Source: http://malechoir.com/our-constitution/
Timestamp: 2020-03-28 23:18:29
Document Index: 679353654

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'ART 3', 'art 2', 'art 3']

Our Constitution - Pontypridd Male Choir
PART 1 – Purpose of Choir and Use of Property
The name of the Choir shall be Cor Meibion Pontypridd (Pontypridd Male Voice Choir)
To advance public education and awareness of choral music. To entertain audiences at the same time. To safeguard uphold and preserve the musical heritage and language of Wales. To promote the pursuit of music excellence in local schools through the John Tree award*. To encourage the pursuit of singing excellence at the Welsh college of Music and Drama through the Dorothy Davies-Ingram award*. To support community activities and charities as and when appropriate. The Choir will be a non-political organisation. (*Dependant on the continued availability of funds).
The income and property of the Choir shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the object
A Trustee may pay out of, or be reimbursed from, the property, of the Choir reasonable expenses properly incurred by him or her when acting on behalf of the Choir
None of the income or property of the Choir may be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend bonus or otherwise by way of profit to any member of the Choir. This does not prevent:
a member who is not also a Trustee from receiving reasonable and proper remuneration for any goods or services supplied to the Choir;
buying goods or services from the Choir upon the same terms as other members or members of the public;
receiving a benefit from the Choir in the capacity of a beneficiary of the Choir, provided that the Trustees comply with the provisions of sub clause (6) of this clause, or as a member of the Choir and upon the same terms as other members;
the purchase of indemnity insurance for the Trustees against any liability that by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise attach to a
Trustee or other officer in respect of any negligence, default breach of duty or breach of trust of which he or she may be guilty in relation to the Choir but excluding:
liabilities to the Choir that result from conduct that the Trustee or other officer knew or ought to have known was not in the best interests of the Choir or in respect of which the person concerned did not care whether that conduct was in the best interests of the Choir or not
No Trustee may be paid or receive any other benefit for being a
sell goods, services or any interest in land to the Choir;
be employed by or receive any remuneration from the
receive any other financial benefit from the Choir, if:
the benefit is authorised by the Trustees in accordance with the conditions in sub-clause (6) of this
If it is proposed that a Trustee should receive a benefit from the Choir that is not already permitted under sub-clause (3) of this clause, he or she must:
not vote on the
In cases covered by sub-clause (5) of this clause, those Trustees who do not stand to receive the proposed benefit must be satisfied that it is in the interests of the Choir to contract with or employ that Trustee rather than with someone who is not a Trustee and they must record the reason for their decision in the minutes. In reaching that decision the Trustees must balance the advantage of contracting with or employing a Trustee against
the disadvantage of doing so (especially the loss of the Trustee’s services as a result of dealing with the Trustee’s conflict of interest).
The Trustees may only authorise a transaction falling within paragraphs 5(a)–(c) of this clause if the Trustee body comprises a majority, of Trustees who have not received any such
If the Trustees fail to follow this procedure, the resolution to confer a benefit upon the Trustee will be void and the Trustee must repay to the Choir the value of any benefit received by the Trustee from the Choir
A Trustee must absent himself or herself from any discussions of the Trustee in which it is possible that a conflict will arise between his or her duty to act solely in the interests of the Choir and any personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest) and take no part in the voting upon the matter
In this Clause 4, “Trustee” shall include any person firm or company connected with the
If the members resolve to dissolve the Choir the Trustees will remain in office as Choir Trustees and be responsible for winding up the affairs of the Choir in accordance with this clause
The Trustees must collect in all the assets of the Choir and must pay or make provision for all the liabilities of the
by transfer to any Charity or charities for purposes the same as or, similar to the Choir;
in such other manner as the Charity Commission for England and Wales (“the Commission”) may approve in writing in
The members may pass a resolution before or at the same time as the resolution to dissolve the Choir specifying the manner in which the Trustees are to apply the remaining property or assets of the Choir and the Trustees must comply with the resolution if it is consistent with paragraphs (a)–(c) inclusive in sub-clause (3)
In no circumstances shall the net assets of the Choir be paid to or distributed among the members of the Choir (except to a member that is itself a Charity).
