Ornithological Society of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia
Constitution
Adopted at the Annual General Meeting, 10 July 2010.
Amended at the Annual General Meeting, 18th November 2023
PART 1
1. Adoption of the Constitution
The association and its property will be administered and managed in accordance with the provisions in Parts 1 and 2 of this Constitution.
2. Name
The association’s name is the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, in abbreviation known as OSME, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Society’.
3. Objects
3.1. The object of the Society shall be:
(a) to promote the study of Middle Eastern, Caucasian and Central Asian ornithology and the conservation of the region’s birds
3.2. In furtherance of this object but not otherwise the Society shall:
(a) collect, collate, publish and disseminate ornithological data on countries in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia,
(b) publish a journal (at present called ‘Sandgrouse’),
(c) encourage interest in birds in the region,
(d) work with other individuals and organisations with similar objectives and pursuing charitable activities concerned with ornithology in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
4. Application of Income and Property
4.1 The income and property of the charity shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects.
4.2 A Trustee may pay out of, or be reimbursed from, the property of the Charity reasonable expenses properly incurred by him or her when acting on behalf of the Charity.
4.3 None of the income or property of the Charity may be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend bonus or otherwise by way of profit to any member of the Charity. This does not prevent:
(a) a member who is not also a Trustee from receiving reasonable and proper remuneration for any goods or services supplied to the Charity;
(b) a Trustee from:
(i) buying goods or services from the Charity upon the same terms as other members or members of the public;
(ii) receiving a benefit from the Charity in the capacity of a beneficiary of the Charity.
(iii) purchasing indemnity insurance for the Trustees against any liability that by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise attach to a Trustee or other officer in respect of any negligence, default breach of duty or breach of trust of which he or she may be guilty in relation to the Charity but excluding:
(i) fines;
(ii) costs of unsuccessfully defending criminal prosecutions for offences arising out of the fraud, dishonesty or wilful or reckless misconduct of the Trustee or other officer;
(iii) liabilities to the Charity that result from conduct that the Trustee or other officer knew or ought to have known was not in the best interests of the Charity or in respect of which the person concerned did not care whether that conduct was in the best interests of the Charity or not.
4.4 A trustee or connected person may enter into a contract for the supply of services, or of goods that are supplied in connection with the provision of services, to the charity where that is permitted in accordance with, and subject to the conditions in, section 73A to 73C of the Charities Act 1993.
4.5 No trustee or connected person may:
(a) be employed by, or receive any remuneration from, the charity;
(b) receive any other financial benefit from the charity;
unless the trustees obtain the prior written approval of the Commission and fully comply with any procedures it prescribes.
5. Dissolution
5.1. If the members resolve to dissolve the Society the Trustees will remain in office as Society Trustees and be responsible for winding up the affairs of the Society in accordance with this clause.
5.2. The Trustees must collect in all the assets of the Society and must pay or make provision for all the liabilities of the Society.
5.3. The Trustees must apply any remaining property or money
(a) directly for the Objects;
(b) by transfer to BirdLife International, its heirs or successors, or any charity or charities for purposes the same as or similar to the Society;
(c) in such other manner as the Charity Commission for England and Wales (“the Commission”) may approve in writing in advance.
5.4. The members may pass a resolution before or at the same time as the resolution to dissolve the Society specifying the manner in which the Trustees are to apply the remaining property or assets of the Society and the Trustees must comply with the resolution if it is consistent with paragraphs (a)–(c) inclusive in sub-clause 5.3.
5.5. In no circumstances shall the net assets of the Society be paid to or distributed among the members of the Society (except to a member that is itself a Charity).
5.6. The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly that the Society has been dissolved. If the Trustees are obliged to send the Society’s accounts to the Commission for the accounting period which ended before its dissolution, they must send the Commission the Society’s final accounts.
6. Amendments
6.1. The Society may amend any provision contained in Part 1 of this Constitution provided that:
(a) no amendment may be made that would have the effect of making the Society cease to be a Charity at law;
(b) no amendment may be made to alter the Objects if the change would not be within the reasonable contemplation of the members of or donors to the Society;
(c) no amendment may be made to clause 4 without the prior written consent of the Commission;
(d) any resolution to amend a provision of Part 1 of this Constitution is passed by not less than two thirds of the members present and voting at a general meeting.
6.2. Any provision contained in Part 2 of this Constitution may be amended, provided that any such amendment is made by resolution passed by a simple majority of the members present and voting at a general meeting.
