- There shall be two categories of membership
(collectively "Member")
(a) Agency Members
Social service organizations whose aims and objects
are in harmony with those of the Council and who
have an active interest in the social service
field or those who provide as their primary function
a bona fide direct social service which helps
to meet the existing needs of the community.
(b) Life Members
Individuals who have been registered as life
members prior to the date of September 27, 2001
(hereinafter called "Life Members"),
shall be the Life Members of the Council until
such time as they withdraw their membership or
become deceased.
Membership Rights,
Conditions and Liabilities
- Every Agency Member shall appoint two persons
as its accredited official representatives, one
should be the head, chairperson (or his nominee)
of its Board or other similar bodies and the other
one should be the chief executive, senior officer
(or his nominee) of the agency to act on his behalf
in the Council and shall be entitled to change
such representatives from time to time. Such appointment
and any change thereof shall be communicated to
the Council in writing.
- All Agency Members and Life Members shall enjoy
rights of membership to avail themselves of the
facilities of the Council and to attend, to nominate,
to elect, and to be elected at the general meetings
of the Council.
- Representatives from Agency Members and Life
Members are allowed to attend meetings of all
committees, enabling them to keep abreast of the
discussion and to give their views. Minutes of
the meetings shall be made available for Members'
perusal.
- It is a condition of membership to pay in full
membership fees and other levies imposed by the
Council as prescribed by Clause 17, and to submit
(where applicable) an annual report and audited
accounts or certified accounts with regards to
annual income and expenditure.
- Member's liability is limited to the amount
unpaid in respect of fees and other levies.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations wishing to apply for Agency Membership
must fulfill the following criteria before becoming
eligible:
- They must be recognised by the Council as
being a non-profit-making body;
- They must have been in operation for a period
of at least one year;
- They must possess a Constitution or similar
document of incorporation;
- They must publish their annual report and
audited accounts or certified accounts with
regards to annual income and expenditure.
- They must comply with such other conditions
as may be prescribed by the Executive Committee
from time to time.
- Notwithstanding the compliance with Clause
11, the Executive Committee shall have the right
to refuse any application for membership without
assigning any reason therefor.
Admission Procedures
- Applications for Agency Membership shall be
made to the Executive Committee in such form as
may be prescribed by the Executive Committee from
time to time. Each application must be proposed
and seconded by other Agency Members.
- The Executive Committee shall consider each
application and convey its decision in writing
to the applicant within 90 days of the receipt
of the properly completed application form. On
acceptance by the Executive Committee the name
of the applicant shall be placed on the appropriate
register of Members and the membership fee as
hereinafter prescribed shall become due and payable.
Fees
- Fees for membership shall be payable annually
on the first day of April in such amounts as shall
be from time to time determined by the Executive
Committee. Fees are payable within thirty days
on admission in the full amount with the exception
that successful applicants admitted after the
thirtieth day of September in any year shall be
liable to one-half of the appropriate amount for
that year ending on the following thirty-first
day of March.
- No membership fees are liable to be refunded
unless in the opinion of the Executive Committee
there is good and sufficient cause to do so. The
Executive Committee has the right in exceptional
circumstances to allow a Member to pay an amount
smaller than the currently payable fee.
Membership Obligations
- Agency Members are required to:
- Submit copies of their annual reports within
18 months from the end of their financial
year; and
- Submit copies of their audited accounts
or certified accounts with regards to annual
income and expenditure within 18 months from
the end of their financial year.
Termination of Membership
- Any Member wishing to terminate membership may
do so provided that written notice is given to
the Executive Committee.
- The Executive Committee has the right to terminate
membership in the following circumstances:-
- If a Member ceases to fulfill the definition
of membership as described in Clause 7;
- If an Agency Member ceases to fulfill the
eligibility criteria as described in Clause
13;
- If membership fees are unpaid within six
months of the due date;
- If an Agency fails to provide audited accounts
or certified accounts with regards to annual
income and expenditure within 18 months from
the end of its financial year;
- If in the opinion of the Executive Committee,
the conduct or behaviour of an Agency or Life
Member is prejudicial to the good name of
the Council.
- The Executive Committee shall undergo a review
of the status of membership of all Agency Members
every three years. Termination of membership shall
be at the absolute discretion of the Executive
Committee.
- There shall be established and constituted an
independent appeal Board ("the Appeal Board")
to handle appeals related to membership. The Appeal
Board shall consist of five members, at least
three of them shall be representatives from non-governmental
welfare agencies and the members of the Appeal
Board shall be appointed by the Executive Committee
of the Council. The Executive Committee shall
also appoint one of the members of the Appeal
Board to be the Chairperson of the Appeal Board.
Meetings and Quorum
- The following meetings of members shall be
convened:-
- There shall be an Annual General Meeting
in every calendar year to be held not more
than 15 months after the last preceding Annual
General Meeting;
- Any meeting of Members other than the Annual
General Meeting shall be an Extraordinary
General Meeting.
