North East

Constitution

8/BG/210

CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF THE NORTH EASTERN BRANCH

Adopted at the Branch Annual General Meeting on 17 May 1961, amended at General meetings on 24 May 1966 and 7 October 1966, and subsequently approved by Council. Amended in March 1980 In line with the Royal Charter.

1. NAME

The name of the Branch shall be "The North Eastern Branch" of The Institute of Physics.

2. DEFINITIONS

In these Rules: "The Branch" means The North Eastern Branch of The Institute of Physics.

"The Institute" means The Institute of Physics and references are to its Charter and By-Laws.

"The Council" means the Council of The Institute of Physics.

"Corporate Members" means Honorary Fellows, Fellows and Members of the Institute and Fellows of the former Physical Society.

"Non-corporate Members" means Associate Members, Associates and Students "Members" means Corporate and Non-corporate Members.

"Subscribers" means Subscribers of the Institute.

3. OBJECTS

The objects of the Branch shall be to further the objects of the Institute by:

(a) Holding meetings of members of the Branch either independently or jointly with other bodies, for the delivery of lectures, the reading of papers, and the holding of discussions on pure and applied physics and cognate subjects.

(b) Arranging visits to laboratories, research establishments and works likely to be of interest to members of the Branch.

(c) Notifying members of meetings in the area of other scientific societies or organisations likely to be of interest to members of the Branch

(d) Discussing matters of relevance and concern to members as professional physicists and to physics as a profession.

(e) Discussing matters relating to the teaching of physics at all levels.

(f) Doing such other lawful things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.

4. MEMBERSHIP

(a) The membership of the Branch is open, without payment of additional subscription, to members of the Institute living within the area assigned to the Branch by Council.

(b) Members of the Branch shall be those Members of the Institute who have requested to be members of the Branch.

(c) Any person ceasing to belong to the institute shall ipso facto. cease to be a member of the Branch.

5. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

(a) The affairs of the Branch shall be managed by a Committee elected by the members of the Branch. The Committee shall comprise five officers namely, a Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen, an Honorary Secretary (who shall also act as Honorary Treasurer), and an Assistant Honorary Secretary, together with six other members of the Branch who shall be known as ordinary members of the Committee, and any co-opted members. One Vice-Chairman and the Assistant Honorary Secretary shall be from among the Cumberland and Westmorland members of the Branch.

(b) The officers and at least four ordinary members of the Committee shall be Corporate Members of the Institute.

(c) The Chairman and Vice-Chairmen shall be elected annually and shall be eligible for immediate re-election to the same office, but none shall hold his office for more than three consecutive years. The Honorary Secretary and the Assistant Honorary Secretary shall be elected annually and shall be eligible for immediate re-election, but neither shall hold his office for more than five consecutive years.

(d) Ordinary Committee members shall be elected for three years and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.

(e) The Committee shall have power to co-opt other members of the Branch to serve on the Committee until the next Annual General Meeting.

(f) Casual vacancies among the officers or members of the Committee shall be filled by the Committee. The name of the person selected to fill any casual vacancy shall be announced at the next General Meeting of the Branch and such persons shall retain office until the next Annual General Meeting of the Branch, when they shall be eligible for re-election.

(g) At a meeting of the Committee four shall constitute a quorum.

6. GENERAL MEETINGS

(a) A General Meeting shall be held annually to elect officers and members of the Committee, to receive a report on the previous year's activities, and to transact any other business.

(b) An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened at any time by the Honorary Secretary on the instructions of the committee, or on receipt of a written request by at least 10 Branch members, stating the business to be transacted. In default, the signatories to the request or any ten or more members my themselves convene an Extraordinary General Meeting for such purposes only, to be held on such a day and at such a place as the persons convening the same day may determine. At an extraordinary General Meeting the only business shall be that for which the meeting was called.

(c) At least seven day's notice shall be given of the AGM and twenty-one days notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting, stating the business to be transacted.

7. PROFESSIONAL MATTERS

The Branch shall.not discuss any matter of professional conduct or status with any outside body without the express authority, in writing, of the Council.

8.

(a) All rules relating to the Branch are subject to the approval of the Council.

(b) Alterations shall only be made to these rules at a General Meeting of the Branch.

(c) Where the rules are silent, the ruling of the Committee shall stand.

(d) The Charter and By-Laws of the Institute are binding on all members and are deemed to be incorporated in the rules of the North Eastern Branch.

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