Organization of the New Rule Book

IIROC organized the Rule Book to include:

	1000	Principles and Interpretation
	2000	Registration & Membership
	3000	Business Conduct
	4000 & 5000	Financial and Operational Rules
	6000 & 7000	Market Rules
	8000 & 9000	Procedural Rules

Definitions – General vs. Rule Specific

All definitions will be in Part 1000 except:

Definitions will be at the front of a rule if they are specific to that rule only.
Definitions in Form 1 (Joint Regulatory Financial Questionnaire and Report) will be retained there.

Definitions will not be capitalized. They will be highlighted by colour or italicized (but not in titles) later. The defined terms in the text will be electronically linked to the Definitions.

Terminology

	Rule	The Rule Book consists of Rules which will deal with the requirements on a particular subject. Example: Rule 8400 – Alternative Dispute Resolution
	Part	Some Rules may be divided into parts if they cover several distinct subject areas. A part must be numbered. Example: Part A – Arbitration
	Section	Each Rule will be made up of a number of sections that contain specific requirements. A Rule can contain only one section. Each section will have a bold font short form title. Example: Section 8401 – Participation by Member in Arbitration
	Subsection	Each section may be divided into subsections. Subsections are numbered even if there is only one subsection. This is to accommodate adding additional subsections later. Example: Subsection 8401(1)
	Clause	Each subsection may be divided into clauses and sub-clauses, if necessary. Example: Clause 8401(1)(i)

Structure of the Rule Book

The Rule Book will contain Rules that are mandatory and Guidance Notes that are interpretive and non-mandatory.

	Rules	Mix of principle-based and prescriptive rules.
	Guidance Notes	Supplements a rule with guidance on the interpretation, implementation or practice of the rule. Contents are not mandatory or enforceable and may refer to best practices.
	User Guide	Explains the structure of Rule Book, how to read it and the navigation tools.
	Introduction	Each Rule has an introduction that sets out the purpose and the key principles the rule is based on.

Navigation Tools

As it is the case currently, the IIROC new Rule Book will have related documents linked electronically. Rules will be linked to Guidance Notes and Instructions (if used). Defined terms will be linked from the text in the Rules to the general definitions in Rule 1200.

History Tracking Tools

The system will track the history of all changes to the Rules starting with the date the New Rule Book becomes effective. There will be no history tracking prior to that date.

Numbering convention

A legislative numbering convention similar to the FINRA Manual numbering system was adopted due to the flexibility it offers.

The first section of each Rule is reserved for the introduction, which sets out the core principles of the Rule.

Guidance Notes will follow the same numbering as the rules they relate to, eg. 2500-1 provides guidance on Rule 2500.

Principle-based regulations

In redrafting the Rules, IIROC decided to continue to use a mix of principle-based and prescriptive Rules. Certain Rules are more amenable to a prescriptive approach as is the example of capital requirements. Others are more principle-based.

List of Rules

While all rules have been restructured, reorganized, reformatted and rewritten in plain language, the rules can be categorized into two categories:

Non-substantive change Rules

Substantive change rules

Criteria for determining substantive rule change

All Rules will be considered public comment rules that require publication for public comments and be subject to CSA approval. However, in order to differentiate rules where material amendments have been made (substantive rule changes) from the others, IIROC developed the following criteria.

Substantive changes include new requirements, material change to a requirement, rule changed to a Guidance Note and a rule requirement that is deleted. Non substantive changes include deleting redundant rules or requirements, eliminating a non-mandatory provision or changing a non-mandatory provision to Guidance Note.

Where one or more changes in a particular set of proposed amendments are assessed as substantive, the set of proposed of amendments shall be determined to be substantive.