REGULATIONS FOR GROUPS OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS 1983
Sponsored by
THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Great George Street, Westminster, London SW1P
3AA
THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
1 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London
SW1H 9JJ
THE INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS
Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL
These Regulations Supersede the
REGULATIONS FOR GROUPS OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS 1960
AND REGULATIONS FOR JOINT GROUPS OF THE INSTITUTIONS
OF CIVIL, OF MECHANICAL AND OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 1949
(REVISED 1956 AND 1960)
CONTENTS
1.DEFINITIONS
In these Regulations:
“The Sponsoring Institutions” means The Institution of Civil Engineers, The Institution of Mechanical Engineers and The Institution of Electrical Engineers.
“Councils” means the Councils of the Sponsoring Institution.
“Groups” means a Group of Professional Engineers operating in accordance with these Regulations.
“Committee” means the Committee of the Group.
2. CONSTITUTION
The Group shall be constituted and its affairs shall be carried on in accordance with these Regulations and with any supplementary or modifying Regulations which the Committee and the Councils may jointly agree from time to time.
3. CREATION AND DISSOLUTION
A Group may be established in any area overseas where there is a sufficient number of members of any of the Sponsoring Institutions interested to form a Group, without prejudice to the right of any one Institution to form a separate unit, when the number of its members is held to justify it. The Councils shall, upon receipt of a petition together with supporting information regarding its proposed operation, consider approval of the formation of a Group provided that they are presented with satisfactory evidence that an adequate measure of local support would be forthcoming, together with an indication of the geographical area to be covered by the proposed Group. The Councils shall in consultation with the Committee have power to dissolve such Group at any time if it is considered that there is no longer sufficient local interest to support the Group activity.
4. OBJECTS
The objects for which a Group shall be established shall be:
(a) In the spirit of the Charters of the Sponsoring Institutions, to promote and encourage the acquisition of knowledge relevant to the engineering profession;
(b) To establish friendly exchange between members;
(c) To arrange meetings for the reading and discussion of papers;
(d) To organise visits of engineering interest;
(e) To stimulate among members interest in the work of the Sponsoring Institutions;
(f) To promote the Sponsoring Institutions locally;
(g) To provide a focus for all engineers in the area of the Group in matters pertinent to the Sponsoring Institutions;
(h) To perform where appropriate, similar functions for an other societies who are represented within the Group, in accordance with their regulations and with the Group’s constitution.
5. AREA
The area of the Group shall be that which its Committee and the Councils jointly agree.
6. MEMBERSHIP
(a) Members of all classes of the Sponsoring Institutions, provided that they reside or practice their profession within the area of the Group, shall be eligible for membership of the Group;
(b) Engineers who are not members of the Sponsoring Institutions who are members of such other Institutions as may be approved from time to time or whose professional attainments entitle them, in the opinion of the Committee, to election, may be recommenced by the Committee to the Sponsoring Institutions for admission to membership of the Group.
7. FINANCE
(a) The Councils shall contribute to the expenses of the Group by making an allocation of funds, the amount to be agreed by the Councils. The Committee shall submit a budget for the activities it proposes for the forthcoming year, and at the end of each year shall submit a duly audited statement of accounts, upon which evidence the Councils shall assess the annual allocation of funds.
(b) Each member of the Group who is a member of one of the Sponsoring Institutions may be required, in addition to his annual subscription(s) as a member of one or more of the Sponsoring Institutions, to pay annually to the Group a local subscription of such an amount as may be approved from time to time by the Council(s) of the Sponsoring Institution(s) of which he is a member.
(c) Each member elected under Regulation 6(b) shall pay an annual subscription to be fixed by the Committee, to cover the cost to him of the facilities offered by the Group.
(d) A banking account shall be opened in the name of the Group at such Bank as the Committee may decide, into which account all monies received shall be promptly deposited. Cheques drawn on such account shall be signed by the Honorary Treasurer (if any), or the Honorary Secretary, and one other member of the Committee to be designated by the Committee for the purpose.
8. RESIGNATIONS
Any member wishing to resign from the Group shall give notice of his intention in writing to the Honorary Secretary of the Group before the commencement of the financial year, failing which he shall be liable for the ensuing year’s subscription (if any).
9. MANAGEMENT
The affairs of the Group shall be managed by a Committee all of whom shall be members of the Group. Not less than half of the Committee shall be members of one or more of the Sponsoring Institutions. The composition of the Committee shall reflect the interest of the members of the Group. The Committee shall comprise:
A Chairman
At least one Vice-Chairman (but not more than two)
An Honorary Secretary
An Honorary Treasurer (this office may at the discretion of the Committee be combined with that of Honorary Secretary)
Not less than four or more than twelve Ordinary Members of Committee
The most recent Past Chairman available and willing to serve
The local representative (if any) of each of the Institutions and Societies from which the membership of the Group is made up, provided that such local representatives serving as such on the Committee does not exceed five.
