CUUS Constitution

23 December 2016 · documents

  1. General.

1.1. The name of the Society shall be "The Cambridge University Ukrainian Society" (hereafter, the Society). The official translation of the Society name into Ukrainian shall read "Українське Toвapиcтвo Кембриджського Університету" (Ukrayinske Tovarystvo Kembydzhskoho Universytetu).

1.2. The aim of the Society shall be:

1.3. The operation of the Society is regulated by this Constitution and by the Acts imposed by the University of Cambridge. It is based on voluntary activity and is coordinated by the Committee and by the General Meetings of the Society members: Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Ordinary General Meeting (OGM).

  1. Membership of the Society.

2.1. Membership of the Society shall be extended to all members of the University of Cambridge and any others who should apply to the Committee. A member of the Society must be a resident of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire or should spend significant time in the Cambridge area due to work or social activities.

2.2. Associate membership may be granted to non-residents (as defined in 2.1). Associate members shall have all the rights of members except the following:

2.3. All members, including associate members, shall have the right to be present at General meetings and to nominate candidates for the Committee, vote and delegate their right to vote. All members (excluding associate members) have the right to be elected to a Committee post. Every member has the right to propose amendments to the Constitution or nominate any other member for a Committee post to be elected at the next AGM/OGM. Any proposal or nomination must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least three days before the AGM/OGM and should be seconded by at least one other member. The Secretary must make all relevant documents available to members no later than 48 hours before a General meeting. It is however also possible to propose amendments or nominees for election directly at the AGM/OGM.

2.4. No application for membership, as well as no nomination for a position on the Committee, shall be refused on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, language of communication, religion or political views. If the Committee refuses an application, the applicant has the right to raise the question of his/her membership at the next AGM or OGM.

2.5. The Executive Committee may expel any member whose conduct seems likely to bring the Society into disrepute. Such expulsion or suspension can only be effected by a majority vote of all Executive Committee members. In the event of an expulsion, the excluded member is required to return all equipment, documents and finances belonging to the Society within 7 days. They will not be entitled to any full or partial refund of annual subscriptions;

2.6. The expulsion or suspension must be confirmed at the next AGM/OGM. The confirmation is processed by a majority of votes of the Society members.

2.7. There shall be an annual fee for membership, which shall be fixed by the Committee. The Committee shall have the right to offer honorary membership (free) and life membership (for a fee) to any person as it sees fit. The updated roster of members should be made available during every AGM/OGM to members of the Society only.

2.8. Membership automatically expires after the period for which the fee was paid. In most cases a free membership can only be valid for one year.

  1. AGM and OGM.

3.1. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the ultimate governing institution of the Society. An Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) has exactly the same governing power as the AGM. Hereafter, the term OGM can be assumed to apply equally where only the term AGM is mentioned.

3.2. Decisions passed at an AGM take precedence over those passed by the Committee.

3.3. Only an AGM/OGM can change the Constitution and members of the Committee can only be elected at such a meeting. In case a member of the Committee steps down during his/her term of office, the Committee can temporarily, and only until the next AGM/OGM, substitute any other Society member for this member as it sees fit.

3.4. An AGM only must be called at least once a year during any term time. The AGM only is organised by the Committee and must be announced at least 14 working days in advance. An e-mail announcement to the official Society announcement list is sufficient.

3.5. An OGM can be called by any initiating group of (associate) members, which must be at least 5 persons or 25% of all Society members (excluding associate members from the latter) whichever is the greater. The initiating group must formally inform the Committee that an OGM has been called 21 days before the meeting, however no acceptance by the Committee is required. The Committee must agree to announce an OGM to Society members. If this does not happen, the initiating group must seek its own ways to contact the number of people necessary to have a quorum.

3.6. No decision of an AGM/OGM shall be valid unless there is a quorum of 30% of current Society members and 50% for changing Constitution (excluding associate members). Decisions are passed by a simple plurality. Any member who cannot attend an AGM/OGM in person can delegate his/her right to vote to any other member in writing or e-mail, in which case he/she is also counted for the quorum.

3.7. An AGM/OGM has the ultimate right to expel members and associate members.

  1. The Committee.

4.1. The Committee is the Society's institution, which coordinates its everyday activities and represents the Society on all official occasions. The Committee has the right to pass any decisions about the operation of the Society except for: amending the Constitution, electing new Committee members (except as mentioned in 3.3), expelling members, overruling any decision of an AGM/OGM.

