The Commonwealth Future Constitution

Flags of all nations of the world are flying in blue sunny sky for Commonwealth Future

Purpose, Role and Objectives

 

  1. Name

The Association will be known as Commonwealth Future with the acronym CWFuture being used for short. Commonwealth Future is the trading style of Commonwealth Future Limited.

 

  1. Purpose and Role

A: Commonwealth Future exists to encourage and facilitate the inclusive and progressive development of society and the people and organisations within the Commonwealth of Nations.

B: Commonwealth Future purpose is the promotion of areas relating to “Eye care and Correctable Vision” throughout the Commonwealth.

C: Commonwealth Future believes that a focus on optimising sight is essential in order to create a fair and equitable society.

 

The organisation is open to members of any race, religion or creed, which has been set up to assist the below groups in a non-political, independent and sustainable way:

  1. Citizens of Commonwealth Nations
  2. Organisations operating within Commonwealth Nations – including commercial enterprises, community groups, charities and international/national/regional associations

The main goals of the organisation, which form our Mission Statement, are as follows;

Commonwealth Future will strive to:

  1. Promote the interests of Commonwealth citizens and organisations in society.
  2. Encourage social development focused within commerce, healthcare, education, social issues, community engagement, the environment and global relations.
  3. Encourage international relationships between individuals, organisations and the governments of Commonwealth Nations and their international counterparts.
  4. Promote knowledge sharing between our membership and non-members.
  5. Champion the roles of emerging and prominent social issues and areas.
  6. Facilitate ideas and action from our membership encouraging social development.
  7. Promote opportunities for young people and the future leads within society.
  8. Support the impact and potential of communities and charity groups.
  9. Build an international membership representing a diverse coalition of viewpoints, experiences, nations and ambitions to create compelling and sustainable solutions.
  10. Provide local, regional, national and international opportunities between members.
  11. Promote trade and commerce within our membership and also to expand trade between our members and non-members.
  12. Promote mental health awareness.
  13. To build a “Trust Framework” where privacy, authenticity, data Integrity and non-repudiation could be established and guaranteed for transactions done across the Internet.
  14. Endeavour to promote the rights of animals.
  15. Act as a coordinating organisation, by connecting directly with, or working in association with, any other organisations that have similar goals or are like-minded in their operations.
  16. To promote the Commonwealth Tenets

3. Objectives

Commonwealth Future seeks to meet the below objectives:

  1. Provide opportunities to connect and support the 2.4 billion living citizens within the Commonwealth of Nations through its statement of mission.
  2. Support practitioners, governments and academics within its focused areas.
  • Lead on supporting the young population aged below 30 within the Commonwealth.
  1. Build an international network across the 54 Commonwealth Nations.
  2. Grow and encourage international associations and organisations supporting the mission of the organisation.
  3. Make a tangible and sustainable impact on the lives of Commonwealth citizens.
  • Act as a coordinating organisation where appropriate (as above).
  • Promote equal opportunities and oppose racism, sexism, ageism and any other forms of discrimination.
  1. Ensure that CWFuture goals and objectives promote the interests of all.
  2. Affiliate with any external organisation that furthers the interests of CWFuture as agreed at a general or committee meeting.
  3. Foster unity and harmony amongst Commonwealth citizens.
  • Assist in the organisation of religious, social, cultural, sporting or trade/commerce events for our members, affiliated members, non-members and their families.
  • Work to promote the welfare of Commonwealth citizens and in the wider international community.
  • Establish and promote links with other Commonwealth groups or associations who share our goals and ideals.
  1. Coordinate activities with other Commonwealth groups and associations.
  • Encourage friendly relationships between all sections of Commonwealth society by assisting in the organisation of inter-community social and cultural activities.
  • Promote the improvement of public health in the Commonwealth countries.
  • Always uphold an individual’s human rights, in particular the freedom of religion, and to aspire for unity between all individuals of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
  • Be an impartial political think tank without affiliation to any specific political party or ideology.
  1. Represent the majority view of the members of CWFuture, as agreed at general meetings.
  • Ensure a greater partnership between Commonwealth countries by promoting dialogue and building bridges in trade and commerce.
  • Ensure that all members receive regular and up to date information about CWFuture and its activities.
  • Provide any additional services to CWFuture members that may, from time to time, be deemed worthwhile and affordable (CWFuture will not provide services to non-members unless specifically agreed by the committee).
  • Provide an advice centre to help CWFuture with their individual cases.
  • Play a role in seeking to improve the rights, and thus secure the dignity, of Commonwealth citizens and the wider international community.
  • Will be compliant to the Commonwealth Tenets.
  1. Status

