2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FOUR - Judiciary (§§ 1-3 — 2166) › PART IV - Law and Notarial Practice (§§ 721 — 1001-1040) › Chapter 63 - Bar Association of Puerto Rico (§§ 771 — 785) › § 777 - Officials; Governing board

The Governing Board of the Puerto Rico Bar Association shall be composed of one Chairman, thirty-one (31) delegates and the outgoing Chairman who shall be an ex officio member thereof, until replaced by the next outgoing Chairman, and shall be entitled only to voice. Twenty-nine (29) of the thirty-three (33) delegates shall be elected, one (1) in representation of the Special Delegation of members who reside outside of Puerto Rico, and two (2) in representation of each of the delegations of Bayamón, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Mayagüez, Ponce, Guayama, Humacao, Caguas, Utuado, Aibonito, Carolina and Fajardo, except for the district of San Juan, which shall be composed of two (2) delegations and shall elect four (4) delegates of which two (2) shall be elected by members who are residents or have their offices in San Juan, Puerta de Tierra, Santurce, Hato Rey, Puerto Nuevo, and Caparra Heights, and the other two (2) shall be elected by members whose offices or residences are located in Río Piedras, excluding Hato Rey, Puerto Nuevo and Caparra Heights. Said delegations shall be known as San Juan I Delegation and San Juan II Delegation, respectively. The election of delegates shall take place at an assembly that shall be held by the members in each of said districts, except in the cases of the district of San Juan and of the delegation that represents the members who reside outside of Puerto Rico. In the San Juan district, the delegations of San Juan I and San Juan II shall hold simultaneous conventions in the Puerto Rico Bar Association building. The delegation that represents the members who reside outside of Puerto Rico shall exercise their right to vote by certified mail.
With regard to the election of the delegate in representation of the Special Delegation of members who reside outside of Puerto Rico, it is hereby provided:
(1) Nominations for the election of a nonresident member shall be made by written application signed by at least five (5) nonresident members who are current in the payment of their dues and meet the other membership requirements.
(2) Nominees must endorse said applications by written acceptance.
(3) Said applications shall be submitted to the Offices of the Bar Association, and within the term established by regulations.
(4) The election shall be by secret ballot. To such effects, sufficient ballots shall be produced for the election of the nonresident delegate. One (1) of these ballots shall be sent by certified mail to each nonresident member who meets all voting requirements.
(5) The Bar Association shall keep a register of the members authorized to receive these ballots. The time limit for remitting the ballots shall be established by the Association by regulations.
(6) Should there be no nominations, this would result in a vacancy and the Bar Association shall fill it according to what is provided by regulations.
(7) The candidate who receives a majority of votes shall be declared elected.
(8) If there is only one (1) duly nominated candidate, said candidate shall be declared elected.
(9) The results of the election shall be remitted to the officials and other members of the Governing Board of the Bar Association, as well as to any other interested person upon a request to such effects.
The nonresident delegate shall participate in the meetings of the Governing Board through teleconferencing or any other means that is equally effective and is not onerous for him/her or his/her principals.
The Association shall designate nonresident members as members of its standing or special committees following the rules established in the above paragraph to enable their participation in the meetings and work of said committees.
These assemblies shall be held at the head of each of said districts every two (2) years on the date determined by the Governing Board between August 1 and September 30. Should the Board fail to designate the date for holding said assemblies in the manner indicated above, they shall be held on the third Saturday in August. These assemblies shall be presided over the chairperson of the delegation and the secretary of the delegation shall act as secretary thereof. No bar association member may vote for more than one (1) candidate in his/her respective district. No member of the Governing Board may be elected for more than one (1) consecutive term.
The Chairperson of the bar association shall have the duty to convene said District Assemblies through a newspaper of general circulation on the Island and said call shall be issued at least ten (10) days prior to the date previously fixed to hold said assembly and said notice to convene shall specify the place where the assemblies are to take place; Provided, That the quorum required to hold such assemblies shall be provided in the Regulations of the Puerto Rico Bar Association. In the absence of said provision, one half (½) plus one (1) of the total number of members of the respective delegation shall constitute quorum, except for the San Juan I and San Juan II Delegations where the quorum shall be twenty percent (20%) of the total number of members of said delegations.
No bar association member may exercise the right to vote and be a candidate to any office in more than one (1) delegation, in any specific year.
If for any reason, the two (2) district delegates, or either of them, are not elected in the manner indicated in this chapter, they shall then be elected at the Bar Association General Assembly by the bar association members who are domiciled or have offices in said districts and who are present at the assembly, after the latter has been divided right then and there, into the corresponding district assemblies needed to fulfill said purpose, and no bar association member may vote for more than one (1) candidate in his/her respective district.
The Bar Association Chairperson and the four (4) remaining delegates shall be elected for a term of two (2) years by the direct vote of Bar Association members, for which each individual member shall cast his/her secret vote by regular or electronic mail, as provided for in the bylaws. Bar Association Assemblies shall be held annually between August 1 and September 30, on the date set forth by the Governing Board, and they shall be announced to the members through a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico, at least thirty (30) days prior to said date. Should the Governing Board fail, in any given year, to designate the date to hold the Annual Assembly in the manner previously indicated, said Assembly shall be held that year on the first Saturday in September. Each Bar Association member may only vote for the Chairperson and for two (2) candidates for the position of delegate at large. No person shall hold the office of Chairperson or delegate at large consecutively for more than one (1) term.
Likewise, all matters that require approval by Assembly shall be consulted with Bar Association members by regular or electronic mail.
History —May 14, 1932, No. 43, p. 522, § 6; Apr. 17, 1934, No. 13, p. 252, § 1; May 9, 1950, No. 249, p. 652, § 1; Aug. 23, 1950, No. 5, p. 18, § 1; June 22, 1954, No. 76, p. 386, § 2; June 26, 1963, No. 88, p. 253, § 1; May 21, 1964, No. 32, p. 83, § 1; May 30, 1972, No. 49, p. 112, § 1; June 7, 1973, No. 119, p. 481, § 1; July 23, 1974, No. 229, Part 2, p. 181, § 1; May 27, 1981, No. 10, p. 20, § 1; July 5, 1985, No. 63, p. 218, § 1; Aug. 11, 1995, No. 161, § 1; Jan. 10, 1999, No. 29, § 1; Nov. 6, 2009, No. 135, § 3.