Laws of the Edinburgh Geological Society
(instituted by 1834)

Revised to March 2007

Law 1 Name

The Society shall be called ‘THE EDINBURGH GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY’.

This name is registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator as Scottish Charity number SC 008011

Law 2 Object

The objectives of the Society shall be the stimulation and encouragement of public interest in geology and the advancement of geological knowledge by such means as public lectures, symposia, conferences, the reading and discussion of original papers, excursions, exhibitions, the maintenance of a geological library, the publication of the Scottish Journal of Geology jointly with the Geological Society of Glasgow, and the production of any other geological publications which may be considered desirable.

Law 3 Membership

3.1 The Society shall consist of members in the following categories: Honorary Fellow, Corresponding Fellow, Distinguished Fellow, Ordinary Fellow, Family Fellow, Senior Fellow, Life Fellow, Junior Associate and Glasgow Associate.

3.2 Honorary, Corresponding and Distinguished Fellows

(a) The Society may elect persons as Honorary Fellows in recognition of merit or achievement in the science of geology or for service to the Society.

(b) The Society may elect as Corresponding Fellows persons of scientific merit or achievement resident outside the United Kingdom who by membership of the Society may be enabled or assisted to extend and foster links between the Society and the science of geology abroad.

(c) The Society may elect as a Distinguished Fellow any Fellow of the Society in recognition of service to the Society.

(d) The number of Honorary Fellows shall normally be limited to fifteen, Corresponding Fellows to twenty and Distinguished Fellows to ten.

(e) Honorary, Corresponding and Distinguished Fellows shall be elected by a majority of votes at any Ordinary Meeting of the Society upon the recommendation of the Council, intimated at the previous Ordinary Meeting. They shall not be required to make any payments to the funds of the Society. Honorary and Corresponding Fellows shall have no voice in the management of its affairs.

(f) Honorary, Corresponding and Distinguished Fellows shall receive gratuitously a copy of the Scottish Journal of Geology as published during the period of their membership, including any published during the Session, defined in Law 8, of their election.

(g) Honorary, Corresponding and Distinguished Fellows shall, on election, receive without charge the Society's Diploma.

3.3 Ordinary Fellows

(a) Election of a candidate for admission into the Society as an Ordinary Fellow shall be by approval by the Council of a written application. An application shall be supported either by the recommendation of three Distinguished, Ordinary, Life, Senior or Family Fellows or by written statement of the candidate of his/her interests in geology. Elections shall be announced by the Secretary on a Meeting billet.

(b) No one elected an Ordinary Fellow shall exercise any privilege as such until his/her subscription, defined in Law 8, shall have been paid. No Ordinary Fellow shall be entitled to vote at any Meeting if in arrears with his/her subscription.

(c) Each Ordinary Fellow who is not in arrears with his/her subscription shall be entitled to receive gratuitously a copy of the Scottish Journal of Geology as published during the period of his/her membership, including any published during the Session of his/her election.

3.4 Family Fellows

(a) Joint Fellowship is available to an Ordinary Fellow and one member of his/her family, (who, being admitted, shall be termed a Family Fellow) residing at the same household. Each individual shall enjoy the rights of an Ordinary Fellow except that the Family Fellow shall not receive gratuitously the Scottish Journal of Geology. No one elected a Family Fellow shall exercise any privilege as such until his/her subscription, defined in Law 8, shall have been paid. No Family Fellow shall be entitled to vote at any Meeting if in arrears with his/her subscription.

(b) The procedure for election of Family Fellows shall be the same as for Ordinary Fellows and elections shall be announced by the Secretary on a Meeting billet.

(c) On termination of his/her special qualification for Joint Fellowship, a Family Fellow shall remain in this category of membership during the remainder of the current Session. Thereafter he/she may opt to remain a Family Fellow or become an Ordinary Fellow on intimation to the Secretary.

