Rules of Debate

On this page you will find a description of the rules that will be used in the debate in Forum Politica, and how it will go on.

First of all, do not fear! This is not about perfection, this is about learning, so if any of this sounds difficult at first, then rest assured it will become easier as we go along.

The rules used are based on the British Parliamentary system. They are used by almost every debating union in the world, and this international character is the reason we will be using it as well. (apart from the fact of it being the most entertaining system of all!) It forces you to think quickly and on your feet, and allows for those not debating themselves to comment loudly sounding their approval or disapproval of what just was said! (See the video page for examples!)

We will base our debates on two teams of two members each. On one side, the ones that will be arguing in favor of something (depending on the topic) will be represented by the Prime Minister and a Minister of the Crown. On the other side of the table, the opposition will be represented by a Member of the Opposition and the Leader of the Opposition.

This is roughly how the setup will look when we are debating.

On the big chair on the end of the table the “Speaker,” the leader of the debate will be sitting. This person has the responsibility of enforcing the speaking time, make sure that the speakers are following the rules, and otherwise are acting properly.

The two members of each team will be seated in the middle on each side of the table, facing each other. When they are not speaking, they will be sitting, but when speaking they will stand up and use the table to keep their notes on. The speeches should be addressed to the Speaker, the person who leads the debates and not the person they are debating against. All participants should refer to the Speaker as the honorable mr Speaker and their opponents as honorable friend.

They will then keep their “speeches” in the following order:
1: The Prime Ministers introduction. He presents the topic and goes through the main arguments of the governments side. 7 minutes

2: The Member of the Opposition then takes the floor, and presents the main arguments against what was just presented. 7 minutes

3: The Minister of the Crown defends the proposition of the Prime Minister against the Member of the Opposition 7 minutes

4: The Leader of the Oppostion then sums up the arguments of the opposition 10 minutes

5: The Prime Minister sums up the debate, and makes a closing statement on behalf of the government team. 3 minutes

In total this should take 34 minutes.

The other people watching the debate can whenever they want express their approval or disapproval against the person speaking, but are not allowed to make any kind of counter speech. They should limit themselves to simple “yes” and “no”’s or pooing, and should still allow the person speaking to finish his speech. The Speaker will strike down on people becoming too vocal, as you can see an example of in the video from David Cameron’s speech at the videos page.