Our Constitution.

Leeds University Union Malaysian Society

CONSTITUTION (Updated on 3/2/2020)

Definitions
Activities Executive - the elected students representing Clubs and Societies as outlined in bye-law 11:2

1 Name, Aims and Objectives

1.1 The name of the Club/Society is Leeds University Union Malaysian Society, hereafter referred to as the Club/Society, or such other name agreed at an AGM or EGM with the approval of the Activities Officer.

1.2 The objectives of the Club/Society are:-

1.2.1 To be the spearhead in looking after Malaysian students studying in Leeds University

1.2.2 To promote the Activity Group as the ambassador of Malaysia to Leeds University and the surrounding community.

2 Membership

2.1 Membership takes effect on completion of registration online with the Club/Society.  Where relevant this will include payment of the Club/Society membership fee.

2.2 Categories of membership and associate rights.  Members only have the rights outlined in the relevant box.  

Category

Rights

2.2.1

Full Membership may be granted only to current Members of Leeds University Union.  Members are as defined in the Articles.

  • To attend all meetings and take part in society activities

  • To vote on all questions of policy within the club/society

  • To nominate candidates for election as Core Officers and Committee Members of the club/society

  • To vote to appoint the Core Officers and the Committee Members of the club/society

  • To hold office on and stand for election as a Core Officer or Committee Member of the club/society

  • Membership fees and participation in activities may be subsidised using LUU grants

  • (Amended AGM 1415)Full membership of the student must be for at least 1 month for the member to be entitled to the full membership rights.

  • (Amended AGM 1415)Full membership will expire at the end of the academic year, which is on the 31st of August every year at 2359 hours, regardless of the date the payment of the membership is made.

  • (Amended AGM1718) To participate in Annual Satisfaction Survey

2.2.2

Associate Membership may be granted to other students registered at an HE institution in Leeds

  • To attend all meetings and take part in society activities (other than competing in external competitions)

  • To serve on the Committee, other than as a Core Officer,  and stand for election as a Committee Member of the club/society

  • Membership fees and participation in activities cannot be subsidised using LUU grants.

2.2.3

Alumni Membership may be granted to graduates of the University of Leeds (Amended AGM1718)

  • To attend all meetings and take part in society activities (other than competing in external competitions)

  • To hold office on and stand for election as a Committee Member of the club/society

  • Alumni Membership may be granted to alumni of University of Leeds students who have been mature members of LUMSOC and shall be entitled to attend all meetings and take part in society activities only.

  • Alumni members will receive a certificate of membership

  • Alumni members will have their names published on the LUMSOC webpage

  • Membership fees and participation in activities cannot be subsidised using LUU grants.

2.2.4

Honorary Life Membership may be granted to a person that the club/society wishes to honour for services to the group

  • To attend all meetings and take part in society activities (other than competing in external competitions)

  • Membership fees and participation in activities cannot be subsidised using LUU grants.

2.2.5

Ex-Officio members will be the Activities Officer and the relevant Activities Executive representative 

  • To attend all meetings and take part in society activities 

  • To vote on all questions of policy within the club/society

  • To nominate candidates for election as Core Officers and Committee Members of the club/society

  • To vote to appoint the Core Officers and the Committee Members of the club/society

  • Membership fees and participation in activities may be subsidised using LUU grants

2.2.6

Public Membership may be granted to any member of the public with permission of the Activities Officer where there is good reason for granting such permission.

  • To attend all meetings and take part in society activities (other than competing in external competitions)

  • Membership fees and participation in activities cannot be subsidised using LUU grants.

3 Club/Society Committee Members

3.1 The Committee shall consist of the three Core Officers, and any Additional Members required.

3.2 The three Core Officers must be Full Members as outlined in paragraph 2.2.1.

3.3 Any Additional Committee Members must be either Full, Associate or Alumni Members as outlined in paragraphs 2.2.1 to 2.2.3.

3.4 All Committee Members will be appointed by a vote of Full Members at the AGM or an EGM.  Where a Club/Society wishes to appoint Associate Members or Alumni Members to Additional Committee roles, the appointment will need to be approved by the Activities Officer to ensure there is good reason not to offer the role to a Full Member.  In any case, the majority of committee members must be Full Members of the Club/Society.

3.5 The term of office of all Committee roles will be approximately twelve months.  Ordinarily Officers will only serve for one term in any role.

