Ecclesiastical Architects & Surveyors Association
Rules of the Association
renewed and confirmed
at the Annual General Meeting
held on 4th November 2021.
RULE 1 TITLE
a) The title of the Association shall be “The Ecclesiastical Architects’ and Surveyors’ Association”.
RULE 2 OBJECTIVES
a) The Objectives of the Association shall be: i) To advance the knowledge and practice of ecclesiastical architecture.
ii) To uphold the professional integrity and the status of members.
iii) To serve as a medium of friendly communication between members and others interested in ecclesiastical architecture.
iv) To encourage facilities for the study of and training in the care of ecclesiastical buildings.
RULE 3 STATUS
a) There will be:
i) Members, who shall be i) suitably qualified* architects or building surveyors professionally engaged in work relating to the care, maintenance, design or construction of ecclesiastical buildings and ii) who have demonstrated to the General Committee their active support of the Objectives to the Association.
ii) Retired Members, who have been Members of the Association for a period of at least 5 years, have retired from general practice.
iii) Honorary Members and Honorary Life Members, who shall by reason of their special eminence, distinction and special interest in matters relating to ecclesiastical architecture be deemed as worthy of such membership.
iv) Correspondents, who shall be persons, either on their own account or because of their connection with organisations with which the Association wishes to maintain contact, the General Committee may resolve to admit into this category because of their interest and support of the Association’s Objectives as set out in Rule 2.
v) Associates, from the date of the adoption of these revised Rules all prospective Members are to be admitted firstly as Associates and shall be i) persons holding appointments as Diocesan Surveyors under the Repair of Benefice Buildings Measure 1972 or ii) suitably qualified* architects, surveyors or other persons professionally engaged in work relating to the care, maintenance, design or construction of ecclesiastical buildings or iii) those who are following a recognised training course that includes tuition and study (either full time or part time) in the care, maintenance, design or construction of ecclesiastical buildings or are employed within established an professionally qualified architects’ or building surveyors’ practices engaged in the care, maintenance, design or construction of ecclesiastical buildings. * The Membership Committee will each year define suitable qualifications.
b) i) Members shall enjoy full membership of the Association, may participate in all meetings of the Association, vote in all elections, receive all publications of the Association and participate fully in the activities of the Association.
ii) Retired Members and Honorary Life Members shall enjoy the same privileges as Members, provided that they shall have notified the Membership Secretary by 1 November in each year that they wish to continue as Retired Members for the ensuing year. Failure to give such notice may be deemed by the General Committee, at its discretion, as the Retired Member’s intention of resignation from the Association.
iii) Honorary Members and Associates may participate in all general and annual meetings of the Association; shall receive all Association publications but will have no vote nor be eligible for election as officers or members of the General Committee.
iv) Correspondents shall be appointed for 1 year (after which the appointment shall lapse) by the General Committee by a simple majority upon the nomination of an elected member of the General Committee. Correspondents shall be eligible for re-appointment. Correspondents may participate in all general and annual meetings of the Association but will only receive the Association Newsletter and Calendar and will have no vote or be eligible for election as officers or members of the General Committee.
v) The decision of the General Committee shall be final in respect of all applications.
RULE 4 ATTAINMENT OF MEMBERSHIP
a) The General Committee may appoint Referees being members of the Association to advise on particular applications.
b) From the date of confirmation of these revised Rules all candidates for membership must first apply for election as Associates.
c) A candidate must be proposed by two Members or Retired Members of the Association, except where, at its discretion, the Membership Committee may accept an application supported by Referees appointed in accordance with Rule 4 a) above. Each candidate shall forward the recognised application form to the Membership Secretary who will place it before the next meeting of the Membership Sub-Committee for consideration and transmission with recommendations to the General Committee.
d) After a period of not less than three months and not exceeding three years the Membership Committee may recommend to the General Committee that the Associate i) be invited into Membership ii) be afforded extended Associate status or iii) be advised that his or her Associate status be terminated. To achieve Membership the Associate is required i) to have participated actively in the Association’s programme of meetings ii)* to have enjoyed the continuing confidence of his/her proposer and seconder (or of any other two Members appointed as Referees by the General Committee) and iii) must meet the requirements of Membership set out in 3 a) i) i) above.
e) Honorary Members and Honorary Life Members may be elected by the General Committee by a simple majority upon the written nomination of two Members or Retired Members of the Association.
f) The names of newly elected Members and Associates shall be announced at the next General Meeting of the Association.
g) On retirement from regular or active practice Members may apply to the Membership Secretary for transfer to Retired Membership and all such applications shall be decided by a simple majority of the General Committee.
h) There shall be no upward limit to the number of persons elected as set out in Rule 3 a)i), but the General Committee shall have an absolute power to exercise a limit on the maximum number of persons admitted to the Association as provided in Rule 3 a ii), 3 a iii), 3 a iv), 3 a v). The General Committee shall report any decision taken with regard to this Rule at the next General Meeting of the Association.
RULE 5 EXPULSION FROM MEMBERSHIP
a) Membership may be terminated by direction of the General Committee after due consideration of any action by a member which may bring the Association into disrepute.
