This document outlines the rules of procedure for MUNAPEST 2015. It discusses the rights and duties of participants such as the Secretary-General, Presidency, Representatives, and Press Committee. It covers topics like attire, decorum, interconnectivity between committees, speeches, written proposals, voting, points and motions. The goal of interconnectivity is to simulate real-world diplomacy as closely as possible by having events in one committee impact others. Representatives must accept the situation created by decisions and documents from other committees as reality. The rules aim to facilitate an efficient conference while maintaining order and adherence to UN procedures.

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Rules of Procedure
MUNAPEST 2015

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword …………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Chapter I. Rights and Duties of Participants ……………………………………………………… 5
Article 1. The Secretary-General
Article 2. The President of the General Assembly
Article 3. The Presidency
Article 4. The Crisis Team
Article 5. The Representatives
Article 6. The Directors
Article 7. The Press Committee
Chapter II. Attire and Decorum …………………………………………………………………… 9
Article 1. Attire
Article 2. Decorum
Article 3. Language
Chapter III. Interconnectivity ……………………………………………………………..……… 11
Article 1. The Purpose of Interconnectivity
Article 2. Interconnectivity Sessions
Article 3. Multilateral Relations
Article 4. The Press Committee
Article 5. Press Statements
Article 6. Crisis
Article 7. Hierarchy
Article 8. Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice
Chapter IV. Speeches …………………………………………………………………………….. 15
Article 1. Right to Speak
Article 2. Time Limit
Article 3. Yields
Chapter V. Written Proposals …………………………………………………………………….. 17
Article 1. Working Papers
Article 2. Draft Resolutions
Article 3. Format of Resolutions
Article 4. Submission of Draft Resolutions
Article 5. Amendments
Article 6. Committee Statements
Article 7. Statements
Article 8. Treaties
Article 9. Notepapers
Chapter VI. Voting ……………………………………………………………………………….. 21
Article 1. Substantive Matters
Article 2. Procedural Matters
Article 3. Method of Voting
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3. Article 4. Division of the Question
Article 5. Straw Poll
Chapter VII. Points ……………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Article 1. Raising Points
Article 2. Point of Personal Privilege
Article 3. Point of Order
Article 4. Point of Information
Article 6. Right of Reply
Chapter VIII. Motions ……………………………………………………………………………. 25
Article 1. Raising Motions
Article 2. Order of Priority
Article 3. Moderated Caucus
Article 4. Unmoderated Caucus
Article 5. Q&A Session
Article 6. Adjournment of the Meeting
Article 7. Suspension of the Meeting
Article 8. Adjournment of Debate
Article 9. Resumption of Debate
Article 10. Closure of Debate
Article 11. Return to Clause-by-Clause Debate
Article 12. Inviting a Guest Speaker
Article 13. Exclusion of the Public
Article 14. Appealing to the Chair’s Decision
Article 15. Questioning the Competence of the Committee
Chapter IX. Flow of Debate ……………………………………………………………………… 30
Article 1. Roll Call
Article 2. Quorum
Article 3. Flow of Debate in General
Article 4. General Debate on the Topic as a Whole
Article 5. General Debate on the Draft Resolution as a Whole
Article 6. Clause-by-Clause Debate on the Draft Resolution
Article 7. Responding to Crisis Events
Article 8. Panel of Authors
Annex I. The Council of the European Union .………………………………………………….. 34
Annex II. The United Nations Security Council …………………………………………………..37
Annex III. The General Assembly ….……..……………………………………………………… 38
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4. Foreword
This guide should provide insight into the MUNAPEST 2015 Rules of Procedure and determine
the exact conduct to be applied throughout the sessions. The Participants of the Conference are
expected to adhere to the rules and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Rules of Procedure provides the Participants a general outline of the rules that shall apply to all
Committees unless stated otherwise in their individual sections. The rules applying to individual
Committees are annexed to the end of this guide.
It is extremely important to develop a good knowledge of the rules including where, when and how
they are to be implemented and to be aware of the specific Committee rules. The Rules of
Procedure is meant to facilitate an efficient working attitude during the Committee sessions, not
hinder them. Therefore, the Presidency reserves the right to rule suggestions of Representatives out
of order. Their decision should always be explained to the Committee.
The Secretariat of MUNAPEST 2015 has the right to change the Rules of Procedure at any time
during the sessions with the approval of the Secretary General. These changes should be announced
immediately by the Secretariat and adopted by the Committees.
The Secretariat shall be composed of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-Generals and
the President of the General Assembly. The Presidency shall be composed of Chairs and Presidents
of Committees and Councils respectively, and the President of the General Assembly. These two
groups shall together form the Executive Board.
Concerned Committees
The Rules of Procedure will apply to the following Committees if their individual regulations
specified in the relevant Annex do not contradict them:
1. the General Assembly;
2. the United Nations Economic and Social Council;
3. the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
4. the United Nations Security Council;
5. the Council of the European Union;
6. the International Court of Justice.
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5. Chapter I.
Rights and Duties of Participants
Article 1.
Rights and Duties of the Secretary-General
1. The Secretary-General has the right to overrule any decisions of other members of the
Executive Board once he feels the necessity of doing so;
2. The Secretary-General and any member of the Secretariat designated by him have the right to
make either written or oral statements to any Committee at any time;
3. The Secretary-General shall be absolutely independent, thus shall not receive instructions from
any person;
4. Whenever a member of the Secretariat is present, he/she has to be the first to be addressed
when delivering a speech to the House by the Representatives;
5. The Secretary-General shall open and close the Session of the MUNAPEST Conference;
6. The Secretary-General has the right to settle any argument, misunderstanding or dispute if
the solution could not be found according to the Rules of Procedure;
7. The Secretary-General may designate the Deputy Secretary-Generals to act on his behalf,
in this case the Deputy Secretary-Generals possess all the rights of the Secretary-General;
8. The Deputy Secretary-Generals shall be in charge of the Press Committee and the Crisis Team
and may be referred to by the Participants regarding any matter related to these organs.
Article 2.
Rights and Duties of the President of the General Assembly
1. The President of the General Assembly (President) shall declare the opening and closing of
each Plenary Session; he shall direct the discussions, grant the right to speak and announce
decisions therein as well as ensure observance of these rules;
2. The President shall rule on Points and Motions and under the rules shall exercise complete
control of the proceedings at any Session over the maintenance of order;
3. The President may set a time limit for speeches during Plenary Sessions, limit the number of
times a Representative may speak and propose the closure of debate;
4. The President may propose the suspension or adjournment of the meeting or the adjournment
of debate on the item under discussion;
5. The President must be able to explain all his actions to the General Assembly and be present at
all its Sessions;
6. The President may overrule the decisions of any other members of the Presidency and settle a
Motion to Appeal to the Chair’s Decision.
7. The President shall be responsible only to the Secretary-General;
8. Decisions taken by the President shall not be open to appeal.
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6. Article 3.
Rights and Duties of the Presidency
1. The Presidency shall open and close each Session of its respective Committee;
2. During Sessions the Presidency shall exercise complete control over the proceedings of Sessions
and ensure observance of the rules strictly following the Rules of Procedure;
3. The Presidency shall be responsible to the Secretary-General and the President of the General
Assembly;
4. The Presidency shall rule on Points and Motions raised in their respective Committee;
5. The Presidency may limit the time Speakers are entitled to, the number of times an individual
Speaker may speak and close debate;
6. The Presidency may propose the suspension or adjournment of the meeting or the
adjournment of debate on the item under discussion;
7. The Presidency shall announce news and decisions that have occurred at any given point during
the Conference;
8. The Presidency must always be able to set the doubts of Representatives at rest in regard to the
Rules of Procedure and explain all its decisions;
9. The Presidency reserves the right to call upon Representatives to remain true to the policies of
the State they represent when required as well as invite a Representative to deliver a Policy
Statement speech, ensuring sufficient time for the Representative to prepare;
10. The Presidency reserves the right to invite a Guest Speaker to the Committee to speak on the
Agenda item under discussion if the debate requires the presence of a State that is not present
therein.
Article 4.
Rights and Duties of the Crisis Team
1. The Crisis Team shall announce the latest news regarding Crisis Events to the Representatives
at any time,
a. these announcements may be communicated through written, oral or multimedia
statements,
b. every possible measure must be taken that these announcements reach all Representatives to
the Conference;
2. The Crisis Team must refrain from actively being engaged in the policy of any State
represented at the Conference to ensure its neutral authority and the factuality of news;
3. The Crisis Team shall function as the Approval Panel of the MUNAPEST Conference; it shall
be provided advance copies of all Written Proposals and news articles, none of which may be
published without its approval. The Crisis Team may request an audience with the submitter of
any such document for the purpose of clarification and may make recommendations for
changes. The Crisis Team shall be entitled to reject any documents it sees unfit for publication
and must be able to provide a reasonable explanation to the submitter for deciding so.
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7. Article 5.
Rights and Duties of Directors
1. One Director must be present in each Committee during its Session unless the tasks at hand
require momentarily leaving;
2. Directors reserve the right to call upon Representatives to remain true to the policies of the
State they represent when required and may also give advice to Representatives on such
matters; they may also point out if and when debate is being conducted on a topic that differs
from the Agenda;
3. Directors shall present announcements and statements coming from the Crisis Team;
4. Directors must review and ensure the legitimacy and appropriateness of all Written Proposals
submitted by their respective Committees before sending them to the Crisis Team for approval.
Article 6
Rights and Duties of Representatives
1. Representatives must not be absent from the Sessions of their respective Committees unless
permission has been granted in advance by the Presidency or the Executive Board and shall not
be late from Sessions; if such a case does occur, they must inform the Presidency of their
presence through a Notepaper and provide a reasonable explanation for their lateness;
2. Representatives may drink during the Sessions but are prohibited from consuming any
comestibles. Beverages and water shall be kept in recapped bottles or cans under the desks
during the whole Session. In a reasonable case such as that created by health issues such as low
blood sugar, Representatives may request that the Presidency release them from such constraints
via a Point of Personal Privilege;
3. Representatives must strictly follow the policies of the State they represent during the Sessions.
In instances where this rule is not adhered to, the Presidency and/or Director of the respective
Committee may call upon the Representative to consider altering the policy represented;
4. Representatives must abide by the requests of the Presidency under all circumstances, if these
are reasonably explained to the House. If a Representative does not agree with the request, a
Motion to Appeal to the Chair’s Decision may be raised;
5. Representatives must prepare for discussion of all Agenda items. Each Representative will be
required to submit a Position Paper no later than two weeks before the first day of the
Conference; Representatives who have not submitted a Position Paper will not be eligible for
any awards;
6. Observers may participate as Supporters of a Draft Resolution but they may not be Submitters;
they may participate in Procedural Voting but never in Substantive Voting; Observers shall be
subject to the restrictions established by a Motion to Exclude the Public;
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8. Article 7
Rights and Duties of the Press Committee
1. Members of the Press Committee (MPCs) differ from regular Representatives in that they do
not work in a single Room debating an announced Agenda item, but instead are expected to
work as journalists during the Sessions;
2. MPCs have the right to enter any Committee Room at any time and take notes of the work
being done therein. If Representatives are willing, they may be interviewed by MPCs. All
information collected by the Press may be published on the official news website of the
MUNAPEST Conference as well as individual printed publications. Breaking News are
expected to be shown to Representatives regulated by the presidency in each Committee;
3. MPCs shall work under the supervision of the Deputy Secretary-General. The Press must not
release articles without the permission of the Deputy Secretary-General;
4. The Press Committee shall be composed of three News Agencies that each employ two
journalists, whose cooperation within their own Agency are required and therefore no article
shall be released by one MPC without the consent of their colleague;
5. MPCs shall be subject to the restrictions established by a Motion to Exclude the Public.
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9. Chapter II.
Attire and Decorum
Article 1.
Attire
1. All participants of the MUNAPEST Conference are expected to wear elegant formal clothing
during the Opening Ceremony, the Sessions and throughout the General Assembly;
2. During the Opening Ceremony dressing in traditional costumes of the State represented is
allowed and supported;
3. Male participants are to wear a suit and tie, formal shirt and shoes or equally elegant clothing;
4. Female participants are to wear a trouser suit with an elegant shirt or blouses and shoes or a
jacket with a skirt that is placed no higher above the knees than one palm or equally
appropriate clothing;
5. Any non-formal clothing such as jeans, t-shirts, sneakers etc. is forbidden during the Sessions
of the Conference;
6. In case a participant refuses dressing in a formal and appropriate manner, the Presidency has
the right to discipline him/her; the correction of clothing must be made as soon as possible.
Article 2.
Decorum
1. MUNAPEST is a conference modelling the work of diplomats therefore all participants are to
conduct themselves as diplomats in regard to their attire, behaviour and language;
2. All participants must be aware that MUNAPEST has a zero-tolerance policy towards being
disrespectful and disparaging or any other type of acts that are against other participants;
3. Neither speeches nor debates of this nature are tolerated at the Conference. If a Representative
believes that the policy of the State they represent merits such conduct the Presidency shall be
consulted before taking any action based on these grounds;
4. Professional behaviour is expected while the forum’s aim is to deescalate conflicts therefore the
Presidency shall call the House to order in case the Decorum is broken;
5. MUNAPEST has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism which will result in the strongest
possible action being taken by the Secretariat.
Article 3.
Language
1. English shall be the official working language throughout the entire Conference, extending to
formal and informal Sessions,
a. the public may not be addressed in any other language,
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10. b. participants are expected to use formal language that excludes the use of acronyms, slang
and stereotyped address;
2. All Representatives must refer to themselves in third person singular or first person plural when
addressing the House and shall be called to order by the Presidency otherwise.
Example: Representatives speaking must refer to themselves as ‘the Representative’, ‘we’ or ‘the Delegation of …’, so
saying “The Representative of Russia believes that” shall be in order whereas saying “I believe that” shall not be.
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11. Chapter III.
Interconnectivity
Article 1.
The Purpose of Interconnectivity
Interconnectivity — pioneered at the 2014 WebMUN Conference — is the system in which the
MUNAPEST Conference will operate. Its goal is to create an environment for debating that
resembles real life as closely as possible. Committees therefore act not as isolated individuals but as
units of a connected system in which events taking place in one Committee affect the work of all
others. The starting point of each Committee is provided by the situation in the real world, however
as events throughout the Conference unfold they become a part of reality that is to be accepted by
all Representatives, which is to say that a Resolution adopted by the Security Council on 28
