The Constitution

PURPOSE
The purpose of the Society is for Members to meet in fellowship, support each other, share ideas and interests, participate in social and cultural activities, support charitable causes and become better acquainted with the customs and culture of Kuwait.

The Society is a non-political, non-religious, and non-profit-making organisation. Funds raised are used to run the Society including the rent and upkeep of the premises and go to our nominated charitable causes.

MEMBERSHIP
All categories of membership shall be bestowed at the discretion of the Committee.

There will be two types of membership.

Full Membership

• Full Membership shall be open to any woman of 18 years and over, residing or living in Kuwait for any length of time:
  who holds a British passport; or who holds a passport of those countries whose affairs are represented by the British Embassy in Kuwait; or
  whose husband holds a British passport; or who has a parent holding or has held a British passport.
• Membership shall be recognised upon the payment of an annual subscription, together with proof of eligibility (see above), and shall entitle the spouse, children and relatives of Members to participate in Society activities designated as spouse/family occasions.
• Once a Full Member joins the Society she may renew her full membership at any time, even if her eligibility status has changed.

Associate Membership

• Associate Membership shall be open to women of 18 years and over, from any country, residing or living in Kuwait for any length of time.
• Availability of Associate Memberships will be determined by a quota system, fixed at up to 40% of the number of registered Full Members.
• Should the occasion arise where the number of Associate Members exceeds the quota there will be a moratorium on approving new Associate Members until the number of Full Members increases. In this situation, a waiting list will be applied.
• To retain their membership, Associate Members must renew by the middle of the first month of the BLS Membership Year, 14 October, to allow those joining to attend all events in the new BLS year. Should this not happen, their place will be forfeited. In exceptional circumstances, the Committee will consider written applications from existing Associate Members who are unable to renew their membership by the required deadline. The Committee’s decision will be final.
• Women on the waiting list offered the chance to join must accept at that time and may not defer. If they choose not to join then they will be removed from the waiting list and no longer have access to the website nor remain on the mailing list.
• Associate Members may hold Committee positions, and be able to vote on Committee decisions, but their numbers will need to be in accordance with the quota system as set out in Section 6.1.
• Associate Members may participate in Project Teams.
• Associate Members may not vote on constitutional issues but can take part in the election of Committee Members and they may nominate and vote in charity elections.
• Associate Members will receive the same benefit package as Full Members
• Full Membership may be offered, at the discretion of the Committee, to Associate Members who have been members of the BLS for three (3) consecutive years and who have, in the opinion of the Committee, been an active Member during that time. This will allow them to Vote on Constitutional matters, Committee Elections, etc.

Constitution
Every Member of the Society shall have access to this Constitution. The Committee has the right to refuse, on statement of reasonable grounds, any application for Full or Associate Membership and to terminate any Membership without prejudice.

The Patron
The British Ambassador to Kuwait or Spouse shall be invited to be the Patron of the Society.

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY
Past Presidents of the Society shall be invited to attend Committee meetings during the hand-over period (generally June/July of each year – see Section 6.2) in order that the Society may benefit from their advice and in recognition of their valuable service.

COMMITTEE

Composition
The Committee of the Society shall comprise of a similar quota system as that of the Membership, 60% Full Members and 40% Associate Members:
Elected positions are as follows:

• President
• Treasurer and Vice-Treasurer
• Membership Secretary and Assistant Membership Secretary
• Society Secretary and Assistant Secretary
• Events Co-ordinator and Assistant Events Co-ordinator
• Communications Officer and Assistant Communications Officer
• Activities Co-ordinator and Assistant Activities Co-ordinator (Premises Manager)
• Coffee Team Co-ordinator

The Committee of the year has the flexibility to combine the positions of Events Co-ordinator and Activities Co-ordinator depending on the strength of the committee.

The President must be a Full Member, holding a British Passport and have served a minimum of one full year on the current Committee.

The Committee shall select one of its elected members to act as Vice President. This member must also hold a British Passport as she becomes President if the current President resigns.

