Rules of Procedure

Rules of Procedures

Basic THIMUN procedures will be applied throughout the conference. The THIMUN Instructional Guide may be downloaded on our website. Some specific features of PAMUN necessitate a few adjustments and modifications, which will be explained below. These alterations will principally deal with:

  • the consequences of the absence of full-fledged draft resolutions on the proceedings
  • the resulting clause-by-clause debate
  • the rules governing caucus time

 

The main difference of procedure in PAMUN is that the debates are clause-based and not resolution-based. In many other conferences, delegates come with a draft resolution and merge their draft resolutions with the draft resolutions of other delegates during the lobbying process, thus producing a revised (merged) version that is debated during the Committee sessions. This is not the case at PAMUN. At PAMUN, delegates come with only a few draft clauses which they merge with the draft clauses of other delegates during caucus. These revised clauses are then debated individually during the Committee sessions. Votes are taken following each clause-debate, and if the clause passes, it is included in the Resolution. At the end of the clause-by-clause debate, a vote is taken on the resolution as a whole. Amendments to each clause are in order during the clause-by-clause debate.

 

As a rule, debates at PAMUN are Open Debates, except on Amendments, and as the chairs see fit to introduce Closed Debate in the interest of debate.

 

Caucus is the PAMUN-equivalent of lobbying in other conferences: we use a different term to distinguish between the regular whole-resolution-merging process called Lobbying and specific PAMUN-style clause-by-clause caucusing, which is to merge individual clauses and gain the required amount of signatures in order to submit the clause to the Chair for debate. Caucus-time may be requested by delegates, if they feel the need to have quick and informal contact on a clause or on an amendment, or offered by the chairs when they feel the need arises and the flow of debate requires. It is ruled by the chairs and their ruling is final and does not require a vote.

MUN Directors are required to instruct their delegates of the implications for debate of the clause-by-clause system: it is not a valid reproach to criticize a clause by saying it’s not doing this or that … which may be suggested in other clauses! Clauses by definition all deal with specific aspects; it is therefore imperative for the success of the debate that students be mindful of this fact, and display patience in assessing each clause on its own intrinsic value and contribution to tackle the issue as a whole.

Clauses and amendments which are debated are typed and projected on a screen. There is no need at PAMUN for delegates’ laptops.

Reminder: only official notepaper, which has been handed-in at Registration and screened by the conference Secretariat, may be exchanged during the conference (except in the two committees experimenting the paperless system (Environment and Special Conference).

PAMUN 2018 Conference

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