Constitution of the Flinders Law Students’ Association Inc.

As ratified 15th August 2008

Summary of Sections

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Part 1 – General
1. Name
2. Objectives
3. Powers
4. Finance
5. Dissolution

Part 2 – Membership of the Association
6. Membership
7. Resignation of Membership
8. Honorary Membership

Part 3 – Membership of the Committee
9. The Committee
10. Duties of FLSA Committee Members
11. Resignation of Committee Members
12. Disqualification and Disciplinary Action

Part 4 – Meetings
13. Committee Meetings
14. Executive Committee Meetings
15. Annual General Meetings
16. General Meetings
17. Voting
18. Proxy Voting

Part 5 – Elections
19. Elections
20. Casual Vacancies

Part 6 – Rules and Regulations
21. Alterations to the Constitution
22. By-Laws

Part 1 – General

1. NAME

1.1. The name of the law society is the “Flinders Law Students’ Association Incorporated” (in this Constitution, called ‘FLSA’).

2. OBJECTIVES

2.1. The objectives and purposes of FLSA are:

2.1.1. To participate in the governance of the Law School at Flinders University.

2.1.2. To encourage the unity of students who are currently engaged in the study of law at Flinders University.

2.1.3. To encourage and promote the interaction between students currently engaged in the study of Law at Flinders University, the Flinders University Law school staff and the general community.

2.1.4. To organise academic, social and vocational functions for students and/or staff in which other schools of law, law associations, law societies and other such organisations in Australia and overseas may participate.

2.1.5. To liaise with and participate in functions organised by other schools of law, law associations, law societies and other such organisations in Australia and overseas.

2.1.6. To represent law students of Flinders University and any other members who are willing to comply with the objects and purposes of FLSA.

2.2. The assets and income of FLSA shall be applied solely in furtherance of the abovementioned objectives and no portion shall be distributed either directly or indirectly to the members of the Committee or FLSA except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of FLSA.

3. POWERS

3.1. For the purpose of carrying out its objectives, FLSA may, subject to the Associations Incorporation Act 1985 (SA) and its rules:

3.1.1. Acquire, hold, deal with, and dispose of, any real or personal property.

3.1.2. Administer any property on trust.

3.1.3. Open and operate bank accounts.

3.1.4. Invest its money:

3.1.4.1. In any security in which trust moneys may, by Act of Parliament, be invested; or

3.1.4.2. In any other manner authorised by the rules of FLSA.

3.1.4.3. Borrow money upon such terms and conditions as FLSA thinks fit.

3.1.4.4. Give such security for the discharge of liabilities incurred by FLSA as FLSA thinks fit.

3.1.5. Appoint agents to transact any business of FLSA on its behalf.

3.1.6. Enter into any other contract it considers necessary or desirable.

4. FINANCE

4.1. FLSA shall hold accounts with such financial institutions as the Committee, in its discretion, shall decide.

4.2. All funds of FLSA shall only be kept in FLSA bank accounts and appropriated only with the approval of the committee.

4.3. The Treasurer shall keep and maintain proper books and accounts showing correctly the financial affairs of FLSA.

4.4. The financial year of FLSA shall be from the first of September to the thirty-first of August.

4.5. The Treasurer shall prepare at the close of each financial year a statement of FLSA financial affairs which shall be duly audited and forwarded to the Flinders Campus Community Services Inc.

5. DISSOLUTION

5.1. In the event of the Association being dissolved, the amount that remains after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to the Flinders Campus Community Services Inc.

Part 2 – Membership of the Association

6. MEMBERSHIP

6.1. General membership of FLSA is open to all persons enrolled in a law degree at Flinders University.

6.2. General members may subscribe to a premium membership upon payment of the FLSA premium membership fee.

6.3 The Committee shall determine the premium membership fee and its time of payment at the beginning of the year in a Committee Meeting.

6.4 All members of FLSA are bound by the Constitution and By-Laws.

6.5 If a member breaches this Constitution and it is also a breach in law, an (A)GM has the power to decide to take legal action against that member.