The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly that the Choir has been dissolved. If the Trustees are obliged to send the Choir’s accounts to the Commission for the accounting period which ended before its dissolution, they must send the Commission the Choir’s final
The Choir may amend any provision contained in Part 1 of this Constitution provided that:
no amendment may be made that would have the effect of making the Choir cease to be a Charity at law;
no amendment may be made to alter the Objects if the change would not be within the reasonable contemplation of the members of or donors to the Choir;
any resolution to amend a provision of Part 1 of this constitution is passed by not less than two thirds of the members present and voting at an Extra ordinary general
Any provision contained in Part 2 of this constitution may be amended, provided that any such amendment is made by resolution passed by a simple majority of the members present and voting at a Extra ordinary general
Membership is open to individuals over eighteen or organisations who are approved by the
The Trustees may only refuse an application for membership if, acting reasonably, with diligence and fairness if they consider it to be in the best interests of the Choir to refuse the
The Trustees must inform the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal within twenty-one days of the
Membership is not transferable to anyone
The Trustees must keep a register of names and addresses of the members which must be made available to any member upon
Any male who desires to become a member shall first apply in writing to the Secretary and shall be required to give evidence of musical ability to the Conductor. The Conductor’s report will be,
taken, into account, when the Management Committee consider the application.
Any person applying to join the Choir over the age of 16 but under the age of 18 upon acceptance will be called a Junior Member until attaining the age of
No subscription or right to vote will become applicable. Their term as Junior Member will count towards their, years of
Long Service Membership: Choristers will be presented with a 5 year service badge to be worn on the blazer when singing. The badge will be updated every five years. Up to a maximum of forty years when the Choir member will be granted Life Honorary Membership.
Honorary Membership: Honorary Membership and Honorary Lady Membership may be bestowed at the discretion of the Management Committee.
Life Membership: All Choir members achieving forty years unbroken service with the Choir will be nominated for Life Membership. The nomination will be considered by a meeting of the Choir committee, if appropriate the committee will award Life Membership to the Choir member nominated. Choir Members granted Life Membership will NO longer be required to pay membership fees. All nominations for Life Membership must be put in writing to the General Secretary and seconded by another Choir Member. Should it be brought, to the committees, attention, that a life member has broken the rules and regulations laid out in this Constitution, the Committee shall have the right to withdraw the Choristers Life Membership.
(a) Any member who joins any other Choral organisation whose
rehearsals or engagements are likely to coincide with those of this
Choir may be asked to attend a committee meeting and explain
To the committee his future intentions regarding his membership and
Commitment to the choir.
(b) All members must be punctual and regular at rehearsals. In cases of
absence, the member must inform his section Committeeman of the
reason for absence. In cases of absence from engagements members
must give prior notice to their section Committeeman and the nominated
(c) Prompt payment of Membership Subscriptions must be made.
The Annual Membership subscriptions as decided by the Annual General Meeting shall be
Paid as and when decided by the committee.
the member resigns by written notice to the Choir unless, after the resignation, there would be less than two members;
Any sum due from the member to the Choir is not paid in full within three months of it being due.
the member is removed from membership by a resolution of the Trustees that it is in the best interests of the Choir that his or her membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a member from membership may only be passed if:
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;
the member or, at the option of the member, the member’s representative (who need not be a member of the Choir) has been allowed to make representations to the
the member is suspended from membership by a resolution of the Trustees that it is in the best interests of the Choir that his membership is
The Choir must hold a General meeting within twelve months of the date of the adoption of this
All general meetings other than Annual General Meetings shall be called Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM).
The Trustees may call an Extraordinary General Meeting at any
The Trustees must call an Extraordinary General Meeting if requested to do so in writing by at least twenty members or one fifth of the membership, which ever, is the greater. The request must state the nature of the business that is to be discussed. If the Trustees fail to hold the meeting within 28 days of the request, the members may proceed to call an Extraordinary General Meeting but in doing so they must comply to provisions of this Constitution
Members shall be summoned to a General Meeting annually by at least
14 days notice, being given by the Committee, for the purpose of:
Receiving and adoption of Financial
Confirmation of Elected
Receive the Report of the
To consider any Notice of Motion duly moved and seconded, any such Motion having been submitted to the Secretary at least 14 days prior to the Annual General
Consider any matter of urgency, so ruled by the
The Agenda for the Annual General Meeting must be published at least 7 days before the
The Management Committee reserve the right to invite any person to the Annual General Meeting, although they will not be entitled to full member rights. Any non-full member wishing to attend the Annual General Meeting must apply to the Management Committee in
Alteration of Rule: Any proposed alteration of the Rules and/or Constitution, may proceed if :-
(a) Properly proposed and seconded, must appear on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting.
(b)A copy of the proposed alteration must be in the hands of the Secretary at least 14 days before the date of the Meeting.
(c) Any alteration of the Rules and Constitution requires a two-thirds majority at the Annual General Meeting subject to there being at least 50 percent of the total Choir membership present.
