Section 7
Officers of the Society
7.1 The Officers of the Society shall consist of the President, the Vice-Presidents, two or more Secretaries (of whom one shall be the Secretary, Foreign and External Affairs and the others shall be Secretaries to Council), and one or more Treasurers all of whom shall be responsible to Council through the President. If an Officer dies in service or resigns then that vacancy can be filled by a ballot of Fellows at a Special General Meeting held for that purpose.
7.2 No person shall be simultaneously more than one of: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Secretary (Foreign & External Affairs) or Treasurer.
7.3 Council shall establish Regulations for the identification of the President-designate. Fellows may nominate candidates as President-designate and Council shall vote by ballot to identify the President-designate to be nominated for election by the Fellows.
7.4 The President-designate, if not already a member of Council, shall normally be elected to Council by the process for election of members of Council and shall then serve in that capacity for at least one year prior to election as President. The President-designate may be co-opted to Council if not elected [6.6], and may stand for election as a member of Council and as President at the next Annual General Meeting. The President-designate is not an Officer of the Society.
7.5 The President for the succeeding year shall be elected by ballot at the Annual General Meeting [9.14], normally serve for two years, and then retire from the Presidency and from Council.
7.6 The President shall chair Council and all General Meetings, and shall be a member of all Standing Committees.
7.7 The President shall be responsible to the Fellows for the proper conduct of the Society's business and shall ensure that
(i) the provisions of the Charter and Bye-laws of the Society are maintained;
(ii) the activities of the Society are consistent with its charitable status;
(iii) all Officers and members of Council and of Standing Committees perform the duties assigned to them properly;
(iv) reports and accounts are called for from Standing Committees, Scientific Committees, Temporary Committees, Working Groups, Specialist Groups, Regional Groups and staff;
(v) Special Meetings of Council and of Committees are called when necessary; and
(vi) appropriate measures are proposed to Council for the good management of the Society.
7.8 The President, when prevented from giving full attention to the current business of the Society, shall provide timely notice to a Vice-President in order that the responsibilities set out in Bye-law 7.7 are discharged [7.10].
7.9 No more than four Vice-Presidents shall be nominated by the President from the members of Council for the succeeding year in consultation with other Officers and Council. Vice-Presidents shall be elected by ballot at an Annual General Meeting [9.14].
7.10 A Vice-President shall normally chair Council or other meetings when the President is absent, or when the President is unable to give full attention to the current business of the Society [7.8].
7.11 Nomination of Secretary/ies for the succeeding year shall be made to Council by a Standing Committee consisting of the President in the chair, the other Officers and two members of Council.
7.12 The Secretary/ies shall normally serve for three years but Council may determine that a Secretary may serve for a further term of no more than three years.
7.13 The Secretary/ies shall be elected by ballot, from the members of Council for the succeeding year, at the Annual General Meeting [9.14].
7.14 The Secretary/ies to Council are responsible for the general supervision of the affairs of the Society and shall attend General Meetings, Council and relevant Standing Committee meetings and ensure that
(i) Minutes of the proceedings of such meetings are taken, are entered in the appropriate Minute Books before the following meeting and are signed at that meeting;
(ii) signed Minutes of appropriate meetings are placed in the Library within good time;
(iii) all other necessary records in connection with the Society's business are kept; and
(iv) a policy is established as to which copies of the letters which are written on behalf of the Society or of Council by Officers and staff shall be preserved or can be recoverable from an electronic database.
7.15 The Secretary, Foreign & External Affairs, is responsible for the general supervision of all matters relating to the external and international roles of the Society as Council may require, and shall
(i) conduct the relevant correspondence on behalf of the Society;
(ii) supervise and scrutinise all formalities and procedures relating to Honorary Fellows; and
(iii) ensure the preservation of all records and copies of all correspondence to, or relating to, Honorary Fellows.
7.16 The Secretary/ies shall be members of all Standing Committees of Council.
7.17 Nomination for the office of Treasurer/s for the succeeding year shall be made by a Committee consisting of the President in the chair, the other Officers and two members of Council [7.11].
7.18 The Treasurer/s shall normally serve for three years but Council may determine that the Treasurer/s may serve for a further term of not more than three years.
7.19 The Treasurer/s shall be elected by ballot, from the members of Council for the succeeding year, at an Annual General Meeting [9.14].
7.20 The Treasurer/s shall generally oversee all matters relating to the finances of the Society and report to Council and the Fellows. The Treasurer/s shall ensure
(i) efficient collection of all money due to the Society and that all sums are paid without delay to the Society's Banker and credited to the appropriate account;
(ii) efficient payment of all money owed by the Society and that all sums are paid without undue delay to the correct authority;
(iii) meticulous maintenance of the Society's Accounts;
(iv) submission of all accounts, prepared to meet the requirements of all appropriate external bodies, to the Auditors in good time for the completion of the Annual Report [6.23, 10.1], and at such other times as the Auditors may require;
(v) proper management of the Society's real estate, investments and funds on deposit; and
(vi) that Council conforms as closely as possible to the estimates approved by the Fellows at the preceding Annual General Meeting and that approval is obtained if the estimates are likely to be exceeded by more than 10% [6.24(iii)].