September 2001 has the same value and relevance as a Resolution adopted by the Security Council
at any time during the Conference and that articles published by the Press Committee shall be
treated the same as articles of a real-world news source; in the case of conflicting news emerging
from the Press Committee of MUNAPEST and real-world news sources or from a Committee of
MUNAPEST and its real-lift equivalent, the documents passed by and decisions taken by the organs
of the Conference are to take precedence. The system of Interconnectivity provides Representatives
with an abundance of capabilities that allow them to shape events and outcomes throughout the
Conference.
Article 2.
Interconnectivity Sessions
Interconnectivity Sessions are a fundamental element of Interconnectivity, providing a formal
setting for Representatives to engage in diplomacy outside the confines of their individual
Committees. They shall take place at times specified in the official Schedule, during which each
Committee Room houses an Interconnectivity Group. The Interconnectivity Groups of
MUNAPEST shall be the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Arab League (AL) and
the Shanghai Cooperation and BRICS Nations (S&BRICS). Each State will be assigned to one of
the Groups and all Representatives of the State must attend the first session of their designated
Group. In following sessions, Representatives may choose which Group’s session they wish to attend
depending on which States or groups of States they wish to negotiate with. During Interconnectivity
Sessions Representatives should coordinate their policy choices with other Representatives of the
same State and attempt to find possible allies and partners among the other Representatives; they
may also choose to debate issues with Representatives who are members of another Committee.
The general rules of Interconnectivity Sessions are the same as those of an Unmoderated Caucus
(Chapter 8 Article 4). A member of the Secretariat must at all times be present in the Committee
Rooms during Interconnectivity Sessions and — if he or she judges that debate in an unmoderated
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12. setting is not productive or upon the request of a Representative taking part in the session — may at
his or her discretion call the Group to order and establish a Moderated Caucus for the remainder of
the Interconnectivity Session. Attendance of Interconnectivity Sessions is compulsory for all
Representatives.
Article 3.
Multilateral Relations
Representatives are allowed to conduct negotiations outside the formal settings provided by
Committee and Interconnectivity Sessions. During Committee Sessions, a Representative may send
a Notepaper to the Committee Director requesting to meet with one or more Representatives of
any Committee in a location of privacy. At the Director’s discretion the request may be refused or
approved; if approved, the Director may send a Notepaper to the Representatives concerned or
inform them personally. All Representatives who have agreed to meet with the Representative
requesting the meeting shall then proceed to a location selected by the Director where the meeting
shall take place with a time limit specified by the Director. During this time, Representatives may
discuss any issue relevant to the topics of the Conference and form verbal agreements, draft written
statements or a formal Treaty which may then be signed. Representatives are hence able to settle
bilateral or multilateral issues that concern only a small number of States rather than an entire
Committee, or possibly to take immediate action which would not be supported by a majority of
their respective Committees.
Article 4.
Press Committee
Members of the Press Committee (MPCs) are journalists of a designated news source. The news
sources of MUNAPEST are Al Jazeera of Qatar, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of the
United Kingdom and Pravda of the Russian Federation. MPCs may publish news articles related to
any events unfolding during the Conference, including but not limited to the work of individual
Committees, statements of Representatives and news submitted to them by the Crisis Team. MPCs
report on events from the viewpoint of their respective news source therefore the same event may be
portrayed with substantial difference by individual news sources. Articles written on the basis of
information regarding Crisis Events must indicate so by use of the ‘Breaking News’ heading.
Article 5.
Press Statements
Press Statements will at designated times during the Conference provide Representatives with the
opportunity to speak publicly to MPCs and all other participants regarding events taking place
within their respective Committees. The Presidency of each Committee shall choose a
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13. Representative of the majority opinion and one of the minority opinion within the Committee who
shall present their side of the argument to the entire Conference; MPCs shall be granted to
opportunity to ask questions from the Speakers after their speeches have concluded.
Article 6.
Crisis
The Crisis Team (CT) will at unspecified times release information and news regarding events which
affect the work of one or more Committees. The medium for doing so may be the Press Committee
or the Director of a Committee. Representatives must respond to events as they unfold in real time
and attempt always to solve the most urgent item on the Agenda; the procedure to be used in doing
so is explained in Chapter 9 Article 6. Representatives may raise a Point of Information aimed at
the Director of their respective Committees whenever they wish to clarify details of an event of the
Crisis.
Article 7.
Hierarchy
Representatives of the same State are each assigned a position within the political apparatus of the
given State based on their Committee allocation. These positions are part of a hierarchy of ranks in
which the Representative of higher rank may instruct subordinates on policy objectives and make
decisions in case of a dispute; if a Representative of lower rank feels that Representatives of
superior rank are abusing their power, action by the Secretariat may be requested; members of the
Secretariat requested to mediate a dispute between Representatives of the same State may overrule
any decisions at their discretion and their decision shall not be subject to appeal. The ranks are the
following:
Tier One — Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State
Tier Two — Interior Ministers and Justice Ministers
Tier Three — Representatives to the United Nations
Representatives to the Security Council shall be assigned Tier One positions; Representatives to the
Council of the European Union shall be assigned Tier Two positions; Representatives to the
Economic and Social Council and the High Commissioner for Refugees shall be assigned Tier
Three positions. A document that requires a signature (such as a Treaty) may only be signed by the
highest ranking Representative of a State potentially party to it.
Article 8.
Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice
When faced with complex issues concerning international law, a Committee may within the
framework of Interconnectivity request the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide it with an
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14. Advisory Opinion on the matter. Communication between the requesting Committee and the ICJ
shall happen through the Committee’s Director who shall inform the Registrar of the ICJ of any
such request. Any request must be within the scope of the requesting Committee’s activities and
shall be laid before the Court in a written form containing an exact statement of the question upon
which an opinion is required. The written request shall be accompanied by all documents likely to
provide more information about the question. The Court’s Advisory Opinion has no binding effect
but carries great legal weight and moral authority; the requesting Committee nevertheless remains
free to decide what effect to give the Opinion.
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15. Chapter IV.
Speeches
Article 1.
Right to Speak
1. All Representatives present in the Committee Room have the right to speak and shall indicate
their intention to speak by raising their placards when the Presidency asks for Speakers.
Representatives may hold a speech only when recognised and yielded the Floor by the
Presidency and shall take the Floor when speaking during formal debate or rise from their
seats during a Moderated Caucus.
2. At the start of each speech, all Functions present in the Room are to be addressed with respect
to their titles as Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, President of the General
Assembly, Presidency, Representatives, Observers, Guests, Staff, etc.
3. Speeches shall at all times be relevant to the topic at hand; in a case when this rule is not
followed the Presidency may call upon the Representative to refer to the relevant Agenda item
or yield the Floor back to the Presidency.
4. The Presidency may interrupt a speech if its content is offending, contrary to the policy of the
State represented by the Speaker or held in an inappropriate manner.
5. Speeches may not be interrupted by Points or Motions except those specified in the relevant
Chapter of the Rules of Procedure.
Article 2.
Time Limit
1. The Presidency may at its discretion set a time limit for speeches to assist the maintenance of a
dynamic session of debating. Representatives are expected to adhere to the set time limit and
not continue their speeches after exceeding it, regardless of what stage of their speech they run
out of time at. The Presidency may however be flexible within reason in allowing
Representatives to finish their speech in additional time.
2. If a Speaker concludes before the set time elapses, the time remaining shall not be added to the
time the next Speaker is entitled to.
3. The minimum time limit to be set by the Presidency shall be 30 seconds; the maximum shall be
5 minutes.
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16. Article 3.
Yields
1. A Representative must yield the Floor to the Presidency when requested to do so and only after
this has taken place may the Representative leave the Floor; in yielding the Floor to the
Presidency, the Representative may use the first person singular form.
2. The Speaker must, after having concluded a speech on the Floor, yield the Floor either to:
a. The Presidency. In this case the Representative must leave the Floor and be seated. The
Floor shall be considered open.
b. Questions. In this case the Representative shall remain on the Floor and the Presidency shall
call upon other Representatives wishing to raise Points of Information. The number of
Points of Information to be entertained is subject to the discretion of the Presidency.
c. Another Representative. In this case the Representative shall leave the Floor and be
immediately replaced by the Representative to whom the Floor has been yielded. The
Presidency may at its discretion overrule this yield at any time; yielding to Another
Representative shall only be in order if the Speaker has informed the Presidency of such a
desire before approaching the Floor and has received confirmation that such action will be
permitted by the Presidency.
3. The Presidency may call upon the Speaker to yield the Floor back at any time.
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17. Chapter V.
Written Proposals
Article 1.
Working Papers
Working Papers are documents written by Representatives that support the work of the Committee;
they can contain proposals, general ideas or anything deemed appropriate. They need not be in
Resolution Format and do not require the approval of the Presidency to be disseminated.
Example: a Representative may circulate a Working Paper in which his/her ideas are summarised to gather support
and suggestions in the Committee. Afterwards, these ideas and the feedback provided by the Committee can be used
when working on the Draft Resolution.
Article 2.
Draft Resolutions
A Resolution is the final document passed by the Committee outlining the way it wishes to address
the issues at hand; Draft Resolutions are proposals for what the final Resolution should be. A Draft
Resolution must be written in Resolution format as outlined in Article 3. The Representative
submitting the Draft is its Submitter and Representatives supporting the contents of the Draft are
Supporters; being a Supporter signals an intent not only of discussion of the Draft but of support
for its current form. There may be more than one Submitter so long as each has contributed to
writing the Draft. A Representative may be the Submitter and Supporter of any number of Draft
Resolutions.
Article 3.
The Format of Resolutions
A Resolution is made up of three sections: the Heading, Preambulatory Clauses and Operative
Clauses, the functions and format of which are outlined as follows:
1. The Heading contains:
d. the list of Submitters,
e. the list of Supporters,
f. the Agenda item concerned,
g. the name of the Committee;
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18. 2. Preambulatory Clauses:
a. outline the issues the Committee is dealing with in regard to the Agenda item specified
in the Heading and why they are to be dealt with,
b. recall previous Resolutions, Conventions and other documents that are relevant to the
Agenda item that justify the actions the Committee proposes in the Operative Clauses,
c. begin with a preambulatory phrase in Italics,
d. are separated from one another by a comma (‘,’) and a single spacing;
3. Operative Clauses:
a. are implications, directives and initiatives that outline the solutions to the problem faced
by the Committee,
b. are presented as a list in which each separate clause is indicated by Arabic numerals, each
sub-clause is indicated with lower-case letters of the English alphabet and each sub-sub-
clause is indicated with Roman numerals,
c. begin with an operative phrase that is underlined,
d. end with a semi-colon (‘;’) while the last clause ends with a full stop (‘.’).
The font to be used is Times New Roman, dimension 12 with spacing of 1.2 and aligned to the left
and right (justified).
Hint: a Resolution template with the correct formatting will be distributed at the beginning of the Conference. All
Participants are strongly encouraged to utilise it when drafting Resolutions.
Article 4.
Submitting Draft Resolutions
In order for a Draft to be introduced, it must have at least one fifth of the Committee listed as
Submitters or Supporters. If this condition is fulfilled, the Submitter shall send the Draft to the
Presidency which shall verify that the necessary number of Supporters has been reached, following
which it will send the Draft to the Crisis Team for approval. Once the Draft has been approved, it
shall be introduced at the discretion of the Presidency. If more than one Draft Resolutions have
been approved, the one with the most Submitters and Supporters shall be introduced; in an instance
when the two Drafts are supported by the same number of Representatives, the Presidency shall call
for a Procedural Vote in which Representatives may vote for Draft Resolution A over Draft
Resolution B. Before the Vote takes place, the Presidency shall ask one Submitter of each Draft
Resolution to take the Floor and briefly summarise the content of their respective Draft. If the Vote
yields an indecisive result, the Presidency shall select the Draft Resolution to be discussed.
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19. Article 5.
Amendments
Amendments are proposed changes to a Draft Resolution; only the Operative Clauses of a
Resolution may be amended, the Preambulatory Clauses may not be. Their submission is in order at
any time after the Draft they seek to amend has been introduced; they shall be submitted to the
Director of the Committee for approval; the Director shall notify the Presidency of the existence of
submitted Amendments and whether or not they have been approved. Amendments may only be
referred to after they have been introduced. Introduction of Amendments happens at the discretion
of the Presidency; the House shall be notified when an Amendment is considered to have been
introduced.
Friendly Amendments are changes that all Submitters of a Resolution agree to and are
automatically incorporated into the Draft once they have been introduced; grammatical changes
may be introduced as Friendly amendments but entire clauses or sub-clauses may not be. Unfriendly
Amendments are changes that are submitted by Representatives other than the Submitter(s) or those
that not all Submitters can agree on. Unfriendly Amendments may involve any type of modification
and require at least one eighth of the Committee being Supporters before they are submitted to the
Director.
An Amendment to an Amendment is called an Amendment on the Second Degree. These may be
introduced at any time after an Amendment has been introduced until it has been passed by a
Substantive Vote and incorporated into the Draft. After the original Amendment has become a part
of the Draft it may be modified by an Amendment. If an Amendment on the Second Degree passes
a Substantive Vote, the entire Amendment becomes a part of the Draft Resolution; if it does not
pass, the House shall return to debate on the original Amendment.
All Amendments require the approval of the Presidency in order to be introduced.
Article 6.
Committee Statements
A Committee Statement is the written response of a Committee to a Crisis Event; it shall be written
in Resolution Format but will in most cases be substantially shorter as it must de drafted in a very
limited amount of time. A Committee Statement shall, in the Perambulatory Clause(s) outline what
Crisis Event the Committee seeks to respond to, and in the Operative Clause(s) specify immediate
action to be taken. Committee Statements are drafted by the Director after a Crisis Event has
occurred and shall be entertained even when there is a Draft Resolution on the Floor; the Director
shall draft the Committee Statement according to the solutions proposed by the House.
Amendments to a Committee Statement shall not be in order; Committee Statements shall be voted
on as a whole at all times, a Motion to Divide the Question shall not be entertained when voting on
them.
!19

