The Security Council Rules

SC 1  Appointment of the President

The Under Secretary General for Security Council Affairs shall be appointed as President by the Secretary General, shall chair the meeting through the adoption of the agenda (subject to SC‑2), and shall act as Rapporteur for the Council before other bodies of the MUNFW.

SC 2  Revolving Presidency

After the adoption of the agenda, if the Council decides to have a rotating Presidency, it shall be held in turn by the member nations of the Council in the English alphabetical order of their names, commencing with the member nation drawn at random by the Under Secretary General.  The rotation cycle shall be repeated as necessary.The President shall retain full voting and debating privileges.  The term for each presidency shall be determined by the Under Secretary General. The President may withdraw if he/she feels participation in the debate on an item will interfere with the exercise of his/her duties.

SC-3  General Powers and Authority of the President

The President, in addition to exercising the powers authorized elsewhere in these rules, shall declare the opening and closing of each Council meeting, direct its discussion, ensure the observance of these rules, accord the right to speak, put questions, and announce decisions. The President shall rule on points of order, and, subject to these rules,  shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting and over the maintenance of order. During any meeting of the Security Council, the President may propose the suspension or the adjournment of the meeting. The President, in the exercise of these functions, remains under the authority of the Security Council.  A representative may appeal the ruling of the President, as provided for in SC-25.

SC-4 Invitation to Non-Members of the Security Council

Any member of the MUNFW which is not a member of the Security Council may, as the result of a decision of the Council, be invited to participate, without vote, in the discussion of any question brought before the Council, when the Security Council or a member brings a matter tothe attention of the Security Council.

SC-5  Statements by the Secretariat

The Secretary General, or a member of the Secretariat designated as his/her representative, at any time, may make either oral or written statements to any body concerning any  question under consideration by it.

SC-6  Proposals and Draft Resolutions by Non‑Members

Any member of the MUNFW invited in accordance with SC‑4 to participate in the discussions of the Security Council may submit proposals and draft resolutions. These proposals and draft resolutions may be put to a vote only at the request of a member of the Council.

SC-7  Voting Rights  

Each member state of the Security Council shall have one vote. No representative or delegate may cast the vote of another member.

SC-8  Agenda

The Provisional Agenda for the Security Council shall be drawn up by the Secretary General and approved by the Council. The first item of the provisional agenda shall be the adoption of the agenda. Items on the provisional agenda may be deleted by the Council. The Council may, in urgent circumstances, make additions to the agenda at any time during the meeting.  All items proposed for inclusion in the agenda shall be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum, and if possible by basic documents or draft resolution.

S-9  Order of Agenda Items

The Security Council, taking into account the number of items on its agenda, the number of resolutions submitted for each item, and the amount of time allocated for meetings, shall adopt its own priorities. Unless the Council decides otherwise, agenda items will be considered in the order listed on the agenda.

SC-10  Order of Resolutions

If two or more resolutions relate to the same agenda item, the Council shall, unless it decides otherwise, vote on the resolutions in the order in which they have been numbered by the Secretariat. The Security Council may, after each vote on a resolution, decide whether to vote on the next resolution.

SC-11  Resolutions and Amendments

Resolutions and amendments shall be introduced in writing and handed to the Secretary General, who shall circulate copies to the representatives of the Council. The President may permit the discussion and consideration of amendments and proposals not previously circulated.

SC-12   Security Council Priority

While the Security Council is exercising, in respect to any dispute or situation, the functions assigned to it in the present Charter, no body shall make any recommendations with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Security Council so requests. Committees may discuss, but not vote  upon, matters concerning the maintenance of international peace and security under the jurisdiction of the Security Council until the Council has voted on the issue. A suspension of more than twenty-four hours by the Security Council will be considered its final action, allowing the committee to resume consideration of the question. A Committee may be deprived of the vote on the item for longer than 24 hours only when the Council is actively debating that agenda item. While the Council is exercising, in respect to any dispute or situation, the functions assigned to it in the present Charter, the General Assembly shall not make any recommendations with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Council so requests.  The Secretary General, with the consent of the Security Council, shall notify the General Assembly at each session of any matters relative to the maintenance of international peace and security of which the Security Council is seized. He shall also inform the General Assembly, and all other bodies, immediately after the Security Council ceases to deal with such matters, of such fact.