The minimum period of notice required to hold any general meeting of the Choir is fourteen clear days from the date on which the notice is deemed to have been
The notice must specify the date, time and place of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted. If the meeting is to be an annual general meeting, the notice must say
The notice must be posted on a noticeboard, so all the members and the Trustees can see such notice.
20 members entitled to vote upon the business to be conducted at the meeting
Or 50% of the total membership at the time, whichever is the greater.
during a meeting a quorum ceases to be present, the meeting shall be adjourned to such time and place as the Trustees shall
If no quorum is present at the re-convened meeting within fifteen minutes of the time specified for the start of the meeting the members present at that time shall constitute the quorum for that
General meetings shall be chaired by the person who has been elected as
If there is no such person or he is not present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting, a Trustee nominated by the Trustees shall chair the
If there is only one Trustee present and willing to act, he shall chair the
If no Trustee is present and willing to chair the meeting within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding it, the members present and entitled to vote must choose one of their number to chair the
If a meeting is adjourned by a resolution of the members for more than seven days, at least seven clear days’ notice shall be given of the re-convened meeting stating the
date time and place of the meeting.
Each member shall have one vote but if there is an equality of votes the person who is chairing the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to any other, vote, he or she
A resolution in writing signed by a member in attendance at the meeting (or in the case of a member that is an organisation, by its authorised representative) who would have been entitled to vote upon it had it been proposed at a general meeting shall be effective. It may comprise several copies each signed by or on behalf of one or more
Any organisation that is a member of the Choir may nominate any person to act as its representative at any meeting of the
The organisation must give written notice to the Choir of the name of its representative. The nominee shall not be entitled to represent the organisation at any meeting unless the notice has been received by the Choir. The nominee may continue to represent the organisation until written notice to the contrary is received by the Choir.
Any notice given to the Choir will be conclusive evidence that the nominee is entitled to represent the organisation or that his or her authority has been revoked. The Choir shall not be required to consider whether the nominee has been properly appointed by the organisation.
The Choir and its property shall be managed and administered by a committee comprising the Officers and other members elected in accordance with this Constitution. The Senior officers and other elected Choir members shall be the Trustees of the Choir and in this Constitution are called the “Trustees”
The Choir shall have the following Chief Officers:
A Trustee must be a member of the Choir or the nominated representative of an organisation that is a member of the
No one may be appointed a Trustee if he or she would be disqualified from acting under the provisions of 19.
The number of Trustees shall be not less than three (but unless otherwise than determined by a resolution of the Choir in a General Meeting) no more than five.
A Trustee may not appoint anyone to act on his behalf at meetings of the Trustees.
(a) The Officers, shall consist of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, General Secretary,
Treasurer, plus those Trustees appointed as officers.
(b) The Management Committee, shall consist of the Chairman Vice-Chairman, General
Secretary, Concert Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity Officer, and eight elected members,
Two from each of the four sections of the Choir and will serve for a term of 3 years from
The Choir, in general meeting shall elect the Officers and the other
The Trustees may appoint any person who is willing to act as a Trustee. Subject to sub-clause 5(b) of this clause, they may also appoint Trustees to act as
(3) Each of the Trustees shall serve the term of 3 years from the date of election at an Annual General Meeting.
No-one may be elected a Trustee or an Officer at any annual general meeting unless prior to the meeting the Choir is given a notice that:
is signed by the person who is to be proposed to show his or her willingness to be
The appointment of a Trustee, whether by the Choir in general meeting or by the other Trustees, must not cause the number of Trustees to exceed any number fixed in accordance with this constitution as the maximum number of Trustees.
The Trustees may not appoint a person to be an Officer if a person has already
been elected or appointed to that office and has not vacated the office.
Election to the Management Committee:
Nominations duly seconded and signed by the Nominee must be in the
hands of the Secretary 7 days prior to the date of the Annual General
Officers are to be elected by ballot at the Annual General Meeting.
Committeemen are to be elected by and out of the Four Sections of the Choir at the Annual General
Where a duly elected Committeeman is subsequently successful in an Election for an Office at the Annual General Meeting. the vacancy for Committee so created shall be filled by a subsequent election at the earliest
Where, during the year, a vacancy occurs on the Management Committee for whatever reason, the vacancy will be filled at the earliest possible date at the discretion of the Management
In the event of the Chairman or General Secretary vacating office for whatever reason during the year the Choir members may elect any Choir member willing to fill the post by an Extraordinary General Meeting.
Management: The management of the Choir, and all arrangements for rehearsals, concerts and engagements shall be in the hands of the Management Committee.
