assembly

A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure. Merriam-Webster's definition excludes legislatures. Etymology In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the British Parliament as a "deliberative assembly", and the expression became the basic term for a body of persons meeting to discuss and determine common action. Characteristics Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised by Henry Martyn Robert describes the following characteristics of a deliberative assembly: A group of people meets to discuss and make decisions on behalf of the entire membership. They meet in a single room or area, or under equivalent conditions of simultaneous oral communication. Each member is free to act according to their own judgement. Each member has an equal vote. The members at the meeting act for the entire group, even if there are members absent. A member's dissent on a particular issue constitutes neither a withdrawal from the group, nor a termination of membership. Types Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised identifies several types of deliberative assemblies.