Student Legal Society

Student Legal Society

Constitution

ARTICLE I - NAME 
There shall be only one governmental organization for all students registered in the Juris Doctor program in the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario, which shall be known as the University of Western Ontario Student Legal Society, hereinafter designated the Student Legal Society.

ARTICLE II – DEFINITIONS 
For the purpose of this constitution, the following definitions shall be used:

(1)       Club means an autonomous group of students who is interested in a particular area of law or other legitimate social endeavour which is officially recognized by the Student Legal Society.

(2)       Committee means a division of the Student Legal Society which is delegated authority over a specific element of the Student Legal Society’s mandate.

(3)       Conflicts of Interest are deemed to exist if a council member wishes to vote upon a matter that:

             i.      Affects his or her financial position; or

           ii.      Involves another person who is the member’s spouse, sibling, child, or significant other; or

          iii.      Involves the interests of a committee where the member is also the committee chair; or

         iv.      Involves the interests of a club where the member is also a member of the club’s executive; or

           v.      A two-thirds majority of council agrees is a conflict.

(4)       Council is defined as the collective term that refers to the entire governing body of the Student Legal Society, composed of the Executive, three representatives from each year, and one ex officio and non-voting Graduate Student.

(5)       Executive is defined as the collective term that refers to the President; Vice President, Student Affairs; Vice President, Academic Affairs; Secretary and Treasurer of the Student Legal Society.

(6)       Financial Emergency is defined as a situation in which at least two of the approved signatories are unavailable and a must be issued from the student legal to discharge a debt which must be paid forthwith.

(7)       Petition is defined as a document containing the names, signatures and student numbers of at least fifteen percent of active members of the Student Legal Society.

(8)       Publish is defined as being displayed in open and notorious manner on a Student Legal Society bulletin board or on the Student Legal Society website.

(9)       Student is defined as an undergraduate student registered for at least one course in the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario during the current academic session.

ARTICLE III – DEFINITIONS

(1)       To advance and protect the interests of its members in professional, artistic, academic, athletic and social activities.

(2)       To represent Students.

(3)       To make policies for the governance of Students.

(4)       To receive and administer all money owing and accruing to the Student Legal Society from all sources including money accruing to Committees

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP 
There shall be four classes of membership, defined as follows:

(1)       Active: Students shall be deemed active members if they have paid Student Legal Society fees for the current academic session, including those on exchange,  who have paid Student Legal Society fees.

(2)       Alumni: Former Students who have graduated shall be deemed to Alumni members if, during their attendance as a Student, they were Active members of the Student Legal Society for any period of time.

(3)       Honourary: The Council may, by a simple majority vote, appoint honourary members.

(4)       Faculty Representation: The Council, may, by a simple majority vote, appoint or accept faculty representation on the Council.

ARTICLE V – COUNCIL ELECTION AND DUTIES

(8)       There shall be a Council of fourteen persons, consisting of:

(1)            President – He or she shall be a student elected each year and shall:

                   i.               submit a written report outlining the events of his or her tenure, containing the recommendations of the Council for the consideration and benefit of the succeeding Council;

                  ii.               counter-sign cheques drawn by the Student Legal Society except in situations of Financial Emergency;

                iii.               represent the Student Legal Society as spokesperson within the Faculty of Law, University and broader community;

                iv.               be the Faculty of Law USC representative and hold the Faculty of Law’s one vote on the USC ;

                 v.               meet with the Dean of the Faculty of Law on a bi-weekly basis;

                vi.               submit a report to the Faculty Council at its monthly meetings;

              vii.               be available to execute his or her duties during the summer period; and

             viii.               effect the objectives of the Student Legal Society as set out in Article III.

(2)            Vice-President, Student Affairs – He or she shall be a Student elected each year and shall:

                     i.        assist the President in the duties pursuant to his or her office;

                   ii.        perform the President’s duties, in his or her absence;

                  iii.        chair all Council meetings in the absence of the Speaker and in such cases not vote except to break a tie;

                 iv.        organize the recruitment and selection of all Committee chairs and:

a.   ensure that all Committees are established no later than the final day of classes in the Winter Term;

b.   keep an up-to-date list of recognized clubs and their mandates;

c.   meet once individually every term with each Committee chair, while that Committee is constituted;

d.   meet at least once individually in the academic year with each Club Head while that Club is ratified;

                   v.        hold a mandatory Information Meeting for all Clubs and Committees no later than the second week of classes of the Fall Term, providing them with relevant information including all administrative deadlines throughout the year and the structure of the Student Legal Society budget allocation process;

                 vi.        provide all Committee chairs and Clubs executives with a budget application;

                vii.        counter-sign cheques drawn by the Student Legal Society where either the President or Treasurer are unavailable, except in situations of Financial Emergency;

               viii.        be available over the summer period to consult with, inter alia, the Orientation Week Committee; and

                 ix.        perform any additional duties that the President may assign.

