IPTC’s Rules of Order

This document was approved by the Board on 9 October 2020.

Table of Rules

  1. Introduction and Applicability
  2. Definition of Terms
  3. The Working Bodies
  4. The Meetings of a Working Body
  5. Taking Decisions
  6. Minutes and Notes

1 Introduction and Applicability

The Rules of Order are made to define by which structure the work at IPTC should be done, how meetings are held and how decisions by working bodies are taken. This includes the voting capacity of the different types of persons representing a member at IPTC.

The Rules of Order should be a clear guideline and the IPTC membership expects that all representatives of members comply with these rules.

1.1 Applicability

In order to provide for a free and open exchange of views in meetings of the Comité International des Télécommunications de Presse (CITP) – its business name International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) is used in this document –  and to effect the taking of decisions in a democratic manner, the following Rules shall govern the conduct of all Working Bodies.

2 Definition of Terms

In alphabetical order:

  1. Attendance shall mean physical presence of a person or electronic presence in the form of any electronic conference where individuals are able to conduct an interactive exchange of information without undue delay.
    A Voting Member Delegate may appoint a proxy for voting in a Committee; the formal procedure of appointing a proxy as laid out in the Articles of Association for General Meetings is adopted for this purpose.
  2. Article(s) / Articles of Association: the latest version of the Articles of Association of IPTC
  3. Chair or Lead shall mean the person designated under these Rules to lead a Working Body.
  4. Charter shall mean a written document defining a particular subject or group of subjects a Working Body has to take care of. It may include how work should be done and a timeline.
  5. Committee shall mean a Working Body as further defined by Rule 3.1.
  6. Majority Vote shall mean that the number of votes in favour of a motion shall be greater than one half of the number of Delegates with voting capacity in Attendance and casting a vote.
  7. Delegate shall mean a person representing a member as defined by Article 2, Defined Terms.
  8. Delegate with voting capacity: these Rules define different voting capacities for different classes of Delegates at different Working Bodies. Therefore the meaning of “Delegate with voting capacity” depends if the Rule applies to a business of a Committee or a Working Group.
  9. Individual Member (Delegate): Article 2, Defined Terms, declares an individual member is identical to an Individual Member Delegate, therefore Individual Members are included into the generic term Delegate(s).
  10. Invited Expert shall mean a person not being a Member Representative who is invited to join the work of a Working Body for a limited time.
  11. Member Expert shall mean a person representing a member as defined by Article 2, Defined Terms.
  12. Member Representatives shall mean union of Delegates and Member Experts of a member.
  13. Notified or Notification shall mean to be informed via post, fax, electronic mail or any generally accepted electronic means of exchange of textual information to an address provided by the IPTC.
  14. Number of Assigned Votes shall mean a Voting Member with more than one Contributory Unit may appoint less Voting Member Delegates than its signed Contributory Units and may assign freely votes to the appointed Voting Member Delegate(s);  in total the assigned votes must not exceed the signed Contributory Units. The Voting Members must notify IPTC about the number of votes assigned to Delegates. Associate Member Delegates, Startup Member Delegates, Individual Members and Honorary Members have in any case only one vote.
  15. The Question shall mean an issue, properly moved and seconded and thus before a Committee.
  16. Submitted shall mean arrival at the IPTC offices or availability to IPTC at its declared electronic address.
  17. Substantive Motion is one that in the opinion of the Chair commits the Committee or a subordinate Working Body to change or recommend change to any IPTC document, the existence of the Committee or Working Body itself or the rules under which they operate or to overrule any duly constituted Working Party of any work in progress.
  18. Two-Thirds Vote shall mean that the number of votes in favour of a proposition shall be greater than two-thirds of the number of Delegates with voting capacity present and casting a vote.
  19. Vice Chair/Vice Lead shall mean the person designated under these Rules to chair a Committee or lead a Working Group in the absence of the Chair/Lead.
  20. Working Body shall mean one to many IPTC Member Representative(s) and optionally Invited Experts performing work on a particular subject or group of subjects.
  21. Working Group shall mean a working a subordinate group of a Committee formed for the consideration of a particular subject or group of subjects.
  22. Work Lead shall mean a single person in a position subordinate to a Committee appointed for the consideration of a particular subject or group of subjects.
  23. Written Form shall mean inscribed and printed on paper or electronically stored in usable coded character sets in a format readily accessible by computer programs in use by IPTC.

3 The Working Bodies

A Working Body is one to many IPTC Member Representative(s) and optionally Invited Experts performing work on a particular subject or group of subjects as outlined by its Charter. The work is done by meetings and by different means of exchanging documents.

