ALDERNEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONSTITUTION

ALDERNEY   CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE   CONSTITUTION

 

Historical Note – The Chamber of Commerce in Alderney operated until June 1940.   The present Chamber was constituted at a public meeting held in the Catholic Hall on Monday 10th April 1961.   The Members of the Council elected at that meeting met for the first time on Monday 17th April 1961.

 

 

  1. FORMATION

The Chamber shall be established if, at a meeting called for that purpose, not less than twelve persons signify their willingness to become members by completion of the application form, and, on the adoption of this Constitution and these Rules they shall thereupon become members.

 

  1. THE OBJECTS for which the Chamber is established are –
  2. To promote the trade, commerce, navigation and general prosperity of the Island.
  3. To disseminate statistical and other information calculated to further the trade, commerce and general welfare of the Island.
  4. To promote, support or oppose (if necessary) legislative or other measures affecting the aforesaid interests.
  5. To ascertain, represent and express on questions bearing directly or indirectly on commerce, the opinions of the members of the community.

 

RULES OF THE ALDERNEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

  1. Membership of the Chamber shall be open to all individual persons, companies and firms interesting or actively engaged in business in Alderney.

 

  1. Any person desirous of becoming a member of the Chamber must complete the official application form, being duly processed, and seconded by existing members.

 

  1. The Council shall consider all applications for membership.

 

  1. Every application shall be accompanied by the sum due as Subscription.

 

  1. The Council shall have power to refuse an application for membership without assigning a reason. The Council will have the power to cancel any membership without assigning a reason.   In the event of bankruptcy, membership is automatically terminated.

 

  1. Any member who shall do any act or conduct, calculated to insure or discredit the Chamber may be expelled from the Chamber by resolution of the majority of members. Such member shall be allowed to appeal against his expulsion to a special meeting of the Chamber.

 

  1. Any member wishing to resign may do so by notifying the Secretary in writing to this effect.

 

SUBSCRIPTIONS

 

  1. Every member shall pay an annual subscription to be determined from time to time by members in General Meeting

 

  1. All subscriptions shall become due on the first day of January and no member shall be entitled to vote at any meetings or to exercise any other privilege of membership unless his subscription shall have been previously paid.

 

  1. Should a member’s subscription be twelve months in arrears the Council may erase his name from the list of members and give him notice in writing or via email that he has ceased to be a member of Chamber.

 

 

OFFICERS

 

  1. The Officers of the Chamber shall be a President, Vice-President, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Secretary.

 

  1. The Honorary Treasurer, President and Vice-President shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting each year and shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting. The President and Vice-President must be elected members of the Council and must be nominated and approved by the Council.

 

  1. The Honorary Treasurer and the Honorary Secretary shall be ex-officio members of the Council.

 

  1. The permanent officers shall consist of such staff as the Council may appoint, and they shall be paid such remuneration as the Council may determine.

 

  1. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to ensure the keeping in due order of a Register of Members and all books and papers of the Chamber and Council to record minutes, to carry on the necessary correspondence and act generally under the direction of the Council.

 

  1. It shall be the duty of the Honorary Treasurer to collect the subscriptions of members and other monies accruing to the Chamber, to keep accurate account of the receipts and expenditure thereof.

 

  1. And to prepare accounts to show the Chamber’s income and expenditure in each financial year and its state of affairs on the last day of the financial year.

 

 

COUNCIL

 

  1. The business of the Chamber shall be managed by a Council consisting of seven elected members who shall have power to co-opt further members with a view to ensuring that any body of persons that the Council considers should be represented on the Council shall be so represented.

 

  1. The Council shall comprise seven members including the President, Vice-President and Honorary Treasurer.

 

  1. The members of the Council other than the Honorary Treasurer shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall serve for two years. Three members of the Council shall retire annually but shall be eligible for re-election.   The co-opted members will automatically retire from the Council at the date of the Annual General Meeting.

 

All nominations for members of the Council shall be made in writing signed by two members of the Chamber and by the nominee consenting to serve, and sent to the Honorary Secretary at least two days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.

 

  1. In the event of there being more candidates than there are vacancies on the Council, the names of the candidates shall be submitted in print to each member attending the Annual General Meeting and the members shall strike out the names of those for whom they do not wish to vote.

