Our charter

Chapter I: Ethos

Section 1: Values

Article 1.1: All members must respect the core values of the LILMUN: respect, integrity and open mindedness.

Article 1.2: LILMUN meetings and official LILMUN communication platforms (see article 11.1) are safe spaces for discussion and debate.

Article 1.3: All members are entitled to their opinions and must respect the opinions of others regardless of whether or not they hold the same opinion.

Section 2: Objectives & Mission

Article 2.1: LILMUN aims to emphasise the importance of the United Nations and its work.

Article 2.2: LILMUN aims to help members understand how they can make a difference in the state of the world and gain a more thorough understanding of politics by putting them in the centre of decision making in a formal context.

Article 2.3: LILMUN aims to make members aware of present global issues and find ways to address them as a team through discussion, debate and compromise.

Article 2.4: LILMUN aims to help members develop valuable, transferable skills including, but not limited to, public speaking, critical thinking, communication and social skills, and argumentation.

Section 3 : Rights of Members

Article 3.1: All members have the right to be treated with dignity and respect by all other members.

Article 3.2: All members have the right to express their opinions and ideas, provided they do so respectfully and be listened to by the rest of the club. 

Article 3.3: All members have the right to run for elections provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

Article 3.4: All members have the right to leave the club at any time, provided the Board of Directors are informed.

Chapter II: Governance

Section 4 : Roles of MUN members

Article 4.1: Roles and corresponding responsibilities:

Article 4.1.1: The Faculty Director is responsible for overseeing the organisation and management of LILMUN, and intervening when they deem necessary. They have the power to override any decisions made by club members, regardless of whether or not a vote has taken place, but should only do so fairly and when there is no reasonable democratic solution available. They should be present at all meetings, and if they are unable to attend, meetings should subsequently be cancelled, postponed or rescheduled. Meetings may be maintained if a substitute chosen by the Faculty Director is present.

Article 4.1.2: The Student Director is responsible for the organisation and management of LILMUN club, as well as communicating any important information with club members. Meetings may still take place if the Student Director is absent, provided the Deputy Student director is able to attend. If both the Student Director and the Deputy Student Director are unable to attend, meetings are to be led by the Faculty Director or a substitute teacher of their choosing should they not be able to attend. 

Article 4.1.3: The Deputy Student Director assists the Student Director in their responsibilities, and takes on those responsibilities should the Student Director be absent or otherwise unable to fulfil them. They may also take on the role of secretary and head of public relations, should they be absent (see article 4.1.4). 

Article 4.1.4: The Secretary and Head of Public Relations is responsible for making notes (minutes) of key points discussed and conclusions drawn during each meeting and communicating these to the other members via google classroom, as well as assisting the board of directors in communications with other schools and organisations (when organising conferences for example). The secretary may be called upon to attend board meetings to take notes, however they should not participate in these meetings or disclose any information about the contents of the meeting unless requested by the Board of Directors. Should the secretary be absent, the Deputy Student Director will take the minutes at a meeting, and should they both be absent, the Faculty Director may choose another member to fill in.

Article 4.1.5: The Treasurer is the financial coordinator, and works with the board of directors to manage funds. They would be in charge of organising and executing fundraisers, as well as requesting funding from the school or students and calculating and budgeting any costs.

Article 4.1.6: The Head LILMUN Conference Organisers are in charge of the organisation of conferences in the school. There are two. They are to oversee all aspects of the organisation of internal conferences. They report to the Faculty Director. They act as Secretary General and Vice Secretary General (to be decided amongst themselves) of any internal conference. Outside of the organisation of in house conferences they are regular members of the club.

Article 4.1.7: The Faculty Director, Student Director and Deputy Student Director have Primary Roles. Together they form the Board of Directors, and may hold separate meetings with or without members with secondary roles.

Article 4.1.8: The Secretary, Treasurer and Heads of LILMUN Conference Organisers have Secondary Roles, meaning they have specific responsibilities that other members do not. They do not, however, have any more authority than other members (except the Heads of LILMUN Conference organisation in regards to in House conferences), and any decisions taken by the secondary roles must be approved by the board of directors.

Article 4.2: Eligibility and Application for Specific Roles

Article 4.2.1: The Faculty Director must be a member of staff. Should the current Faculty Director choose to leave, they, along with other board members, are responsible for finding a new Faculty Director. There is no election for the Faculty Director.

Article 4.2.2: Members of the MUN club must be Lycée students. To become a member of the MUN club, a prospective member must give a signed form (saying they have read and agreed to the charter) to the Board of Directors. From the moment they have received the signed form, the person is considered a member, and is expected to follow the charter and attend meetings. QR codes linking to a PDF of the form and the charter will be displayed around the school, and can be printed at the Vie Scolaire. The Board of Directors can also be reached at lilmun@lyceechurchill.london and asked for the form and charter. A non-member may attend up to three meetings (as a “trial period”) before becoming an official member and signing the charter. A non-member attending a meeting may not participate in any discussions or decision making (however they are free to ask questions by email or at the end of the meeting), is expected to be respectful and attentive and may be asked to leave if they are disruptive.