CWFuture will be a non-profit making organisation trading as Commonwealth Future Limited.

  1. Equal Opportunities

CWFuture recognises that individuals and groups experience many forms of discrimination every day. Therefore CWFuture will not tolerate any form of discrimination in the conducting of its business and will work towards the elimination of discrimination on any grounds within society.

  1. Membership

CWFuture has three classifications of membership; ordinary members, affiliated members and life members. They are defined as follows:

  1. Ordinary Members
  2. Ordinary membership is open to residents of any Commonwealth countries who are over the age of 18 years and who qualify under any one of the following categories:

Commonwealth ancestry or connections
b. As stipulated in the CWFuture Constitution, ordinary members who are life members have the right to participate in and vote at general meetings.

 

  1. Affiliated Members
  2. Please read the later section on affiliation for further details.
    b. Affiliate membership is open to groups, association and legal entities that already realize, or wish to aspire to, the objectives of CWFuture.
    c. The CWFuture Committee may refuse to admit any applicant for group membership, or may cancel the group membership of any organisation, where it considers that:

The organisation is not, or is no longer, eligible for group membership or
the objectives or activities of that organisation are injurious to the interests of CWFuture or inconsistent with its principles and objectives.

 

iii. Life Members

  1. Life membership is open to any ordinary members who donate £60 or more to the association.
    Life members shall have the same rights as ordinary members in addition to being able to vote in general meetings.
    c. All applications for life membership must be made via the membership application form and be submitted to the CWFuture Committee for consideration prior to acceptance.
  2. Membership of CWFuture comes with the following additional terms and conditions;

 

  1. No person shall be deemed to be a member of CWFuture, or enjoy its privileges and benefits, until the first subscription fee has been received.
    ii. All members (including life members) are able to resign their membership at any time by submitting their request in writing to the Secretary. All resignations will be confirmed and formally accepted (if so advised) by the Chair at the soonest following scheduled meeting. All memberships will cease automatically upon the death of a member.
    iii. No member may act as a representative of CWFuture without the express prior written permission of a committee member.
    iv. Voting rights and the eligibility to hold office are only bestowed upon ordinary and/or life members, and shall be automatically granted one month after the Committee has confirmed membership.
    v. It is the duty of every member to abide by CWFuture’s Constitution, rules and any other decisions pertaining to the association that may be promulgated from time to time.
    vi. All Life members have the right to attend and participate in general meetings, unless they have previously been expelled from CWFuture.
    vii. CWFuture will maintain an accurate record of membership and of those who have kindly donated financial support. Any sensitive data will be held in accordance with current guidelines and/or regulations.
    viii. The minimum recommended level of voluntary contribution will be determined/revised yearly at the annual general meeting.
    ix. All members are expected to conduct themselves in a reasonable and acceptable manner at meetings, or they may be required to leave the meeting.

Membership Fees

  1. Membership will be free of charge for all prospective members;

a.Ordinary membership will be free.
b.Affiliate membership will be free per group or association.

