LIVERPOOL & S.W. LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

CONSTITUTION

The name of the Society shall be the 'Liverpool & S.W. Lancashire Family History Society'.
The recognised address of the Society shall be that of the General Secretary.
The area of interest shall be that part of the Ancient County of Lancashire known as the Hundred of West Derby.

1    Aims

1.1    The aim of the Society shall be:-

1.1.1    To encourage the public in the study of Family History and Genealogy.

1.2    In furtherance of the above object but not further or otherwise the Society shall have the following powers:-

1.2.1    To provide educational facilities for the study of Family History.

1.2.2    To produce a journal at regular intervals.

1.2.3    To arrange a programme of lectures, visits and other activities connected with subjects of interest to the Society.

1.2.4    To transcribe, index, and whenever possible publish material relevant to the interests of the Society.

1.2.5    To become a member of the Federation of Family History Societies (Registered Charity No. 1038721) and have the power to guarantee its debts in the event of insolvency up to the sum of £1. The Society may also affiliate with other charitable organisations whose objects are deemed compatible and mutually supportive.

2    Membership and Subscription

2.1    Classes of membership and subscriptions shall be as recommended by the General Committee, and approved by the members at a General Meeting of the Society. Details of membership categories and subscriptions shall be published in all issues of the Society Journal and on the Society’s website. Voting rights at meetings are limited to one per fully paid-up membership.

2.2    Membership shall lapse if the subscription is not paid on or before the 1st March in each year. All annual subscriptions, except the first, shall be payable on the 2nd January each year. A member may join the Society at any time during a year, and the full annual subscription at the appropriate rate shall be paid irrespective of the date of application for membership - entitling the member to receive all four issues of the journal for that year. The first annual subscription paid by a member who joins the Society after the 30th September in that year shall cover the period to 31st December in the following year.

2.3    The General Committee shall have the right to remove from membership of the Society any member whose activities shall, in the opinion of the Committee, be deemed to be not in the best interests of the Society. The resolution of the General Committee that his or her membership be terminated may only be passed if:

2.3.1    The member has been given 21 days notice in writing of the meeting at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;
    
2.3.2    The member or, at the option of the member, the member's representative (who need not be a member of the Society) has been allowed to make representations to the meeting.

3    Groups

3.1    Local Groups and Special Interest groups may be established to carry out the aims of the Society.

3.2    Each group shall be responsible to and represented on the General Committee, and shall conform to the Society's constitution.

3.3    Each group shall be administered by an elected Committee which shall consist of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Projects Secretary and Programme Secretary. Any holder of these posts on the Committee is required to be a paid-up member of the Society. The Treasurer shall maintain financial accounts for the group and send an annual statement to the Society's Treasurer within six weeks of the end of the financial year. The group Committees shall have the right to co-opt any person(s) whose skills and experience are deemed to be of value to the Committee. Group Committees shall be elected annually by the members of that Group. The Group Committee shall nominate a representative to the General Committee.

3.4    No person may hold the post of Chairman in 2 or more groups at the same time.

4    Trustees

4.1    The Trustees of the Society are Chairman, Vice Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, Internet Co-ordinator, Publications Officer and Minutes Secretary.

5    General Committee

5.1    The Society's affairs shall be administered by an elected General Committee the members of which are the Trustees of the Society and Membership Secretary, Members’ Interests Secretary, Strays Co-ordinator, Zoom Administrator, Media Administrator, Donated Certificates Secretary and one representative elected by each Group of the Society. The General Committee shall have the right to co-opt any person(s) whose skills and experience are deemed to be of value to the Society.

5.2    The General Committee may invite suitable persons to become President and/or Vice President of the Society. The President and Vice President shall have the right, ex-officio, to membership of the Committee but shall not have the right to vote.

5.3    At General Committee Meetings, a quorum shall consist of 6 persons.

5.4    The Chairman shall have the right to a casting vote when necessary.

5.5    Each of the elected persons shall retire with effect from the conclusion of the annual general meeting next after his or her appointment but shall be eligible for re-election at that annual general meeting.

5.6    The General Committee shall meet at least four times in each Calendar Year.

5.7    The Society shall indemnify the General Committee of the Society from and against all acts done or purported to be done in good faith on behalf of the Society.

