For whom it may concern, this is a copy of the U.C.C. Mathematical Society's Constitution. It was written in 1964 so as you may have guessed it is quite out of date. Attempts have previously been made to update this article but have failed. Possibly this year, a new constitution might be drawn up. If you would to have some input into this feel free to email us at uccmathsoc@gmail.com

General Articles

1. All articles in this or in any further Constitution shall at all times be subject to ratification or revision or interpretation by the President and the Joint Board of University College Cork.
2. The Society shall be known as the “Mathematical Society of University College Cork”.
3. The purpose of the society shall be to provide a forum for discussion on matters of mathematical interest.
4. a) The Society shall consist of a President, Vice-President(s) to a maximum of five, Staff-Representative, ordinary members and honary members.
   b) Ordinary Members shall be those students of the College who apply for membership at the Bursar’s Office. The latest date in any session for the receipt of application shall be February 1st. Ordinary membership shall be valid for one session only and shall be renewable.
   c) Honorary members shall be eminent persons elected by ballot of a meeting of the society. All former Auditors shall be honorary members.
5. All members may vote at ordinary meetings but only only ordinary members may vote at General meetings. Exception: Should the President be Chairman at a General Meeting, he shall have the power set out in Article 24 below.

Committee

6. In addition to the officers listed in 4(a) above , the society shall have the following officers:- Auditor, Business Secretary cum Treasurer, Recording Secretary and Deputy Auditor. The officers shall constitute the committee of the society.
7. The Committee shall administer the everyday affairs of the Society and shall convene all meetings.

Annual General Meeting

8. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held at the end of each session. The outgoing committee shall present an abstract of accounts and a statement of the proceedings of the society during the current session. The society shall then proceed to the election by ballot of the officers for the coming session.
9. Candidates for office must be proposed and seconded by ordinary members of the society. Their nomination must be in writing, signed by both the proposer and seconder and must be handed to the Business Secretary on or before a date prior to the Annual General Meeting fixed by the committee.
10. Only ordinary members shall be elected to the committee.
11. An ordinary member to be eligible for the office of Auditor must (a) have completed two sessions as a student of the college and (b) have made a contribution, which was not purely formal to a meeting of the society in the current session (a formal contribution is one which is not primarily scientific in content).

Meetings

12. The committee shall give three (3) days notice of all meetings.
13. The quorum for a meeting of the Society shall be ten (10) members.
14. The Auditor or President shall preside at all meetings of the Society. If neither is able to preside at a meeting the Deputy-Auditor shall take the chair.
15. Normal parliamentary procedure shall be observed at all meetings and the decision of the Chairman on all such matters of procedure shall be final.
16. The Recording Secretary shall record the proceedings of the Society.
17. a) The Chairman shall, before signing the minutes, ask if there is any objection to the accuracy of the minutes.
    b) Objections to the accuracy of the minutes cannot be entertained once the Chairman has signed the minutes.
18. The Chairman shall, in the case of a drawn vote, have the option of exercising a casting vote.
19. a) The Chairman shall be empowered to rule on all matters not already provided for in the constitution; but a member shall be entitled to have entered in the minutes of the Society an objection to such a ruling, provided that he states the grounds for his objection and refers to the article(s) of the Constitution or to precedent(s) in the records of the Society which he regards as inconsistent with such a ruling.
    b) All rulings made by the Chairman shall be entered in the minutes of the society and shall be signed by the Chairman and the Recording Secretary.
    c) Rulings made by the Chairman in three (3) different Sessions which have not been objected to by a member of the Society according to the procedure set out in 19(a) above shall be binding precedents of the society.
20. At the request of an ordinary member, any part of the society’s correspondence shall be read at ordinary meetings, provided three (3) days notice in writing has been given to the Business Secretary. The Auditor may veto this, but this veto may be over-ridden by a 2/3 majority of members present.
21. a) All items of contemplated expenditure exceeding two (2) pounds shall be first submitted to the Society for approval.
    b) Where an item of contemplated expenditure would involve the Society in an overdraft, the explicit permission of the Society must be obtained for it and the request for permission must be accompanied by an up-to-date statement of the accounts.
22. A member of the Committee absenting himself from three (3) consecutive meetings of the Society without giving an explanation deemed satisfactory by the Committee shall vacate his office and shall not be eligible for election to any office during the current session.
23. Vacancies occurring in the Committee in the Course of Any Session (except in the circumstances outlined in article 24) shall be filled by an election held at the next ordinary meeting. The procedure for nomination and voting shall be the same as the Annual General Meeting.
24. It shall be open to any ordinary member, having first given three (3) days notice in writing to the Business Secretary, to move a vote of no confidence in the committee at any ordinary meeting of the society. If the motion is approved by two thirds (2/3) of the ordinary members present, the Committee shall go out of office and the Society shall adjourn. The President shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting, to be held within seven (7) days of the vote, for the purpose of electing a new Committee. The proposer of the vote of no confidence shall act as Business Secretary for the time being. The procedure for nominations and elections shall be the same as for the Annual General Meeting with the exception that nominations shall be accepted at any time before the meeting.
25. a) The Committee (or the President in the circumstances of Article 24) shall have the power to summon an Extraordinary General Meeting.
    b) At least four (4) days notice must be given for such a meeting and the business of the meeting must be started.
    c) No other business except the business for which the meeting was called shall be discussed at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society.
    d) No motion (as distinct from an election ) shall be deemed to be carried at an Extraordinary General Meeting unless two thirds (2/3) of the members present are in favour of it.
26. No alteration of the Constitution shall be made save at a General Meeting.

Signed J.B. 27/4/64