Constitution of Model United Nations

Last amended: 14 January 1998

Preamble

Let it be known that the following is the Constitution for Model United Nations (MUN). Furthermore, let it be known that this organization was established October 16, 1995 by five students who wished to increase both their and the student body's knowledge of international relations. In addition, let it be known that all uses of the words "him", "his", and "he" in this Constitution do not imply male gender; rather, they indicate that the person in question may be either male or female. Finally, let it be known that this organization derives power from and is governed by the Governing Documents for MUNFW Sessions.

Article I - Mission Statement

Section 1 - Goals

The purpose of MUN shall be to provide a unique opportunity for members to simultaneously learn about other cultures, the United Nations system, and the skills of logical debate and parliamentary procedure.

Section 2 - Means

The objectives laid out in Article 1, Section 1 shall be accomplished by allowing members to select a country and a committee from the available options. They shall then research their country and topic, in order to prepare for conference, where their knowledge will be tested.

Article II - Officers

Section 1 - Governing Structure

The organization shall be administrated by two executive bodies. These bodies shall be the Secretariat and the Operations Directorate. The Secretariat shall be the executive committee of this organization. Executive decisions shall be made by a consensus of the Secretariat. If consensus cannot be reached, the officers, with the exception of the Secretary-General, shall vote, and the majority shall rule. In the event of a tie, the Secretary-General shall break the tie by adding his vote. Only elected officers of the Secretariat may participate in this procedure. The Secretariat shall be composed of the offices of Secretary-General, Secretary of Public Relations, Secretary of the Exchequer, Secretary of the Archives, and Director of Operations. The Operations Directorate shall be composed of the offices of Director of Operations, the several Ambassadors, the several Permanent Representatives, and the several Deputy Permanent Representatives. All elected officers shall have a term of one year, after which time they must run for re-election if they wish to remain in office. No officer may be elected to more than one position.

Section 2 - Office of Secretary-General

The Secretary-General's duties are as follows: maintaining communications with the ASUO; maintaining communications with MUNFW; maintaining communications with other organizations; maintaining communications with University departments, department heads, professors, GTF's, and TA's; overseeing the daily operations of the organization; he is the official representative of the organization; if any other member of the Secretariat is absent or unable to do his duties, he must either assume those duties as well as his own, or appoint someone to do so; tallying the votes for the Secretary of the Archives and reporting the results; coordinating the efforts of the Secretariat; presiding over and directing the organization's meetings; and any other duties that are deemed necessary by the Secretariat. An unelected, acting Secretary-General shall assume these duties until relieved by an elected Secretary-General.

Section 3 - Offices of Secretary of Public Relations and Secretary of the Exchequer

Part 1 - Secretary of Public Relations

The Secretary of Public Relations' duties are as follows: promotion and advertising of the organization and its activities using all types of media possible; active recruiting of new members; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat. An unelected, acting Secretary of Public Relations shall assume these duties until relieved by an elected Secretary of Public Relations.

Part 2 - Assistant Secretary of Public Relations

The Assistant Secretary of Public Relations shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Relations from the non-office-holding membership of the organization and his appointment shall be confirmed by the Secretariat. His duties are as follows: assisting the Secretary of Public Relations in his duties; providing a fresh perspective for public relations ideas; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat.

Part 3 - Secretary of the Exchequer

The Secretary of the Exchequer's duties are as follows: regular review of the organization's account(s); maintaining a record of withdrawals and deposits; ensuring the proper allocation of funds; planning and supervising of fund raising events; writing of the annual budget; appointing an Assistant Secretary of the Exchequer from the organization’s membership; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat. An unelected acting Secretary of the Exchequer shall assume these duties until relieved by an elected Secretary of the Exchequer.

Part 4 - Assistant Secretary of the Exchequer

The Assistant Secretary of the Exchequer shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Exchequer from the nonoffice holding membership of the organization and his appointment shall be confirmed by the Secretariat. His duties are as follows: assisting the Secretary of the Exchequer in his duties; providing a fresh perspective for fundraising ideas; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat.

Section 4 - Offices of Secretary of the Archives and Director of Operations

Part 1 - Secretary of the Archives

The Secretary of the Archives' duties are as follows: recording and storing for posterity the minutes of each meeting; recording and storing for posterity the activities and research of the organization; appointing an Historian from the organization's membership; supervising the Historian and storing his work for posterity; presenting amendments submitted by the organization's membership to the Secretariat; presiding over and directing all elections and referendums, including creating ballots and tallying votes for the other members of the Secretariat and the several Ambassadors and reporting the results; tallying votes for amendments to this constitution; maintaining a record of current and active members of the organization; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat. An un-elected acting Secretary of the Archives shall assume these duties until relieved by an elected Secretary of the Archives.

Part 2 - Director of Operations

The Director of Operations shall be the head of the Operations Directorate and a member of the Secretariat. His duties are as follows: coordinating the efforts of the several Ambassadors; training of new members; reporting to the Secretariat which members are active and providing explanations, if they exist, as to why the inactive members, if they exist, are not active; assuming the duties of the Secretary-General in his absence or in the event he is unable to perform his duties; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat. An un-elected acting Director of Operations shall assume these duties until relieved by an elected Director of Operations.

Section 5 - Offices of Historian and Ambassador

Part 1 - Historian

The Historian shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Archives from the non-office holding membership of the organization and his appointment shall be confirmed by the Secretariat. His duties are as follows: creating, maintaining, and submitting to the Secretary of the Archives a photographic record of the organization's activities; any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat.

Part 2 - Ambassador

The several Ambassadors' duties shall include: reporting to the Director of Operations which of their delegates are active and providing explanations, if they exist, as to why the inactive delegates, if they exist, are inactive; representing their country in General Assembly; supervising and assisting in their delegates' preparation for conference; reporting to the Director of Operations the state of preparedness of their delegates; appointing a Permanent Representative for their country; and any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat.