20. Article 7.
Statements
The Representative of the highest rank of each State may submit written Statements to the Press
Committee, which may be used to publicise the policy and/or proposed solution of the represented
State regarding any issue that is being dealt with by any Committee of the MUNAPEST
Conference. Statements shall be submitted to the Director of the Representative’s respective
Committee who shall then deliver it to the Crisis Team. The Submitter should specify whether the
Statement’s recipient is one individual News Agency or the Press Committee as a whole. If
approved, the Statement is then sent to the Press Committee where its recipient(s) are free to decide
whether or not to publish it.
Article 8.
Treaties
Representatives may draft Treaties between two or more States present at the Conference; these can
deal with any issue relevant to the Agenda items of the Conference and the events taking place in
the context of Interconnectivity. The use of Resolution format is advised but not compulsory. Once
the drafting of a Treaty is concluded it shall be sent to the Crisis Team. If approved, a Treaty must
be signed by the highest ranking Representative of each State that it applies to; the Treaty comes
into force once it has been signed by all relevant parties at which point it may be referred to during
the Committee sessions.
Article 9.
Notepapers
Notepapers are official short messages exchanged between Representatives in the official language
of the Conference that may be used to discuss any matter that is relevant to the Conference. They
may be sent by Representatives to their colleagues in the same Committee or alternatively to those
in other Committees, but the identity of both the sender and the recipient must always be clearly
indicated. Notepapers will be provided by the Staff as needed; the Staff may also briefly read
messages to ensure their content is relevant and written in the official language. Representatives may
raise a motion to Suspend the Passing of Notepapers and the Presidency may also at its discretion
suspend their passing.
!20