RULE 6 SUBSCRIPTIONS
a) The annual subscriptions for Members and Associates shall be as determined from time to time at an Annual General Meeting, Ordinary General Meeting or Special General Meeting of the Association, and shall take effect from 1 September following.
b) The annual subscription for Retired Members shall be set by the General Committee but shall not be greater than 50% of the Subscription for Members as determined in Clause 6 a) of this Rule.
c) Revenue from subscriptions and from any other source shall be paid into the general fund.
d) The first annual subscription for Members, Retired Members and Associates shall become payable upon election and subsequent subscriptions shall be payable in advance on 1 September of each year.
e) Where a Member or Associate has been elected on or after 1 June in any year, the subscription paid on election shall also be deemed to cover the following subscription year.
f) The General Committee shall have the power, but not the obligation to reimburse any subscription for the part of a subscription year in the case of termination of membership.
g) Any Member, Retired Member, Associate or Correspondent Member, whose subscription is unpaid after 30th September of any year, shall receive a notice to that effect from the Honorary Membership Secretary. If the subscription remains unpaid by 1st March of any subscription year (i.e. it is six months overdue for payment) then the membership shall automatically and forthwith lapse PROVIDED that the General Committee shall have power, at its absolute discretion to reinstate the Member, Retired Member, Associate or Correspondent Member upon payment of all owing subscriptions.
h) In case of illness or distress or other sufficient cause the Committee shall have the power to reduce an individual’s subscription.
RULE 7 HONORARY OFFICERS
a) The Honorary Officers of the Association shall be:
i) President
ii) Immediate Past President
iii) Vice President
iv) Secretary
v) Treasurer
vi) Membership Secretary) to be appointed by the
vii) Meetings Secretary) General Committee
b) The Officers shall hold office for one year, but shall be eligible for re-election.
c) The Secretary shall be responsible for the management of correspondence and property, for minutes of meetings and the general conduct of business.
d) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the funds of the Association, for the receipt and disbursement thereof, and shall present annual accounts to the General Committee for submission after audit to the Annual General Meeting.
e) The Membership Secretary shall be responsible for organising and arranging the procedures for applications for membership, either personally or by an assistant and for keeping or arranging to be kept an up-to-date list of members’ names and addresses.
f) The Meetings Secretary shall be responsible for the making of the arrangements for such meetings as the General Committee shall decide, in consultation with the President and incoming Vice President, in advance of his/her Presidential year, and with due regard to the Education Officer’s syllabus.
g) Auditing of the accounts shall be carried out by a suitably qualified auditor who shall be appointed each year at the Annual General Meeting.
RULE 8 COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
a) There shall be a General Committee of the Association, an Executive Committee, and such standing Sub-Committees or other Sub-Committees as the General Committee shall from time to time decide to appoint.
b) The General Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Association and 6 elected Members, (a total of 12 persons). Subject to Clause e), one third of the elected members shall be elected at the AGM in each year.
c) The General Committee shall have power to appoint or co-opt from Members or Retired Members, persons to serve as Assistant Honorary Secretary, or such other positions as it shall deem necessary for the proper administration and running of the Association’s affairs, PROVIDED that all such appointments shall end at the date of the Annual General Meeting following the appointment or co-option. Persons so serving shall be eligible for re-appointment or co-option.
d) Apart from the President and other Officers elected annually, the members of the General Committee shall be elected to serve for three years and each year one third of the elected members of the General Committee shall retire, being those who have served a three year term.
e) No members of the General Committee except the Officers shall be eligible for re-election after serving a three year term until a period of 12 months has elapsed.
f) It shall be open to any Member or Retired Member to make nominations for the Officers or General Committee by sending signed nominations to the Secretary, together with undertakings from the nominees to serve if elected. Such nominations must be received by the Secretary two weeks before the Annual General Meeting.
g) The General Committee shall prepare a list of candidates whom they nominate as Officers and to fill General Committee vacancies for the new Sessions. To this list shall be added any nominations received in accordance with Rule 8 f). Election shall be by ballot at the Annual General Meeting.
h) Scrutineers shall be appointed by the Annual General Meeting to count the votes and report to the meeting in the election. The Scrutineers shall have the direction of the election and their decision on any matter relating thereto shall be final. In the event of an equality of votes between two or more candidates, the chairman of the Meeting shall exercise a casting vote.
i) Any members of the General Committee may resign by giving written notice to the Secretary. Any members of the General Committee on ceasing to be a Member of the Association shall also cease to be a Member of the General Committee.
j) Any casual vacancy on the General Committee may be filled for the remainder of the Session by co-option at the discretion of the General Committee.
k) The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and Meetings Secretary.
l) The Executive Committee shall meet as necessary to administer any special or urgent business of the Association, and act and take decisions on behalf of the General Committee, but shall take the earliest opportunity to report upon such actions to the General Committee.
m) Decisions by all Committees and Sub-Committees shall be taken on the basis of a simple majority vote. In the event of equality the Chairman shall exercise a casting vote.
