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RULES
RULES OF THE LAWYERS' SECULAR SOCIETY
Objects
Discrimination
Eligibility for membership
Members
Admission to membership
Termination of membership
Officers
Powers and duties of Chairman and Vice Chairman
Duties of the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Seminar Secretary
The Committee of the LSS
Duties and meetings of the Committee
Election and retirement of Officers and members of the Committee
Annual Meetings
Extraordinary meetings
Notice of meetings of the LSS
Chairman of and Quorum at meetings of the LSS
Attendance and voting at annual and Extraordinary meetings
Administration
Finance
Alteration of rules
Notices
Interests of the LSS
Objects
1) The objects of the Lawyers’ Secular Society (the ‘LSS’) shall be to:-
1. promote the rule of law;
2. promote the interests of justice;
3. promote secularism;
4. promote and enhance legal education and training in the areas of the objects;
5. co-operate with and support any organisation with similar objects;
6. support the core values as set out in the Memorandum of Association (Appendix 1).
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Discrimination
2) The LSS shall not unlawfully discriminate against any person in any way on the grounds of race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
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Eligibility for membership
3) There shall be two classes of member, namely full members and honorary members.
4) The following persons shall be eligible for full membership of the LSS:-
1. barristers and solicitors in independent practice.
2. students, trainee solicitors and pupil barristers.
3. Academics.
4. The judiciary.
5. Employed barristers and solicitors employed in house.
6. Legal Executives.
7. Paralegals.
6) The Committee may invite such persons as they may consider appropriate to become honorary members of the LSS upon such terms as to subscription, duration of membership or otherwise as the Committee may think fit.
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Members
7) The members of the LSS for the time being shall be those eligible persons who are mentioned in the records of the LSS as having been admitted to membership, and who have paid such current annual subscription as may be due. The records of the LSS shall record whether a member is a full member back to top
Admission to membership
8) Applications for full membership of the LSS shall be made in writing to the Secretary on the form approved from time to time by the Committee for the purpose. The application shall state the category of membership to which the applicant seeks to be admitted. It shall be a condition of membership that the applicant and/or member shall support all of the objects and the interests of the LSS.
9) Upon receipt of a written application for membership on the approved form, the Committee:-
1. shall admit to full membership any person it reasonably considers to be eligible for membership under rules 4 and 8;
2. shall reject any application for full membership from a person it reasonably considers to be ineligible for full membership under rule 4 or 8;
3. may, in the event that it decides that there is doubt as to the applicant’s eligibility under rules 4 or 8, either reject the application or request that the applicant provide the Committee with further information so as to enable the application to be reconsidered.
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Termination of membership
10) Any person who ceases to be eligible for membership under rule 4 or 8 shall cease to be a member of the LSS, but shall not be entitled to the return of his or her subscription for any part of the calendar year in which such person ceases to be eligible for membership.
11) Any doubt as to a member’s continuing eligibility for membership or any class of membership of the LSS shall be resolved by the Committee.
12) The Committee shall have the power to expel any member of the LSS.
13) Any member may resign from the LSS at any time, but shall not be entitled to the return of his or her subscription for any part of the calendar year in which such resignation takes place.
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Officers
14) There shall be the following Officers of the LSS, who shall be members of the LSS:-
1. The Chairman
2. The Vice Chairman
3. The Secretary
4. The Treasurer
5. The Seminar Secretary
6. The Publicity Secretary
15) No person shall hold office as Chairman for more than 3 consecutive years.
16) No person shall hold office as Vice Chairman for more than 3 consecutive years.
17) No person shall hold office as Secretary for more than 4 consecutive years.
18) No person shall hold office as Treasurer for more than 4 consecutive years.
19) No person shall hold office as Seminar Secretary for more than 4 consecutive years.
20) No person shall hold office as Publicity Secretary for more than 4 consecutive years
21) Each officer shall retire at the close of every Annual Meeting. Such retiring Officers shall (subject to the provisions of rules 15-20) be eligible for re- election as Officers or as ordinary members of the Committee.
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Powers and duties of Chairman and Vice Chairman
22) The Chairman shall:-
1. supervise the operation of the LSS generally;
2. chair meetings of the LSS and of the Committee, whenever present;
3. represent and promote the objects and interests of the LSS in all respects;
4. perform such other duties as are provided for by these rules.
