STANDING COUNCIL RULES

MEMBERSHIP

1. The Membership of the Standing Council of the Baronetage shall consist of:

a. Full Members being:

     i.  Baronets whose names are on the Official Roll of the Baronetage (hereafter “Baronets” unless otherwise described).

     ii. The heir apparent, or the heir presumptive where there is no heir apparent of the Baronet.

b. Associate Members being:

    i. Children of a Baronet or a deceased Baronet whose name was on the Official Roll (“deceased baronet”).

    ii. The spouse or civil partner and the surviving spouse or civil partner, of a Full Member.

    iii. A former heir presumptive who was a Full Member, where they have ceased to be the heir presumptive.

c. Junior Members being persons under the age of 18 years, but otherwise qualified to be a Full Member or an Associate Member.

d. Honorary Members appointed in terms of Rule 2 and 13(g).

The application of every Full, Associate and Junior Member (hereafter “Member”) for admission to the Council shall be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval. The Secretary is to advise Committee members of applicants and assume their approval unless advice is received to the contrary.

2. Honorary Life Membership. Honorary Life Membership may be awarded to persons who have given distinguished service to the Council (see paragraph 13(g) below).

3. Every person elected to the Council as a Member shall immediately upon receiving the notification of their election pay such sum to the Council as may from time to time be fixed as the yearly subscription for each class of membership, with power to the Executive Committee to fix a family membership subscription, and when such payment shall have been made the name of such person shall be entered in the Register.
Subscriptions shall be due and payable on the 15th January in every year, but a member elected after the 1st August in any year shall only pay one half of that year’s subscription.

4. Any member whose subscription is in arrears for over one year shall, ipso facto, cease to be a member.

5. Every member desirous of retiring from membership shall give written notice to the Secretary and the Executive Committee shall, at their next meeting, accept such notice. The Secretary shall thereupon record such resignation in the Council’s Register of members. Such resignation, when accepted, shall take effect from the date at which the notice of resignation shall have been received by the Secretary.

6. The Executive Committee shall have power to expel any Member for conduct unbecoming, provided the Member is given an opportunity to make representations to the Committee, and that by passing a resolution in favour of such removal at a meeting at which not less than two-thirds of the members of the Committee shall be present, provided that seven days’ notice of the motion shall be given to the member and all members of the Committee.

RESIGNATION OR REMOVAL OF OFFICERS

7. Any Officer of the Council may resign their office in writing, addressed to The Secretary, and upon the acceptance of such resignation by the Executive Committee and not before, their office shall become vacant. The Committee shall have power to remove any Officer, provided the Officer is given an opportunity to make representations to the Committee and that by passing a resolution in favour of such removal at a meeting at which not less than two-thirds of the members of the Committee shall be present, provided that seven days’ notice of the motion shall be given to the Officer and all members of the Committee.

ELIGIBILITY OF MEMBERS TO VOTE

8. Full and Associate Members shall be entitled to vote at any General Meeting of the Council, except in respect of motions concerning the Baronetage that the Executive Committee determine should only be voted upon by Full Members.
Junior Members shall have no vote at any General Meeting and are not eligible to serve on the Executive or Special Committees.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & SPECIAL COMMITTEES

9. Full Members are eligible to be elected to the Executive Committee of the Council. The following persons shall form the Executive Committee of the Standing Council, viz. a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and an Honorary Treasurer duly elected by the Executive Committee together with not less than nine or more than twenty-one Full Members. Five members of the Committee shall form a quorum of the committee. The Chairman and Officers of the Executive Committee shall be designated “of the Standing Council” and not merely of the Executive Committee.

10. Vacancies occurring in the Executive Committee shall be filled by the Committee subject to confirmation at the next General Meeting. Only Full Members have power to nominate Full Members, with their consent, to serve on the Executive Committee. Nomination papers must be lodged with the Secretary not less than twenty-one days before an Executive Committee meeting.

11. One quarter, or as near as may be, of the Executive Committee shall retire in rotation from office at each General Meeting, their vacancies being filled at the meeting in a manner provided in the foregoing rules. Members so retiring shall be eligible for re-election without nomination until they have completed eight years as committee members after which, unless appointed Chairman, Vice-Chairman or Hon Treasurer, they must stand down for a period of two years before being eligible for further re-election.

12. The business of the Council shall be managed by the Executive Committee who, in addition to the powers expressly conferred on them may perform such acts as are necessary to carry out the expressed objects of the Council – unless such acts are required to be done by the Council in General Meeting.

13. Without prejudice to the general powers conferred by the preceding Rule, the Executive committee shall have the power:

(a) To elect and to regulate the enrolment of members. To fix from time to time the rates of the annual subscriptions payable by the different classes of Member and to fix a family subscription.

(b) To appoint and from time to time remove such paid Officers or other persons whose services may be necessary for the proper carrying on of the work of the Council, and to ordain the services such officials are to render and the remuneration to be paid for such services. No member of the Committee shall be appointed a paid official but may act as an honorary officer of the Council if so desired.

