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Conference Rules
Delegate Code of Conduct
Parliamentary Procedure
Position Papers
Delegate Code of Conduct
By attending VAMUN, delegates agree to follow the Code of Conduct at all times. Violations of the Code of Conduct will have bearing on a delegate's eligibility to win awards.
Behavior:
1. VAMUN XXVIII is a smoke-free conference. Virginia State Law prohibits the purchase and possession of tobacco by those under the age of 18. Delegates found with tobacco products will be reported to their faculty advisor. VAMUN security staff is also asked to abstain from tobacco for the duration of the conference.
2. No persons of the opposite sex, excluding faculty advisors and chaperones, may be in delegate hotel rooms at any time, unless accompanied by a faculty member. VAMUN XXVII security staff will be patrolling the halls of hotels to make sure this policy is enforced.
3. All delegates are required to be in committee during scheduled committee time, unless they have received permission from the Secretariat. If a delegate falls ill during the conference, he or she is to notify both his or her faculty advisor, as well as a member of VAMUN XXVIII staff.
4. Upon registration, delegates will receive a conference badge with the delegate's name, country, committee and school. Delegates must wear these badges at all times throughout the conference. Badges will be used to gain entrance to the delegate activities on Saturday night.
5. All delegates must wear professional Western business attire during committee session and during Opening Ceremonies. Men should wear a suit or jacket and dress pants, with a button-down shirt and the appropriate neckwear. Women are asked to wear a suit, slacks, skirt, or dress (of an appropriate length) with professional shirts, blouses, jackets, or sweaters. Delegates dressed inappropriately will be reported to their faculty advisor and may be asked to leave committee. Appropriate footwear is also an important component of business attire. Examples of inappropriate attire includes, but is not limited to flip-flops, mini-skirts (those ending well above the knee), tank-tops, sheer blouses, jeans, and sneakers.
6. All delegates MUST observe Charlottesville's 12:00 a.m. curfew by being in their respective hotels before 12:00 a.m. except on the night of the delegate dance, when they will be escorted home at 12:30 a.m.
7. VAMUN prohibits the use of laptop computers, cellular phones, and other communication devices during committee sessions. Delegates observed violating this rule will be asked to turn over these devices to their faculty advisor for the duration of the conference.
Alcohol and Drug Policy:
1. Possession and consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs is prohibited by the VAMUN conference as well as by Virginia State Law.
2. Any alcohol or illegal substances found in delegate rooms or in their possession will be confiscated immediately. The sponsor(s) of the delegate(s) will be notified, and the appropriate steps will be taken.
3. Intoxicated students will be removed from the conference.
Parliamentary Procedure
1. SCOPE: These rules for the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Councils, and the specialized agencies, are self-sufficient, except for modifications provided by the Secretariat, and all shall be considered adopted in advance of the session. No other rules of procedure are applicable.
2. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: The Secretary-General shall act in that capacity in all meetings of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, their committees and subcommittees. The Secretary-General may designate a member of the Secretariat to act in the place of the Secretary-General at these meetings. The Secretary-General shall provide and direct the staff required by the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and any committees or subsidiary organs that they may establish. The term "Secretariat" refers collectively to those designated to act on behalf of the Secretary-General.
3. STATEMENTS OF THE SECRETARIAT: The Secretary-General, or a member of the Secretariat designated by the Secretary-General as his or her representative, may make, at any time, either oral or written statements to any plenary or committee.
4. LANGUAGE: English shall be the official and working language of the conference.
5. DELEGATIONS: The delegation of a Member State shall consist of no more than two representatives in any committee. Regardless of the number of representatives, a Member State has only one vote in each committee in which it is a member.
6. 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 member may not be initiated without the written consent of the Secretary-General. Any representative whose admission a member objects shall provisionally be seated with the same rights as other representatives, pending a decision from the Secretary-General.
7. PARTICIPATION OF NON-MEMBERS: Representatives of Accredited Observers shall have the same rights as those of full members, except that they may not sign or vote on resolutions or amendments. A representative of a state or organization that is not a member of the United Nations or an Accredited Observer may address a committee only with prior approval of the Chairman.