23) The Vice-Chairman shall assist the Chairman in the performance of his duties, and shall undertake the powers and duties of the Chairman in his/her absence.
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Duties of the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Seminar Secretary
24) The Secretary shall:-
1. keep the records of the LSS;
2. prepare and keep the minutes of the meetings of the LSS and of the Committee;
3. give such notices as are provided for by these rules;
4. perform such other duties as are provided for by these rules.
25) The Treasurer shall:-
1. receive all monies of the LSS;
2. prepare the annual accounts of the LSS for presentation at each Annual Meeting;
3. prepare budgets of LSS expenditure as and when required by the Committee;
cause the LSS’s monies to be disbursed in accordance with the directions of and/or the mandate determined by the Committee from time to time;
4. be responsible for keeping a record of the names and professional addresses of the members of the LSS for the time being;
5. perform such other duties as shall be provided for by these rules.
26) The Seminar Secretary shall organise, under the supervision of the Committee, a programme of seminars, lectures and educational events for the benefit of the members of the LSS.
27) The Publicity Secretary shall advise the Committee and other officers on publicity and shall organise and execute publicity tasks assigned by the Committee or other officer.
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The Committee of the LSS
28) The Committee of the LSS shall comprise the following persons, all of whom must (save as provided in these rules) be members of the LSS:-
1. The Officers; and
2. Up to a maximum of 12 elected ordinary members
3. Up to a maximum of 4 members co-opted by the Committee.
29) The elected ordinary members of the Committee who have been in office for 3 consecutive years shall retire at the close of the third Annual Meeting following their election. Such retiring members:-
1. shall be eligible for re-election to the Committee as Officers, and
2. i. Shall be eligible for re-election to the Committee as ordinary
members, if there is a vacancy for which they are eligible to stand,
unless they have served 6 consecutive years;
ii. otherwise shall not be eligible for re-election as ordinary members
of the Committee in any category for a period of 3 years after their
retirement.
30) A Committee member who ceases to be eligible for membership shall be treated as an additional co-opted member of the Committee and shall continue to hold office until the close of the next Annual Meeting.
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Duties and meetings of the Committee
31) The Committee shall meet as and when it shall think fit.
32) There shall be a quorum of 3 officers and 2 members of the Committee for meetings of the Committee.
33) The Chairman (or the Vice-Chairman in his/her absence) or any 3 members of the Committee may call a meeting of the Committee.
34) Save in cases of urgency, the Secretary shall give 7 days’ notice of a meeting of the Committee to the members of the Committee.
35) Meetings of the Committee shall be chaired by the Chairman or, in his absence, the Vice-Chairman, or in his absence by such officer or ordinary member of the Committee as the meeting shall elect.
36) The Committee shall:-
1. (i) fix and call for subscriptions required by the LSS to carry out its objects;
(ii) determine the manner in which the LSS’s monies are to be applied or disbursed;
2. fix the agenda for and summon Annual Meetings and other general meetings of the LSS; and
3. undertake any other powers and duties provided for by these rules.
37) The Committee may delegate any business other than that mentioned in rules 38(1)(i) and 38(2) to sub-committees comprising any number of members of the LSS provided that every sub-committee shall have at least as many Committee members as members as non-Committee members.
38) It shall be the duty of all members of the Committee to attend meetings of the Committee unless they have good reason not to do so.
39) If any member of the Committee shall be persistently absent from Committee meetings without good reason then the other members of the Committee shall be entitled to resolve to dismiss that person from the Committee and upon such resolution being passed then the person concerned shall cease to be a member of the Committee. In this rule persistent absence means absence from 4 consecutive meetings.
X) The Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership, and no act of the committee shall be called into question of invalidated by reason of any vacancy in its membership or defect or irregularity in the appointment of any of its members.
XX) The Chairman may exercise any power of the Committee where urgent action is required and it is not practicable to convene a Committee meeting to consider the matter, provided that all such action shall be reported to the following Committee Meeting, and that any expenditure authorised under this rule shall be the minimum necessary.
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Election and retirement of Officers and members of the Committee
40) The Officers and the required ordinary members of the Committee for the forthcoming year shall be elected by the members of the LSS within the period of three months ending on 31 November in each year, and prior to the Annual Meeting.