4 Core Officer Roles and Duties

4.1 The Core Officers have overall responsibility for the good running and financial oversight of the Club/Society for the benefit of its members and in line with the stated aims and objectives.

4.2 The primary duties and responsibilities of Core Officers are:

4.2.1 Attending all relevant committee training and ensuring an awareness of the requirements placed upon them as Core Officers

4.2.2 Being a signatory to the Club/Society LUU cash office account.

4.2.3 Ensuring the Club/Society meets the requirements of the annual compliance check against all relevant LUU policy as determined by the Activities Officer and in accordance with relevant legal requirements as determined by the Head of Student Activities

4.2.4 Ensuring the Club/Society LUU webpage, and, if applicable, own website and/or Facebook or similar social media sites, are maintained in line with relevant LUU policy.

4.2.5 Running and attending all committee meetings and AGMs in line with the rules outlined in this constitution.

4.2.6 Dealing with any complaints or disciplinary matters in line with the rules outlined in this constitution.

4.2.7 Attending Executive Category Meetings (at least one Core Officer must attend); and 

4.2.8 Ensuring consultation with Full Members regarding their views on Ideas going to Better Union Forums.

4.2.9 Passing on the views of Full Members regarding Ideas to the relevant member of the Activities Executive, ideally at the Activities Assembly.

4.2.10Failure to fulfil these duties may result in a motion of no-confidence and removal from office by an EGM or the Activities Officer

4.3 The three Core Officer individual roles and duties in addition to those outlined in 4.2:

4.3.1 President/Captain/Chair:

  • organising and overseeing the running of the Club/Society

  • chairing Committee Meetings, AGMs and EGMs

  • ensuring the production of an annual report

  • ensuring there is an up to date entry in the Club/Society’s LUU webpage.

  • (Amended AGM 0809)The President/Captain/Chair candidate should be a member of the Activity Group with Full Membership

4.3.2 Secretary:

  • maintaining membership records containing at least the name and membership category of all the Club/Society’s members

  • producing agenda documents for all meetings

  • maintaining a written record of all meetings

  • maintaining an up-to-date copy of the Club/Society constitution

  • ensuring only Full Members are given an opportunity to vote in society elections

4.3.3 Treasurer:

  • responsibility for the finances of the Club/Society

  • maintaining up-to-date accounts with the LUU Cash Office only

  • submitting subsidy applications to Activities Executive

  • produce a termly report and yearly budget

  • submitting a detailed statement of accounts for the year to the Club/Society’s Annual General Meeting.

5 Additional Committee roles and duties:

5.1 The Club/Society may appoint Additional Committee Members to assist the Core Officers in the running and management of the Club/Society.

5.2 All Additional Committee Members must attend committee meetings, AGMs and EGMs in line with the rules outlined in this constitution.

5.3 Failure to fulfil these duties and those listed in the relevant paragraphs below may result in a motion of no-confidence and removal from office by an EGM or the Activities Executive.

5.4 The Additional Committee roles will be:

Note: Additional Officers have not been officially created.

6 Elections to Committee Roles

6.1 The Returning Officer for elections will be the Activities Officer.  However their presence is not required at each election.

6.2 Elections shall take place by a secret ballot of Full members either online or in person as part of the societies AGM/EGM.

6.3 Candidates for positions on the Club/Society committee can only be nominated by Full Members of the Club/Society.  For the purposes of clarity, full Members may nominate themselves.

6.4 Nominations will open at least 10 working days before the AGM or EGM.

6.4.1 For online elections the nominations must be open for at least 10 working days, and the voting period must be at least 24 hours.

6.4.2 For elections in person the nominations must close at least seven days before the AGM or EGM.

6.5 Nominations should be through the official process (i.e. the process which has been approved by the Activities Officer or their nominee) and shared with the Activities Officer or their nominee.

6.6 Newly elected Club/Society Committee members must assume their duties after their handover and before the end of the academic year.  The anticipated date for assuming these duties should be published with the opening of nominations.