(c) To appoint Sub-Committees of their own body for any purpose.

(d) To constitute Special Committees for any purpose. Full and Associated Members are eligible to serve on Special Committees. The Executive Committee appoint members of the Council and/or Associate Members to serve on any Special Committee.

(e) To make all arrangements for the holding of General Meetings of the Council when such are deemed necessary.

(f) Subject to confirmation by a General Meeting to appoint a suitable eminent person to be the President of the Standing Council and to appoint Vice-Presidents from Full and Associate Members who have given distinguished service. Vice-Presidents will have the right to attend and speak at Executive Committee Meetings but will not be entitled to vote other than at General Meetings.

(g) To appoint Honorary Life Members to the Council from those persons who have given distinguished service to the Order. Such Honorary Life Members will not be required to pay a subscription and will not be eligible to vote at any meeting.

14. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be summoned by the Chairman at their discretion, or as the Committee may determine. Any five members of the Committee shall have the power to summon a meeting for a specified object, on giving due notice to the Chairman and the Secretary and specifying the object in such notice.

GENERAL MEETINGS

15. A General Meeting of the Council shall be held within an interval of no more than two years at such place, date and time (or by electronic communication means or in part by electronic communication means) as may be fixed by the Executive Committee. Not less than twenty-eight days’ notice thereof shall be given to each member, but the non-receipt of such notice by any member shall not invalidate the proceedings of a General Meeting.

16. The accounts of the Council shall be prepared as at 31st December in each year and are to be reviewed under arrangements made by the Executive Committee and be laid before the next General Meeting (not being an Extraordinary General Meeting), falling after the foresaid review, for approval. Copies thereof shall be printed and circulated to members as and when the Executive Committee may direct. Any member shall be entitled to a copy of the last available accounts on application to the Secretary.

17. A member wishing to bring any motion before a General Meeting shall give notice thereof to the Secretary not less than 14 days before the date of the meeting and such motion shall not come before the meeting unless due notice thereof has been so given. Where a motion is brought before a General Meeting, the Executive Committee may determine whether this is a motion which relates to the Baronetage and is one upon which only Full Members may vote.

18. On receipt of a demand signed by not fewer than ten Full and Associate members, the Executive Committee shall summon an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Council at such time and place (or by electronic communication means or in part by electronic communication means) as they may think fit, upon giving to each member not less than one month’s written notice thereof specifying the nature of the business to be brought forward.

19. At all General Meetings the Chairman of the Standing Council, or in their absence the Vice-Chairman shall be Chairman. In the absence of both, the Chairman shall be elected from the members of the Council present. The quorum of any General Meeting of the Council shall be ten Full and Associate Members.

20. On the occupation of the Chair at any General Meeting the Minutes of the preceding General Meeting shall be read by the Secretary and, after having been confirmed as correct, shall be signed by the Chairman of the Standing Council.

21. The Chairman of any meeting may, with the consent of the majority of the Full and Associate Members attending the meeting adjourn the meeting from time to time and from place to place or electronically, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. No notice need be given of an adjourned meeting unless it is so directed in the resolution for adjournment.

22. Every motion made and seconded, whether originated by the Executive Committee or by a member who has given the required notice aforesaid, and every amendment thereto, shall unless withdrawn be put to the meeting by the Chairman and decided on by a show of hands, and the declaration of the Chairman as to the majority shall be final unless a division be demanded. The election of Chairman and the motion for the adjournment of a meeting shall be determined by a show of hands only.

23. At General Meetings Full and Associate members shall have one vote only except in relation to motions concerning the Baronetage determined by the Executive Committee to be voted on only by Full Members. The Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to his own vote. No member shall vote unless all moneys due from him to the Council are paid.

24. The Chairman’s ruling upon any point of order shall be final and conclusive.

25. Minutes of all meetings and of all resolutions shall be kept in proper books provided for the purpose. Every minute signed by the Chairman of the meeting to which it relates, or by the Chairman of a subsequent meeting shall be sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated.

COMMUNICATION WITH MEMBERS

26. Communication with members and the notification of meetings or other notifications required by these rules may be given by post to the postal address provided by the Member to the Secretary or by email, where a member has provided their email address to the Secretary. It is the responsibility of the Member to notify the Secretary of any change of postal or email address. Any notification shall be deemed to have been properly made to a Member if sent to the last postal or email address provided to the Secretary.

DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY

27. The Secretary shall conduct the business and correspondence of the Council and the Executive Committee and shall keep all the Minute Books. The Secretary shall keep charge of the list of members of the Council.

28. The Secretary shall receive all subscriptions and moneys payable to the Council and shall make all payments and keep proper accounts. Before making any payment on behalf of the Council the Secretary shall first obtain the sanction of the Hon Treasurer and/or the Chairman and shall always act under their direction.