RULES OF PROCEDURE

CRISIS COMMITTEE
Updated:
24 October 2020

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 Any representative wishing to address any
OxfordMUN body or submit a document in
I. GENERAL RULES a language other than English shall provide
translation into English.
1. Duties of the Secretariat
This rule does not affect the total speaking
The Secretariat shall (a) receive, print, and time allotted to those representatives
distribute documents, reports, and wishing to address the body in a language
Directives of the conference committees to other than English. As such, both the speech
the members of Oxford Model United and the translation must be within the set
Nations (“OxfordMUN”); (b) facilitate the time limit.
proceedings with the provision of materials
and staff; and (c) generally perform all other 5. General Conduct
work required for the running of the
committees and the conference. Delegates shall show courtesy and respect to
other Delegates, the Directors and the
2. Appointment of Directors and Secretariat. The Committee Director shall
Delegates immediately call to order any Delegate who
fails to comply with this rule. Should a
The Secretary-General shall be responsible Delegate repeatedly show disrespect or
for the appointment of all Committee cause disruptions, the Director shall have
Directors, Assistant Directors and Delegates the discretion to expel them from the
prior to the conference, with the session for a limited period of time.
recommendation of the Secretariat; and
may replace them at any stage if they fail to 6. Participation Of Non-members
fulfil their obligations under the rules.
Representatives of accredited Observers will
3. Arbitration have the same rights as those of full
members, except that they may not sign or
Any changes to the rules of procedure made
vote on substantive matters. All Observers
during the course of the committee will be
are allowed to vote on any procedural
communicated by the Dais to the delegates matter, but shall not cast a vote on
(e.g. changes in voting policies to reflect a
substantive issues. Substantive issues
change in the status of the delegates). include the final vote on a Resolution (or a
Delegates can use points of procedural
part thereof divided out). More details on
inquiry if they need any further information
voting can be found in Chapter VIII. Rules
or are in doubt about the procedure.
Governing Voting.
4. Language
A representative of an organisation that is
not a member of the United Nations, or an
English will be the official and working
accredited Observer, may address a
language of the conference, unless
Committee only with the prior approval of
otherwise specified by the Director or the
the Director.
conference organisers.

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 II. GENERAL COMMITTEE
RULES

7. Committee-specific Procedures The Director may temporarily transfer his

duties to a member of the Secretariat or one
Delegates will represent the character of the Assistant Directors. Committee
assigned to them and their powers and Directors may also advise Delegates on the
voting abilities will reflect those of the possible course of debate. In the exercise of
assigned character. Voting majorities will be these functions, the Committee Directors
determined by the Directors based on the will be at all times subject to these rules and
matter being voted upon. Delegates can also responsible to the Secretary-General.
take specific actions on their own
prerogative through the use of Crisis Notes Further, the Director is to use their
(which do not require a vote) and Directives discretion, upon the advice of the
(which require a vote). Both Crisis notes and Secretariat, to determine whether to
Directives need to be submitted to the entertain a particular motion or scenario in
Directors in written form. accordance with the general guiding
principles of Oxford Global. Such discretion
8. General Powers of the Committee should be used on a limited basis and only
Directors in order to advance the progress of debate.

9. Statements by the Secretariat

In addition to exercising the powers
conferred upon them elsewhere by these
The Secretary-General or a member of the
rules, the Director shall declare the opening
Secretariat designated by them may, at any
and closing of each meeting of the
time, make either written or oral statements
Committee, direct the discussions, ensure
to the Committee.
observance of these rules, accord the right to
speak, put questions to the vote and
announce decisions.

The Director, subject to these rules, has

discretion to proceed with the view of
facilitating discussion within the
Committee. They may pass or reject a Crisis
Note and interpret it accordingly. One or
more of the Directors may also act as a
character during the committee sessions.
They will not have voting rights, and their
extra powers in the role of their character
will be laid out in the background guide or at
the beginning of the committee sessions.
The Directors are also responsible for
further Crisis Updates throughout the
committee sessions.

