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 and legal research and of the work and the interests of law teachers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

MEMBERSHIP

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

(1) Ordinary Members,

(2) Honorary Members,

(3) Emeritus Members,

(4) Associate Members.

ORDINARY MEMBERS

4. Ordinary Members of the Association shall be such teachers of law in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland 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. Provided that no one shall become an Ordinary Member until his acceptance as such as been formally notified to him by the Membership Secretary of the Association and that, before such notification, the Council may, if it thinks fit, after giving the candidate an opportunity of explanation, refer the question of the acceptance of any Ordinary Member to the next or any general meeting of the Association, whose decision shall be final.

DEFINITION OF TEACHERS OF LAW

5. (1) Ordinary Membership of the Association shall be open to all persons resident for the time being in the Republic of Ireland or in Northern Ireland who are regularly and substantially engaged in the teaching of law, and/or, regularly and substantially engaged in legal scholarship, whether full-time or part-time in

(a) any university or constituent part thereof, institute of technology, or other third level institution; or

(b) the Law Society of Ireland, the Incorporated Law Society of Northern Ireland, the Honourable Society of King’s Inns and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Belfast.

(c) any other place, subject to approval by the Council.

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.

(2) In this Rule:

“regularly and substantially engaged in teaching law” shall mean likely to be teaching not less than two hours of law in any one week over a cumulative period of not less than 20 weeks in the year in which the application for membership is made. Included in this definition are persons who, but for a sabbatical period (whether paid or unpaid) not lasting longer than two years, would ordinarily be regularly and substantially engaged in the teaching of law.

“the teaching of law” shall mean the giving of instruction in, or the preparation and/or delivery and/or supervision of classes, lectures, tutorials or other similar learning exercises, or the administrative supervision of such instruction, preparation or delivery on the part of a person who would otherwise be qualified to engage in such teaching.

“third-level institution” means an educational establishment (whether publicly or privately funded, or both) engaged in the teaching of persons ordinarily aged 18 years or over. For the avoidance of doubt, the above-mentioned phrase includes institutions regardless of the provision of public funding to that institution.

(3) For the purposes of this rule, a person shall be engaged in legal scholarship where that person is conducting active research in the field of law.

In this Rule,

“active research” includes (but is not confined to)

(a) research conducted in an organised fashion, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, with a view to obtaining an educational qualification;

(b) research conducted with a view to publication or dissemination;

Provided that in all cases such research occupies the person conducting the research for a period lasting more than six hours in any one week over a cumulative period of not less than 20 weeks in any one year.

“the field of law” includes any research endeavour that involves, as a major and substantive (and not merely incidental) portion of such research, the study, analysis or other academic assessment of law, legal processes, legal materials, legal texts or other legal matters.

HONORARY MEMBERS

6. Any person who has been engaged in teaching law in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland under the conditions described in Rule 5, any person who is or has been so engaged in other countries, and any person interested in legal education who shall have conferred important benefits on the Association or on legal education, by pecuniary gifts or otherwise, may be invited by the Council to become, and shall on giving his consent become, an Honorary Member of the Association. Honorary Members shall not be entitled to vote at any of the meetings of the Association or for the election of its committees of officers. In other respects their rights shall be the same as those of Ordinary Members.

The number of such Honorary Members shall not at any time exceed twelve and, after the year 1980, not more than two such members shall be elected in any one year.

EMERITUS MEMBERSAND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

7(i) The Council may elect to be an Emeritus Member of the Association in recognition of services rendered to legal education any person who has been a member of the Association and who has ceased to be engaged in the teaching of law. Emeritus Members shall not be called upon to pay subscriptions.

(ii) The Council may elect to be Associate Members:

(a) Ordinary Members who have ceased to be engaged in the teaching of law in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland and who have expressed their desire to become Associate Members. Provided that such persons shall, on becoming again engaged in such teaching, cease to be Associate Members, but shall be entitled to resume their positions as Ordinary Members under Rule 4.

(b) Teachers of law in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland who do not qualify for Ordinary Membership under Rule 5.

