Conference Rules

Cabinet Procedures

The cabinets of China, India, and Pakistan will be located in remote locations. Each committee will have a committee chair. The Committees will receive information regarding a crisis at the beginning of the first committee session. Each delegate will also receive a portfolio outlining any goals their position should accomplish for this conference, initial intelligence relevant to their position, and information on ability to pass individual directives.

At the UW Spring Conference 2012, the Country Cabinets will not follow standard MUN rules of procedure. The simulation will be of an informal consultation of the Cabinet rather than a formal session, with the difference that the Cabinet will be able to pass directives (which take direct action), press releases, and communiqués which it would normally not be able to in informal meetings. In order to facilitate as free a debate as possible and to prevent procedure from tying up valuable time, the Cabinet will function according to the following procedure.

1. There will be no speakers list.

2. General debate will consist of a default ongoing  moderated caucus with a default speaking time of one minute, moderated by the Committee Directors. Delegates may make a motion to change the speaking time.

a. During debate, delegates may address each other directly and are not required to only refer to themselves by position name or in the third person.  

b. There will be no yielding of remaining time.  

c. There will be no rights of reply.  

d. There will be no motions for division of the question. Each directive, press release, and communiqué must be voted on as is.

e. Every procedural vote will be taken by show of placards, and every substantive vote will be taken by a show of placards. Delegates may not abstain from procedural matters, but are allowed to abstain from substantive matters. Procedural measures require at least 51% of the committee’s approval, while substantive matters vary by committee. 

3. A motion can be made to move to an unmoderated caucus. Delegates must specify the amount of time for the unmoderated caucus during the motion.

a. Unmoderated caucus can last up to 15 minutes before the Director will automatically gavel the council back into session. In exceptional circumstances the caucus may be extended, but this is at the Director’s discretion.  

b. During unmoderated (and moderated) caucus, delegates may leave the room only with the expressed permission of the Director or conference staff and must supply an express reason for leaving. Delegates may request to leave the room by raising their placard and making a point of personal privilege, or by passing a note to the Director. 

4.The Cabinet may make decisions in three forms: directives, press releases, and communiqués.

a. A directive (see explanation below) is an immediately binding action by a national cabinet. It is used to set policy, initiate programs, maneuver military forces and equipment, etc. The Cabinet may pass as many directives as it chooses on any issue, provided that they are not contradictory. Directives come in two forms:

• Individual directives, in which certain delegates can take action specifically within the powers of his or her Cabinet position. There may only be one sponsor of such a directive, and the directive must still be introduced to the Cabinet before it is sent to the Simulations team. No signatories are required for an individual directive, nor is any vote by the committee. Delegates will find out at the beginning of the first committee session whether they have the ability to author individual directives.  

• Cabinet directives, in which the Cabinet as a whole votes on the directive at hand. This form of directive may have one or more sponsors. A Cabinet directive requires the signature of four members of the Council to be introduced into debate.

b. A press release is not binding and simply expresses the opinion of the Cabinet on an issue, unless a document is voted upon as a directive with a simultaneous press release. Voting procedure will vary by committee.

c. The committee may send official communication to the other committees in the form of communiqués. Such communication will be sent after being read to the committee having written it and having 2/3 majority of committee in approval. The communication will then be read to the entire committee it is sent to. 

5. Delegates may communicate with delegates in the same committee or with delegates in other committees in the following ways:

a. With delegates in the same committee, either by written note handed to a committee assistant who will pass it to the relevant delegate, or in person during unmoderated caucus. 

b. With delegates in other committees, either by written note handed to a committee assistant who will take it to the relevant delegate, or, in exceptional circumstances outside the Council room in person with the express permission of the Director (notes and meetings of this type will generally be reserved for delegates needing to speak with their advisor/head-delegate/club president). 

c. Delegates are barred from using g-chat, facebook chat, or other online communication methods during the conference. Delegates are also prohibited from discussing what happens in committee with delegates in other committees until the end of the last committee session. 

Directives

Directives take immediate action, can be passed on to an external agency, department within the respective government, domestic corporation, or other entity. Updates may be returned from that entity, which may then facilitate certain actions. The following are examples of directives:

• Commission a spy with a certain objective, which may result in information gained
• Make certain military movements, which will make any future military action either more or less potent
• Order an entity to take a certain course of action
• Create an agency or task force
• Channel money towards business investment or humanitarian relief
• Request statements by an entity or individual
• Request meetings with members of other Country Cabinets

There may be internal policy directives addressed to multiple agencies. General policy directives may also be issued without a stated recipient, which will then automatically be publicly available.

The options are limited only by your imagination and by the fairly liberal discretion of your chair. Directives may also not receive an update from the target entity, but may still result in future repercussions. Voting rules for directives vary by committee.

Though directives immediately take effect once accepted by sims, their consequences may not be immediately felt by the committees involved. It is up to the discretion of the sims team what happens as a result of a directive, and a committee may not receive an update regarding the action right away. It is also up to the discretion of the sims team when an action directly attached to another action may be submitted. For example: If a cabinet chooses to move a number of troops to an area, it is up to the discretion of sims when they can then move those same troops again, as sims will be deciding how the course of the crisis goes in accordance with the action just taken.

Progression of the Crisis:

The committees will be receiving updates from various entities such as internal   agencies, the public media, intelligence services, diplomats from other nations, and diplomats from their own nation not represented by a delegate. This may be done via a visit to the committee, by hard copy print, or via the Conference blog. Delegates should assume that any information coming from one of these agencies is true to the best of that agency’s knowledge.

Keep in mind that there are costs to all actions. The benefits gained relative to cost will be noted. How well the committees as a whole achieves objectives given to them by the head of state and other individuals with authority will be key. This will be observed with the primary issue at hand as well as crises that arise. Factors to be viewed:

• Expenditure
• Military movements
• Casualties
• Progression of and final strategic positioning of the nation
• Economic benefits to the nation