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What’s new in the 11th edition — Part 1: Resolutions


Shmuel Gerber

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What’s new in the 11th edition — Part 1: Resolutions

This is the first in what is anticipated to be a series of postings in the Advanced Discussion forum by some of the authorship team of RONR to explain various changes made for the 11th edition. (A tag used for these posts will be “changes11”.)

A summary list of notable changes made in the 11th Edition (as compared to the 10th) is posted at www.robertsrules.com/changes11.html. In this forum, we’ll occasionally explain some of those changes in further detail or discuss some minor changes not included in the summary list. Unlike RONR Official Interpretations (see here), postings made in this forum have not necessarily undergone a formal review by the entire authorship team.

As this is the first such topic in the series, let’s start with a general comment about the process of preparing the latest edition of RONR. Although there are hundreds of differences between the 10th and 11th editions, the manuscript for RONR 11 started out with the existing text of RONR 10. Aside from formatting or spelling corrections, only when the authorship team, as a group, agreed to any change was it incorporated into the new edition. Whether it involved a single punctuation mark or an entire section, we all reviewed—and, if necessary, discussed—every proposed change.

Here’s an example of how the slightest change in punctuation was intended to clarify (albeit probably just as slightly) our treatment of a subject that is frequently asked about.

In the 10th edition, there is a paragraph in §10 with the heading “MOTIONS SUBMITTED IN WRITING: RESOLUTIONS.” But in the 11th edition (p. 105, ll. 25-26), a semicolon replaces the colon in this heading. Why? Because one might have inferred from the old heading that any motion submitted in writing is, by definition, a resolution. This is not the case. In fact, a resolution is simply a motion cast in a particular form, in which the substantive part (that is, not including any preamble) is introduced by the word “Resolved.” And, as the text of the paragraph notes, “Any resolution—and any long or complicated motion, whether cast as a resolution or not—should always be submitted in writing” (ibid., ll. 29-31).

The text of a motion may be offered in the form of a resolution “either because of its importance or because of its length or complexity” (ibid., ll. 26-29), or “when greater formality is desired” (p. 33, ll. 8-10). As some of our regular posters (sorry, I don’t remember who originated it) like to say, “A resolution is a motion dressed up in fancy clothes.”

–S.G.

P.S.: Feel free to reply to this post with relevant follow-ups, or to start a new topic in the Advanced Discussion forum with other questions or suggestions for discussion about 11th-edition changes (please use the tag “changes11”).

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