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LEGES DISPUTATIONIS ROMANI
Rules of Roman Debate

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Procedure

1. A lottery through drawing sticks (or some digital method such as a spinner) is conducted, with the censor, praetor, tribune, and senators’ order being decided as such. In reduced form, other methods may be used such as rock-scissor-paper for the sake of simplicity.*
2. Seating is arranged such that there is a line of chairs, each for one senator and facing an open area in the center (a U shape). To one side of the open area should be the censor and the tribune; on the opposite side, the praetor(s):**

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3. Once preparation is complete, the debate begins.
4. The first senator must introduce the topic and state his/her proposal. From this moment, the censor and tribune should be paying attention to fulfill their respective roles.
5. Each senator listens to the speech of the senator(s) before them. They can either support an aforementioned resolution or disagree and propose their own.
6. A senator can call for the end of a debate after all senators have spoken. Other senators vote on whether to end the meeting or not.
7. When the debate is finished, the senators vote on the proposed resolutions. If there are more than two resolutions and there is no clear majority, then the plan with the least votes is eliminated and the others are shortly summarized by their proponent (if a group supports it, then they must choose a leader to represent them in a short side discussion) for re-voting. In the case of a tie, the praetor(s) decide the victor.
8. Remember, in a scenario, you have to make sure you don't think about events past the time the scenario takes place in. You can't see the future!

Notes:

  • There are interest groups for particular debates. Each senator should also consider the effect of the decision made by the Senate on these interest groups, as they may impact Rome.

  • The Tribune of the Plebs should consider anything that may pose a threat to the common people of the Roman Republic.

  • If the general student body wishes to, the participants may build their own alternate history based on their decisions. In this case, the general student body should debate how history would play out and try to predict a likely crisis that would emerge.

  • When discussing historical topics, do so without the advantage of hindsight. This helps with understanding why certain decisions were taken.

*Please see Q2 in the Q & A Page for an exception.​

**In reduced form, a simple circle is okay.

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