Wherever possible the Chairman shall be a Fellow, but if not, he shall be a Corporate Member of one of the Sponsoring Institutions. In selecting its nominations for the forthcoming year, the Committee shall ensure that the Committee reflects the proportion of members form the Sponsoring Institutions and participating Societies comprising the Group, that the office of Chairman shall be, as far as practicable, rotated accordingly, and that there should be due representation of younger members.
10. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE
The Committee shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the Group, or in such other manner as may be prescribed in the Constitution of the Group, and in accordance with the following requirements:
(a) The Chairman shall not hold office in that capacity for more than two years in succession, and shall not simultaneously hold any other office.
(b) The Vice-Chairman and Ordinary Members of Committee shall not hold office in these respective capacities for more than three years in succession without re-election.
(c) The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall retire annually, but each shall be eligible for immediate re-election. The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be members of one of the Sponsoring Institutions, and shall not normally hold office in that capacity for more than five years in succession, and so far as is practicable they shall be selected in turn from the members respectively of each of the Sponsoring Institutions.
(d) In order to secure a regular succession of vacancies each year among the Ordinary Members of Committee, the Committee in its first year of office shall prepare and put into effect a rota of retirements so that at the end of that year and of the following two years approximately one-third of the Ordinary Members of Committee shall terminate their service in this capacity.
(e) Except in special circumstances to be approved by the Councils, at no time shall the Committee include in its membership in any capacity such a number of the persons employed by or otherwise engaged with any one company, public service undertaking, firm or other organisation, as to constitute a majority of the voting members of the Committee.
(f) The procedure to be followed in the election of Officers and Ordinary Members of Committee shall be defined by the Committee to suit local conditions and shall be subject to confirmation by the Councils. The mode of election shall be such as to enable members of the Group to submit nominations, in addition to those which the Committee may submit, to fill vacancies occurring each year and to record their election votes, either in person at the Annual General Meeting or by means of Ballot Papers to be returned before the day of the meeting.
(g) The Committee shall have power to fill casual vacancies occurring on the Committee by appointing Officers or Ordinary Members of Committee to hold office for the unexpired portion of service of the vacating member. Members do appointed will be eligible for immediate election and any period of such appointed service shall not be taken into account in computing the period of office under the provisions of sub-paragraphs (a) – (c) above.
(h) Each member of the Group shall have a single vote, and, in the event of there being an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
11. HONORARY SECRETARY
The Honorary Secretary appointed under Regulation 10 shall act under the direction of the Committee and shall:
(a) Conduct the correspondence of the Group;
(b) Take Minutes of the proceedings of all meetings thereof;
(c) Keep all records and act as Librarian.
12. HONORARY TREASURER
The Honorary Treasurer appointed under Regulation 10 shall under the direction of the Committee:
(a) Collect all sums due to the Group and pay the same into the Group’s banking account;
(b) Pay all sums due by the Group when authorised so to do by the Committee;
(c) Keep an account of the income and expenditure in books which shall be open for inspection at every Committee Meeting;
(d) Present at the Annual General Meeting of the Group a Balance Sheet and Statement of the Income and Expenditure of the Group; and
(e) Prepare the budget showing the funds required and the objects on which they are intended to be spent, for submission to the Sponsoring Institutions.
13. AUDITORS
Two Auditors for the ensuing year shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting. They shall not be members of the Committee. The Auditors shall audit and sign the Annual Statement prepared and presented by the Honorary Treasurer.
14. INSTITUTION AND SOCIETY MATTERS
The Group shall not carry out any political activity, or express approval or disapproval of any law of any country or become involved in any matter affecting the management or administration of any or all of the Sponsoring Institutions, or of Societies, whose members are members of the Group, but shall abide by the Objects as specified in these Regulations, unless sanctioned otherwise by the Councils.
15. MEETINGS
(a) Each Session of the Group shall last for a period of one year.
(b) Ordinary Meetings of the Group shall be held at such times and intervals as the affairs of the Group require, but the interval between meetings shall in no case exceed six months.
(c) The Annual General Meeting of the Group, shall be held towards the end of each Session, when the Committee shall present their Report upon the work of the Session, and the Committee for the ensuing Session shall be elected.
(d) The quorum for the Annual General Meeting of the Group shall be ten members of the Group.
16. PAPERS AND COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee shall have authority for the acceptance or rejection of papers or communications to be read at the meetings arranged by the Group.
17. RECORDS
Copies of the Annul Report and of papers published by the Committee and also the Minutes of the Committee shall be forwarded to the Secretaries of the Sponsoring Institutions, for the information as necessary of their Councils.
18. CORRESPONDING INSTITUTION
Each Group shall normally correspond solely with one of the Sponsoring Institutions, which will usually be the one to which the largest number of members of the Group belong. The Institution shall be agreed by the Councils with the advice of the Committee.
19. PRIZES, PREMIUMS
The Committee shall make known to all members of the Group the prizes, premiums etc of each of the Sponsoring Institutions for which they may be eligible, and shall abide by the rules for the awards for the time being in force.
With the approval of the Sponsoring Institution the Committee may also establish local prizes, particularly to encourage younger members to present papers.
Channel Island Group of Professional Engineers 