Article 4.2.3: Student Director must be a 1ère or Terminale student, and Deputy Student Director must be a 2nde or 1ère student. The Student Director and Deputy Student Director can not be in the same year group. Elections will be held for the Primary Roles (excluding Faculty Director) at the beginning of every academic year, however members reserve the right to motion for a vote of no confidence throughout the year should they deem the current Student Directors incompetent. Anyone who is eligible to run for either role is free to do so, and must prepare a speech to give in front of other members before the election.

Article 4.2.4: Once the elections have been held, members may submit an application for a Secondary Role via google classroom. Any member can apply, provided they do not already have a primary or secondary role. Applications will be reviewed by the Board of Directors. At the beginning of each academic year, applications re-open, and previous holders of a position must reapply if they wish to keep their role.

Section 5: Meeting Structure 

Article 5.1: The Student Director and Deputy Student Director must post an agenda of the next meeting 24 hours before the meeting takes place.

Article 5.2: Each meeting will last 50 minutes, members are expected to be present from beginning to end.

Article 5.3: The board of directors reserve the right to organise meetings amongst themselves to discuss such things as organisation or specific concerns they may have. They may call upon members with secondary roles to attend these meetings (see articles 4.1.4 and 4.1.5).

Section 6: Decision Making

Article 6.1: Votes must be organised to make decisions regarding certain topics. These topics are: elections of student director and deputy student director, whether or not to participate in external conferences, whether or not to host conferences, the dates, themes, committees and topics of internal conferences, changes to the charter, votes of no confidence in board members and any other major decision.

Article 6.2: For a vote to take place, at least 60% of club members, the quorum, must be present. Should less people attend the meeting, the vote will be postponed.

Article 6.3: Members have the right to vote in favour, against or abstain from any vote unless a motion to split the house has been made (in which case abstentions are forbidden).

Article 6.4: The board of directors reserve the right to make minor decisions without consulting the club as a whole. They must however inform the club of any decisions taken.

Article 6.5: The Faculty Director can participate in voting. They are, however, not obligated to vote should a motion to split the house be made. Their vote is worth as much as other members’.

Chapter III: External Conferences

Section 7: Application and Selection

Article 7.1: All members have the right to apply to participate in external conferences.

Article 7.2: The Faculty Director reserves the right to choose the format of applications for participation in each external conference.

Article 7.3: The Faculty Director and other members of staff choose which applicants attend external conferences. They may ask for extra documents from the Student Directors such as attendance records.

Article 7.4: Members understand that once they have been selected, they are committed to attending all days of the conference, they understand that not doing so may result in exclusion from further external conferences. If they are no longer able to attend due to unforeseen circumstances, they MUST inform the faculty director as soon as possible.

Section 8: Behaviour

Article 8.1: Members understand that during external conferences they are representing the school and must therefore act accordingly.

Article 8.2: Should external conferences publish a list of rules to abide by, members are to recognise and abide by that list of rules.

Article 8.3: Members agree to wear formal attire to external conferences. Should a conference start after a school day, the Faculty Director may give students permission to wear their formal attire throughout the day instead of the school dress code.

Chapter IV: General Rules

Section 9: Mutual Respect

Article 9.1: All members have the right to take the stand and speak in any debate or discussion, provided they remain civil and respectful of all other members. Any shouting or aggressivity will result in a warning. Frequent warnings may result in expulsion from the club.

Article 9.2: Members are entitled to their opinions and have the right to express them. These must be respected by all members.

Article 9.3: During discussions, all members must listen to one another. Interrupting or shouting out will not be tolerated. To ask to speak, members must raise their hand and wait to be called upon by one of the directors.

Article 9.4: Members are expected to listen and participate during meetings. Use of phones and iPads when not necessary for the activity or discussion will not be tolerated and will result in a warning. An accumulation of three warnings in a term may lead to exclusion from the club.

Section 10: Tardiness & Attendance

Article 10.1: Members should attend all meetings. In the unfortunate event that a member is unable to attend, they should inform the board of directors as soon as possible (at least 24 hours prior to the meeting). Exceptions can be made if a member has a justified absence from other classes that day due to unforeseen circumstances.

Article 10.2: All absences will be recorded in the attendance. Members will receive a warning following each unjustified absence. After three unjustified absences in a term, the member may be asked to leave the club.

Article 10.3: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of the meeting; anyone arriving after the attendance has been taken will be marked as late. An accumulated tardiness of 30 minutes may result in the member being asked to leave the club.

Section 11: Communication

Article 11.1: All information and decisions regarding the LILMUN must be communicated out loud during meetings and recorded by the secretary in the minutes and/or communicated through official LILMUN communication platforms (emails received on school accounts from lilmun@lyceechurchill.london, google classroom and the LILMUN discord server).

Article 11.2: Any information or decision not communicated appropriately will be considered void.

Article 11.3: Any conflict between members regarding the LILMUN must be resolved during a LILMUN meeting.

Article 11.4: Should any member feel they have been treated unfairly or aggressively by other members, they should report this immediately to the board of directors. Any form of harassment will not be tolerated and will result in immediate expulsion from the club. 

The board of directors reserve the right to ask a member to leave the club should the rules in the charter not be respected.

This charter was written on the 3rd of August 2023 and amended on the 11th of October 2023 by Clemence Roche (past LILMUN Student Director) and Lily Howells (LILMUN member) and has come into effect since September 2023.