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 UKOTA > Constitution |
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Title Objects
and Rules of the United
Kingdom Overseas Territories Association 1.
Title The
United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA), hereinafter referred
to as the Association, whose registered address is 2.
The
Association exists to promote the interests of the 3.
Objectives i.
To provide
a forum for exchange of ideas and discussion of relevant issues of common
interest. ii.
To work for the mutual benefit of the
signatories to the Mission Statement. iii.
To share information about issues of
interest and benefit to the signatories to the Mission Statement. iv.
To make
recommendations to the Governments of the v.
To develop relationships, as a group,
with HMG, the European Union, the Commonwealth and other appropriate
organisations and institutions. vi.
To share best practice in relevant
areas. vii.
To defend the collective interests of
the Members and to represent these interests. 4. Membership Full Members a.
Full
membership of the Association shall be open to any inhabited, with a
resident population, Pitcairn Turks
& Caicos Islands b.
Members
shall be represented in the bodies of the Association by physical
persons duly appointed by them and empowered to act on their behalf (hereafter
referred to as the Representative). Associate Members c.
An Associate Member shall be any
dependency of an d.
Associate Members shall have no right
to vote at any meeting or to be elected to Office. 5. Conditions
of Future Membership a.
Application
for membership shall be made in writing to the Chairman and
shall contain full particulars of the status of the applicant in accordance
with the rules of the Association. b.
Applications
for Membership of the Association shall be approved or rejected by the
unanimous decision of the Full Members present and voting at an Ordinary
Meeting of the Association. 6. Funding a.
The financial
resources at the disposal of the Association will be those arising out of
membership fees and other contributions from Members and other sources of
income to be identified from time to time and used for the financing of the
Association’s activities and the attainment of its objectives. b.
Membership
fees for Full Members and Associate Members shall be subject to
annual budget decisions. c.
Membership fees
shall become payable at the Annual General Meeting. d.
In addition to membership fees
sponsorship will also be sought from various funding bodies. 7. Entrance
Fee a.
An Entrance
Fee of such sum as shall be decided from time to time at an Annual General
Meeting shall be charged to each new Full Member and Associate Member of the
Association. 8. Resignation
of Members a.
Members may
resign following notice given in writing to the Association’s Secretary.
Resignations shall become effective three months after the date of their
submission. 9. Expulsion
of Members a.
If any
Member of the Association shall disregard any rule or regulation of the
Association, or shall be guilty of any conduct that in the opinion of the
Association is inimical to the interests of the Association, the Member may be
expelled from the Association under the provision of this paragraph. b.
Written notice
(without specifying reasons) of a proposal to expel a member from the
Association shall be given by the Hon Secretary of the Association to every
member including the member sought to be expelled, at least fourteen days
before the meeting at which the proposal is to be considered. c.
A motion
to expel a member of the Association shall only be passed at a meeting of the
Association convened in accordance with Rule 14. d.
Any Member whose membership fees
remain unpaid for one year shall automatically lose their membership. e.
Any Member who through resignation,
expulsion or otherwise ceases to belong to the Association forfeits his right
to any part of the assets of the Association. 10. Political Council a. The
Political Council is the highest body of the Association, consisting of the
individual representatives of each Member government, which sets the policies
of the Association and approves the decisions requiring its approval. All
prerogatives necessary to the achievement of the Association’s aims shall be
vested in the Political Council. b.
The head of
government of the Chairman of the Association is the President of the Political
Council and the President of the Association. c.
The
Political Council shall meet at least once a year. Notice of the Political
Council Meeting and the agenda shall be given at least 21 days in advance. d.
The President of the Political Council will chair Political Council meetings. e.
The representatives at the Political Council Meeting are the heads of
government or designated members of government together with the
Representatives. 11. Officers
of the Association a.
The Officers
of the Association shall be the Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary
Treasurer, who shall all be Representatives of Full Members. b.
The Chairman
shall be elected annually by the Representatives of the Full Members present at
the Annual General Meeting of the Association. c.
The posts of Honorary Secretary and
Honorary Treasurer shall be elected annually by the Representatives of the Full
Members present at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. d.
No Representatives of Full Members
may hold an Office for more than three years consecutively. e.
Officers of the Association shall
have power to form all necessary Committees from the membership and to co-opt
such expertise as may be deemed necessary. Such Committees shall be responsible
to the Membership and shall report regularly thereto. f.