6.7 (Amended AGM 1718) Election Committee

6.7.1 Election committee shall be appointed 2 months prior to the AGM

6.7.2 Election committee shall be appointed by the president subjected to committee approval

6.7.3 The Election committee shall consist of:

6.7.3.a Returning Officer

6.7.3.a.1 The returning officer should organise and oversee the running of the elections

6.7.3.a.2 The returning officer should be responsible for voter communication

6.7.3.a.3 The returning officer is responsible for announcing the electoral results

6.7.3.b Secretary

6.7.3.b.1 The secretary should be responsible for the authentication of eligible voters

6.7.3.b.2 The secretary should compile and assess eligibility of nominees

6.7.3.b.3 The secretary should be in charge of the counting of votes and drawing up the final record of votes

6.7.3.c Publicity and Logistics Officer

6.7.3.c.1 The publicity and logistics officer should publish the portfolios of nominees and list of eligible voters on social media

6.7.3.c.2 The publicity and logistics officer should ensure the  AGM has all necessary materials

6.7.3.c.3 The publicity and logistics officer should be in charge of the tentative of the AGM


6.7.3.d Election Observers

6.7.3.d.1 The election observers should be in charge of handing out ballot papers

6.7.3.d.2 The election observers should be in charge of counting votes


7 Club and Society Formal Meetings

7.1 The Activities Executive may, at its discretion, send an observer to any Club/Society formal meeting

7.1.2 If any Full Member moves a no confidence in the Chair, a vote shall be taken immediately.

7.1.3 If a motion of no confidence in the Chair is passed, a new temporary Chair will be elected by Full Members at the meeting.

7.1.4 Decision making should ideally be by consensus.  However if a vote is needed, voting shall be by show of hands unless a secret ballot has previously been requested, and decisions will be made by simple majority by those members having the right to vote as outlined in paragraph 2 of this constitution.  No member has more than one vote.

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7.2 Committee Meetings
7.2.1 Any Committee Member may call a Committee Meeting.

7.2.2 The time, date and location of Committee Meetings must be posted on the Club/Society LUU webpage at least two working days in advance.

7.2.3 Committee Meetings shall be open to all members of the Club/Society.

7.2.4 The agenda for Committee Meetings should be made available at the start of the meeting.

7.2.5 The quorum for all Committee Meetings shall be two thirds of all Officers who have a vote, or three Officers who have a vote, whichever is greater.

7.2.6 The minutes of any decisions made at the meetings must be accessible via the Club/Society LUU webpage, once ratified as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

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7.3 Annual General Meeting

7.3.1 The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held within 395 days of the previous AGM.

7.3.2 Notice of the AGM must be posted on the Club/Society LUU webpage or a member accessible web source, at least 10 working days in advance of the meeting.

7.3.3 The agenda for the AGM must be posted on the Club/Society LUU webpage or a member accessible web source at least seven days in advance of the meeting.

7.3.4 The order of business shall be:

  • the President’s/Captain’s/Chair’s report

  • the Financial report

  • Constitutional Amendments

  • Elections

  • Any other business

7.3.5 The quorum for the AGM shall be either one third of all the Full Members or 20 Full Members, whichever is the lesser.

7.3.6 If an AGM is declared inquorate, it must adjourn to be reconvened within ten working days.

7.3.7 If a reconvened AGM is declared inquorate, the Club/Society shall report this to the Activities Officer who may authorise an inquorate AGM.

7.3.8 The Club/Society must submit the full agenda and minutes of their AGM to the Activities Executive, if requested by the Activities Executive.

7.4 Extraordinary General Meetings

7.4.1 An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by either one-third of all the Full Members or 20 full members, whichever is the lesser, and/or by the Committee.

7.4.2 Notice of the EGM, together with their agenda, shall be posted on the Club/Society LUU webpage or a member accessible web source within two working days of the meeting being called.

7.4.3 The agenda for the EGM shall be restricted to the motion or business for which the meeting was called.

7.4.4 The quorum for the EGM shall be either one third of all the full members or 20 full members, whichever is the lesser.

7.4.5 If an EGM is declared inquorate it may not proceed.

7.4.6 The Club/Society must submit the full agenda and minutes of their EGM to the Activities Executive, if requested by the Activities Officer.

8 Miscellaneous Provisions

8.1 Constitution

8.1.1 In case of dispute over a particular interpretation of this constitution, the Activities Officer will be the final arbiter.

8.1.2 The assets or liabilities of the Club/Society shall remain with the Club/Society regardless of any changes to committee, group structure or constitution.

8.1.3 The Club/Society shall be a constituent part of LUU and thus subject to the rulings of Better Union and the Trustees.