  1. Operational Board

The CWFuture’s Operational Board or Committee(as will be referred to) must abide by the following regulations;

  1. All officers and committee members must act to further the aims of CWFuture, including a commitment to opposing all forms of discrimination.
    ii. The Committee will consist of a minimum of 3, and a maximum of 15, committee members.
    iii. All CWFuture officers must work to further the aims of CWFuture and demonstrate a commitment to opposing all forms of discrimination.
    iv. The Committee will consist of a Chair/President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, plus any other members as deemed necessary at the annual general meeting.
    v. Should an officer vacancy occur, a member of the Committee via co-option would initially fill the post. An election will then be held for the post at the soonest following general meeting.
    vi. Should a vacancy on the CWFuture Committee occur the post may, if required, be filled by another Committee member via co-option, with full voting rights being applicable straightaway. The co-option will then either be ratified or rejected at the soonest following general meeting.
    vii. The Committee reserves the right to refuse to co-opt any member who may have previously breached CWFuture Constitution or who may have been expelled from CWFuture in the past.
    viii. Members may be co-opted/elected at either general meetings or annual general meetings, previous committee refusals notwithstanding.
    ix. Any resignations from the Committee will become effective once accepted by the Chair.
    x. The Committee will meet a minimum of four times per year.
    xi. CWFuture members, other than committee members, and the general public are permitted to attend committee meetings as observers, provided that written notice is submitted at least 72 hours beforehand. Any such visitors are prohibited from voting in committee meeting, although they will be permitted to speak at the discretion of the Committee. Part or all of a committee meeting may, as required, be devoted to visitors only at the discretion of the committee members.
    xii. At each general and annual general meeting, it is the responsibility of the Chair to report on the work done by the Committee since the previous meeting.
    xiii. The work of the Committee will be determined by the joint decisions made at the committee meetings.
    xiv. The Committee may, from time to time, appoint sub-committees or working groups, as required, to carry out the work of the Association.
    xv. Any such sub-committees will remain directly accountable to the Committee, and the Chair and Treasurer will remain ex-officio members, at all times
    xvi. The Committee will agree in advance the terms of reference for any such sub-committees, which must then be further ratified at the soonest following general meeting. All sub-committees must act, and distribute any funds raised by itself or on its behalf, within the terms agreed. No action must be taken by any sub-committee prior to ratification of the terms at the general meeting and/or without the prior agreement of the main Committee.
    xvii. Affiliated members will not be eligible for election as officers of CWFuture, nor shall they be granted permission to represent the association under any circumstances.
    xviii. The Committee reserves the right to unilaterally decide CWFuture rules/policies, although it will remain mindful of the needs of the association as a whole. All decisions made by the Committee must be ratified at the soonest following general meeting.
    xix. Only committee members are permitted to vote at committee meetings and one vote is allocated per member. The Chairperson is not permitted to vote ordinarily, although will be given the casting vote in the event of a tie.
    xx. Any meetings organised by committee members occur outside of the usual committee meeting but on account of CWFuture, must always be arranged in consultation with the Chair. This excludes established sub-committee meetings, as detailed above.
    xxi. Any committee member is permitted to propose an item for the committee meeting agenda, although the Chair and the Secretary will set the final agenda. Non-committee members, whilst not able to propose items for discussion directly, can nevertheless request a committee member propose an item on their behalf.
    xxii. Unless otherwise stated, all decisions made by the Committee will be final.

Officers of the Committee or Operational Board

All Officers of must sign and agree to abide by the Constitution, rules and decisions of CWFuture, as well as to act in CWFuture’s best interests at all times.

The subsequent regulations will apply to each of the committee members as follows;

