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RULES |
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RULES |
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INTRODUCTION
The North Atlantic Council is the primary decision-making body for NATO. It is therefore responsible for passing the final communiqué at the conclusion of the Model.
The primary goal of each delegation is to represent its country in the most realistic and effective way possible. You should also be prepared to deal with a crisis that will test the unity and capabilities of the Alliance.
The task of each committee is to reach consensus on its particular agenda topics and to prepare draft language for the communiqué to be passed by the North Atlantic Council (NAC). In cases where a committee cannot agree on all the language, draft texts may be submitted to the NAC with the disputed text in brackets.
Delegations may place reservations on particular segments of draft language, allowing that language to be sent to the NAC, while indicating the right of that delegation to reopen discussion of it in the NAC.
During the concluding session of the NAC, there will undoubtedly be some persistent disagreements remaining from the committees that can only be resolved by the foreign ministers, and, perhaps, only after consultation with home governments. Whether those differences can be resolved sufficiently so that the NAC can issue a communiqué that clearly establishes NATO consensus will be the true indication of whether this ministerial has been successful or not. Once consensus has been reached and the communiqué is finalized, it will become official Model NATO policy.
PART I. MEETINGS
1. Meetings of the North Atlantic Council (hereinafter called the Council) and the subsidiary Committees will be held at a time and place designated by the sponsoring institutions.
PART II. AGENDA
2. The agenda for regular meetings of the Council and Committees shall be drawn up by the sponsoring institutions and communicated to the members prior to the opening of the sessions.
3. The first item of business for a meeting shall be the adoption of a working agenda.
4. Additional items may be placed on the agenda, if the Council or Committees so decide by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
5. The Council may task any one of the Committees. The task takes precedence over anything the Committee may be debating when tasked.
PART III. REPRESENTATION
6. Each delegation to NATO shall be represented by no less than six delegates, one each for the Council and the five Committees. Representation will be accorded to properly accredited delegations as determined by the Secretary General.
7. Each nation’s representative on the North Atlantic Council shall be the Foreign Minister.
8. Each nation shall be accorded full and proper representation on all the Committees with the exception noted in Rule 10.
9. Each nation shall have only one speaking representative on the Council. In the committees, each nation may have up to two participating representatives.
10. France is not a member of the integrated military structure of NATO and shall have observer status on the Defense and Nuclear Planning Committees. France will be permitted to participate in discussions and the drafting of communiqués and papers but will not be accorded a vote. Similarly, communiqués from the Defense and Nuclear Planning Committees shall be reviewed by the Council with France refraining from voting.
PART IV: SECRETARIAT
11. The sponsoring and participating institutions shall provide the staff for the Council and Committees. This staff shall include a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Rapporteur, and a Parliamentarian. This staff will form the Secretariat.
12. Members of the Secretariat shall not count against the representative limit described in rule 9.
PART V: THE CHAIRPERSON
13. Each of the Committees will have a Chairperson from the Secretariat who will have full powers to ensure proper functioning of the Committee.
14. The Chairperson of the North Atlantic Council shall be the Secretary General of the Model NATO.
15. The Chairperson may preside over all meetings, or may designate another member of the Secretariat to do so.
16. The Chairperson shall have the responsibility of ensuring the smooth operation of the Committee through interpretation and enforcement of the Rules. In addition to exercising powers described elsewhere in the Rules, the Chairperson shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting, direct discussions, accord the right to speak and announce decisions. He/she shall rule on points of order and, subject to these Rules, shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting.
17. The decision of the Chair may be appealed by any delegate. This motion is debatable by one delegate in favor and one against, after which the motion shall be put to a vote. The Chairperson’s decision will stand unless overruled by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
18. The Secretary General may, in exceptional circumstances, overrule an appeal or a decision of a Chairperson. The Secretary General will be the final arbiter for any disputes arising as a result of interpretation of the Rules of Procedure.
PART VI: CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
19. The Chairperson may declare the meeting open if one-third of the members are present. The presence of a majority is required for a decision to be taken.
20. Proposals shall be submitted in writing to the Chair before they may be considered by the Council or Committee.
21. The Chairperson may call upon representatives in the order in which they signify their desire to speak. There shall be no time limit on speeches or the number of speakers.
22. The Chair may accord the right to reply in the case of grave personal insult and injury; the time for such a reply may be limited by the Chair.
23. A motion may be withdrawn by its sponsor at any time prior to voting, providing that the motion has not been amended.
