Amended to incorporate amendments and bye laws up to 2002

OBJECTS AND RULES

OBJECTS

1. The name of the society shall be Dawoodi Bohra Welfare Society in Great Britain (hereinafter called the Society

2. The principle office of the Society shall be situated in United Kingdom

3. The objects of the Society shall be:-

i. The promotion and maintenance of the doctrines of the Dawoodi Bohra faith in the region of Islam.

ii. The relief of the poor or sick Muslims and in particular, members of the Dawoodi Bohra community.

iii. The advancement of the education of Muslim children in accordance with the tenets and doctrines of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (S.A.).

In furtherance of the above objects but not otherwise the Society shall:

a. Arrange religious functions and ceremonies according to the Dawoodi Bohra faith.

b. Promote, associate or co-operate with any charitable institution or body whose aims are similar to those of the Society.

c. Acquire for the use and benefit of the Society any monies, movable or immovable properties by sway of gift, grant, donation or subscription, purchase or bequest or in any other lawful way which may be thought necessary for the purposes of the Society, and, do all such things that will further said objects or any of them.

RULES

Words - Words importing the masculine gender only shall also include the feminine gender

1. The first members of the Society shall be the persons signing these rules

2. Any person over the age of twelve years wishing to join the Society shall submit to the Society an application for membership in the form approved by the Managing Committee and shall be proposed and seconded by no less than two members of the Society. An admission fee of £2 or such sums shall accompany every application as the Managing Committee may from time to time determine.

3. A candidate for admission as a member shall become a member upon the Managing Committee accepting his application and not before.

4. The membership of the Society will consist of: -

a. Patron - Shall be by invitation of the Managing Committee only.

b. Life member - Shall have been an ordinary member of the Society for ten consecutive years. The fee for life membership shall be £250 or such sums as the Managing Committee may from time to time determine.

c. Ordinary members - Shall be over the age of 18 years or over and shall pay an annual subscription of £5 or such sums as the Managing Committee from time to time determine.

 d. Youth member - Shall be between the ages of 12 and 17 years and shall pay an annual subscription of £3 or such sums as the Managing Committee from time to time determine. The youth member shall not have a vote.

Bye Law

The membership of the Society will consist of:-

a. Patron - Shall be by invitation of the Managing Committee only.

b. Life member - Shall be over 45 years of age and would have been an ordinary member of the Society for at least ten consecutive years. The fee for life membership shall be £500.00 or such sums as the Managing Committee may from time to time determine.

c. Ordinary member - Shall be over the age of 18 years or over and shall pay annual subscription of £5 or such sums as the Managing Committee from time to time determine

d. Youth member - Shall be between the ages of 12 and 17 years and shall pay an annual subscription of £3 or such sums as the Managing Committee from time to time determine. The youth member shall not have a vote.

5. If any Ordinary or Youth member shall fail to pay his annual subscription within three months of being called upon to do so he ceases to be a member. However, his membership may be restored without asking for a fresh application provided all arrears and dues payable to the Society are received.

If a member offends against any of the rules of the Society or whose conduct in the opinion of the Managing Committee renders him unfit for membership, the Managing Committee shall have the right to expel him from membership of the Society and the Managing Committee shall notify the member accordingly within fourteen days of the expulsion from the Society. Such member shall however have the right within thirty days of being notified to appeal against his expulsion from the Society. The Managing Committee shall bring up such appeal on the Agenda of the next General Meeting of the Society. The General Meeting by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of the Society present at the meeting shall have the right to re-instate such appellant as a member of the Society.

Bye law

The present two-tier system of branch contributors and society members will be abolished. Those who contribute to branches will now be eligible to become society members and will therefore have voting rights within the branches as well as the main society.

The branch committee will have the right of refusal for an application to become a member of the branch and the main society. The management committee will ratify all admissions to the main society.

Expelled members or individuals who have been refused membership have a right of appeal at the Annual General Meeting and to the Management Committee of the Main Society.

Membership fees to the main society will be taken out from branch contributions. The Management Committee of the Main Society will determine the sum.

Any individual who does not want to contribute or partake in the activities of the Society’s branches can be a member of the Main Society by applying directly to the Main Society’s Management Committee.

Managing Committee

6. The Managing Committee shall consist of The President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and not less than two and not more than five other persons all of whom must be members of the Society. The first members of the Managing Committee shall be elected by those persons signing these rules.

7. The Managing Committee shall be empowered to co-opt one or more persons to be members of the Managing Committee and to appoint sub-Committees for specific purposes. 

8. The Managing Committee shall have power to fill up casual vacancy or vacancies of the members of the Managing Committee arising out of the death, resignation or any other  cause except that of the President. In the event of the President ceasing to be President for reason of death, resignation or otherwise, the members of the General Meeting shall elect a President.

Bye Law

Two members from each Branch Committee will be nominated on the Management Committee of the Main Society. The Annual General Meeting will elect office bearers and committee members to the Management Committee of the Main Society from these nominees. The Branch AGM’s, having elected the Branch Committee, will then elect two representatives from that committee to serve on the Management Committee.

A member who is not a financial contributor of a branch and is therefore not affiliated to any branch may also stand for election to the Managing Committee of the Main Society.

Powers of the Managing Committee 

9. The Managing Committee shall conduct the business of the Society and shall exercise such powers and do all such acts and things as may be required for the purposes of the Society.

10. The Managing Committee shall have the power to make, amend and repeal by-laws not inconsistent with the rules of the Society.

