Index of Sections

Section 1 – General
Section 2 – Membership
Section 3 – Annual Elections
Section 4 – The Auditor
Section 5 – Secretary
Section 6 – Treasurer
Section 7 – Records Secretary
Section 8 – Social Secretary
Section 9 – PRO
Section 10 – The Committee
Section 11 – Standing Orders

Section 1- General

The Society shall be known as the Dublin University Business and Economics Society or otherwise by its abbreviation, D.U.B.E.S. (Hereinafter referred to as the Society).

The object of the Society shall be to promote the academic, social and other interests of its members, especially with regard to business and economic matters.

The Society shall consist of Honorary Members, Ordinary Members and Associate Members.

The President of the Society, shall, for a five year term, be the official head of the Society to whom a report of the activities of the Committee should be made at least once a session, or on certain important issues arising from those activities. A Vice-President may be elected for the same period as that of the President, and if elected, should also be informed of the activities of the Society.

The management of the Society shall be entrusted to a Committee of the Officers, and not more than six other members, elected to serve by the Ordinary Members.

This Constitution should be publicly available for inspection by any member of the Society.

Section 2- Membership

(A) Honorary Members

Honorary Members shall be the President, the Vice-President and other members whom the Society may elect from time to time. Honorary Members shall not be eligible for annual office, or for seats on the Committee.

Except as hereinafter provided for, no member shall be eligible for election to Honorary Membership who shall not have been a Committee Member of the Society. Such elections shall take place at a Private Business Meeting of the Society, at which a two-thirds majority of those members present shall be required for a candidate to be elected.

Notwithstanding (2) above, the Society may elect any person an Honorary Member, providing that both:

such a person shall have been nominated by at least twenty Ordinary Members and two Committee Members, and

the said person shall have been elected by a three-quarter majority of Members at a Private Business Meeting.

Honorary Members shall be elected for life.
(B) Ordinary Members

All those whose names are on the College Books shall be eligible for Ordinary Membership.

Ordinary Members are obliged to pay the Society an annual subscription.

The Committee may recommend to the Society the expulsion of any Ordinary Member, such recommendation to be made at a Private Business Meeting of the Society. Any member so expelled may submit a written appeal to the Auditor, whose decision is final in such matters.
(C) Associate Members

Any person whose name is not on College Books and is deemed by the Committee to be willing to further the objectives of the Society, shall be eligible for Associate Membership.

Associate Members shall be subject to the same regulations as Ordinary Members regarding payment of subscription and expulsion.

Associate Members shall have the same privileges as Ordinary Members except that the former shall neither be entitled to vote at elections nor be eligible for annual office, nor for seats on the Committee.

Section 3- Annual Elections

The Annual Officers shall be the Auditor, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, the Honorary Records Secretary, the Honorary Social Secretary, and the Publicity Officer, and shall take precedence in that order.

The Annual Officers and the Committee, with the exception of the Junior Freshman Committee Members, shall be elected at the A.G.M. Voting shall commence at a specified time and place, to be announced and publicised at least two weeks in advance of the meeting. The method of election shall be the Single Transferable Vote, as used in Daíl Eireann elections. There shall be no voting by Proxy. All candidates shall, before voting begins, be allowed to make a speech at the meeting.

The Annual Officers shall enter their respective posts upon completion of the A.G.M., and shall hold office until the next A.G.M., subject to the provisions for expulsion provided for in this Constitution.

All candidates for any office in the Society, or seat on the General Committee, who must be proposed and seconded by Ordinary Members of the Society at least one week before the day of election, must themselves be Ordinary Members of the Society. The Committee shall satisfy itself that at least one suitable candidate who is willing to stand, is nominated for each post.

All candidates for the position of auditor shall have served a full year on the Committee of the Society.

Only members who are paid up by the 31st of December in the previous calendar year, and who have attended at least one public business meeting of the Society before the A.G.M., shall be allowed to vote.

An election is to be held in Michaelmas term for the purpose of electing two Junior Freshmen to positions on the Committee.

For the purpose of Junior Freshman elections only, all Junior Freshmen in the Faculty of Business, Economic and Social Studies shall be entitled to vote.

