda. A resolution
requires the approval and signature of the Executive Board before being introduced. The
voting for the introduction of the resolution for debate may be done informally; however,
the voting for the passage of the resolution must be done through the formal voting
procedure. There is a prescribed format for a resolution, and delegates are advised to
strictly abide by the prescribed format.
The prescribed format for a resolution can be found towards the end of this document. A
resolution needs to present a logical, simple and above all feasible solution to the situation
at hand. Working papers may contain the most imaginative and creative ideas, but in the
end, these ideas have to stand up against the real world. If the Executive Board feels that
the solution presented in the resolution is practically unworkable, he/she will refuse to
introduce it to the committee. Every resolution must have a minimum of 1 author and a
maximum of 2. An author is an entity who writes, structures, and ideates the Resolution.
He/she is obligated to abide by the resolution. There is no limit on the maximum number
of authors to a resolution, subject to fulfilling the criterion of signatories. An author cannot
vote against his/her resolution.

The following are parts of a resolution:

Signatories
Signatories are those who give their assent to discuss the resolution in the committee and
may exercise their voting rights in any way they please. Therefore, signatories sign to see
a resolution on the floor in debate and being a signatory in no way expresses support for
a resolution. For a resolution to be discussed in committee, it should have at least one-
third voting members of the committee as signatories. If very few or no resolutions fulfil
this criterion, the Executive Board may exercise its discretion to allow resolutions on the
floor for discussion. In case multiple resolutions are brought to the Executive Board at the
same time, the one with the highest number of signatories shall be put to a vote first.

Authors/Sponsors
Sponsors are delegates who wrote the working paper, or whose ideas are substantially
represented in the paper. They present the resolution to the Dias and also in front of the
committee before the voting. They are also liable to answer all questions to the resolution
and including all passed amendments in the resolution.

Amendments
All amendments must be submitted to the Executive Board. Amendments have a
prescribed format and must include the names of authors, type (additions, removals, or
replacements), clauses, and the index number for the documentation being amended.
Amendments can be introduced when the line-by-line review is in order (explained later),
unless in a time of crisis, where it could be introduced by raising a motion for an
amendment, followed by the approval of the Executive Board.
There are 2 types of amendments:

Friendly Amendments
An amendment, wherein the contents of the amendment are agreed upon by all the
author(s), is called a friendly amendment and does not require any kind of voting.

Unfriendly Amendments
An amendment that is introduced by any other member is called an unfriendly amendment
and must be voted upon by the committee to be incorporated into the resolution. A simple
majority is required to introduce a normal amendment, followed by discussion at the
discretion of the Executive Board and informal voting.

Line by Line Review

This is an opportunity for each delegate in the committee to carefully review each part of
the Draft resolution and voice any comments or concerns for the committee to consider.
The chair reads out each clause in the resolution and asks, "Are there any comments,
reactions or Objections "after each one. Delegates have the option to: Add, Delete, or
Replace a word or sub-clause, or a clause. This would be communicated to the chair via
writing a chit in a particular format (at the end of the document). The chair would then
ratify each of the amendments and introduce them to the committee. After this, the
committee can enter a formal meeting to discuss the amendment. This is then followed
by a vote upon the Unfriendly amendment and then a vote upon the clause. A clause
would require a simple majority (50% +1) to pass and would then only be added to the
final resolution. This would be repeated for every clause until the resolution ends. At this
point is when the committee moves into formal voting upon the final resolution, wherein
there are three rounds of voting on the resolution, and a total of two-thirds of the votes
of the delegates are required for its passing in the committee.

EMERGENCY/CRISIS DEBATE
An emergency begins when a detailed introduction to the crisis is made by the Executive
Board. According to protocol, in an emergency, observers are not allowed to be in
committee, but they may be allowed to stay and give statements in committee at the
discretion of the Executive Board. Delegates are not allowed to leave the committee
during an emergency. Presidential statements are also recognised during an Emergency.
In case there is an emergency that arises, there will be no General Speaker’s List, and the
Executive Board shall recognise a minimum of 5 members with compulsory yields, in the
order of involvement, to speak for ninety seconds each in the Special Speakers’ List (SSL).
Simple Majority – The simple majority is 50% + 1 of the total number of members present
in the committee.
Special Majority – The special majority is two-thirds of the total number of members
present in the committee.

Tabling of Paperwork
The delegates of the council have a choice to table any of the three mentioned documents
(Working Paper, Resolution, and/or Declaration) at any point in time during their
deliberation in committee for which requires a special majority by informal voting.
Tabling Paperwork means that the same cannot be brought up for discussion again.

Presidential Statements
A delegate during the debate can make a Presidential Address. This may help him/her to
express his/her stand on a particular issue. This is followed by a compulsory yield to two
questions. This can be done at any time during the debate, but a maximum of three

presidential statements will be allowed throughout the conference, and there is no time limit,
but the same can be imposed by the Executive Board.
Joint Statements
Two countries can come together and make a joint announcement regarding their views on the
topic areas. The Executive Board can invalidate the statement if it is not important in the context
of the agenda at hand. A joint statement can be made at any time during the committee meeting.
This is in a written format, and is utilised to make a change in the country’s policy.

Censure
Delegates may censure a fellow delegate by motioning for the same; in order for this motion to
be successful, it has to have a special majority through an informal vote. This motion can be
overruled at the discretion of the Executive Board.

PRESCRIBED FORMATS Draft Resolution Preambulatory clauses

Set up the context of a resolution
They do not do anything; they serve to justify the actions taken later on in the resolution
Not numbered, and it ends in a comma rather than a semicolon
The Preambular phrase is italicised, and calls for no specific action from countries

Operative Clauses
Operative clauses are the main substance of a resolution
These are the clauses that do something (call for one specific action)
Clause is numbered, operative phrase is underlined, and ends with a semicolon
Only the last clause in a resolution should end with a period
Sub-clauses are indicated with a lowercase letter, and sub-sub clauses are indicated with
lowercase roman numerals
There are no underlined words in sub or sub-sub clauses
Please note: most UN committees cannot call for binding action (only recommendations)
Words like “requires”, “forces”, and “obligates” may not be used in operative clauses except in
committees that may pass binding resolutions, such as the UN Security Council

Index: SASMUN/<CommitteeName>/DR/<Number>
Author(s): <Name(s) of Author(s)>
Signatories: <Names of Signatories>
Agenda: <Agenda>
The <Committee Name>,
<Preambulatory Clauses>
<Operative Clauses>
NOTE: A full stop terminates the documentation; anything written after a full stop is not
considered. It is to be ensured that the full stop is placed at the end only.

Amendments
Index: SASMUN/<committee>/<WP/Reso/Number /Type: <Addition/Deletion/Replacement>
Author(s): <Name(s) of Author(s)>
Clauses: <Content>

Working Paper
Index: SASMUN/<committee>/WP/NUMBER\
Sponsors:<Name(s) of sponsors>
Sub-topic:<sub-topic>
<Clauses>