3.5 Senior Fellows

Ordinary Fellows of one or more years’ membership who have attained the age of 60 may in their own option become Senior Fellows by exhibition of evidence of age to the Secretary, the change in status of their membership to have effect from the beginning of the Session in which they thereby claim Senior Fellowship. Such Fellows shall enjoy all the rights of Ordinary Fellows except that they shall not receive gratuitously the Scottish Journal of Geology. No Senior Fellow shall exercise any privilege as such or be entitled to vote at any Meeting if in arrears with his/her subscription.

3.6 Life Fellows

(a) Any Ordinary Fellow, Senior Fellow or Family Fellow, not in arrears with his/her subscription, may at any time become a Life Fellow by compounding for all future annual subscriptions with a single payment, hereinafter referred to as a Composition Fee, of fifty times the ordinary subscription current at the date of composition. The Composition Fee shall be reduced by one fiftieth for each ordinary subscription paid previously, and by one hundredth for each half subscription paid as a Senior Fellow or Family Fellow.

(b) Life Fellows shall enjoy all the rights of Ordinary Fellows.

3.7 Associates

(a) Junior Associates: Persons under the age of 23 years at the beginning of the Session of their admission or undertaking full-time education during the Session of their admission may be admitted as Junior Associates.

(b) Glasgow Associates: Ordinary Members of the Geological Society of Glasgow may be admitted as Glasgow Associates.

(c) The procedure for election of Associates, of whichever category, shall be the same as for Ordinary Fellows and elections shall be announced by the Secretary on a Meeting billet.

(d) Members admitted to the Society as Associates, of whichever category, shall not have any voice in the management of the Society’s affairs nor receive gratuitously the Scottish Journal of Geology.

(e) On the termination of his/her special qualification for Associate membership an Associate shall remain an Associate member during the remainder of the current Session; continuation of his/her membership thereafter shall be by transference to another class of membership in terms of this law.

Law 4 Obligation of Members

All members, by their admission, shall be deemed to assent to the Laws of the Society, and shall be bound thereby so long as they remain members of the Society.

Law 5 Dividends and Bonuses

No member shall at any time receive in money any dividend, gift, division, or bonus, from the funds of the Society.

Law 6 Resignation and Re-election of Members

6.1 All notices of resignation shall be in writing and addressed to the Membership Secretary. From the date of resignation a member shall lose all associated rights of membership. Notwithstanding resignation, all contributions and arrears of subscription at the time of resignation remain due to the Society, and the member shall return all books and other property belonging to the Society, borrowed by him/her, and shall make full compensation for the same if lost or damaged.

6.2 It shall be competent for the Society to re-elect any Member who may have resigned, and who shall be desirous of rejoining the Society.

Law 7 Expulsion of Members

7.1 Any Member acting contrary to the Laws of the Society, or otherwise conducting him/herself at variance with the objectives of the Society or in such a way as to impede their achievement, may be reported by the Council to any Ordinary Meeting of the Society, and if a majority of the next Ordinary Meeting approve, such Member shall be expelled from the Society.

7.2 In applying this Law the Council and the Society shall follow the Code of Procedure approved by the Society at a Special Meeting held on 17th March 1982, and given in the Appendix to these Laws.

Law 8 Subscriptions of Members

8.1 The Session or subscription year shall be the period of twelve months beginning on 1st October each year.

8.2 The ordinary subscription to the funds of the Society for each Session shall be such sum as may be fixed from time to time by resolution of a Special Meeting of the Society on a motion by the Council.

8.3 (a) For each Session or part Session of membership every member other than Honorary, Corresponding, Distinguished and Life Fellows shall pay a subscription to the funds of the Society.

(b) The subscriptions payable by Ordinary Fellows shall be the ordinary subscription aforesaid.
The subscription payable by Family Fellows, Senior Fellows and Glasgow Associates shall be one half of the ordinary subscription. The subscription payable by Junior Associates shall be one fifth of the ordinary subscription.

(c) For the Session of admission to membership of the Society a member’s subscription shall be payable on admission and, for subsequent Sessions for any part of which a member shall continue in membership, on 1st October of each Session. In the event of a member failing to pay his/her subscription within two months of his/her admission to membership, the Council may declare his/her election void.

