Procedure and Conduct in Tynwald Court and the Branches
The President of Tynwald presides at sittings of Tywnald Court and the Legislative Council and in the House of Keys it is the Speaker. Members are bound to attend all sittings unless they have leave of absence. Leave of absence may be granted by the appropriate presiding officer for sufficient cause or in accordance with Standing Orders.
Standing Orders
The procedures in the chambers are governed by the Standing Orders and by precedent. For example Standing Orders set out the conduct required of Members in the house. Any Member wishing to raise a point of order should specify the relevant Standing Order when doing so. The interpretation of Standing Orders is a matter for the presiding officer.
Copies of all the standing orders can be found here.
Commencing a Sitting
In the House of Keys and Legislative Council Members must be seated in the chamber prior to the arrival of the presiding officer. The sitting begins with prayers led by the Chaplain in the House of Keys and the Lord Bishop in the Legislative Council.
Members of the House of Keys must be seated in the Tynwald chamber prior to 10.30, when the sitting is due to commence. Members stand as the Speaker of the House of Keys and Clerk of Tynwald enter. All Members may sit down. The Members of the Legislative Council then enter and take their seats. There follows an announcement “Will Honourable Members please be upstanding for the President of Tynwald” and all Members stand while the President enters. At this point the Sword of State is also brought into the chamber and placed on the table in the centre. The Sword of State must be present as it represents the authority of the Sovereign at the sitting.
Entering and Leaving
Although attendance at sittings is compulsory, unless leave of absence has been granted, Members are permitted to go out for short periods during a sitting. They are required to bow to the Chair on entering and leaving the Chamber and should not walk between the Chair and any Member who is speaking and should delay entering and leaving to avoid doing so.
Speaking to the Court
Members are called upon to speak by the presiding officer. As the previous speaker concludes, those who wish to speak should rise in their places. The member who first "catches the eye" of the presiding officer will be called upon to speak. Members may, if they wish, read their speeches, but it is generally found that the quality of debate is improved if members speak only from notes or extempore. Except where the Court otherwise determines, there is no limit to the length of speeches, but speeches should be relevant to the motion being debated and contain no unnecessary repetition.
Addressing Other Members
When one Member refers to another Member they should do so by reference to constituency and not by name. For example, reference should be made to "the Hon member for Malew and Santon" and not to “Mr Cregeen". Where a Member wishes to refer to a Member in a multiple Member constituency, the reference should be to the constituency and the surname of the Member; so, for example, the reference would be to "the Hon member for Rushen, Mr Gawne". These rules are applied to maintain courtesy in debate.