The Working Bodies implement a hierarchy:

  • Committee at the top level
    • Working Group as subordinate body of a Committee
    • Work Lead as subordinate body of a Committee

3.1 Committee

  1. A Committee is established by a vote of the Board of Directors. Delegates may propose a new Committee.
  2. At the time of establishing a Committee or in the first 3 months after it a Charter should be approved by the Board of Directors.
  3. Committee meetings attendance is open to all Member Representatives. It is not required to be registered as Committee member.
  4. Only Voting Member Delegates have voting capacity.
  5. Any Delegate may invite guests to attend a single meeting in a non-voting capacity to support IPTC’s goals. The Chair and the Managing Director shall be notified about such invitations.
  6. Any Voting Member Delegate may propose a person as Invited Expert in a non-voting capacity for joining the work of a Committee for a year. This proposal has to be approved by a vote of the Committee. The invitation can be renewed after a year.
  7. A Committee is led by a Chair and optionally by a Vice Chair. Both chairs are designated by the Board of Directors. Any chair must be a Delegate. If the Delegate appointed as chair has no voting capacity he/she will get it granted for the time of his/her chairpersonship.
  8. Upon the finding of a Committee that is has no further useful work to perform, it may request that the Board of Directors disbands the Committee. For this request a vote with a Two-Thirds majority must be taken. After having received such a request the Board of Directors should discuss it and has to take a decision.

3.2 Working Group

  1. A Working Group is established by a vote of the superior Committee.
  2. At the time of establishing a Working Group or in the first 3 months after it a Charter should be approved by the superior Committee.
  3. Working Group meetings attendance is open to all Member Representatives. It is not required to be registered as Working Group member.
  4. Only Voting Member Delegates, Deputy Voting Member Delegates, Associate Member Delegates, Startup Member Delegates, Individual Members and Honorary Members have voting capacity.
  5. Any Delegate may invite guests to attend a single meeting in a non-voting capacity to support IPTC’s goals. The Lead and the Managing Director shall be notified about such invitations.
  6. Any Delegate may propose a person as Invited Expert in a non-voting capacity for joining the work of a Working Group for a year. This proposal has to be approved by a vote of the superior Committee. The invitation can be renewed after a year.
  7. A Working Group is led by a Lead and optionally by a Vice Lead. Both leads are designated by the Chair of the superior Committee after hearing proposals from the membership. Any of these leads must be a Delegate.
  8. Upon the finding of a Working Group that is has no further useful work to perform, it may request that the Committee disbands the Working Group. For this request a vote with a Two-Thirds majority must be taken. After having received such a request the Committee should discuss it and has to take a decision.

3.3 Work Lead

  1. A Work Lead is an individual.
  2. A Work Lead is appointed by the chair of the superior Committee  after hearing proposals from the membership and has to be a Member Delegate.
  3. At the time of appointing a Work Lead or in the first 3 months after it a Charter should be approved by the superior Committee.
  4. A Work Lead has to take care of the subject(s) defined in the Charter without a required group of persons. If a group of Member Delegates gets interested into this subject they may propose to the Committee to establish a Working Group about the same subject.
  5. Upon the finding of a Work Lead that he/she has no further useful work to perform, he/she may request that the Committee terminates the Work Lead position. After having received such a request the Committee should discuss it and has to take a decision.

4 The Meetings of a Working Body

A meeting of a Working Body is a scheduled get-together of Member Representatives and optionally Invited Experts either in person, called a Face-to-Face Meeting, or by electronic communication means, called a Conference Call. The goal of a meeting is to take steps in the work outlined by the Charter of the Working Body.

