Constitution

Definitions

For the purposes of this constitution:

'The executive chairperson' refers to the elected head of the committee, as set-out in Section-7.,

'committee member' refers to any individual appointed to the consultative committee, in accordance with Section-4 and Section-5.,

‘officer’ refers to any person appointed to perform a role on behalf of the committee, as set-out in Section-9.,

'guarantor' refers to a committee member responsible for financial guarantees as described in Clause-2.2..

1)    Name

1.1)         The organization shall be known as: The Croydon Convention Consultative Committee Ltd. The organization can also be referred to as: The C-C-C-C '.

2)    Legal Structure

2.1)         The organization shall be set-up as a company limited by guarantee. The organization shall be a social advocacy group. Its purpose is to promote enhanced communication through formal printed presentations in The English Language.. The organization shall be governed by a committee, which shall hereinafter be referred to as: ‘the committee’ or ‘the consultative committee’.

2.2)         Every person who is a member of the consultative committee shall, upon discontinuance of The Croydon Convention Consultative Committee Ltd, be required to pay to The Croydon Convention Consultative Committee Ltd, the amount that they have guaranteed to pay, under the provisions of Section-12 (below), subject to a limit of £1.00 per committee member.

3)    Objects

  3.1)       The organization shall exist for the following purposes:

                  i)       To promote communication through the medium of formal printed texts in a manner that is logical and easy to understand for writers, beholders, teachers, and students.

                ii)       To publish an authoritative and constantly-updated statement of the current opinions of the committee regarding the presentation of English in formal printed texts.

               iii)       To discuss issues related to linguistic rules when the medium of communication is formal English presented in printed format.

  3.2)       The authoritative statement setting-out the current opinions of the committee with regards to the presentation of English in formal printed texts shall be known as: ‘The Croydon Convention™’.

  3.3)       The latest version of The Croydon Convention™ can be published on-line so that the document can be kept up-to-date whenever The Croydon Convention Consultative Committee decides to make further updates to the rules.

3.4)       The committee may publish such other documents on behalf of The Croydon Convention Consultative Committee Ltd, as may be considered appropriate, using whatever medium is considered to be appropriate. Such publications shall be governed by the provisions of Section-10 (below).

4)    Governance

4.1)       A committee shall be appointed of persons who are deemed to be suitable people to express opinions upon the manner of achieving the objectives of the organization.

  4.2)       The membership of the committee shall be determined in the manner as set-out in Section-5 (below).

  4.3)       The conduct of committee meetings shall be as set-out in Section-8 (below).

5)    Committee Membership

5.1)       The makeup of a suitable committee should ideally consist of a wide range of people who can all contribute ideas. The suggested makeup might be:

  • A person with no specialist linguistic qualifications, who can approach the issue from the point of view of an intelligent layperson.,

  • An academic with the ability to speak with authority about linguistic matters.,

  • Representatives of user-groups such as publishers, and proofreaders.,

  • People who can provide input from countries where English is widely spoken, but where british traditions for formal writing are not always followed.,

  • A representative from the technology sector,,

  • A representative of the relevant government authority..

5.2) Until such time as a suitable committee can be formed, Marcus Hilton will be the sole arbiter of what would be appropriate for The C-C-C-C to publish. 

  5.3)       The committee shall, so far as is reasonably practical, endeavor to meet the criteria set-out in Clause-3.1 (above).

6)    Changes in Committee Membership

     6.1)       Subject to the overriding provisions of clause-6.2 (below), existing members of the consultative committee may co-opt other persons to be consultative committee members, should it be considered by the existing consultative committee to be appropriate to do so.

    6.2)       The number of consultative committee members shall not exceed ten persons, nor should the number be permitted to fall below one person.

     6.3)       Every person who is appointed to be a member of the committee shall act as a guarantor as set-out in Clause-2.2 (above), for as long as that person should remain a member of the committee.

