Parliamentary Procedure
Formal procedure followed in the conduct of any meeting, usually following Roberts' Rules of Order. Parliamentary procedures are followed to expedite the orderly conduct of a meeting's agenda.
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Formal procedure followed in the conduct of any meeting, usually following Roberts' Rules of Order. Parliamentary procedures are followed to expedite the orderly conduct of a meeting's agenda.
For more information on parliamentary procedure, visit Britannica.com.
“So much of what we do around here [in Congress],” House Republican leader Robert Michel observed, “is determined by how we do it.” Parliamentary procedure is the “how” by which Congress operates. It is the collected rules and precedents—the previous actions of the Senate and House and rulings of their presiding officers. It is also the customs, courtesies, and accepted behavior of Congress. Parliamentary procedure establishes the daily routines of the House and Senate. It sets the ways in which members seek recognition on the floor, address the chair and each other, introduce bills and resolutions, and seek to win the passage of legislation or to block it through objections, amendments, filibusters, and other tactics within the rules of order.
The United States inherited its basic parliamentary procedures from the British Parliament during the colonial era. New England town meetings and colonial legislatures followed these traditional methods of operating, as did the Continental Congress, the Congress under the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, and the U.S. Congress. In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson published the first volume of parliamentary procedure in the United States, known as Jefferson's manual, which is still part of the House rules.
The House and Senate adopt their own rules and set precedents by their actions. Parliamentarians on the staff of both houses compile and study these rules and precedents in order to advise the presiding officers on how to keep the floor proceedings moving fairly and properly.
To casual visitors in the galleries, the procedures on the House and Senate floor may seem excessively formal. But the parliamentary procedure that they are witnessing evolved over 200 years of legislative activity to enable the Senate and House to function in ways that are reasonably fair and efficient. The procedures prevent presiding officers from ruling arbitrarily, and they ensure that both sides have an opportunity to be heard and to offer their own bills and amendments. Although their emotions often rise over the immediate issues before them, members of Congress have adopted parliamentary procedures that enable them to operate in a rational and orderly manner.
See also Jefferson's manual; Precedents, congressional; Rules of the House and Senate
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a body of rules followed by an assembly
Synonyms: order, rules of order, parliamentary law
Parliamentary procedure is the name given to the set of rules governing the decision-making process used by a deliberative assemblyby a royal such as a king, queen, princess, prince, lord, lady, ecectera.
The Common Law of Parliamentary Procedure and Robert's Rules of Order are two frequently used bodies of parliamentary procedure. A number of other bodies of parliamentary procedure also exist; in particular, most national legislatures, as well as the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations, have their own set of parliamentary rules. Most sets of parliamentary procedure enforce majority rule through voting, while others are specifically designed to facilitate consensus decision-making. Parliamentary rules vary widely amongst assemblies.
In legislative bodies subject to English Common Law, the parliamentary procedure used by most assemblies is the Common Law of Parliamentary Procedure plus any specific rules of order and special rules of order the assembly has also adopted.
In other organizations, Robert's Rules of Order is the most commonly used form of parliamentary law. Other bodies of parliamentary procedure are used in some fields of endeavor; one such exception is The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, widely used in organizations in the world of medicine.
The basis of parliamentary procedure is the deliberative assembly meeting to make decisions. The goal of parliamentary procedure is to allow the majority to make decisions effectively and efficiently while protecting the rights of the minority and giving each member or delegate the right to voice his or her opinion. Parliamentary procedure allows for smooth and prompt discussion and decision making on topics of importance to a society.
Business is conducted through motions which cause actions to happen. Members bring business before the assembly by introducing main motions, or dispose of this business (through subsidiary motions and incidental motions). Parliamentary procedure also allows for rules in regards to nomination, voting, disciplinary action, appeals, dues, and the drafting of organization charters, constitutions, and bylaws.
Individuals who are proficient in parliamentary law are titled parliamentarians. There are several organizations that offer certification programs for parliamentarians, including the National Association of Parliamentarians and American Institute of Parliamentarians. Agriculture teachers who coach teams in the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) parliamentary procedure contest can earn the title Associate Parliamentarian (or AP). Parliamentarians perform an important role in many meetings, including counseling organizations on parliamentary law, holding elections, or writing amendments to the constitution and bylaws of an organization.
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