21. Chapter VI.
Voting
Article 1.
Substantive Matters
Substantive voting takes place on Amendments and Draft Resolutions as well as other documents
listed in the Annex of the International Court of Justice and the Council of the European Union,
respectively. It requires simple majority in the case of Draft Resolutions and a Two-Thirds majority
in the case of Amendments to pass unless stated otherwise in the relevant Annex. Observer States
may not take part in Substantive voting. The Five Permanent Members of the Security Council may
exercise their Veto right only during Substantive voting. Representatives may vote in favour, against
or abstain; if a Representative feels the number of States abstaining is hindering progress, a Motion
to Divide the House may be raised which — if it passes — requires the last voting procedure to be
repeated with no abstentions allowed. The method of voting on Substantive matters may vary as
elaborated on in Article 3. Draft Resolutions shall be voted on as a whole by all Committees except
the Security Council, where the Operative Clauses shall be voted on separately.
Article 2.
Procedural Matters
Procedural voting takes place on all matters other than those stated in Article 1. They require a
simple majority of all Representatives present in the Committee including Observers. Procedural
voting is always conducted by a Show of Placards. All member States must vote either in favour or
against a Procedural matter — abstentions are not permitted.
Article 3.
Method of Voting
Substantive voting shall be conducted by a Show of Placards unless requested otherwise. If the
results of the vote are unclear, in a repeated instance of some Representatives failing to cast votes, or
in other cases a Representative may raise a motion to vote by Roll Call. If this motion entertained,
the Presidency shall call upon all Representatives in alphabetical order who then must state either in
favour, against or abstain.
!21

