Roberts Rule of Order Day 2024 is on Thursday, May 2, 2024: as stated in roberts rules of order--what is the proper way to remove a president of an

Thursday, May 2, 2024 is Roberts Rule of Order Day 2024. Robert's Rules of Order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert's Rules of Order

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It wouldn't matter what Robert's Rules of Order had to say on the matter. "Robert's" is a protocol document only. It outlines how meetings should be conducted and how people are supposed to interact in a business meeting setting however it has absolutely no force and effect in law. Most people these days don't even know what the document means and in many ways it's an outdated practice.

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What are the Parliamentary Rules?

Parliamentary Rules are what keep meetings fair and orderly. Business meetings are almost always conducted under the rule of Parliamentary Law.

Parliamentary Law is the set of rules that governs most official meetings. This law is what keeps order in the house. There are five principles, which guide the implementation of the rules.

1) Courtesy and Justice to all.

2) Consider one topic at a time.

3) Majority rules.

4) The minority has a right to be heard.

5) Fairness to all and partiality to no one.

These principles date back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. These rules developed as unwritten codes of conduct in the British Parliament. It was Thomas Jefferson who first wrote them down for use in America. General Henry M. Robert has written three books on the subject and “Robert’s Rules of Order” are now the standard for most groups and governing bodies that meet in assemblies.

Parliamentary Rules

There are three kinds of rules that apply to an assembly. General Rules are the standard, commonly used rules found in a rulebook on parliamentary law. Special Rules are rules adopted by an organization to meet their own particular needs. They are specifically for that one body that adopts them and usually supercede the General Rules. Exceptions are exceptions to the General Rules.

The purposes of the rules are to maintain order, speed up business and assure fairness.

Parliamentary Terms

Parliamentary law spells out the procedures for making laws and changing policies. In order to comprehend the procedures, it is essential to understand the TERMS. These are only some of the most common ones.

Amending a motion is adding to or modifying a previously discussed motion. Amending can only be done before a motion has been voted on.

The Chair is the officer presiding over the meeting, Mister or Madam Chairman.

Ex Officio means by virtue of office. An assembly may have a special rule that designates the treasurer an ex officio member of all committees.

A convention is a series of Meetings.

All of the meetings in a convention constitute a Session.

The Minutes are the official record of business at a meeting.

A Motion is a formal proposal for action to be taken.

A Quorum is the minimum number of members necessary at a meeting to transact official business.

Approving a motion that has just been presented is called Seconding the motion.

Business carried over from the previous meeting is called Unfinished Business.

Motions

There are seven points to every motion.

1) What is the object of the motion?

2) Does the motion need to be seconded?

3) Does the motion require debate?

4) Can the motion be amended?

5) Does this motion yield to another motion?

6) What kind of vote is required to adopt the motion?

7) Can the motion be reconsidered?

There are Main motions and Secondary motions.

A Main Motion introduces a new subject to the meeting. It is done when no other business is being considered. There is usually a place in a meeting agenda for new motions.

There are three kinds of Secondary Motions. Subsidiary motions apply to other motions and help the meeting to deal with the main motion, one way or another. Privileged Motions are urgent and do not have to be related to the business at hand. The urgency could apply to the rights of one member or to the needs of the assembly. Incidental Motions apply to the method of transacting business. They do not apply to the business itself.

Ranking Motions

There are 13 ranking motions according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

1) Main Motion

Subsidiary Motions

2) Postpone Indefinitely

3) Amend

4) Commit

5) Postpone

6) Limit or Extend Debate

7) Previous Question

8) Lay on Table

Privileged Motions

9) Call for Orders of the Day

10) Raise a Question of Privilege

11) Recess

12) Adjourn

13) Fix a time at which to adjourn

The Main Motion is the lowest ranking order and “fix a time to adjourn” is the highest. Higher-ranking motions can only be applied to motions of lower rank. An example is that a motion to postpone indefinitely can only be applied to the main motion.

Incidental Motions need immediate attention and are not ranked. They are:

1) Appeal

2) Suspend the Rules

3) Point of Order

4) Objection

5) Requests

6) Division of the House

7) Read a Paper

8) Withdraw a Motion

9) Divide the Question

10) Close Nominations – Close the polls

11) Reopen Nominations or polls

12) Consider Seriatim

When there is no business before the house an Incidental Main Motion may be introduced. One is to Ratify and the other is to Rescind.

A meeting must always have an agenda or an Order of Business. This agenda spells out the subjects that will be dealt with and the order in which they will be considered. Meetings usually start with a Call to Order, some opening ceremonies and a roll call. Minutes of previous meetings are read and approved and Officers and Committees will give their reports. After this unfinished business will be addressed before any New Business is brought before the assembly.

What you have read is a very basic outline of the meeting protocol referred to as Robert’s Rules or Parliamentary Law. In order to become familiar with all of the rules and exceptions it would be helpful to join a club such as Toastmasters and become involved in weekly meetings where these rules are used.