Rules of Order

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Article 3 - The Council of Eliria (Codification of the Rules of Order)

(1) A governing legislative council shall be established, which shall be called the Council of Eliria.
a. The Council of Eliria shall constitute an assembly of the resident Nobles of the House of Kalir, who shall each be Members;
(2) The Council shall be generally Presided over by His Grace the Patron of the House, or by any appointed Steward, or by the Proposer of a Proposal, but not by the Petitioner of a Petition;
(3) The Council of Eliria shall advise the Patron of the House on all matters and affairs of government relating to the territories under the jurisdiction of the House;
a. Any person so presiding (a "Presiding Member") shall not be prohibited from fulfilling all other duties and privileges of a Member.
b. Any Presiding Member may conduct a roll-call from time-to-time to ascertain the presence of Members.
(4) Proposals and Petitions
a. Any Member may propose a Proposal for debate by the Council as a whole, or may present a Petition to the Patron or any appointed Steward, and the same shall be debated and resolved according to these Rules of Order.
b. To propose any Proposal for consideration by the Council, or any Petition for consideration by the Patron or an appointed Steward, the Member shall post its content in the forum of the Council, clearly labelled as either a Proposal or a Petition.
c. Each Proposal shall have a minimum of one week for general debate and amendments, and each Petition shall have three days for general debate and amendments; where
i. A Presiding Member, upon recommendation by the Members, shall extend, delay or end debate for Proposals only when the Presiding Member feels it is necessary.
d. During the debate, any Member may introduce amendments to the Proposal in consideration, but may not introduce amendments to Petitions.
e. After the period of debate, a Presiding Member shall conduct the vote on any amendments to Proposals that may have come up. After the vote has ceased, the Proposal shall be voted upon as follows; Petitions shall be voted upon after their period of debate as follows; provided that
i. The ballot choices shall be the following:
1. Aye, which shall be a vote to pass the Proposal or Petition;
2. Nay, which shall be a vote to defeat the Proposal or Petition;
3. Abstain, which shall be a vote to not make a decision on the Proposal or Petition; or
4. Defer, for Proposals only, which shall be a vote to extend the debate period for one week.
ii. All votes shall be conducted via a write-in ballot to be posted in the forum of the Council; and
iii. All voting shall be conducted over a minimum four-day period for Proposals, or a fixed three-day period for Petitions, where
f. A Presiding Member, upon recommendation by the Members of the Council, shall extend, delay or end voting on Proposals, but not Petitions, when the Presiding Member feels it is necessary.
g. Nobles-Equestrian shall be granted two votes, and Nobles-Civitas shall be granted one vote. The Patron of Kalir has no votes but may overturn or support a Council decision regardless of the votes provided that his powers are not limited by a previous Council decision (i.e. impeachment).
h. In the event of a tie, the Patron shall decide whether or not to accept the Proposal/Petition.
i. At the conclusion of voting procedures, according to the votes cast a Presiding Member will announce the passing or rejection of the Proposal or the Petition. A relevant decree will then be issued by the Patron of Kalir or an appointed Steward.
(5) Rules of Decorum
a. Members shall refrain from personal attacks against fellow Members
in the Council forum.
i. If a Member violates this rule, another Member may ask that the words of the Member in Question be retracted; provided that
1. Any Member asking that the words of another member be retracted must specifically state what words violated this rule.
2. If a Presiding Member orders that the words of a Member be retracted, then the Member shall be barred from speaking in the Council forum for three days.
ii. A Member's words may not be retracted if the statement is an attack on the Member in question's position on an issue as long as the language used in the attack is not obscene or uncivil;
b. A Member may be disciplined by the Council for statements made outside the Council forum about colleagues in the Council only if such statements are defamatory, obscene, or bring gross indignity upon the Council.
(6) Rules of Discipline
a. The Council may discipline its Members for unethical conduct, or conduct which brings disrepute upon the Council.
b. The Council may reprimand one of its Members by a Majority vote; provided that
i. A Proposal or Petition to reprimand a Member may only be amended with a substitute Proposal or Petition for the censuring or expelling of the Member;
ii. If a Proposal or Petition reprimanding a Member is passed by a Majority of the Council then it shall be published on all public forums of the House.
c. The Council may censure one of its Members by a Majority vote; provided that
i. A Proposal or Petition censuring a Member may only be amended with a substitute Proposal or Petition for the reprimanding or expelling of the Member;
ii. If a Proposal or Petition censuring a Member is passed by a Majority of the Council then it shall be published on all public forums of the Duchy. In addition to this, the Member shall be removed from all committees of the Council on which they sit, be forbidden from speaking in the Council forum, and be disallowed from sponsoring any Proposal or Petition or amendments in the Council;
d. A Member may only be disciplined if one or more of the following is true:
i. Their actions brought disgrace and dishonour upon the Council:
1. They have allowed themselves to be corrupted (i.e. through bribery or extortion);
2. They have violated a trust given him by the Council;
3. They have abused the power of their office;
4. They have been convicted of a crime;
5. They have behaved in a disrespectful manner towards the Council;
6. They have been incompetent in the performance of a duty given them by the Council and that incompetence has brought shame upon the Council;
or
7. They have lost the capacity to serve in the Council.
ii. A Member may not be disciplined by the Council for any of the following reasons:
1. Their political choices, ideology or beliefs;
2. Their vote on any Proposal or Petition to the Council;
or
3. Their religious beliefs or lack thereof.
(7) Committees
a. Notwithstanding the right to informal debate, any Member may request of a Presiding Member the formation of a Committee on a particular topic for the purposes of discussion and possible formation of a working paper with regards to a Proposal or Petition.
b. Such Committee Sessions within the Council shall be labelled as such, followed by the topic of the Session.
c. A Presiding Member must consent to the formation of the Committee and shall serve as its Chairman. That Presiding Member shall also be the person responsible for adjourning such a Committee Session.
(8) Conventions
a. The Patron or an appointed Steward may at any time start an informal Convention for the debating of a range of themed topics, to be conducted as they see fit.
b. Nothing in the Rules of Order shall prevent the Patron or an appointed Steward from exercising their right to issue decrees on any internal matter concerning the Duchy.