8. FUNCTIONS OF THE CHAIRMAN: The Chairman shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting of the committee, direct its discussions, ensure observance of the rules of procedure, accord the right to speak, put questions and announce decisions. The Chairman shall rule on points of order and, subject to these rules, shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting and over the maintenance of order thereat. The Chairman may, in the course of the discussion of an item, propose to the committee the limitation of the time to be allowed to speakers, the closure of the list of speakers, or the closure of debate. The Chairman may also propose the suspension or adjournment of the meeting or the postponement of debate on the item under discussion. The Chairman shall have discretionary powers to entertain a motion, or suggest to the body that a motion would be in order, or choose not to entertain a motion and suggest that it be withdrawn. The Chairman may rule a motion out of order, thus disallowing that motion.
9. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES: The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council may establish such committees as they deem necessary for the performance of their functions. Each committee may set up subcommittees.
10. QUORUM: The Chairman may declare a Committee open and permit debate to proceed when at least one quarter of the members of the Committee are present. A member of the Committee is a representative who is officially registered with the Conference. The presence of a majority of the members shall be required for the vote on any substantive motion. Procedural votes refer to motions regarding the process of the discussion (e.g. motion for recess, or closure of the speakers' list). Substantive votes address the substance of the topic under discussion (e.g. a vote on the contents of a resolution or amendment). A quorum shall be assumed to be present unless specifically challenged and shown to be absent. No roll-call vote is ever required to determine the presence of a quorum.
11. ESTABLISHMENT OF A PAGE: A delegate may move that the committee establish a page, a volunteer from among the Members represented, for the purpose of delivering messages between Members. The entertainment of this motion is entirely up to the Chairman and his decision to entertain it is not debatable.
12. SPEECHES: No member may address a committee without having previously obtained the permission of the Chairman. The Chairman shall take a speakers' list in the order in which the Members signify their desire to speak. The Chairman shall call a speaker to order if the speaker's remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion. Members may speak as often as they wish; however, Members must wait until they have already spoken before being placed on the speakers' list again.
13. TIME LIMIT ON SPEECHES: The Chairman may, upon consultation with the committee or as a result of a motion by a member of the committee, limit the time allowed to each speaker on any question. When debate is limited and a speaker exceeds the allotted time, the Chairman shall call that speaker to order without delay.
14. PROVISIONAL AGENDA: The Provisional Agenda is the topic list provided by the Chairman of the committee. The order of the topics does not imply the order of the agenda. The only topics to be discussed by the committee are these topics with exceptions allowed only under the direction of the Chairman or the Secretariat.
15. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA: Each committee shall order the provisional agenda provided by the Secretary-General. A proposed agenda shall include all topics provided in the provisional agenda. It requires a simple majority to approve an agenda order and proposed agenda shall be voted upon in the order in which they were proposed. A speakers' list will be established for purposes of discussing the order of the agenda. After a sufficient number of speakers have spoken on the order of the agenda, a Member may move that a particular agenda order be adopted. If the proposed agenda passes, debate on the order of the agenda will be deemed to have been closed, the speakers' list will be discarded, and the committee will begin consideration of the first agenda topic.
16. CHANGE OF THE AGENDA: A committee may change the order in which it considers agenda topics. The Chairman may entertain one speaker for, and one against, a motion to change the order. A simple majority vote is required to change the order in which agenda topics will be discussed. A motion to change the order of the agenda may only be removed after a substantive topic has been closed and all related resolutions and amendments have been put to a vote. A motion to change the agenda may not be moved during the substantive debate of any topic.
17. CLOSING THE SPEAKERS' LIST: The speakers' list may be closed at any time upon the majority vote of the members present and voting. When a closed speakers' list is exhausted, debate automatically ends and an immediate vote is taken on all resolutions and amendments before the committee.
18. REOPENING THE SPEAKERS' LIST: The speakers' list may be reopened by a vote of the Members provided that at least one speaker remains on the list at the time of the motion. One Member may speak in favor of and one opposed to the motion.
19. YIELDS: When the time for speeches has been limited, a Member recognized to speak on a substantive issue may yield his or her remaining time to another Member. The time may be yielded in one of three ways: to another delegate, to questions, or to the Chair. Only one yield is allowed: a speaker who is yielded to may not yield at all. A delegate may share his or her allotted time with another representative of the same Member State and this shall not count as a yield. Yields are in order only on substantive speeches. A yield may be announced at any time before the speaker has left the floor. (NOTE: Questions and comments cannot be instituted at the end of timed speeches.)
a) Yield to another delegate: His remaining time shall be given to that delegate. The delegate who receives that yielded time may not, however, then yield to another delegate.
b) Yield to questions: The Chairman shall select Questioners and limit them to one question each. The Chairman shall have the right to call to order any delegate whose question is, in the opinion of the Chairman, rhetorical and leading and not designed to elicit information. Only the speaker's answers to questions shall be deducted from the speaker's remaining time. The speaker may at any time determine that he or she will cease accepting questions and thus conclude his or her remarks.
c) Yield to the Chair: Such a yield should be made if the delegate does not wish to use the rest of his time for speaking on any other type of yield. The Chairman shall then move to the next speaker.
d) Yield to Comments: The Chairman shall select any delegates, if the speaker has not enacted ANY of the above-mentioned yields, to comment on specific information contained in the previous speech. The number and time limit of comments are re determined by the body before debate begins, along with the time limit for speeches in general.