6.3. A copy of any resolution amending this Constitution shall be sent to the Commission within twenty-one days of it being passed.
PART 2
7. Membership
7.1. Membership is open to all and is available in the following categories
(a) Individual Membership.
(b) Family Membership for married couples (or other couples) living at the same address.
(c) Supporting Membership for an individual and an in-country national.
(d) Supported Membership for people normally resident in the OSME region who are nominated and supported by a full or corporate member or otherwise nominated and approved by the Trustees.
(e) Corporate Membership for commercial organisations approved by the Trustees.
(f) Institutional Membership for non-profit making associations such as libraries and other conservation organisations located in or with an interest in the OSME region that demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Trustees that their objects are compatible with those of the Society.
Life Membership will no longer be an option from November 18th 2023 however existing life memberships at that date will of course be honoured in full.
7.2. Refusal of Membership
(a) The Trustees may only refuse an application for membership if, acting reasonably and properly, they consider it to be in the best interests of the Society to refuse the application.
(b) The Trustees must inform the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal within twenty-one days of the decision.
(c) The Trustees must consider any written representations the applicant may make about the decision. The Trustees’ decision following any written representations must be notified to the applicant in writing but shall be final.
7.3. Membership is not transferable to anyone else.
7.4. The Trustees must keep a register of names and addresses of the members. The register shall indicate the category of membership.
8. Termination of Membership
Membership is terminated if:
8.1. the member dies or, if it is an organisation, ceases to exist;
8.2. the member resigns by written notice to the Society unless, after the resignation, there would be less than two members;
8.3. any sum due from the member to the Society is not paid in full within four months of it falling due;
8.4. the member is removed from membership by a resolution of the Trustees that it is in the best interests of the Society that his or her membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a member from membership may only be passed if:
(a) the member has been given at least twenty-one days’ notice in writing of the meeting of the Trustees at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;
(b) the member or, at the option of the member, the member’s representative (who need not be a member of the Society) has been allowed to make representations to the meeting.
9. Presidents and Vice Presidents
9.1. The Trustees may elect a President and Vice-Presidents to serve for periods up to ten consecutive years.
9.2. The President and Vice-Presidents are not required to be Trustees.
9.3. The Trustees may remove a person from the office of President or Vice-President if in the view of the Trustees it is in the best interests of the Society so to do.
10. General meetings
10.1. An annual general meeting must be held in each calendar year and not more than fifteen months may elapse between successive annual general meetings.
10.2. A statement of the Society’s finances examined by an independent professional person shall be presented to each annual general meeting for approval of the Membership.
10.3. All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called special general meetings.
10.4. The Trustees may call a special general meeting at any time.
10.5. The Trustees must call a special general meeting if requested to do so in writing by at least ten members or one tenth of the membership, which ever is the greater. The request must state the nature of the business that is to be discussed. If the Trustees fail to hold the meeting within twenty-eight days of the request, the members may proceed to call a special general meeting but in doing so they must comply with the provisions of this Constitution.
11. Notice
11.1. The minimum period of notice required to hold any general meeting of the Society is fourteen clear days from the date on which the notice is deemed to have been given.
11.2. A general meeting may be called by shorter notice, if it is so agreed by all the members entitled to attend and vote.
11.3. The notice must specify the date, time and place of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted. If the meeting is to be an annual general meeting, the notice must say so.
11.4. The notice must be given to all the members and to the Trustees.
12. Quorum
12.1. No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present.
12.2. A quorum is;
(a) ten full members entitled to vote upon the business to be conducted at the meeting; or
(b) one quarter of the total membership at the time, whichever is the smaller.
12.3. The authorised representative of a member organisation shall be counted in the quorum.
12.4. If:
(a) a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting; or
(b) during a meeting a quorum ceases to be present, the meeting shall be adjourned to such time and place as the Trustees shall determine.
12.5. The Trustees must re-convene the meeting and must give at least seven clear days’ notice of the re-convened meeting stating the date, time and place of the meeting.
12.6. If no quorum is present at the re-convened meeting within fifteen minutes of the time specified for the start of the meeting the members present at that time shall constitute the quorum for that meeting.
13. Chair
13.1. General meetings shall be chaired by the person who has been elected as Chair.
13.2. If there is no such person or he or she is not present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting a Trustee nominated by the Trustees shall chair the meeting.
13.3. If there is only one Trustee present and willing to act, he or she shall chair the meeting.
13.4. If no Trustee is present and willing to chair the meeting within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding it, the members present and entitled to vote must choose one of their number to chair the meeting.
