LUES Amended Constitution 2015 e-copy

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LANCASTER UNIVERSITY ECONOMICS SOCIETY
CONSTITUTION AND RULES
(AMENDED MARCH 2015)
1 The Society
1.1 The name of Society shall be Lancaster University Economics Society, hereafter referred to
as 'the Society'.
1.2 The Society shall be associated with Lancaster University Students' Union (LUSU) subject to
the conditions set out in Section 27 of the Union Constitution. As such the Society agrees to
abide by the Union Constitution, its byelaws, the LUSU Safety Framework and all other
Union policies.
1.3 The Society may affiliate to external bodies subject to the approval of the Union Council (see
Section 20 of the Union Constitution).
2 Aims
2.1 The Society shall exist to:
1) Generate an interest in the subject by providing economic insights that are essential for
understanding major as well as everyday business events.
2) Provide a platform for like-minded people to discuss issues from an economic perspective
and to create an awareness of current matters.
3) Encourage a group research on the historical and statistical study conditions of economics
events that will be of general interest to the majority of members.
4) Promotion of essential study skills such as guidelines on essay writing and techniques for
holding presentations.
5) Arrange events that enable students to learn more about practical implications of the
economic environment on the way business is done, e.g. competition policies or exchange
rates.
6) Liaise with Economics Societies at other Universities to promote co-operation and exchange
of ideas.
3 Membership
3.1 Membership of the Society is open to all members of Lancaster University Students' Union.
Members of the general public can also join the society, but are not covered by LUSU
insurances and are personally liable for any injury or damages, not the society. Members of
the public can be active members but cannot hold exec positions.
3.2 Society membership is only granted to those individuals who have paid the required annual
fee, as determined by the Executive Committee.

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3.3 The membership fee will be used to organise events and activities which support the aims of
the Economics Society and its members. If a member leaves the society prior to the
completion of the current academic year, fees already paid will not be returned.
3.4 Only full members have the right to be a candidate, vote, or nominate/second a candidate in
elections.
3.5 Membership of the Society is open to individuals other than those mentioned above subject to
their agreement to abide by this constitution.
3.6 Honorary membership may be granted on a life basis or for a limited period, subject to the
agreement of a qualified majority of two thirds at the Annual General Meeting. This shall
normally be granted to ex-members for outstanding service to the Society, or for those who
can continue to offer service to the Society.
3.7 Honorary members have the right to participate in all Society activities, and attend and speak
at meetings.
3.8 The Executive Committee reserves the right to refuse or revoke membership of an individual
for breaching this constitution, the Society's Safety Code of Practice, the LUSU Safety
Framework or bringing the Society into disrepute, subject to the complaints procedure set out
in section 7 of this constitution.
4 Executive Committee
4.1 In the absence of any member of the Executive, their duties may be delegated to another
Executive member. Alternatively a full member may be co-opted to fulfil such duties, subject
to the approval of a general meeting.
4.2 Any Executive members who fail to attend two consecutive general and/or Exec meetings,
without acceptable written apology, shall be deemed to have resigned and a by-election shall
be held.
4.3 Members of the Executive shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall take
office from the first day of Summer term.
4.4 Failure of Executive members to carry out the duties conferred on them by this constitution
or by resolutions of Society meetings, without reasonable excuse, will be grounds for
suspension or motion of no confidence of the officer concerned.
4.5 Exec members can choose assistants (for example to form problem-based project groups),
and previous members of the Exec are expected to aid the new Exec with their experience.
4.6 New ideas, proposals and controversial points will be discussed at Exec meetings, with the
aim of reaching an agreement. If complete agreement cannot be reached, a democratic vote
will be carried out. In this case, every Exec member has one vote. In the case of a split
decision, the president's vote will count double.
4.7 All members of the Exec should strive for balance as well as mutual agreement of all
members of the society.

