Politics and Public Administration Association SSS HKUSU

Politics and Public Administration Association
Social Sciences Society
The Hong Kong University Students’ Union

Constitution

(Amended 2007)

SECTION 1: GENERAL

Article 1: Name
The name of the organization formed under this constitution shall be “Politics and Public Administration Association, Social Sciences Society, The Hong Kong University Students' Union”, hereafter referred as the “Association”.

Article 2: Purpose
a) To promote the general welfare of Members.
b) To promote friendship and communication among Members.
c) To facilitate communication between the Department of Politics and Public Administration, hereafter referred as the “Department”, and its students.
d) To encourage and facilitate the study of Politics and Public Administration.

Article 3: Session
The Association’s session shall commence immediately after the Annual General Meeting and terminate at the end of the Annual General Meeting of the succeeding year.

SECTION 2: MEMBERSHIP

Article 1: General
a) All undergraduates, postgraduates of the University and graduates of the Faculty of Social Sciences shall be Members of the Association upon registration and payment of the prescribed Membership fee with the approval of the Executive Committee.
b) The Association shall have a majority of its Full Members being Full Members of the Social Sciences Society, HKUSU.

Article 2: Classification of Membership
a) Full Membership: Members who are undergraduates taking courses offered by the Department shall be Full Members.
b) Associate Membership: Members who are currently students of the University and do not fulfill the requirements of Full Membership shall be Associate Members.
c) Graduate Membership: Members who are graduates of the Faculty of Social Sciences and not currently students of the University shall be Graduate Members.
d) Honorary Staff Membership: All academic staff of the Department shall automatically be Honorary Staff Members.

Article 3: Duration of Membership
a) The duration of Full and Associate Memberships shall begin on the day of registration and terminate on the day of the end of the Member’s study programme at the University.
b) The duration of Graduate Membership shall begin on the day of registration and terminate three calendar years later.

Article 4: Privileges and Rights
a) All Members shall enjoy the following privileges:
i) To use all facilities provided by the Association for the general use of the Members.
ii) To attend and speak in all General Meetings of the Association.
iii) To attend all functions and activities arranged by the Association for the general participation of its Members.
b) Only Full Members may nominate candidates and be nominated for election in General Meetings.
c) Only Full Members are eligible to be Year Representatives of the Association.
d) Only Full Members may vote in a General Meeting.

SECTION 3: GENERAL MEETING

Article 1: General
a) The resolution of a General Meeting shall possess the highest authority in the Association.
b) At all General Meetings, a quorum shall be formed with no less than 20 Full Members.
c) If after an hour of the time scheduled for the commencement of the General Meeting, a quorum is not formed, the General Meeting shall be adjourned to the same weekday in the following week at which if a quorum is still not formed, all Full Members there present shall form a quorum.
d) The Chairman shall invite one Member of the Council not being a Member of the Executive Committee as the Returning Officer for every General Meeting.
e) All General Meetings shall be presided by the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
f) A vote of confidence may be passed to any Office-bearer of the Association who ceases to be a Full Member of the Association during his or her term. A vote so passed calls for the continuation of the person(s) to hold the post till the end of that Session.
g) A vote of non-confidence for the infringement of the Constitution, neglect of duties or unbecoming conduct may be moved against any Office-bearer of the Association at an Extraordinary General Meeting held specifically for the purpose. A vote so passed calls for the immediate resignation of the person(s) against whom the vote is moved.

Article 2: Annual General Meeting
a) The Business of the Annual General Meeting shall be :
i) To receive and adopt the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting, By-election General Meeting(s) and Extraordinary General Meeting(s) which may have been held in this Session.
ii) To receive and adopt the Annual Functional Report of the current Session.
iii) To receive and adopt the Annual Financial Report of the current Session.
iv) To elect the Office-bearers of the incoming Session of the Executive Committee.
v) To amend the Constitution, if any.
vi) Any other Business having received the consent of at least two-third of the Full Members present.
b) No less than fourteen clear days' notice shall be given for an Annual General Meeting.
c) The Annual General Meeting shall be held within November of each academic year.