RULE 9 SUB-COMMITTEES
a) In accordance with Rule 7 a), the General Committee shall have the power to appoint Standing Sub-Committees, or other Sub-Committees for general or special purposes. Membership of these Committees shall be drawn from Members and Associates. Each Sub-Committee shall be chaired by a member of the General Committee, either elected or co-opted, who shall act as a Convenor of the Sub-Committee. Where the Convenor is not an elected member of the General Committee he or she shall be co-opted to the General Committee for the current year .
b) There shall be one Standing Sub-Committee – namely the Membership Sub-Committee which will comprise ex-officio the President and Membership Secretary and three other members, being Members or Associates appointed by the General Committee only one of whom is to be a member of that Committee. The function of the Membership Committee is to administer the requirements of Rule 4 together with any other tasks assigned by the General Committee – see 9d) below.
c) Other Sub-Committees may be appointed by the General Committee for special projects as from time to time may be deemed necessary.
d) The General Committee need not set out in detail the terms of reference for the Standing Sub-Committee or Sub-Committees but, in all cases, directions as to the limits of their work and responsibilities shall be given, one copy being attached to the Minute Book and one copy being passed to the Convenor, for the time being, of each Sub-Committee.
e) No Standing Sub-Committee or Sub-Committee shall have power to expend the Association’s funds or to commit the Association to an expression of policy without the direct authority of the General Committee of the Association.
f) The President shall have the right to attend and be a member of all Standing and other Sub-Committees. In addition each Standing and other Sub-Committee shall contain in its membership at least one member of the General Committee.
RULE 10 THE OFFICIAL YEAR
a) The financial year of the Association for the purposes of accounts, audit and members’ subscriptions shall be from 1 September to 31 August.
b) The Official Year and Session for the purpose of election of Officers and Committee shall be from the Annual General Meeting in the November of each year.
RULE 11 CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
a) The President or Vice-President, or in their absence, a General Committee Member elected for the purpose, shall preside as Chairman at all Meetings of the General Committee and at General Meetings of the Association.
b) All Members, Retired Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, Associates and Correspondents shall have the right to attend all General Meetings but only Members and Retired Members may vote.
c) Voting shall be by a show of hands or ballot as ordered by the Chairman and decision shall be by a simple majority. In the event of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the Meeting shall exercise a casting vote at that meeting, except as reserved elsewhere in these Rules.
d) At any General Committee Meeting seven shall form a quorum.
e) At any General Meeting 10% of members eligible to vote shall form a quorum.
RULE 12 THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
a) The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than 30 November in each year, and the Secretary shall send formal notice of the Meeting to all Members, Retired Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, Associates and Correspondents not less than fourteen days before the Meeting.
b) The purpose of the Meeting shall be for the General Committee, or the President on its behalf to present a report on the work of the Association for the official year, for a balance sheet and accounts for the financial year ended 31 August to be presented; the election of the Officers and General Committee of the Association, and for the appointment of auditors and to report the arrangement of the programme for the year.
RULE 13 GENERAL MEETINGS
a) General Meetings shall normally be held three times each year, including a General Meeting following immediately upon the Annual General Meeting. The Secretary shall send formal notices to all Members, Retired Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, Associates and Correspondents not less than fourteen days before each meeting.
RULE 14 SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS
a) The General Committee may convene Special General Meetings on giving not less than fourteen days notice to all Members, Retired Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, Associates and Correspondents and publishing the place, date, time and purpose of the meeting.
b) Any 10% of Members eligible to vote under the Rules may, by giving notice over their joint signatures, requisition a Special General Meeting. Such a notice shall state the purpose of the meeting, and shall set out any motion to be moved.
c) On receiving such notice, the Committee shall be required to convene a Special General Meeting, within one month and where notice of a motion has been given, such notice shall be communicated to all Members, Retired Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, Associates and Correspondents. At any Special General Meeting a quorum of 10% of Members eligible to vote shall be required.
RULE 15 ALTERATIONS TO RULES
a) A new Rule or an amendment to an existing Rule may be proposed by the General Committee of the Association, or by any twenty Members or Retired Members.
b) Any new Rule or amendment to an existing Rule shall be submitted in the form of a motion for approval at a General Meeting or Special General Meeting, and must be circulated to members, Retired Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, Associates and Correspondents not less than fourteen days before the meeting.
c) The new Rule or amended Rule will not become effective until after confirmation at an Annual General Meeting.
RULE 16 WINDING UP OF THE ASSOCIATION
a) The Association may be wound up upon a resolution of the General Committee, which shall only become operative when confirmed by a Special General Meeting called specially for the purpose, and supported by at least two-thirds of the Members of the Association.
b) Following the adoption of a resolution to wind up the Association, the whole of the funds, and any investment shall, after the discharge of any debts, be divided up in equal shares between all fully subscribed Members, Retired Members, and Associates.
c) All records, publications, minute books shall be given to the RIBA library.
d) All printed matter, intended for sale, shall be offered for sale to the RIBA bookshop in the first instance, or alternatively be disposed of at the best available price in the open market, and the proceeds then added to the assets of the Association.
RULE 17 OPERATION OF RULES
a) The foregoing Rules of the Association shall come into operation immediately upon being confirmed at an Annual General Meeting.