(c) Teachers of law who hold or have held appointments outside the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland in such institutions or bodies or their equivalents as specified in Rule 5.

Emeritus Members and Associate Members shall not be eligible for election as officers.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

8. The expenses of the Association shall be met from the subscriptions of Ordinary and Associate 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 and Associate 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. Associate Members elected under Rule 7(ii)(b) shall have an option at the time of their election of paying a life subscription of an amount to be prescribed from time to time by the Council. No Ordinary Member shall vote at any meeting or election whilst his subscription is in arrears; and a delay of two years in payment of any subscription shall ipso facto in the absence of an excuse satisfactory to the Council be equivalent to resignation by the Member concerned.

For the time being the Council has prescribed the following rate of subscription:

For Ordinary Members: £15 per annum

For Associate Members: £10 per annum

Life subscription for Associate Members elected under Rule 7(ii)(b): £60.

FUNDS

9. (a) All subscriptions and other property received for the purposes of the Association shall be kept by the Treasurer under the supervision of the Council. The Council shall have the power to direct or approve the expenditure or investment of the funds in such manner as they think fit in accordance with these Rules.

(b) 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.

(c) 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.

COUNCIL AND OFFICERS

10. 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 up to six Ordinary Members of the Association elected under Rules 11 and 13. Subject to the control of any general meeting the Council shall be entitled to take any action on behalf of the Association which it shall deem to be conducive to the interests of the Association. It shall be the duty of the Council to present at each Annual General Meeting a report of its proceedings during the previous year.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS

11. Subject to Rule 13, 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. No Ordinary Member shall (save as hereinafter provided) be eligible, unless his name, together with those of his 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. 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. 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.

NOTICE BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

11A.

(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, 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 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 this Constitution.

CO-OPTED MEMBERS OF COUNCIL

12. The Council may from time to time co-opt, for any period not exceeding one year, not more than four Ordinary Members of the Association to serve on the Council, and may renew such appointments from time to time.

ELECTION OF COUNCIL PROCEDURE

13. The Council members shall be elected as follows:

(i) The President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Membership Secretary shall first be elected in turn;

(ii) thereafter the remaining six members of the Council shall be elected so that the Council shall be composed as nearly as possible of the following representatives:

Universities and University Colleges:

8 members of Council;

Other Third Level Institutions:

1 member of Council;

Professional Bodies:

1 member of Council.

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

DELEGATION

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

SPECIAL COMMITTEES

15. 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.

GENERAL MEETINGS

16. The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held in each calendar year on a date to be fixed by the Council. The President shall have power to summon a special general meeting whenever he may deem it advisable to do so; and he shall do so on being thereto requested in writing by ten Ordinary Members of the Association. At least ten 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. At any general meeting, the President, or failing him, the Secretary shall take the chair; but in the absence of both of them the meeting shall elect a chairman.

BUSINESS

17. 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. Exceptionally, motions may be accepted at the Annual 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 one week before that meeting.

MEMBERSHIP REGISTER

18. The Council shall prepare and maintain a Register containing the name, qualifications, experience, and other particulars supplied by Ordinary Members of the Association and by Associate Members.

EXPULSION

19. Any member of the Association who, in the opinion of the Council, has been guilty of any conduct which renders his membership detrimental to the interests of the Association, may be expelled by a resolution of the Council, subject to an opportunity being given to him to explain his conduct. Any such resolution shall require a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Council present and voting. The expelled member may appeal to a general meeting, which will decide his appeal by a simple majority of those present and voting.

ALTERATION

20. Subject to sub-paragraph (iii) any of these Rules may be rescinded or amended 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

(i) such majority shall consist of not less than ten Ordinary Members;

(ii) 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 fourteen days before the date fixed for the meeting;

(iii) in the event of a resolution being passed to rescind or amend any part of Rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or this Rule, such resolution shall not be effective until confirmed by a simple majority vote of Ordinary Members voting in a postal ballot to be conducted within two months after the date of the meeting at which it was passed.