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 III. RULES GOVERNING
QUORUM AND AGENDA

10. Provisional Agenda

The provisional Agenda shall be drawn up

by the Secretary-General and
communicated to members of OxfordMUN
at least thirty days before the opening of the
session.

11. Roll Call

At the beginning of each session, the

Committee Directors will call on Members
to state their status of attendance. Members
shall reply ‘present’.

12. Quorum

The Director may declare a Committee open

and permit debate to proceed when at least
one-third of the Committee Members are
present. The presence of a simple majority
of Members shall be required for any
decision on a substantive proposal to be
taken. A Quorum may be assumed to be
present unless specifically challenged and
shown to be absent by a Roll Call.

13. Setting the Agenda

The broad topic of discussion has been made

available to Committee Members in advance
of the conference. Members of the Crisis
Committee will deal with specific aspects of
the wider topic, but no formal setting of the
Agenda is required.

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 IV. RULES GOVERNING exceeding twenty minutes. A simple
majority is required to adopt the motion.
DEBATE The Director may rule the motion dilatory or
out of order if the motion is not constructive
14. Style of Debate to debate.

The nature of the Crisis Committee implies 17. Proposing Motions

that debate is less formal and focused on
dynamic interactions between Members. As At any point when the floor is open (i.e.
such, there is no General Speaker’s List and when the Committee is operating in the
debate will occur through Moderated and standard Moderated Caucus), delegates can
Unmoderated Caucus. propose motions. If a motion is proposed,
the Directors shall call on other Committee
15. Moderated Caucus Members to propose motions if they wish to
do so before moving to a vote on all the
The standard form of debate is a Moderated motions on the floor.
Caucus in which Members can make
speeches on the broad topic the Committee The Director will then move to voting on
is concerned with. The standard speaking motions one by one, starting from the most
time per Member will be 90 seconds. If there superseding. In the case of several motions
are no other motions on the floor, the having equal priority, the Director shall
Directors will default to a Moderated Caucus decide the order. Should there be a motion
taking this standard form. to extend a caucus — moderated or
unmoderated, that motion shall be
A motion for a specific Moderated Caucus is entertained before any other motions. When
in order at any time when the floor is open a motion is entertained, it shall then be put
(i.e. when the Committee is in standard to a vote in accordance with the rules for
Moderated Caucus). The Delegate making that motion. If the vote fails, the motion is
the motion must briefly explain its purpose, discarded and the Director shall move to the
and specify a time limit (not exceeding 20 next most superseding motion as
minutes) for the caucus and for the established above. This continues until a
individual speeches. A simple majority is motion is passed. If no motion is passed, the
required to adopt the motion. The Director Committee will remain in the standard
may rule the motion dilatory or out of order Moderated Caucus. If a motion passes, all
if the motion is not constructive to debate. other motions previously raised are
removed from the floor.
16. Unmoderated Caucus
18. Order of Motions
A Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus is in
order at any time when the floor is open (i.e. The order of motions that may be raised
when the Committee is in standard while the floor is open are, from most to
Moderated Caucus). The Delegate making least superseding:
the motion must briefly explain its purpose 1. Setting the Agenda
and specify a time limit for the caucus, not 2. Adjourning the Meeting
3. Suspending the Meeting

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 4. Introducing a Directive
5. Unmoderated Caucus
6. Moderated Caucus

Motions of the same type cannot supersede

others of the same type except at the
discretion of the Director. A longer motion
of one type does not necessarily supersede a
shorter motion of the same type, unless the
Director specifies.

19. Suspension of the Meeting

While the floor is open, a Member may move

for the Suspension of the Meeting,
specifying a time for reconvening. A simple
majority is required to adopt the motion.

This motion may also be used to propose

short breaks of the session, rather than
unmoderated caucuses, which require a
substantive purpose.

20. Adjournment of the Meeting

A simple majority is required to adopt the

motion.

This motion, if successful, would end the

session until the Committee’s next regularly
scheduled meeting (next annual
OxfordMUN conference). The Director will
thus not entertain it until the end of the last
session of the Committee.

