Committee Procedure

Committee Policies

Committee procedures are included in each committee’s Background Guide. Please note that several committees (such as the Non-Traditional committees) may have different procedural elements, so refer to the Background Guide as the final authority on procedural questions.

Violations of any committee policies during conference weekend can be reported through our misconduct forms. All issues pertaining to substantive misconduct during conference weekend will be handled directly by the Executives and relevant members of the NCSC Secretariat.

If accommodations are required for any of the following policies, please email Secretary-General Caroline Dupas or Executive Director Kate Satterfield.

NO POSITION PAPERS are required for any committee at NCSC LIII!

Plagiarism, Pre-Writing, and AI

All pre-written and plagiarized documents, such as directives or crisis notes, are strictly prohibited at NCSC. Pre-writing constitutes any language, personal directives, joint personal directives, or committee directives that were written before debate formally opens during the conference weekend. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, verbatim or near-verbatim copying and pasting from academic sources or other websites.

Inappropriate AI use is also strictly prohibited at NCSC. AI tools may only be used to generate ideas and topics, such as to create clause names. However, AI may not be used directly to write any materials, such as clauses themselves, resolutions, directives, or crisis notes. Using AI tools in this way will be treated as a case of plagiarism and may be grounds for team or individual disqualification from awards.

Any delegate found guilty of pre-writing or plagiarism will be immediately disqualified from any award in their committee. The NCSC Secretariat reserves the right to search computers and laptops, notebooks and binders, USBs, and any form of electronics for Model UN-specific documents in response to allegations.

Assemblies & Specialized Committees

Parliamentary Procedure Guidelines

Given that specific elements and the flow of debate in General Assembly committees often vary widely among committees and conferences, NCSC LIII would like to outline our standardized procedures in order to provide the most clear and productive experience possible for delegates. The US Senate, however, has distinct specialized procedures that should be referenced through the Procedure Guide on the specific Senate committee page.

First, while General Assemblies, with the exception of the Senate, have two topics listed, on Thursday night delegates will vote to discuss only one topic for the remainder of the weekend, with no exceptions. On Thursday night, delegates can also expect approximately twenty minutes of unmoderated caucus, whether as one longer unmoderated caucus or two shorter ones. They should not expect to begin writing. 

On Friday, delegates should expect to alternate between moderated and unmoderated caucuses as they form blocs. With the exception of the Senate, which will have more blocs, standard NCSC LIII General Assemblies should begin with between 3 and 6 blocs. There will be no sponsor caps for any General Assembly committee at NCSC LIII. Delegates should expect working papers to be due midway through the second session, and for Friday to conclude with an author’s panel. The number of positions available on author's panel is heavily subject to committee size, but delegates should generally expect 2-3 spots on each Q&A and presentation. 

Saturday will be dedicated to mergers. With the exception of the Senate, NCSC LIII will accept only two draft resolutions. Draft resolutions will be due around the end of the first Saturday session. The number of positions available on author’s panel will be expanded for draft resolutions, though still more numerically competitive than for working papers. On average, delegates should expect 3-4 spots on each Q&A and presentation. In the case of significantly different bloc numbers, committees may make spots proportional to sponsor numbers. Amendment periods are optional and, if applicable, will be written on Post-it-Notes during a timed period. Time-permitting, NCSC also hopes to offer time for For & Against speeches to conclude debate before final voting occurs. No substantive Model UN content will be covered on Sunday, but delegates still must attend.

For any questions on Assemblies & Specialized committees, please contact Carlos Gerke and Kee Hung Giam.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY Materials and Technology Policy

Resolutions and working papers in all Assemblies & Specialized committees will be written using Google Docs. Delegates will be required to bring a designated device that can access Google Docs during all committee sessions. They may only use this device for resolutions and working papers and should remain on task. All resolutions and working papers will be shared with the Chairs’ emails and put in a shared folder. Delegates may only work on these documents during unmoderated caucuses—not during moderated caucuses or outside of committee. Violations of this policy are considered pre-writing and strictly prohibited.

