PMDC of GB Rules June 2009

 

1.             NAME AND OBJECTS    The Club shall be called the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain and shall be registered with the Kennel Club under that name. The objects of the Club shall be to encourage knowledge of the breed of dog known as the Pyrenean Mountain Dog and to maintain the standard of breeding.

 

2(i)          OFFICERS AND MEMBERS The Club shall consist of an unlimited number of members and the Officers of the Club shall include a President who shall also be a Life Member, a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary and an Honorary Treasurer.

 

2(ii)        HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENTS  

A)     The A.G.M. shall elect not more than twelve Honorary Vice-Presidents. (The title of Honorary Vice-Presidents is awarded in recognition of service to the breed). Existing Vice Presidents are automatically re-proposed. Should the club fail to hear from a vice-president for a period of 5 years their name will be automatically removed from the list of vice-presidents.  Any Member wishing to propose a new name to be considered by the A.G.M. as an Honorary Vice-President shall send such a proposal to the Secretary at least two calendar months prior to the date of the A.G.M. accompanied by up to sixty words in support of such proposal. This proposal shall be included on the Agenda for the A.G.M. and if passed by a two thirds majority vote of those members attending and eligible to vote, the member thus approved shall henceforth be a Honorary Vice-President of the Club.

 

B)      B)  Should any member feel that a current Honorary Vice-President has acted in a manner that is inappropriate for the holder of this honour then they should write to the Secretary at least three months prior to the date of the A.G.M. stating their reasons in not more than forty words. This proposal shall be included on the Agenda for the A.G.M. (subject to legal opinion) and if passed by a straight majority the Vice-President in question shall be removed from the list of those awarded this title by the Club.

 

3              COMMITTEE                    The management of the Club shall (except as otherwise provided in these Rules) be in the hands of a Committee. The Committee shall consist of the President, the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer, together with 12 other members. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Club shall be Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively of the Committee. Six members of the Committee, of which one must be an Officer, shall form a quorum. The Committee shall have power to co-opt from among the members of the Club to fill vacancies or for any other purpose and shall have power to appoint Sub-Committees. The Committee shall meet at least once every six months to examine the accounts and to arrange the affairs of the Club.

 

4              ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE  

i) The President shall be elected every five years and their Committee attendance shall be optional, The Officers (except the Vice-Presidents) and the Committee to be elected by postal ballot to be held during the first three months of each year.  Nominations shall be signed by two Club members other than the nominee and shall be accompanied with the Nominee’s written agreement to accept nomination together with a statement not exceeding 60 words signed by the nominee explaining in the case of those not already on the committee, his/her qualifications for the post for which he/she is nominated. Current Committee members should detail their contribution to the Club and during the preceeding year qualifications for the post, again with a statement not exceeding sixty words.

 

 

ii) Nominees and nominations shall be full members who have been members of the Club for not less than 12 calendar months on 1st January of the year in which the ballot is held. Nominations shall be sent to the Secretary not later than a date specified of which at least two weeks notice shall be given, and the Secretary shall accept every nomination which does not contravene these Rules.

 

iii)  Each retiring Officer or Committee member shall be deemed to have been nominated for re-election unless he/she has informed the Secretary that he/she will not accept nomination, or unless he/she has been absent from half the Committee meetings of which he/she has received notice during the 12 months preceding the date set for receipt of nominations. (Except in exceptional circumstances as determined by the Committee.  

 

iv)  The Secretary shall send to each full member a ballot paper which shall list the names and addresses of the nominees, the names of their nominators and the statement of qualifications. Candidates for contested offices shall be deemed to have been nominated also for a seat on the Committee and votes cast for them in the latter capacity shall be counted if they are not elected to an office for which they have been nominated. The ballot shall be controlled by the Club’s Scrutineer who alone shall receive and see the voting papers. The result of the ballot shall be announced at the Annual General Meeting of that year and those elected shall thereupon take office and subject to termination of office by resignation or otherwise shall remain in office until the announcement of their successors at the next following Annual General Meeting.

 

v) Any Officer or Committee member during his/her period of office shall not serve as an Officer or Committee member or run any event for any other Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club registered with the Kennel Club

 

5.         BANKRUPTCY   No person, whilst an undischarged bankrupt, may serve on the Committee or hold any other office or appointment within a Kennel Club Registered Society

 

6              MEMBERSHIP                 a)  Any person interested in the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, whether an owner or not, shall be eligible for membership provided that his/her application for membership has been made in writing to the Secretary accompanied by his/her first subscription and is not been rejected by the Committee. If the application is not so rejected the Secretary shall notify the applicant in writing of his admission to membership, furnish him/her with a copy of the Rules and issue receipt for his/her subscription. If the application is rejected the Secretary shall inform the applicant and shall return to him/her the money paid as subscription.  