The Committee shall be elected each year in accordance with Section 8.

Any vacancies on the Committee must be reported to the General Membership and nominations to fill vacant positions must be sought. If more than one nomination is forthcoming then an election would be necessary. In the case of only one nomination that person may be co-opted by the Committee. The total number of co-opted members for such purposes should not exceed 4. Membership should be informed of changes within Committee personnel.

In the event that the President should resign, the Vice-President shall become President. A new Vice-President shall be elected by the Committee from its members.

Term of Office
The members of the Committee shall serve for a period of one year, from 1st June. At the end of the term, the committee members can continue to serve on the committee provided they are willing to do so and the extension of the term is approved by the BLS Membership, following the voting procedures in Section 8. A vote is not necessary if no other members are nominated for the role. Available Past Presidents, together with all members of the outgoing and incoming committee shall meet to assist in effecting an efficient change-over.

Functions
The Committee shall have general charge of the affairs, funds and property of the Society. It shall keep up-to-date files during its term of office and present a written report to the Annual General Meeting, its final meeting of the year generally, in June.

The outgoing Treasurer shall provide the incoming Treasurer with a fully detailed statement of the Society’s current financial affairs, together with any cash, cheques or other such assets of the Society on 30th May each year. The incoming Treasurer shall acknowledge with a signed receipt.

The Treasurer shall receive the monies, keep the accounts, make bank deposits and pay the bills of the Society as authorised by the Committee. Society cheques shall be signed by two of the authorised signatories, these being

• President
• Vice President
• Treasurer

All three signatories shall be kept on file at the bank. In the event of the President, Vice President, and Treasurer not having appropriate documentation such as a Kuwait Civil ID or national passport, another signatory shall be selected.

Any signatory ceasing to be an elected member of the Committee must have their name removed from the signatories file at the bank.
The Treasurer shall keep a proper set of books and make available to the Committee and Membership a monthly report of the Society’s financial standing.

Meetings
The Committee shall meet monthly. Committee meetings are to be attended by main committee members or their assistants. Assistants are always welcome at the meetings, if they wish to attend. Project Team Leaders shall be invited regularly to Committee Meetings to report on their activities.

A quorum shall consist of 50% of the voting members of the Committee, with at least one of the President or Vice President being present. Votes will be carried by a simple majority, with the President (or Vice President in her absence) having a casting vote. Honorary and ex-officio members may not propose motions or vote.

Sub-Committees:

Nominations Committee
This will be convened primarily to carry out functions described in Section 8. It shall consist of three members. The Chair shall be the Patron of the Society and the Society’s Secretary or her Assistant shall also be a member. Other members will be co-opted either from the Committee or Membership. In the event that there is no Patron, or he/she is absent or declines, the Society’s Secretary shall be the Chair.

Project Teams
The elected Committee shall be helped to fulfil their functions by any other Members who wish to be involved. Each Committee Member and her assistant may form project teams to carry out ongoing tasks. Project Members will report to the relevant Committee Members and will be invited to attend Committee meetings regularly.

FUNDS, PROPERTY AND RECORDS
The elected Committee has a responsibility to the Membership to ensure that all funds, property and decisions are fully and transparently accounted for.

The Secretariat shall keep adequate records of Committee meetings to ensure that decisions are properly recorded and a paper-trail exists. The Committee shall have authority to raise and disburse funds for the operating expenses of the Society. Disbursements for other purposes shall be voted on by the Membership.

At the end of each BLS year any surplus funds, after provision is made for ongoing commitments, may be disbursed in Kuwait and the United Kingdom according to the wishes of the membership for that year.

Except with the Membership’s approval, the Committee may not undertake any new project, fund-raising or other, which cannot be finished in that Committee’s term of office. Publications, e.g. the Information Guide, that are intended for long-term use are exempt from this provision. Any decisions regarding properties and services which have contractual obligations must be considered.

