Robert's Rules of Order

Robert's Rules of Order
Cover of 2011 (11th) edition
Author(s)	Gen. Henry Martyn Robert, Henry M. Robert III, Daniel H. Honemann, Thomas J. Balch, Daniel E. Seabold, Shmuel Gerber
Publisher	Da Capo Press
Publication date	1876
Pages	669
ISBN	978-0-306-82020-5
OCLC Number	45286870
Dewey Decimal	060.4/2 22
LC Classification	JF515 .R692 2000

Robert's Rules of Order is the short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted as a parliamentary authority for use by a deliberative assembly written by Brig. Gen. Henry Martyn Robert.

Currently in its eleventh edition and published under the name Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (and often referred to using the initialism RONR) it is the most widely used parliamentary authority in the United States, according to the National Association of Parliamentarians, a professional association of approximately 4,000 members which provides education and accreditation certifications for parliamentarians.

History and origins

Cover of the original 1876 Edition

The first edition of the book, whose full title was Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies, was published in February 1876 by then U.S. Army Colonel Henry Martyn Robert (1837–1923) with the short title Robert's Rules of Order placed on its cover. The procedures prescribed by the book were loosely modeled after those used in the United States House of Representatives, with such adaptations as Robert saw fit for use in ordinary societies. The author's interest in parliamentary procedure began in 1863 when he was chosen to preside over a church meeting and, although he accepted the task, felt that he did not have the necessary knowledge of proper procedure. In his later work as an active member of several organizations, he discovered that members from different areas of the country had very different views regarding what the proper parliamentary rules were, and these conflicting views hampered the organizations in their work. He eventually became convinced of the need for a new manual on the subject, one which would enable many organizations to adopt the same set of rules.

Explanation

The book is designed for use in ordinary societies rather than legislative assemblies, and it is the most commonly adopted parliamentary authority among societies in the United States. The book claims to be a "codification of the present-day general parliamentary law (omitting provisions having no application outside legislative bodies)". This statement does not imply any approbation on the part of the courts, and the "general parliamentary law" is related neither to statutory legal requirements nor to common-law precedent derived from court judgments. Being widely accepted, and being based for the most part on long-standing traditions of parliamentary procedure, however, the current edition of the book is a reliable reference. Nevertheless, the provisions of any particular manual are not, as a general matter, legally binding upon an assembly that has not formally adopted it as its parliamentary authority; any such manual can at best be cited as "persuasive". In addition, a number of changes have been made to recent editions, such as provisions dealing with videoconferences, teleconferences, and email, which now makes these editions more than merely codifications of the "present-day general parliamentary law" as existed at the time Robert was originally writing.

Subsequent editions and versions

As Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies (cover short title: Robert's Rules of Order)

• First Edition – February 1876
• Second Edition – July 1876
• Third Edition – 1893

As Robert's Rules of Order Revised

• Fourth Edition – 1915
• Fifth Edition – 1943
• Sixth Edition ("Seventy-Fifth Anniversary") – 1951

As Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised

• Seventh Edition – 1970 ("Enlarged more than twofold and totally recast to be made more explanatory")
• Eight Edition – 1981
• Ninth Edition – 1990
• Tenth Edition – 2000 ("'Millennium,' thoroughly re-edited to refine conceptual clarity and consistency of statement")
• Eleventh Edition – 2011 ("Significantly re-edited with expanded and updated treatment of many topics")

Robert himself published the first four editions before his death in 1923, the last being the thoroughly revised and expanded fourth edition published as Robert's Rules of Order Revised in May 1915. By this time Robert had long been retired from the Army with the rank of brigadier general.

Through a family trust, and later through the Robert's Rules Association, several subsequent editions of Robert's work have been published, including another major revision of the work. The seventh edition, published in February 1970 on the 94th anniversary of the publication of the first edition, was the first under the title Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.

The current edition of the series was published on September 27, 2011, and entitled Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, Eleventh Edition (2011) (hardback ISBN 978-0-306-82021-2; paperback ISBN 978-0-306-82020-5; leatherbound ISBN 978-0-306-82022-9). This edition states that it

supersedes all previous editions and is intended automatically to become the parliamentary authority in organizations whose bylaws prescribe "Robert's Rules of Order," "Robert's Rules of Order Revised," "Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised," or "the current edition of" any of these titles, or the like, without specifying a particular edition.

—

In addition, since the Tenth Edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, a shorter reference guide, Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised: In Brief, has been published to coincide with the main edition. The most recent edition of this shorter guide, the Second Edition, coincides with the current Eleventh Edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

Other editions and variations

Since the copyrights for several of the original editions have expired, numerous other books and manuals have been published incorporating "Robert's Rules of Order" as part of their titles, some of them based on those earlier editions.

The existence of multiple editions and other variations all published as "Robert's Rules of Order" can sometimes cause confusion, as the various publications may differ in some details. If an organization that has adopted "Robert's Rules of Order" does not wish RONR to be considered its reference authority, it should adopt another version explicitly, as RONR is generally considered by parliamentarians to be the definitive source on the subject.

Application to specific organizations

In those cases in which the bylaws or other governing documents of an organization refer to "Robert's Rules of Order," the book is merely a default source of authority and is subordinate to other rules. For example, a nonprofit corporation is governed (in descending order of priority) by state law, the articles of incorporation, the bylaws, and resolutions of the board of directors. Only when those sources fail to provide the answer is it appropriate to refer to "Robert's Rules of Order".

See also

• Morin code
• Parliamentary procedure in the corporate world
• Rules of order: there are other common sets of rules of procedure
• Special rules of order
• National Association of Parliamentarians and American Institute of Parliamentarians, two organizations in the United States and Canada devoted to the field of parliamentary procedure
• Bourinot's Rules of Order

External links

• Official Robert's Rules Of Order Web Site Site of the Robert family trust
• Parliamentary Procedure Online

Sites providing full text of older editions

• RulesOnline Full text of 1915 (4th) ed., and other resources
• Bartleby.com: Full text of Robert's Rules Of Order Full text of 1915 (4th) ed.
• Project Gutenberg Full text of 1876 ed.