14. Adjournments
14.1. The members present at a meeting may resolve that the meeting shall be adjourned.
14.2. The person who is chairing the meeting must decide the date, time and place at which the meeting is to be re-convened unless those details are specified in the resolution.
14.3. No business shall be conducted at an adjourned meeting unless it could properly have been conducted at the meeting had the adjournment not taken place.
14.4. If a meeting is adjourned by a resolution of the members for more than seven days, at least seven clear days’ notice shall be given of the re-convened meeting stating the date, time and place of the meeting.
15. Votes
15.1. Each member shall have one vote but if there is an equality of votes the person who is chairing the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to any other vote he or she may have.
15.2. A resolution in writing signed by each member (or in the case of a member that is an organisation, by its authorized representative) who would have been entitled to vote upon it had it been proposed at a general meeting shall be effective. It may comprise several copies each signed by or on behalf of one or more members.
16. Representatives of Other Bodies
16.1. Any organisation that is a member of the Society may nominate any person to act as its representative at any meeting of the Society.
16.2. The organisation must give written notice to the Society of the name of its representative. The nominee shall not be entitled to represent the organisation at any meeting unless the notice has been received by the Society. The nominee may continue to represent the organisation until written notice to the contrary is received by the Society.
16.3. Any notice given to the Society will be conclusive evidence that the nominee is entitled to represent the organisation or that his or her authority has been revoked. The Society shall not be required to consider whether the nominee has been properly appointed by the organisation.
17. Officers and Trustees
17.1. The Society and its property shall be managed and administered by a committee comprising the Officers and other members elected in accordance with this Constitution, popularly referred to as the Council. Nominated Officers and other members of the committee shall be the Trustees of the Society and in this Constitution are together called “the Trustees”.
17.2. The Society shall have the following executive officers:
(a) A chair,
(b) A secretary,
(c) A treasurer.
17.3. A Trustee must be a member of the Society or the nominated representative of an organisation that is a member of the Society.
17.4. No one may be appointed a Trustee if he or she would be disqualified from acting under the provisions of Clause 20.
17.5. The number of Trustees shall be not less than six but (unless otherwise determined by a resolution of the Society in general meeting) shall not be subject to any maximum.
17.6. A Trustee may not appoint anyone to act on his or her behalf at meetings of the Trustees.
18. The Appointment of Trustees
18.1. The Society in general meeting shall elect the Officers and the other Trustees.
18.2. The Trustees may appoint any person who is willing to act as a Trustee. Subject to sub-clause 18.6(b), they may also appoint Trustees to act as Officers.
18.4. Trustees are elected to serve a minimum of five years after which they must be re-elected by the membership at an AGM. There is no upper limit on how long a Trustee can serve.
18.5. Notice of proposals by members other than Trustees for the election of a Trustee or an Officer at any general meeting shall reach the Society Secretary at least three months before the meeting and the notice shall:
(a) be signed by at least five members entitled to vote at the meeting;
(b) state the member’s intention to propose the appointment of a person as a Trustee or as an Officer;
(c) be signed by the person who is to be proposed to show his or her willingness to be appointed.
19. Powers of Trustees
19.1. The Trustees must manage the business of the Society and have the following powers in order to further the Objects (but not for any other purpose):
(a) to determine the rate of membership subscriptions, fix the price of publications and make any payments towards special projects;
(b) to raise funds. In doing so, the Trustees must not undertake any substantial permanent trading activity and must comply with any relevant statutory regulations;
(c) to establish and maintain Grants Programmes.
(d) to buy, take on lease or in exchange, hire or otherwise acquire any property and to maintain and equip it for use;
(e) to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the property belonging to the Society. In exercising this power, the Trustees must comply as appropriate with sections 36 and 37 of the Charities Act 1993;
(f) to borrow money and to charge the whole or any part of the property belonging to the Society as security for repayment of the money borrowed. The Trustees must comply as appropriate with sections 38 and 39 of the Charities Act 1993 if they intend to mortgage land;
(g) to co-operate with other charities, voluntary bodies and statutory authorities and to exchange information and advice with them;
(h) to establish or support any charitable trusts, associations or institutions formed for any of the charitable purposes included in the Objects;
(i) to acquire, merge with or enter into any partnership or joint venture arrangement with any other society formed for any of the Objects;
(j) to set aside income as a reserve against future expenditure but only in accordance with a written policy about reserves;
(k) to obtain and pay for such goods and services as are necessary for carrying out the work of the Society;
(l) to open and operate such bank and other accounts as the Trustees consider necessary and to invest funds and to delegate the management of funds in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as the Trustees of a trust are permitted to do by the Trustee Act 2000.
