Common Parliamentary Law in the Hawaiian Kingdom

Ke Kānāwai Hoʻomalu Maʻamau (Nā Papa Hana Hālāwai)
​Common Parliamentary Law (Meeting Procedures)

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​​ʻO nā hana o nā hālāwai a pau o ka Hui a me ka ʻAha Hoʻokō e alakaʻi ʻia nō ia e nā rula o nā anaina maikaʻi, a me nā rula maʻa mau o nā ʻAhaʻōlelo.

—Ka Hui Hawaiʻi Aloha ʻĀina. (4 Malaki 1893). Kumukānāwai (Paukū 8, Helu 3). Honolulu, Oʻahu, Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

All proceedings of meetings of the League and of the Executive Council shall be governed by the usual decorum and rules of Parliamentary Usage.

—Hawaiian Patriotic League. (4 March 1893). Constitution (Article 8, Section 3). Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiian Islands

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​​ʻO nā hālāwai a pau a ka Hui a me ke Kōmite Hoʻoponopono, e alakaʻi ʻia nō ia e nā rula o nā anaina maikaʻi a me nā rula maʻa mau o nā ʻAhaʻōlelo.

—Ka Hui Hawaiʻi Aloha ʻĀina a Hoʻomau Kūʻokoʻa a nā Lede. (27 Malaki 1893). Kumukānāwai (Paukū 7, Helu 3). Honolulu, Oʻahu, Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

​All proceedings of meetings of the Association and of the Managing Committee shall be governed by the usual quorum and rules of similar associations.

—Ladies Hawaiian Patriotic Association. (27 March 1893). Constitution (Article 7, Section 3). Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiian Islands

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​The "usual decorum and rules of Parliamentary Usage," and, "the usual quorum and rules of similar associations," as prescribed by the original Hui Aloha ʻĀina—Hawaiian Patriotic League—in its founding documents in 1893, was a reference to what is known today as common parliamentary law. This is a branch of common law that applies to meeting procedures of voluntary organizations. Rules of order enable a group to make more decisions in less time during meetings while also protecting the rights of the membership, including the majority, minority, individual members, absent members, and all of them together. Decorum during debate is a form of kapu aloha that helps us have vigorous discussion on controversial questions without burning bridges between members. These are democratic principles in action, well within the grasp of the average person open to learning them, empowering ordinary groups to take them into their own hands for pono governance.

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Nā Lula Hālāwai

A Parliamentary Guide to Conducting Meetings in Hawaiian

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