Summary of
Notice of Motions - All information pertaining to a motion or a motion
itself in excess of 1/2 page in length must be prominently posted by the mover
in Trinity, St. Hilda’s, and the Buttery at least 24 hours in advance of a JCM.
Speaking Time - No person shall speak continuously for more than 2
minutes, except when permitted to do so by the Chair.
Speaking more than once – No member may speak twice to a question
except to explain a material part of his or her speech which may have been
misquoted. The mover of a motion is
allowed a reply at the conclusion of the debate.
Questions – Questions and answers must be concise, and no
debate is permitted.
Amendments – Must be relevant to the main motion and cannot
negate the original motion. Amendments
can be amended, but these sub-amendments cannot be amended. Friendly amendments are allowed, due to traditional
usages and customs of the JCM.
Withdrawing a Motion – A motion can be withdrawn with unanimous
consent.
Calling the Question – Calling the Question puts a motion
immediately to a vote. When discussing a
motion, any member may attempt to call the question on a point of order so long
as the question has not been called in the last ten minutes. A speaker also cannot call the question at
the end of his or her substantive speech.
If there are at least five members in dissent, a majority of the meeting
must vote in favour of calling the question before the question may be called.
Point of Order - Used to bring to the Speaker’s attention any
deviation from the rules or ordinary procedure.
Point of Privilege - Any Man or Woman of College may at any time claim
the floor to correct misinterpretations by others of any statement that he or
she has made.
Motion to Defer – Used to postpone to a specific time, indefinitely,
or to table a motion. Tabling a motion
means to stop discussing the motion and not have a
vote on it. It must be seconded, is
debatable, and requires a simple majority to pass.
Recess – Must be seconded and is not debatable.
Adjourn – Must be seconded and is not debatable.
Challenging the Chair – 2/3 vote required to overrule the chair.
Suspension of the Rules – Requires a unanimous vote.
Appointments - Every Appointee (such as to Corporation or various
college committees) shall report to the JCM after every meeting of the
government body that that Appointee has been appointed to. The Appointee’s appointment can be reviewed
at this meeting so long as 2/3 of the meeting votes as such. Once the meeting has voted to review an
appointment, a majority vote of the meeting is necessary to impeach
the officer.
Impeachment - Any person elected under the auspices of the JCM
may be impeached by a two-thirds majority vote of two consecutive JCMs held at least one week apart.
Constitutional Amendments - Amendments to this
Constitution must be passed by two consecutive Joint College Meetings, held at
least one week apart, by a two-thirds majority vote at each meeting.
Parliamentary Authority - Questions that do not come under the
foregoing rules shall be decided by the Chair according to the traditional usages and customs of the JCM, and failing a
precedent, according to Stanford’s latest edition of Bourinot’s
Rules of Order that is present at that meeting.
JCM Specific
Quorum - Quorum is the minimum number of people required to
be present in order to conduct business.
Quorum for the JCM is 15 gowned men and 15 gowned women of College.
JBS Specific
Quorum - The quorum for meetings of the Board shall be 1/3 of
the membership of the Board.
Speaking Rights - All members of the JCM have speaking rights at
meetings of the Board.
Proxies - No member of the Board may be represented by proxy.
In-Camera - The Board can go in-camera with a 2/3 vote of the
members. The chair shall decide whether
members of the JCM who are not members of the Board must leave. All those present that are not members of the
JCM shall leave without question.
Authoritative Sources:
JCM Constitution: http://www.oocities.org/trinityjcm2002/govDocs/JCMConstitution.htm
Geoffrey Stanford Bourinot’s Rules
of Order 4th edition.
McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1995.
Updated: 2 October 2002