125px, Demeter's Manual ''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'' is a

parliamentary authority A parliamentary authority is a book of rules for conducting business ( parliamentary procedure) in deliberative assemblies. Several different books have been used by legislative assemblies and by organizations' deliberative bodies. Application to ...

manual by

George Demeter George Demeter (; 1896–1983) is the author of '' Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure''. The second Wednesday in April has been designated as George Demeter Day in Massachusetts. Political involvement Demeter served in the Massach ...

. It is included in the bank of study materials used in preparing for the Certified Parliamentarian (CP) designation offered by the

American Institute of Parliamentarians The American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP) is a not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1958. The objectives of AIP are to promote the use and teaching of parliamentary procedure, as well as the training and certification of parli ...

. Similar to ''

Robert's Rules of Order ''Robert's Rules of Order'', often simply referred to as ''Robert's Rules'', is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for which ...

'', ''Demeter's Manual'' notes, "Without rules, there would be injustice and confusion. Hence, it is as necessary to follow the rules of parliamentary law as it is to follow the rules of a ball game or a card game." The book attempts to include everything a presiding officer might need to know, including public courtesies and ceremonies; sample prayers for opening a meeting; organizing a new lodge, chapter or post; times of fraction and discord; acquisition of new members; installation of officers; and adjournment. Chapter 16 contains an "entire meeting in drill form," designed to illustrate a range of parliamentary motions and situations and how a chairman would handle them. Demeter also devotes space to discussing

strategic use of parliamentary procedure In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. Such motions, and the form they take are specified by the deliberate assembly and/or a pre-agreed volume detaili ...

. The book concludes with "The Greatest Convention Ever Held", an account of the Creation in parliamentary terms.

Editions

*''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'', 2nd edition, 1949 *''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'', 3rd revised edition, 1950, Bostonia Press. *''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'', Universal edition, 1953, Bostonia Press. *''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'', Universal Revised, 1961, Bostonia Press. *''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'', Blue Book edition, 1969, Little, Brown and Company.

References

Parliamentary authority {{US-poli-book-stub