The Trustees must manage the business of the Choir and have the following powers i order to further the Objects (but not for any other purpose):
to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the property belonging to the Choir. In exercising this power, the Trustees must comply as appropriate with sections 36 and 37 of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006;
to borrow money and to charge the whole or any part of the property belonging to the Choir as security for repayment of the money borrowed. The Trustees must comply as appropriate with sections 38 and 39 of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006, if they intend to mortgage land;
to obtain and pay for such goods and services as are necessary for carrying out the work of the Choir;
No alteration of this constitution or any special resolution shall have retrospective effect to invalidate any prior act of the
It will be the responsibility of each Trustee to maintain discipline and order during rehearsals and concert engagements and when on tour.
is disqualified for acting as a Trustee by virtue of section 72 of the Charities Act 1993 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision): or future amendments to the Charities act.
Ceases to be a member of the Choir.
resigns as a Trustee by notice to the Choir (but only if at least two Trustees will remain in office when the notice of resignation is to take effect); or
The Trustees may regulate their proceedings as they think fit, subject to the provisions of this
Any Trustee may call a meeting of the
The Secretary must call a meeting of the Trustees if requested to do so by a
No decision may be made by a meeting of the Trustees unless a quorum is present at the time the decision is purported to be
The quorum shall be two or the number nearest to one third of the total number of Trustees, whichever is the greater or such larger number as may be decided from time to time by the
A Trustee shall not be counted in the quorum present when any decision is made about a matter upon which that Trustee is not entitled to
If the number of Trustees is less than the number fixed as the quorum, the continuing Trustees or Trustee may act only for the purpose of filling vacancies or of calling a general
The person elected as the Chair shall chair meetings of the
If the Chair is unwilling to preside or is not present within ten minutes after the time appointed for the meeting, the Trustees present may appoint one of their number to
chair that meeting.
A resolution in writing signed by all the Trustees entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Trustees or of a committee of Trustees and to vote upon the resolution shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Trustees or (as the case may be) a committee of Trustees duly convened and
The resolution in writing may comprise several documents containing the text of the resolution in like form each signed by one or more
The Trustees may delegate any of their powers or functions to a committee of two or more Trustees but the terms of any such delegation must be recorded in the minute
The Trustees may impose conditions when delegating, including the conditions tha the relevant powers are to be exercised exclusively by the committee to whom they delegate;no expenditure may be incurred on behalf of the Choir except in accordance with a budget previously agreed with the
The Trustees may revoke or alter a
Subject to sub-clause (2) of this clause, all acts done by a meeting of Trustees, or of a committee of Trustees, shall be valid notwithstanding the participation in any vote of
– the decision has been made by, a majority, of the Trustees at a quorate meeting.
Sub-clause (1) of this clause does not permit a Trustee to keep any benefit that may be conferred upon him or her by a resolution of the Trustees or of a committee of Trustees if the resolution would otherwise have been
the Choir in general meeting
shall be invalidated by reason of the failure to give notice to any Trustee or member or by reason of any procedural defect in the meeting unless it is shown that the failure or defect has materially prejudiced a member or the beneficiaries of the Choir.
proceedings at meetings of the Choir;
where appropriate the reasons for the
the keeping of accounting records for the Choir;
the preparation of annual statements of account for the Choir;
the transmission of the statements of account to the Choir;
the preparation of an Annual Return and its transmission to the
Accounts must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of any Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Commission.
(a) The Choir’s yearly examination of accounts shall be verified by an external party or registered Auditor prior to submission at the Annual General Meeting.
The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly of any changes to the Choir’s entry on the Central Register of Charities.
all land held by or in trust for the Choir that is not vested in the Official Custodian of Charities; and
all investments held by or on behalf of the Choir, is vested either in a corporation entitled to act as custodian Trustee or in not less that three individuals appointed by them as holding
The terms of the appointment of any holding Trustees must provide that they may act only in accordance with lawful directions of the Trustees and that if they do so they will not be liable for the acts and defaults of the Trustees or of the members of the Choir.
The Trustees may remove the holding Trustees at any
The Trustees must keep in repair and insure to their full value against fire and other usual risks all the buildings of the Choir (except those buildings that are required to be kept in repair and insured by a tenant). They must also insure suitably in respect of public liability and employer’s liability.
(2) The Choir may give any notice to a member either:
(3)A member who does not register an address with the Choir or who registers only a postal address that is not within the United Kingdom shall not be entitled to receive any notice from the Choir.
(4) A member present in person at any meeting of the Choir shall be deemed to have received notice of the meeting and of the purposes for which it was called.
