From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative assembly, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions. Some bodies rely more on precedent and on the judgment of the presiding officer, whereas others rely more heavily on the written rules.

Rules of order consist of rules written by the body itself, but also usually supplemented by a published parliamentary authority adopted by the body. Typically, national, state, and other full-scale legislative assemblies have extensive internally written rules of order, whereas non-legislative bodies write and adopt a limited set of specific rules as the need arises.

In the English speaking world, the English House of Commons is the orginating source for most rules of order. These rules have evolved into two separate sets: American parliamentary procedure as generally followed in the United States and Canada; and Westminster parliamentary procedure, followed in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and many other former Commonwealth countries.

In the United States, most state legislatures follow Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure. The United States Senate follows the Standing Rules of the United States Senate. Most other deliberative assemblies follow Robert's Rules of Order. US organizations dedicated to promoting the general use of parliamentary procedure include the National Association of Parliamentarians and the American Institute of Parliamentarians.

In the United Kingdom, Thomas Erskine May's A Practical Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (often referred to simply as Erskine May) is the accepted authority on the powers and procedures of the Westminster parliament.

In Quebec, commonly used rules of order for ordinary societies include Victor Morin's Procédures des assemblées délibérantes (commonly known as the Code Morin[1]) and the Code CSN.

In other countries the Rules of order usually followed are quite different.

• Australian
  • Australian House of Representatives Practice
• Canada
  • Bourinot's Rules of Order by Sir John George Bourinot (the basis of the Parliament of Canada's Rules of Order)
  • Code Morin by Victor Morin
• UK
  • A Practical Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (a.k.a. Erskine May) by Thomas Erskine May
• USA
  • Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice by Thomas Jefferson
  • Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, 2000, by National Conference of State Legislatures
    • earlier editions by Paul Mason
  • Robert's Rules of Order by Henry M. Robert
    • Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th, 2000
  • The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, 4th, 2000, by American Institute of Parliamentarians
    • earlier editions by Alice F. Sturgis
  • Cannon's Concise Guide to Rules of Order by Hugh Cannon
  • Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure, 1969, by George Demeter
  • Webster's New World: Robert's Rules of Order Simplified and Applied by Robert McConnell Productions

• Special rules of order
• Parliamentary authority

• Using Mason's Manual — National Conference of State Legislatures (ncsl.org)
• National Association of Parliamentarians (parliamentarians.org)
• American Institute of Parliamentarians (parliamentaryprocedure.org)
• Robert McConnell Productions (parli.com)
• Canadian Political Science Student Association