PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 The format of the debate

1.1.1 All debates shall be conducted in English

1.1.2 The debate will consist of four teams of two persons (persons will be known as "members"), a chairperson (known as "Speaker of the House" or "Mister/Madame Speaker") and an adjudicator or panel adjudicators.

1.1.3 Teams will consist of the following members:

Opening Government: "Prime Minister" or "First Government Member" and "Deputy Prime Minister" or "Second Government Member";

Opening Opposition:

"Leader of the Opposition" or "First Opposition Member" and "Deputy Leader of the Opposition" or "Second Opposition member";

Closing Government:

"Member of the Government" or "Third Government member and "Government Whip" or "Fourth Opposition member".

1.1.4 Members will speak in the following order:

(a) Prime Minister;

(b) Opposition Leader;

(c) Deputy Prime Minister;

(d) Deputy Opposition Leader;

(e) Member of the Government;

(f) Member of the Opposition;

(g) Government Whip;

(h) Opposition Whip.

1.2 The motion

1.2.1 The motion should be worded clearly.

1.2.2 The motion should reflect that the World Universities European Debating Championship is an international tournament.

1.2.3 The members should debate the motion in the spirit of the motion and the tournament.

1.3 Preparation

1.3.1 Teams should have at least fifteen minutes to prepare for all debates.

1.3.2 Teams should arrive at their debate within five minutes of the scheduled starting time for that debate.

1.3.3 Members are permitted to use printed or written material during preparation and during the debate. Printed material includes books, journals, newspapers, and other similar materials. The use of electronic equipment is prohibited during preparation and in the debate. It should be borne in mind that the use of printed material during a debate could affect a member's manner.

1.4 Points of Information

1.4.1 Points of Information (question directed to the member speaking) may be asked between the end of the first minute and the six minute mark of the speech (speeches are seven minutes in duration).

1.4.2 To ask a Point of Information, a member should stand. The Member may place one hand on his or her head and extend the other towards the other speaking. The member may announce that they would like to ask a "Point of Information" or use other words to this effect. The member must wait to be accepted or declined before making their point

1.4.3 The Member who is speaking may allow the person offering the point of information to make the point of information or may decline to take the point of information.

1.4.4 Points of Information should not exceed 15 seconds in length.

1.4.5 The Member who is speaking may ask the person asking the point of information to sit down where the person offering the point of information has had a reasonable opportunity to be heard and understood.

1.4.6 Members should attempt to answer at least two points of information during their speech. Members should also offer points of information.

1.4.7 Points of information will be assessed according to the effect they have on the persuasiveness of the cases of both the member answering the point of information and the member offering the point of information (see Rule 3.3.4).

1.4.8 Points of Order and Points of Personal Privilege are not permitted.

1.5 Timing of the Speeches

1.5.1 Speeches will be seven minutes in duration (this should be signalled by two strikes of the gavel). Speeches over seven minutes and twenty seconds may be penalised.

1.5.2 Points of information may only be offered between the end of the first minute and the six minute mark of the speech (these periods should be signalled by one strike of the gavel at the first minute and one strike at the sixth minute).

1.5.3 It is the duty of the Speaker of the House to time speeches.

1.5.4 The Speaker of the House must signal elapsed time with one strike of the gavel at the first minute and sixth minute, two strikes of the gavel at seven minutes and at regular intervals thereafter. No signal will be given by the Speaker of the House between the first and sixth minute (see section 4.3.3).

1.5.5 In the absence of the Speaker of the House, it is the Duty of the Chair of the Adjudication panel to ensure that speeches are timed.

1.6 The Adjudication

1.6.1 The debate should be adjudicated by a panel of at least three adjudicators, where this is possible.

1.6.2 At the conclusion of the debate, the adjudicators should confer and rank the teams, from first placed to last place. (see Part 6, Marking and Ranking).

1.6.3 There should be no verbal adjudication of the debate and the results of the debate should not be released.
 

PART TWO: DEFINITIONS

2.1 The Definition

2.1.1 The definition should state the issue for debate arising out of the motion and state the meaning of any terms in the motion which require interpretation.