(3)            Vice-President, Academic Affairs – He or she shall be a Student elected each year and shall:

                   i.               perform the President’s duties relating to academic issues, in his or her absence;

                  ii.               represent the Student Legal Society at Faculty Council and serve as Vice-Chair;

                iii.               serve on the Programs Committee of Faculty Council;

                iv.               serve as the student representative on the Student Appeals Committee;

                 v.               communicate developments of academic significance to the student body and represent the concerns of students who have academic issues to the Faculty and administration;

                vi.               perform any additional duties that the President may assign.

(4)            Treasurer – He or she shall be a Student elected each year and shall:

             i.                      place in order all financial matters of the Student Legal Society before turning over the duties of office to the succeeding Treasurer;

           ii.                      submit an annual report containing a Report on Expenditures by Committee and Statements of Current Financial Position to the Executive;

          iii.                      counter-sign all cheques drawn the Student Legal Society except in situations of Financial Emergency;

         iv.                      submit all materials required by the Student Legal Society‘s auditors and present a final audit report, if required;

           v.                      review the books of all Committees from time to time;

         vi.                      be responsible for all financial matters relating to the Student Legal Society;

        vii.                      deposit the contents of the Student Legal Society safe a least twice a month;

       viii.                      meet with all Clubs and Committees no later than the third week of classes of the Fall Term, in order to inform the Committee chairs and Club executives of the Student Legal Society financial policy;

         ix.                      present an operating budget for approval, by the end of the third week of classes in the Fall term;

           x.                      present an operating budget for approval, by the end of the first week of classes in the Spring term;

         xi.                      perform any additional duties that the President may assign.

(5)            Secretary –He or she shall be a Student elected each year and shall:

                i.                  Take the minutes of all Council meetings and submit them to the Council for their approval at least two days prior to the meeting in which they are to be ratified;

               ii.                  publish the minutes for all Council meetings; prepare and Publish an agenda for all Executive meetings and distribute it to the:

                  Council at least two days prior to the meeting;

                  maintain a filing system for all documents relevant to the Student Legal Society

             iii.                  electronically publish information about events pertinent to Students;

             iv.                  ensure that the Student Legal Society office is provided with all the items necessary for the efficient functioning of the Council;

              v.                  counter-sign cheques in situations of Financial Emergency and disclose such actions at the next Council meeting; and

             vi.                  perform any additional duties that the President may assign.

(6)            Class Representatives – Three Students from each year of the J.D. program shall be elected by the Students of their respective class each year and shall:

             i.                ensure that Student concerns are brought to the attention of the Council;

           ii.                assist the Executive to perform the duties pursuant to their offices;

          iii.                be available during the summer to clean out and reassign lockers; and

         iv.                perform any additional duties for which they may volunteer.

(7)            Speaker – He or she shall be a Student selected by a simple majority of the Executive and then ratified by a simple majority of Council. The Speaker shall:

i.        chair all Council and Student Legal Society meetings;

ii.        ensure that Robert’s Rules of Order are followed during such meetings; and

iii.        not be voting member of Council.

(8)       All members of the Council shall attend all Council meetings. If a member of Council cannot attend a meeting, regrets must be sent to the Secretary at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

(9)        Absence from two or more meetings without reasonable excuse may constitute grounds for removal from office.

(10)   The Executive and five Council members shall attend all Faculty Council meetings and act as representatives of the Students in said meetings. Two or more absences from Faculty Council meetings without reasonable excuse may constitute grounds for removal from office for Executive members.

(11)   Members of the Executive shall spend at least three hours every week in the Student Legal Society office to address Student concerns.

(12)   Class Representatives shall spend at least two hours every week in the Student Legal Society office to address Student concerns.

(13)   No member shall serve for more than thirteen months without an election being called.

(14)   Failure to fulfill any of the duties pursuant to the office in question will constitute grounds for removal from that office. The transgressing member will be advised of the failure and shall be given a reasonable time to remedy such failure and/or submit an explanation for such failure. If the failure is not corrected and/or the explanation is inadequate, the member may be removed from office after prior notice of three days, at a meeting of the Council by a two-thirds majority vote.

(15)   The performance of duties in a negligent manner by any officer (notwithstanding the Chief Returning Officer), Council member or Committee chair will also constitute grounds for removal from office in accordance with the procedure outlined in section 6 of this Article.

(16)   Any member of Council may resign his or her office two weeks after providing written notice to the Council.