6.6 People wanting to participate in academic competitions and work experience programs organised by FLSA must be members of FLSA.

6.7 A register of members must be kept and maintained by the Secretary, containing the name and address of each member.

7. RESIGNATION OF MEMBERSHIP

7.1. A member may resign from membership of FLSA by giving written notice to the Secretary. That member shall be liable for any outstanding payments due to FLSA incurred from membership.

8. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

8.1. The Committee may, by three-quarters majority, confer Honorary Membership of FLSA, unless that person elects not to be a member, in appreciation of their outstanding service to FLSA and legal education at Flinders University.

8.2. An Honorary Member:

8.2.1. shall not be subject to any membership fee;

8.2.2. may not vote at any meeting of FLSA;

8.2.3. is ineligible to stand for election for any position on the FLSA Committee; and

8.2.4. is bound by the FLSA Constitution and By-Laws.
8.2.5. If a FLSA member is awarded honorary membership he/she continues to exercise his/her rights as a FLSA member pursuant to cl 6.1-6.7.

Part 3 – Membership of the Committee

9. THE COMMITTEE

9.1. The affairs of FLSA shall be managed by a Committee comprised of:

9.1.1. The President

9.1.2. The Vice President (Education & Careers)

9.1.3. The Sponsorship Director

9.1.4. The Competitions Director

9.1.5. The Secretary

9.1.6. The Treasurer

9.1.7. The Activities Director

9.1.8. The Education Officer

9.1.9. The Careers Officer

9.1.10. The Competitions Coordinators (x 3)

9.1.11. The Activities Coordinators (x 2)

9.1.12. The Marketing Officer

9.1.13. The Publications Editors (x 4)

9.1.14. The First Year Representative (Activities)

9.1.15. The First Year Representative (Education and Careers)

9.1.16. The First Year Representative (Competitions)

9.1.17. The Equity Officer

9.1.18. The Information Technology Officer

9.2. The Immediate Past President shall hold an ex-officio position on the Committee.

9.2.1. The Immediate Past President shall be the person who was the President of FLSA in the term preceding the current committee’s term.

9.3. The Executive of FLSA is composed of the President, Vice President (Education and Careers), the Sponsorship Director, the Competitions Director, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Activities Director.

9.4. The Committee shall meet at such times as the Committee considers appropriate, but normally at least once a month during the academic year.

9.5. Committee meetings are to be chaired by the President or his/her nominee.

9.6. The Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees as it deems necessary. The duties of sub-committees shall be defined by the Committee to which the said sub-committees shall be responsible to, for the duration of that position.

9.7. If a Committee member is absent for a long period of time, during this period the Committee can appoint a person as an ‘acting’ Committee member for that position. Where the President is absent for a long period of time, the ‘acting’ President is to be the Vice President/ Education.

9.8. All Committee members and ‘acting’ Committee members must be members of FLSA.

9.9. The term of the Committee is to run from the first of December to the thirtieth of November the following year.

10. DUTIES OF FLSA COMMITTEE MEMBERS

10.1. The duties of FLSA Committee Members are defined in by-laws.

10.2. The duties of all officers of FLSA committee include any matters incidental to their position.

11. RESIGNATION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

11.1. A member of the Committee shall cease to be a member of the Committee upon any of the following:

11.1.1. He/She submits his/her resignation in writing to the Secretary.

11.1.2. He/She ceases to be a member of FLSA.

12. DISQUALIFICATION AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION

12.1. A member may be expelled from FLSA for a period deemed appropriate by a General Meeting if he or she acts in a manner contrary to the aims of FLSA and its objectives.

12.2. Subject to the Committee member being given an opportunity to be heard or make a written submission at an (A)GM, one half plus one of members present may resolve to expel the Committee member where his/her actions are detrimental to the interests and goodwill of FLSA. Voting is to be by secret ballot.

