Standing Orders
The Standing Orders are the rules under which the Network Assembly of the Velocity Interoperability Network conducts its business. They were drafted during the transition period, adopted provisionally by the Preparatory Convention on 28 August 2026 after the consideration of 41 amendments, and confirmed by the Assembly at its inaugural sitting on 6 September 2026. The Assembly (Procedure) Measure, Measure 1 of 2026, gives them the force of Network law.
The Standing Orders run to eleven chapters. Their principal provisions are summarised below; the full text is published on this site and may be requested in an alternative format from the Office of the Clerk.
- Chapter 1: Sittings and quorum
- The Assembly sits in fortnightly sitting weeks from Tuesday to Thursday, opening at 10:00 and rising at 18:00 unless it resolves otherwise. The quorum is one quarter of the seats filled. If a quorum is not present when a question is put, the question stands over to the next sitting day.
- Chapter 2: Officers
- The Presiding Officer and two Deputy Presiding Officers are elected by secret ballot at the first sitting after each election of delegates, and hold office until the next. The Presiding Officer keeps order, decides points of order, certifies measures and does not vote except to resolve a tie. The Clerk is appointed by resolution of the Assembly.
- Chapter 3: Order of business
- Each sitting day follows the order of business set out below. The order paper is published on the Friday before each sitting week, and business not reached on the day it is set down is carried forward to the next sitting day.
- Chapter 4: Rules of debate
- A delegate speaks once on each question, for not more than ten minutes, and addresses the Presiding Officer. The proposer of a measure or motion may speak for twenty minutes and reply at the end of the debate. Delegates refer to one another by constituency, not by name, and do not impute improper motives.
- Chapter 5: Divisions and ballots
- A question is decided without a division unless a delegate objects when it is put. In a division delegates vote by recorded ballot from their seats, and the Ayes, Noes and abstentions are entered in the Official Record. Elections of officers are by secret ballot, with further rounds until a candidate has more than half the votes cast.
- Chapter 6: Measures
- A measure passes through first reading, committee examination, second reading, consideration of amendments and third reading before certification. Amendments are tabled at least two sitting days in advance. Measures amending these Standing Orders or the composition of the Assembly require two-thirds of the delegates seated.
- Chapter 7: Committees
- The Assembly appoints standing committees at its first sitting after each election, fixing their remits and membership. Committees elect their own chairs, take evidence in public and deliberate in private, and report to the Assembly within 28 days of a measure being referred to them.
- Chapter 8: Questions to departments
- A delegate may table up to five written questions in each sitting week to a department or network service. Answers are published in the Official Record within ten sitting days. On each sitting day one hour is set aside for oral questions, taken in the order of a ballot.
- Chapter 9: Petitions
- Staff of member organisations and citizens of the Network may petition the Assembly. A petition bearing 250 or more signatures is presented by a delegate at the petitions item and referred to the Petitions Committee, which reports on it within two sitting weeks.
- Chapter 10: Public access and the Official Record
- Sittings are open to the public, and the galleries are cleared only by resolution of the Assembly. The Official Record is published on the working day after each sitting. Corrections may be requested within five sitting days and are decided by the Editor, subject to appeal to the Presiding Officer.
- Chapter 11: Amendment of Standing Orders
- These Standing Orders may be amended only by measure, on the report of the Procedure and Privileges Committee, with the votes of two-thirds of the delegates seated at third reading.
Order of business. Chapter 3 fixes the order in which business is taken on every sitting day. The Assembly may vary the order for a particular day by motion moved without notice at the opening of the sitting.
| Time | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Opening of the sitting | The Presiding Officer takes the chair and the Clerk confirms that a quorum is present. |
| 10:05 | Statements by departments | Heads of departments and network services make statements of not more than ten minutes; questions on a statement follow for up to twenty minutes. |
| 10:30 | Oral questions | One hour of questions to departments, taken in the order of the ballot held on the previous sitting day. |
| 11:30 | Petitions | Delegates present petitions bearing 250 or more signatures, reading the title and the number of signatures. |
| 11:45 | Public business | Measures at their appointed stages, motions on the order paper and committee reports. |
| 13:00 | Adjournment | The sitting is suspended for one hour. |
| 14:00 | Public business, continued | Measures, motions and reports continue in the order of the order paper. |
| 17:30 | Adjournment debate | A thirty-minute debate on a subject chosen by ballot among delegates, answered by the department concerned. |
| 18:00 | Rising | The Presiding Officer adjourns the Assembly to the next sitting day. |
Petitioning the Assembly. Chapter 9 allows the staff of member organisations and citizens of the Network to bring a matter before the Assembly by petition. The steps are as follows.
Step 1: Draft the petition
State in one paragraph what the Assembly is asked to do, and the reasons. A petition must concern a matter within the powers of the Assembly, must not name individuals and must not concern a matter before a court.
Step 2: Send the text for checking
Send the draft to the Office of the Clerk, which confirms within five working days that it is in order or explains what must change. Signatures collected before the text is confirmed do not count.
Step 3: Collect signatures
Signatories give their name, their member organisation or their status as a citizen, and their signature or an emailed statement of support. At least 250 valid signatures are required. A period of up to six months is allowed.
Step 4: Find a presenting delegate
Any delegate may present a petition. If you do not know a delegate, the Office of the Clerk will pass the petition to the delegates for the constituency of the lead petitioner's organisation.
Step 5: Presentation and referral
The petition is presented at the petitions item and referred to the Petitions Committee, which reports within two sitting weeks. The lead petitioner is informed of the outcome by email.
Transitional provisions. Until the 24 citizen seats are filled, thresholds expressed as a proportion of the Assembly are calculated on the 60 seats filled: the quorum is 15 delegates and the two-thirds majority is 40. The Procedure and Privileges Committee is to review the pattern of sitting weeks and the time limits on speeches before the end of the first session and report to the Assembly in December 2026.
For the record of decisions taken under these rules, see Proceedings; for the passage of measures, see Legislation; for the committees established under Chapter 7, see Committees. Questions about the Standing Orders may be sent to contact@assembly.gov.vin.