CONSTITUTION
(as amended on the 5th January, 1977, 20th May, 1992,
and 10th May, 2007)
The Canon Law Society of Great Britain & Ireland is a Charitable Trust
established by Deed of Trust and described as “The Canon Law Society
Trust”.
The objects of the Society are shown as “the
fostering and promotion by any lawful charitable means of the study
and interest in the Canon Law and its administration and practice
including its relation to other branches of learning.
1. Interpretation
I.
In this Constitution the following
expressions shall where the context so permits have the meanings
respectively assigned to them as follows:-
(a ) “Canon Law” means the Canon Law of the Catholic
Church;
(b) “Catholic” means Roman Catholic in communion with the See of
Rome;
(c) “the Society” means the Canon Law Society;
(d) “the Trust Deed” means the Trust Deed to which this Constitution
is attached as the second Schedule;
(e) “the Trustees” means the Trustees for the time being of the
Trust Deed whether original additional or substituted;
II.
The interpretation Act 1978 shall apply
to this Constitution as to an Act of Parliament.
2. Name
The name of the Society shall be the Canon Law
Society of Great Britain & Ireland.
3. Objects
The objects of the Society shall be the fostering and
promotion by any lawful charitable means of the study of and
interest in the Canon Law and its administration and practice
including its relation to other branches of learning.
4. Membership
I. Membership of the Society shall be
either Ordinary, Honorary or Library.
II. Application for Ordinary Membership shall be made to the Committee of the Society and shall
be supported by the nomination of two Ordinary Members. The
Committee shall have the right to accept or reject any application.
III.
Only Ordinary Members shall have the
right to vote at General Meetings of the Society.
IV. The
Committee may in its absolute discretion admit Library Members of
the Society and terminate Library Membership. Library Membership entitles the
Institution only to receive the publications of the Society.
V. The Committee may in its absolute
discretion admit Honorary Members of the Society and terminate their
membership. Honorary Members shall not have the right to vote at
General Meetings of the Society.
VI. An Ordinary Member shall cease to be a
Member of the Society if having failed to pay his annual
subscription for two successive years he omits to pay the arrears of
subscriptions due to the Society within fourteen days of the date of
the second of two notices given to him of such arrears. Any such
person may be readmitted as a Member of the Society by the Committee
on such terms and conditions as they see fit to impose. The same
applies to Library Membership.
VII. If the Committee is of the opinion that
the continued membership of an Ordinary Member would be contrary to
the interests of the Society that Member shall be invited to resign:
if he shall have failed to do so in writing within twenty-one days
he shall be deemed to have ceased to be a Member of the Society but
he shall have a right of appeal to the Society. Such an appeal shall
be in writing and shall be heard and determined by a Committee
appointed for that purpose by the Society.
5. Subscription
The annual subscription payable by each
Ordinary Member shall be fixed from time to time by the Society in
General Meeting. All such subscriptions shall be paid to the
Trustees or to their order.
6. Meetings and Conferences
I.
A General Meeting of the Society
(hereinafter called “the Annual General Meeting”) shall be held once
in each calendar year.
II.
Other General Meetings of the Society
shall be called Extra-ordinary General Meetings and shall be held at
such times as the Committee shall from time to time decide. Provided
that twenty Ordinary Members of the Society may summon a meeting by
written notice to the Honorary Secretary stating the business which
they wish to be discussed at that meeting.
III.
All General Meetings of the Society
shall be summoned by the Honorary Secretary giving to the Members
one month’s notice in writing stating the place and time at which
the General Meeting is to be held and the business to be transacted
thereat. Provided that in case of urgency the President or the
Committee may instruct the Honorary Secretary to summon a General
Meeting by not less than fourteen days’ notice as aforesaid.
IV.
The President shall if present take the
chair at all General Meetings of the Society. In his absence the
Ordinary Members present shall elect one of their number to be the
Chairman of that meeting.
V.
No person other than a Trustee of the
Trust Deed who is not a Member of the Society shall without the
leave of the Chairman be present at any General Meeting of the
Society or at any meeting of the Committee.
VI.
The quorum for any General Meeting of
the Society shall be twenty Ordinary Members or one-tenth of the
total number of Ordinary Members whichever shall be the lesser.
VII.
In case of an equality of votes at any
General Meeting of the Society the Chairman of that Meeting shall
have a second or casting vote.
VIII.
Except as otherwise provided in this
Constitution all questions shall be decided by a majority of the
votes of those Ordinary Members present and voting at a General
Meeting of the Society.
IX.
At every Annual General Meeting of the
Society reports shall be presented (a) by the Honorary Secretary on
the work of the Committee since the last Annual General Meeting and
(b) by the Honorary Treasurer together with the accounts of the
Society.
7. The Committee
I.
(a) The Committee shall consist of the
Officers of the Society, namely the President, the Honorary
Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer and three Ordinary Members of
the Society. Provided however that the Committee shall have power to
co-opt not more than two other Members for such purposes and for
such period not exceeding one year as the Committee shall decide.
(b) All the members of the Committee other
than any co-opted members shall be Catholics.
II.
(a) The President shall be elected from
among the Ordinary Members at an Annual General Meeting of the
Society for a period of three years. He shall be eligible for
re-election for a further term of office but he shall not thereafter
be eligible for re-election as President until he has been out of
office for a period of at least six years. The President shall enter
upon his office immediately upon his election.