4.1 Formal Meeting

  1. Formal Meetings are only held by Committees and may include sessions of its subordinate Working Bodies.
  2. The goal of a Formal Meeting is to present work done by the Committee or any of its subordinate Working Bodies since a prior Formal Meeting and to take formal votes on issues or deliverables of the Committee or any of its subordinate Working Bodies.
  3. A Formal Meeting with a planned multi-item agenda must be called by the Chair of the Committee no less than 45 days prior to the start of the scheduled meeting.
  4. A Formal Meeting with a planned single-item agenda of high urgency must be called by the Chair of the Committee no less than 21 days prior to the start of the scheduled meeting.
  5. Agenda
    1. The Chair shall prepare or cause to be prepared a proposed agenda, with all those items that are received by the Chair for inclusion in the agenda. A full proposed agenda shall be provided to all members at least 10 days prior to the meeting, along with formal notice of the time and place of the meeting.
    2. Delegates who wish to introduce any item of substantive business (other than floor amendments to main motions) shall request that this item be included in the proposed agenda. It is recommended to provide a written document about this substantive business to the members.
  6. When the hour has arrived for which the notice of the meeting was given and the Chair has determined that a quorum is present, the Chair shall call the meeting to order.
  7. Quorum
    1. Unless otherwise stated in these Rules, a quorum for a Committee meeting shall be eight Voting Member Delegates, including the Chair.
    2. A quorum must be present for the meeting to be called to order, and a quorum must continue to be present at all times during the meeting. If the Chair observes that a quorum no longer exists, or determines, upon a point of order by a Delegate, that there is no quorum, then no further business shall be conducted other than to recess while efforts are made to obtain a quorum or to close.
    3. Nothing herein shall prohibit discussion of issues at hand if a meeting lacks a quorum, however, no decisions shall be taken.
  8. The business conducted at the meeting must follow the adopted agenda. For that purpose the Chair should call for any motions to amend the proposed agenda at the start of a meeting. During the meeting the agenda may only be changed by a Two-Thirds Vote.
  9. Decisions are taken as defined in Rule 5 Taking Decisions.
  10. A person shall be appointed for the purpose of recording the minutes. If present, the Managing Director should perform this job. Details about taking minutes are defined in Rule 6 Minutes and Notes.
  11. A meeting continues until it is closed. The motion to close it is in order at any time, except during a vote, and is not debatable. A meeting can only be closed by a Majority Vote. If the meeting must be interrupted, it is declared by the Chair to be in recess, a meeting can be recessed upon the order of the Chair.

4.2 Working Meeting

  1. Working Meetings may be held by any Working Body.
  2. The goal of a Working Meeting is to make progress on the work of a Working Body as outlined by its Charter.
  3. No formal votes can be taken at a Working Meeting but the group should find consent on a matter. For that purpose actions may be taken following Rule 5 Taking Decisions.
  4. A Working Meeting with a multi-item agenda must be called by the Chair or Lead of the Working Body no less than 7 days prior to the start of the scheduled meeting.
  5. A Working Meeting with a single-item agenda of high urgency must be called by the Chair or Lead of the Working Body no less than 3 days prior to the start of the scheduled meeting.
  6. The provided agenda should include all items to be considered and worked on at this meeting and the date and time of the meeting a how it can be joined.
  7. When the hour has arrived for which the notice of the meeting was given and the Chair or Lead has determined that at least 3 persons present, the Chair or Lead shall call the meeting to order.
  8. A person shall be appointed for the purpose of recording the notes about the meeting. Details about taking notes are defined in Rule 6 Minutes and Notes.
  9. A meeting continues until a mutual agreement is found to close it. This should be considered in any case at the time of the scheduled end of the meeting.

5 Taking Decisions

All decisions of a Formal Meeting are to be made by means of taking a vote on a discussed and optionally amended motion.

5.1 Pre Decision Taking

Any documents or other deliverables which are the Question of a decision should be made available to all Delegates no less than 14 days prior to the start of the scheduled meeting including a vote on this matter in its agenda.

5.2 The Motion

  1. A motion can be made by a Delegate having voting capacity at the meeting, it has to be seconded by another Delegate with voting capacity.
  2. An issue moved and seconded becomes the Question.
  3. Any substantive motion shall be introduced in written form, so that members may view and refer to said motion in its entirety during discussion. If possible it shall be displayed electronically for viewing by the attendees during discussion and while a vote is taken. Such motion must be submitted to the person taking the minutes in electronic form so as to support accurate minutes.
  4. All motions shall be submitted in the English language. Delegates are encouraged to submit motions in multiple languages, but in the case of conflict the English version shall prevail.
  5. If, in the opinion of the Chair, a substantive motion has not received sufficient time for discussion and/or examination and a recess of the meeting is not practical, the Chair shall declare that the matter be carried over to the next meeting. Such a ruling may be overridden by a Majority Vote.
  6. Motions shall be stated as positive proposals, so that a “yes” vote always represents agreement with the Question.
  7. A motion may be withdrawn by its maker at any time. Any subsequent motions to the main motion die when the main motion is withdrawn.
  8. No motion shall be offered during the agenda item known as Any Other Business. If a Delegate offers a motion during Any Other Business, the Delegate shall be ruled out of order and the Chair shall offer to either add the motion to the agenda of the next meeting, or schedule a separate meeting to discuss the motion.
  9. Before a meeting Delegates are encouraged to consult with the Committee Chair or Managing Director and colleagues regarding the wording of proposed motions.