 

b) A member who joins before his/her 16th birthday shall be a Junior member and shall not be entitled to vote in the election of Officers and Committee nor upon any motion at the General Meeting of the Club. All other persons for the purpose of these Rules shall be full members. A Junior shall not become a full member until his/her 16th birthday or until he/she has paid a full members subscription whichever is the later but he/she shall be liable to pay a full members subscription on the first occasion on which his/her subscription falls due after his/her 16th birthday.

 

c)  Any full member may be elected a Life Member by a two thirds majority of those entitled to vote and voting at an Annual General Meeting of the Club but he/she shall not thereby cease to be a full member. Two members of the same family or two people owning one or more dogs in partnership may be joint members for the purpose of Rule 6 but each member of such joint membership shall nevertheless be a Junior or a full member as defined in this Rule. A Life member shall not be a member of a joint membership. The title of Life member is awarded in recognition of service to the Club.

 

d). The Club will make a list of members and their addresses available for inspection if so requested by the members of the Club or by the Kennel Club.

                               

7        SUBSCRIPTIONS                 The annual subscription after 30th September 2004 shall be; nil for a Life Member; £14.00 for a Full member who is not a life member; 50p for a Junior member; £15.00 for 2 members in joint membership. A surcharge of £2.00 a year to be added to the subscription of a Junior receiving a personal issue of the Club’s Newsletter. There will be joining fee of £1.00 charged to all new applications for membership. A surcharge of which the amount shall be determined from time to time by the Committee shall be added to the subscriptions payable to members residing outside Europe to defray the extra postal charges incurred in serving such members. All subscriptions are payable to the Honorary Treasurer on the 1st January each year, and if the relevant subscription has not been paid by the 1st February in the same year, the membership will be deemed to have lapsed. Thereafter, any person wishing to enjoy the privileges of membership must make a fresh application as if for a new membership, which will be subject to the procedure outlined in Rule 6.a. Notwithstanding the foregoing a first subscription received during the last three months of a year shall deemed to include the subscription for the whole of the next following year.

                          

8        RESIGNATION Any member may resign his/her membership by giving notice to the Secretary in writing to that effect provided that if notice be given after 1st January in any year he/she shall be liable to pay his/her subscription for that year.

 

9              EXPULSION.     A) Any member who shall be suspended under Kennel Club Rule A42j(4) and/or any member whose dog(s) is/are disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A42j(8) shall, ipso facto, cease to be a member of the Society for the duration of the suspension and/or disqualification. If the conduct of any member shall in the opinion of the Committee of the Club be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interests of the Club or the breed, the Committee of the Club may at a meeting the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the member determine that a Special General Meeting of the Club shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her. Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising him/her of the place, date and hour of the meeting so that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If at the meeting a resolution to expel is passed by a two thirds majority of the members present and voting, his/her name shall be forthwith erased from the list of members and he/she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a member of the Club, except that he/she may within 2 calendar months from the date of such meeting appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such conditions as the Kennel Club may impose.

 

B) If the Society expels any member for discreditable conduct in connection with dogs, Dog Shows, Trials or Competitions the Society must report the matter in writing to the Kennel Club within seven days and supply any particulars required.

 

10      EFFECT OF CEASING TO BE A MEMBER                Any person on ceasing to be a member of the Club shall forfeit any right to and claim upon the Club its property and funds arising solely from his/her membership.

 

11           CLUB ACCOUNTS         A banking account shall be opened in the name of the Club into which all revenues of the Club shall be paid The Banking Account shall be operated by the Honorary Treasurer for the time being. Cheques shall be signed or endorsed on behalf of the Club by any two members of a panel of three signatories, the panel to be appointed annually by the Committee from amongst the President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer for the time being. The Accounts of the Club shall be kept by the Honorary Treasurer and shall as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year be submitted for Certification by TWO qualified accountants or a firm of qualified accountants who shall be appointed at each Annual General Meeting. However a full audit can be called for at the discretion of the Committee or by the membership at an Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting. The financial year for the Club shall end on 31st December each year, to which day the accounts of the Club shall be balanced.

 

12           ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING               The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held before 30th April in each year, upon a date and time to be fixed by the Committee for the following purposes:-

                          

                  a)     To receive from the Committee a report, balance sheet and statement of accounts for the preceding financial year and an estimate of the receipts and expenditure for the current financial year.

                  b)     To consider and, if approved, sanction any duly made alteration to the Rules.

                  c)      To elect or re-elect Vice-Presidents and to receive the results of the postal ballot for the Officers and Committee.

                  d)     To deal with any special matter which the Committee desires to bring before the members and to receive suggestions from the members for consideration by the Committee and to discuss any matter of which prior notice shall have been given to the Secretary.

                          

                  Notice convening the General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with. No business shall be transacted at an Annual General Meeting unless notice thereof appears on the Agenda, with the exception of routine matters or those which, in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, are urgent.