22. Article 4.
Division of the Question
Draft Resolutions are voted on as a whole unless stated otherwise in the relevant Annex. A
Representative believing that voting should instead take place on parts of the Draft separately may
raise a motion to Divide the Question. The Representative must specify how the Draft should be
divided.
Example: ‘Motion to Divide the Question’ [Recognised by the Presidency] ‘Divide the question to vote on Articles 1-3
and Article 4 separately.’
Article 5.
Straw Poll
A Straw Poll is a method of assessing what the results of a Vote would be if it were to take place at
the moment the Straw Poll is conducted. It may be conducted on any Substantive Matter through a
Show of Placards.
Example: Representatives who wish to assess how many States support their Draft Resolution may raise a motion for a
Straw Poll. If the motion is entertained, the Committee votes on the Draft Resolution. The results of a Straw Poll are
always unofficial and are only an indication of States’ positions on an issue, i.e. if the Straw Poll passes the Draft
Resolution the Representative who raised the motion may wish to raise a motion to Close the Debate and move to
Substantive Voting on the Draft as the Straw Poll has indicated that it would pass a Voting Procedure. Conversely, if
the Straw Poll does not pass the Representative who raised the motion will be aware that further debate is required and
also of the identities of Representatives he/she must still negotiate with.
!22

23. Chapter VII.
Points
Article 1.
Raising Points
Any Representative may raise a point during debate once a Speaker has yielded the Floor to the
Presidency or at other times specified below. This shall be indicated by the Representative raising
their placard until being recognised by the Presidency. Points shall be entertained before Motions
and Representatives raising their Placards are allowed to say ‘Point’ loudly for the sake of clarity.
Points must not interrupt the Speaker except for a Point of Personal Privilege due to Audibility and
a Point of Order in a case of the Speaker not conducting the speech in accordance with the Rules
of Procedure.
Article 2.
Point of Personal Privilege
A Point of Personal Privilege may be raised when a Representative experiences discomfort that
hinders his or her ability to participate fully in the work of the Committee, whether this arises as a
result of audibility issues, personal needs or general lack of well-being. A Point of Personal Privilege
shall be immediately recognised by the Presidency which however reserves the right not to entertain
the Point if it is ruled to be destructive or unnecessary.
Example: use Point of Privilege for requesting permission to leave for the toilets or to open windows!
Article 3.
Point of Order
A Point of Order shall be raised when a Representative feels the Presidency or another
Representative is not following the Rules of Procedure; a Point of Order must be related to the
Rules of Procedure. The Presidency may overrule the Point raised by the Representative and assert
that the procedure is in order. A Point of Order shall not interrupt a speech unless the Speaker is
following a conduct that is not in line with the Rules of Procedure.
Example: a Representative may raise a Point of Order when the Presidency has made a mistake, for example if it has
decided to entertain motions before asking for objections.
!23

24. Article 4.
Point of Parliamentary Inquiry
A Point of Parliamentary Inquiry may be raised by a Representative wishing to gain information
about the process of debate, to clarify the Rules of Procedure or with regard to substantive matters.
The Representative raising the Point should indicate whether it is aimed at the Presidency or the
Committee’s Director. If aimed at the Presidency, the question shall be answered unless the
Presidency believes it is not related to the Rules of Procedure or the debate in general, in which case
the answer may be refused. The Director may refuse to answer a question if it is offensive or not in
the spirit of neutrality that characterises the Director.
Article 5.
Point of Information
A Point of Information grants Representatives the opportunity to ask questions from the Speaker
after a speech has concluded and the Floor has been yielded to questions. Points of Information
must be phrased as a concise question related to the content of the speech just delivered or relevant
to other statements or actions of the Speaker or the State represented in context of the speech just
delivered. If these conditions are not met, the Presidency may rule the Point out of order, relieving
the Speaker of the need to answer it. The Speaker may also refuse to answer a Point that is in order
if they find it either offensive or not relevant to the debate in progress. After the Point of
Information has been delivered, the Speaker on the Floor may request that the Presidency ask the
Representative raising the Point to clarify or repeat the question if it was difficult to understand or
not audible. After the question has been answered, the Representative raising the Point may request
for one follow-up that is to be entertained at the discretion of the Presidency. This decision is not
subject to appeal.
Article 6.
Right of Reply
A Representative may request a Right of Reply if subjected to an offence to the national integrity of
the represented State or a personal offence. A Right of Reply must be requested immediately after
the speech containing the offence has concluded by the Representative raising his or her placard
and clearly stating ‘Right of Reply’; it shall not be valid at a later point. The Presidency shall
immediately recognise the Right of Reply at which point the Representative raising it shall clarify
what is deemed to have been offensive. The Presidency shall then grant the Representative accused
of committing the offence the opportunity to speak against the Right of Reply, after which the
Presidency shall decide whether or not a formal apology is required. This decision of the Presidency
is not subject to appeal and the Representative requested to apologise must abide by it.
!24