Article 3: Extraordinary General Meeting
a) The Executive Committee shall have the right to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting for any purpose at any time.
b) The Chairman shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting within a period of two weeks upon requisition signed by no less than twenty Full Members of the Association. Such requisition shall specify the objects of the proposed Meeting.
c) No less than seven clear days' notice shall be given for an Extraordinary General Meeting and the notice convening the General Meeting shall state the Business to be transacted.
d) No Business other than that stated on the agenda shall be discussed at an Extraordinary General Meeting unless having received the consent of at least two-third of the Full Members present.

Article 4: By-election General Meeting
a) In the event of vacancies occurring in the posts of the Chairman and Vice Chairmen, the Executive Committee shall convene a By-election General Meeting.
b) In the event of a vacancy occurring in the post of the Chairman, a By-election General Meeting shall be convened by the Executive Committee under the delegation of the Internal Vice Chairman or in case of the absence of both the Chairman and Internal Vice Chairman, the External Vice Chairman.
c) In the event if vacancies occurring in both the posts of the Chairman and Vice Chairmen, the Executive Committee shall convene a By-election General Meeting for the election of the vacant posts. One of the Office-bearers shall be appointed by the Executive Committee to preside at this Meeting.
d) No less than seven clear days' notice shall be given for a By-election General Meeting.
e) No Business other than the election to vacant posts shall take place in a By-election General Meeting.
f) All nomination for the post(s) vacant should be in the hands of the Chairman of the By-election General Meeting 48 hours before the Meeting taken place.

SECTION 4: HONORARY PRESIDENT AND ADVISORY BOARD

Article 1: Honorary President of the Association
a) The Head of the Department shall be the ex-officio Honorary President of the Association.
b) The Honorary President shall be the Honorary Auditor of the Association.

Article 2: Advisory Board
The Advisory Board shall consist of the Honorary President, the Honorary Advisors and the Honorary Staff Members.

Article 3: Honorary Advisors
The Honorary Advisors shall be invited by the Chairman to the Advisory Board.

SECTION 5: OFFICE-BEARERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Article 1: General
a) The Office-bearers of the Executive Committee shall have the authority only second to the General Meeting.
b) The Office-bearers shall appoint the Chairman, the Vice Chairmen or the General Secretary to represent the Association in the Social Sciences Society Council, HKUSU, hereafter referred as the “Council”.

Article 2: Powers of the Office-bearers
a) The Office-bearers shall have the power to co-opt any Full Member to any vacancy of the Executive Committee that may occur, except the posts of the Chairman and Vice Chairmen.
b) The Office-bearers shall have the power to appoint sub-committees for any specific purpose. A sub-committee shall consist of an ex-officio Member who must be either the Chairman or the Vice Chairmen.
c) The Office-bearers shall have the power to invite any person to attend any meeting or function of the Association.

Article 3: Executive Committee Meeting
a) The Office-bearers shall attend, speak and vote in all Executive Committee Meetings.
b) Excluding resolutions of the General Meeting, all decisions adopted by the Association must be approved by simple majority vote of the Office-bearers present at an Executive Committee Meeting.
c) In case when the number of votes on each side of the motions is equal, a second voting shall be held, in which the Chairman shall hold both an original vote and a casting vote in case when the number of votes is again equal on each side. Both the original and the casting vote of the Chairman must be used to support the same side of the motion.