Proof that an envelope containing a notice was properly addressed, prepaid and posted shall be conclusive evidence that the notice was
the admission of members of the Choir (including the admission of organisations to membership) and the rights and privileges of such members, and the entrance fees, subscriptions and other fees or payments to be made by members;
the conduct of members of the Choir in relation to one another, and to the Choir’s employees and volunteers;
the setting aside of the whole or any part or parts of the Choir’s premises at any particular time or times or for any particular purpose or purposes;
the keeping and authenticating of records (if regulations made under this clause permit records of the Choir to be kept in electronic form, the record should be properly authenticated by whatever means).
generally, all such matters as are commonly the subject matter of the rules of an unincorporated
The Choir in general meeting has the power to alter, add to or repeal the rules or by-laws.
The Trustees must make all members of the Choir aware of the rules or regulations of this Choir.
The rules or bye-laws shall be binding on all members of the Choir. No rule or
by-law shall be inconsistent with, or shall affect or repeal anything contained in, this constitution.
The Choir adopts the Welsh Male Voice Choirs rules on disciplinary and grievances procedures.
PART 3 – Rules adopted under Paragraph 29 of Part 2 of the Constitution.
31. Staging at Engagements
The Committee in consultation with the Conductor are empowered to prevent the staging of any member.
32. Choir Dress
Choir Uniforms will be provided for singing members, at the discretion of the Management Committee. The uniforms are the property of the Choir and the Management Committee will decide what contribution each choristers will make towards the cost.
33. Funds of the Choir
The funds of the Choir shall be applied to its stated Aims and Objectives and other charitable
Members of the Choir may receive reasonable expenses and Honoraria shall be paid as agreed by the
In the event of the Dissolution of the Choir, the remaining funds shall be devoted to organisations whose objectives are similar to those of the Choir. or to other purposes as approved by the Charity
34. President and Vice Presidents of the Choir
The post of President may be nominated by the committee and is purely honorary and has no duties or functions other than to be a figurehead of the Choir.
Any number of Vice Presidents may be nominated by the Committee.
The post of Vice President is purely honorary and has no voting rights unless they are full members of the choir.
35. Appointments (1)
There shall be the following Chief Officers who shall be elected each year by the Annual General Meeting:
Two Committeemen from each vocal section
36. Appointments (2)
The appointment of the following posts may be appointed at the discretion of the Management
Any other position as deemed necessary by the management committee..
37. A Musical Director/ Conductor
Shall be appointed by the Committee and the terms of the appointment shall be set out in correspondence agreed by both parties.
38. The Musical Director/ Conductor shall have the right,
Subject to the approval of the Committee:
to order the seating arrangement of members for rehearsals and performances;
to refuse any member permission to sing at a concert for whatever reason deemed
39. An Accompanist
Shall be appointed by the Committee in consultation with the Conductor, and the terms of the appointment shall be set out in correspondence agreed by both parties.
40. Voice Tests
Applicants for membership shall, and any member may at any time, be required to undergo a voice test. Each member shall undergo a voice test when required by the conductor or Management Committee. Any adverse decision will be referred to the Management Committee for a decision on continuation of membership.
41. Eligibility to Stage
All new choristers are required to attend a minimum of 30 rehearsals prior to staging, or less, with the approval of the conductor and Management Committee. The 30 rehearsal period may also be extended if necessary.
42. Responsibilities of Members
All members are expected to take part in all works chosen for rehearsal and to attend all rehearsals unless prevented by sickness, absence from home or other compelling reason. Members not able to attend rehearsal are to advise their
All members shall conform to concert dress as determined from time to time by the Committee.
All members shall conduct themselves in a civil manner in their relationship with other members of the Choir and the
All members will pay subscriptions and any other fees and charges determined by the Committee as soon as they become
Any member in breach of these responsibilities may be subject to termination of membership.
43. Publication
These rules (and constitution) will be published on the Choir’s website and will otherwise be made available to members in printed form if so requested.
44. Alterations and Amendments to the Rules
The Rules under Part 3 may be amended by majority decision at any General Meeting of the Choir. The Appendices to the Rules may be amended by the Committee at any time.
the spouse or civil partner of the trustee or of any person falling within the sub-clause
(1) above;
a person carrying on business in partnership with the trustee or with any person falling within the sub-clause (1) or (2) above;
by the trustee or any connected person falling within sub-clause (1), (2) or (3) above; or
by two or more persons falling within sub-clause (4)(a) when taken together
two or more persons falling within sub-clause (5)(a) who, when taken together, have a substantial
Paragraphs 2 to 4 of Schedule 5 to the Charities Act 1993 apply for the purposes of interpreting the terms used in this