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Rules

March 1999

NAMES AND OBJECTS
1 The Society shall be called THE ISLE OF MAN NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY and shall have for its objects the advancement of knowledge of Natural History and Human History and Cultural Development, especially in the Isle of Man and countries related thereunto. 

 The Society shall seek to promote its objectives by practical investigations in the field, by the furthering of cultural and documentary studies, by lectures, by the issue of publications for the benefit of the public, and in other such ways as may be determined by the Committee.

MEMBERS
2 The Society shall consist of Ordinary and Honorary Members.  A person shall become an ordinary member on payment of a subscription in accordance with Rule 10.

Honorary members may be elected by the Society at an Annual General Meeting on the recommendation of the Committee.  They shall be such persons as the Committee deem to have made outstanding contributions to the aims and objects of the Society.  They shall be entitled to receive notices of meetings and copies of Proceedings but shall take no part in the conduct of the Society's business.

OFFICERS
3 The Officers of the Society shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary (or Secretaries), Treasurer, Librarian (or Librarians) and the Editor (or Editors) of the Society's Proceedings: all to be elected annually from among the Ordinary Members, as provided by Rule 12.

PRESIDENT 
4 The President (or in his absence the Vice-President) shall preside over the meetings of the Society.  He shall call meetings of the Comittee whenever he may deem it necessary.  

SECRETARY
5 The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all the meetings of the Society and of the Committee, keep a list of members, give notice of meetings, conduct the general correspondence of the Society and perform other such duties as the Committee may direct.

TREASURER
6 The Treasurer, under the general supervision of the Trustees, shall have charge of all the money, and shall not expend any money except as authorised by the Committee.  He shall get in all subscriptions due by members and shall keep regular accounts of all moneys received and expended; which accounts shall be balanced up to the last day of December in each year and be audited by an auditor approved at the previous Annual General Meeting.

TRUSTEES
7 The assets of the Society shall be vested in Trustees, not less than three in number, one of whom shall be the Treasurer for the time being, the remainder to be elected initially at an extraordinary general meeting in October 1990 and thereafter triennially according to Rule 12.

FIELD AND RESEARCH WORK
8 The Society in its declared objective to seek the advancement of knowledge (Rule 1) shall encourage Members who intend, either alone or in co-operation with other members, to undertake active field and research work.  To further this objective the Committee of the Society shall co-opt up to four Ordinary Members to act as Field and Research Co-ordinators, whose duty it shall be to acquaint themselves with the active work being carried out within their own sphere of knoweldge.  One Co-ordinator shall be appointed by his or her fellows to submit an annual report on the field and research work being carried out with the Society, at the Annual General Meeting.

COMMITTEE
9  The Officers of the Society, together with the Society's representative on the Board of Trustees of the Manx Museum, and five Ordinary Members, duly elected, together with the Field and Research Work Co-ordinators, co-opted under Rule 8, shall constitute the Committee.  It shall be the duty of the Committee (of whom four shall be a quorum) to transact the business of the Society, to arrange the times and places for meetings and excursions, to authorise the publications of the Society, and the payment of the ordinary expenses of the Society, to report annually to the Annual General Meeting and generally to consider and recommend, from time to time, whatever they may judge as tending to promote the objects, usefulness, and welfare of the Society.

The Committee shall have the power to fill vacancies in its number which may occur in the course of the year.

The Committee shall meet four times a year and at other such times as they may be called together by the President.  Minutes of their proceedings shall be kept.

The Committee at their first meeting each year shall elect from amongst themselves three members who, with the President and Secretary, shall constitute an Emergency Committee which shall have the power to act for the Committee should circumstances arise in which prompt action is necessary and the calling together of a full Committee is not convenient.

SUBSCRIPTIONS
10 The subscription for an ordinary member shall be determined by the Society from time to time at an Annual General Meeting.

Annual subscriptions shall be paid on 1st March in each year and a member who fails to pay an annual subscription by the following 1st July shall cease to be a member.

Ordinary members may elect to pay a single Life Composition which shall be determined by the Society from time to time at an Annual General Meeting.  Any member who has paid an annual subscription for ten consecutive years may become a Life Member by making such final payment as shall be determined by the Society from time to time at an Annual General Meeting.

11 In the event of the dissolution of the Society, as determined by Rule 18, the Trustees shall dispose of any assets in the manner provided for under Section 2 of the Charities Act 1986 or the relevant legislation current at the time of dissolution.

MEETINGS
12 An Annual General Meeting shall be held during the month of March in each year for electing Officers, Auditors, Trustees and the Representatives on the Board of the Trustees of the Manx Museum (when required) and members of the Committee for the ensuing year: for receiving the reports from the Secretary, the Librarian and the appointed Field and Research Work Co-ordinator (see Rule 8): for receiving the Treasurer's statement of accounts, duly audited; and for transacting such other business as may be brought before the Meeting.  Unless there be at least ten members present the Meeting shall be adjourned to such future date as may be decided.

13 Ordinary meetings shall be held monthly if practicable, from October till May inclusive, for the exhibition of specimens, reading of papers and communications, the transaction of such ordinary business as may be brought forward by, or with the sanction of, the Committee. 

14 On the written requisition of 15 members, or of the Committee, delivered to the Secretary, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called to consider and decide upon the subjects mentioned in the requisition. 

15 Two, or more, excursions of general interest shall be held in each year.

PUBLICATIONS
16 The papers read before the Society, or abstracts of them, may be published in the Proceedings or other publications of the Society.  The Proceedings shall be published under the general supervision of the Editor in such manner and form and at such price as may, from time to time, be decided by the Committee.

LIBRARY
17 A record of the contents shall be kept and Return and Report rendered by the Librarian to the Annual General Meeting.

ALTERATION OF THE RULES
18 The Rules of the Society shall not be altered nor the Society dissolved except by a General Meeting and after 10 days' notice of the proposed alteration or dissolution shall have been given to each member by circular.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION
19 While the Society shall continue to have the honour of being a Corresponding Society of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, a delegate may be elected annually to represent the Society at the next following meeting of the Association.