2.1.2 The Prime Minister should provide the definition at the beginning of his or her speech.

2.1.3 The definition of the debate should not be self-proving (truistic or tautological). A truistic definition is self-proving when the case is that something should (or should not) be done and there is no reasonable rebuttal and no reasonable opposing substantive case. A tautological definition is self-proving when the case is that a certain state of affairs exists (or does not exist) and there is no reasonable rebuttal and no reasonable substantive opposition.

2.1.4 The definition should have a clear and logical link to the motion.

2.1.5 Squirreling (choosing a definition, which does not have a clear logical link to the motion) is prohibited.

2.2 Challenging the definition

2.2.1 The Leader of the Opposition may challenge the definition if it violates Rules 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5 or 2.1.6.

2.2.2 The Leader of the Opposition should clearly state that he or she is challenging the definition.

2.2.3 The Leader of the Opposition should substitute an alternative definition after challenging the definition of the Prime Minister.

2.3 Assessing the Definitional Challenge

2.3.1 The adjudicator should determine the definition to be unreasonable where

(a) the definition is self-proving (truistic or tautological); or

(b) the definition has no clear and logical link to the motion; or

(c) the definition has been squirreled; or

(d) the definition has time or place set the debate.

2.3.2 The onus to establish that the definition is unreasonable is on the Opposition.

2.3.3 Where the definition is unreasonable, the opposition should substitute an alternative definition that should be accepted by the adjudicator provided it is not unreasonable.

2.3.4 Where the definition of the Opening Government is unreasonable and an alternative definition is substituted by the Opening Opposition, the Closing Government may introduce matter which is inconsistent with the matter presented by the Opening Government and consistent with the definition of the Opening Opposition, provided that the definition of the Opening Opposition team is not unreasonable.

PART THREE: MATTER

3.1 The Definition of Matter

3.1.1 Matter is the content of the speech. It is the argument a debater uses to further his or her case and persuade the audience.

3.1.2 Matter includes arguments and reasoning, examples, case studies, facts and any other material that attempts to further the case.

3.1.3 Matter includes positive (or substantive) material and rebuttal. It includes points of information taken.

3.2 The duty to present matter

3.2.1 Government Members (with the exception of the Government Whip) must present positive matter. The Government Whip may choose to introduce positive matter

3.2.2 Opposition Members (with the exception of the Opposition Whip) should attempt to present positive material. The Opposition Whip may not introduce positive matter (new material).

3.2.3 All members should attempt to answer at least two points of information during their own speech and offer points of information during opposing speeches.

3.3 The elements of Matter

3.3.1 Matter should be relevant. Arguments should relate to the issues of the debate and the case being presented. The Member should appropriately prioritize and apportion time to the dynamic issues of the debate.

3.3.2 Matter should be logical. Arguments should be developed logically in order to be clear and well-reasoned.

3.3.3 Matter should be consistent. Members should ensure that the matter they present is consistent with the speech, their team and the remainder of the members on their side of the debate (subject to Rule 2.3.4).

3.4 Assessing Matter

3.4.1 The matter presented should be persuasive. "The elements of Matter" should assist an adjudicator to assess the persuasiveness of the matter presented.

3.4.2 Matter should be assessed from the viewpoint of the average reasonable person. Adjudicators should disregard nay specialist knowledge they may have on the issue of the debate.

3.4.3 Adjudicators should not allow bias to influence their assessment. Debaters should not be discriminated against on the basis of religion, sex, race, colour, nationality, sexual preference, age, social status or disability.

3.4.4 Points of Information should be assessed according to the effect they have on the persuasiveness of the cases of both the member answering the point of information and the member offering the point of information.
 

PART FOUR: MANNER

4.1 The Definition of Manner

4.1.1 Manner is the presentation of the speech. It is the style a member uses to further his or her case and persuade the audience.

4.1.2 Manner includes the style of the members' presentation and the structure of their presentation.

4.2 The Elements of Style

4.2.1 Eye contact will generally assist a member to persuade an audience as it is allows the member to appear more sincere.

4.2.2 Voice modulation will generally assist a member to persuade an audience as the debater may emphasise important arguments and keep the attention of the audience. This includes the pitch, tone, pace and volume of the debater and the use of pauses.

