Constitution

Following a ballot of IALT members  in December 2023-January 2024, amendments to the Constitution were adopted. The revised Constitution stands as follows:

 

Constitution of the Irish Association of Law Teachers

A. NAME AND OBJECTS

NAME

1. The Association shall be called “The Irish Association of Law Teachers”.

OBJECTS

2. The objects of the Association shall be the advancement of legal education, legal research and legal scholarship, the work and interests of law teachers, legal researchers and legal scholars in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland.

It shall achieve these objects through:

• the organisation, promotion and delivery of conferences, seminars and other events promoting the objects of the Association;
• the representation of the Association at conferences, seminars and other events;
• the representation of the Association through membership of and liaison with other organisations with related objects;
• the publication and preparation for publication of research, scholarship and other written works relevant to the objects of the Association;
• cooperation with international legal academic representative bodies and similar bodies outside the island of Ireland;
• the promotion and adjudication of merit-based competitions related to the objects of the Association and
• by any other means considered conducive to the achievement of the objects of the Association.

B. MEMBERSHIP: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

         3. There shall be two categories of Members of the Association to be called respectively:

• Ordinary Members and
• Honorary Members

Subject to the Rules following hereafter:

• Ordinary members may vote at all meetings of the Association, and may, subject to election or co-option in accordance with these Rules, become members of the Council of the Association.
• Honorary members may not vote at any meetings of the Association, and may not become members of the Council of the Association.

ORDINARY MEMBERS

 4.

1.  Ordinary Members of the Association shall be such teachers, researchers or scholars of law as shall signify to the Membership Secretary of the Association their wish to become Ordinary Members, shall duly pay their subscriptions, and shall conform to the rules of the Association.
2. Ordinary Membership of the Association shall be open to all persons who are engaged in the teaching of law and/or substantially engaged in legal research or scholarship.
3. The Council may require evidence of qualification for membership, and on any question that may arise as to the interpretation and application of this Rule, the decision of the Council shall, unless and until altered by a general meeting of the Association, be conclusive.

HONORARY MEMBERS

    5.

1. Any person who is or has been engaged in teaching law and/or engaged in legal research or scholarship or who is otherwise making or has made a significant contribution to legal academia or in the field of legal scholarship, or who, in the opinion of the Council, is making or has made a significant contribution to the wellbeing of society may be invited by the Council to become, and shall on giving his or her consent become, an Honorary Member of the Association.
2. No more than two Honorary members shall be elected in any one year.
3. Honorary Members shall not be entitled to vote at any of the meetings of the Association or for the election of its Council and may not become members of the Council of the Association. Honorary Members shall not be called upon to pay subscriptions. In other respects their rights shall be the same as those of Ordinary Members.

MEMBERSHIP REGISTER

6. The Council shall prepare and maintain a Register containing the name, institutional affiliation and other particulars of Ordinary Members of the Association.

EXPULSION

7. 1. Any member of the Association who, in the opinion of the Council, has been guilty of any conduct which renders his or her membership detrimental to the interests of the Association, or which otherwise may bring the Association into disrepute, may be expelled by a resolution of the Council, subject to an opportunity being given to him or her to explain his or her conduct.
   2. Any such resolution shall require a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Council present and voting.
   3. The expelled member may appeal to a general meeting, which will decide his or her appeal by a simple majority of those present and voting.
   4. In making a determination under this Rule, the Council and the Association will have due regard to the value of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and speech and the principle of academic freedom.

C. GOVERNANCE

COUNCIL

8. 1. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Council consisting of a President, a Treasurer, a Membership Secretary, and a Secretary (herein called the Officers of the Association) and Ordinary Members of the Association elected under Rules 11 and 12 (herein called Ordinary Council Members). There shall be a minimum of six Ordinary Council Members.
   2. In accordance with this constitution, the Council may take any action on behalf of the Association which it deems to be conducive to the interests of the Association.
   3. In accordance with this constitution, the Council may adopt policies and guidelines to govern particular aspects of the Association’s activities.
   4. It shall be the duty of the President to present at each Annual General Meeting a report of its proceedings during the previous year.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS

9. 1. Subject to Rule 10 and 12, the Officers of the Association and the other members of the Council shall be elected from among the Ordinary Members of the Association at its Annual General Meeting by the members present thereat.
   2. No Ordinary Member shall (save as hereinafter provided) be eligible, unless his or her name, together with those of his or her proposer and seconder, shall appear as that of a candidate for the office in question or for membership of the Council in the summons convening the meeting, or in some notice sent to each member of the Association at least ten days before the meeting.
   3. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to circulate all nominations in due time for the Annual General Meeting; and, in the event of no nomination for an office having been received before the issue of the summons convening the meeting, it shall be the duty of the retiring Council to present a suitable nomination at the meeting.
   4. Officers shall, in each instance, be elected for one year only, but shall be eligible for re-election. Any casual vacancy occurring among the Officers or the Council may be filled by the Council until the next Annual General Meeting.

PROCEDURE FOR THE ELECTION OF COUNCIL

10.

