Difference between revisions of "Constitution"

Revision as of 21:50, 2 June 2014

Below is the Nottingham Hackspace Constitution. This page is protected as the constitution can only be changed at an AGM or EGM. Any discussion about this document can take place on the Talk page.

This is the text of the constitution, but is a mess, need to clean it up, but keep numbering. James (talk) 17:42, 19 November 2012 (EST)

Articles refers to Nottinghack’s Articles of Association, and is in addition to them.
The Board refers to the seven trustees of Nottinghack
Nottinghack refers to the organisation Nottingham Hackspace Ltd
The Space refers to the physical area, building or buildings leased or purchased by Nottinghack
Trustee refers to members elected to ensure the adequate running of Nottinghack
Member refers to any person currently a member of Nottinghack as defined in section 2 of the Articles. The board maintains a list of all members.
Resolution A resolution of the Board means at least 4 board members agree

1 Trustees

1.1 All trustees will be directors of Nottingham Hackspace Ltd

1.2 A trustee’s term of office shall normally be two years

1.3 There is no limit to a trustee’s number of terms

1.4 The Board shall consist of seven trustees

1.5 The Board can appoint an additional member to the board to act as Treasurer if they feel it is in the best interests of Nottinghack

1.6 All other roles shall be decided between the Board as and when it becomes necessary

2 Annual General Meetings

2.1 An Annual General Meeting (AGM) must take place each calendar year, towards the end of May.

2.2 An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) can be called by a majority of the Board, or 5% of members.

2.3 An EGM shall only have one item on its agenda

2.4 All members must be given notice as per section 33 of Nottinghack's Articles

2.5 Elections

2.5.1 Trustee positions become vacant when trustees either reach the end of their term of office or decide to stand down part way through their term.

2.5.2 A trustee wishing to stand down part way through their term must give one and a half months notice, to allow for the election of a replacement.

2.5.3 A replacement trustee takes up only the remainder of the retiring trustees term.

2.5.4 Normal Elections for vacant trustee positions must happen around the time of the AGM, and no later than 2 weeks after the AGM.

2.5.5 Elections for vacant trustee positions as a result of a trustee standing down part way through their term must happen around the end of a trustee's notice period, and no later than 2 weeks after.

2.5.6 Trustees at the end their of term remain on the board until the successful completion of elections.

2.5.7 Any member can nominate themselves to stand for election by giving notice to the community during the nomination window.

2.5.8 The nomination windows will normally begin 1 month prior to the elections and end 7 days before elections begin.

2.5.9 Elections shall be conducted using electronic means. These must be secure and fair

2.5.10 The board shall invite offers for a member to act as Returning Officer. This member must be agreed by six trustees and cannot stand for election

2.5.11 The Returning Officer shall provide a means for offline voting.

2.5.12 Elections will use Single Transferable Vote

2.5.13 Members may abstain from voting

2.5.14 In the event of a tie, a new election will take place immediately amongst the tied candidates. Voting must happen within a 7 day window.

2.5.15 If one of the tied candidates decides to withdraw, and the remaining candidate has passed the winning threshold a new election will not be required.

2.6 An AGM will be quorate if more than 20% of members attend.

2.7 Constitutional changes can only be carried by a 60% majority of AGM attendees

2.8 Any vote during an AGM may be conducted in secret at the request of any member

3 Board Meetings

3.1 The Board will hold regular meetings usually monthly, open to all current and potential members

3.2 Any member may submit items to the agenda

3.3 Meeting dates and times will be shown on the Nottinghack event calendar

3.4 Minutes are to be taken and are publicly available

4 Terminations

Membership may be terminated if:

4.1 the member dies or, if it is an organisation, ceases to exist;

4.2 the member resigns by written notice to the Board;

4.3 any sum due from the member to Nottinghack is not paid in full within six weeks of it falling due - a minimum of one reminder will be sent during that time;

4.4 the member is removed from membership by a resolution of the Board that it is in the best interests of Nottinghack that his or her or membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a member from membership may only be passed if

4.4.1 the member has been given at least twenty-one days’ notice in writing of the meeting of the trustees at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;

4.4.2 the member or, at the option of the member, the member’s representative (who need not be a member of Nottinghack) has been allowed to make representations to the meeting.

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