Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE LL.M SOCIETY EMORY

The following rules shall be deemed to have come into effect from: The Academic Year 2011-2012 with immediate effect going forward.

Article I - DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Constitution the following words will be defined as follows;

· 'Executive Committee' refers to the executive committee as defined in Article 6 of this Constitution; '‘Constitution' refers to this constitution of the Society, and as may be amended from time to time in accordance with the proper procedures as laid down in this Constitution;

· 'LL.M Coordinator' refers to the LL.M Coordinator in any given year of the Faculty of Laws of Emory Law ;

· 'Officers' refers to the members of the Executive Committee (the Board);

· 'Members' refers to the members of the Society;

· 'Society' refers to the society as established by this Constitution;

· 'LL.M' refers to the Master of Laws Program whether full-time or part-time within Emory Law.

Article II - NOMENCLATURE.

The Society shall be referred to as the “LL.M SOCIETY EMORY”.

Article III - MISSION STATEMENT.

The Society has been set up to pursue the following as its aims and objectives:

to promote social discourse and to create opportunities for cross-cultural exchange between members and other organizations of similar interests (e.g. by organizing conferences on both domestic and international legal issues as well as trips to museums, concerts and theatres);
to promote friendships, contacts and networking between current Members, LL.M Alumni as well as future members;
to lobby before the law school’s administration for a better understanding of the needs of the LL.M program
to promote relationships and co-operation between law firms both domestic and internationally with its Members;
to set up and maintain an alumni directory designed to meet the Member's requirements;
to support Member teams in both domestic and international competitions within the area aligned to the specific or general specialties within the LL.M program; international law; human rights; child advocacy/rights, conflict of law, counter-terrorism, international criminal justice, women’s rights, religious rights etc. This list may be adjusted by the Board’s amendment with the purpose of expanding the Societies ultimate goal;
To promote the education of the law faculty on topics of cultural differences, ethnicity, foreign languages and specific legal issues as may be determined by the Board;
the Society will ensure that it strives to fulfill these aims and objectives in the course of the academic year.

Article IV - STATEMENT OF INTENT.

· The Constitution, regulation, management and conduct of the Society shall abide by the Student Government Association Constitution and the Student Bar Association Constitution.

Article V - MEMBERSHIP.

1. Emory students studying for at least one of the LL.M courses shall be members of the LL.M Society Emory.

2. Students enrolled in the Faculty of Laws at Emory shall be eligible for membership.

3. Members of the Faculty of Laws at Emory shall be eligible for membership.

4. LL.M Alumni of the Faculty of Laws at Emory shall be eligible for membership.

5. The Executive Committee may set such fees as it may deem appropriate for the participation in certain events of the Society.

6. LL.M SOCIETY EMORY is dedicated to the Emory University equal opportunity policy, which provides that applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran's status, or any factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable law.

Article VI - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

1. The Society shall be managed and administered by an Executive Committee (the ‘Board’) which may exercise all the powers of the Society. The Executive Committee shall comprise of the President, Secretary, Treasurer, Events Officer and Communications Officer, who shall each have the following responsibilities in addition to any other duties and obligations which may arise in the course of management and proper administration of the Society:

(a) The President is responsible for:

· ensuring that the Society achieves the aims and objectives of the Society as set out in the Constitution;

· ensuring that each Officer meets his/her responsibilities;

· organizing, convening and chairing ordinary meetings of the Executive Committee;

· liaising with the Treasurer in compiling an annual report;

· liaising with the Event Officer in seeking sponsorship for the various events organized by the Society;

· developing and maintaining good relations with staff, societies and other affiliates of Emory (especially, but not exclusively, with the Faculty of Law), the SGA, and the SBA; and

· any other thing necessary for the fulfillment of the society’s mission.

(b) The Secretary is responsible for:

· taking minutes of the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Executive Committee and diary it for future references.

· updating and maintaining the website of the Society;

· getting a copy of the minutes to the board within 72 hours

· setting up, maintaining and promoting an alumni directory consisting of all Members;

· membership services; and

· develop their position going forward as to determine all their duties.

· Opening a separate bank account to earmark the societies funds;

· having care and custody over the financial recourses of the Society;

· recording and documenting each and every monetary transaction of the Society;

· compiling an annual report with the President;

· collecting the membership dues; and

· develop their position going forward as to determine all their duties.

(d) The Event Officer is responsible for:

· organizing social and cultural events for the Members according to the semester approved schedule;

· initiating, developing, and maintaining contacts and relations with International and Local law firms;

· seek sponsorship for the various events of the Society in cooperation with the President;

· arranging and organizing a pro bono initiative for the Members of the Society through a local non-profit; and

· organizing alumni re-unions in cooperation with the President.