21. Withdrawing a Proposal

A motion may be withdrawn by its proposer

at any time before voting has commenced. A
motion thus withdrawn may be
reintroduced by any Delegate. Any motion
approved by the Committee may not then be
withdrawn by the Delegate who moved for
its introduction.

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 V. RULES GOVERNING Moderated and Unmoderated Caucus, there
will be no yields as in other committees. If
SPEECH the Directors are of the opinion that a
speech made by a Member of the Committee
22. Granting of Speeches requires further clarification, they can ask
Committee Members for specific questions
No Delegate may address a session without only relating to the speech made, before
having previously obtained the permission continuing with speeches on other topics.
of the Director. The Director may at their
discretion call a Delegate to order if the 25. Right of Reply
speech (a) is not relevant to the subject
under discussion; (b) is considered A Delegate whose personal integrity has
personally offensive to any party; (c) been impugned by another Delegate may
infringes upon the sovereignty of a Member request a Right of Reply. Requests must be
State; or (d) otherwise goes against the rules submitted to the Director in writing
and spirit of OxfordMUN. accompanied by a short explanation of the
reason for the request. The Directors can
23. Time Limit on Speeches also directly ask whether a Member wishes
to request a Right of Reply verbally, if they
The Director may limit the time allotted to feel that this is adequate.
each speaker during the standard
Moderated Caucus. For specific Moderated A remark that impugns a Member’s
Caucuses, the delegate proposing the caucus ‘personal integrity’ is one directed at the
establishes the speaking time. The authority of that Member (including ad
minimum time limit will be fifteen seconds hominem attacks) and/or one that puts into
and the maximum time limit two minutes. question the competence of that Member.
When a Delegate exceeds the allotted time, The Director shall make the decision to
the Director may call the speaker to order. grant the Right of Reply or otherwise, and
determine an appropriate time limit for the
Should the Director not explicitly state a reply (if any). A Right of Reply to a Right of
different speaking time for the standard Reply is out of order.
Moderated Caucus, the time limit shall be
limited to 90 seconds.

Delegates may move to change the speakers’

time on the standard Moderated Caucus
should they feel that extending the time
limit would be beneficial to debate. After
Seconds and Objections for the motion have
been heard, it shall be put to a procedural
vote, requiring simple majority to pass.

24. Yields

As the committee will operate solely in

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 VI. POINTS Order will be immediately ruled on by the
Director in accordance with these Rules of
Procedure.
26. Raising Points
29. Point of Procedural Inquiry
Any of the points below may be raised by any
Delegate at any point providing that it does When the floor is open, a Delegate may rise
not interrupt any speaker (with the to a Point of Procedural Inquiry to ask the
exception of a Point of Personal Privilege in Director a question regarding the rules of
necessary circumstances). A Delegate procedure. A Point of Procedural Inquiry
wishing to raise a point shall raise their may never interrupt a speaker. Delegates
placard and state the name of their point at with substantive questions should not rise to
the appropriate time and then wait for the this Point, but should rather approach the
Director to ask them to state it fully. The Committee Staff during caucus.
Director shall then take any action required
as per the Rules below. Points shall be
recognised ahead of any motion or speakers.

27. Point of Personal Privilege

Whenever a Delegate’s ability to participate

in the proceedings is impaired or when a
Delegate is in discomfort (e.g. the speaker is
inaudible, discomforting room temperature,
etc.), they may rise to a Point of Personal
Privilege. While a Point of Personal Privilege
may interrupt a speaker, Delegates should
be courteous in their use of this point. If
appropriate, the Director will request that
the speaker raise their volume and/or
clearly or take any other appropriate action.

