Proposed changes to the Statutes and By-Laws of the
British Crystallographic Association
for consideration at the 1999 Annual General Meeting

Introduction
The BCA Statutes and By laws were last published in 'Crystallography News' March 96 issue 56 page 10; they are stored on the World Wide Web at URL
http://gordon.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/BCA/admin/stbyl.html

Council proposes to change section E of the BCA Statutes
(Officers, Council and Trustees)
to reflect the following:

• Elected Members of Council shall serve for three years rather than two years
• The President shall normally be limited to a single three-year term
• The Past President shall continue as a Member of Council for one further year following the expiry of his or her term
• No person may serve for more than 6 years in the same elected capacity
• No person may serve on Council for more than 9 consecutive years in any combination of elected capacities
• The length of service of co-opted Members of Council is clarified
• The conditions covering Council Appointees to specific roles is clarified. The Newsletter Editor shall be a co-opted Member of Council under By-Law A. 2.

These changes will be brought before the AGM of the BCA to be held at Glasgow in August 1999. If agreed, they require a small change to By-Law E.1. (Nominations and Elections). It is proposed that all changes shall come into force from the year 2000.

The effect of these proposals in determining the election of Officers and Ordinary Members at Annual General Meetings is as follows:

• The Vice-President, Secretary and two Ordinary Members will be elected in 1999 for two-year terms (until the AGM in 2001) under the existing statutes and by-laws.
• The President, Treasurer and one Ordinary Member will be elected in 2000 for three-year terms under the new statutes
• The Vice-President, Secretary and two ordinary members will be elected in 2001 for three-year terms under the new statutes
• There will be no elections (unless for casual vacancies) in 2002, nor in every subsequent third year. These are IUCr Congress years and the proposed new Statute E then ensures an experienced team to represent the UK at General Assemblies of the IUCr in that year.
  

Proposed new Statute E

E. Officers, Council and Trustees

1. The Officers of the Association shall be:
the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer

2. The Council of the Association shall consist of the following:

1. The Officers as defined in Statute E. 1.
2. One Representative nominated by each Group of the Association approved under Statute B.4. or established under Statute D.4(f). Such Representatives must be members of the relevant Group Committee, duly elected at an Annual General Meeting of that Group.
3. Three further Ordinary Members who shall be elected at Annual General Meetings of the Association
4. Such further persons not exceeding four in number that the Council shall from time to time co-opt
5. The immediate Past President who shall serve for one year following the end of his or her elected term of office as President as defined in Statute E.4(c).

1. Council shall seek to appoint suitable persons to act in certain capacities as shall be determined from time to time by Council. Such Appointees shall be in attendance at Meetings of the Council but shall not be entitled to vote unless they are also elected or co-opted under Statute E.2. Appointments shall be for fixed terms which may be renewed within overall limits to be determined by Council.
2. Members of Council shall represent the Association on other bodies as determined by Council from time-to-time. The President shall normally represent the Association on the Scientific Unions Committee of the Royal Society ex officio.

1. Elections of Officers and Ordinary Members shall take place at an Annual General Meeting of the Association.
2. Each elected member of Council shall serve from the end of the Annual General Meeting at which the election took place until the end of the third Annual General Meeting following the election.
3. The President shall normally serve for one three-year term only.
4. No person shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms in the same capacity.
5. No person shall serve more than three consecutive three-year terms in any elected capacity.

1. For a fixed period not exceeding three years to be determined by Council at the time of the co-option.
2. No person may be co-opted for more than nine consecutive years.

6.No person may be both an Officer and a Group Representative.

7.The Council may appoint custodial Trustees from time to time in whom shall be vested the title of all and any real property which may be acquired by or for the purposes of the Association and who shall enter into a deed of trust setting forth the purposes and conditions under which they hold the property in trust for the Society.

Proposed amendment to By-Law E.1.

Current version of first sentences:

Council shall consider the terms of office of its existing members, about half of whose terms will expire at each Annual General Meeting. It may then make nominations for each vacancy........

Proposed version of first sentences:

Council shall take account of the terms of office of its existing members and, if appropriate, may then make nominations for each vacancy.........

No other amendments to Nomination and Election procedures are proposed by Council

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