(m) to do all such other lawful things as are necessary for the achievement of the Objects;
19.2. No alteration of this Constitution or any special resolution shall have retrospective effect to invalidate any prior act of the Trustees;
19.3. Any meeting of Trustees at which a quorum is present at the time the relevant decision is made may exercise all the powers exercisable by the Trustees.
20. Disqualification and Removal of Trustees
A Trustee shall cease to hold office if he or she:
20.1. is disqualified for acting as a Trustee by virtue of section 72 of the Charities Act 1993 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision);
20.2. ceases to be a member of the Society;
20.3. becomes incapable by reason of mental disorder, illness or injury of managing and administering his or her own
affairs;
20.4. resigns as a Trustee by notice to the Society (but only if at least two Trustees will remain in office when the notice of
resignation is to take effect); or
20.5. is absent without the permission of the Trustees from three consecutive meetings and the Trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated.
21. Proceedings of Trustees
21.1. The Trustees may regulate their proceedings as they think fit, subject to the provisions of this Constitution.
21.2. Any Trustee may call a meeting of the Trustees.
21.3. The Secretary must call a meeting of the Trustees if requested to do so by a Trustee.
21.4. Questions arising at a meeting must be decided by a majority of votes.
21.5. In the case of an equality of votes, the person who chairs the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
21.6. No decision may be made by a meeting of the Trustees unless a quorum is present at the time the decision is purported to be made.
21.7. The quorum shall be four or the number nearest to one third of the total number of Trustees, whichever is the greater or such larger number as may be decided from time to time by the Trustees.
21.8. A Trustee shall not be counted in the quorum present when any decision is made about a matter upon which that Trustee is not entitled to vote.
21.9. If the number of Trustees is less than the number fixed as the quorum, the continuing Trustees or Trustee may act only for the purpose of filling vacancies or of calling a general meeting.
21.10. The person elected as the Chair shall chair meetings of the Trustees.
21.11. If the Chair is unwilling to preside or is not present within ten minutes after the time appointed for the meeting, the Trustees present may appoint one of their number to chair that meeting.
21.12. The person appointed to chair meetings of the Trustees shall have no functions or powers except those conferred by this Constitution or delegated to him or her in writing by the Trustees.
21.13. A resolution in writing signed by all the Trustees entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Trustees or of a committee of Trustees and to vote upon the resolution shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Trustees or (as the case may be) a committee of Trustees duly convened and held.
21.14. The resolution in writing may comprise several documents containing the text of the resolution in like form each signed by one or more Trustees.
22. Delegation
22.1. The Trustees may delegate any of their powers or functions to a committee of two or more Trustees but the terms of any such delegation must be recorded in the minute book.
22.2. The Trustees may impose conditions when delegating, including the conditions that:
(a) the relevant powers are to be exercised exclusively by the committee to whom they delegate;
(b) no expenditure may be incurred on behalf of the Society except in accordance with a budget previously agreed with the Trustees.
22.3. The Trustees may revoke or alter a delegation.
22.4. All acts and proceedings of any committees must be fully and promptly reported to the Trustees.
23. Representatives of the Society
23.1. The Trustees may appoint Country Representatives in Middle Eastern, Caucasian and Central Asian countries or non-OSME region countries to assist them with the work of the Society.
23.2. The Trustees must keep a register of names and addresses of the representatives which must be made available to any member upon request.
24. Irregularities in Proceedings
24.1. Subject to sub-clause 24.2, all acts done by a meeting of Trustees, or of a committee of Trustees, shall be valid notwithstanding the participation in any vote of a Trustee:
(a) who was disqualified from holding office;
(b) who had previously retired or who had been obliged by the Constitution to vacate office;
(c) who was not entitled to vote on the matter, whether by reason of a conflict of interest or otherwise; if, without:
(d) the vote of that Trustee; and
(e) that Trustee being counted in the quorum, the decision has been made by a majority of the Trustees at a quorate meeting.
24.2. Sub-clause 24.1 does not permit a Trustee to keep any benefit that may be conferred upon him or her by a resolution of the Trustees or of a committee of Trustees if the resolution would otherwise have been void.
