Constitution

  1. The Nature of the Club
    1. This club shall be known as the Cambridge University Railway Club.
    2. The objects of the Club shall be:
      1. To hold meetings for talks and discussions on matters of railway interest.
      2. To arrange visits to places of railway interest.
      3. To record the railways of the Cambridge area and to further knowledge of their past and present operation.
      4. To produce a termly journal.
    3. The affairs of the Club shall be administered by an elected junior committee, and a senior committee.
  2. Definitions
    1. A Resident Junior Member is any member of the Club who is a member of the University in statu pupillare. (i.e. still living and studying in Cambridge).
    2. A Resident Senior Member is any member of the Club, who is a current member of the University, but not in statu pupillare.
    3. A Resident Member is either a Resident Junior Member or a Resident Senior Member.
    4. A Town Member is a member of the Club who lives in the Cambridge area, but who is not a current member of the University.
    5. A General Meeting is any meeting of the club at which binding resolutions may be passed.
    6. Any reference to University shall be taken to mean the University of Cambridge.
  3. The Committee and its Officers
    1. The committee shall consist of: a President; one or more Vice-Presidents; a Senior Treasurer; a Secretary; a Junior Treasurer; and a Journal Editor.
    2. Meetings of the committee shall be held as required. A quorum for these meetings shall be three members of the committee, provided that either the President or a Vice-President and the Secretary or Visits Secretary are present.
    3. The elected committee shall have the power to co-opt additional committee members, who shall be current members of the club, for a period of no more than one year, as and when they see fit. Co-opted committee members may be given titles to indicate the duties they are to perform.
    4. The officers-elect shall shave the right to attend all committee meetings until they take office.
    5. The committee shall have the right to delegate the work of one of the officers to another of its members.
    6. The committee shall appoint one of its members to the post of Archivist.
    7. The decision of the committee on all matters relating to the club shall be final, except where otherwise stated.
  4. The President
    1. The President shall take the chair at all meetings of the Club at which he is present.
    2. If the President is absent, another member of the committee shall preside.
    3. The President shall have the power to call an extraordinary meeting of the committee at his discretion.
    4. In the event of an emergency, or when the committee cannot be summoned, the President shall have the power to make decisions which would normally be referred to the committee.
    5. The President shall maintain a record of the whereabouts of all items of club property.
  5. The Vice-President(s)
    1. In the absence of the President, his duties shall devolve upon a Vice-President if one is present.
  6. The Senior Treasurer
    1. The Senior Treasurer shall be a member of the Regent House, or other person approved by the Junior Proctor. The Senior Treasurer is elected by the committee when necessary, subject to the approval of a General Meeting. The Senior Treasurer shall not be liable for any financial debt or other obligation of the Society unless he or she has personally authorised such a debt in writing.
    2. In the event of any dispute concerning the finances or the constitution of the club, the Senior Treasurer’s decision shall be final.
  7. The Secretary
    1. The Secretary shall have charge of the Club’s records and conduct its correspondence, except for that which relates to the duties of the other officers. He shall keep such correspondence as the committee sees fit.
    2. The Secretary shall keep minute books which shall contain reports of all meetings of the Club.
    3. The Minute Books shall be available to any member who may ask for them, except committee meeting minutes which shall only be available to committee members.
    4. A copy of the constitution shall be inserted in the front of the current minutes books, and the Secretary shall note any amendments.
  8. The Visits Secretary
    1. The Visits Secretary shall make all arrangements in connection with visits and tours.
    2. The Visits Secretary shall keep a minute book which will contain detailed reports of each tour or visit.
    3. The minute book shall be available for inspection by any member and the Visits Secretary may be required to read from it at meetings.
  9. The Junior Treasurer
    1. The Junior Treasurer shall superintend the collection of subscriptions and other charges, and the payment of the expenses of the club.
    2. The Junior Treasurer shall maintain a register of members and shall superintend the distribution of Club literature.
    3. The Junior Treasurer shall present a balance sheet of the Club’s finances at the Annual General Meeting.
  10. The Journal Editor
    1. The Journal Editor shall collate, edit and arrange for the printing of the material submitted for the Club Journal.
  11. The Archivist
    1. The Archivist shall maintain the Club’s records except minutes books and shall arrange for them to be available for borrowing for a reasonable period of time by members.
    2. Any member having custody of any item of Club property shall be responsible for any wilful or negligent loss or damage.
    3. The committee may at any time declare any item of club property to be inalienable and thereafter such property may only be disposed of with the approval of the Senior Treasurer and a majority of those members present and voting at a meeting nominated to discuss the matter.
  12. Committee Elections
    1. The President, the Secretary, the Visits Secretary, the Junior Treasurer, and the Journal Editor shall be elected annually during University Full Term, from the Resident Junior Members of the Club.
    2. They shall hold office for one year from the Annual General Meeting following their election.
    3. Written notice of such elections, the date thereof, and the closing date for nominations shall be given to Resident and Town members not less than fourteen days before the latter date.
    4. Any member who wishes shall be informed of all nominations received prior to his enquiry.
    5. The committee may elect suitable members of the Club as Vice-Presidents subject to the approval of the majority of the members present and voting at the Annual General Meeting, or another meeting nominated to discuss that matter.
    6. If any of the above offices becomes prematurely vacant then a by-election shall be held as soon as is reasonably possible, in accordance with the relevant paragraph on elections, except that the period of notice shall be not less than three days. The replacement officer would then serve until the following Annual General Meeting.
    7. If no nominations are received for a committee post following the closing date for nominations as required in paragraphs L(1) and L(6) above, the committee shall open the election for that post to all members of the club. The closing date for nominations for that post will then be extended, the period of notice for this revised date being not less than three days.
    8. Should any post remain vacant, paragraphs L(6) and L(7) having been observed, the committee shall have the power to co-opt members of the club to fill the vacant positions. These co-opted members will be in addition to any co-opted under paragraph C(3), and will then serveuntil the following Annual General Meeting.
  13. Membership
    1. Membership of the club shall be open to all members of the University, and to others at the discretion of the committee, on payment of a relevant subscription.
    2. The subscription rates shall be determined by the committee subject to the approval of the majority of those present and voting at the Annual General Meeting, or another meeting nominated to discuss the matter.
    3. Subscriptions shall be due at the first meeting of the academic year. Members joining the club after the start of Lent Full Term may be offered a reduced annual subscription rate at the discretion of the committee.
    4. Members of the University may become Life Members of the Club by either
      1. Payment of the life subscription when they first join the Club.
      2. Payment of three annual subscriptions.
      3. Payment of the difference between life and annual subscription before their next annual subscription would be due. The rate used would be that applying when they paid the annual subscription being uprated.
    5. A life member shall be exempt from all further subscriptions. In order to receive Club literature and notice of events, where the Club deems hand delivery to be inappropriate, they will be required to make a Life Member’s Contribution. The level of this contribution shall be determined by the committee in order to defray the costs of production and postage of the documentation, subject to the approval of the majority of those present and voting at the Annual General Meeting, or another meeting nominated to discuss the matter.
    6. The committee shall have the power to elect a suitable person as an Honorary Member, the honorary member shall have the same rights and privileges as a life member except that no life member’s contribution shall be required.
    7. The Club’s only disciplinary sanctions are to expel or to suspend a member whose actions are felt to be such as to bring the Club into disrepute, or to adversely affect the smooth running of the Club in a major way. Such expulsion or suspension can only be effected by a majority vote of all Committee members, excluding the Senior Treasurer. 
      In the event of an expulsion, the expelled member is required to return all equipment, documents and finances belonging to the Club within 7 days. The expelled member will not be entitled to any full or partial refund of subscriptions. If the expelled or suspended member wishes to appeal the decision, that appeal should be made to the Senior Treasurer, who will consider all the facts, and whose decision will be final. An appeal as to the process of exclusion, but not a further investigation into the facts, may be lodged with the Junior Proctor.
  14. Meetings and Visits
    1. Notice of every meeting, committee meeting, visit or tour shall be given to the relevant members with at least two days notice.
    2. The minutes of the previous meeting shall be read at the start of each meeting.
    3. Each member shall have equal voting rights at a meeting at which he is present except the chairman who shall have the casting vote.
    4. Voting shall be by secret ballot or by a show of hands at the discretion of the chairman. Candidates shall not be eligible to vote in their own elections.
    5. The quorum for a General Meeting shall be 5 members or 50% of the average meeting attendance for the three terms immediately prior to the meeting, whichever is the larger.
    6. The chairman shall have the right to suspend from the meeting any person who shall, by unseemly behaviour, interrupt the business of the meeting.
    7. Non-members may be admitted at the discretion of the committee as guests or on the payment of a charge as deemed to be appropriate by the committee. They shall have no voting rights.
    8. An administration charge may be made for visits organised by the Club, except Summer and foreign visits, to be paid by the members participating. In addition, all costs incurred may be passed on at cost.
    9. The administration charge is to be fixed for the year and to be the same for each visit. The level of the charge is to be determined by the committee, subject to the approval of the majority of the members present and voting at the Annual General Meeting.
    10. An Annual General Meeting shall be held during Easter Full Term to review the year and approve proposals for the next year.
  15. Amendments to the Constitution
    1. Amendments and alterations to the constitution shall only be made with the consent of two-thirds of the members present and voting at a meeting nominated to discuss them, or the Annual General Meeting. Previous notice of proposed amendments shall be given at least two weeks previously.
    2. Any amendment or alteration in accordance with paragraph O(1) may be varied at the meeting nominated under said paragraph, notwithstanding that notice of such variation has not been given in accordance with paragraph O(2), subject to the following conditions, viz. it must be accepted both
      1. by the proposer of the alteration or amendment in question AND
      2. by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting

      If the proposer of the alteration does not accept the proposed variation, he may either:

      1. withdraw the said amendment or alteration, OR
      2. require that it be voted on in accordance with paragraph O(1) as originally phrased subject only to whose variations already accepted.

      No amendment or alteration may be varied once it has been voted on in accordance with paragraph O(1).

  16. Dissolution
    1. The Club may be dissolved at a General Meeting provided that at least twenty-one days written notice of the intention to dissolve the Club has been given to the members. At least two thirds of those present and voting at the General Meeting must vote in favour of the motion for Dissolution for it to be effective.
    2. In the event of the dissolution of the Club, its monies and other assets shall be distributed as follows:
      1. all outstanding liabilities shall be paid;
      2. assets amounting to any sum received from the University shall be transferred to another registered University Society, or to the Societies’ Syndicate
      3. any item of Club property declared as inalienable shall be transferred to a museum or other organisation with similar aims. This transfer shall be specified in the motion for dissolution.
      4. any remaining assets shall be transferred to the Societies Syndicate, another registered University Society, or another society with related aims. This transfer shall be specified in motion for 
        dissolution.
  17. Miscellaneous
    1. No member may use the name of the Club for any purpose without the consent of the committee.
    2. Members participating in any activity of the Club shall do so entirely at their own risk without prejudice to their rights at common law.