  1. The President/Chairperson
  • All meetings will normally be chaired by the Chair, unless otherwise stated. In the event of the Chair’s absence, the meeting will be chaired by a committee member acting as a Vice-Chairperson or as the meeting decides.
    • Should an urgent decision be required before the committee members can be consulted or a committee meeting can take place, the Chair is permitted to make a decision on behalf of CWFuture (known as the Chair’s Action). Any such decision must be reported on, ratified and recorded at the soonest following committee meeting.
    • Should any such urgent decision be required, the Chair is granted permission to act at his own discretion, provided that this coincides with the best interests of CWFuture and does not contravene previously agreed policy.
    • Whilst all policy matters pertaining to CWFuture will be debated and voted upon by the Committee as a whole, the Chair is granted the final say on all matters pertaining to procedural and constitutional compliance.
  1. The Secretary
  • The Secretary will be responsible for all the administration duties of CWFuture, including ensuring that accurate minutes are kept of every meeting, notifying all members of the proceedings and forthcoming meetings, and dealing with all correspondence pertaining to CWFuture plus any other administration duties as required.
    • The Secretary is responsible for maintaining an up to date and accurate Register of Members of the Association. This register will remain available for viewing by all members by appointment.
  1. The Treasurer
  • The Treasurer will be responsible for collecting all monies owed to CWFuture, including subscription fees, and paying all expenses. It is the treasurer’s responsibility to ensure that all monies in and out are. Accompanied by an accurate receipt.
    • Accurate and proper financial accounts, including a record of all income and expenditure, will be kept by the Treasurer and duly submitted to HMRC as required by law. It is also the treasurer’s responsibility to ensure that a full report of the annual accounts is published within 3 months of the end of the financial year.
    • Prior to submission to HMRC, CWFuture’s accounts will additionally be scrutinised at the annual general meeting and ratified or amended as necessary. It is the Treasurer’s responsibility to ensure that a copy of the accounts for audit is circulated to all members at least 7 days prior to the annual general meeting.
    • As the Treasurer is liable for the correct collection of subscription fees, it will be their responsibility to keep an accurate record of all monies paid and owed, as well as to issue payment reminders in a timely and appropriate manner, including the issuing of a final reminder for payment 7 days prior to the annual general meeting.
    • One of the most fundamental roles of the Treasurer is to ensure that CWFuture’s financial affairs are well managed justly safeguarded and ultimately uphold the values of the association without contravening the Constitution or any other rules/guidelines. This includes guaranteeing proper record keeping and being able to demonstrate such at all times.
    • Furthermore, the Treasurer will be expected to keep the Committee updated on the current financial state of CWFuture, including its assets, liabilities, income and expenditure, by reporting regularly at committee meetings.
    • The Treasurer will execute any applicable legal obligations with regard to CWFuture’s financial conduct, such as ensuring due diligence or complying with money laundering legislation. It will also be the Treasurer’s responsibility to ensure that all appropriate checks are made on sources of funds, for example, by ensuring that valid forms of ID are supplied.
    • A secondary role of the Treasurer will be to coordinate all fundraising activities organised by or for CWFuture.
  1. International Ambassadors
  • The primary role of the International Ambassador is to promote and market the organisation in a positive manner and in keeping with the goals and objectives of CWFuture.
    • Additionally, the International Ambassador will be required to coordinate CWFuture’s activity, including all fundraising activities, across its functional spheres, and ensure that they are organised and promoted to achieve their full potential.
    • The International Ambassador will also assist in the recruitment of new members and the retaining of current members, to ensure that CWFuture has as wide and contented a membership as possible and thus continues to grow and thrive as an organisation
  • Play a key role in advancing the objectives of CWFuture to Stakeholders at an intergovernmental level and locally in each Commonwealth Country.
  1. General Committee Members (if applicable)
  • The role of all other committee members will be to support the President, Secretary and Treasurer in any and all ways required.
    • Additionally, committee members will be expected to support the Publicity Officer in the coordination of activities across CWFuture’s functional areas.
    • Furthermore, the recruitment and retention of ordinary CWFuture members will likewise be the responsibility of all committee members.
  1. Professional Advisory Board Members to the Operational Board
  • Advisory Board committee members will be required to advise CWFuture Committee on any matters pertaining to the association, as necessary.
  • Voluntary position with no payment attached to the role.
  • To be located and representatives in the Commonwealth countries and region.
  • Experts in the field of Eyecare and correctable vision or its associated areas.
  1. Sub-Committee Groups (if applicable)
  • Please see earlier guidelines on sub-committees (Category 7: The Committee; Points xiv, xv and xvi).
    • The Committee shall, from time to time, appoint separate sub-committees to work independently of the Committee but under their authority on specific issues.
  • Such sub-committees can be instructed by the committee acting unilaterally, or with the consent of the majority of any general or committee meeting.