8.1.4 In the event of dissolution or abolition of the Club/Society its assets will revert to LUU.

8.2 Constitutional Amendments

8.2.1 Constitutional amendments may be recommended either by an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club/Society.

8.2.2 Constitutional amendments may not come into force until they have been approved by the Activities Officer acting on behalf of the Student Executive and Activities Executive.  For clarity approval will be in the form of an email confirmation to the Core Officers of the society with the amended constitution as an attachment.

8.2.3 Proposed constitutional amendments must be published in the agenda for the appropriate General Meeting and cannot be moved under ‘Any other business

8.2.4 Constitutional amendments shall come into effect immediately after Activities Officer approval unless otherwise stated in the amendment.

8.3 Administration and Finance

8.3.1 The Club/Society must produce within 24 hours, a detailed statement of accounts to the Activities Executive if requested by the Activities Executive.

8.3.2 The Core Officers shall accept full administrative and financial responsibility for the Club/Society.

8.3.3 Committee members may not receive financial payment or profit as a result of their position on the committee.

8.3.4 Committee members may be reimbursed for any reasonable expenditure on behalf of the Club/Society only after submitting a receipt to the Treasurer.

8.4 Cash Office

8.4.1 The Club/Society shall have bank account(s) with the LUU Cash Office only.

8.4.2 At least two Core Officers’ signatures shall be required to make payments from the Club/Society account.

8.4.3 The Club/Society shall keep full, up-to-date accounts of its finances through the LUU Cash Office

8.4.4 LUU Subsidies allocated to the Club/Society may not be spent on perishable goods such as food, drink or tobacco.

8.4.5 The Club/Society Subsidy and/or Grant account will be zeroed at the end of each academic year and the funds returned to LUU.


9 Marketing and communications 

9.1 The Club/Society will at all times adhere to the LUU Data Privacy and Guidance for Clubs and Societies

9.2 Gryphon Clubs will at all times adhere to The Branding Guidelines agreed by the Leeds Sport partnership.

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10 Expulsion and Suspension

10.1 Any member, other than Ex-Officio Members, may be suspended or expelled from any or all rights, including membership, for any period by a decision of the Core Officers of the club/society, so long as the decision was made using the procedure outlined in this section.

10.2 The Club/Society Core Officers must consult at the earliest opportunity with the Head of Student Activities, or their nominee, for support in dealing with a disciplinary matter relating to any member, otherwise any subsequent decision will be treated as void.

10.3 The Club/Society Core Officers can expel or suspend any member of the group so long as they have taken explicit advice from the Head of Student Activities and informed the individual affected of the reason/s for the decision in writing.

10.4 The Club/Society Core Officers must immediately notify the Activities Officer, in writing, of any expulsions or suspensions with a summary of the reason/s for the decision.

10.5 Expelled or Suspended members may request that the decision of the Core Officers is reviewed by the Activities Officer so long as the request is submitted in writing to the Activities Officer within 14 days of being notified of this decision.

10.6 On receipt of a request for a review, the Activities Officer will:

  • acknowledge receipt of the request as soon as reasonably possible;

  • notify the Club/Society Core Officers and the Head of Student Activities that a review is taking place;

  • if necessary consult with relevant parties regarding the original decision and may take into account new information;

  • will decide whether to uphold, modify or over-turn the original decision and

  • will inform both parties of the outcome of their decision within 14 days.

10.7 If the Activities Officer upholds the decision to Expel or Suspend the member, the matter will be deemed as having been through an LUU disciplinary and the individual will therefore have the right to appeal to the Disciplinary Appeals Body, as outlined in Bye-Law 17: Discipline and Appeals.

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11.0 Closure and Inactivity (Amended AGM1718) 

11.1 Should the incumbent President with advice of the Activity Group committee deem the society to be inactive and/or non-viable, an EGM shall be held to determine the outcome of the society.

11.2 Should the necessary requirements to hold a democratic EGM not be met, the society will be deemed inactive and closure will take place.

11.3 Should voting in the EGM favour closure and inactivity by supermajority vote, the society will be deemed inactive and closure will take place

11.4 Should voting in the EGM favour the continuation of the society by supermajority vote, the Activity Group committee will revise its options in order to avoid inactivity in the near future.

11.5 Should the group be deemed inactive, dissolution and closure procedures as stated on the LUU website will be followed.