 

  1. The Council shall have the power to appoint such sub-committees as may be deemed desirable.

 

  1. The attendance of members of the Council shall be duly recorded by the Honorary Secretary.

 

  1. Any member of the Council who absents himself from three consecutive meetings, or resigns, the Council may declare his seat vacant. Any vacancy occurring in this manner, or through death, may be filled by the Council.

 

  1. Three members of the Council shall form a quorum at meetings of the Council.

 

  1. The Council shall meet for the despatch of business, adjourn, and otherwise regulate their meetings as may be necessary. Questions arising at any meetings shall be decided by a majority of votes.   In the case of an equality of votes, the President or Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

 

  1. The Council shall have power to make such Bye-Laws as they may judge necessary, for the efficient and orderly conduct of the business of the Chamber and Council, provided such Bye-Laws do not mitigate against the rules of the Chamber. They shall have power to dispose of such part of the yearly revenue as may be necessary for the welfare of the Chamber and in furtherance of the objects for which it is established.   They shall not dispose of any part of the capital stock, or borrow money, without the consent of the Chamber.

 

  1. Any three members of the Council may request the President to convene a meeting of the Council, which shall be held within one week from the date of such request. The President may call a meeting of the Council at any time.

 

  

GENERAL  MEETINGS

 

  1. The Annual General Meeting shall be held during the first five months of the year on a day to be fixed by the Council. Notice of this meeting shall be issued at least seven days prior to the day of the meeting.

 

  1. At such a meeting the Council shall present a report with reference to all matters which they have dealt with during the previous year, and a copy of the report shall be sent to every member not less than seven days before the date of such meeting.

 

  1. The business to be transacted at the Annual General Meeting shall be:-
  2. To receive the report on the activities of the Chamber for the past year
  3. To receive, and if deemed expedient, adopt the accounts of the Chamber
  4. To elect an Honorary Treasurer
  5. To elect members to fill vacancies on the Council
  6. To elect the President and Vice-President
  7. To fix the amount of subscriptions
  8. To consider any alterations or amendments to these Rules
  9. Any Other Business

 

  1. A Special General Meeting of the Chamber shall be convened upon a requisition in writing addressed to the President by eight or more members. The object of the Special Meeting shall be stated in the requisition and embodied in the notice convening the meeting, which must be held within ten days of the receipt of such requisition.

 

  1. The President of the Council may convene a Special General Meeting whenever he or they shall deem it necessary.

 

  1. All General Meetings shall be convened by printed, written or e-mailed notice, issued at least four days prior to the day of the meeting.

 

 

  1. A notice may be served by the Chamber upon any member either by e-mail, personally or by sending it through the post in a prepaid letter addressed to such member at his registered place of address. Any notice sent by post shall be deemed to have been served on the day following that on which the envelope or wrapper containing the same is posted, and in proving such service it shall be sufficient to prove that the envelope or wrapper containing the notice as properly addressed and put in the post office.

 

  1. The accidental omission to give notice of any meeting to, or the non-receipt of a notice of any meeting by a member shall not invalidate proceedings at such meeting.

 

  1. Twelve members shall form a quorum at General Meetings. If a quorum is not present, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week, at the same time and place.

 

  1. At General Meetings all questions shall be decided by a majority of votes of the members present: in case of equality of votes the President shall have a casting vote in addition to his ordinary vote.

 

  1. Every member of the Chamber shall have one vote which may be exercised by a show of hands, but it shall be competent for the members before such a vote is taken to require that it be taken by ballot.

 

  1. When a ballot is to be taken two persons shall be appointed by the meeting as scrutineers who shall count the number of votes and report the result in writing to the Chairman who shall declare the result of the ballot to the meeting.

 

  1. In the absence of the President and Vice-President, the members shall appoint a Chairman for that meeting who shall be a member of the Council.

 

  1. Every fully paid member of the Chamber has the right to submit a notice of motion in writing to the secretary which shall be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

 

 

GENERAL

 

  1. The Bankers of the Chamber shall be authorised to honour all drawings on the accounts of the Chamber provided they are signed by the President and countersigned by the Honorary Treasurer or other member of the Council, or any combination of these three officials. The Bank Accounts shall be in the name of the Alderney Chamber of Commerce.

 

  1. Should the Chamber be dissolved, the Funds then in possession of the Chamber shall be disposed of in such a manner as the members in General Meeting shall agree.

 

  1. All correspondence and notifications may be sent via e-mail, post or by hand.

 

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