Section 6 - Offices of Permanent and Deputy Permanent Representative

Part 1 - Permanent Representative

The several Permanent Representatives shall be appointed by their respective Ambassadors from the nonoffice holding membership of the organization and their appointments shall be confirmed by the Secretariat. Their duties shall include: appointing three Deputy Permanent Representatives; earning credentials for all committees in which their respective countries have seats; any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat.

Part 2 - Deputy Permanent Representative

The several Deputy Permanent Representatives shall be appointed by their respective Permanent Representatives from the nonoffice holding membership of the organization and their appointments shall be confirmed by the Secretariat. Their duties shall include: earning credentials for all committees in which their respective countries have seats; any other duties deemed necessary by the Secretariat.

Section 7 - Summer Term

If the Secretary-General and Director of Operations are not enrolled during summer term, a member of the Secretariat who is enrolled during summer term shall become acting Secretary-General. If no members of the Secretariat are enrolled during summer term, the Secretariat shall appoint an acting Secretary-General from the membership.

Section 8 - Recall and Resignation of Officers

In the event of the resignation of an elected officer, a special election shall be held. In the event of the resignation of an appointed officer, the elected officer responsible for appointing that officer shall appoint a replacement. Any active member may submit a proposal to the Secretariat for the recall of an elected officer. The proposal must include a well thought out argument, citing how the officer has violated some article, section, or part of this constitution and/or explaining how the officer has failed to fulfill the responsibilities of his office and/or proving that the officer has violated a law of this country, state, county, city, and/or university. The proposal shall then be presented to the membership of the organization for membership approval, then the procedures for special elections will commence. The recall of an appointed officer shall be identical to the recall of an elected officer, with the exception that a referendum shall be called instead of a special election.

Article III - Elections and Referendums

Section 1 - Elections

The ASUO Elections Coordinator must be notified before all elections. This Constitution must be turned in to the ASUO Programs Coordinator before all elections. Elections of the members of the Secretariat shall be held no less than seven calendar days before finals week of spring term. The first election of the Secretariat shall take place following the firm establishment of this organization and the election of the several Ambassadors. Election of the several Ambassadors shall take place following the receipt of countries to be represented. Two thirds of the electorate must be present for elections to be valid. Voting shall be done by secret ballot. All elected officers shall be awarded their office by receiving a majority of the votes cast and shall assume their office immediately following the announcement of election results. Predecessors will provide their successors with all information and materials used in the execution of their respective offices. Special elections shall follow the same guidelines as those mentioned above for regular elections.

Section 2 - Nominations

A meeting at least one week prior to the annual election of officers of the Secretariat shall be held for the purpose of nominating candidates and must be announced at least one week in advance. A meeting at least one week prior to the assignment of countries and election of Ambassadors shall be held for the purpose of nominating candidates and must be announced at least one week in advance.

Section 3 - Enfranchisement

Only active members may run for Ambassador or accept a nomination for a position on the Secretariat. Only active members are eligible to vote. Active status will be decided by the Secretariat, with the decision being based on the report of the delegate's Ambassador, the delegate's level of involvement and preparedness for session, and any arguments submitted by the delegate.

Section 4 - Referendums

A meeting for the purpose of a referendum must be announced one week in advance. Two thirds of the electorate must be present for referendums to be valid. Voting shall be done by secret ballot. The outcome of a referendum shall determine whether or not an appointed officer shall retain his office.

Article IV - Amendments and Membership

Section 1 - Amendments

Any member of the organization may submit amendments to this constitution to the Secretary of the Archives who will, in turn, present the amendments to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will then either return the amendments to the author with suggestions as to how they should be changed, or present the amendments to the organization for voting on ratification. Amendments considered by the Secretariat to be frivolous shall be ignored. Meetings to vote on amendments to this constitution shall be announced at least one week in advance. Two thirds of the electorate must be present in order for the voting to be valid. Voting shall be done by secret ballot. Amendments shall take effect in twenty-four hours, unless a longer period of time is specified in the text of the amendment. Any amendments adopted during the academic year must be submitted to the ASUO Programs Coordinator by the beginning of Fall term of the following academic year.

Section 2 - Membership

Membership in this organization is open to all students who have paid their incidental fees without discrimination on the basis of political ideology, race, color, religion, sex, age, different ability, marital status, veteran's status, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other considerations not directly and substantially related to effective participation. Active membership status is granted by the Secretariat. Members need to be at an acceptable level of preparedness for conference if they wish to have active status. All uses of the words "him", "his", and "he" in this constitution do not imply male gender; rather, they indicate that the person in question may be either male or female.

Article V - Meetings, Grievances, and Dissolution

Meetings shall be held as regularly as deemed necessary by the Secretariat. Any funds held in the name of this organization following its dissolution shall be given to a charitable, non-profit organization, at the discretion of the ASUO Executive. Internal disputes shall be resolved by the Secretariat. If a decision is reached that is not satisfactory to the majority of the active membership, the issue shall be referred to the ASUO Executive.

Article VI - Adoption of Constitution

The ratification of a majority of active members shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution of MUN. The guidelines laid out by this constitution shall be effective immediately following ratification. Furthermore, the adoption of this constitution shall render null and void any previous constitutions or bylaws of MUN.

Article VII - Compensation

No officers or members shall receive compensation for the performance of their regular constitutional duties within the MUN. Compensation will be granted on a case-by-case basis for extraordinary expenses if a member or officer brings the matter before the Secretary of the Exchequer who will then bring the matter to the Secretariat at one of their scheduled meetings. This matter must be decided by a consensus of the elected Secretariat, no majority vote will be allowed.