8.4 In the event of a Member’s subscription remaining unpaid for the period of six months from the 1st October in each Session, the Member defaulting shall, if the Council so determine, cease to be a Member of the Society.

Law 9 The Council and Office-Bearers

9.1 The affairs of the Society shall be conducted by an elected Council composed of the Council Office-Bearers and up to six Ordinary Members of Council.

9.2 The Society shall have the following Council Office-Bearers: President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Lectures Secretary, Excursions Secretary, Membership Secretary, Librarian and Archivist, two Scientific Editors, Proceedings Editor, and Publications Sales Officer.

9.3 One or more Assistant Secretaries with particular responsibilities may be nominated as Office-Bearers by the Council, to assist the Secretary in the administration of the Society’s affairs in ways deemed necessary by the Council.

9.4 All Office-Bearers shall be honorary and entitled to no remuneration for their services.

Law 10 Election of Office-Bearers and Ordinary Members of Council

10.1 Elections of Ordinary Members of Council and all Office-Bearers shall be made annually at the Annual General Meeting. The period between two consecutive Annual General Meetings shall be termed a "Year".

10.2 The Council Office-Bearers and Ordinary Members of Council shall be elected from among the Distinguished Fellows, Ordinary Fellows, Family Fellows, Senior Fellows and Life Fellows.

10.3 The President and the Vice-Presidents shall hold office for not more than two consecutive years at a time but shall otherwise be eligible for election to other offices. The two Vice-Presidents shall normally be newly elected to their respective offices in alternate years.

10.4 The Ordinary Members of Council shall hold office for not more than three consecutive years at a time, but shall otherwise be eligible for election to other offices.

10.5 All other Office-Bearers shall be eligible for re-election.

10.6 Vacancies arising in the Council or any office during the course of a Year may be filled by the Council for the remainder of such Year, and holders of such interim appointments shall in all cases be eligible for re-election.

Law 11 Duties of Office-Bearers

11.1 President and Vice-Presidents

(a) The President, or in his/her absence one of the Vice-Presidents, shall be Chairman of the Council, and of all Meetings of the Society. In their absence any Distinguished, Ordinary, Senior, Life or Family Fellow may be voted into the Chair. The Chairman shall have both a deliberative and a casting vote.

(b) The President shall be an ex-officio member of all Committees.

(c) During the period of his/her office the President shall be invited to deliver a Presidential Address at a Meeting of the Society.

11.2 Secretary

(a) The Secretary shall record in the Minute Books the Proceedings of all Meetings of the Society and Council, shall conduct the Society’s correspondence, and shall give intimation of all Meetings.

(b) The Secretary shall normally act as Convenor of the Clough Memorial Committee and the Planning Committee, and shall be an ex-officio member of all other committees.

11.3 Treasurer and Independent Examiner

(a) The Treasurer shall receive and pay all moneys for the Society, and shall render to the Society annually at the Annual General Meeting an account of his/her intromissions, which account shall be balanced as on the 30th September in each Session. The annual accounts shall be examined by a suitably qualified independent examiner.

(b) All payments out of the Society’s bank account shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by either the President or Secretary.

(c) The Treasurer shall be advised by the Finance Committee whose convener shall be appointed by Council from among its Members. The Treasurer shall be an ex-officio member of the Finance Committee and of all other Committees.

11.4 Assistant Secretaries

Assistant Secretaries shall assist the Secretary in whatever ways the Council considers desirable.

11.5 Lectures Secretary

The Lectures Secretary shall be responsible for arranging public lectures of the Society.

11.6 Excursions Secretary

The Excursions Secretary shall act as convenor of the Excursions Committee and shall be responsible for arranging excursions of the Society in terms of Law 14.

11.7 Membership Secretary

The Membership Secretary shall be responsible for the membership records and the Roll of the Society and shall intimate to Council all applications for membership.

11.8 Librarian and Archivist

The Librarian and Archivist shall have custody of the Society's Library and of the Society’s Archive so far as they are not in the keeping of the Librarian of the University of Edinburgh. He/she shall act as liaison officer between the Society and the Librarian of the University of Edinburgh during the time that the University has charge of the Society's Library and Archives.