24. The motions below shall have precedence over all other proposals or motions before the meeting: 1. Point of Order; 2. Point of Information; 3. Point of Inquiry; 4. To suspend the meeting; 5. To adjourn the meeting; 6. To suspend debate on the item under discussion; 7. To adjourn debate on the item under discussion; 8. To close debate on the item under discussion; 9. To change the agenda; 10. To limit debate on the item under discussion; 11. To Divide the Question; 12. To amend the item under discussion; 13. To reconsider an item.
25. During the discussion of any matter, a representative may rise to a Point of Order, and the point of order shall be immediately decided by the Chairperson in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. A Point of Order may relate to the maintenance of order, the observance of Rules, or the way in which the presiding officers exercise the powers conferred upon them. An argument for or against the pending question shall not be recognized as a valid point of order. A point of order is the only circumstance under which a speaker may be interrupted. The Chair may refuse to recognize points of order if it is his/her judgment that the delegate has not maintained the restraint and decorum which should govern the use of such a right, or if in his/her judgment the point is clearly dilatory in nature.
26. A Point of Information is raised to the Chairperson if a delegate wishes to obtain a clarification of procedure or a statement of the matters before the body. Delegates may not interrupt a speaker on a Point of Information.
27. In order to question the Chair on any matter, a delegate will rise to a Point of Inquiry. The Point of Inquiry will not interrupt any speaker. A Point of Inquiry may be used to question a speaker only after he/she has finished his/her remarks. A questioner will address the Point of Inquiry to the Chair, who will then ask the speaker if he/she wishes to yield. The Chair will ensure that Points of Inquiry are only used to raise questions of clarification or for additional information.
28. During the discussion of a matter, a delegate may move for the Suspension or Adjournment of the meeting. Should the Chair entertain it, it shall immediately be put to a vote. The suspension or adjournment of a meeting requires a majority of the members present and voting.
29. During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may move to Suspend debate on the item under discussion. Two representatives may speak in favor of the motion and two against the motion, after which the motion shall immediately be put to a vote. This motion requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
30. A delegate may move the Closure of debate on the item under discussion; whether or not any other delegate has signified his/her desire to speak. Permission to speak on the closure of debate shall be accorded to only two speakers opposing the closure, after which time the motion shall be put to a vote. This motion requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
31. Agenda items will be considered in the order in which they appear on the agenda, unless that order is altered by the passage of a motion To Change the Order of Consideration of Agenda Items. The motion to change the order of consideration is not debatable and shall be put to an immediate vote. A majority vote is needed for passage.
32. A motion to limit or extend the time allotted to each delegation, or limit the number of times each delegation can speak on a proposal, is in order at any time. This motion may be proposed by the Chair or a delegate. Two delegates may speak in favor of the motion and two against; the motion shall then be put to an immediate vote. A majority vote is needed for passage. It may also be moved to limit the time allowed for informal or formal debate on an agenda topic or a resolution.
33. A delegate may move to Divide the Question, so that parts of a proposal or an amendment could be voted on separately. If objection is made to the request for division, the motion shall be voted upon. Permission to speak on the motion shall be accorded only to two speakers in favor and two against. If the motion for division is carried, those parts of the proposal shall then be put to a vote as a whole. If all operative parts of the proposal or of the amendment have been rejected, the proposal or the amendment shall be considered to have been rejected as a whole.
34. An Amendment is that which adds to, deletes, or alters part of the main proposal. Amendments must be submitted in writing to the Chair at any time during the discussion of a motion and must receive his/her approval. The Chair may, at his/her discretion, limit the number of amendments or request delegates to combine similar amendments.
35. When an amendment is moved to a proposal, the amendment shall be voted upon first. When two or more amendments are moved on a proposal the Council/Committee shall first vote on the amendment furthest removed from the substance of the proposal and then the amendment next furthest removed and so on. If one or more amendments are adopted, the amended proposal shall then be voted upon. All decisions regarding the status of amendments shall be made by the Chair.
36. When a proposal has been adopted or rejected it may not be considered at the same session unless approved by a two-thirds majority. Permission to speak on a Motion to Reconsider may be accorded only to speakers opposing the motion.
PART VII: VOTING
37. Each member state shall be accorded one vote in the Council and Committees, with the exception of France as noted in Rule 10.
38. For the purposes of these Rules the term Members present and voting means members casting an affirmative or negative vote. Members who abstain are considered not voting.