6    General Meetings

6.1    “Meeting” in this constitution means both a General Meeting of the Members of the Society including an Annual General Meeting, and also any Meeting of the General Committee or Executive Committee or Sub-Committee.

6.2    Any Meeting may be held (a) physically (b) online as a virtual meeting or utilising some other facility enabling all people participating in the Meeting to communicate interactively and simultaneously with each other (c) by telephone conference or (d) as a hybrid meeting combining attendance in person and online or by telephone conference as the circumstances allow and the General Committee decide.

6.3    A Meeting shall take place at the physical location specified in the Notice of Meeting for the holding of the Meeting or if the Meeting is called as an online virtual Meeting or by telephone conference, the Meeting shall take place at the electronic or virtual platform used by the Society to host the Meeting or if called as a hybrid meeting the physical location where the Meeting is to be held and the electronic or virtual platform used by the Society to host the Meeting and the Notice of Meeting shall specify such platform and host.’

6.4    “Present in person”. A person entitled to attend and vote at a Meeting may participate by being physically present at the location of the Meeting stated in the Notice of Meeting or if it is held virtually online or by telephone conference or as a hybrid meeting participation in the Meeting called by the Notice of Meeting shall be taken to be presence in person at the Meeting. Persons present in person shall count towards the quorum required for the relevant meeting.

6.5    A person attending a Meeting virtually shall have the same rights to receive notice, speak, vote and otherwise participate in the Meeting as they would have if attending the Meeting in person.

6.6    Where arrangements have been made for a Meeting to be held virtually or as a hybrid meeting the Notice calling the Meeting shall state that fact and include details of the means by which a person may attend the Meeting virtually, including any pre-registration requirements and passwords.

6.7    The Chairman of a Meeting being held virtually or as a hybrid meeting if the virtual or hybrid meeting platform experiences technical issues, including the ability for the Chairman to postpone or adjourn the Meeting without seeking the consent of the Meeting, may adjourn the Meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned Meeting other than the business left unfinished at the Meeting from which the adjournment took place.’

6.8    At any Meeting a resolution put to the vote of the Meeting shall be decided on a show of hands or for those attending the meeting virtually online or by telephone by voting electronically (if the facility is available) and in accordance with the voting procedures notified prior to the Meeting. A declaration by the Chairman that a resolution has on a show of hands or electronically been carried unanimously or carried by a particular majority, or lost, and an entry to that effect in the book containing the minutes of the proceedings of the Society shall be conclusive evidence of the fact without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour or against such resolution.

6.9    An Annual General meeting shall be held each Calendar Year, within 15 months of the previous such meeting. A report on the Society’s activities since the last Annual General Meeting shall be presented and the Treasurer shall submit to the Meeting financial accounts which have been submitted to independent examination.

6.10    An Extra-ordinary General Meeting may be convened by (i) the General Committee at any time at not less than 21 days notices (ii) no less than 25 members of the Society with voting rights, in writing to the General Secretary, at not less than 21 days notice. Such notice must be accompanied by all motions to be presented at the meeting, together with the names of the proposer(s) and seconder(s).

6.11    Any amendment to the Constitution shall be circulated to the members at least 21 days before the Meeting, and shall require a majority of two thirds of the vote cast. Provided that no amendment shall be made that would cause the Society to cease to be a charity at law.

6.12    All other motions shall require a simple majority.

6.13    A quorum of 20 members with voting rights shall constitute a General Meeting.

6.14    An Annual General Meeting shall elect the Trustees and Officers.

7    General

7.1    The Society's Bankers shall be appointed by resolution of the General Committee.

7.2    Cheque Signatories or Authorising officers, in the case of online banking, shall be any two of the Chairman, General Secretary, Publications Officer and Treasurer.

7.3    In the event of a resolution by two-thirds of the voting members at a General Meeting to dissolve the Society, the Treasurer shall realise all its assets and discharge all its liabilities. A further General Meeting shall then be called, and the Treasurer shall submit the independently examined accounts. Any balance remaining shall then be distributed to such charitable organisation or organisations having similar aims and objects, as the Meeting shall direct. The Treasurer shall then make such distribution as directed and submit final accounts to the independent examiner. Copies of the resolution and final accounts shall be sent to the Charity commission.

7.3.1    The Society shall stand dissolved.

Draft issued: 30th September 2023.

Confirmed at AGM 21st October 2023.