12.3. A Committee member may be dismissed by the FLSA Committee where one of the following has occurred:

12.3.1. he/she has been absent from 3 consecutive meetings without leave of absence being granted by the Committee; or

12.3.2. he/she is absent without leave of absence being granted by the Committee for more than 6 Committee meetings within a year; or

12.3.3. three quarters of the Committee decide that he or she has consistently failed to adequately discharge the duties of his or her position.

12.3.4. The Committee member being dismissed must be given at least seven days’ notice in writing by the President and reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations prior to dismissal.

Part 4 - Meetings

13. COMMITTEE MEETINGS

13.1. The Secretary shall convene a Committee meeting of FLSA at the request of the President or 4 Committee members of FLSA.

13.2. Committee members are to be given 5 working days notice. Notice must include the agenda, and is to be sent by email to all Committee Members.

13.3. The draft minutes of the previous meeting must be presented and accepted upon approval at the subsequent meeting. The draft minutes are to be made available at the same time as the agenda for the next meeting.

13.4. The quorum for a Committee Meeting is one third of sitting Committee members (including at least two members of the Executive).

14. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

14.1. Executive Committee Meetings are to be attended by the Executive members of FLSA.

14.2. Business before this Committee must be approved by at least 4 out of 6 Executive members.

14.3. Executive Committee Meetings are to be convened by the President. The Secretary must give Executive members 2 working days notice by email and / or phone.

15. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS

15.1. There shall be an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of FLSA to be held by the end of the second week after the semester two mid-semester break to:

15.1.1. Receive a report from the Committee.

15.1.2. Receive the audited statements of the financial affairs of FLSA for the previous financial year.

15.1.3. To commence the election of members for the Committee for the next year.

15.1.4. To conduct other such business as is properly brought before the meeting.

15.2. The Secretary shall give 14 days notice of the AGM by means of a notice by email to all law students.

15.3. Notice of the AGM must set out where and when the AGM will be held and the particulars of the nature and order of the business to be discussed.

15.4. The quorum for the AGM shall be one third of total membership or 25 members of FLSA.

16. GENERAL MEETINGS

16.1. The Secretary shall convene a General Meeting (GM) of FLSA:

16.1.1. At the direction of the Committee.

16.1.2. Or, within 14 days of a petition signed by either 25 members of FLSA or 10 Committee members, provided that such a petition shall state the business to be discussed at the General Meeting.

16.2. The Secretary shall give 14 days notice of a GM by means of an email to all law students.

16.3. Notice of the GM must set out where and when the meeting will be held and the particulars of the nature and order of the business to be discussed.

16.4. The quorum for a GM is one third membership or 25 members of FLSA. For a GM called under Clause 16.1.2 of this constitution, the quorum shall include at least 50 percent of the petitioning members.

16.5. If within 30 minutes after the time appointed for the GM, a quorum of members is not present, a meeting convened upon requisition of members shall lapse. In any other case, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and the same place. If such an adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within 30 minutes of the time appointed for the meeting the members present shall form a quorum.

17. VOTING

17.1. The President shall chair FLSA meetings, but in the President’s absence, the chairperson shall be a person eligible to vote, elected by the meeting.

17.2. Persons eligible to vote shall be:

17.2.1. At Committee Meetings, members of the Committee.

17.2.2. At General Meetings and Annual General Meetings, those members of FLSA present.

17.3. The Immediate Past President shall be entitled to attend Committee Meetings but does not have any voting rights.

17.3.1. The Immediate Past President may hold a Committee member position, and will be accorded voting rights at meetings in accordance with that position.

17.4. The chairperson of each meeting of FLSA is to have:

17.4.1. The deciding vote only in the event of deadlock in a General Meeting or an Annual General Meeting.

17.4.2. One vote in Executive or Committee meetings.

17.5. In the event of a deadlock in a Committee meeting, the motion will be put to the Committee members for a second vote. The President’s vote is to be counted as one vote. In the event of a double deadlock, the President will have the deciding vote.