     6.4)       A committee member may resign by giving one-week's notice to the executive chairperson, unless otherwise specified in Clauses-6.2 (above), -6.6 (below), or -6.8 (below).

    6.5)       A person who has been duly appointed to be a member of the consultative committee, may be removed from the consultative committee under the provisions of Clause-6.6 (below).

     6.6)       Subject to the requirements of Clause-6.7 (below), a member of the consultative committee may be removed by a vote to that effect supported by 67% of those present at a duly convened and quorate committee meeting. Any person so removed from the committee will immediately cease to be a member of the consultative committee. Accordingly, that person must leave the committee meeting immediately. The provisions of Clause-6.4 (above) shall be deemed to have been overridden by this clause.

     6.7)       Before any attempt is made to remove a person from membership of the consultative committee, the individual concerned, must be granted, (should they so wish), the right to both speak about and vote upon the resolution to remove them from the committee. The individual concerned shall remain a member of the committee (with full voting rights), unless and until a resolution submitted in accordance with Clause-6.6 (above) becomes approved.

     6.8)       In the event of the death or incapacity of a committee member, that person shall cease to be a member of the consultative committee from the point of such death or incapacity.

7)    Executive Chairperson

     7.1)       The committee shall appoint an elected chairperson to preside at meetings. The chair so-chosen must have been duly appointed to be a member of the committee.

     7.2)       In the event that the elected chair is unable to attend a committee meeting, the committee may appoint an acting chair for the duration necessary.

     7.3)       The chair shall be permitted to speak on an issue, however that person may not vote for or against any decision to be taken.

     7.4)       In the event that the chair wishes to vote, and/or the chair considers themselves unable to maintain neutrality within the discussion a temporary chairperson may be appointed until such time as the elected chairperson is able to resume their normal duties.

     7.5)       During the course of committee meetings, the chair may express any opinion considered to be appropriate. However, at the point where a decision has to be taken, the chair shall demonstrate neutrality on all issues discussed by the committee. In the event of a tied decision amongst other committee members, the chair shall declare that the motion has not been passed.

     7.6)       In the event that the executive chairperson should wish to resign as a committee member, they must first comply with the requirements of Clause-7.7 (below).

     7.7)       In the event that the executive chairperson should wish to resign from serving as the executive chairperson, then the chairperson shall take all reasonable steps to inform all the other committee members of that decision. After completing the process of taking all such reasonable steps, the executive chairperson must continue to serve in that capacity for a reasonable period of time, which shall not be less than one week, unless a simple majority of other committee members shall agree to waive that minimum notice period. The provisions of Clause-7.7 shall be subject to the overriding requirements of Clause-7.9 (below), and Clause-6.8 (above).

     7.8)       If the executive chairperson should vacate their role in accordance with Clause-7.7 (above), then that former executive chairperson shall continue to be a committee member unless or until the provisions of Clause-7.9 (below) have been invoked.

     7.9)       The executive chairperson may be removed from that role by a decision supported by 67%, of the committee members present at a duly convened and quorate meeting of the committee. If the executive chairperson is removed from office in accordance with this clause, then the person so voted-out of office shall vacate the chair immediately. The provisions of Clause-7.2 (above) and also the provisions of Clause-6.5 (above) shall apply in such circumstances. 

8)    Conduct of Committee Meetings

     8.1)       The consultative committee shall meet as and when it is deemed appropriate to do so. Meetings may be conducted online or by physical presence at the same location, or as a hybrid mix of the other options.

     8.2)       Meetings of the consultative committee may only make binding decisions on behalf of The C-C-C-C if such meetings have been conducted in accordance with the provisions of Clause-8.3 through to -8.7 (below).

     8.3)       All reasonable efforts shall be made to enable members of the committee to attend and contribute to meetings. Accordingly, the provisions of Clause-8.4 (below) shall be paramount when considering the authenticity of committee decisions.

     8.4)       A minimum of 24-hours’ notice shall be required before the start of an online meeting. A minimum of one-week's notice before the start of a physical meeting.