SC-13  Decisions on Competence

Subject to rule SC-25 (Order of Procedural Motions), any motion calling for a decision on the competence of the Council to discuss or to adopt a proposal submitted to it shall be put to the vote before a vote is taken on the proposal in question. Any such motion shall be considered a procedural matter and subject to SC-18.

SC-14  Withdrawal of Procedural Motions and Resolutions

A procedural motion or amendment may be withdrawn by its proposer at any time before voting on it has commenced, provided that the motion or resolution has not been amended. A motion or resolution which has been withdrawn may be reintroduced by any member.

SC-15  Reconsideration of Proposals

When a proposal has been adopted or rejected, it may not be reconsidered at the same session unless the Council so decides. This shall be considered a procedural matter and subject to SC-18.

SC-16  Division of Resolutions

A representative may move that parts of a resolution or amendment shall be voted on separately. nIf objection is made to the motion for division, the motion for division shall be voted upon. The delegate shall specify in their motion the points of division.  If such indication is not made, the President shall assume that each operative paragraphs shall be voted upon separately. With the permission of the sponsor of the resolution, the President shall determine what constitutes  an operative clause.  If all operative parts of the resolution or amendment have been rejected, the resolution or  amendment shall be considered to have been rejected as a whole.

SC-17  Voting on Amendments

If two or more amendments to a draft resolution are proposed, the President shall rule on which order they are to be voted on. Ordinarily, the Council shall first vote on the amendment furthest removed from the original proposal, until all amendments have been voted on. However, where the adoption of one amendment automatically implies the rejection of another amendment, the latter amendment shall not be put to a vote. If one or more amendments are adopted, theamended proposal shall then be voted on.

SC-18  Voting on Procedural Matters

Decisions of the Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.

SC-19  Voting on Substantive Matters

Decisions of the Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members, including the concurring vote of the permanent members. A party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.

SC-20  Report of the Security Council

The Security Council shall submit to the General Assembly a report of its work during the Session whenever it considers it appropriate.  Matters concerning elections, membership, and fiscal appropriations for Council action must be referred to the General Assembly for final disposition. The Council may refer other decisions to the General Assembly for consideration.

SC-21  Method of Voting

The Council shall normally vote by a show of placards, but any representative may request a roll  call vote. The roll call shall be taken in the alphabetical order of the English names of the members. The name of each member shall be called in any roll call, and the member shall respond with "yes," "no," "abstention," or "pass." Only one pass will be allowed per delegate per vote. The result of the voting shall be inserted in the record in the English alphabetical order of the names of the members. Requests for roll call vote shall not be debated or voted upon.

SC-22  Conduct During Voting

After the President has announced the beginning of voting, no member shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual conduct of the voting (P-25 Point of Order). The President may permit the members  to explain their vote after voting.  The President may limit the time allowed to explanations. The President shall not permit the proposer of a proposal or amendment to explain their vote on their proposal or amendment.

SC-23  Speeches

The President shall call upon speakers in the order in which they have signified their desire to speak.

SC-24  Right of Reply

At his discretion, the President may accord the right to reply to any member, if a preceding speech has contained extraordinary comment bearing directly on the national or personal dignity of the delegate concerned, and shall limit the time accorded for reply. Granting of the right of reply shall not be debated or be put to a vote.

SC-25  Points of Order

If a member raises a point of order, the President shall rule on the point immediately and the ruling shall stand unless overruled by the Council. This shall be considered a procedural matter and subject to SC-18. A representative rising to a point of order may not speak on the substance of the matter under discussion.

SC-26 Order of Procedural Motions

Subject to rule SC-25, the following procedural motions shall have precedence in the following order over all other proposals before the meeting:

SC-27  Suspension or Adjournment of Meeting

During the discussion of any matter, a representative may move for the suspension or the adjournment of the meeting. Such motions shall not be debated, but shall be immediately put to the vote and requires a simple majority to pass. Any motion to suspend the meeting shall specify the time period for which the meeting shall be suspended. No official business may take place while the body is in suspension. When the meeting has reconvened, the business of the meeting shall continue from the point at which it was suspended. Adjournment of the meeting is defined as meaning that all business of the Council contained in the agenda has been completed, and would only be moved at the last meeting of the body.

P-28  Postponement of Debate

During the discussion of any item in the Council, a representative may move for the postponement of debate on the item under discussion. The President may limit the time to be allowed to speakers. A motion calling for postponement  of debate shall state the time at which debate on the agenda item shall continued.