4.2.3 Hand gestures may help a member to emphasize important arguments. However, excessive hand movements may be distracting and reduce the attentiveness of the audience to the arguments.

4.2.4 Language should be clear and simple. Members who use language that is too verbose or confusing may detract from the other elements of manner.

4.2.5 The use of notes is permitted, but members should be careful that they do not rely on their notes too much and detract from the other elements of manner.

4.2.6 The use of humor is permitted and may be used by debaters to assist their presentation.

4.2.7 Any other element which may affect the effectiveness of the presentation of the member.

4.3 The elements of structure

4.3.1 The structure or organization of material of the speech of each member. The member should structure or organize his or her matter to improve the effectiveness of their presentation.

4.3.2 The structure or organization of material of the team. The team should organize or structure their matter to improve their presentation's effectiveness.

4.3.3 The use of time allowed is essential to structure. Therefore it is the responsibility of the members to successfully allocate the time allocated to their speech.

4.4 Assessing manner

4.4.1 The manner of the member should be effective. 'The elements of style' and the 'The Elements of structure' should assist an adjudicator to assess the effectiveness of the member's presentation.

4.4.2 Adjudicators should be aware that at a World Championship, there are many styles which are appropriate, and that they should not discriminate against a member simply because the manner would be deemed 'inappropriate Parliamentary debating' in their own country.

4.4.3 Adjudicators should not allow bias to influence their assessment. Members should not be discriminated against on the basis of religion, sex, race, colour, nationality, language, (subject to Rule 4.2.4), sexual preferences, age, social status or disability.

PART FIVE: ADJUDICATION

5.1 Ranking of Teams

5.1.1. At the conclusion of the Debate, the adjudicators should rank the teams from first place to last place:

(a) first placed teams should be awarded three points;

(b) second placed teams should be awarded two points;

(c) third placard teams should be awarded one point; and

(d) fourth placed teams should be awarded zero.

5.1.2 Teams may receive zero points where they fail to arrive at the debate more than five minutes after the scheduled time for debate without reasonable cause.

5.1.3 Teams may receive zero points where the adjudicators unanimously agree that the Member has (or Members have) discriminated against another debater on the basis of religion, sex, race colour, nationality, sexual preferences, social status or disability.

5.1.4 Adjudicators should confer upon team rankings. Where a unanimous decision cannot be reached after conferral, the decision of the majority will determine the rankings. Where a majority decision cannot be reached, the Chair of the panel of adjudicators will determine the rankings.

5.2 Marking the Debate.

5.2.1 The marks awarded to members and team should reflect the adjudicators' impression of debate.

5.2.2 The marks awarded to a team should be the total of both members' marks when added together.

5.2.3 The Chair should allocate marks to members and teams in consultation with the other members of the majority. Where the Chair dissents from a majority decision, he or she will nominate another to allocate marks in consultation with the remainder of the majority.

5.2.4 Team Marks should be in awarded with the following interpretation:
 

Matter	Manner	Total	Meaning	Letter grade
50	50	100	Flawless	A (100-90)
47 ½	47 ½	95	Excellent
45	45	90	Very good
42 ½	42 ½	85	Good	B (89-80)
40	40	80	Above Average
37 ½	37 ½	75	Average	C (79-70)
35	35	70	Below Average
32 ½	32 ½	65	Poor	D (69-60)
30	30	60	Very Poor
27 ½	27 ½	55	Bad	E (59-50)
25	25	50	Very Bad

 5.2.5 The combined Marks for the individual members of each team should equal the total team marks allocated to that team. Therefore each speaker is marked out of a possible 50 marks and these marks should be in awarded with the following interpretation:
 

Matter	Manner	Total	Meaning	Letter grade
25	25	50	Flawless	A (50-45)
23.75	23.75	47 ½	Excellent
22.5	22.5	45	Very good
21.25	21.25	42 ½	Good	B (44-40)
20	20	40	Above Average
18.75	18.75	37 ½	Average	C (39-35)
17.5	17.5	35	Below Average
16.25	16.25	32 ½	Poor	D (34-30)
15	15	30	Very Poor
13.75	13.75	27 ½	Bad	E (29-25)
12.5	12.5	25	Very Bad

ARTICLE 1

The World Universities European Debating Council is hereby established.

