Our Constitution

1. NAME

The organisation will be called the Fife Canary Council (‘The Council’).

2. OBJECTS

The objects of ‘The Council’ are:

  1. To promote and further the breeding and development of the Fife Canary.
  2. To protect the interest of breeders and exhibitors.
  3. To support the exhibition of the Fife Canary by granting patronage to shows.
  4. To interest the public in the objects and activities of The Council.
  5. To be an integral part of an International organisation in promoting the Fife Canary to all parts of the World.
  6. To encourage members of The Council to keep their Fife in conditions which are conducive to the health and wellbeing of the birds.

3. MEMBERSHIP

The Council shall consist of:

  1. Affiliated Clubs.
  2. Direct membership to the council can be paid through any affiliated club or alternatively payment can be made through the website.
  3. A member must, within twenty-eight days of vacating any address previously notified to The Council, give written details of his change of address to The Council General Secretary. All correspondence to any member from The Council will be sent to the address last notified by the member.
  4. Any newly affiliated Member Clubs are subject to final approval at the Councils AGM and must not have their show on the same date as a fellow member club that is within a 120-mile boundary.
  5. All member clubs shall pay an affiliation fee of £25.00 per annum which is to be reviewed annually by the elected committee thereafter.

4. CONDITIONS, RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP

  1. All members accept to be contractually bound by the rules and conditions of The Council.
  2. On becoming a member of The Council such member shall be allocated an exclusive official Breeder number which is to be quoted in all correspondences with The Council.
  3. Membership in each year shall commence on 1st January, or the date of application if later, and shall terminate on 31st December. It will entitle the member to propose mandates for consideration by the membership and participate at the AGM that corresponds to their annual membership subscription.

5. PARTNERSHIPS

  1. A member may only enter, or remain in partnership with, another member, or members of, The Council. The formation, dissolution or retirement from a partnership and the partnership name must be confirmed in writing within twenty-eight days to The Council Secretary by all members of the partnership.
  2. Each partner shall adopt the exhibition status of the highest-ranking partner and shall so remain upon any dissolution of the partnership.
  3. All show entries must be in the name of the partnership.

6. SUBSCRIPTIONS

The annual subscription for all grades of paid-up membership shall be reviewed by its Members at the Annual AGM and set for the coming year.

  1. An adult member shall be a person over the age of sixteen on 1st January and shall pay the full subscription of £5.00
  2. A junior member shall be a person under the age of sixteen. Their membership will be free, and they will receive membership benefits, but will not receive the right to vote on matters arising at the Annual General Meeting.

7. ELECTION OF THE COUNCIL COMMITEE

  1. The election of officers for The Council Committee will take place every fourth year as from the inaugural AGM of 2022.
  2. All candidates must be fully paid-up members for the year of elections and must be over the age of sixteen at the date of nomination.
  3. All new candidates, not being existing elected members of the Council Committee, must submit their nomination form to the Council General Secretary 3 months prior to the Annual General Meeting. The nomination form to be signed by a proposer and a seconder who are members of The Council and over the age of sixteen years.
  4. No member may propose or second more than one candidate for the ballot.
  5. Existing elected members of the Council Committee submitting themselves for re-election must notify the General Secretary of their intention in writing 3 months prior to the Annual General Meeting.
  6. In the event that the Chair, or General Secretary, resign from post part way through the year, the vice Chair/Secretary will take up office and the Committee reserve the right to appoint a suitable replacement for the vacant vice position, which will be subject to ratification at the following AGM.
  7. In the event that other Committee posts remain vacant post the AGM or other elected officers resign partway through the year, then the Committee reserve the right to appoint a suitable replacement officer, which will be subject to ratification at the following AGM.
  8. A member is not eligible to participate on the Council Committee if they are in receipt of a red or yellow card, that they have been issued as a result of a disciplinary sanction, until the sentence has been discharged satisfactorily.
  9. Ballot papers will be made available via electronic means, except for those members who have not provided an email address or have stated a preference to receive the ballot via the post.
  10. Ballot papers will be posted at least eighteen days prior to the date of closure of the election and must be returned in accordance with the directions contained on the ballot paper.
  11. The candidate with the highest number of votes will duly be elected to their nominated position.

8. VOTING FOR THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE

  1. All members of The Council, over the age of sixteen, shall be entitled to vote.
  2. A member must validate the ballot paper with his official code number and signature for their votes to be valid.
  3. The Council will engage an independent scrutineer to validate the result of the election.

9. COUNCIL COMMITTEE

The Council Committee will be made up of the following positions. Which will be elected at the Annual General Meeting:

  • Chairperson
  • Vice-Chairperson
  • General Secretary
  • Vice-Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Affiliated Member Club Secretaries willing to take an active role to support the running of the council

10. FINANCIAL YEAR

The financial year of The Society shall be from 1st January to 31st December in each year. The profit and loss accounts and balance sheets shall be prepared by The Council Treasurer and presented at the Annual General Meeting with a copy made available to all paid Council members.

11. WINDING UP

In the event of a resolution to wind up The Fife Canary Council being passed; its funds shall be divided between the paid-up members of The Council at the date of the resolution.

12. MANAGEMENT OF THE COUNCIL

  1. The Council shall meet in person, or online, and minutes in the form of a newsletter, or a recording of the Zoom Meeting captured and made available to members.
  2. The Annual General Meeting shall be held outside of the breeding and show season each year with due notice of six weeks to be given.
  3. Matters for discussion and/or decision at The Council AGM shall be submitted in the form of mandates which must pass through member clubs from fully paid-up members. Any mandate must be received by the General Secretary 3 months prior to the AGM. Mandates should be accompanied by a proposer and seconder with an explanation on why the mandate has been raised and any facts associated to support the mandate.
  4. A member may propose or second 1 mandate only per AGM.
  5. The Secretary will forward a consolidated list of mandates to all fully paid members of the Council together with a notice of the Annual General Meeting at least SIX WEEKS prior to the meeting. An electronic means of distribution will be the primary way of sharing these with the membership, except for those members who have not provided an email address or have stated a preference to receive correspondence via the post.
  6. All matters shall be decided by a simple majority in voting. In the event of a tied vote the Council Chairperson will have the casting vote.
  7. All mandates will be a YES or NO vote with no multiple-choice options except in the event of multiple members running for the same position within the council.
  8. A record (or recording) shall be kept of all matters discussed and decisions made.
  9. The Chairperson and General Secretary shall have the authority to call an ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING or an EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING at any time if they consider it necessary, by giving all affiliated clubs one month’s notice in writing, together with details of any matter to be discussed and/or decided. A minimum of 50% of the number of affiliated clubs shall be required to be in an agreement to call an EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING by giving similar notice to all clubs and the officers.
  10. In the event of a need arising for an urgent decision on any matter that does not give sufficient time for a meeting to be called, the Elected Officers of the Committee shall have authority to act and make such a decision. No rules can be changed.
  11. The constitution can be edited, as per accepted mandate 2022, if the committee deem it is in the best interests of the council or hobby.
  12. The council will appoint a chairperson to appoint a disciplinary panel for matters arising where the Fife Canary Council code of conduct has been broken.
  13. All correspondence/matters requiring Council attention must be forwarded via email only from the respective club secretary to the elected Committee. A response to queries will be issued within 7 working days to the secretary of the club who issued the original query. This ensures that proper procedure, accountability, and transparency is upheld by the Council.