(17)   Any Council office which becomes vacant for any reason shall be filled by a by-election as follows:

a.   if the vacancy arises during the academic year, a by-election shall be held within three weeks of the date of vacancy; otherwise,

b.   a by-election shall be held within one month after the resumption of classes.

ARTICLE VI – CLUBS AND COMMITTEES

(1)       Committees are created or eliminated by a two-thirds majority vote of Council.

(2)       A Club shall be officially recognized upon being ratified by a simple majority vote of Council. A Club continues to be officially recognized unless it is de-ratified.

(3)       In order to maintain ratification each Club must maintain the requirements of ratification, being the following.  Each Club must:

             i. present a budget for approval in the Fall term outlining the proposed events and budget for the entire year;

           ii. present a budget in the Spring term for re-approval of funds for proposed Spring term events;

          iii. maintain an e-mail list of current members, the Vice President, Student Affairs must be added to this list;

         iv. send out a monthly newsletter, or maintain another form of communication (including, but not limited to, e.g. a Facebook page, a website) ensuring communication with all members on the e-mail list containing,

              (i) any upcoming club events;

              (ii) any updates in the legal community having a nexus with the area of law in which the Club is ratified to represent;

              (iii) any relevant decisions in the area of law in which the Club is ratified to represent;

              (iv) any other such information as is relevant to the area of law, or legitimate social or academic interest the Club is ratified to represent;

v.     such communication must not prejudice any student by being of limited access, that is, for example, an alternative form of communication must be made available for students who do not have Facebook (e.g. sending an e-mail to those students who are not members of the Facebook page).

(4)       Failure to fulfill the requirements of ratification are grounds for the de-ratification of a club. 

(5)       A Club shall be de-ratified upon a simple majority vote on the issue by Council. 

(6)       A motion to de-ratify a Club may be brought to Council by the Vice President, Student Affairs if the club fails to:

i.     fulfill the requirements of ratification;

ii.        provide a list of the incoming executive members for the upcoming academic year to the Vice President, Student Affairs by the end of the spring term;

iii.        ensure a member of the Club’s executive was in attendance for the entire mandatory information meeting descried in subparagraph V(1)(b)(v);

iv.        abide by all published policies of the University, Faculty of Law, USC and Student Legal Society and also any federal, provincial or municipal laws; or

v.        maintain a reasonable number of members and level of activity.

(7)       Any two or more Clubs may be merged at the discretion of the Vice-President, Student Affairs if their mandates or activities overlap, provided that any listed executive members of all affected Clubs are given one week’s notice of the opportunity to make written and oral representations prior to the decision.

(8)       The Vice-President, Student Affairs shall make all reasonable efforts to immediately inform any executive members of a Club of his or her Decision to de-ratify the Club. If no contact information is available the decision should be posted on the Student Legal Society Bulletin Board for ten school days.

(9)       A Club that is de-ratified or merged by the Vice-President, Student Affairs may make a motion to have that decision retroactively overturned by a two-thirds vote of Council. This motion is only effective if it is brought to the attention of the Speaker or President within twenty school days of the decision to de-ratify the Club.

(10)   The Chair of any SLS Committee may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of council.

(11)   Any Chair who is removed has the opportunity to appeal to Council, in writing, within two(2) weeks of his/her removal.  The decision to remove any Chair may be reversed by a two-thirds majority vote.

(12)   Any Club member may apply to the SLS to have the Head of his or her Club removed.  Any Club member seeking to have the Head of his or her Club removed must present a petition of at half of the executive of the Club, in writing and with signatures of all petitioners outlining the reasons for requesting removal, to the Vice President, Student Affairs.  The Vice President, Student Affairs may then bring a motion to council to remove the Club Head.

(13)   Any Club Head against which such a petition has been brought must be given 5 days notice of any motion to remove them from their position, upon which they have 7 days to either respond to Council regarding the petition in (a) writing; or (b) at the next scheduled Council Meeting.

(14)   Any motion to remove a person as a Club Head must pass by a two-thirds majority vote.

(15)   Any Club wishing to have anonymous voting in order to determine the Club’s next Executive may apply to the Vice President Student Affairs for such assistance with anonymous voting.  The procedure for voting is to be as follows:

(i)                  nominations for all positions within the Club’s executive must be open for 48 hours

(ii)                 nominations must be made by at least one person who is not the nominee for the position in writing to the Vice President, Student Affairs

(iii)                the voting period shall be open for 48 hours and is to be conducted by each member of the Club’s current executive submitting in writing to the Vice President, Student Affairs his or her vote

(iv)               the Vice President, Student Affairs shall keep all nominators and voters in strict confidence

(v)                the executive shall be elected by whomsoever receives the most votes in any of the positions for which there have been nominations

(vi)               the Vice President, Student Affairs shall inform the winners of the election without revealing the number of votes each person received

(vii)              in the event of a tie, the Vice President Student Affairs, at his or her discretion, shall either hold another election, or name the two winning candidates co-Heads of the Club

(viii)            any Club member wishing to appeal this process must do so in writing to the President, who retains discretion to declare the election void if warranted, or to allow the decision of the Vice President, Student Affairs to stand.