 

  1. General Meetings
  • As with committee meetings, general meetings of CWFuture must abide by the following guidelines:
  1. All members of CWFuture will be given a minimum of 14 days’ notice of general meetings, with each notice containing the date, time, and venue of the forthcoming meeting. If required, and on request, notices can be made available in alternative languages, in large print or in spoken form on CD.
    ii. CWFuture will hold a minimum of one general meeting per year, in addition to the annual general meeting.
    iii. General meetings are open to all CWFuture members, all of whom are granted the right to speak at the meeting and vote in all matters.
    iv. Additionally, general meetings of CWFuture are open to the general public, who are permitted to attend as observers.
    v. All decisions made at the general meeting will be ratified by a simple 2/3 majority of votes cast, unless otherwise stated in advance.
    vi. All decisions made at a general meeting of CWFuture will be binding on the Committee.
    vii. Special general meetings can be called by the Chair or the Secretary at the request of a majority of the Committee, or on receipt of a written petition by no fewer than 10 members of CWFuture. Reasons must be provided for the calling of a special general meeting.
    viii. Any such special general meeting must take place within 28 days of receipt of the request or petition and adequate time must be scheduled to enable the relevant issue to be discussed and resolved appropriately.
    ix. At least 14 days’ notice of a special general meeting must be provided by the Secretary to all CWFuture members.

Annual General Meetings

As above, all annual general meetings held by CWFuture must abide by the following guidelines;

  1. One annual general meeting will be held once in each calendar year. No longer than 15 months will pass between the date of one annual general meeting and the next.
    ii. At each annual general meeting, all CWFuture officers and committee members must stand down as per regulations. However, all personas are eligible to stand immediately for re-election to the same post.
    iii. All members of CWFuture will receive at least 14 days’ written notification of the date, time and location of the next annual general meeting.
    iv. Any proposed amendments to CWFuture’s Constitution must be received in writing by the Secretary at least 14 days prior to an annual general meeting. Any such proposals will be made available to all CWFuture members at least 7 days prior to the same annual general meeting.
    v. Committee nominations can be submitted in writing to the Secretary at any point prior to an annual general meeting, although nominations may also be submitted verbally from the floor during an annual general meeting.
    vi. Should there be any objections to a committee nomination or its seconder, those present at the annual general meeting will be required to vote on whether to accept or reject the nomination on a 2/3 majority basis. No nominations will be accepted once the Committee has reached its maximum number.
    vii. All committee nominees are required to be present at the annual general meeting unless they are unable to attend due to unavoidable extenuating circumstances, in which case they may be elected in their absence.

The role of the annual general meeting will be to;

  1. Receive an annual report from the Committee and any sub-committees on all activity conducted by and for CWFuture.
    ii. Receive the year-end financial accounts for CWFuture (including any sub-committees), once they have been inspected and verified by an independent person with appropriate financial skills.
    iii. Appoint an independent person with appropriate financial skills to inspect the financial accounts for CWFuture for the subsequent year.
    iv. Elect the officers and committee members for CWFuture for the subsequent year.

 

  1. Generic Meeting Guidelines

Quorum

  1. The quorum for committee meetings is 3 committee members, including at least one Officer.
  2. The quorum for general meetings, including the annual general meeting, is 3.

Minutes

  1. All formal meetings (committee meetings, general meetings and annual general meetings) must be minuted by the Secretary or someone appointed by them.
    ii. All minutes must be checked and formally approved as follows:

The first draft must be forwarded to the Chair for comments/approval before being formally typed and sent out with the notification/agenda for the next meeting.
The second draft must be inspected and approved/amended by those present at the subsequent meeting (either committee, general or annual general meeting respectively) before being formally approved and filed.

iii. Requests to view past minutes may be submitted either in writing or verbally and the minutes must be made available for inspection within 14 days of a request being received.