Notwithstanding (8) above, all members wishing to vote at Society elections must produce evidence of membership in order to have their vote registered as valid.

Any objection to the validity of an election, or any part thereof, shall be dealt with at an Extraordinary General Meeting, of at least one quarter of all members of the Society, which may be summoned by the President upon petition of those members, if the President feels there is good reason to do so. The E.G.M. must be held within ten working (term) days of the A.G.M.

In the case of an objection to the Michaelmas election, a petition may be directed to the Auditor signed by at least fifteen Ordinary members within ten working days of the election. The Committee shall have the power to declare the election void and arrange for another election to be held.

Section 4- The Auditor

The Auditor shall be the chief Officer of the Society and shall take the chair at Private Business and Committee Meetings. In the event of his/her absence from the meeting his/her duties shall be performed by the next most senior member of the Committee, as laid down in section 3.1 of this Constitution.

The Auditor shall be the immediate interpreter of the Laws.

The Auditor shall have the power of expulsion, with regard to any member at a meeting of the Society, on the grounds of disorderly conduct; the meeting continuing only after that member has withdrawn.

Any decision of the Auditor under 2 or 3 above shall be subject to an appeal to the Committee, notice of which will be lodged with the Secretary, in writing, within ten working days of the Auditor’s decision, who shall immediately post notice of the appeal and of the subsequent decision on the Society notice board.

A subsequent appeal may be sent to the Society in Private Business on a motion in the names of at least five members. The previous decision may not be discussed at the meeting at which the subsequent appeal is made.

If any Officer shall absent him/herself from Committee meetings the Auditor shall nominate a member of Committee to fill the Office until the arrival of that Officer.

In the event of any Office other than that of the Auditor becoming vacant, the Auditor shall appoint a substitute to hold Office under the title of Pro-Secretary, Pro-Treasurer etc., until the Society elects a new Officer.
The Committee shall decide when the Society should elect the new Officer.

The Auditor may, at his/her own discretion, deliver a public Auditorial address to the Society, at a time and place to be decided upon by the Auditor with the approval of the Committee.

All cheques must be signed by the Auditor and by either the Honorary Secretary or the Honorary Treasurer.

Section 5 – The Honorary Secretary

The Honorary Secretary shall carry out the general correspondence of the Society.

Private Business and Committee Meetings of the Society shall be called by the Secretary, subject to the Auditor’s agreement and section 11.4. (S)he shall also call E.G.M.s either on the written recommendation of the Auditor or of the Committee or of one-quarter of Ordinary Members, notwithstanding section 3.10.

The Secretary shall arrange for a chairperson, essayists and speakers as may be requested for all public meetings of the Society, subject to the directions of the Committee and the Ordinary Members.

Section 6 – The Honorary Treasurer

The Honorary Treasurer shall have the custody of all monies and financial records belonging to the Society and shall keep account of, and transact, all financial business of the Society.

The Treasurer shall keep an account of all sums of money received and expended by the Society, mentioning from whom, and when, they are received, and upon what date and item(s) they are expended. S/He shall not spend any society monies without the sanction of the Committee, and is ultimately responsible for all funds at his/her disposal.

The Treasurer shall lodge balances in the accounts of the Society at the earliest opportunity.

Account books shall be exhibited for inspection, when required, to the Committee, at all reasonable times.

Before the A.G.M. s/he shall have closed all accounts for the session, and have had them audited. S/he shall also draw up and present to the Society at the A.G.M. an Income and Expenditure Account, and a statement of all items of expense incurred subsequently. The Treasurer shall also ensure that the Society does not have any creditors (including the bank) at the time of the A.G.M.

Any cheque payable to the Treasurer must be approved by the Committee.

Section 7- The Honorary Records Secretary

The Honorary Records Secretary shall keep proper minutes of the proceedings of every meeting of the Society.

It shall be the duty of the Records Secretary to maintain an official copy of the Constitution and Laws of the Society and enter into it all alterations and additions.

The Records Secretary shall keep a list of all persons present at meetings of the Society.

S/he shall keep a book wherein s/he shall enter the names of all Ordinary Members. This book shall be open for inspection by any member of the Society upon reasonable notice to the Records Secretary.