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4.8 All members of the Exec will meet at least once every four weeks during term time to discuss
issues of relevance to the Economics Society and decide upon appropriate courses of action.
Exec meetings can only take place if more than 50 per cent of the Exec members are present.
4.8.1 Position & Roles
1) President: who shall
 Be the primary representative of the Society to the Union, the University and to external
bodies.
 Coordinate and oversee the activities of both the Executive and the Society as a whole.
 Coordinate the liaison of the society and its members with the staff of the Economics
Department.
 Attend the Societies Council and other relevant meetings.
 Act as chair to all Society meetings.
 Interact with treasurer about of financial matters.
 Have veto power when there are elections.
2) Vice-President: who shall
 Support the role of the Chair.
 Replace the Presidents in case of absence.
 Coordinate events with companies.
 Oversee the safety aspects of all Society activities and ensure that the LUSU Safety
Framework and the Society's Safety Code of Practise are adhered to.
 Act as Mentor Scheme Coordinator.
 Coordinate the liaison of the society with the Union.
 Have veto power when there are elections.
3) Treasurer: who shall
 Maintain good order of Society finances and ensure that Union financial regulations are
adhered to.
 Maintain an up to date account of all financial transactions.
 Advise the Executive and membership on expenditure of budget.
 Prepare a statement of revenue and expenditure to be presented at the Annual General
Meeting for ratification.
4) General Secretary: who shall
 Be responsible for the administration of all matters relating to memberships and subscriptions
and liaising appropriately with the Treasurer.
 Be responsible for all Society correspondence and administration.
 Take minutes at meetings and circulate agendas and minutes of such meetings to the
membership.
 Informing the membership of other appropriate information as and when necessary.
 Be responsible for the ordering and maintenance of all Society equipment.
 Act as Returning Officer at all elections and ensure their smooth running.

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5) Event Planners (maximum up to 6)
I. Academic Coordinator: who shall
 Coordinate with the Economics Department.
 Organise academic by inviting suitable and experienced Speakers.
 Represent the society in a professional manner.
 Promote the Society as a top destination for high quality speaker.
 Assign to lecture shout-outs to raise events awareness when necessary.
 Support other Executive functions.
As well as to
 Liaise with Careers and Social Coordinator.
II. Careers Coordinator: who shall
 Organise (by collaborating with the Economics Department, sponsors or other societies in the
Management School) to organise career specific events for our members.
 Communicate and collaborate with sponsors and other societies.
 Coordinate Mentor Scheme or assist the Mentor Scheme Coordinator, if in place.
 Assign to lecture shout-outs to raise events awareness when necessary.
 Support other Executive functions.
As well as to
 Liaise with Academic and Social Coordinator.
III. Social Coordinator: who shall
 Organise a diverse range of socials appealing to all members (selecting a location to securing
drink offers and picking a theme for the social event).
 Plan and spend within an allocated budget to achieve all goals.
 Entertain and lead socials on/off campus.
 Assign to lecture shout-outs to raise events awareness when necessary.
 Support other Executive functions.
As well as to
 Liaise with Academic and Careers Coordinator.
6) Marketing Manager (x2): who shall
 Be responsible for both internal and external promotions (posters, hand outs and similar) for
society events.
 Design and prepare promotional materials by practicing branding strategy to build a sense of
uniqueness and self-identity for the society
 Launch and manage marketing of new and established products and branding society (society
hoodie, membership card banner and similar)
 Liaise with IT officer concerning job of running of society’s digital marketing.
 Support other Executive functions
7) IT Technology Officer: who shall
 Organise and maintain the society’s official website and all other IT related tasks.
 Liaise with Marketing Manager concerning of any marketing job related.
 Advise on matters concerning the Internet.
 Support other Executive functions.