ARTICLE 2

There shall be a competition, which for the purposes of this constitution shall be named the World Universities European Debating Championship. A round of the Championship shall be held once during each and every calendar Year

ARTICLE 3

(1) The purpose of the Championship shall be the promotion of debate, the free exchange of ideas and international contact and co-operation.

(2) It should be noted that anything said by any debater during a debate round does not necessarily represent the debater's personal beliefs, or those of his/her nation.

ARTICLE 4

The functions of the Council shall be as follows:

(a) To appoint a host for each Round of the Championships;

(b) To decide on appropriate sanctions against a host organization in the event that it fails significantly to comply with the terms of the bid;

(c) To perform the functions conferred upon it by this Constitution.

ARTICLE 5

The Council shall consist of the following members:

(a) the Chair, who shall be elected in accordance with Article 6;

(b) delegates, who shall be appointed in accordance with Article 7;

(c) the Registrar, who shall take office in accordance with Article 8 he/she shall not have a vote on Council, and

(d) the Chair for the next round of the Championship ("the Chair-elect"), as determined by the provisions of Article 6 (1), or his/her designate. The Chair-elect does not have a vote on the Council.

ARTICLE 6

(1) The acceptance of a bid by the Council in accordance with Articles 16-19 shall be deemed to operate as the election of the proposer as Chair of the Council.

(2) The Chair elected under paragraph (1) above shall take office two weeks after his/her election

(3) The outgoing Chair shall remain in office until his/her successor takes office.

(4) The Chair may resign from office only by appointing a successor in writing.

Where the office of Chair becomes vacant other than by reason of paragraph (4) above, or the Chair fails totally in his/her duties under Article 10 (1) (ensuing the organization of a round of the Championship), the Council, convened by registered mail sent to all members, may appoint a successor to the Chair and new venue.

ARTICLE 7

(1) Every country represented at a Round of the Championship shall be entitled to send a delegate to the meeting of the Council convened during that Round.

(2) Where there exists in relation to a country a debating body consisting of an executive elected by the debating organizations in that country, and relating to parliamentary debate as generally understood in common law Countries, the President of that body, or equivalent, shall be deemed to have been appointed as delegate for that country provided that he/she or a nominee in writing is present at the Round of the Championship during which the meeting is held.

(3) In any other case the members of the teams originating from a country shall by common or majority action appoint one of their number as the delegate for that country.

(4) Every delegate shall provide the Chair with notice of his/her appointment, a home telephone number and address, and an alternative contact number and address if home details do not relate to permanent residence. This information shall be provided within 24 hours of appointment of the delegate or, in the case of an appointment not taking place during a Round of the Championship, within two weeks of appointment. The Chair shall furnish a list of all the information provided under this paragraph to all delegates within two weeks of the end of the Round for which he/she is responsible.

(5) A delegate may resign from office only by appointing his/her successor in writing.

(6) A delegate shall hold office until his/her successor takes office.

(7) Delegates shall take office immediately upon appointment.

(8) Save as provided below Each delegate member of Council shall be entitled to cast one vote on every substantive motion placed before the Council.

(9) Save as provided below Every substantive motion placed before the Council shall be decided by majority vote.

(10) The Chair shall not have a vote on any substantive motion placed before the Council, save on the event that the number of votes cast for and against the motion are equal, in which case he/she shall exercise a casting vote.

(11) On every substantive motion placed before the Council, the delegates representing Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and theUnited States of America shall be entitled to cast five votes each. The delegate representing Greece shall be entitled to cast three votes.

(12) Where there is placed before the Council a substantive motion which proposes amendment to this Constitution, such a motion shall not be carried unless it gains support of at least two-thirds of the delegates representing the "Charter Nations". These are Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

(11) Where there is placed before the Council a substantive motion which proposes amendment to this Constitution, such a motion shall not be carried unless it gains support of at least two-thirds of the delegates.