20. RIGHT OF REPLY: If a speaker has impugned the national integrity of another Member State or observer, or the personal integrity of another representative, the Chairman may accord that Member or representative appropriate speaking time to exercise the right of reply. The right of reply is to be used to respond to the statements of the speaker. It may not be used to make corresponding, insulting remarks. It is granted at the discretion of the Chairman and should only be requested at the conclusion of the speaker's remarks.
21. POINT OF PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY: A Member may rise to a point of parliamentary inquiry when uncertain of the procedural setting of the committee. A Member may not interrupt a speaker on a point of parliamentary inquiry. Representatives may use this point to have the Chairman explain any procedural matter. A point of parliamentary inquiry may be raised during voting procedure. Points of Information do not exist.
22. POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE: A Member may rise to a point of personal privilege in order to bring to the attention of the Chairman some physical discomfort that is disrupting the proper functioning of the committee. A point of personal privilege may interrupt a speaker. A representative may rise to a point of personal privilege when he or she is unable to hear the Chairman or speaker or for other physical reason that may impair the representative's ability to participate in or listen to the debate.
23. POINT OF ORDER: During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may rise to a Point of Order to complain of improper parliamentary procedure. The Chairman in accordance with these rules of procedure shall immediately decide the Point of Order. The Chairman may rule out of order those points that are dilatory or improper; such a decision is not subject to appeal. 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.
24. CAUCUSING: A motion to caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open, prior to closure of debate. The delegate must briefly explain its purpose and specify a time limit for the caucus, not to exceed twenty minutes. The motion shall immediately be put to a vote. A majority of members present and voting is required for passage. The Chairman may rule the motion out of order and his decision is not subject to appeal.
25. MODERATED CAUCUS: A motion for moderated caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open, prior to closure of debate. The delegate must briefly explain its purpose and specify a time limit for the caucus not to exceed twenty minutes. The purpose of moderated caucus is to facilitate substantive debate at critical junctures in the discussion. The Chairman will temporarily depart from the Speakers' List and call on delegates to speak at his discretion. Once raised, the motion shall be voted on immediately with a majority of members present and voting required for passage. The Chairman may rule the motion out of order and his decision is not subject to appeal.
26. RESOLUTIONS AND WORKING PAPERS: Resolutions shall normally be submitted in writing to the Chairman who shall circulate copies to the Members. No resolutions shall be voted upon unless copies of them have been made available to all members. Any member may submit a resolution. Any Member may be added to the list of sponsors of a resolution at any time before the resolution is put to a vote. Sponsorship indicates support of and agreement with a resolution. Because of the limited resources of the conference, it is necessary to insure a minimum level of discussion of a resolution or amendment before it is produced for general distribution. Therefore, a resolution must have the signatures of one-fifth of the membership of the body. A "signature" does not indicate sponsorship of or even agreement with a resolution. Rather, a signature is intended to mean that the Member desires the opportunity to discuss the resolution. A less formal draft of a resolution, often referred to as a working paper, may also be submitted to the Chairman for the purpose of making additional copies for wider distribution. The Chairman will determine whether a working paper is copied and how many copies are made. Working papers are intended to aid the Committee in its discussion and formulation of resolutions and need not be written in resolution format.
27. AMENDMENTS: Delegates may amend any resolution that has been introduced. All the sponsors of a resolution approve a friendly amendment. An unfriendly amendment, which is not approved by all the sponsors, must have the approval of the Chairman and the signatures of one-tenth of the membership. An approved amendment may be introduced when the floor is open, but is not voted on until the committee moves into voting procedure for that topic area. When debate on the topic is closed, the committee shall vote on the amendments to a resolution before voting on the resolution itself. Amendments to amendments are out of order. Where the adoption of one amendment necessarily implies the rejection of another amendment, the latter amendment shall not be put to a v | 