17.6. In the event of a deadlock in an Executive Committee Meeting, the motion will be put to the Executive members for a second vote. The President’s vote is to be counted as one vote. In the event of a double deadlock, the President will have the deciding vote.

18. PROXY VOTING

18.1. Proxy votes may be used in FLSA Committee meetings.

18.1.1. Members eligible to vote who wish to submit a proxy vote must give notice in writing to the Secretary two days prior to the meeting.

18.1.1.1. The notice must state the agenda item that the eligible voting member wishes to vote on.

18.1.1.2. The Secretary must note all proxy votes in the minutes of the meeting.

18.1.2. A proxy vote does not constitute attendance at the meeting.

Part 5 – Elections

19. ELECTIONS

19.1. Positions on the FLSA Committee shall be declared open one week prior to the AGM and cease at the opening of the AGM. All executive nominees (or a person chosen to speak on their behalf) must present a candidate speech at the AGM.

19.2. Elections for both the FLSA Executive and Committee, excluding the positions of Immediate Past President and First Year Representatives, shall be held together and opened for one week following the close of FLSA Committee nominations pursuant to cl 19.1.

19.3. The President may re-nominate for a second term of presidency or any other position on the Committee.

19.4. The President may only hold the position of President for a maximum of two consecutive years.

19.5. If the number of nominations equals the number of vacancies to be filled, the person(s) nominated shall be deemed to be elected to that position.

19.6. A Returning Officer shall be appointed by the Committee to conduct the election process commencing at the AGM.

19.7. If more than one nomination is received for any one position an election shall be conducted by the Returning Officer.

19.8. Elections shall be conducted in accordance with this Constitution, applicable bylaws and shall be by secret ballot.

19.9. In the event that no nominations are received for a position during the election process, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy in accordance with clause 20.6.

19.10. The Returning Officer shall announce the elected Committee as soon as practicable after the positions have been filled.

19.11. Election of the First Year Representatives is to be carried out by the end of the fourth week of the first semester in accordance with the relevant provisions above.

20. CASUAL VACANCIES

20.1. The Committee shall hold a by-election, as soon as reasonably practicable, to fill any casual vacancy occurring on the Committee.

20.1.1. Nominations for a casual vacancy will be open for one week.

20.1.2. The election period shall be one week.

20.2. A Returning Officer shall be appointed by the Committee to conduct the election process.

20.3. If the number of nominations equals the number of vacancies to be filled, the person(s) nominated shall be deemed to be elected to that position.

20.4. If more than one nomination is received for any position an election shall be conducted by the Returning Officer.

20.5. By-elections shall be conducted by secret ballot.

20.6. In the event that no nominations are received during the election process, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy, provided that the appointment be ratified by a General Meeting not later than one month after the appointment takes place.

20.7. The Committee may appoint one of its members to fill the vacant position in an acting capacity until the election or appointment of the office-bearer under this section.

Part 6 – Rules and Regulations

21. ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

21.1. The procedure for altering the Constitution shall be:

21.1.1. The proposed amendments shall be set out in full and posted conspicuously on the Law School Notice Board outside North 4 and FLSA notice board, at least 14 days prior to the (A)GM at which they are to be discussed.

21.1.2. The amendments shall be agreed to by at least two thirds of the members of FLSA present at the (A)GM at which they are discussed.

21.1.3. The amendments shall subsequently be approved by the Flinders Campus Community Services Inc, or, where necessary the Flinders University Law School Board. If amendments are not approved they will be of no effect.

22. BY-LAWS

22.1. FLSA has by-laws which are contained on a separate document attached to this Constitution.

22.2. The alteration or addition of by-laws must be agreed upon by two thirds of the Committee members at a Committee Meeting.

22.3. Committee members must receive written notice 5 working days before the Committee meeting at which the alterations or additions are to be voted upon.

22.4. By-laws are to be matters ancillary to this Constitution. Where the by-laws are inconsistent to the constitution, they will be of no effect.

22.5. It is the obligation of the Executive to draft by-laws.