(e) The Communications Officer is responsible for:

This position will be filled by a local Resident that can give continuity to the Society. Where another position is occupied by a resident, a non Atlanta resident may fill this position

· conveying the messages about the events in the University to the Members;

· liaisons between the SBA (communications) and the LLM society members.

· communicating with the print and broadcasting media (media release) to obtain media coverage to the Society's activities.

· Recruiting members;

· providing information to the Members, either personally or by organizing lectures, regarding requirements for successfully procuring a position in the legal profession in United States of America; and

· gathering information from LL.M students as to various challenges in their learning experience at Emory and reporting to the Board to proffer solution.

(Optional) EVENT CHAIRS:

Each event held by the society will have a chair and a team overseeing the respective activities (including raising the required funds), as designated by the Executive Committee. This person will be responsible from beginning to end in the planning and execution of the event. An Event Chair is not a member of the Executive Committee and is a voluntary position.

2. Each officer shall prepare a detailed report of the activities it carried out for the session by April 30^that the very latest and the President must approve such report.

3. The Board may appoint a “JD representative” to the Board, who shall be a JD student enrolled at the Faculty of Laws at Emory and whose functions shall be determined by the appointing Board.

Article VII - ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

1. Election of the Executive Committee shall be conducted at the commencement of each academic year and in any case, no later than the 15th day of September.

2. The Executive Committee shall be elected for such period of time terminating with the election of the next Executive Committee at the commencement of the following academic year. All full-time Emory students reading for an LL.M degree at Emory Law during the particular academic year which the new Executive Committee shall be expected to serve shall have the following rights:

(a) to vote in the election of the new Elected Officers; and

(b) to run for office.

3. The election of the Officers shall be conducted under the supervision of the LL.M Coordinator as well as an officer from the out-going board. Any decisions affecting the means, procedure and effect of such election which is not expressly accounted for shall be at the full discretion of the LL.M Coordinator. The LL.M Coordinator possesses full discretion to take all decisions as may be necessary to ensure a smooth election which provides a fair and just result.

Article VIII - MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

1. The Board shall hold an ordinary meeting at least every other week. The President shall organize, convene and chair ordinary meetings. In the absence of the President, the treasurer shall chair the meeting and if they both are not present at an ordinary meeting, the Officers shall decide by consensus on the chairman of the meeting.

2. Three officer are required to form a quorum for the meeting.

3. Each Officer shall strive to attend each meeting of the Board to the best of their ability.

Article IX - RESOLUTIONS.

1. The Executive Committee may pass all resolutions by a simple majority of the Officers present, unless otherwise indicated in the Constitution. A valid resolution cannot be passed, unless at least three Officers are present or the Constitution indicates to the contrary. However, the Executive Committee shall strive to proceed on a basis of dialogue and consensus at all times.

2. The Executive Committee may only pass resolutions amending the Constitution unanimously. A valid resolution amending the Constitution cannot be passed, unless all Officers are present.

3. Whilst the Executive Committee can amend the Constitution by adding additional aims and objectives by a resolution pursuant to Article 9.2 of the Constitution, the Executive Committee cannot validly pass a resolution deleting or changing the aims and objectives of the Society as set out in Articles 3.1 to 3.5 of the Constitution.

4. the Executive Committee shall have the power to introduce legislation to the SBA to amend their charter.

Article X - RESIGNATION.

1. If an Officer wishes to resign, s/he must give written notice to the President. If the President wishes to resign, s/he must give written notice to both the Treasurer and the Secretary.

2. No Officer may resign until after the end of the first semester of the respective academic year.

Article XI - RELIEF FROM DUTIES.

1. If an Officer continuously fails to meet his/her responsibilities as set out in the Constitution, s/he may be relieved of his/her duties by a unanimous resolution of the remaining Officers. However in all cases, there must have been some communication of this intention to the Officer in question, and s/he shall be given an appropriate opportunity to take remedial action where this is possible.

2. An officer may be removed by a simple majority vote of the remaining officers for misconduct or violation of academic rules.

3. A valid resolution pursuant to Article XI.1 of the Constitution cannot be passed, unless all Officers are present, excepting the Officer regarding whom the resolution is taken.

Article XII - CO-OPTION.

If an Officer (including the President) has resigned (pursuant to Article X of the Constitution) or was revoked (pursuant to Article XI of the Constitution), the remaining Officers shall co-opt by unanimous resolution an Officer replacing the resigned or revoked Officer. Such resolution cannot validly be passed, unless each of the remaining Officers is present.