Principles Underlying Parliamentary Law

The rules of parliamentary law found in this book will, on analysis, be seen to be constructed upon a careful balance of the rights of persons or subgroups within an organization’s or an assembly’s total membership. That is, these rules are based on a regard for the rights:
• of the majority,
• of the minority, especially a strong minority-greater than one third,
• of individual members,
• of absentees, and
• of all these together.
The means of protecting all of these rights in appropriate measure forms much of the substance of parliamentary law, and the need for this protection dictates the degree of development that the subject has undergone.
Parliamentary procedure enables the overall membership of an organization-expressing its general will through the assembly of its members-both to establish and empower an effective leadership as it wishes, and at the same time to retain exactly the degree of direct control over its affairs that it chooses to reserve to itself.
Ultimately, it is the majority taking part in the assembly who decide the general will, but only following upon the opportunity for a deliberative process of full and free discussion. Only two thirds or more of those present and voting may deny a minority or any member the right of such discussion.
In this connection, there is an underlying assumption of a right that exists even though it may not always be prudent or helpful for it to be exercised. Each individual or subgroup has the right to make the maximum effort to have his, her, or its position declared the will of the assembly to the extent that can be tolerated in the interests of the entire body.
Another important principle is that, as a protection against instability - arising, for example, from such factors as slight variations in attendance - the requirements for changing a previous action are greater than those for taking the action in the first place.
Fundamentally, under the rules of parliamentary law, a deliberative body is a free agent - free to do what it wants to do with the greatest measure of protection to itself and of consideration for the rights of its members.
The application of parliamentary law is the best method yet devised to enable assemblies of any size, with due regard for every member’s opinion, to arrive at the general will on the maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all kinds of internal climate ranging from total harmony to hardened or impassioned division of opinion.