Senate Procedure in Practice provides an accessible guide on the work of Senate. It explains the Rules of the Senate, as well as forms and conventions followed during proceedings and in committees. Further details about the Rules can be found by consulting the Companion to the Rules of the Senate and the collections of Speaker’s rulings.

This first edition of Senate Procedure in Practice takes into account developments until late May 2015. The initial chapter deals with the constitutional basis of the Senate, its composition and the appointment of its members on the basis of regional equality, as well as the criteria to determine eligibility. The second chapter explains the internal organization of the Senate, while the third chapter reviews the role of the Crown in various events involving the Senate. The following chapter then describes the structure of a sitting and the documents that either assist or record those sittings. The remainder of the manual explains the details of the Senate’s work, including the rules of debate, voting, proceedings on public and private bills, committees, and, finally, points of order and questions of privilege.

While it has been prepared as a tool to help understand the Senate’s work, it does not replace the Rules of the Senate, Speaker’s rulings and the decisions of the Senate itself. All of these must be taken into account, and other works on parliamentary procedure also consulted, for the fullest possible understanding of Senate procedure.

Senate Procedure in Practice

Senate Procedure in Practice index only