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Constitution
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The British Council English Club

(Incorporated under the Societies Ordinance)

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CHAPTER 1 ˇV GENERAL

1.        Name

The name of the club is ˇ§THE BRITISH COUNCIL ENGLISH CLUBˇ¨, hereinafter referred to as ˇ§the Clubˇ¨.

 

2.        Address

The registered address of the Club is c/o The British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

 

3.        Object and Purpose

The object and purpose of the Club are:-

a.        An English speaking Club to help the members to keep up their English during and after attending the English Courses of the British Council.

b.        To provide recreational and educational activities.

c.        To create a sense of belonging from the students towards The British Council.

d.        To promote friendship among the students and arouse their interests to care for fellow students.

e.        To serve the community and to promote the Club and Council spirit.

f.          To promote international understanding.

 

 CHAPTER 2 ˇV MEMBERSHIP

 

1.        Eligibility

Membership in the Club is as follows:-

a.        Ordinary Members

All Level 4 (after April 15, 2007) and above students of the British Council (intermediate students who ceased studying in the British Council on or before 26 June 1987 are not eligible) as determined by the Executive Committee as and when necessary are eligible to be Ordinary Members.

b.        Staff Members

All present teachers and staff of the British Council automatically become Staff Members.

c.        Honorary Members

Special advisors and first language speaker of English may be invited by the Club to become Honorary Members.

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CHAPTER 2 ˇV MEMBERSHIP (Contˇ¦d)

 

1.        Term of Admission

An eligible person shall become a member when his/her application has been approved by the Executive Committee of the Club and the subscription has been paid to the Club.

 

2.        Term of Dismissal

Members not observing the regulations may lead to cancellation of membership.

 

3.        Rights and Privileges

a.        Ordinary Members only are entitled to elect or to be elected as office bearers of the Club; to propose, second, vote or to recall office bearers to office bearers, in addition to other rights and privileges in general.

b.        All members are entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting, and to be invited to participate in other meetings called by the Executive Committee.

c.        All members are entitled to participate in all activities sponsored by and to benefit from the work of the Club.

 

4.        Obligation

All Ordinary Members of the Club should fulfill the following:-

a.        To abide by the Constitution and Regulation of the Club.

b.        To abide by and carry out the Resolution of the Club.

c.        To have the obligation to pay membership fees.

 

 CHAPTER 3 ˇV MEMBERSHIP FEES

 

1.        An annual membership subscription of HK$50.00 will be payable upon admission and thereafter on the 1st of January each year.

 

2.        Subscription paid on or after 1st October of the year will be deemed to be subscription for the ensuing year.

 

3.        Under no circumstances will the subscription fee be refunded.

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CHAPTER 4 ˇV ADMINISTRATION

 

1.        Annual General Meeting

The supreme authority of the Club will be vested in the General Meeting, which will be held annually.  The business of the Annual General Meeting will be:-

a.        To approve or amend the Constitution and Regulations of the Club.

b.        To examine and approve the Annual Report and Financial Report of the Club.

c.        To nominate and invite Advisors.

d.        To discuss and determine the work of the Club.

e.        To elect a new Executive Committee.

f.          To appoint a new Auditor.

 

2.        Mode of Election

a.        Nomination of candidates for the Executive Committee will be in writing by the following procedure:-

I.   When giving notice of an Annual General Meeting, the following will be forwarded to all Ordinary Members of the Club 14 days prior to the General Election.

i.                     A full list of all the names of Ordinary Members.

ii.                   Description of the nature and responsibilities of the offices.

iii.                  Nomination Forms.

II.             From the membersˇ¦ list, any Ordinary Member may nominate up to 2 members for each set of post of similar nature.  In the case of Treasurer and Publicity Officer only 1 nomination is required.

 

b.        Election of the Executive Committee:-

Election of the Executive Committee will be conducted in writing and by ballot at the Annual General Meeting.  Voting for each set of posts will be conducted separately.  The candidate having the maximum number of votes will take the chief post while the next one will be the assistant.

 

3.        Term of office

All elected committee members will hold office of the post for the duration of one year.  All offices are honorary and without remuneration.