Article 4: Composition
The Office-bearers shall consist of the followings:
a) A Chairman
b) An Internal Vice Chairman
c) An External Vice Chairman
d) A General Secretary
e) A Financial Secretary
f) A Publication Secretary
g) A Publicity Secretary
h) A Marketing Officer
i) An Academic Secretary
j) A Social Secretary
k) A Welfare Secretary
l) A Current Affairs Secretary
m) A Chinese Current Affairs Secretary
n) A Public Relations Officer

Article 5: Duties of the Office-bearers
a) Chairman: The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Association at which he is present and shall be the chief executive of the Association.
b) Internal Vice Chairman: The Internal Vice Chairman shall assist the Chairman in all the duties pertaining to internal affairs and shall be the ex-officio Chairman of the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chairman.
c) External Vice Chairman: The External Vice Chairman shall assist the Chairman in all the duties pertaining to external affairs and shall be the ex-officio Chairman of the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chairman and the Internal Vice Chairman.
d) General Secretary: The General Secretary shall conduct all general correspondence and record minutes of all meetings, shall prepare the General Meeting and shall be responsible for keeping all past and present documents of the Association.
e) Financial Secretary: The Financial Secretary shall keep an account of all income and expenditure of the Association, draft the budget, prepare the Annual Financial Report to be presented at the Annual General Meeting after audited by the Honorary Auditor, and shall be responsible for all general financial matters of the Association.
f) Publication Secretary: The Publication Secretary shall be responsible for producing all publications of the Association. He shall be the ex-officio Editor-in-chief of the annual journal that may be issued in the name of the Association.
g) Publicity Secretary: The Publicity Secretary shall be responsible for all publicity work of the Association.
h) Marketing Officer: The Marketing Officer shall be responsible for all marketing activities of the Association.
i) Academic Secretary: The Academic Secretary shall be responsible for all academic and cultural activities of the Association and shall facilitate the communication between the Association and the Department.
j) Social Secretary: The Social Secretary shall be responsible for all social and sports activities of the Association.
k) Welfare Secretary: The Welfare Secretary shall be responsible for promoting the general welfare of the Members.
l) Current Affairs Secretary: The Current Affairs Secretary shall be responsible for promoting the understanding and awareness of current affairs.
m) Chinese Current Affairs Secretary: The Chinese Current Affairs Secretary shall be responsible for promoting the understanding and awareness of Chinese current affairs.
n) Public Relations Officer: The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for promoting public relations of the Association.

SECTION 6: YEAR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION

Article 1: General
a) The Year Representatives of the Association, hereafter referred as “Year Representatives”, shall be appointed by the Chairman for a period no longer than his own Session.
b) The Year Representatives shall be responsible for the reflection of the opinions of the students of their respective years to the Association and the Department.
c) The Year Representatives shall have the right to attend and speak in Executive Committee Meetings.

Article 2: Composition
The Year Representatives shall consist of the followings:
a) A maximum of two Year Representative from each of the years.
b) A maximum of two Past Executive Committee Representatives.

SECTION 7: ELECTION

Article 1: Nomination
a) Nomination of the Office-bearers shall be open no less than three weeks before the Annual General Meeting.
b) Nomination for election shall only contain the name and signature of the candidates, together with the names and signatures of the proposer and seconder, and must be in the hands of the General Secretary or Chairman no less than 48 hours before the Annual General Meeting is to take place.

Article 2: Voting
a) Election of Office-bearers shall take the form of secret ballot by individual voting. If there is only one candidate for the post, the candidate shall be declared elected if the number of valid votes cast for the candidate is no less than one-forth of the Full Members present in the General Meeting.
b) If there are two or more candidates for the post, each voter shall be entitled to one ballot paper and one vote. A candidate shall be declared elected if the number of valid votes cast for him is the highest and no less than one-forth of the Full Members present in the General Meeting.
c) In the event of a tie at the first place, a second voting shall be held between the candidates who have tied.

Article 3: Announcement of the election result
Result of the election shall be announced within twenty four hours after the conclusion of the election and by-election.

Article 4: Returning Officer
The Chairman shall invite one Member of the Council not being a Member of the Executive Committee as Returning Officer for every election and by-election.

SECTION 8: CONSTITUTION

Article 1: Interpretation
The General Meeting shall possess the highest authority in the interpretation of the Constitution. The Executive Committee shall possess the power of interpretation of the Constitution in the operation of the Association.

Article 2: Amendment
No amendment of this Constitution may be effected except at a General Meeting specially convened.