     8.5)       Subject to the overriding requirements of Clauses-6.6 (above), -7.9 (above) and -11.3 (below), the committee shall be deemed to have taken a decision if a simple majority of those in attendance shall vote in favor of that decision. A tied vote shall be deemed to be a decision to continue with the status quo.

     8.6)       The quorum for any committee meeting shall be 51% (fifty-one percent) of the entire committee membership.

     8.7)       If a quorum is not achieved within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time, the meeting shall be adjourned and rescheduled within two weeks.

     8.8)       Committee members present at the start of a meeting shall be deemed to be presented for the entirety of that meeting.

     8.9)       When calculating voting percentages, abstentions shall be omitted from the calculation.

9)    Appointment of Officers to Serve the Committee

   9.1)         The committee may appoint such persons as may be deemed suitable to serve as officers of the committee, in order to perform functions on behalf of the committee. One of the officers so appointed shall be the executive chairperson. The provisions relating to the executive chairperson shall be as set-out in Section-7 (above).

   9.2)         The committee may also appoint other officers to serve the committee. Such other officers might or might not be members of the committee.

   9.3)         Subject to the overriding provisions of Clause-9.4 (below), no member of the committee shall be remunerated for the work they do when contributing opinions as part of the discussion function of the duly appointed committee.

   9.4)         The committee may, (should they so choose), pay remuneration from the funds of the organization to people who serve as employees of The C-C-C-C. The rate of renumeration shall be determined by market forces negotiated at arms-length. Nothing within this clause shall require nor prevent a member of the committee (to be)/ (from being) an employee of The C-C-C-C in a capacity other than as a member of the committee.

10) Publications

10.1)           The C-C-C-C may advance the objects of the organization by publishing information, both online and in conventional printed format.

10.2) Copyright to any such publications must be claimed by The C-C-C-C on behalf of the organization.

10.3) No person associated with The C-C-C-C including, (but not limited to), committee members, officers, and employees, may use the platforms adopted by The C-C-C-C, for their own personal promotion or financial advantage.

11) Amendments to the Constitution

11.1)           Subject to the overriding provisions of Clause-11.2 and -11.3 (below) the consultative committee may, (if they so choose), make amendments to the constitution of The Croydon Convention Consultative Committee Ltd.

11.2)           Proposed amendments must be discussed at quorate and duly convened meetings conducted in accordance with Section-8 (above).

11.3)           Any amendment to the constitution shall require a 67% (sixty-seven percent) majority of those in attendance at a quorate and duly arranged meeting of the committee.

12) Discontinuance

12.1)           In the event that the organization shall become unsustainable for whatever reason the arrangements shall be as set-out in Clauses-12.2 through to -12.5 (below).

12.2)           The assets of the company shall be liquidated in the manner required by Law. The liabilities of the company shall, (so far as is possible), be discharged from the funds generated from the liquidation of assets. In the event that there is a shortfall between the liabilities and the liquidated assets, then each committee member shall be required to fulfil the guarantee that they are obliged to meet under the provisions of Clause-2.2 (above). If the funds so generated are insufficient to adequately discharge the liabilities, then the provisions of The Law with respect to insolvent organizations shall apply.

12.3)           In the event that the liquidation of assets should be more than sufficient to discharge liabilities in full, then there shall be no requirement placed upon the guarantors to contribute additional funds. The surplus remaining after all liabilities have been discharged in full shall be distributed as set-out in Clauses-12.4 and -12.5 (below).

12.4)           No member of the committee nor any beneficiaries of committee members shall be entitled to receive any proportion of the funds so generated, under Clause-12.3 (above).

12.5)           Subject to the overriding provisions of Clause-12.4 (above), the surplus funds shall be distributed as directed by The Charity Commissioners. Where possible the funds should be allocated to such other not-for-profit organizations as may exist to promote similar aims to the aims of The C-C-C-C.

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