Rules of Procedure

1

RULES OF PROCEDUREOF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

General Rules

Rule 1. Scope

1. These rules are based on the Rules of Procedure of the United Nations Security Council. However

adaptations to better suit Lund Model United Nations have been made.

2. The rules are self-sufficient and shall be considered adopted in advance of the meeting.

3. No other Rules of Procedures are applicable.

Rule 2. Language

English shall be the official and the working language of the Security Council.

Rule 3. Courtesy

All representatives shall show courtesy and respect to the other representatives, the Presidency and the

Secretariat at all times.

Rule 4. Arbitration

Interpretation of the rules of procedure is reserved exclusively to the Presidency. Such interpretation shall be

made in accordance with general principles of the Model UN concept and the educational ambitions of

LUMUN.

Rules of Representation

Rule 5. Composition

The Security Council is during the year 2007 composed by the five permanent members - China, France, The

Russian Federation, The United Kingdom and the United States - and the ten non-permanent members -

Belgium, The republic of the Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa.

Rule 6. Roll call

1. The President shall call the roll for the purpose of establishing a quorum at the beginning of each session.

Members who desire to be considered present shall reply “present” when the name of their delegation is

called.

2. A reply of “present and voting” requires the member to vote affirmative or negative on any substantive

matter.

3. Any Member that arrives late to session or does not reply must submit their attendance and apologies in

writing to the Presidency. If, in the case of late arrival or no reply, attendance submission in written form has

not been delivered, Members shall not be able to speak or exercise their right to vote.

Rules of Procedure

2

Rule 7. Quorum

1. A quorum shall be made up of two-thirds, id est 10 Members, of the Security Council. The Council may

neither begin with the conduct of business nor vote on any procedural or substantive matter without a quorum

present.

2. The presidency will in the start of each session, before substantive voting and if suspecting that quorum

cannot be established, conduct a role call.

Rule 8. The Secretary-General

1. The Secretary-General, or his or her appointed representative, may at any time make either oral or written

statements to the Security Council concerning any question under consideration by it.

3. In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the Secretariat shall not seek or receive

instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain

from any action that might reflect on their position as international officials responsible only to the

Organization.

4. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the

responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of

their responsibilities.

Rule 9. Auxiliary Representation

1. Any state or party that is not a Member of the Security Council may participate, without the right to vote on

substantial matters, in the discussion of any question brought before the Security Council whenever the latter

considers that the interests of that Member are specially affected.

2. A procedural vote in the Security Council decides to invite Auxiliary Representation until closed sessions

are decided upon.

Rules of the Presidency and the Secretariat

Rule 10. The Presidency

1. The president or vice president shall preside over the meetings of the Security Council. The LUMUN

Security Council is presided by organizers, in contrast to the rotating presidency of the UNSC.

2. The Presidency has authority to:

Ensure the observance of the Rules of Procedure and the maintenance of order;

Declare the opening and closing of each session;

Direct the discussions of the committee, accord the right to speak, call the roll, and announce decisions;

Advise the committee on methods of procedure that will enable the body to accomplish its goals;

Rule on points and motions;

Propose limits on debate, closure of debate, and suspension and adjournment of the meeting during the

sessions.

Rule 11. The Secretariat

1. The Secretary-General shall provide the staff required by the Security Council. This staff shall form a part

of the Secretariat.

Rules of Procedure

3

2. The Secretariat shall be responsible for the preparation of documents required by the Security Council, and

assisting the inter-delegation communication.

Rules governing Formal Debate

Rule 14. Speakers’ List

1. At the start of each session the presidency will set up a Speakers’ List.

2. Members wishing to be added to the Speakers’ List, providing they are not currently on the Speakers’ List,

shall notify the Presidency by a show of placard.

3. The Speakers’ List expires when the topic of discussion is closed or adjourned or whenever a resolution or

recommendation has passed.

4. When the Speaker’s List is exhausted, debate is automatically closed on the topic of discussion. The

committee shall move immediately into Voting Procedures on the proposals on the floor.

Rule 15. Speeches

1. No delegate may address the body without the permission of the President.

2. In formal debate the President shall call upon speakers in accordance with the speakers’ list.

3. Speakers must keep their remarks relevant to the topic under discussion.

Rule 16. Yields

1. A Member recognized from the Speakers’ List may yield its remaining time of speech:

I. To another Member;

II. To questions. The President shall select questioners, which are granted one question each. Only the

speaker’s answer to questions shall be deducted from the speaker’s remaining time;

III. To the Presidency.

2. A speaker is only granted one yield per speech.

Rule 17. Right of reply

A delegate whose personal or national integrity has been impugned by another delegate may request a Right

of Reply. A delegate granted a Right of Reply may not address the committee except at the request of the

President. A Right of Reply to a Right of Reply is out of order.