41) The Secretary together with 2 of the other members of the Committee (where possible being members or Officers retiring in the year in question and who are not eligible for re-election or are not seeking re-election but in any event as selected by the Chairman) shall comprise a Ballot Committee in order to conduct any ballot required under these rules.
42) The elections shall be conducted as follows:-
1. The Secretary shall send out a notice to all full members of the LSS inviting nominations (by a stated date, not less than 14 days after the notice) for the Officers and the required ordinary members of the Committee, indicating the number of vacancies and the restrictions on the standing of the members to be elected to fill such vacancies under rule 28(2).
2. A nomination must be in writing addressed to the Secretary and must be signed by the nominee and 2 current full members of the LSS, not including the nominee himself.
3. If more than one nomination is received by the Secretary for the post of any officer, there shall be a secret ballot in respect of that post if the election is held at a meeting. If the election is conducted by email or post, email or postal ballots shall be accepted by the Secretary.
4. If only one nomination is received by the Secretary for the post of any officer, that nominee shall be duly elected to fill that post.
5. If more nominations are received by the Secretary for any category of ordinary member of the Committee than there are vacancies for that category, there shall be a secret ballot in respect of that category of ordinary member.
6. If no more nominations are received by the Secretary than there are vacancies for any category of ordinary member of the Committee, the nominees in that category shall be duly elected to serve on the Committee.
7. If a ballot is required, the Ballot Committee shall send out a notice incorporating a ballot paper to all full members of the LSS stating the date by which ballot papers shall be returned and allowing at least 10 days from their dispatch for that purpose.
8. Each full member shall have one vote for each Officer, and one vote for each vacancy for ordinary members of the Committee in each category.
9. The candidate who receives the most votes for the post of each officer shall be duly elected. In the event of a tie, there shall be a drawing of lots to select the winning candidate.
10. The candidates in each category of ordinary member of the Committee who receive the most votes shall be duly elected to serve on the Committee.
11. The candidates elected as aforesaid as Officers and Committee members shall be announced at the Annual Meeting.
43) The Officers and ordinary members of the Committee shall hold office from the termination of the Annual Meeting at which their election is announced until the end of the Annual Meeting at which the result of the election for their replacement on the Committee is announced.
44) Whenever an Officer or ordinary member of the Committee ceases for any reason to hold office before the expiration of the term for which he was elected, the Committee may appoint some other member of the LSS to serve in his place until the next Annual Meeting. Such an appointee shall be eligible for election as an Officer or member of the Committee at the next annual election.
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Annual Meetings
45) An Annual Meeting of the LSS shall be held between 1st September and 31st November in each calendar year.
46) The date of each Annual Meeting shall be fixed by the Committee.
47) The business of the Annual Meeting shall be as follows:-
1. the announcement of the results of the election of the Officers and the ordinary members of the Committee for the forthcoming year;
2. to receive a report from the Chairman as to the work undertaken by the LSS since the previous Annual Meeting;
3. to receive a financial report from the Treasurer;
4. to consider and (if thought fit) to approve the accounts for the previous calendar year prepared by the Treasurer;
5. to consider and (if thought fit) to approve any change in the subscription for each class of membership for the forthcoming calendar year proposed by the Committee;
6. to consider any resolutions of which due notice shall have been given;
7. to consider such other business as the Chairman of the meeting shall permit.
48) Any full member wishing to propose a resolution at an Annual Meeting shall give the Secretary written notice of the terms thereof not later than the 30th July preceding the meeting.
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Extraordinary meetings
49) The Committee may call an Extraordinary meeting of the LSS at any time.
50) If more than 15 members of the LSS sign and deliver to the Secretary a requisition stating the resolutions to be discussed at an Extraordinary meeting of the LSS, the Committee shall summon an Extraordinary meeting to be held not later than 35 days after the date of delivery of the requisition (unless it is delivered between 7th July and 7th September in which case the meeting shall be held not later than 70 days after the date of delivery of the requisition).
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Notice of meetings of the LSS
51) The Secretary shall give the members of the LSS notice in writing to an address on record of each Annual Meeting and of any Extraordinary meeting of the LSS no less than seven days in advance of the date fixed for the meeting.
52) Notice of an Annual Meeting and of an Extraordinary meeting shall include a summary of the resolutions to be proposed and the business to be conducted at the meeting.