28. Point of Order

During the discussion of any matter, a

Delegate may rise to a Point of Order to
indicate an instance of improper committee
procedure. A Delegate may not, in rising to
a Point of Order, speak on the substance of
the matter under discussion, and a Point of
Order may under no circumstances
interrupt the speech of a fellow Delegate.
Any questions on order arising during a
speech made by a Delegate should be raised
at the conclusion of the speech. The Point of

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 VII. RULES GOVERNING A Directive can be submitted by an
individual Member, but to pass Directives
SUBSTANTIVE PROPOSALS will be put to a vote (see VIII: Voting). They
are formatted similar to Resolutions, but
30. Crisis Notes shorter in length and can request specific
actions to be made that will be binding for
Crisis Notes are notes sent to the Directors the Committee. They also do not contain any
to propose certain actions that a Member preliminary clauses.
wishes to take or information they wish to
share with the Directors. These Crisis Notes Due to the flexible nature of the Committee,
may do one of the following: later Directives can override previously
passed Directives and can change the
- Propose a specific action that a workings and decisions of the Committee
Member wishes to take; accordingly. Multiple Directives can be
- A change to the scenario or role of active concurrently, but in the case of
the Member including changes to contradicting Directives, the last one issued
personal circumstances; by the Committee will be binding.
- Information that the Member wishes
to request; Any Directives still active at the end of all
- Communication with characters Committee Sessions will be part of the final
outside the committee. statement of the Committee.

The specific workings of Crisis Notes will be

further explained by the Directors at the
beginning of the session.

Granting Crisis Notes and any replies to

them are at the full discretion of the
Directors and the Organising committee
and are focused on improving the flow of
debate.

All Crisis Notes shall be submitted to the

Directors in written form and become only
effective after an affirmative reply by the
Directors. Before such affirmation is
granted, Members must not act upon the
proposal they made

31. Directives

Directives replace Resolutions in the Crisis

Committee and are required to implement
any actions that individual Members cannot
implement on their own.

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 VIII. RULES GOVERNING If the motion to reorder receives a simple
majority, the Director will take all suggested
VOTING reordering combinations of the substantive
proposals and call a vote on them in the
32. Procedural Voting order in which they were suggested. Voting
on reordering will continue until either a
Each member of the Committee, including motion passes, or all of the motions fail, in
Observers, shall have one vote on a which case the Committee will move into
procedural motion. Delegates will express voting procedure, voting on the proposals in
their vote by a raising of placards, and a their original order.
simple majority is required unless explicitly
stated elsewhere in these rules. Delegates 35. Definition of Majority
must vote for or against in procedural votes;
abstentions are not in order. Unless specified otherwise in these rules,
procedural decisions shall be made by a
33. Substantive Voting simple majority of Members.

A substantive vote is taken only on passing a The majority required to pass a substantive
Directive. In a substantive vote, members proposal (i.e. Directive) will be determined
may vote ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Abstain’. by the Directors for each vote individually
and can vary from unanimous decisions to
Members will express their vote by a raising decisions made by a specific subset of the
of placards, except in the case of a Roll Call Committee. Members may always request
vote where each Member will verbalise their further information from the Directors
vote when called upon by the Director (see regarding substantive voting.
Rule 46).
In a substantive vote, abstentions are not
After the Director has announced the counted as votes for or against, so a majority
beginning of voting, no Member can of 'Yes' over 'No' votes is required,
interrupt the voting except on a Point of depending on which voting majority is used.
Personal Privilege or a Point of Order Abstentions do not prevent unanimous
relating to the conduct of voting. Members decisions from being made.
may not leave or enter the Committee room
while voting is taking place. A simple majority is defined as more votes
in favour than against. A tie is taken as a
34. Motion to Reorder a Substantive failure. A two-thirds majority requires at
Proposal least twice as many votes for as against.

If two or more substantive proposals are on 36. Method of Voting

the floor, they will be voted on in the order
in which they were submitted, unless the The Committee shall normally vote by a
Committee decides otherwise. A motion to show of placards. During voting procedure
reorder the proposal will be in order on a substantive matter, a Member may
immediately after Closure of Debate, but motion for a Roll Call vote.
prior to entering voting procedure.

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The Director will call on Members in
alphabetical order thereafter. Members
shall reply ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘No with Rights’,
‘Abstention’, or ‘Pass’. Any Member replying
‘Pass’, must, on the second time through,
respond with either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and may not
pass again or abstain from voting.

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