24.3. No resolution or act of
(a) the Trustees
(b) any committee of the Trustees
(c) the Society in general meeting
shall be invalidated by reason of the failure to give notice to any Trustee or member or by reason of any procedural defect in the meeting unless it is shown that the failure or defect has materially prejudiced a member or the beneficiaries of the Society.
25. Minutes
The Trustees must keep minutes of all:
25.1. appointments of Officers,Trustees and other members of the committee made by the Trustees;
25.2. proceedings at meetings of the Society;
25.3. meetings of the Trustees and committees of Trustees including:
(a) the names of the Trustees present at the meeting;
(b) the decisions made at the meetings; and
(c) where appropriate the reasons for the decisions.
26. Annual Report and Return and Accounts
26.1. The Trustees must comply with their obligations under the Charities Act 1993 with regard to:
(a) the keeping of accounting records for the Society;
(b) the preparation of annual statements of account for the Society;
(c) the transmission of the statements of account to the Society;
(d) the preparation of an annual report and its transmission to the Commission;
(e) the preparation of an annual return and its transmission to the Commission.
26.2. Accounts must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of any Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Commission, unless the Trustees are required to prepare accounts in accordance with the provisions of such a Statement prepared by another body.
27. Registered particulars
27.1. The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly of any changes to the Society’s entry on the Central Register of Charities.
28. Property
28.1. The Trustees must ensure the title to:
(a) all land held by or in trust for the Society that is not vested in the Official Custodian of Charities; and
(b) all investments held by or on behalf of the Society,
is vested either in a corporation entitled to act as custodian Trustee or in not less that three individuals appointed by them as holding Trustees.
28.2. The terms of the appointment of any holding Trustees must provide that they may act only in accordance with lawful directions of the Trustees and that if they do so they will not be liable for the acts and defaults of the Trustees or of the members of the Society.
28.3. The Trustees may remove the holding Trustees at any time.
29. Repair and insurance
29.1. The Trustees must keep in repair and insure to their full value against fire and other usual risks all the buildings of the Society (except those buildings that are required to be kept in repair and insured by a tenant). They must also insure suitably in respect of public liability and employer’s liability.
30. Notices
30.1. Any notice required by this Constitution to be given to or by any person must be:
(a) in writing; or
(b) given using electronic communications.
30.2. The Society may give any notice to a member either:
(a) personally; or
(b) by sending it by post in a prepaid envelope addressed to the member at his or her address; or
(c) by leaving it at the address of the member; or
(d) by giving it using electronic communications to the member’s address.
30.3. A member who does not register an address with the Society or who registers only a postal address that is not within the United Kingdom shall not be entitled to receive any notice from the Society.
30.4. A member present in person at any meeting of the Society shall be deemed to have received notice of the meeting and of the purposes for which it was called.
30.5. (a) Proof that an envelope containing a notice was properly addressed, prepaid and posted shall be conclusive evidence that the notice was given.
(b) Proof that a notice contained in an electronic communication was sent in accordance with guidance issued by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators shall be conclusive evidence that the notice was given.
(c) A notice shall be deemed to be given 48 hours after the envelope containing it was posted or, in the case of an electronic communication, 48 hours after it was sent.
31. Rules
31.1. The Trustees may from time to time make rules or bye-laws for the conduct of their business.
31.2. The bye-laws may regulate the following matters but are not restricted to them:
(a) the admission of members of the Society (including the admission of organisations to membership) and the rights and privileges of such members, and the entrance fees, subscriptions and other fees or payments to be made by members;
(b) the conduct of members of the Society in relation to one another, and to the Society’s employees and volunteers;
(c) the procedure at general meeting and meetings of the Trustees in so far as such procedure is not regulated by this Constitution;
(d) the keeping and authenticating of records. (If regulations made under this clause permit records of the Society to be kept in electronic form and requires a Trustee to sign the record, the regulations must specify a method of recording the signature that enables it to be properly authenticated.)
(e) generally, all such matters as are commonly the subject matter of the rules of an unincorporated association.
31.7. The Society in general meeting has the power to alter, add to or repeal the rules or bye-laws.
31.8. The Trustees must adopt such means as they think sufficient to bring the rules and bye-laws to the notice of members of the Society.
31.9. The rules or bye-laws shall be binding on all members of the Society. No rule or bye-law shall be inconsistent with, or shall affect or repeal anything contained in, this Constitution.
Ornithological Society Of The Middle East The Caucasus And Central Asia © 2023.
c/o The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, United Kingdom. UK registered charity no. 282938.