Proceedings of the Managing Committee

11. The Managing Committee shall meet as often as necessary. At least fourteen days notice of a meeting of the Managing Committee shall be given to every member of the Managing Committee. A meeting of the Managing Committee may be called at shorter notice where the business of the Society in the opinion of the President, or in his absence the Vice President, requires the urgent meeting of the Managing Committee to consider such business. The quorum for all meetings of the Managing Committee or sub-Committees shall be two thirds of the Managing Committee or sub-Committee as the case may be.

In the case of lack of quorum the meeting of the Committee shall be adjourned till such period of time as may be agreed upon by the members attending. No quorum shall be necessary at an adjourned meeting.

A simple majority shall pass all ordinary resolutions at a Committee meeting.

In case of urgency, however, a resolution may be circulated to members of the Managing Committee by post or otherwise and such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed by the Managing Committee. Such resolution shall be recorded in the minutes at the next meeting of the Managing Committee.

Retirement

12.

a. The Managing Committee shall hold office for two years when they shall retire but shall be eligible for re-election.

b. No member shall hold the same office on the Managing Committee for more than four consecutive years. However a member may be re-elected to the same office after a lapse of two years.

Assets of The Society

13.  No part of the income and property of the Society shall be applied otherwise than for the objects of the Society. 

Financial Year

14. The Financial year of the Society shall be the year ended 31st March.

Accounts

15. The accounts of the financial affairs of the Society shall be audited by the Auditors to be appointed at the Annual General Meeting for the election of office bearers of the Society. Such audited accounts shall be made available at the Annual General Meeting.

Bye Law June 1995

Each branch to have their own accounts read, discussed, audited and approved at the Branch AGM, prior to the Main Society AGM.

All Branch accounts to be read and discussed at the Main Society AGM.

General Meetings 

16.  A general meeting of the members of the Society called the ‘Annual General Meeting’ shall be held every year upon a date and at a time to be fixed by the Managing Committee for receiving from the Managing Committee its report and its statement of accounts for the preceding year and for such other business as the Managing Committee may determine.

The Annual General Meeting held every second year will also elect members of the Managing Committee in place of those retiring under Rule 13.

17.  An extraordinary General meeting shall be convened within twenty one days on receipt of a requisition of one fourth of the members of the Society for the time being. The requisition must state the purpose for which the meeting is required.

18.  The Managing Committee shall have the power to call a General Meeting of the Society at any time not withstanding that less than twenty-one days notice required by Rule 20 may be given, for the consideration of such matters which in the opinion of the Managing Committee require the consideration of the determination by the members of the Society. 

19.  The Secretary shall, at least twenty-one days before any General Meeting, send to every member the date, time and place where it will be held and the business to be conducted. Accidental omission to send a notice shall not invalidate the proceedings of the meeting.

20.  In case of lack of quorum a General Meeting shall be adjourned and the adjourned meeting shall be held not before seven days. No Quorum shall be necessary at an adjourned meeting. 

21.  The business of a General Meeting shall be limited to that provided by these rules and those further matters set out in the notice convening the meeting. A quorum at any General Meeting shall be one third of the members or thirty members whichever is less.

22.  At all meetings of the Society every member present at the meeting shall have one vote. In the event of an equality of votes the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote. 

23.  The President or in his absence the Vice President of the Society shall preside at all meetings of the Society, but if both shall not be present within thirty minutes after the time appointed for the meeting or have signified their inability to be present at the meeting, the members present and entitled to vote shall choose one of their number to be Chairman of the meeting.

Branches

24.

a. The Society shall establish branches at Birmingham and Leicester and at any other town in the United Kingdom as may be necessary.

b. Each branch shall have a working committee consisting of a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and four other members to be elected every two years by the local members of the branch at a General Meeting of the Branch. Provided that for liaison purposes at least one of the members of the Managing Committee of the Society representing the branch shall also be a member of the Working Committee of the branch. The names of the members of the Working Committee shall be submitted to the secretary of the Society as soon as the Committee has been elected. The first members of the branch Working Committee shall be appointed by the Managing Committee of the Society.

c. The Working committee shall conduct the business of the branch in accordance with the Objects and Rules of the Society herein-before mentioned and shall keep proper minutes of all Committee and General Meetings of the branch.

d. The quorum at the General Meeting of the branch shall be one third of the members appearing on the Society’s Register of Members appertaining to the Branch.

e. The Working Committee shall be empowered to raise funds and hold the same for disposal at its discretion. Also, the Working Committee shall be empowered to open local bank accounts in the name of the Society to be operated under the joint signatures of two of its members.

f. The Working Committee shall prepare annually a report of the branch activities and an account of its Income and Expenditure for the year ended 31st March and a statement of its Assets and Liabilities at that date for incorporation into the annual accounts respectively of the Society.

Amendment of Rules

25.  These rules may be added to, deleted or amended by resolution at a General Meeting provided no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless it be approved by a majority of at least two thirds of the members voting therein and no alteration shall be made which would have the effect of causing the Society to cease to be a Charity at law.

Winding Up

26.  If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Society there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any monies or property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the Members of the Society, but shall be given or transferred to some Charitable society or societies having objects similar to the objects of the Society and which shall prohibit the distribution of its or their income and property among its or their members, such society or societies to be determined by the members of the Society at or before the time of dissolution, and if and so far as effect cannot be given to such provisions then to some charitable society or institution which is registered with the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales.

Register

27.  The Society shall maintain a register of its members.