Numbered Sub-Clause

In Model UN drafting conventions, operative clauses follow a three-level hierarchy. The top level is the operative clause itself, numbered with arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…) and beginning with an underlined operative verb such as Calls upon, Requests, or Decides. Beneath it sit sub-clauses, lettered (a), (b), (c)… When even finer granularity is required, sub-clauses may be broken down further into numbered sub-clauses, conventionally labelled with lowercase roman numerals (i), (ii), (iii)…

A numbered sub-clause is therefore the third and lowest tier of an operative provision. It is used to enumerate specific items, criteria, timelines, or sub-categories of action that belong logically under a single sub-clause but are too detailed to be folded into running prose. For example, a sub-clause directing a UN body to establish a monitoring mechanism might use numbered sub-clauses to list the mechanism's individual functions one by one.

Stylistic conventions commonly observed in MUN drafting:

• Each numbered sub-clause ends with a comma or semicolon, never a period, because the entire operative clause is grammatically a single sentence ending only at its final punctuation.
• The text begins lowercase, as it continues the sentence opened by the parent clause.
• Indentation deepens at each tier, so numbered sub-clauses sit further right than their parent sub-clause.
• They do not take their own operative verb; they inherit the verb of the parent operative clause.

Numbered sub-clauses appear in real UN documents as well. Many Security Council and General Assembly resolutions use the (i)/(ii)/(iii) device when listing mandate elements, sanctions criteria, or reporting requirements. Delegates should use them sparingly: over-nesting makes a resolution hard to read and harder to amend, since each tier becomes its own potential target for friendly or unfriendly amendments during voting procedure.