Rule 18. Closure of formal debate

1. Any delegation may motion for a closure of formal debate. If ruled in order by the presidency, the motion is

put to a procedural vote.

2. If the Committee is in favor of closure of debate, all resolutions and amendments on the floor will be

brought to an immediate vote.

Rules governing Caucus

Rules of Procedure

4

Rule 19. Moderated Caucus

1. The purpose of a moderated caucus is to enable debate on specific issues during a limited time, with shorter

speaking time. It is less formal than formal debate, although still directed by the presidency and as always

require diplomatic courtesy.

2. Moderated Caucus may be motioned for by any Member. The Member motioning for Moderated Caucus

must also state the specific purpose, the total time and the speaking time for the Moderated Caucus. During

Moderated Caucus, Members shall signify their desire to speak by raising their placards. The President shall

recognize the delegates wishing to speak in a fair and orderly manner.

3. Moderated Caucus shall conclude when the appointed total time for the Moderated Caucus has elapsed, or

when there are no more delegates wishing to speak in the Moderated Caucus.

Rule 20. Unmoderated Caucus

1. The purpose of an unmoderated caucus is to enable delegates to discuss the matter at hand procedurally

unconstrained.

2. Unmoderated Caucus may be motioned for by any delegation. The delegation motioning Unmoderated

Caucus must also state the specific purpose and the total time for the Unmoderated Caucus. The President

shall call the committee back to order when the total time for the Unmoderated Caucus has elapsed.

3. The Presidency may decide to extend the Unmoderated Caucus at its discretion.

Communication

Rule 21. Notes

1. Written notes are the means of communication between Members not recognized to speak.

2. Notes are distributed by the Secretariat and may be send to other delegations or the presidency.

Rule 22. Working Papers

1. A working paper is not subject to resolution formatting rules. However it is advised using the format

template provided by the secretariat.

2. A Member may deliver a working paper to the Secretariat for distribution to the Security Council.

3. The working paper must be signed by the President or the Vice-President before distributed.

Points

Rule 23. Point of Personal Privilege

1. A point of personal privilege should be raised by a delegation when experiencing discomforts that hamper

their ability to participate in the proceedings, such as inability to hear other delegates speeches, missing

distributed documents etc.

2. The point of personal privilege interrupts all activities in formal debate.

3. The president may decide to only accept points of personal information in writing if suspecting that by

raising this point frequently delegates aim to disturb debate.

Rules of Procedure

5

Rule 24. Point of Order

1. A Member may at any time make the President aware of improper procedure by raising a point of order.

2. The Point of Order will be considered when the floor is open, and may not interrupt a speaker.

Rule 25. Point of Information

1. A Member may ask the Presidency for clarifications on the proceedings or for the explanation of terms or

abbreviations used in the Security Council by raising a Point of Information.

2. The Point of Information is in order when the floor is open, and may not interrupt a speaker.

Rule 26. Precedence of Points

Points take precedence over motions. The precedence of Points is: Point of Personal Privilege, Point of Order,

Point of Information.

Procedural Motions

Rule 27. Precedence of Motions

1. Motions may be raised by Members when the floor is open, and may not interrupt a speaker.

2. Motions, if found in order by the president, will be entertained in the following precedence:

I. Motion to suspend the meeting:

Suspends the meeting for a limited period of time which is to be stated in the motion along with the purpose

for suspension.

II. Motion to adjourn the meeting:

Adjourns the sessions for the rest of the day.

III. Motion to close debate on the topic of discussion:

Closes formal debate. The draft resolutions and amendments on the floor are to be put to substantial voting

immediately after which the session are terminated.

IV. Motion for a roll call vote:

In substantial voting a motion for a roll call vote may be in order. If the motion is passed, the President shall

call the roll in alphabetical order starting with a randomly selected Member. In the first round, Members may

vote “In favour”, “Against”, “Abstain”, or “Pass”. A Member who passes during the first round must vote

during the second round.

V. Motion to vote on a draft resolution:

Puts a specific resolution on the floor, which should be specified, to a substantive voting procedure.

VI. Motion to vote on an amendment:

Puts an introduced amendment to substantial voting procedure.

VII. Motion to introduce a draft resolution:

Introduces of a draft resolution fulfilling the formal requirements in Rule 29.