 

Voting

i.Voting rights are only granted to life members.
ii.Votes are strictly distributed as one vote per member.
iii.Votes by proxy are permitted at the discretion of a general meeting only and the Secretary must receive requests for such at least 3 days prior to the relevant meeting. If granted, the named proxy must also be a life member of CWFuture.
iv. Any and all votes will be recorded in the minutes of the relevant meeting.
v. Unless otherwise stated, all decisions will be made by a 2/3 majority of votes cast.

 

  1. Affiliation

As mentioned above, certain groups or organisations may affiliate themselves with CWFuture under the following conditions:

i.Affiliation to CWFuture is permitted for any Commonwealth group, association, organisations operating within Commonwealth Nations – including commercial enterprises, community groups, charities and international/national/regional associations.
Affiliated groups/associations must agree to respect and abide by CWFuture’s Constitution.
ii. CWFuture and its affiliates will strive for mutual benefit and work to further the aims of both organisations as much as is reasonably possible.
iii. CWFuture and its affiliates will retain separate responsibility for individual finances. Any financial support that is granted by agreement will be subject to a detailed affiliation agreement.
iv. CWFuture retains the right to terminate affiliation at any time in the event of a breach of the Constitution or the Code of Conduct, or a misuse of funds. In such an event, the Committee has the right to suspend affiliation but this decision must be ratified at the next general meeting, whence the affiliation can be permanently terminated.
v. Affiliated groups/associations are subject to the standard membership terms and fees as detailed above.

 

  1. Conflicts Of Interest

To avoid any conflicts of interest occurring;

  1. All members are required to declare any interest, whether personal/familial or due to membership of any other group/association, which may affect or influence their membership of CWFuture as a whole or a specific issue under discussion.
    ii. In the event of any such declaration, it will be the responsibility of all other members present to decide on the appropriate way to proceed, which may include requesting that anyone with a conflict of interests refrains from discussing and/or voting on that particular issue.

Confidentiality

CWFuture values confidentiality and will work to protect the privacy of all members by adhering to the following guidelines;

  1. All members are expected to respect the confidentiality of their fellow members, whether present or not.
    ii. All members are expected to refrain from mentioning the specifics of an individual case if, by doing so, they may breach the common understanding of a person’s right to privacy.
    iii. Matters of a constitutional nature, including alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct, may be excused from this ruling where a decision requires the naming of individuals involved.

 

  1. Exclusions From Meetings

CWFuture will strive to avoid exclusions at all costs and they will occur only in very extreme circumstances;

  1. All members are expected to conduct themselves in a proper and reasonable manner at all times during committee, general or annual general meetings.
    ii. Any member may be excluded from a meeting for breaching the Code of Conduct on the decision of a simple majority of votes cast.
    iii. For further details on what constitutes misconduct, please see

Section 19: Disciplinary.

  1. Financials

The following guidelines will apply to CWFuture’s financial affairs:

  1. All monies raised by and on behalf of CWFuture will be used only to further the aims of the association.
    The Committee will cast the final decision on how such monies will be distributed.
    ii. Any appropriate bank accounts as are necessary will be maintained in the name of CWFuture. Withdrawals from such bank accounts will be permitted only with the signatures of both the Treasurer and President.
    iii. The Committee is authorised to raise contributions for specific purposes as required and to pay for any expenditure that may be incurred in the process.
    iv. The financial year will run from 1st January to 31st December.
    v. Full and proper audited accounts for the previous year will be published within 6 months of the financial year-end.

