Preamble

In Nomine sanctissimae et individuae Trinitatis, ex qua est omnia auctoritas et cui sunt omnia nostri acta et neglecta referenda,
nos, membra Societatis S. Iohannes Piscator,
humiliter agnoscantes ante Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum omnes gratias quas ex eodem recepimus,
vivida cum fide, spe infinita et ardente caritate,
necnon patroni nostri benedictionem implorantes,
ordinamus et statuimus nobismetipsis hanc Constitutionem:

1: Preliminary provisions

1. The society shall be called the Fisher Society.
2. The purpose of the Society shall be to promote the spiritual, cultural and social interests of its members.
3. The membership of the society shall consist of all Catholic members of the University of Cambridge (past and present).
4. Associate and honorary membership may be extended to such other persons as the Committee and/or Chaplains think appropriate.

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2: The General Meeting

1. The General Meeting shall be the ruling body of the society.
2. No resolution of a General Meeting shall have effect unless all of the following conditions are met:
i. the meeting is open to all members;
ii. the meeting is presided over by the Chairman;
iii. The University Catholic Chaplain or his deputy or assistant is present; and
iv. notice of the meeting has been given at all Masses on the previous Sunday.
3. All resolutions of a General Meeting, including amendments to this Constitution, shall be approved by a simple majority of those present.
4. Each year, the Committee shall call an Annual General Meeting, which shall be held in the course of the Lent Term. In the course of this meeting, a new committee shall be elected, in accordance with the provisions of the following chapter.
5. Extraordinary General Meetings may be called either by the Committee, or by the Chairman or Chaplain, in the latter cases upon receipt of a petition signed by at least twenty members of the society.
6. The agenda for each Annual General Meeting shall be determined by the Committee beforehand. It shall include, but need not be confined to, the following items:
i. the Chairman's report;
ii. questions to the Chairman;
iii Treasurer's report;
in. questions to the Treasurer;
iv. approval or modification of list of groups connected with the society;
v. reports from representatives of those groups;
vi. elections to the Committee;
vii. any other business.

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3: Elections to the Committee

1. The procedure for the election of the Committee at the Annual General Meeting shall be as follows:
i. nominations of candidates shall be invited at all Sunday Masses and in the Fisher House newsletter between two and four weeks prior to the meeting, the Chairman having chosen an appropriate time for nominations to close;
ii. at the appropriate time during the meeting, the Chairman shall read out a list of people who have nominated themselves as candidates.
iii. the Chairman shall read out a list of offices, which may include those of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, Archivist and Ecumenical Representatives (two), and this list shall be approved by the meeting, with or without modifications;
iv. if the number of valid nominees exceeds fifteen, the nominees shall each briefly address the meeting, and a vote of the members shall be held to determine which of them shall serve on the Committee;
v. any such vote shall be administered and supervised in all respects by the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, or, if two or more of the foregoing are absent or are themselves standing for election, by any four members of the society designated by those members of the outgoing Committee who happen to be present at the meeting and are not themselves standing for election;
vi. the ballots shall be counted and the result of the vote announced.
2. The procedures for voting in elections to the Committee shall be determined beforehand by the Committee, but shall incorporate provision for a secret ballot and shall serve to guarantee an outcome in which fifteen candidates are deemed to have been elected, of whom, if sufficient nominations are received in each category, three shall be in the first year of their undergraduate studies, two in their second year, one in their third year and two engaged in postgraduate studies. Unless the Committee decides otherwise, the First-Past-the-Post voting system shall be employed.
3. Before voting commences, the meeting shall be made aware by the Chairman if any nominees are likely to be unable to complete their term of office.
4. The newly appointed Committee members shall assume office upon the announcement of the results, but the Chairman of the outgoing Committee shall remain in the chair until the meeting is concluded.
5. Following the elections, the Committee may at any time co-opt new members by simple majority vote, provided that at no time the total membership of the Committee exceeds fifteen.
6. i. Past Chairmen of the society who are resident in Cambridge shall be deemed to be honorary members of the Committee, as shall past Vice-Chairmen, Secretaries and Treasurers, in the latter cases until the end of the term following the appointment of their successors.
ii. The University Catholic Chaplain and his deputies and assistants shall sit on the Committee ex officiis.
iii. The office of Senior Treasurer shall be deemed to be occupied by the Treasurer of the Cambridge University Catholic Association.
iv. The foregoing shall not be deemed to be Committee members for the purposes of the remainder of this Constitution unless the contrary is explicitly stated.
7. The rules for electing Committee members at Extraordinary General Meetings shall follow the procedures laid down in this chapter, with such amendments as the Committee may see fit to make in advance of the meeting concerned, except that all ballots shall in any event be secret and nominations shall remain open for at least seven days prior to the start of the meeting.
8. At any General Meeting, any member shall at any time before the announcement of the results have the right, on application to the Chairman, to propose a motion of no confidence in the Committee’s conduct of any elections held under the provisions of this section. Such a motion may include provisions for the immediate re-run of the relevant elections under the supervision of different personnel or using different procedures.

