Robert's Rules of Order

History

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. 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

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

In three to five statements

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

Wikipedia

Robert's Rules of Order#General_summary_of_current_edition

Survival Tips

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

Organizations that use RRO

• Cornell University
• Psychiatry Residents’ Association of the University of British Columbia
• Wright State University Lake Campus
• North American Federation of Temple Youth
• create a subpage for your organization and we will rename for you

Online versions of RRO

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

• robertsrules.org
• constitution.org
• rulesonline.com
• bartleby.com
• Project Gutenberg Full text of 1876 (1st) ed.

Other links

• Frequently Asked Questions (from robertsrules.com)
• Wikipedia: Robert's Rules of Order
• Wikiversity:Fire and emergency management/Leadership I:Strategies for Company Success (H803)/Running a Meeting
• Wikisource:Robert's Rules of Order 1915 edition (under construction)
• http://communitywiki.org/en/RobertsRules