5.3 The Discussion

  1. Motions, except for non-debatable motions, shall be offered for discussion.
  2. Delegates who have not voting capacity at this meeting may participate in the discussion.
  3. The Chair shall give preference to the proposer of the Question to speak first.
  4. Recognition shall alternate, so far as practicable, between those favouring moved question and those in opposition. No attendee shall speak for more than five minutes at any one opportunity.
  5. If, in the opinion of the Chair, discussion becomes repetitious or departs from the Question at hand, the Chair shall require the speaker to remedy the situation or yield the floor.
  6. If the Chair determines that there has been ample discussion, with full opportunity for both sides to be heard, or if the Chair sees that, after several speakers, there are no attendees coming forward in opposition, the Chair, on its own initiative, may propose that discussion be closed.
    If there is objection the Chair shall proceed to put the Question of whether or not to close discussion, which may be passed by a Two-Thirds Vote.

5.4 Amending a Motion

  1. Changes in the main motion may be proposed by means of amendments which
    1. add to the motion,
    2. delete from the motion, or
    3. delete from the motion and add (or substitute) in the place of the deletion.
  2. Amendments must be relevant. An amendment may be hostile, but it cannot simply negate the motion it seeks to amend, as by adding the word “not” to the proposal. All amendments to Substantive Motions shall be in writing, in the English language, displayed to the attendees and submitted to the Chair and the person taking minutes.
  3. No motion to amend shall be in order while another motion to amend is pending.
  4. Amendments must be adopted by a vote.
  5. The Chair, on its own initiative, may propose that the wording of a motion is open for multiple changes from the floor. This has to be agreed by a Majority vote. This may be preferred to a sequence of amendments where formal procedures may hinder creative collaboration for the benefit of the  Question.

5.5 The Vote

  1. Votes shall be cast by Delegates only in whole multiples of one; fractions of a vote shall not be permitted.
  2. The Chair shall accept any ballot unless a tie vote occurs. In such instance the Chair may cast a deciding vote. To avoid misunderstandings, the Chair shall explain any decision not to cast such a vote.
  3. Each Delegate with voting capacity in Attendance shall have the Number of Assigned Votes upon each matter.
  4. For the purposes of deciding Majority and Two-Thirds Votes, abstentions shall not be counted as votes cast.
  5. Voting shall be by one of the following methods:
    1. Voice vote – The Chair shall call for Delegates with voting capacity to indicate their vote, calling for the affirmatives and then the negatives and then the abstentions. If consensus is not clear, the Chair shall call for a vote by show of hands or roll-call.
      After a voice vote, any Delegate with voting capacity may request that the Chair conducts a vote by show of hands or roll-call, and said request shall be granted without further vote or discussion. The Delegate so requesting shall not be required to state the reason for the request.
    2. Show of hands – The Chair shall call for a show of hands calling first for the affirmatives and then the negatives and then the abstentions. At a meeting held by electronic means an electronic system for casting votes may be used for this purpose.
    3. Roll-call vote – The Chair shall poll each Delegate with voting capacity in Attendance. The person taking minutes shall record each vote, which then shall be part of the minutes of the meeting. At a meeting held by electronic means an electronic system for casting votes may be used for this purpose.
  6. When voting for or against a motion, any attempt to cast a vote other than “Yes,” “No,” or “Abstain” shall be immediately ruled out of order by the Chair; if the voting Delegate declines to recast a valid vote, the person taking minutes shall record the vote as “Abstain.”
  7. Unless stated otherwise in these Rules, all motions shall be decided by Majority Vote.

5.6 Communicating Decisions

  1. After a ballot the Chair shall explicitly announce the outcome.
  2. The outcome as announced by the Chair shall be recorded in the minutes.

6 Minutes and Notes

At any Formal Meeting minutes and at any Working Meeting notes should be taken.

  1. Minutes
    1. The minutes shall include
      • the name of the Committee holding the meeting
      • the date and time when and the venue where the meeting was held
      • all persons attending the meeting – it must be indicated who was
        • the Chair
        • a Delegate with or without voting capacity
        • a Member Expert or an Invited Expert
        • a guest.
    2. The person taking the minutes should deliver a draft to the Chair within 4 weeks after the meeting
    3. The Chair should review the draft, apply changes and return the document to its creator within 7 days after having received it.
    4. The person taking the minutes should create a final version of the minutes and forward them to the Managing Director.
    5. The Managing Director should circulate the minutes to all Delegates in an approved way.
    6. The minutes may be amended in order to effect corrections of fact concerning discussions or votes, but the Minutes cannot be changed in an effort to modify decisions previously taken.
  2. Notes
    1. The notes shall include
      • the name of the Working Body holding the meeting
      • the date and time when the meeting was held
      • all persons attending the meeting. Guests should be indicated.
    2. The person taking the notes should circulate them in an approved way to all participants of the Working Body within 3 days after closing the meeting.