Standing Orders of the Senatus Academicus

1. Four Standing Meetings of the Senate shall be held each academic year. All meetings shall be held at King's College, unless the Principal decides otherwise.

2. Other meetings of the Senate may be held at any time at the request of the Principal or on at the written request of at least ten members of the Senate.

3. The agenda and papers for all meetings shall be circulated by the Secretary not less than three clear days before the date of the meeting. The Principal, or, in his or her absence, the Senior Vice-Principal, may waive the time requirements of this rule if and when he or she considers that it is necessary to deal sufficiently speedily with urgent business.

4. Notice of all matters of business for inclusion on the agenda shall be submitted to the Secretary in writing not less than seven days before the date of the meeting.

5. At all meetings one-third of the members of the Senate shall form a quorum. (Univ. (Scotland) Act 1858).

6. At all meetings, the Principal (or Acting Principal), if present, shall preside. If absent, the Senior Vice-Principal or, if he or she is absent, one of the other Vice-Principals shall preside. The Chairman shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote.

7. Any meeting may be adjourned on motion duly made and approved by a majority of the members present.

8. Subject to the right of the Senate to give precedence at any meeting to matters of special importance or urgency, the first business at each meeting shall be the approval of the Minutes of the last meeting. No discussion shall be allowed upon the Minutes except as to their accuracy, and any objection on that ground shall be made by motion, and if necessary, decided by a vote.

9. At any meeting the business shall be confined to the particulars in the agenda.

10. No member of the Senate shall be entitled to propose a motion other than one directly arising out of the discussion of a subject on the agenda unless due notice has been given in writing, as under 4 above.

11. No discussion shall be allowed on a motion or amendment which has not been seconded, but such a motion or amendment shall, if the mover so desires, be entered in the Minutes. All motions except formal motions (e.g. for the closure of debate or for adjournment of the meeting) and all amendments shall, if the Chairman so decides, be handed to the Secretary in writing, signed by the mover.

12. A motion, notice of which has been duly given, may be moved by the member who has given the notice or by some other member on his or her behalf; provided that if any motion is not moved at the appropriate time in the agenda it shall, unless postponed by leave of the Senate, be considered as dropped and shall not be moved without fresh notice.

13. When a motion or amendment has been moved and seconded it shall not be withdrawn, except by the mover (with consent of the seconder) and with the agreement of the Senate.

14. Every amendment must be relevant to the motion on which it is moved, and the question of relevancy shall be decided by the Chairman.

15. Only the mover of a motion shall have the right of reply; but shall in reply confine himself or herself to answering previous speakers and shall not introduce any new matter.

16. All changes to a motion shall be deemed amendments, and shall be treated as such, unless made by the mover with consent of a majority of the members present.

17. When only one amendment is made to a motion the vote shall be taken between the motion and the amendment, the latter being put from the chair first. When there is more than one amendment, the amendment last proposed shall be put against that immediately preceding, and then the one which is carried shall be put against the next preceding, and so on until there remains only one amendment, between which and the original motion the vote shall be taken. After the vote the motion or amendment shall, if demanded by any member, be put as a substantive resolution without further discussion. The foregoing order of voting may, however, be altered by the Chairman with the consent of the meeting.

18. At any time in the course of a discussion a member may speak to a point of order, and the discussion shall be suspended until the point of order has been decided by the Chairman.

19. All questions shall be decided by a show of hands, except as provided for in rules relating to special matters of business or where at least five members request an alternative approach.

20. Members may dissent from any resolution come to by the Senate, such dissent being intimated before the next business is taken up, or before the Chairman leaves the chair in the event of there being no other business; and they shall be entitled to have the dissent recorded in the Minutes of the meeting; provided that they shall have proposed a motion or recorded a vote on the matter under discussion. They shall be entitled also, but not bound, to add reasons for the dissent, to be recorded therewith, provided they submit them to the Secretary in writing within one week of the meeting.

21. No member shall speak more than once on the same question, except in reply upon the original motion, or in explanation, or by leave of the meeting.

22. A motion for the closure of debate shall be put to the vote without discussion. If it is carried, the mover of the original motion shall have a right of reply, as provided in Standing Order 15, and the original question shall then be put forthwith.

23. Any of the foregoing orders may be suspended at any meeting after a motion to that effect has been passed by a majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting.

24. The Chairman shall determine all questions of procedure not expressly provided for in these Standing Orders.

Approved by the Senate on 18 November 2009