25. Chapter VIII.
Motions
Article 1.
Raising and Withdrawing Motions
Any Representative may raise a motion during debate once a Speaker has yielded the Floor to the
Presidency or when the Floor is otherwise open. This shall be indicated by the Representative
raising their placard until being recognised by the Presidency. Motions may under no circumstance
interrupt the Speaker. Once recognised, the Representative must briefly specify what motion he/she
wishes to raise and any additional details as described below. The Presidency shall then call for
seconds and objections, but may also overrule the motion. Seconds are a way of showing support for
the motion raised while objections show disagreement. A motion needs at least one second in order
to be entertained; if this criterion if fulfilled and there are no objections, the motion shall be
entertained without a vote. If there are objections, a procedural vote on the motion shall take place.
The Representative raising the motion may withdraw it at any time before it has been entertained or
before voting on it has taken place.
Article 2.
Order of Priority of Motions
Before calling for seconds and objections, the Presidency shall recognise all Representatives wishing
to raise a motion. Once all motions have been introduced, they shall be considered in order of most
to least disturbing. The suggested order is as follows:
1. Adjournment of the Meeting
2. Suspension of the Meeting
3. Dividing the House
4. Appealing to the Chair’s Decision
5. Exclusion of the Public
6. Suspension of Passing Notepapers
7. Adjournment of Debate
8. Resumption of Debate
9. Inviting a Guest Speaker
10. Return to Clause-by-Clause Debate
11. Straw Poll
12. Closure of Debate
13. Divide the Question
14. Unmoderated Caucus
15. Moderated Caucus
16. Q&A Session
!25

26. The Presidency reserves the right to consider motions in a different order of disturbance subject to
circumstances and entertain them as such but must always be able to provide a reason for doing so
to the House.
Article 3.
Moderated Caucus
A Moderated Caucus is a way of conducting debate at a faster pace by entertaining many short
speeches in a given time that also allows a large number of Representatives to quickly share their
views on a matter. It can be used to focus attention on one specific issue and is also appropriate
when formulating a response to crisis events.
When raising a motion for a Moderated Caucus, the Representative must specify a time limit and
speaker’s time as well as a topic.
Example: ‘Motion for a Moderated Caucus of 10 minutes with 1 minute per speaker for the purpose of discussing the
possible health benefits of marijuana use.’
Article 4.
Unmoderated Caucus
During Unmoderated Caucus the formal rules of debate are suspended and Representatives are free
to speak and move around or out of the Room. They can be used primarily to work on proposals
such as Draft Resolutions and Amendments.
When raising a motion for an Unmoderated Caucus, the Representative must specify a time limit
and purpose.
Example: ‘Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus of 15 minutes for the purpose of merging working papers into a Draft
Resolution.’
Article 5.
Q&A Session
Q&A Sessions are used to pose questions to the Speaker in addition to Points of Information and
provide an opportunity for deeper debate with a given Representative.
A motion for a Q&A Session is in order once Points of Information allowed by the Rules of
Procedure have been exhausted and the Speaker is still on the Floor. The Representative raising the
motion must specify the maximum number of questions per Representative. The Presidency shall
!26

27. ask the Representative on the Floor whether they will open themselves to a Q&A Session; in the case
of an affirmative answer, the Presidency shall consider whether there are additional Representatives
wishing to join the Q&A Session and may decide at its discretion how many additional
Representatives’ requests to entertain.
Article 6.
Adjournment of the Meeting
Adjournment of the Meeting means the end of the Committee’s work during the 1st Session of the
MUNAPEST Conference. It shall be overruled by the Presidency at any time other than the end of
the last session as scheduled by the Secretariat.
Article 7.
Suspension of the Meeting
A motion for Suspension of the Meeting requests a break to the Committee’s session for a given
time. It shall be used essentially to propose short breaks when necessary and shall be overruled by
the Presidency if it feels it is not yet time to end a session.
Article 8.
Adjournment of Debate
A motion for Adjournment of Debate proposes halting discussion of the current Agenda item and
tabling all documents on it. A successful motion of this kind results in the Committee proceeding to
discuss another Agenda item. It may be used when a Representative feels the Committee has
reached an impasse on the item under discussion and is unlikely to further conduct debate in a
productive manner. If there are objections, the Presidency shall call for two Representatives to speak
in favour of the motion and two to speak against before voting takes place. If there are no
Representatives wishing to speak against, the Committee shall proceed straight to the voting
procedure. The motion may be ruled out of order by the Presidency only before the first Speaker
has been recognised. Adjournment of Debate may also be entertained while productive debate is
ongoing on an Agenda item if the Committee is informed of a Crisis Event that requires its urgent
attention; in such a case, the motion may also be entertained at the discretion of the Presidency.
Article 9.
Resumption of Debate
A motion for Resumption of Debate proposes to reopen discussion of an Agenda item previously
adjourned. If there are objections, the Presidency shall call for two Representatives to speak in
!27

28. favour of the motion and two to speak against before voting takes place. If there are no
Representatives wishing to speak against, the Committee shall proceed straight to the voting
procedure.
Article 10.
Closure of Debate
A motion for Closure of Debate requests ending discussion of the matter currently at hand and
moving straight to the voting procedure. If there are objections, the Presidency shall call for one
Representative to speak in favour of the motion and one to speak against before voting takes place.
If there are no Representatives wishing to speak against, the Committee shall proceed straight to the
voting procedure.
Example: Closure of Debate always applies to the ‘smallest item’ under discussion — i.e. if a Draft Resolution and
an Amendment are on the floor, the motion calls for Closure of Debate on the Amendment and moving to vote on it.
Article 11.
Return to Clause-by-Clause Debate
After Clause-by-Clause Debate on the Draft Resolution has concluded, it shall be in order for a
Representative to raise a Motion to Return to Clause-by-Clause Debate if it is believed that there
are fresh concerns regarding one more specific Clauses; raising this motion may be in order at any
time the Floor is open until the first Speaker to deliver a speech either in favour or against the Draft
Resolution as a whole has been yielded the Floor. Once the final speeches on the Draft Resolution
have commenced, it shall no longer be in order to return to Clause-by-Clause Debate. The
Presidency may also rule such a motion out of order if it feels it is unnecessary to further debate the
Draft Resolution.
Article 12.
Inviting a Guest Speaker
A Representative may propose to invite a Guest Speaker believing that the Committee’s work would
be aided by a perspective provided by a representative of a State not a member of the Committee
or if the situation calls for the presence of a member State’s representative of the highest rank. It
may at any time be overruled by the Presidency if it feels there is insufficient time or that the
Committee’s work would not be aided by the presence of a Guest Speaker.
!28

29. Article 13.
Exclusion of the Public
A Representative may raise a motion to Exclude the Public believing that the Committee’s work
requires additional privacy. If the motion is entertained, all persons not members of the Committee
— including observer States and members of the Press — are required to leave the Room until
further notice or the beginning of the Committee’s next session.
Article 14.
Appealing to the Chair’s decision
All decisions of the Presidency except those specified in the Rules of Procedure are subject to
appeal. If a Representative disagrees with a decision of the Presidency a motion Appealing to the
Chair’s decision may be raised. The Representative raising the motion shall explain what decision is
being appealed to and the reasons why. The Presidency shall then explain its decision and the
reasoning behind it; if this fails to address the concerns of the Representative, the Secretary-General
of the Conference or the President of the General Assembly (depending on availability) shall be
summoned to the Committee Room and presented with the disagreement. He shall then decide
whether or not to overrule the decision of the Presidency. Due to time constraint, decisions made by
the Presidency in the General Assembly are not subject to appeal.
Article 15.
Questioning the Competence of the Committee
A Representative may raise a Motion to Question the Competence of the Committee if it is
believed that the matter under discussion falls outside the mandate of the given Committee. Such a
motion does not require seconds or objections and will not be voted upon; whether it is entertained
shall be subject to the discretion of the Presidency. If the Presidency decides to entertain such a
motion, the matter to which the motion was related to shall not be discussed by the Committee any
further; if the Presidency decides not to entertain the motion, it must be able to justify how the
matter in question falls within the mandate of the Committee.
!29