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4: The Committee

1. The Committee shall be the executive body of the society, and shall under all normal circumstances be responsible for its general management and governance.
2. The officers of the Committee shall be elected by the Committee itself from among its own membership in accordance with the procedures set down in the next chapter.
3. Any Committee member who is absent from three consecutive Committee meetings shall be deemed to have resigned his position, unless in each case the Committee has received apologies for their absence.
4. Meetings of the Committee shall be open to all members of the society.
5. Meetings of the Committee shall not be deemed quorate for the purpose of calling General Meetings, electing officers, co-opting new Committee members, conferring honorary or associate membership of the society or authorising expenditure deemed by the Chairman or the Chaplain to require quoracy unless
i. the Chairman is in the chair;
ii. at least two thirds of the Committee members are present; and
iii. The University Catholic Chaplain or his deputy or assistant is present.

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5: Officers of the society

1. A new Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Archivist and Ecumenical Representatives (two), shall be elected as soon as may reasonably be possible after the election of a new Committee. Upon the resignation of any of these officers, a temporary or permanent replacement shall be appointed by the Committee as soon as may reasonably be possible, though the Vice-Chairman and Secretary’s responsibilities may temporarily be re-allocated by the Chairman.
2. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Chairman and Chaplain, from among the members of the Committee.
3. i. The officers of the society shall hold the funds of the society on trust on its members’ behalf.
ii. The officers shall dispose of the funds of the society, in accordance with the wishes of the Committee, and, in the case of expenditures deemed by the Chaplain to require it, with the consent of the Senior Treasurer.
iii. For the purposes of the preceding sub-section, the officers shall not be deemed to be acting in accordance with the wishes of the Committee if they are acting without the consent of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, or any two of the foregoing. In such cases, they shall not be held liable for any failure to comply with the directions of the Committee as a whole.
4. In accordance with the provisions of the foregoing section, the Vice-Chairman may maintain, under the supervision of the Treasurer, a bank account for the storage of funds relating to lunches provided by the society. He shall endeavour to keep the Committee regularly informed of the state of any such account.
5. The Chairman shall be responsible generally for the acts of the Committee. His particular rights and duties shall include the following:
i. to chair General Meetings of the society, Committee meetings, and meetings of the society which are being addressed by invited speakers;
ii. to dispose of a casting vote at General Meetings and Committee meetings in addition to his own;
iii. to rule definitively on points of procedure at General Meetings and Committee meetings;
iv. to represent the society in its dealing with outside bodies, and, taking due account of the advice of the Committee, to conclude binding agreements with them, though any such agreements may be repudiated by a General Meeting or, if they involve the expenditure of the society’s funds, by the Committee or, if the sums involved are deemed by the Chaplain to be sufficiently large, the Senior Treasurer; and
v. to assist the Chaplain in appointing collegiate representatives of the society, and to maintain an up-to-date list of such representatives.
6. The Chairman may delegate any or all of his rights and duties to the Vice-Chairman or, if the Vice-Chairman is unwilling to assume the relevant responsibilities or is unavailable for contact, to any other Committee member, or, if no other Committee member is willing to assume the relevant responsibilities or is available for contact, to any other person he thinks appropriate.
7. The Vice-Chairman shall provide the Chairman with appropriate support and counsel in the performance of his functions. During Full Term, he shall also be responsible for helping with the provision of tea and coffee after one or more of the Sunday Masses.
8. The Secretary shall
i. record the minutes of General and Committee meetings;
ii. maintain an up-to-date list of Committee members, which shall be displayed in Fisher House and shall, if reasonably possible, be made available at all meetings along with a copy of this Constitution; and
iii. ensure that all officers are supplied, on request, with a copy of this Constitution.
9. The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping the society’s funds and all documents relating to its income, expenditure, assets and liabilities.
10. The Ecumenical Representatives shall have the following rights and duties:
i. to attend, where appropriate, meetings of bodies, such as the Student Christian Council, which have the purpose of working to further unity in prayer and action among Christians in the University;
ii. to oversee the society’s relations with Christian student bodies outside Cambridge such as the Catholic Student Council; and
iii. to keep the Committee informed upon ecumenical issues relevant to the society.
11. The Archivist shall be responsible for photography during society events and compiling the scrapbook (electronic and hard copy).

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6: Miscellaneous

1. This Constitution shall be interpreted in accordance with generally recognised principles of interpretation of legal texts. Hence, for example, ‘act’ includes ‘omission’ and the masculine gender imports the feminine.
2. Where they are not formally in conflict with the provisions of this Constitution, existing precedents and practices relating to the governance of the Fisher Society shall remain in force.
3. Any dispute as to the meaning of any part of this Constitution shall be resolved by decision of the Chairman, who shall, if reasonably possible, consult and take due account of the advice of the Committee on the disputed point.

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S. Johannes Piscator, ora pro nobis!