S/he shall also keep a book listing the names, addresses and dates of elections of all Honorary and Associate Members of the Society.

S/he shall keep in good order the past records of the Society.

Section 8 – The Honorary Social Secretary

The Social Secretary shall be responsible for all social events organised by the Society, and shall report to the Committee regularly.

The Social Secretary shall take special care to ensure that, at receptions following public business meetings, no person who did not attend the meeting shall attend the reception.

It shall be the special responsibility of the Social Secretary to ensure that all guests of the Society are treated properly.

At least one party shall be organised by the Social Secretary each session, with members of the Society having access to these parties at a reduced price.

Section 9 – The Honorary Publicity Officer

The Honorary Publicity Officer shall be generally responsible for communications in the Society.

S/he shall inform the Ordinary Members of the Society, with regard to subjects, chairpersons and/or speakers for Public Business, and other advice, information, and suggestions which can be used to further the Society’s interests. S/he shall report regularly in Committee on his/her findings.

The Publicity Officer shall send notices and reports of all meetings and functions of the Society to College Magazines and the Public Press. S/he shall also post notices of all such meetings and functions, at least one week before they take place, on the Society’s notice board and various College notice boards.

Section 10 – The Committee

The Committee shall meet regularly during Lecture Term on the summons of the Secretary, and shall have the management of the affairs of the Society.

Five shall form a quorum, the chair being taken by the Auditor, and in his/her absence, by the most senior member present.

The Committee shall have the power (subject to any motions of the Society) to enforce the Laws directing the Officers in the fulfillment of their duties.

The Committee shall consider appeals against the decisions of the Auditor; their decisions being reported to the Society at the next Public Business Meeting, subject to sections 4.6 and 4.7.

The Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees to deal with matters that may arise.

If any Officer or Ordinary Committee Member shall have absented themselves from two consecutive Private Business or Committee Meetings, or three Public Business Meetings (where these occur on different days) of the Society, without the permission of the Society, through its Committee, then the Auditor shall declare the appointment vacant and the Society shall appoint/elect a new Officer/Ordinary Committee Members as provided by section 4.3.

Section 11- Standing Orders

Meetings of the Society shall take place when summoned by the Secretary.

No alteration shall be made in the Constitution and Laws of the Society except by a motion proposed at one Private Business Meeting and passed by a simple majority at the next.

The quorum for any meeting of the Society (excepting Committee Meetings) shall be fifteen members of whom at least three shall be Officers.

The order of Private Business, which shall be held at least once a term, shall be:
(Strangers having withdrawn and the chair taken by the Auditor)

Minutes
Reports (Officers, Committee, Sub-committees)
Nominations and elections
Questions (not to last more than fifteen minutes)
Motions and notices of motions
Any other business

The following may be deemed Privileged Motions and may be proposed and seconded at any time during Private Business. No two Privileged Motions may be before the house at any one time with the exception of No 6.To be passed they require a simple majority of those present with the exception of No 1.

That XYZ be censured (2/3 majority)
That the meeting be adjourned.
That a vote of thanks, congratulations or sympathy be passed.
That Standing Orders be suspended.
That the speaker be (not) heard.
That the question be now put.
That the motion before the house be amended.

Upon twice being censured a member shall immediately tender his resignation to the Society.

No discussion shall be allowed on motions 2 or 6.

The Chairperson shall have the right to refuse any motion or any discussion that is, in his/her opinion, frivolous, improper or irrelevant, subject to section 4.6 and 4.7.

A motion once rejected by the Society can not brought forward again at the same meeting.

The mover of a motion shall have the right of reply. No other member may speak twice to the same motion except by leave of the Chairperson.

Members must speak through the Chair.

No voting on any motion or amendment shall take place until such motion or amendment be put from the Chair.

The order of Public Business shall be:
(The chair having been taken)

Minutes
A paper or paper(s) shall be read and/or a debate shall take place.
Questions may be taken from the floor.
The Chairperson may address the meeting.
The Chairperson shall close the discussion.
The Auditor shall propose a vote of thanks to the Chairperson and declare Public Business at an end.