Parliamentary Debate

Parliamentary debate is a form of formal dispute resolution that is governed by certain rules and procedures. This form of debate is used to settle arguments and resolve conflict among parties, and is most popular among students, who are often engaged in debate competitions. Parliamentary debate can be traced back to the 17th century, when it was used as an educational exercise in English grammar schools. Because of its educational origins, the rules and procedures of parliamentary debate are similar to those of actual proceedings.

In parliamentary debating, the teams have the same objective as in any other debating format such as public forum debate: to persuade the audience and the judges (a team of judges, usually three) that their side is victorious and that their side's policy proposals should be adopted. The format of parliamentary debating is an adversarial one. Each team has an opportunity to present their case, which consists of a speech by one member and a short speech by another member, which is a rebuttal to the opposing team's main speech.