The Committee will keep all personal information provided by the membership confidential and for use only within the Society, unless it has the permission of individual Members or the Membership as a whole to make this information more widely available.

All Society property must be accounted for by 30th May each year.

In the event of the dissolution of the Society, all properties and funds belonging to the Society shall be donated to charitable or educational institutions.

NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Pre-election process
The Nominations Committee shall be convened (see Section 6.5.1). Its Members, other than the Patron, are not barred from becoming nominees for office.

The Nominations Committee will canvass the Membership for those willing to stand for office, and shall keep the President and Committee informed of all nominations received.

A list of nominations collected by the Nominations Committee shall be circulated before and prominently displayed at the May General Membership Meeting, at which time any additional nominations for vacant positions will be welcomed from the floor. All the candidates shall be introduced by the President and present a brief account of themselves.

Candidates may be nominated up to 1 week before the start of the election.

Voting procedure
Voting will be done electronically. The Nominations Committee shall identify all Members eligible to vote who do not have electronic access and make suitable alternative arrangements for them to cast their votes. Members who do not wish to vote electronically may give written instructions, including by e-mail, to the Nominations Committee on how they wish to cast their votes.

Elections for the Committee shall take place in the following groups:

• President
• Treasurer and Assistant
• Membership Secretary and Assistant
• Society Secretary and Assistant
• Events Co-ordinator and Assistant
• Communications Officer and Assistant
• Activities Co-ordinator and Assistant
• Coffee Team Co-ordinator

Candidates may stand in more than one group, but should clearly state which post(s) they would prefer. In the event that they win more than one post, they would be given their preferred post and their votes for the other post(s) reallocated to other candidates for those posts. In the event that there are no other candidates for a post a candidate may take up two posts but no more. A candidate who chooses not to stand for both positions in a group will clearly state this in her election material.

Voting will be by Single Transferable Vote (STV). The Nominations Committee will count the votes cast. The candidate with the most votes for each group will take the first post in the group, unless she had previously stated that she wished to stand for the Assistant post only. A full explanation of the voting procedure will be made available to the Membership with the election material. Members will have two weeks to cast their votes and will be reminded to do so at least once during the election period.

The Nominations Committee has an obligation to be discreet and to preserve voter anonymity as far as possible.

The results of the election shall be announced at the Annual AGM.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
The Society shall hold monthly General Membership Meetings, giving adequate notice of dates, times and venues. These meetings may be attended by the Patron and members of the Society and their guests. The Society’s Annual General Meeting will be its final meeting of the year. The AGM is generally held in May, but the date is dependent on Ramadan.

Decisions to be made by the Membership will usually be done electronically (see Section 11). However, in exceptional circumstances, the Committee may call for a discussion and vote at a General Membership Meeting. Also, if 10 or more Full Members call for a discussion and vote, this should be arranged at the next convenient General Membership Meeting. In these instances, the outcome would only be valid with a quorum of not less than 30% of those eligible to vote and a simple majority of those voting. A simple majority is defined as an excess of the number who voted in favour of a motion or proposal over the number of those who voted against a motion or proposal. In the event of equality of votes for and against a proposal the President may cast a second vote to decide the matter.

EFFECTIVE MAJORITY
Except as specified in Sections 9 and 11, decisions to be made by the Membership will usually be done electronically. The Committee shall make alternative voting arrangements for any Members without electronic access. Decisions will require at least a 30% response rate to be quorate and shall be carried by a simple majority of those eligible to vote.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

This Constitution may only be amended as follows:

• at the Annual General Meeting;
• exceptionally an emergency general meeting can be called provided notice of the proposed revisions has been given to Members no less than 4 weeks before the Meeting at which the vote is to be held;
• exceptionally by an electronic vote provided notice of the proposed revisions has been given to Members no less than 4 weeks before the vote is due.

In all cases, by an overall majority vote of the members present and eligible to vote. This includes those who are unable to attend and have elected to cast their vote electronically.