4.2. The Committee should react to all requests of the Society members and must react in writing to written requests of Society members no later than 5 days from the request. It must act to fulfil the aims of the Society. The Committee must not act to fulfil any personal ambitions of the Committee members if those contradict the aims of the Society. The term written request/answer includes e-mail.

4.3. If any Society member proposes that he or she could organise any event, and this proposition is seconded by at least two more members, the Committee must do all in its power to help in organisation, including announcing the event (as it sees fit), contacting people who could help in organising, proposing help to coordinate the organisation, etc.

4.4. The Committee shall consist of President, Vice-president, Secretary, and Junior Treasurer. In addition there shall be a Senior Treasurer, who shall be a resident member of the Senate (for example a College Fellow, University officer or some other person of at least MA standing in the University) or other person approved by the Junior Proctor. The Senior Treasurer shall be appointed by the elected members of the Committee and shall be ex officio a member of the Committee. The holders of any other posts specified by the community of members are not Committee members and therefore do not have any right to vote in Committee meetings.

4.5. A majority of the elected members of the Executive Committee shall be full-time undergraduate or postgraduate students of the University of Cambridge;

4.6. All Committee members are elected at an AGM/OGM for one term of office only.

4.7. There are no restrictions on how often the Committee meets and passes decisions. It is up to the Committee to regulate this. Any decision is passed by a majority of voters present. At least three Committee members must be present (or vote electronically) for a decision to be valid.

4.8. The President has ultimate responsibility for everything done officially by the Society. In the event of a particular decision being made by the Vice-President, he or she takes over all responsibility from the President for all consequences. The (Vice) President makes the final decision in the event of no decision being reached by the Society members (the Community) or by the Committee. Any decision of the President precedes that of the Vice-president if made on the same day. The President and Vice-President officially represent the Society at all official events. They can delegate the right to represent the Society to any other member of the Society.

4.9. The Secretary must keep the records of the Society, of the members, their contact details, membership dates, and fees paid. The Secretary shall try to keep the information updated even if a member leaves Cambridge but stays an associate member of the Society. This information can be disclosed to other Society members at the discretion of the Committee, but neither the Committee nor any member possessing this information is allowed to disclose it to third parties, especially marketing companies.

4.10. All cheques drawn on the Society's account must be signed by the Senior Treasurer and/or the President. Further regulations on the activities of the Junior Treasurer may be posed by University Acts and Directives.

4.11. A Senior Treasurer shall be eligible to vote as a committee member.

  1. Financial matters.

5.1. The Society shall maintain a banking account with a suitable Bank or Building Society to hold the Society's funds;

5.2. It shall be the responsibility of the Junior Treasurer to ensure that monies received are properly accounted for, and that the Society's financial records are kept in good order. In particular, the Junior Treasurer shall ensure continuity of Cambridge resident signatories for any bank accounts held by the Society;

5.3. The Senior Treasurer shall make arrangements for the Society's Accounts to be properly audited, either by themselves, or by some other person approved under University Ordinances;

5.4. The Senior Treasurer shall not be liable for any financial debt or other obligation of the Society unless personally authorised such a debt in writing;

5.6. For so long as the Society shall be Registered with the Junior Proctor, it shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to ensure that the Society complies with the requirements for Registration as a University Society.

  1. Dissolution.

6.1. The Society may be dissolved at a General Meeting provided that at least twenty-one days written notice of the intention to dissolve the Society has been given to the members. At least two thirds of those present and voting at the General Meeting must vote in favour of the motion for Dissolution for it to be effective;

6.2. Any motion for Dissolution of the Society shall provide that assets remaining after all liabilities have been met shall be transferred either to another Registered University Society, or to the Societies' Syndicate.

6.3. On dissolution, all surplus assets of the Society after payment of debts belong to all the members equally.

  1. Transitional provisions.

7.1. This comes into the effect from the date the constitution is approved by the Junior Proctor.

This constitution was passed by 17 votes of 17 present voters at the general meeting of the Society, on 24 November 2005.

This constitution was approved by the Junior Proctor of the Cambridge University, on 3 February 2006.

This constitution was updated at the general meeting of the Society on 8 December 2020.

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