ARTICLE 8

(1) The Registrar to the Council shall be appointed by the Council, and such appointment shall give due consideration to the necessity of preserving continuity in the membership of the Council.

(2) A Chair who vacates office shall be disqualified from subsequently holding the office of Registrar

(3) The Registrar or his/her deputy shall be responsible for keeping minutes of meetings of the Council and for making available to all interested parties copies of this Constitution. He/she shall maintain a permanent record of the names and addresses of organizations participating in the championship.

(4) The Registrar may appoint a deputy to act on his/her behalf

ARTICLE 9

Any member of the Council may appoint a deputy to attend meetings, speak, vote, and otherwise act, on his/her behalf

ARTICLE 10

The duties of the Chair include:

(a) Ensuring that a Round of the Championship is organized during his/her term of office, which Round shall be a continuous period of not more than ten days;

(b) Convening at least one meeting of the Council during that Round;

(c) Convening such other meetings of the Council as are in his/her opinion necessity, provided that there be not less than one meeting per calendar year;

(d) Giving notice to the other members of the Council of any meeting of the council. Such notice shall be given in writing at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting and shall include an agenda containing full details of any proposed amendments to this Constitution;

(e) providing notice of the Round for which he/she is responsible to all Societies which attended the previous championships. Such notice shall be posted at least four months before the Round and shall include a legally binding statement of the total Cost to the entrant team of registration and accommodation. A further legally binding notice shill be sent at least one month in advance detailing the cost of meals, activities and other related expenses;

(f) ensuring that a briefing is held for all adjudicators and debaters before the first Session of debate where the full tournament rules and forms shall be explained and clarified;

(g) ensuring that all ballots are returned to the competitors at the end of the tournament

(h) ensuring that any surplus made by a host university be passed to the next host university to reduce fees for needy universities;

ARTICLE 12

The Chair shall regulate the proceedings of the Council, subject to this Constitution.

ARTICLE 13

The quorum for meetings of the Council shall be two-thirds of the countries listed in the former Schedule to this Constitution, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England and Wales, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States of America.

The quorum for meetings of the Council shall be two-thirds of the countries represented at the previous council meeting.

ARTICLE 14

The Council may, if necessary, appoint a European Debating Committee. This committee will be empowered by the council to complete tasks as outlined by the Council. These tasks should be related to the overall running of debating in Europe but do not include the organization of a round of the European Debating Championships.

The European Debating Committee shall consist of the following members

1. A Chair, who will be a representative of the organizing committee from the previous round of the championships
2. A Recording Secretary who will be a representative of the organizing committee for the incoming round of the championships.
3. Not less than 3 and not more than 5 committee members, who shall be elected from the delegates to Worlds Council.

ARTICLE 15

Within six months of a Round, the outgoing Chair shall send to the Chair of the next Round full accounts of income and expenditure in relation to the organization of that Round. The accounts shall be considered in the following meeting of the Council. These accounts should reflect ordinary accounting standards applicable in the host nation

ARTICLE 16

(1) On meeting during a Round of the Championship, the Council shall consider bids to host future Championships up to two years in advance. Successful bids shall be ratified automatically at the meeting of the Council during the Round following one year later, if the conditions specified in a memo drawn up by the Council at the time of the bid have been satisfied. Successful bids shall be ratified at the meeting of the Council during the previous year’s championships, if the conditions specified in a memo drawn up by the Council at the time of the bid have been satisfied. If the said conditions have not been satisfied, bids shall be reopened without prejudice to any bidder.

(2) All bids shall be submitted in writing and shall be signed by a proposer. Bids may be signed hy one or more seconders. A bid shall state the College and Society which will host the Championship, the dates of the round, the debating procedures to be followed and any relevant financial or other information.

ARTICLE 17

When a bid is accepted, the appropriate Round of the Championship shall be held in accordance with its terms, subject to Article 18.

ARTICLE 18

When the Council accepts a bid, the Chair shall endorse a copy of that bid with the resolution of the Council and such endorsed copy shall be evidence of the acceptance of the bid.

ARTICLE 19

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© 1999 Colm Flynn. All Rights Reserved.