The Officers of the Association shall
have no power to commit the Association to any financial service without the
unanimous approval of the Full Members present and voting at a meeting of the
Association. 12. Financial
Year a.
The Association’s
Financial Year shall be from 1 December to 30 November following. 13. Accounts a.
The accounts
of the Association will be kept by the Honorary Treasurer. b.
At each
Association’s Meeting the Honorary Treasurer will give an up-to-date financial
report. c.
At the Annual General Meeting of the
Association two Members will be appointed to review the financial accounts and
to act as auditors. 14. Meetings Ordinary
Meetings a.
The Association
shall meet at least five times a year. b.
Meetings shall be convened by the
order of the Chairman. c.
Representatives of Members should be
given at least 21 working day’s notice of Ordinary Meetings. d.
The quorum at Ordinary Meetings for
the conduct of any business shall be at least 4 Full Members. Special
Meetings e.
A Special
Meeting of the Association may be convened at any time by the direction of the
Officers of the Association, who shall in the convening notice set forth a
summary of the business to be considered. f.
Where it
appears to the Full Members of the Association that a Special Meeting is
desirable, they may on requisition in writing to the Honorary Secretary, signed
by not less than 25 per cent of the total Full Membership require the Association
to call such a meeting. g.
A quorum
at a Special Meeting shall be 50 per cent of the total Full Membership and no
resolution shall be deemed carried at such meeting unless supported unanimously
by the Full Members present. Annual
General Meetings h.
Notice of the AGM shall be given at
least 21 working days in advance. The meeting will be held on or within 90 days
of 30 November each year for the following purposes:-
i.
Election of
the officers of the Association.
ii.
Appointment
of two Members of the Association as auditors of the following year’s accounts.
iii.
Review of
the membership fees for the next financial year.
iv.
Any other
annual business of the Association. i.
The
quorum at an AGM shall be 50 per cent of the total Full Membership. The Chair
presiding shall also enjoy a casting vote. 15. Agenda
a.
The
Honorary Secretary in conjunction with the Chairman shall draw up the
agenda for meetings and submit it to the Members on the day the meeting is
convened. b.
The
Honorary Secretary shall include any item that has been tabled by any
Member. c.
The Honorary Secretary shall send the
invitation to the meeting, the agenda and working documents to the Members no
later than 5 calendar days before the actual date of the meeting. 16. Attendance
at Meetings a.
Each Representative
can nominate a substitute representative to attend meetings on their behalf. b.
Each Representative should not bring
any more than two people to a meeting unless previous approval is given by the
Officers. c.
Notwithstanding (b) above each Full
Member will be entitled to only one vote when deciding any matter of the
Association be it at an Ordinary Meeting, Special Meeting or the Annual General
Meeting. d.
The
Chairman may invite experts or observers to attend a meeting (or part thereof)
to assist in forming the Association’s views on particular matters. e.
Experts and
observers may be invited to withdraw when the Association moves to a vote. 17. Minutes a.
The Minute
Book of the association will be kept by the Honorary Secretary. a.
The draft
Minutes of the meetings of the Association shall be drawn up by the Honorary
Secretary in conjunction with the Chairman. b.
The Minutes
shall contain in particular the attendance of the meeting, the salient details
of the discussions on the items tabled and the decisions taken. c.
The draft
Minutes shall be sent to the Representatives for comments within 14 days after
a meeting. d.
At each
Association’s Meeting the Minutes of the previous meeting will be signed by the
Chairman. 1. Amendment
of the Constitution a.
No alteration,
amendment, deletion or addition to this Constitution shall be made except by
acceptance of a Motion, of which a minimum of 21 days notice has been given,
and which has been circulated to all Representatives before the Meeting, at a
Special Meeting convened to consider the amendment or at an AGM of the
Association. b.
No decision shall be adopted unless
it is approved by a majority of at least two thirds of the Full Members of the
Association, present or represented by written proxy. 2. Dissolution a.
The Association
may be dissolved by the vote of not less than five sixths of the
Representative’s present and voting at a Special Meeting called to consider the
matter. b.
Such a Special Meeting, however,
shall not be operative in regard to the dissolution of the Association unless
75% of the Representatives of the Full Members in attendance. c.
In the event of the dissolution of
the Association any funds or property of the Association (subject to
discharging there from all outstanding liabilities) shall be distributed
according to the decision of the Special Meeting decided by a majority vote. |
