Final Interpretive Authority

[Guest Ace]

Hello, I am on a student government at a university. We are governed by Robert Rules of Order but we also have a constitution and policy handbook. the government makes referendums to these documents each year and one proposal has been regarding Final Interpretive Authority. In our constitution it is currently our Hired-Chair that has Final Interpretive Authority but I am unsure if this is because of RRO or a personal choice. I unsure if there is any rules in RRO about who has Final Interpretive Authority, please let me know.

[Josh Martin]

On 2/13/2023 at 10:45 AM, Guest Ace said:

Hello, I am on a student government at a university. We are governed by Robert Rules of Order but we also have a constitution and policy handbook. the government makes referendums to these documents each year and one proposal has been regarding Final Interpretive Authority. In our constitution it is currently our Hired-Chair that has Final Interpretive Authority but I am unsure if this is because of RRO or a personal choice. I unsure if there is any rules in RRO about who has Final Interpretive Authority, please let me know.

I'm not entirely certain what is meant by this phrase. RONR does not use this phrase. To the extent that it means who has the final authority to interpret the organization's rules, that would be the assembly itself in RONR. While the chair makes initial rulings, those rulings are subject to appeal.

"By electing a presiding officer, the assembly delegates to him the authority and duty to make necessary rulings on questions of parliamentary law. But any two members have the right to Appeal from his decision on such a question. By one member making (or “taking”) the appeal and another seconding it, the question is taken from the chair and vested in the assembly for final decision." RONR (12th ed.) 24:1

[Richard Brown]

On 2/13/2023 at 10:45 AM, Guest Ace said:

the government makes referendums to these documents each year and one proposal has been regarding Final Interpretive Authority.

Can you elaborate as to what you mean by that statement?  "Who" is "the government"?   What do you mean by "makes referendums"?

BTW, I agree with the response by Josh Martin as to the rules in RONR regarding who can interpret the bylaws and rulings of the chair and appeals from rulings of the chair.  What do your bylaws say about the authority and powers of the chair or "hired chair" as you put it and about the chair having "final interpretative authority"? 

[Guest Hello is is a student go]

On 2/13/2023 at 1:38 PM, Richard Brown said:

Can you elaborate as to what you mean by that statement?  "Who" is "the government"?   What do you mean by "makes referendums"?

BTW, I agree with the response by Josh Martin as to the rules in RONR regarding who can interpret the bylaws and rulings of the chair and appeals from rulings of the chair.  What do your bylaws say about the authority and powers of the chair or "hired chair" as you put it and about the chair having "final interpretative authority"? 

Hello it is a student government- referred to as Cabinet it has a democratic structure.

The referendums, it is specifically creating changes to our current governing documentation. Members can put forward motions  to change what the current documentation says. 

Our bylaws(constitution) states that the (hired) chair has final interpretive authority but we are looking to change this. I was unsure if this is possible in accordance to the Robert's Rules of Order. 

 

[Richard Brown]

On 2/13/2023 at 12:52 PM, Guest Hello is is a student go said:

Our bylaws(constitution) states that the (hired) chair has final interpretive authority but we are looking to change this. I was unsure if this is possible in accordance to the Robert's Rules of Order. 

Can you do a copy and paste of the exact language in that provision of your bylaws so that we can see EXACTLY what it says?  Although only your organization (and the courts) normally has the authority to interpret your bylaws, we might be able to provide you with some guidance if we can see for ourselves the exact language of the relevant provision.

[Atul Kapur]

RONR says that interpretation of the bylaws is a role of the assembly (the members in a general meeting): "Each society decides for itself the meaning of its bylaws." RONR (12th ed.) 56:68(1). The practical effect is that if a issue comes up that requires an interpretation, the presiding officer would make a ruling. If two members disagree with the interpretation, they would move and second an appeal. The assembly would then decide upon the appeal and, in doing so, would decide on the interpretation that will prevail. 

Some organizations assign the initial duty to make an initial interpretation to a staff or elected leader, and then the executive board, and then the membership in a meeting.

If your organization's bylaws have bestowed upon the hired chair the "final authority" then they, presumably, have taken away the assembly's power to overrule the hired chair.

[Richard Brown]

On 2/13/2023 at 7:29 PM, Atul Kapur said:

If your organization's bylaws have bestowed upon the hired chair the "final authority" then they, presumably, have taken away the assembly's power to overrule the hired chair.

I agree ... and whether these bylaws do that is another matter of bylaws interpretation which is (or at lest normally is) up to the assembly.  I would think the assembly has the ultimate authority to decide that question, but I welcome and even ask for further discussion on that point.   Who.... which person or body... has the ultimate authority to decide whether the hired chair or the assembly has the final authority to decide who has the final authority?

BTW, I'm not asking that question in jest.  I'm facing a situation where there really is a question of who or which body has the final authority to interpret the bylaws. What if each of the two "bodies" says "it's me" who has the final authority... and one of those bodies is the assembly itself.... or  an annual convention of the organization?

Edited February 14, 2023 at 01:49 AM by Richard Brown
Added last paragraph

[J. J.]

On 2/13/2023 at 8:45 PM, Richard Brown said:

I agree ... and whether these bylaws do that is another matter of bylaws interpretation which is (or at lest normally is) up to the assembly.  I would think the assembly has the ultimate authority to decide that question, but I welcome and even ask for further discussion on that point.   Who.... which person or body... has the ultimate authority to decide whether the hired chair or the assembly has the final authority to decide who has the final authority?

BTW, I'm not asking that question in jest.  I'm facing a situation where there really is a question of who or which body has the final authority to interpret the bylaws. What if each of the two "bodies" says "it's me" who has the final authority... and one of those bodies is the assembly itself.... or  an annual convention of the organization?

If the bylaws clearly designate another entity than the assembly, that entity has the authority (2:12).  2:13 notes that "The bylaws, by their nature. necessarily contain whatever limitations are placed on the assembly of the society ... with respect to the society as a whole."  It may be difficult, in some circumstances, to enforce that internally.  It might be necessary to enforce that bylaw externally. 

[Gary Novosielski]

On 2/13/2023 at 1:52 PM, Guest Hello is is a student go said:

Our bylaws(constitution) states that the (hired) chair has final interpretive authority but we are looking to change this. I was unsure if this is possible in accordance to the Robert's Rules of Order. 

Sure it is--by whatever method you use to amend your bylaws.   But I would not recommend changing the language.  I would recommend simply striking it entirely.  Then the rule in RONR, as quoted by @Josh Martin, will be in effect. 

It is rare indeed to find such a provision in the bylaws of any society, for the simple reason that it is stated so well in RONR.