                          

13             SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING              A Special General Meeting may be convened at any time by the Committee and shall be convened within 21 days from the receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing signed by not less than 25 full members specifying the object of the meeting, for any of the following purposes:-

                          

                  a)     To consider, and if approved, sanction any duly made alteration of the Rules.

                  b)     To deal with any special matter which the Committee may desire to place before the members including the expulsion of a member.

                  c)      To receive the resignation of the Committee or to remove any member or members thereof from office and to fill any vacancy or vacancies caused thereby.

                  d)     To deal with any special matter which the members requiring the Meeting may desire to place before the Club.

                          

                  Notice convening the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with. No business other than that named in the notice shall be brought before a Special General Meeting.

                          

14             CHAIR AND VOTING                At all General Meetings of the Club the President or in his/her absence the Chairman or in the absence of both of them then the Vice-Chairman shall take the chair. Every member present entitled to vote shall have one vote upon every motion and in the case of equality of votes the Officer in the Chair shall have a second or casting vote.

 

15.          ALTERATION OF RULES          The Rules of the Society may not be altered by that Society except at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting notice of which includes details of the proposal to alter the Rules . A majority of two thirds is required  Such alterations shall not be brought into force until the KC has been advised and given its approval to the alterations. New Rules introduced specifically to meet the Kennel Club’s requirements shall be adopted immediately and be included in the Society’s Constitution with effect from the Society’s Annual Meeting. No business shall be transacted at an Annual General Meeting unless notice thereof appears on the Agenda, with the exception of routine matters or those which in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting are urgent. For the purpose of this Rule the Code of Practice shall be deemed to be a part of these Rules.

 

16.          SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Any dispute or difference which may arise as to the meaning or interpretation of these Rules or as to the powers or proceedings of the Officers or the Committee may be submitted to and determined by the Kennel Club whose decision shall be final and binding upon all members of the Club.

 

17           CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP Every member shall be bound by and submit to these Rules and the current issue of the Code of Practice which shall for all purposes be part of these Rules. A member shall not by reason of his/her membership be under any financial liability except for payment of his/her annual subscription.

 

18           NOTICES

 All notices required by these Rules to be given to members of the Club may be given by pre-paid letter addressed to a member at the last address which he/she has furnished to the Secretary and shall be deemed to have been given at the expiration of 48 hours after the posting of the letter except for addresses outside the United Kingdom. Members must furnish the Secretary with any

change of address

 

19           PROPERTY OF THE CLUB The property of the Club shall be vested in the Committee. The donor of any property shall be required to sign a paper acknowledging that such property is an outright gift to the Club

 

20           FEDERATIONS The Club shall not join any federation of Societies or Clubs.

 

21           DISSOLUTION If at any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the members present and such resolution shall at a Special General Meeting held not less than one month thereafter at which not less than one half of the members shall be present be confirmed by a resolution passed by a majority of two thirds of the members entitled to vote and voting thereon, the Committee shall thereupon or at such future date as shall be specified in such resolution proceed to realise the property of the Club and after discharge of all liability shall dispose of the assets as decided upon by the members.

If the Society if wound up or ceases to be a Registered Society under Kennel Club Regulations, a final statement of audited accounts with a record of the disposal of the property of the Society shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club within six months and the persons named as Officers and Committee of the Society on the last return as furnished to the Kennel Club, will be held responsible by the Kennel Club for the proper winding up of the Society

 

 

22. LIST OF APPROVED JUDGES The Committee shall as often as required and in any case at least once a year prepare a List of Approved Judges of the Breed, which shall distinguish the judges approved for Championship Shows from those approved for Open Shows only

All aspirant judges wishing to be included in the Judges’ List or existing judges seeking promotion within the Judges’ List may apply, in writing, to the Secretary. Aspirant judges or judges seeking promotion will be provided with a copy of the Judge’s CV Questionnaire, by the Secretary.

On receipt of a completed Judge’s CV Questionnaire, the Secretary will submit it to the Committee for consideration, as soon as practical thereafter.

Once considered by the Committee for inclusion, or promotion, in the Judges’ List the Secretary shall notify the outcome to the aspirant judge. Amendments to the Judges’ List shall be announced to the members as soon as possible.

 

23           ANNUAL RETURNS TO THE KENNEL CLUB (note; In this Rule only, the word "Officers" means (The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer). The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year the Maintenance of Title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Secretary for the continuance of registration and that by 31st July each year, other returns, as stipulated in Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Titles of Societies and Breed Councils and the Affiliation of Agricultural Societies and Municipal Authorities, will be forwarded to the Kennel Club. The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any change of Secretary of the Society which may occur during the course of the year.

 

 

24           FEDERATIONS

The Society shall not join any Federations of Societies or Clubs