7.2 No person shall be simultaneously more than one of: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Secretary (Foreign & External Affairs) or Treasurer.
President-designate
7.3 Council shall establish Regulations for the identification of the President-designate. Fellows may nominate candidates as President-designate and Council shall vote by ballot to identify the President-designate to be nominated for election by the Fellows.
7.4 The President-designate, if not already a member of Council, shall normally be elected to Council by the process for election of members of Council and shall then serve in that capacity for at least one year prior to election as President. The President-designate may be co-opted to Council if not elected [6.6], and may stand for election as a member of Council and as President at the next Annual General Meeting. The President-designate is not an Officer of the Society.
President
7.5 The President for the succeeding year shall be elected by ballot at the Annual General Meeting [9.14], normally serve for two years, and then retire from the Presidency and from Council.
7.6 The President shall chair Council and all General Meetings, and shall be a member of all Standing Committees.
7.7 The President shall be responsible to the Fellows for the proper conduct of the Society's business and shall ensure that
(i) the provisions of the Charter and Bye-laws of the Society are maintained;
(ii) the activities of the Society are consistent with its charitable status;
(iii) all Officers and members of Council and of Standing Committees perform the duties assigned to them properly;
(iv) reports and accounts are called for from Standing Committees, Scientific Committees, Temporary Committees, Working Groups, Specialist Groups, Regional Groups and staff;
(v) Special Meetings of Council and of Committees are called when necessary; and
(vi) appropriate measures are proposed to Council for the good management of the Society.
7.8 The President, when prevented from giving full attention to the current business of the Society, shall provide timely notice to a Vice-President in order that the responsibilities set out in Bye-law 7.7 are discharged [7.10].
Vice-Presidents
7.9 No more than four Vice-Presidents shall be nominated by the President from the members of Council for the succeeding year in consultation with other Officers and Council. Vice-Presidents shall be elected by ballot at an Annual General Meeting [9.14].
7.10 A Vice-President shall normally chair Council or other meetings when the President is absent, or when the President is unable to give full attention to the current business of the Society [7.8].
Secretary/ies
7.11 Nomination of Secretary/ies for the succeeding year shall be made to Council by a Standing Committee consisting of the President in the chair, the other Officers and two members of Council.
7.12 The Secretary/ies shall normally serve for three years but Council may determine that a Secretary may serve for a further term of no more than three years.
7.13 The Secretary/ies shall be elected by ballot, from the members of Council for the succeeding year, at the Annual General Meeting [9.14].
7.14 The Secretary/ies to Council are responsible for the general supervision of the affairs of the Society and shall attend General Meetings, Council and relevant Standing Committee meetings and ensure that
(i) Minutes of the proceedings of such meetings are taken, are entered in the appropriate Minute Books before the following meeting and are signed at that meeting;
(ii) signed Minutes of appropriate meetings are placed in the Library within good time;
(iii) all other necessary records in connection with the Society's business are kept; and
(iv) a policy is established as to which copies of the letters which are written on behalf of the Society or of Council by Officers and staff shall be preserved or can be recoverable from an electronic database.
7.15 The Secretary, Foreign & External Affairs, is responsible for the general supervision of all matters relating to the external and international roles of the Society as Council may require, and shall
(i) conduct the relevant correspondence on behalf of the Society;
(ii) supervise and scrutinise all formalities and procedures relating to Honorary Fellows; and
(iii) ensure the preservation of all records and copies of all correspondence to, or relating to, Honorary Fellows.
7.16 The Secretary/ies shall be members of all Standing Committees of Council.
Treasurer/s
7.17 Nomination for the office of Treasurer/s for the succeeding year shall be made by a Committee consisting of the President in the chair, the other Officers and two members of Council [7.11].
7.18 The Treasurer/s shall normally serve for three years but Council may determine that the Treasurer/s may serve for a further term of not more than three years.
7.19 The Treasurer/s shall be elected by ballot, from the members of Council for the succeeding year, at an Annual General Meeting [9.14].
7.20 The Treasurer/s shall generally oversee all matters relating to the finances of the Society and report to Council and the Fellows. The Treasurer/s shall ensure
(i) efficient collection of all money due to the Society and that all sums are paid without delay to the Society's Banker and credited to the appropriate account;
(ii) efficient payment of all money owed by the Society and that all sums are paid without undue delay to the correct authority;
(iii) meticulous maintenance of the Society's Accounts;
(iv) submission of all accounts, prepared to meet the requirements of all appropriate external bodies, to the Auditors in good time for the completion of the Annual Report [6.23, 10.1], and at such other times as the Auditors may require;
(v) proper management of the Society's real estate, investments and funds on deposit; and
(vi) that Council conforms as closely as possible to the estimates approved by the Fellows at the preceding Annual General Meeting and that approval is obtained if the estimates are likely to be exceeded by more than 10% [6.24(iii)].