Crisis Committees

Parliamentary Procedure Guidelines

Given that specific elements and the flow of debate in standard crisis committees (Councils, Boards & Agencies, Cabinets, and Joint-Crisis) often vary widely among committees and conferences, NCSC LIII would like to outline our standardized procedures in order to provide the most clear and productive experience possible for delegates. All Non-Traditional Crisis (NTC) committees, however, have distinct crisis procedures which should be followed instead and can be found on the committee page’s Procedure Guide as well as in the background guide. Joint-Crisis committees will follow this outlined cycle, but delegates should refer to their background guides for more details on cross-committee interaction, including joint updates, unmoderated caucuses, and cross-committee directive rounds and joint-personal directives.

All NCSC LIII crises will feature a crisis update within the first 20 minutes of committee—either at the very onset, or after a brief round robin. At the end of this update, our Crisis Manager and Crisis Analysts will introduce themselves and briefly explain our two-pad system. In this system, at all times, delegates will have one crisis pad they are writing a note on, and backroom staff will have another pad they are responding to. Every 40 minutes, backroom staff will return to the front-room with an answered pad to give back to delegates and will pick up a newly-completed pad. This cycle will continuously repeat throughout the weekend as the crisis progresses. For delegates new to the crisis terminology mentioned herein, we recommend you check out our training resources page.

Each 40-minute backroom note cycle will be synched with a front-room directive cycle. In other words, each committee cycle will begin with a crisis update, immediately followed by note drop off and note collection as aforementioned. Delegates will then speak in round robins or moderated caucuses as they work on directives in response to the update. They will then enter an unmoderated caucus, where they will informally discuss content and solutions, merge their directives, and submit them to the dais. 

Directive numbers and page limits will be left up to Chair discretion, but delegates can expect between 3 and 5 directives of approximately 3 to 5 pages each in non-advanced committees. Delegates will then enter voting procedure on directives. This includes For & Against speeches, amendments submitted on Post-it-Notes during a timed period and voted on, and final voting. The cycle will then repeat, as crisis backroom comes back with a crisis update and to return and collect a notepad. Over the course of the weekend, delegates should expect to submit around 15 notes.

Joint-Personal Directives, or JPDs, are another standard feature of NCSC crisis committees, where multiple delegates collaborate and combine resources with the intent of producing larger backroom action. In general, delegates will be limited to sponsoring one JPD per session. NCSC crisis committees also will feature one or two timed crises throughout the weekend, which will largely be driven by delegate arcs. Creativity is encouraged.

Crisis ARC Sensitivity Guidelines

While NCSC looks highly favorably upon creative crisis arcs, we also urge delegates to remember they are engaging in debates on often highly-contentious historical situations that may be of personal significance to delegates and staffers in the room. Therefore, sensitivity is not just recommended—it is required, and those who do not exercise sensitivity may face misconduct accusations and subsequent consequences. Before writing a note, delegates should consider if their content could potentially make a delegate or staffer feel uncomfortable or offended, as this is the standard they will consistently be held to.

When deciding if an arc or a note is permissible, the key question to consider is who is the target of the intended damage. Arcs and notes that aim to harm infrastructure, nature, or other non-human surroundings are acceptable. Intentional harm targeted at civilians, however, is not allowed. A successful crisis arc will not be excessively or indiscriminately violent.

Additionally, prejudice in all forms—such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-religious sentiments, ableism, or other forms of discrimination—is not permitted. Arcs that rely on addictions that delegates and staffers may be personally affected by are also not allowed. Finally, while magical elements may be allowed under the discretion of the Crisis Manager, arcs employing these should be sure to provide sufficient explanation of their necessity.

Crisis Materials and Technology Policy

Using technology is prohibited in NCSC LIII crisis committees, unless a delegate has an approved accommodation. NCSC will provide delegates with two full-size white crisis pads they may use to write notes if they wish. Delegates are free to bring their own additional notepads, staplers, pens, Post-Its, or other supplies, as these will not be provided.