30. Chapter IX.
Flow of Debate
Article 1.
Roll Call
Each Committee Session as well as Sessions of the General Assembly shall commence with the Roll
Call; this is a procedure in which the Presidency shall call the name of each represented State in the
Room in alphabetical order. When hearing the name of their State, Representatives must rise and
state that the Delegation of the State they represent is present then immediately be seated. At the
end of the Roll Call, the Presidency shall announce the number of Delegations present as well as
the number of votes required for achieving a simple majority and two-thirds majority.
Example: The Presidency calls on the Russian Federation. The Representative of Russia shall rise and state ‘The
Delegation of Russia is present’, then immediately be seated.
Article 2.
Quorum
To open debate, a minimum of half the Committee Members plus one must be present at the end
of the Roll Call. If this condition has been fulfilled, the Quorum is considered to have been met. If
this is not the case, the Presidency shall decide at its discretion whether or not to commence debate.
Substantive Voting may not take place without the Quorum having been met; the Presidency at its
own discretion may not decide to proceed with Substantive Voting without the Quorum having
been met but the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly may rule to
proceed.
Article 3.
Flow of Debate in General
The Floor is considered Open at all stages of the debate when there is no Speaker on the Floor and
no motion is ongoing. When the Floor is Open, it is in order for Representatives to raise any
applicable points or motions; the Presidency will also in most cases ask whether there are any such
in the House. If a point or motion is raised and entertained, the the rules of Chapters VII and VIII
shall apply. In their absence, the Presidency shall call upon Representatives wishing to take the Floor
to deliver a speech according to the rules laid out in Chapter IV. Once a Representative has
concluded the delivery of a speech, the Floor should be yielded as set forth in Chapter IV; if the
yield is to the Presidency, the Floor is considered open again and the process described previously
shall be repeated.
!30

31. Example: the Floor is open after a Speaker has yielded the floor to the Presidency or after the time for a Moderated
Caucus has elapsed. The Presidency will ask for points and motions. If there are none, the Presidency shall call upon
Representatives wishing to speak to raise their placards and then select the next Speaker.
Article 4.
General Debate on the Topic as a Whole
Once the Roll Call has concluded with the Quorum having been met in the first Session of each
Committee, the Presidency shall announce the Agenda item under discussion and open General
Debate on the Topic as a whole, followed by requesting Representatives wishing to take the Floor to
deliver a speech to indicate so by raising their placards. During General Debate on the Topic,
Representatives should introduce the policies related to the Agenda item of the State they represent
and introduce their general ideas to the Committee. Representatives are encouraged to identify
those States that agree with and those that disagree with these policies and on this basis both
establish alliances and conduct a process of diplomatic negotiation in good faith which could help
the differing views of States converge. General Debate on the Topic ends when a Draft Resolution
with the sufficient number of Submitters and Supporters has been approved by the Crisis Team and
introduced at the discretion of the Presidency; at this stage, General Debate on the Draft Resolution
as a Whole shall begin.
Article 5.
General Debate on the Draft Resolution as a Whole
General Debate on the Draft Resolution as a Whole (Debate on the Resolution) shall begin with the
Panel of Authors (further detailed in Article 8). Once the Panel of Authors has concluded points,
motions and speeches shall be governed by the same rules as previously. Representatives shall refer
to parts or the entirety of the Draft Resolution when delivering speeches on the Floor and make it
the focus of debate; Representatives not doing so may be called upon by the Presidency to remain
on topic. Debate on the Resolution shall continue until the House or the Presidency feel the need to
discuss the Clauses of the Draft in detail in order to conduct productive debate; the Presidency may
decide to continue to the next stage of debate at its own discretion but a Motion to Move to Clause-
by-Clause Debate by a Representative is also in order at any time during Debate on the Resolution.
Article 6.
Clause-by-Clause Debate on the Draft Resolution
During Clause-by-Clause Debate, each Operative Clause of the Draft Resolution on the Floor shall
be debated on separately in order of first to last. When debating on a specific Operative Clause, all
speeches on the Floor and during a Moderated Caucus must address the given Clause and its
content; Representatives not adhering to this rule may be called upon by the Presidency to stay on
!31

32. topic. The Presidency reserves the right to limit the number of speeches that may be held during
debate of each Clause if required so by time constraint. If the set number of speeches is exhausted
or at the discretion of the Presidency, debate on the given Operative Clause shall be considered
closed and the House shall move on to the next Clause; a Representative may also raise a Motion to
Move to the Next Operative Clause if it is believed that debate is no longer productive.
Amendments shall be entertained during Clause-by-Clause Debate; Amendments to a specific
Operative Clause shall be discussed during the debate on the Clause it seeks to modify. At the end
of discussion of an Amendment, it shall immediately be voted upon; if all Amendments to a Clause
have been voted upon, debate on the Clause shall be considered Closed and the House shall move
on to discuss the next Operative Clause. Amendments that seek to introduce new Operative Clauses
shall be discussed separately once debate on all original Clauses of the Draft Resolution has
concluded. When debating on Amendments, the Presidency shall normally call upon two
Representatives to speak in favour and two against the Amendment, after which the House shall
move immediately to a Substantive Vote on the Amendment; the Presidency has the right to
decrease or increase this number if and when required by circumstances. Passing a Motion to Close
Debate during debate on an Amendment shall result in an immediate Substantive Vote on the
Amendment.
Once Clause-by-Clause Debate on the Draft Resolution concludes, the Floor shall be considered
open for points and motions. In their absence, the Presidency shall specify a number of
Representatives who may speak either in favour or against the Draft Resolution as a whole and call
upon Representatives wishing to take the Floor to do so. Once all speeches have been concluded,
the House shall move to a Substantive Vote on the Draft Resolution as a whole.
Article 7.
Responding to Crisis Events
Crisis Events announced by the Crisis Team shall immediately be dealt with by the Committee;
when receiving Crisis news, a Representative may raise a Motion for Adjournment of Debate on the
Agenda item being discussed; if such a motion passes, the House shall automatically adopt the
Response to the Crisis Event as its immediate Agenda item; the House may also entertain such a
motion at the discretion of the Presidency.
Once such a motion has been entertained, a Representative may raise a Motion for a Moderated
Caucus to discuss the Crisis; the House may also enter such a Moderated Caucus at the discretion
of the Presidency. Committees are expected to respond in a written form to Crises through
Committee Statements as outlined in Chapter V; following the Moderated Caucus on the Crisis, a
Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus for the purpose of drafting such a Committee Statement shall
always be in order; the House may also enter such an Unmoderated Caucus at the discretion of the
Presidency.
!32