VIII. Motion to introduce an amendment:

Introduces an amendment to a specified resolution.

IX. Motion to move to a Moderated Caucus:

Council moves into a Moderated Caucus described in Rule 19.

X. Motion to move to an Unmoderated Caucus:

Council moves into an Unmoderated Caucus described in Rule 20.

XI. Motion to invite an auxiliary representation:

Invites auxiliary representation to participate according to rules of conduct for auxiliary representation in Rule

9.

XII. Motion for a closed session:

Rules of Procedure

6

Closes the session for observers and auxiliary representation.

Rule 28. Second and object to the motions

Motions are subject of procedural voting. In order to be put to voting the motions need a second. The

president may ask for two speakers in favor (second) and two speakers against (object) the motion. If two

Members don’t second the motion it fails without voting. If two Members don’t object the motion it passes

without voting.

Governing Substantive Issues

Rule 29. Formal requirements of Draft Resolutions

1. In order to be put to a procedural vote on introducing a draft resolution, it must fulfill the following

requirements:

I. Signed by one third of the Security Council members, id est five Members. Signatories do not oblige to

support the draft in any voting procedures.

II. Approved by presidency.

III. Is conducted in writing according to the formal requirements distributed by the Secretariat.

IV. Distributed to the Council members by the Secretariat.

Rule 30. Introducing a draft resolution

1. A draft resolution may not be referred to in formal debate without first having been introduced.

2. When fulfilling the requirements stipulated in Rule 29 a motion for introducing a draft resolution is in

order. It will be put to a procedural vote, after which if being affirmative the operative clauses are read by the

introducing Member. As the introduction is not a formal speech, it is not in order to yield this speaking time.

3. The limit of numbers of draft resolutions on the floor is set at the presidency’s discretion. A draft resolution

once introduced is considered to be on the floor until taken to a substantial vote.

Rule 31. Amendments to a draft resolution

1. A motion to amend may be made to a draft resolution that has been introduced.

2. Only operative clauses, not perambulatory clauses, may be amended.

3. An amendment to a draft resolution may only be referred to in formal debate after it has been introduced.

4. The following requirements apply before amendments may be introduced:

I. Signed by one third of the Security Council members, id est five Members. Signatories do not oblige to

support the draft in any voting procedures.

II. Approved by presidency.

III. Is conducted in writing according to the formal requirements distributed by the Secretariat.

IV. Distributed to the Council members by the Secretariat.

Rule 32. Friendly Amendment

An introduced draft resolution may be amended by the submitter and the five original signatories, without a

voting procedure. If this amendment fulfills the requirements stipulated in Rule 31.4.II-IV it amends the

original draft resolution when presidency announce the acceptance of the amendment.

Rules of Procedure

7

Governing Voting

Rule 33. Voting rights

Members of the Council have a right to vote in all procedural and substantive matters. Invited Observers and

Auxiliary representation have voting rights in procedural matters only.

Rule 34. Voting Procedure

During Voting, there shall be no passing of notes and no member of the committee may leave or enter the

conference room. There shall be no interruptions, except by points of personal privilege or points of order.

Any delegate who disrupts Voting Procedure shall be ruled dilatory and therefore out of order. Voting shall

normally be conducted by a show of placards. If there is a mis-vote or a delegate wants to question the

outcome of a substantive vote by placards, voting shall be conducted by a roll call vote.

Rule 35. Procedural voting

1. A Procedural matter requires a simple majority of those present to pass in voting.

2. In matters of procedure the vote is to be “yes” or “no”. Abstention is not in order.

3. Procedural voting will be conducted on those motions considered in order by the presidency and attained

seconds according to Rule 28.

Rule 36. Substantive voting

1. Substantive matters are the following and are subject of substantive voting:

I. Final resolutions

II. Amendments

2. In the Security Council the passing of Substantive matters presupposes that there is no negative vote by one

of the five permanent members of the Security Council. As established in the Charter of the United Nations, a

negative vote by any permanent member, regardless of any affirmative votes by other members of the

Security Council, shall constitute a veto and cause the substantive matter to fail.

3. Decisions of the Security Council on all substantive matters shall be made by an affirmative

vote of nine Members and no negative votes from the permanent members.

4. Abstention is in order, unless Member is considered “present and voting” as described in Rule 6.

5. A motion for a Roll call vote as described in Rule 27, is in order during substantive voting.

Rules of Procedure

8

Conduct of Business – Flow of Formal debate

Rules of Procedure

9

Conduct of Business – Flow of Draft Resolutions and Amendments