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CHAPTER 4 ˇV ADMINISTRATION (Contˇ¦d)

 

1.        Duty of Office Bearers

a.        The President will preside at the meetings of the Club, both General and Executive Committee Meetings, motivate all activities within the Club and represent the Club in matters outside. 

b.        The Vice President will assist the President in all his/her duties and will be the ex-officio Chairman of the Executive Committee in the absence of the President.

 

c.        The Secretary and Assistant Secretary will keep the official documents and records of the Club, and shall be responsible for all correspondence of the Club e.g. Newsletter, etc., and shall prepare the Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings and the General Meetings.

 

d.        The Treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the Club and will issue receipts.  All withdrawals must be jointly signed by any 2 out of 3 authorized signatories, in which case will be the President, Treasurer and the secretary.  He will compile half yearly statement of accounts which, after being examined by the Executive Committee will be made available for the general information of the members.  The Treasurer will also compile an annual statement of accounts, which being audited, will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting for adoption.

 

e.        The Recreational and Educational Organizer together with their Assistants will be responsible to plan and organize activities related.

 

f.          The Publicity Officer will be responsible to promote the image of the Club, to plan and organize publicity campaigns and to prepare posters for Club activities.

 

2.        Resignation

An Executive Committee Member who wishes to resign from the office should give notice one month in advance of resignation, and should discharge all duties before handing over his/her office to the new officer.  An Executive Committee Member who is absent from 3 consecutive Executive Committee Meetings without advance notice shall be regarded by the Executive Committee as resigned from the office and a new officer will be appointed by the Executive Committee.

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CHAPTER 5 ˇV MEETINGS

 

1.          Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting will be convened annually in the month of December by the Executive Committee.  In the event that suitable meeting venue is not available in December, the nearest available meeting date in November will be taken.  A notice in writing will be served by the Secretary to all members fourteen days prior to the meetings.

 

2.          Quorum

The quorum of the Annual General Meeting will be constituted by the presence of 10 percent of the Ordinary Members of the Club.  If a Quorum is not formed half an hour after the designated time of the convention, the meeting will be postponed.  The postponed General Meeting will be convened by the President within one month after the first meeting.  At the second convocation, the presence of any number of Ordinary Members will constitute a quorum.

 

3.          Extraordinary General Meeting

An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called upon by a written request and a proposed agenda to the Secretary from at least 15 members, or upon justification by resolution of the Executive Committee.  The procedure of the convocation of an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held within one month upon receipt of the written request.  No business will be discussed in the Extraordinary General Meeting other than items listed in the agenda.

 

4.          Executive Committee Meeting

The Executive Committee of the Club will meet at least once every month at such items as deemed necessary by the President.  The quorum of an Executive Committee Meeting will be the presence of over one half of the Committee Members.  If a quorum is not formed at the first convocation, the meeting will be postponed and convened again by the President within seven days.  A quorum for the second meeting will be any number of members present.

 

5.          Sub-Committee Meeting

If considered necessary by the Executive Committee, sub-committee may be organized from time to time, at least one of who will be Executive Committee Member.  The President of the Club will also be a nominal member.

 

6.          Resolutions

Resolutions at all meetings will be passed by over one half of the numbers of votes present.  In case of a tie in voting, the Chairman of the Meeting will be entitled to a decisive vote.  The ultimate decision will be made by the Head of the British Council.  Any opposition to the Executive Committeeˇ¦s decision will be confirmed in writing by the Head of The British Council, Hong Kong.

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CHAPTER 6 ˇV MISCELLANEOUS

 

1.        Use of Funds

Funds of the Club may be used only for its regular expenditure and for activities and matters stipulated under its object, and will not be used for any other purposes.

 

2.        Official Language

English will be the official language of the Club in all the meetings and official correspondence.  Chinese may be used when deemed necessary.

 

3.        Dissolutions

a.  The Club will not be dissolved except with approval of the over two-thirds of members present at an Extraordinary General Meeting.

b.  Upon dissolution, the assets of the Club will be contributed to Charity Organization as decided by the Executive Committee.

 

4.        Liability

In case the Club is involved in any debt or liability, it shall be the responsibility of all the Office Bearers of the current tender.

 

5.        Amendments

This Constitution and any amendment thereto will take effect having been passed at a General Meeting and approved by the Registrar of Societies.

 

- End -

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