33. As time is crucial, Committees are expected to respond as quickly as possible to any and all Crisis
Events and therefore Representatives are strongly encouraged to be concise and to-the-point during
debates thereof. Crisis Events may occur at any time and raising a Motion for Adjournment of
Debate to respond to them shall be in order at any time even when the Floor is not open for points
or motions except when a speech is in progress.
Once the Committee has responded to the Crisis through the passing of a Committee Statement or
through other means, a Motion for Resumption of Debate on the original Agenda item by a
Representative shall be in order; the House may also entertain such a motion at the discretion of the
Presidency.
Article 8.
Panel of Authors
During the Panel of Authors, the Submitter of the Draft Resolution shall take the Floor; if there are
more than one Submitters, the Presidency may limit how many may take part in the Panel of
Authors. Once on the Floor, the Operative Clauses of the Draft Resolution shall be read out by one
of the Submitters after which all Submitters on the Floor shall open themselves to Points of
Information by any members of the Committee. The Presidency shall allow a reasonable number
of questions to be asked with a reasonable time limit for answers until it feels the main concerns of
the Committee have been laid to rest or until there are no more Points of Information in the House;
once this happens, the Floor shall be yielded back to the Presidency and considered open.
!33

34. Annex I.
Rules exclusive to the
Council of the European Union
Article 1.
Composition
The Council of the European Union (CoEU) shall be made up of ‘Tier 2’ members dealing with
Justice and Home Affairs. Representatives to the CoEU shall therefore be Justice- or Interior
Ministers of the Member States.
Article 2.
Special Voting Procedure
Voting on Substantial matters requires the following conditions to be fulfilled for the matter to pass:
1. A qualified majority of 55% of representatives present must be achieved;
2. Member States voting in favour must make up at least 65% of the total population of the
European Union, calculated on the basis of the Population Table attached to the end of this
Annex;
3. At least 15 Member States must vote in favour.
The contents of Clause 2 and 3 may be proportionally modified in the instance that not all Member
States of the European Union are present at the MUNAPEST Conference. Voting on Procedural
matters requires a simple majority.
Article 3.
Legislative Procedure
At the beginning of its session, the CoEU shall receive a Legislative Proposal from the European
Parliament (EP) for First Reading. During First Reading, the CoEU may choose either to accept the
proposal of the EP as it is and adopt it as Legislation or to request modifications which shall be sent
back to and made by the EP. Once modifications have been made, the CoEU shall receive the
Legislative Proposal for Second Reading at which point it has the same options as during First
Reading. This process is repeated until the CoEU votes to accept the Proposal.
!34

35. Article 4.
Blocking Minority
Under normal circumstances in a Substantive Voting procedure larger States that compose a high
relative percentage of the overall population of the European Union are able to pass proposals
without the consent of all smaller States, therefore the concerns of these States may go unresolved.
To address this issue, such States are able to block proposals by forming a coalition called a
‘Blocking Minority’. Such a coalition must include a minimum of four Member States that together
represent at least 35 percent of the overall population of the European Union (or 35% of the total
population represented if not all Member States are present at the MUNAPEST Conference).
Member States wishing to form a Blocking Minority may do so after a proposal they oppose has
passed the Council through a Substantive Voting procedure by informing the Director of the
Council in a written statement of their intent to reject the proposal, providing their reasoning.
The Director and the Presidency shall decide at their discretion whether to allow the formation of
the Blocking Minority; if a decision is made to allow its formation, the Director shall announce it to
the Council which shall then resume discussion of the proposal being objected to in an attempt to
reach consensus with the Blocking Minority. If the Council cannot reach such a consensus, a written
statement of the Blocking Minority shall be included at the end of the Legislative Proposal.
!35

36. POPULATION TABLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
for the Special Voting Procedure outlined in Article 2
Member State
Population
(× 1 000)
Germany 82 002,4
France 64 350,8
United Kingdom 61 576,1
Italy 60 045,1
Spain 45 828,2
Poland 38 135,9
Romania 21 498,6
Netherlands 16 485,8
Greece 11 260,4
Belgium 10 750,0
Portugal 10 627,3
Czech Republic 10 467,5
Hungary 10 031,0
Sweden 9 256,3
Austria 8 355,3
Bulgaria 7 606,6
Denmark 5 511,5
Slovakia 5 412,3
Finland 5 326,3
Ireland 4 450,0
Lithuania 3 349,9
Latvia 2 261,3
Slovenia 2 032,4
Estonia 1 340,4
Cyprus 796,9
Luxembourg 493,5
Malta 413,6
Total 499 665,1
Threshold (62 %) 309 792,4
!36

37. Annex II.
Rules exclusive to the
United Nations Security Council
Article 1.
Composition
The United Nations Security Council (SC) shall be made up of ‘Tier 1’ Representatives of its
current Member States. Representatives to the SC shall therefore be Foreign Ministers or Secretaries
of State of the Member States depending on which entity is in charge of the respective State’s
foreign policy.
Article 2.
Special Voting Procedure
In addition to ordinary rules of the Quorum, Representatives of all Permanent Members of the SC
must be present in order for voting on Substantive Matters to take place; the Permanent Members
are The People’s Republic of China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the
United States of America. A vote against by any Permanent Member during a Substantive Vote
constitutes a veto; therefore in order for a Substantive Vote to pass, all Permanent Members must
vote in favour or abstain and the Council as a whole must achieve a simple majority. The SC votes
on Operative Clauses of a Draft Resolution one-by-one.
Article 3.
P5 Caucus
Any Permanent Member of the SC may raise a Motion for a P5 Caucus if it is believed that the
Permanent Members need to discuss an issue behind closed doors in order for a compromise to be
reached and avoid a veto. When such a motion is raised, seconds and objections will only be
recognised coming from the Permanent Members; if there are both seconds and objections, only the
Permanent Members shall vote on the procedural matter; a P5 Caucus may also be entertained at
the discretion of the Presidency. If such a motion passes, the Presidency shall set a time limit for the
caucus and one of its members shall accompany the Permanent Members to a location of privacy
where the caucus may be held. The Presidency may also overrule the Motion for a P5 Caucus when
it is raised if it feels the caucus would not contribute significantly to the outcome of the debate.
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38. Annex III.
Rules exclusive to the
General Assembly
Article 1.
Composition
The General Assembly (GA) shall be composed of all Representatives to the three organs of the
United Nations (SC, ECOSOC, HCR) as well as to the Council of the European Union. Members
of the International Court of Justice may be invited to hold a guest speech.
Article 2.
Delegations
Representatives party to a Delegation (more than one Representative of one State present in the
GA) must coordinate their policies and work as a coherent unit. In case of disputes within a
Delegation, its highest raking member shall take decisions. All members of a Delegation are entitled
to the right to speak as well as all other rights granted to them by the Rules of Procedure but shall
not verbally or otherwise oppose the rest of their Delegation publicly at any time.
Article 3.
Agenda
The General Assembly is to have its own Agenda independent of the topics discussed by the
Committees and Councils of MUNAPEST but relevant within the framework of Interconnectivity.
The Agenda item to be discussed is to be formally revealed to all Representatives the day before the
GA is to take place but information related to the topic shall be included within Breaking News at
various times during the course of the Conference. At the end of its deliberations, the General
Assembly shall attempt to pass its own Resolution; the voting procedure shall be Substantive and
require a simple majority to pass.
Article 4.
Special Powers of the Presidency
Due to time constraint, the President of the General Assembly shall be entitled to declare moving to
a Moderated or Unmoderated Caucus, or to closing an ongoing Caucus at any time. No decisions
taken by the President of the GA shall be open to appeal.
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