11.9 Scientific Editors

The Scientific Editors shall be responsible as members of the Editorial Board jointly with representatives of the Geological Society of Glasgow for the managing, editing and publication of the Scottish Journal of Geology in terms of the Minute of Agreement and the Publishing Agreement aftermentioned.

11.10 Proceedings Editor

The Proceedings Editor shall be responsible for editing the annual Proceedings of the Society.

11.11 Publications Sales Officer

The Publications Sales Officer shall have custody of the stocks of publications of the Society including unsold back numbers of the Scottish Journal of Geology and Edinburgh Geologist together with any other publications which the Council shall from time to time make available, and shall be responsible for the sale thereof to members and to the public.

Law 12 General Functions of Council

12.1 The Council shall act as charity trustees, as defined in the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, in having the general control and management of the administration of the Society.

12.2 The Council shall act to ensure that the Society complies with any direction, requirement, notice or duty imposed upon it under common law and statute.

12.3 While acting as trustees in exercising its power of investment of the Society’s funds, the Council shall consider the suitability of any proposed investments and the need for diversification of investments in so far as is appropriate to the Society’s circumstances, and shall obtain and consider proper advice about how investments should be chosen or varied.

12.4 The Council shall be responsible for holding the moveable property of the Society.

12.5 The Council may by majority resolution remove a Council Member from office where the Council finds that serious or persistent breach of the duties of a charity trustee has been established.

12.6 The Council shall meet as often as the business of the Society requires. A Special Meeting of the Council shall be convened by the Secretary upon receipt of a written requisition signed by at least three Members of Council.

12.7 At all Meetings of Council seven shall form a quorum.

12.8 The Council shall appoint annually Committees to deal with Finance, Planning, the Clough Memorial Fund, Excursions, Publications, the Lothian and Borders RIGS Group and the Stirling RIGS Group, and may from time to time appoint other Committees to deal with such matters as the Council may refer to them. The Members of such Committees need not be Members of Council.

Law 13 Meetings of the Society

13.1 Ordinary Meetings

(a) The Ordinary Meetings shall be held at such times as the Council may decide.

(b) The times, dates and places of Ordinary Meetings of each Session shall be communicated to members in advance of the first meeting of each Session by billet which shall state the nature of the business to be transacted at each Meeting and the titles of addresses or papers to be given.

13.2 Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall normally be held on the third Wednesday in November each year. At this meeting reports on the Society’s activities shall be submitted by the respective Office-Bearers, the Treasurer shall render his/her audited Accounts in terms of Law 11, and officers elected.

13.3 Special Meetings

The Council may at any time call a Special Meeting of the Society, and shall be bound to do so on receipt of the written request of at least ten Members who are Distinguished, Ordinary, Family, Senior or Life Fellows.

13.4 For any Meeting of the Society of which notice has not been given in terms of paragraph 13.1(b) or by conformity with paragraph 13.2 of this Law, reasonable notice shall be given by the Secretary to all Members of the Society by billet stating the time, date and place of the Meeting and the nature of the business to be transacted.

13.5 At all Meetings of the Society twenty shall form a quorum.

Law 14 Excursions

The Excursions of the Society shall be arranged by the Excursions Secretary as advised by the Excursions Committee. The dates and venues of the excursions of each Session shall be communicated to Members by the Excursions Secretary a reasonable time before the first excursion of each Session.

Law 15 Publications of the Society

15.1 The Society shall support the publication of the Scottish Journal of Geology according to the Minute of Agreement between the Edinburgh Geological Society and the Geological Society of Glasgow, dated 8th October 1964, and registered in the Books of Council and Session of the Registers of Scotland, and the Publishing Agreement made between the Edinburgh Geological Society, the Geological Society of Glasgow and the Geological Society Publishing House, dated 18th October 1991.

15.2 The Proceedings of the Society shall be published annually under the Editorship of the Proceedings Editor.

15.3 The production and management of any other publications in the Society’s name shall be undertaken by persons appointed by the Council in accordance with terms of remit resolved by Council and stated to such persons at the time of their appointment.

