In parliamentary procedure, motions are ranked by precedence: when more than one is pending, the body must dispose of the higher-ranked one first. Privileged motions sit at the top of that hierarchy because they concern the welfare of the assembly itself rather than the substance of the question under debate.
Under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th ed., 2020), the recognized privileged motions, in descending order of precedence, are:
- Fix the time to which to adjourn — sets a continued meeting
- Adjourn — ends the meeting
- Recess — takes a short intermission
- Raise a question of privilege — addresses the rights or comfort of members or the assembly (noise, heat, a disruptive observer, a personal affront)
- Call for the orders of the day — demands the chair return to the scheduled agenda
Because they outrank main motions, subsidiary motions, and incidental motions, a privileged motion can interrupt pending business. Most are not debatable, and several (such as a call for the orders of the day) require no second and can be demanded by a single member.
In Model UN, the term is used more loosely. Procedures based on the UN General Assembly Rules of Procedure or on custom THIMUN/Harvard-style rulebooks typically treat points of personal privilege, points of order, and sometimes motions to adjourn or suspend the meeting as privileged because they may interrupt a speaker or pending vote. Committee directors usually publish a precedence list in the background guide; delegates should consult it rather than assume Robert's Rules applies verbatim.
Legislative bodies use parallel concepts. In the U.S. House of Representatives, "questions of privilege" under Rule IX similarly take precedence over other business and can be raised concerning the rights of the House collectively or a member individually — most famously invoked to bring resolutions of impeachment or censure directly to the floor.
The defining test is functional: does the matter concern the assembly's ability to conduct business safely and orderly? If yes, it is privileged.
Example
During a 2023 Harvard National MUN session, a delegate rose on a point of personal privilege — a privileged motion — to request the air conditioning be lowered, interrupting the speakers list.