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8) Journal Editor (x2): who shall
 Amalgamate, edit and read all submitted articles onto the Society Journal and organise the
publishing of the magazine (one edition due at the end of Michaelmas term, and one edition
at the end of Lent term).
 Contribute with articles to Society Journal.
 Encourage members of the Society and the University staff to contribute to the journal.
 Capture and inform members of past events.
 Support other Executive functions.
9) Corporate Relations and Funding Officer: who shall
 Be responsible to seek further sponsorship and funding opportunities for the Society.
 Contact external companies and applying for funding.
 Support other Executive functions.
Further responsibility:
 Maintaining relations with current sponsors.
5. Elections
5.1 Any member of the Economics Society that may be elected can be nominated by any member
of the Economics Society (self-nominations are possible), but each individual may only be
nominated for one position on the Exec. Each voting member has one vote for each of the
positions on the Exec.
5.2 The elections have to be democratic and secret. The candidate with the most votes wins the
election and takes over the appropriate place on the Exec. In the case of the votes being
equally distributed between two or more candidates for an Exec position, nominations will be
re-opened and another election for this position will be carried out. This process is repeated
until a new Exec member has been elected.
5.3 If members of the society are unhappy with the performance of a member on the Exec, new
elections may be forced. If at least one third of the currently listed members support this
notion of non-confidence and this party can also nominate a designated new Exec member,
then the nominations for this place on the Exec will be re-opened and new elections will be
held at a special general meeting.
5.4 The running of all Society elections shall be the responsibility of the Current President who
shall act as Returning Officer. Should this officer be a candidate in the election, another
officer must be appointed Acting Returning Officer by the Executive for the duration of that
election.
5.5 All officers shall be elected by the end of week 10 of the Lent term at the Annual General
Meeting.
5.6 Any post may be filled by by-election at a general meeting.
5.7 Society members will be informed of the date of the election, positions available and details
for nominations approximately two weeks prior to voting taking place.
5.8 Re-Open Nominations (RON) shall be a candidate in all elections.

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5.9 All elections are preceded by speeches by the candidates. The Returning Officer shall decide
in advance the maximum length of speeches. The speeches shall be followed by questions to
the candidates.
5.10Candidates unable to attend must send written confirmation of their intention to stand and
this may include a speech to be read out by the Returning Officer. If no confirmation is
received, exclusion for the election will result.
5.11Members may only vote once per position. The candidate with the highest number of votes
shall be duly elected. The Returning Officer shall be responsible for the count.
5.12Any complaints regarding elections should first be taken to the Returning Officer, and then
to the Societies Council Chair, as per the Complaints procedure detailed in Bye Law 26.
6 Meetings
6.1 General meetings may be called by the President, by a majority decision of the Executive
Committee, or by written request of five or more Society members.
6.2 General meetings must be held no less then 3 times each term and at least 7 days written
notice must be given.
6.3 Any elected officer may have a motion of suspension of no confidence placed in her/him at a
General meeting and a qualified majority of two thirds shall be required to sustain it.
6.4 The quorum of General meetings shall be ten full members. Failure to achieve quorum shall
mean that the meeting has no constitutional competence.
6.5 Emergency meetings may be called in the same way as a General meeting save that it shall
require five days written notice of the business to be transacted. The quorum for such
meetings shall be twenty full members.
6.6 Emergency meetings shall only discuss the matter for which the meeting was called. It shall
not be able to transact any financial business or amend the constitution.
6.7 There shall be an Annual General meeting in the last few weeks of the Lent term each year.
The President shall present a report of the Society's activities for the previous year and the
Treasurer shall present an audited statement of accounts.
6.8 Elections for positions on the Executive Committee shall be held at the Annual General
meeting. Quorum for the Annual General shall be twenty full members.
6.9 The Economics Society intends to carry out 3 meetings every term, one of which is a social
and 2 are academic meetings.

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7 Complaints
7.1 Any complaints about the running or operations of the Society should initially be discussed
with the President and then follow the procedures set out in bye-law twenty-six of the Union
Constitution.
8 Constitution
8.1 This whole or any part of this constitution may be altered, amended or deleted at any General
meeting or at the Annual General meeting. Any changes shall require a qualified majority of
two thirds.
9 Safety
9.1 The Society must adhere to the LUSU Safety Framework at all times. Copies of this will be
distributed at appropriate times throughout the year. Failure to abide by this framework may
result in disciplinary action.
9.2 The Society shall have a Safety Code of Practice that shall be reviewed annually. This code
shall be shown to each member before they subscribe to the Society and be made readily
available throughout the year.
9.3 It is the duty and responsibility of the Vice-President to ensure that the Safety Framework
and Safety Code of Practice is enforced in all Society activities.
9.4 The President and/or Vice-President shall attend an annual Duty of Care Briefing held by
LUSU Student Activities Office in Michaelmas Term.