1. The Council members shall be elected as follows:

(a) The President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Membership Secretary shall first be elected in turn from the ordinary membership;

(b) thereafter Ordinary Members of the Council shall be elected from the ordinary membership. In so far as it is practicable the Council is representative of the institutions and type of institutions in which its members are based

2.  All Ordinary members present at the Annual General Meeting shall be entitled to vote in the election for any position on the Council.

3. Where Council membership is below the minimum membership set out in rule 8(1), the Council shall co-opt, for any period not exceeding one year, Ordinary Members of the Association to serve on the Council.

4. In the event of no nomination for an office having been received before the issue of the summons convening the meeting, it shall be the duty of the retiring Council to present a suitable nomination at the meeting.

5. The Officers and other Council Members elected or co-opted shall continue to discharge their functions under these rules until such time as a new Council has been elected at a General Meeting of the Association.

DELEGATION

11. The Council may delegate such of its powers as it deems necessary to committees of itself or to officers.

SPECIAL COMMITTEES

12. The Association may, at any general meeting, elect such special committees as it may from time to time deem desirable and may prescribe the duties and powers of such committees, including the power to take executive action, provided that no such special committee shall be empowered to undertake any of the functions hereby specifically entrusted to the Council.

 

D. GENERAL MEETINGS

GENERAL MEETINGS

13. 1. The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held in each calendar year on a date to be fixed by the Council.
    2. The President shall have power to summon a special general meeting whenever he or she may deem it advisable to do so; and he or she shall do so on being requested in writing to do so by at least ten Ordinary Members of the Association. At least ten working days’ notice must be given of any such special general meeting unless, in the opinion of the President, circumstances that have arisen justify shorter notice.
    3. At any general meeting, the President, or failing him or her, the Secretary shall take the chair; but in the absence of both of them the meeting shall elect a chairperson.

BUSINESS

14. Notice of all motions, including the names of proposers and seconders and of all papers and discussions proposed shall reach the Secretary at least fourteen days before the date fixed for holding the Annual General Meeting. Notice of all motions, papers and discussions proposed shall reach the Secretary at least five days before the date fixed for holding the Special General Meeting. Exceptionally, motions may be accepted at any General Meeting notwithstanding this Rule. All papers, notices, resolutions and other documents to be considered at any meeting shall normally be circulated by the Secretary to each Member, so as to reach the member not later than five working days before that meeting.
15. All votes, unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, shall be deemed to be passed by a simple majority of members present and voting.

E. FINANCIAL MATTERS

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

16. The expenses of the Association shall be met from the subscriptions of Ordinary Members of the Association and from such funds as the Association may by donation or otherwise acquire. The amount of the annual subscription of each Ordinary Member shall be prescribed from time to time by the Council and shall be payable on 1st October in each year, the first subscription being payable on admission to the Association, to cover the period to 1st October next following. No Ordinary Member shall vote at any meeting or election whilst his or her subscription is in arrears. A delay of two years in payment of any subscription shall, in the absence of a reason satisfactory to the Council, be equivalent to resignation by the Member concerned.

FUNDS

17. 1. All subscriptions and other property received for the purposes of the Association shall be kept by the Treasurer under the supervision of the Council.
    2. The Council shall have the power to direct or approve the expenditure or investment of the funds in such manner as it thinks fit in accordance with these Rules, provided the purpose of such expenditure or investment is consistent with the objects of the Association as set out in Rule 2.
    3. The Council shall bank any of the funds of the Association in the name of the Association and may authorise any officer to draw cheques thereon or otherwise to disburse funds. All officers shall account for any such expenditure to the Council within a reasonable time period
    4. All officers tasked the management of the Association’s financial affairs under these rules shall act in good faith in performance of their duties and responsibly with respect to the Association’s resources.
    5. Guidelines governing the conditions under which funds may be disbursed and accounted shall be adopted and kept under review by the Council under section rule 8(3).
    6. The Treasurer shall present to the Annual General Meeting a Statement of Accounts audited by two Ordinary Members of the Association, approved for this purpose by the Annual General Meeting.

 

F. FINAL MATTERS

NOTICE BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

18. 1. Where in this Constitution, any person is required to give written notice of any matter or event, or otherwise to convey written information to the Membership of the Association, or to any officer or member of the Council, this Rule shall apply.
    2. For the avoidance of any doubt, notice may be given or information conveyed by any officer of the Association (or by any other person duly authorised by the Council) by any one or more of the following means:

(a) by regular post,

(b) by means of a courier,

(c) by means of electronic mail (‘e-mail’), or

(d) by any other means (including electronic means) deemed by the Council to be appropriate for this purpose

               And in all such cases such notice, howsoever conveyed, shall be deemed to be full and adequate notice for the purposes of these Rules.

AMENDMENT

19. Any of these Rules may be rescinded or amended, and a new rule or new rules may be added by a resolution passed at any Annual or Special General Meeting of the Association by a two-thirds majority of the Ordinary Members present and voting, provided that:
    1. such majority shall consist of not less than ten Ordinary Members;
    2. notice of such resolution, stating the nature of the proposed alteration and the name of the proposer and seconder, shall have reached the Secretary at least fifteen working days before the date fixed for the meeting;
    3. such resolution has been approved by Council in advance of the Annual or Special General Meeting.