Membership
Membership
5 MEMBERS
5.1 The area in which the Constituent Body shall operate shall be the Counties or other areas allocated from time to time to the Constituent Body by the Union and each of the Counties and other areas (as decided from time to time by the Committee of the Constituent Body) is hereafter referred to as a Domestic Union.
5.2 Each Domestic Union shall be eligible for membership. In addition any Rugby Union Football Club within the Constituent Body area willing to conform to the Rules of the Constituent Body and to the Rules of the Union shall be eligible for membership, provided that before admission such Club must be a member of the Domestic Union in which it is situated and must be duly proposed and seconded by Two Clubs in membership of the Domestic Union and be elected to membership by the Committee of the Constituent Body.
5.3 The Members of the Constituent Body shall be the corporate bodies and individual persons whose names are for the time being entered in the Register of Members and in the case of individual persons who are nominees of unincorporated bodies the name of the unincorporated body whose nominee the Member is shall be entered against the name of the Member concerned.
5.4 All Members of the Committee excluding those members co-opted under Rule 11.2 shall be Members for such period as they are Committee Members.
5.5 Subject to Rules 5.2 and 5.4 the admission of Members shall be under the control of the Committee which shall from time to time determine the criteria and conditions applicable for the approval of membership.
5.6 The Committee shall have power to admit to membership of the Constituent Body:-
5.6.1 A Club which is incorporated.
5.6.2 The secretary (or subject to the approval of the Committee any other officer or official) as its nominee of a Club which is incorporated.
5.7 Any association of persons of which the principal object is the playing of the Game and which desires to apply to be a Member or if unincorporated nominate a person to be a Member shall be proposed and seconded by two Clubs. Application for membership may be submitted at any time.
5.8 Each Club which is in membership with the Constituent Body at the date these Rules take effect pursuant to Rule 26 shall be admitted to membership in accordance with Rule 5.6 and must immediately send a copy of its rules and if unincorporated confirm the name and address of its Secretary for entry in the Register of Members as its nominee and thereafter every Club the secretary of which is a Member as its nominee must immediately following a change of its secretary notify the Honorary Secretary of the name and address of its new secretary or other nominated officer or official for the Register of Member to be amended accordingly.
5.9 A Member may withdraw from the Constituent Body at any time by giving to the Honorary Secretary written notice of the intention so to do provided that the Member shall remain liable for all monies then due and owing to the Constituent Body.
5.10 A Club shall be liable to suspension or termination of its membership or privileges as the Committee may determine if:-
5.10.1 It shall not have paid its annual subscription by 1st December each year.
5.10.2 It shall cease to satisfy the criteria and conditions for membership as determined by the Committee under rule 5.
5.10.3 It does not conform to any reasonable directive by the Committee as to its standards of play, administration or general behaviour.
5.11 A Member shall be liable to termination or suspension of membership or to other appropriate punishment by the Constituent Body for any infringement of these Rules, any Regulation or any Rules or Regulations of the Union, the Laws of the Game or the World Rugby Regulations or any conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Constituent Body or the Game, and the Constituent Body shall have power to discipline any Club whose nominee is a Member or any player, official, member or employees of a Club for any offence. The procedure for the exercise of this power shall be prescribed by the Committee and details thereof shall be kept by the Honorary Secretary and be available for inspection by the Members at all reasonable times.
5.12 A Member shall cease to be a Member:-
5.12.1 On resignation
5.12.2 In the case of a corporate Member on ceasing to be
5.12.3 On termination of membership by the Committee
5.12.4 On replacement as the nominee of an unincorporated Club.
5.13 Any Club, shall also be subject to the Rules and Byelaws of the Domestic Union and the Union.
6 Share Capital
6.1 The capital of the Constituent Body shall consist of shares of the value of £1
6.2 Every Member shall hold one share and no more in the capital of the Constituent Body. No person who is not a Member shall be issued with a share.
6.3 Each Member of the Constituent Body at the date these Rules take effect pursuant to Rule 26 or which is eligible to be a Member or to appoint its secretary as its nominee under Rule 5.8 shall be allotted one share in the name of the Member or the name of the Nominee as the case may be.
6.4 Any Member or nominee of a Club admitted to membership after the date on which these Rules take effect pursuant to Rule 26 shall be allotted one share on admission.
6.5 In the case of every Club the share allotted to it or its nominee shall be paid up in full by applying one pound of the subscription next received from it after the date of admission to membership.
6.6 No share shall be held jointly, be withdrawable or subject to Rule 6.7 be transferable by any Member and no interest, dividend or bonus shall be payable on any share. Any Member transferring or attempting to transfer a share other than under the provisions of Rule 6.7 shall if the Committee so decides be deemed to have withdrawn from the Constituent Body as from the date of such transfer or attempted transfer.
6.7 Shares held by nominees of Clubs shall be transferable to succeeding nominees in such manner as the Committee may from time to time determine.
6.8 The share of a Member shall be forfeited to the Constituent Body when that Member for whatever reason ceases to be a Member and any amount then due to the Member in respect of such share shall thereupon become the property of the Constituent Body.
6.9 The Constituent Body shall not be required to issue a certificate to any Member in respect of the share allotted to that Member