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Chairman of and Quorum at meetings of the LSS
53) Meetings of the LSS shall be chaired by the Chairman or, in his absence, the Vice-Chairman, or in his absence by such Officer or ordinary member of the Committee as the meeting shall elect.
54) A quorum for a meeting of the LSS or for the taking of a vote at a meeting of the LSS shall be 15 full members.
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Attendance and voting at annual and Extraordinary meetings
55) All members shall be entitled to attend and speak at annual and Extraordinary meetings
56) Save as provided in Rule 57, resolutions may be passed at an annual or Extraordinary meeting of the LSS by a simple majority of members present and voting. Proxy votes shall be cast if authority is evidenced in writing.
57) A resolution to change any of these rules may only be passed by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting at an annual or Extraordinary meeting of the LSS provided that:-
1. where a resolution proposes a change in these rules which does not affect the membership rights of members then there shall be a special quorum in relation to that resolution of 15 members; and,
2. where a resolution proposes a change in these rules that does affect the membership rights of members then such resolution shall not be passed unless two thirds of the members present at the meeting and entitled to vote in favour of the resolution do so.
58)
1. save as provided in sub paragraph (2) only full members shall be entitled
to vote at annual and Extraordinary meetings.
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Administration
59) The Committee shall be at liberty to engage secretarial and/or administrative assistance at the expense of the LSS to assist the Officers and/or the Committee in the exercise of their powers and duties under these rules.
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Finance
60) Each member of the LSS shall pay an annual subscription for each calendar year (or part year) of membership.
61) Each honorary member shall pay an annual subscription for each calendar year (or part year) of membership at the discretion of the Committee.
62) The amount of the annual subscriptions for each class of member for the calendar year next following shall be determined by the Committee in advance of the Annual Meeting.
63) The expenses incurred by the LSS shall be met from the subscriptions paid by the members and from any other funds raised by the Committee for the purposes of the LSS.
64) Any change in the amount of the subscriptions determined by the Committee for the following calendar year shall be approved at the Annual Meeting.
65) The annual subscription shall be paid by each member on or before the 15th December prior to the calendar year to which the subscription relates.
66) Further subscriptions (in addition to the annual subscription) may be raised by the Committee at any time with the approval of a resolution at an Extraordinary meeting of the LSS.
67) Any member of the LSS whose subscription is in arrears shall cease to be a member of the LSS, but may be re-admitted to membership by the Committee on payment of the arrears and of such subscription as he would have paid if his membership had not ceased.
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Alteration of rules
68) These rules may only be altered by a resolution passed in the manner provided by rules 57 and 58.
69) Section 68 shall not apply until September 2009.
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Notices
70) Any notice required by these rules to be given to members of the LSS shall be validly given if sent by hand, by facsimile transmission, by post or by e- mail to an address on record
71) Non-receipt of any notice by any member shall not invalidate anything subsequently done in reliance upon that notice, provided that the notice shall have been validly sent in accordance with rule 70 above.
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[Appendix 1]
Memorandum of Association
Interests of the Lawyers’ Secular Society are as follows:
Every member of the LSS shall be obliged to support the cause of secularism generally.
The LSS will work to promote progressive law and policy making that advances principles of equal rights and respect for all.
The LSS believes that progressive law and policy making can influence positive social change that will work towards eliminating discriminatory and negative attitudes towards others in society.
The LSS believes that progressive law and policy should be made in a state that is neutral on religion and belief and where decisions are made based on objective evidence. In this way the rights of all members of society will be protected and no group will be permitted to impose their views or prejudices on others.
The LSS believes that the right to manifest religion or belief stops short of the point where that manifestation comes into conflict with the fundamental rights of others. The right of all members of society to live free from discrimination and to have equal access to employment and services always comes before the right to manifest religion or belief.
The LSS believes that the expression of religious belief is entitled to no greater protection or respect than any other form of belief, and asserts that the right robustly to challenge and debate belief applies equally to religious belief as to any other form of belief. Defence of freedom of speech and expression is central to the work of the LSS.
The LSS will work to promote progressive law and policy making by organising lectures and debates and other educational activities, by providing advice and assistance to members of the public who have been subjected to discrimination or detriment for a reason based in religious privilege, or who have been subject to a claim asserting a right to religious privilege and by raising awareness and lobbying lawmakers on equalities issues related to discrimination founded on religious privilege.
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