 

  1. Property

Any property that belongs to CWFuture will be treated as follows;

  1. Any items that are the legal property of CWFuture, such as the database, financial documents, equipment etc., will ordinarily be held in the possession of the Committee for safekeeping.
    ii. Any such property will only be loaned to non-committee members with the written permission of the Committee.
    iii. Any property loaned to any member (committee or otherwise) must be returned within 24 hours or when requested by the committee, unless otherwise agreed in advance.
    iv. Upon the return of property, a written confirmation must be signed to demonstrate that all property has been returned and that no copies have been made and/or retained.

Constitutional Amendments

CWFuture’s Constitution is a living, working document that must remain applicable to all members and the organisation as a whole throughout its life. As such, the following guidelines apply:

  1. All members are permitted to propose amendments to the Constitution.
    ii. Any such proposals for constitutional amendment must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days prior to the meeting at which it will be discussed.
    iii. In order to be ratified, the proposal must first be discussed by all members present at the general meeting and then passed by a minimum two thirds majority of all votes cast (including proxy votes).

 

  1. Disciplinary

Any disciplinary matters arising will be dealt with according to the following guidelines:

  1. CWFuture will deal with any disciplinary matters arising in as fair and non-discriminatory a means as possible.
    Should any disciplinary matters arise that require serious consideration, CWFuture will form a Disciplinary Committee to address the issue. The Disciplinary Committee will comprise 3 committee members, who will be appointed by the Committee.
    ii. Any CWFuture member alleged of misconduct and/or bringing the association into disrepute will be called to appear before the Disciplinary Committee for a disciplinary hearing.
    iii. The member will be summoned by an office bearer of the Committee, who will issue written notification giving at least 10 days’ notice of the hearing.
  • The written summons will additionally contain a statement of the complaint(s) brought against the member under allegation.
    • The member under allegation is then entitled to respond in writing to the Secretary, who must receive the response at least 4 days prior to the disciplinary hearing.
    • At all times throughout the disciplinary process, the member under allegation is to give full and frank disclosure as and when requested, and to fully co-operate to the best of their ability.
  1. Any member found guilty at the disciplinary hearing will be reprimanded, suspended or expelled as necessary and in keeping with the severity of the offence.
  • The period of suspension will not exceed 3 years.
    • The period of expulsion will not exceed 5 years, after which time the member is permitted to re-apply for membership.
  1. Should the decision of the Disciplinary Committee be disputed, the member concerned is permitted to appeal to the Committee.
    vi. The rules of Natural Justice do not apply to any disciplinary hearing.
    vii. No member under allegation of misconduct and/or bringing the association into disrepute is permitted to resign their position/membership until the Disciplinary Committee has reached the final decision.

 

  1. Dissolution

The following guidelines must be adhered to in the case of dissolution:

  1. The dissolution of CWFuture can be proposed by a single committee member or by 10 ordinary/life members.
    The proposal must be submitted in writing to the Secretary, upon receipt of which a general meeting will be called.
    iii. The proposal must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the date of the general meeting at which the dissolution will be discussed.
    iv. The proposal must explicitly call for the dissolution of CWFuture and provide valid reasons for this course of action.
    v. The decision to dissolve the association will be taken by a simple majority of all votes cast at the general meeting.
    vi. In the event of dissolution, any assets (financial or otherwise) remaining once all liabilities have been settled will be distributed as decided by the general meeting or donated to a charitable organisation (registered with the Charities Commission).

Declaration

This Constitution was adopted by a simple majority of those members present and voting (including proxy votes) at a general meeting, or by at least a two-thirds majority of those members present and voting (including proxy votes) at an annual general meeting held on:

 

Chairman/President:

Dr Zimar Sivardeen

 

Secretary

 

Mr Gareth Griffiths

 

Treasurer

 

Mr Michael McKay

 

International Ambassadors

Mr Graham Robertson

Mrs Chani Simms

Mr Kirit Vaidya

Mr John G Bullard

 

Dated: 10th July 2018

At 8.30pm at Bark and Co Solicitors, 14 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6AG

Updated at Commonwealth Meeting's AGM on Monday 25th November 2019 at 6.30pm at the venue:Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, 239 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster Borough, London SW1 1EQ