Law 16 The Library of the Society

16.1 All purchases of books and periodicals for the Society’s library shall comply with any purchasing policies which may be resolved upon by the Council from time to time.

16.2 Such purchases may be made at the Librarian's own discretion, subject to such cash limits as may be resolved upon by the Council from time to time. Purchases in excess of such limits shall require the approval of the Council.

16.3 During the time that the Society's books are in the custody of the Librarian of the University of Edinburgh, Members may borrow books from the Society's Library and from the University Library according to the regulations laid down by the University of Edinburgh for members of the staff of the University.

Law 17 Dissolution

17.1 The Society may be dissolved (i) by resolution of the Society passed at any Meeting of the Society and confirmed by a further Meeting of the Society duly called for the purpose, (ii) by resolution of the outgoing Council following a failure to obtain a quorum for an Annual General Meeting of the Society on three separate duly notified occasions in any one Session, (iii) by resolution of the outgoing Council following failure of the Society to fill sufficient of the offices to supply a quorum of the new Council.

17.2 In the event of the dissolution of the Society under the foregoing paragraph, or by operation of law, the whole net assets of the Society remaining after discharge of its liabilities shall vest in the Royal Society of Edinburgh as trustees either for use or for further disposal, for such purposes and on such conditions as the Royal Society of Edinburgh may consider fit, being as near to the objectives of the Society as in the judgement of the Royal Society of Edinburgh circumstances may then reasonably allow, provided that the Royal Society of Edinburgh shall have regard to, but shall not be bound by, any resolutions of the Society or the Council concerning the manner and purposes of such use or disposal.

17.3 On such vesting of the said net assets in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Council and Additional Office-Bearers of the Society shall denude themselves of all such net assets and title thereto in favour of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, subject to such reasonable arrangements as may be necessary to enable the settlement of the Society's liabilities.

Law 18 Alteration of Laws

No alteration shall be made on these Laws except at a Special Meeting convened for that purpose. The alteration proposed shall be tabled at an Ordinary Meeting, and shall be adopted only if agreed to, with or without amendment, by a majority of the Ordinary Fellows present at the Special Meeting, which shall be held no earlier than fourteen days thereafter nor later than the day of the next Ordinary Meeting, following that period.

This webpage contain a correct copy of the present Constitution of the Edinburgh Geological Society, being the whole Laws of the said Society corrected to 28th March 2007.

S. K. MONRO President
J. M. DEAN Secretary
D. GOULD Treasurer

Edinburgh, 28th March 2007

APPENDIX

Code of Procedure to be used in applying Law 7 of the Laws of the Society as revised on 17th March 1982

1 The Council shall not report any Member in terms of Law 7 without first giving reasonable notice to the Member of the complaint against him and the grounds thereof, considering fairly any representation which the Member may make in writing to the Council thereanent, and, if desired by the Member, allowing him a proper hearing on the complaint and his said representations, before a meeting of the Council duly convened for the purpose. The Council shall not report the Member unless the complainer by probation establish the facts of the complaint beyond reasonable doubt. If either the complainer or the accused Member be a member of Council, he shall be excluded from the Council’s adjudication.

2 Any report made by Council in terms of Law 7 shall set forth clearly the complaint and the grounds thereof, an accurate and fair summary of any representationsmade by the Member as aforesaid, and a summary of the Council’s reasons for making the report. The report shall be intimated to the Society along with the billet for the meeting at which the report is to be considered. At such meeting, the Member shall be entitled to make representations upon the report. The meeting shall give fair and proper consideration to the report and representations before making any decision thereon.

3 In making oral representations at a hearing before the Council or to the Society as aforesaid a Member may be represented by an agent or Counsel if he wish.

4 Any question of fact or law (other than questions of malice, oppression, denial of natural justice, or other dole) disputed between the Member and the Society in relation to any complaint under Law 7 shall be submitted, without recourse to statutory stated case, to the final decision of an arbiter nominated by the Sheriff Principal of the Lothians and Borders.

5 Law 7 and this Code shal be without prejudice to the ordinary remedies at law for reparation arising out of the delict of any Member.

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