ARTICLE VII – FINANCE

(1)       Council may levy a fee on all Students, the amount of which, including any surcharge for late payments, must be approved by a two-thirds majority of Council for each academic session. This fee shall be established prior to the conclusion of the academic session in which the established Council is elected.

(2)       Council shall appoint auditors to perform an annual audit of Student Legal Society activities, if necessary.

(3)       A summary of Student Legal Society finances shall be published within two weeks of the ratification of the budget. The summary shall include the amounts allocated to each Club and Committee. It may also include other relevant financial information provided by the Treasurer.

ARTICLE VIII – MEETINGS

(1)       Council shall meet at least once every two weeks while classes are in session. All meetings shall be called by the President as he or she wishes or on the desire of one-third of the Council.

(2)       The first meeting of the academic year shall be within two weeks of the commencement of classes in the Fall Term.

(3)       Five days written notice of meetings shall be required, except in cases of urgency, in which case a two-thirds majority of Council may waive the notice of meeting.

(4)       All meetings of Council are open unless a two-thirds majority of Council declare the meeting to be closed.

(5)       No meeting of Council shall continue for more than two hours unless two-thirds of Council present agree to continue with the business of the meeting.

(6)       Two-thirds of Council, including the President, or in his or her absence a Vice-President, shall constitute quorum.

(7)       Any person, within one week of a meeting, may object to a lack of quorum at the meeting, whereupon the Speaker shall make a count to determine if the meeting was duly constituted.

(8)       Any Active Member may make a representation at a Council meeting.

(9)       Each member of Council shall have one vote.

                                 i.    In the case of a tie, the motion shall fail.

                                ii.    Unless otherwise stated herein, a motion or resolution will pass by majority of the Council who are present and voting. Abstentions will not be included.

                              iii.    A member may vote by proxy provided that it is signed and submitted to Council before the vote is taken.

                              iv.    Any member who is in a Conflict of Interest situation with regard to a particular issue shall:

1.   abstain from voting; or

2.   make full disclosure and vote only with the approval of a two-thirds majority of Council

(10)   Any active member who is unable to attend a meeting may deposit a statement of his or her wishes with a member who will attend the meeting. Such statement must pertain to a particular matter and must be signed by both members. Such statement may constitute a motion or the seconding of a motion.

(11)   The Secretary will be responsible for compiling minutes of the Council meetings. A copy of these minutes will be distributed to all members of Council within two weeks of the meeting. A copy of the minutes will be held in the Student Legal Society Office and will be posted on the Student Legal Society Website.

(12)   Council may, on a two-thirds vote, may call a Student Legal Society meeting at any time and for any reason.

(13)   Council shall be required to call a Student Legal Society meeting on presentation of a Petition to Council.

(14)   All members of the Student Legal Society will be advised of the date and time of each meeting as soon as practicable and through an appropriate medium. An email to all years is an appropriate means.

ARTICLE IX – AMENDMENTS

(1)       This Constitution may only be amended by the following procedures:

             i.      on the recommendation of a duly constituted meeting of the Student Legal Society and/or Council prior to which there has been seven days notice the proposed amendment;

           ii.      proposed amendment(s) must be Published in such a manner to provide ready access to the membership of the Student Legal Society.

          iii.      the amendment of the constitution must be passed by a two-thirds majority of Council present at the meeting subject to fulfilling quorum requirements as set out in section VIII(6).

(2)       By-laws may be added, repealed or amended in the following manner: a proposed by-law, after having been considered by Council, shall be tabled for not less than one week and shall be Published within three days of the meeting at which it was considered.  After the week, the proposal shall be considered again and will be adopted if a two-thirds majority of Council present agree to its adoption, subject to quorum requirements as set out in section VIII(6).

(3)       Council may deal with issues as they arise with resolutions which shall be subject to amendments and may be repealed by a simple majority of Council.

(4)       None of the resolutions adopted by Council in previous years shall bind future Councils.

(5)       The Constitution shall bind all members of the Student Legal Society from the date of acceptance by Council.

ARTICLE X – PUBLICATION

(1)       A copy of the current Constitution shall be maintained in the Student Legal Society office and an electronic version shall be maintained on the Student Legal Society Website.

(2)       As the Constitution is amended, the former edition of the Constitution will be archived in order to provide an accurate history of the Constitution.

Last amended October, 2011.