(b) The President shall if present be ex
officio Chairman of all Meetings of the Committee and of all
conferences, lectures, seminars, discussions or courses of study
held or organised by the Society or the Committee.
(c) In his absence the Committee shall
appoint one of their number not being an Officer of the Society to
take the chair.
III.
All the other Members of the Committee
other than any co-opted Members after being proposed and seconded by
other Ordinary Members shall be elected by ballot from among the
Ordinary Members at an Annual General Meeting of the Society for a
period of three years and shall be eligible for re-election.
IV.
The Honorary Secretary shall be a
member ex-officio of all Sub-Committees of the Society.
V.
The Meetings of the Committee shall be
convened by or at the direction of the President on giving to the
other Members of the Committee not less than seven or in a case of
urgency three days’ prior written notice specifying the business to
be transacted at that meeting. Provided that:
(a) in the event of a vacancy in the office of President a meeting
may be convened by the Honorary Secretary on giving the like notice,
and
(b) any two Members of the Committee may convene a
meeting by giving to the other Members not less than seven days
prior notice in writing specifying the matters they propose to be
discussed at that meeting.
VI.
The quorum for any Meeting of the
Committee shall be three Members.
VII.
Except as otherwise provided in any
rules made by the Committee and for the time being in force all
questions shall be decided by a single majority of those Members
present and voting at that meeting of the Committee. Provided that
in the event of an equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting
shall have a second or casting vote.
VIII.
Under the general direction of the
Committee the Honorary Secretary shall keep Minutes of all General
Meetings of the Society and of all meetings of the Committee and
shall conduct the correspondence of the Society.
IX.
Subject to the directions and control
of the Trustees the Honorary Treasurer shall on behalf of the
Trustees collect and keep a record of all the subscriptions of the
Ordinary Members and shall manage and keep an account of the
finances of the Society. He shall report to the Committee those
Ordinary Members who are in arrear with their annual subscriptions.
X.
Any Member of the Committee other than
a co-opted Member who ceases for any reason to be an Ordinary Member
of the Society shall thereupon cease to be a member of the
Committee.
XI.
In the event of any vacancy among the
Members of the Committee other than co-opted Members the Society
shall at its next General Meeting elect an Ordinary Member to fill
that vacancy but the Member so elected shall only hold office for
the unexpired term of office of the Member in whose place he has
been elected.
XII.
Subject to the provisions of this
Constitution the Committee may make, vary or revoke rules for the
conduct of its affairs.
XIII.
Subject to the provisions of this
Constitution and to any directions of the Society in General Meeting
the Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Society and shall
exercise any functions delegated to it by the Society in General
Meeting.
8.
For the purpose of carrying out the objects specified
in Clause 3 hereof the Society or the Committee may hold or organise
or assist in holding or organising conferences, lectures, seminars,
discussions and courses of study whether in the United Kingdom or
abroad on subjects pertaining to the Canon Law or any aspect thereof
and either in the course of or apart from any General Meeting of the
Society.
9. Publication in the name of the
Society
Any publication or media interview
or recording by any other means in the name of the Society must have
the prior approval of the Committee or the President.
Any Member of the Society appointed to be the
author or editor of a publication issued in the name of the Society
may at any time be removed from that office by the Committee.
10. Additions to and Amendments of the
Constitution
The provisions of this Constitution may be added to,
amended or revoked on the following conditions:
I.
Any resolution to add to amend or
revoke the provisions of this Constitution or any of them shall be
proposed to a General Meeting of the Society either by the Committee
or by not less than twenty Ordinary Members who shall
have signed and submitted a
written proposal to this effect to the Committee not less than two
months before the date of the said General Meeting.
II.
The text of the proposed addition
amendment or revocation shall be incorporated in the notice of the
said General Meeting issued in accordance with the provisions of
Clause 6 (II) hereof.
III.
No resolution to make any addition to
amendment or revocation of this Constitution shall be valid if:
(a) it is in conflict with any
provision of the Trust Deed;
(b) it should have the effect of making any of the objects of the
Trust or of the Society non-charitable or of permitting any part of
the Trust Fund or the income thereof or any part of the assets or
income of the Society to be applied for non-charitable purposes;
and,
(c) it is not passed by a majority of two-thirds of the Ordinary
Members present and voting by ballot at the said General Meeting.
11. Notices
I.
Notices of all General Meetings of the
Society shall be given to the Trustees and to the Ordinary and
Honorary Members.
II.
The provisions of Section 81 of the
Charities Act 1993 or any statutory modification or substitution
thereof shall apply to the giving of notices which are required or authorised to be given by this Constitution.
12. Dissolution of the
Society
I.
A resolution to dissolve the Society
shall be proposed to a General Meeting of the Society either by the
Committee or by not less than twenty Ordinary Members who shall have
signed and submitted a written proposal to this effect to the
Committee not less than two months before the date of the said
General Meeting.
II.
No resolution to dissolve the Society
shall be valid unless it is passed at the General Meeting mentioned
in Sub Clause (I) hereof by a majority of two-thirds of all the
Ordinary Members who may record their votes either personally or by
post and has been confirmed at a subsequent General Meeting of the
Society held not less than one month after the previous General
Meeting.
III.
After payment of all the just debts and
expenses due by the Society the capital and income shall be held by
the Trustees to be applied in accordance with the provisions of
Clause 4 of the Trust Deed.