- The following business shall be transacted at
the Annual General Meeting:-
- Receive annual reports from the Chairperson
and the Chief Executive;
- Receive, consider and, if deemed fit, adopt
the audited annual accounts of the Council
and the auditors' report thereon;
- Elect members of the Executive Committee;
- Appoint the auditors.
- The Executive Committee may, whenever it thinks
fit, convene an Extraordinary General Meeting
and it shall on the requisition of Members representing
not less than one-tenth of Agency membership proceed
to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting and
in the case of such requisition the following
provisions shall have effect:-
- The requisition shall state the object of
the meeting and must be signed by the requisitionists
and delivered to the headquarters of the Council;
- If the Executive Committee does not proceed
to cause a meeting to be held within twenty-one
days from the date of the requisition being
delivered, the requisitionsts may themselves
convene the meeting, but any meeting so convened
shall not be held after three months from
the date of the delivery of the requisition;
- Any such meeting convened by requisitionists
shall be convened and held in the same manner
as that in which meetings are to be convened
by the Executive Committee.
- Each meeting shall be held at such place as
the Executive Committee shall determine.
- Twenty members personally present shall constitute
a quorum. If within half an hour from the time
appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present,
the meeting, if convened upon the requisition
of Members shall be dissolved, but in any other
case it shall stand adjourned to such other day,
time and place as the Chairperson may by notice
to the Members appoint. If at such adjourned meeting
a quorum is not present any ten Members present
shall be a quorum, and may transact the business
for which the meeting was convened.
- The Chairperson of the Executive Committee,
or in his absence the Vice-Chairperson, shall
take the chair at every general meeting of the
Council. If at any such meeting neither the Chairperson
nor a Vice-Chairperson is present within fifteen
minutes after the time appointed for holding the
meeting or are unwilling to act, the Members present
shall choose one of the members of the Executive
Committee present as Chairperson of the meeting.
- -
- Every question submitted to a meeting shall
be decided by a show of hands unless a poll
is (before or on the declaration of the result
of the show of hands) demanded by at least
one Member present in person or by a nominated
official representative entitled to vote,
and in the case of an equality of votes, the
Chairperson of the meeting shall have a casting
vote in addition to the vote to which he is
entitled as a Member.
- If a poll be demanded in manner aforesaid
it shall be taken at such time and place and
in such manner as the Chairperson shall direct
and the result of the poll shall be deemed
to be the resolution of the meeting at which
the poll was demanded. No poll shall be demanded
on any question of adjournment. The demand
of a poll shall not prevent the continuance
of a meeting for the transaction of any business
other than the question on which a poll has
been demanded. Votes may be given by Members
present in person or by the nominated official
representatives and on a show of hands every
member shall have one vote only. In case of
a poll every official representative of Agency
Members and Life Members present at the meeting
shall have one vote each.
- Members may vote by proxy in the following
manner:-
- The instrument appointing a proxy who need
not be a Member of the Council shall be in
writing under the hand of the appointer and
deposited at the office of the Council not
less than 72 hours before the time for holding
the meeting at which the person named in such
instrument proposes to vote. A proxy may only
be appointed for a specified meeting. The
instrument of proxy shall be in the following
form:-
"I, , being a member of the Hong Kong
Council of Social Service hereby appoint
as my proxy, to vote for me and on my behalf,
at the General Meeting of the Council, to
be held on the day of and at any adjournment
thereof.
As Witness my hand, this day of 20
Signed by the said
in the presence of "
- A resolution put to an Extraordinary General
Meeting must be passed by a majority of two-thirds
of the votes cast.
- At any meeting a declaration by the Chairperson
that a resolution has been carried, or carried
by a particular majority, or lost, or not carried
by a particular majority and an entry to that
effect in the minute book of the Council shall
be conclusive evidence of the fact without proof
of the number of proportion of the votes recorded
in favour of or against such resolution.
- The Council may invite the Hong Kong Government
to nominate representatives from the Government
to attend meetings of the Council.
Notices
- Membership shall be given at least 14 clear
days notice of the Annual General Meeting and
14 clear days notice of Extraordinary General
Meetings. Such notices shall specify the place,
the day and the hour of the meeting and the general
nature of the business to be transacted.
- The accidental omission to give any such notice
to or the non-receipt of any such notice by any
one or more Members shall not invalidate any resolution
passed at any such meeting.
- A notice shall be deemed to have been given
by the Council to any Member, if it is either
delivered personally or sent through the post
in a pre-paid letter, envelope or wrapper, addressed
to such member at the last address of the Member
registered with the Council.
- Any notice required to be given by the Council
to Members shall also be sufficiently given, if
given by advertisement in local newspaper.
Minutes
- The Council shall cause proper minutes to be
made of all proceedings of meetings of the Council.
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