39. All decisions of the Council must be approved unanimously by all members present and voting, with the exception of procedural decisions as noted in these Rules. This unanimity rule applies to all substantive proposals including the communiqués of the Committees.
40. The Council shall only consider the final approval of communiqués during its final session, on Saturday.
41. All substantive decisions of the Committees must be approved by a two-thirds majority of all members present and voting, but with the realization that unanimous consent is desirable.
42. Approved Committee Communiqués are forwarded to the Council for consideration in accordance with Rules 39 and 40.
43. The Chair shall note the time and date of communiqué approval, and place the communiqué on the Council’s Saturday agenda.
44. Procedural motions shall be voted on in accordance with the relevant parts of the Rules.
45. Immediately prior to a vote, the Chair shall describe to the body the item to be voted on, and shall explain the consequences of a "yes" or a "no" vote. Voting shall begin upon the President's declaration "we are in voting procedure," and end when the results of the vote are announced. Once in voting procedure, no delegate shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order concerning the actual conduct of the vote. Following Closure of Debate, and prior to entering voting procedure, the Chair shall pause briefly to allow delegates the opportunity to make any relevant motions. Relevant motions prior to a vote include: Suspension of the Meeting, Adjournment of the Meeting, or Division of the Question.
46. Voting shall normally be carried out by a show of placards, unless a representative requests a Roll Call Vote. Roll call votes take place in English in alphabetical order by nation.
47. After the Chair has announced the beginning of voting, no delegate may interrupt the vote except on a point of order concerning the voting. Delegates may not communicate with each other at this time, and the chamber shall be sealed, except to members of the Secretariat, the Committee, and the faculty advisors.
48. Members may explain their vote after the voting. This right may be accorded to either yea or nay votes, but may be limited by the Chair.
49. A nation may record a formal Reservation if a particular part of a proposal is partially unacceptable to that nation. This reservation is raised at the time of voting and will be formally recorded on the proposal in question.
PART VIII: GENERAL
50. These Rules may be suspended only by unanimous decision of the Council or Committee that so desires.
51. The official language of the sessions is English.
52 Delegates are expected to dress in business attire for the duration of the meetings.
PART IX: AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
53. The following awards shall be given at the closing ceremony of the Model NATO: Outstanding Chair Award Committee Leadership Award Outstanding Delegation Award Outstanding Partner Nation Award.
54. The Outstanding Chair Award shall be given to the top chairperson, as determined by a vote of the faculty advisors and other supporting faculty after the conclusion of the final Council Meeting.
55. The chair and vice chair of each committee shall consult with one another and the committee’s faculty advisor(s) (where available) to nominate a single individual for the Committee Leadership Award. This award shall go to the individual who has made the most significant contribution to fostering consensus, capturing the essence of complex issues, and leading the respective committee toward effective action.
56. Immediately prior to the final adjournment of each Committee or the Council on Friday, the delegates shall vote for the Outstanding Delegation Award. Each delegation votes for three delegations they believe contributed most to the accomplishments of the committee. Chairs and vice chairs are also given a ballot. There is no ranking on individual ballots.
57. Members of the Political-Military Steering Committee on Partnership for Peace will also vote for the Outstanding Partner Nation Award. Each delegation and the chair and vice chair will vote for two partner nation delegations they believe contributed the most to the accomplishments of this committee.
58. The faculty advisors and other supporting faculty shall tally the votes from each committee. The delegation receiving the most votes in a committee shall get 5 points, the one receiving the second most shall get 3 points, and the one with the third most shall get 1 point. In the case of a tie, all delegations will receive the point value corresponding to their tied rank. Each delegation’s points shall be totaled across the 5 committees.
59. The three delegations receiving the most points will normally receive Outstanding Delegation Awards and the next three highest-ranking delegations will receive Honorable Mentions, but faculty advisors may confer additional or fewer awards in each category according to the final vote tally. Two Outstanding Partner Nation Awards will normally be given, but faculty advisors may confer additional or fewer awards according to the number of partner nations participating in the conference and the final vote tally.
60. Faculty who incorporate the Model NATO simulation into a credit-bearing course are discouraged from employing measures such as number of communiqués passed, speaking time in committees, or awards won at conference for the purpose of course evaluation as such external pressures can distort the simulation. To maximize the experience for all participants and make it as realistic as possible, it is recommended that faculty advisors emphasize pre-conference and/or post-conference evaluation instruments in their course design. |
