Constitution of the British Association for Korean Studies | British Association for Korean Studies

NAME

1. The name of the Association shall be “The British Association for Korean Studies”.

OBJECT

2. The object of the Association shall be to encourage Korean Studies in the United Kingdom, in particular by stimulating teaching and research.

MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

3.a. The Association shall consist of Ordinary Members, Corporate Members and Honorary Members.

b. Ordinary Members shall be any individuals who support the object of the Association. They shall be admitted to membership only with the consent of the Council, and on payment of an annual subscription to be determined by the Council. Ordinary membership confers voting rights in the Association.

c. Corporate Members shall be organisations which desire to support the object of the Association. They shall be admitted to membership only with the consent of the Council, and on payment of an annual subscription to be determined by the Council. Corporate membership does not confer voting rights in the Association.

d. Honorary Members shall be elected by the Council in recognition of eminent contributions to Korean Studies in the United Kingdom, and shall not exceed ten in number. Honorary membership confers voting rights in the Association.

4. Subscriptions for membership shall be payable in advance and shall be due on the first day of January in each year. The Council shall have the power to remove from the membership list the name of any member whose subscription is in arrears.

MANAGEMENT

5. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Council.

OFFICERS

6.a. The Officers of the Association shall comprise a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.

b.The President shall represent the Association, shall chair Council and other meetings of the Association, and shall be responsible for the general administration of the Association. A report shall be made to the membership at each Annual General Meeting.

c. The Secretary shall be responsible for recording and keeping the minutes of the Council and other meetings of the Association, and for disseminating announcements to the Council and to the membership of the Association. The minutes of the Council and other meetings shall be available for inspection by the membership. A report shall be made to the membership at each Annual General Meeting.

d. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the oversight of all financial affairs of the Association and shall maintain the financial records of the Association. The records shall be available for inspection by the membership. A report shall be made to the membership at each Annual General Meeting.

COMPOSITION OF THE COUNCIL

7.a. The Council of the Association shall comprise: the Officers, the Immediate Past President, three (3) Elected Members. b. The Council shall have the power to co-opt such extra members as are thought necessary to promote the business of the Council, as long as the membership does not exceed ten (10) members in total. Co-opted members shall be Members of the Association and shall have voting rights on the Council. c. Four members of the Council shall form a quorum.

ELECTION OF THE COUNCIL

8. The Officers and Elected Members of the Council shall be members of the Association and shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting by the Ordinary and Honorary Members of the Association.

9. No person shall serve on the Council normally for more than four consecutive years, except that the progress of a President to the position of Immediate Past President shall not be interrupted.

10. If a serving Member of Council assumes the position of an Officer, he or she may enter upon a fresh four-year period of tenure.

11.a. The Council shall have the power to appoint one or more Members of the Association to posts other than those referred to in Section 6. The Council may appoint Committees, for which any Member of the Association shall be eligible.

b. Persons appointed to such a post or to such committees shall not be considered to be a Member of the Council, unless they already are a Member.

12. The Council shall have the power until the elections at the next Annual General Meeting to fill any vacancy occurring among the Officers or on the Council until the elections at the next Annual General Meeting. For the purpose of Section 9 such services shall not be counted.

13. Any Council member (elected or co-opted) who fails to attend a minimum of one (1) of the Council meetings in a calendar year (which has been announced with due notice) shall be asked whether he or she wishes to remain a Council member, and if so, shall be required to attend at least one of the next two meetings. Failure to do so may result in removal from the Council.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

14.a. An Annual General Meeting shall be held at such a date and place as is determined by the Council, to consider an Agenda prepared by the Council, and to transact any other business of which notice has been given in writing to the Secretary.

b. Ten members of the Association shall form a quorum.

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS

15.a. Ten or more Members of the Association may at any time call a Special General Meeting by giving notice in writing to the Secretary, stating the motion or motions to be brought forward.

b. A Special General Meeting shall be held at a time and place to be determined by the Council and shall take place within six weeks of receipt of such notice by the Secretary.

c. No less than four weeks’ notice shall be given of a Special General Meeting to the membership of the Association.

d. The notice of the Meeting shall state the business to be transacted and no business other than that specified in the notice shall be transacted at such a Special General Meeting.

e. Fifteen members of the Association present at the meeting shall form a quorum.

VOTING

16. Any decision at an Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting shall be adopted if approved by a simple majority of those members voting.

17.a. The Constitution shall be changed or amended by a two-thirds vote of Ordinary and Honorary Members voting at the Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting at which the proposals for changes or emendations are put forward.

b. Announcement of the changes or alterations proposed to be made to the Constitution shall be made no less than four weeks before the meeting at which the proposals are to be considered.

RESIGNATION

18. A member may at any time resign from the Association by notifying the Secretary in writing, but resigning Members shall be liable for any subscription due.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

19. The Association will communicate with its membership about official matters concerning the Association normally by electronic means. Members who do not wish to be contacted by email shall inform the Secretary to that effect.

CONTINGENT AUTHORITY OF THE COUNCIL

20. The Council shall have full authority to deal with any matter affecting the Association’s interests that is not provided for in this Constitution.

Second Revision: 26 November, 2011.
First revision: September, 2000. Adopted March 1993.