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Constitution

ARTICLE 7 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

  • The Chairman or a member of the Committee nominated by the Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the members and of the Committee and shall perform such other duties as are incidental to the Chairman’s office. He/she shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
  • The Vice-Chairman shall perform all the duties of the Chairman in the absence of that officer.
  • Minutes shall be kept by the minutes secretary who shall be appointed at each meeting and they shall be presented at the ensuing meetings when requested.
  • Minutes, once approved, shall be made available to the membership and, with the agreement of the Committee, may be published on the club’s official web site
  • The Honorary Secretary shall keep an attendance record. He shall notify the members of general meetings at least four (4) weeks prior to the date of the meeting and notify the members of the Annual General Meeting at least six (6) weeks prior to the date of the meeting. In the case of the Annual General Meeting, the Honorary Secretary shall remind all regular members that nominations for the club committee and resolutions for the Annual General Meeting should be submitted at least two (2) weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting. The Honorary Secretary shall perform such other duties as are incidental to the Honorary Secretary’s office as laid down in the Felis Britannica Guidelines.
  • The Honorary Membership Secretary shall maintain a list of all paid-up members with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of each member. He shall advise applicants for club membership of the action taken on their application.
  • The Honorary Treasurer or his designee shall receive and have custody of all monies and shall deposit same in a bank account in the name of the club. He/she shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditures and shall render a financial report at each regular meeting and audited accounts at each Annual General Meeting. He/she shall report to each committee meeting as to the state of or balance in the bank account. He/she shall furnish names and addresses to the honorary membership secretary of all membership subscriptions paid. The Honorary Treasurer shall perform such other duties as are incidental to the Honorary Treasurer’s office as laid down in the Guidelines of the UK FIFe Member.
  • On or before January 31st each year the Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall make an annual report to Felis Britannica containing information requested in Article 5.15 of Felis Britannica’s membership rules.
  • The membership records, minute book, attendance records and books of accounts of this club shall be the property of the club and not of the officer administering them.

ARTICLE 8 - DISCIPLINE

  • The Committee may impose any or all of the following penalties:
    a) reprimand
    b) fine
    c) suspend
    on any person or persons jointly who, after a fair and impartial hearing, shall be found guilty of violating any rules of this club or of conduct detrimental to the club or the cat fancy.
  • The Felis Britannica ‘Code of Conduct’ shall apply
  • Procedures
    3.1 The club shall only deal with a complaint concerning a full member of the club. Complaints about members of other FB clubs will be returned to the complainant advising that person to contact the club where the person or persons jointly is a member.
    3.2 If the Committee finds there is a prima facie case to answer, it shall be passed to the Disciplinary Officer.
    3.3 A complaint arising directly from the Committee of the club shall be passed by the Secretary to the Disciplinary Officer.
    3.4 On receipt of a complaint concerning a member, the secretary shall acknowledge the complaint within 14 days of its receipt. It shall then be brought to the next meeting of the Committee for consideration.
    3.5 The Disciplinary Officer shall be responsible for fully investigating the complaint. He/she shall contact the person or persons jointly against whom the complaint has been made and offer that person or persons jointly an opportunity for an explanation.
    3.6 The Disciplinary Officer may if he/she requires appoint up to two more people to assist in the disciplinary procedure.
    3.7 If the Disciplinary Officer agrees that there is a case to answer, he/she shall inform the Committee who shall then offer the person or persons jointly a hearing.
    3.8 The Committee shall appoint a panel of five people to hear the case.
    3.9 Notice of a hearing shall be given no less than one month in advance of the date set. Both the complainant and the complainee or complainees shall be invited to attend the hearing. Every attempt shall be made to find a date which is acceptable to all concerned but if the complainee or complainees is unable to attend up to three offered dates, the hearing will take place in his/their absence.
    3.10 All hearings shall be open for any member of the club to attend as non-participating observers, if they so wish. Such attendance must be notified in advance. The deliberations of the panels are not open to the piublic.
    3.11 The complainant or the defendant may send a representative in their stead. If either party wishes to have legal representation, this must be at the party’s own expense and must be notified fourteen days in advance of the hearing.
    3.12 Any witness to be called must be given a minimum of one month’s notice of the date set for the hearing.
    3.13 The costs of the hearing shall include the hire of a suitable rooom and the reasonable travel expenses and refreshments of the members of the panel. No other costs may be claimed without prior written agreement of the Committee. The Disciplinary panel may, at its discretion, award the costs of the hearing against whichever party is found to be at fault.
    3.14 If any member of the Committee or Panels has an interest in any particular disciplinary matter, he/she must declare this interest and shall take no part in any of the procedures. Failure to declare an interest shall leave that person liable for disciplinary procedure.
    3.15 If the event of the panel finding a complaint to be proved it shall recommend to the Committee a punishment which it finds appropriate. The Committee shall then agree on such punishment and the complainant and the defendant shall be informed immediately.
    3.16 The Defendant has a right of appeal, but such appeal may only be against a legal or a procedural offence and not against the finding of the hearings panel. An appeal must be lodged with the secretary of the club within three weeks of the date of the decision and shall be passed immediately to the Disciplinary Officer.
    3.17 The Disciplinary Officer shall, on receipt of such appeal, first establish that it is a valid appeal with reference to 3.16 and if this is found to be the case, he/she shall appoint an Appeals Panel to hear the appeal. The members of this Appeals Panel must not be members of the Committee of the club or have sat on the panel of the original hearing.
    3.18 Any suspension imposed as the result of a Disciplinary Hearing shall remain in force until such time as the Appeals Panel has either upheld the original decision or has made a new decision.

ARTICLE 9 - DISSOLUTION

  • Twenty-eight days notice of intention to wind up the affairs of the Club at a special meeting called specifically for that purpose must be given to all members.
  • A decision to wind up the affairs of the Club must be agreed by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
  • If such a decision is passed, the liabilities of the Club shall be discharged and the balance remaining shall be divided equally amongst the fully paid-up membership.
  • Trophies and personal awards shall be returned to the donors where possible within six months of the date of winding up, otherwise they shall be offered for sale and distribution to other clubs at the discretion of the Committee.
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