Robert's Rules of Order

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History[edit | edit source]

Robert's Rules of Order (RRO) is a fascinating 19th century document that has been revised eleven times. Some argue that it represents a tradition that harks back to the 5th century, but the modern form of parliamentary democracy seems to date back to 16th & 17th century England.[1][2] In the 1560s Sir Thomas Smith began the process of writing down accepted procedures and published a book about them in the House of Commons in 1583. Early rules included

  • One subject should be discussed at a time (adopted 1581)
  • Personal attacks are to be avoided in debate (1604)
  • Debate must be limited to the merits of the question (1610)
  • Division of a question when some seem to be for one part but not the other (1640)

Robert's rules in a nutshell[edit | edit source]

There are at least three good summaries of RRO that capture its spirit in a few words.

In three to five statements[edit | edit source]

  1. One speaker at a time
  2. One topic at a time[3]
  3. Majority rules[4]
  4. A 2/3 majority may temporarily suspend all or some of Robert's Rules.[5]
  5. The unqualified motion to adjourn is undebatable and carries by a simple majority.[6]

Wikipedia[edit | edit source]

Robert's Rules of Order#General_summary_of_current_edition

Survival Tips[edit | edit source]

This subpage is dedicated to the Survival Tips website assembled by Lorenzo R. Cuesta (Registered Parliamentarian).

Organizations that use RRO[edit | edit source]

Online versions of RRO[edit | edit source]

These sites link to the 1914 (4th edition) of Robert's rules.[7]

Other links[edit | edit source]

Footnotes and references[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_parliamentary_procedure&oldid=479926060
  2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parliamentary_procedure&oldid=681185194#History
  3. ↑ The first two can be found at http://www.sd62.bc.ca/portals/0/pdfs/speac/roberts_rules_of_order.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.cde.state.co.us/sites/default/files/documents/cdechart/guidebook/gov/pdf/robertsrulesoforder.pdf
  5. ↑ Added to the first 3 by User:Guy vandegrift
  6. ↑ Added to RRO in a nutshell by user:Guy vandegrift
  7. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert%27s_Rules_of_Order&oldid=683748151
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