NAME

1.	The name of the Society shall be “The National Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention Society Incorporated”.

	Registered Office

2.	The Registered Office of the Society shall be
	c/- The Secretary,
	P.O. Box 11-559 Manners St,
	Wellington

	OBJECT

3,	The object of the Society shall be to encourage the study and appreciation of Science Fiction and Fantasy form in all their aspects.

	MEMBERSHIP

4.	All persons shall be eligible for membership but none under the age of 16 are to hold office.

5.	The Society shall consist of Ordinary Members, Life Members, Supporting Members, Junior Members and Honorary Members.

	ADMISSION OF MEMBERS

6.	Admission of Honorary Members shall be by vote of the Committee. Honorary Members shall take no part in the management of the Society, may attend its meetings and outings, but my not vote at such meetings.

7.	Members may be admitted as Life Members of the Society for meritorious service in the interest of Science Fiction. Life members shall have full voting rights, but not be required to pay membership fees. Candidates for Life Membership shall be recommended by the committee to the members for admission at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting of the Society and their admission shall be by vote of the members.

8.	Any person may be admitted as an Supporting Member of the Society. A Supporting Member will be entitled to receive the Club Newsletter  and may attend the Annual General Meeting of the Society to exercise voting  rights. A Supporting Member wishing to attend more than the Annual General Meeting shall be required to join the Society as an ordinary member.

9.	Any person who is not an ordinary, honorary or life member may attend the Annual General Meeting of the Club as a visitor before being required to pay membership fees.

10.	Any person desiring to join the Society shall forward a written application to the committee; such application to contain whatever particulars the Committee for the time being may consider necessary or desirable. All elections of Ordinary Members shall be made by the Committee and shall be decided by not less than a two-thirds majority of votes of members of the Committee. 

	REGISTER OF MEMBERS

11.	The Society shall keep a register of all its members which will show the name and address of the each member, the date he or she became a member and all subsequent changes.

	COMMON SEAL

12.	The Committee shall hold a Common Seal for the Society. The common seal shall be in the custody of the Secretary who shall affix the same to all instruments requiring it, but only in accordance with a motion passed by the Committee to that effect.

	SUBSCRIPTIONS

13.	The Subscription shall be as determined at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting called for that purpose.

14.	Classes of subscriptions shall be:

		Ordinary Membership
		Junior Membership (full-time school attendance)
		Supporting Membership

	RESIGNATION OF MEMBERSHIP

15.	Any member may resign his or her membership by giving the Secretary notice in writing to that effect.

16.	Every person shall upon ceasing to be a member of the Society forfeit all rights to, and claims upon, the Society, its property and funds.

	OFFICERS

17.	The Officers of the Society shall be President, Secretary and Treasurer. The Committee shall have the power to appoint a member to fill an casual vacancy in the offices of the Society until the next Annual General Meeting.

18.	The entire management of the Society (except as provided by this Constitution) shall be delegated to a committee consisting of the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and up to a maximum of four elected Committee Members.

19.	Any Committee Member absenting himself or herself from three consecutive meetings of the Committee without leave of absence shall be deemed to have forfeited his or her position on the Committee. Acceptance of an apology shall be deemed approval of such leave of absence.

	PAYMENTS TO MEMBERS

20	No Member of the Society or any person associated with a Member shall participate in or materially influence any decision made by the Society in respect of the payment to or on behalf of that Member or associated person of any income, benefit or advantage whatsoever.

	Any such income paid shall be paid in an arms length transaction (being the open market value). The provisions and effect of this clause shall not be removed from this document, and shall be included and implied in any document replacing this document.

	BORROWING POWERS

21.	The Committee may from time to time on resolution of the committee and ratified at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting borrow for the purposes of the Society from any persons, firms or corporation, any sum or sums of money on the securities on all or any of the Society's property (real or personal) assets and effects both present or future or any part thereof by legal mortgages or charges with powers of sale and other usual powers or by the issue of debentures or other obligations may be issued on such terms and conditions as to the rate of interest or otherwise as the Committee sees fit.

	RULES

22.	The Committee shall from time to time make, repeal and amend all such rules (not inconsistent with this Constitution) as they shall think expedient for the internal management and well being of the Society.

	ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

23.	The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held at the annual convention in that year upon a date and at a time to be fixed by the Committee for the following purposes.

a.	To receive from the Committee the Annual Report, Balance Sheet and Statements of Accounts for the preceding financial year.

b.	To elect Officers and the Committee and to appoint an Auditor for the ensuing calendar year.

c.	To determine in which locality the annual science fiction and fantasy convention for any succeeding years are to be held.

d.	Appoint an organising committee to run the annual convention.

e.	Authorise the issuing of awards to promote science fiction and fantasy in New Zealand.

f.	To decide on any resolution which may be duly submitted to the meeting as hereinafter provided.

24.	Any member desiring to move any resolution at the Annual General Meeting shall give notice thereof in writing to the Secretary not less than three weeks before the date of such meeting. Such resolution shall bear the signature of the mover and seconder.

25.	Nominations for all offices shall be accepted from the floor of the Annual General Meeting.

	NOTICE TO BE GIVEN OF ANNUAL AND SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS

26.	At least two days before the Annual General Meeting, a notice of such meeting and of the business to be transacted thereat shall be sent by post or delivered by hand to each member and no business other than that of which notice has been given shall be brought forward at such meeting.

27.	At least seven days before  any Special General Meeting, a notice of such meeting and of the business to be transacted thereat shall be sent by post to each member and no business other than that of which notice has been given shall be brought forward at such meeting.

28.	A Special General Meeting may be called at the instigation of the President or by a quorum of the Committee or by requisition by not less than one third of the Members of the Society. Such a requisition is to contain notice of the business to be transacted.

	PROCEDURE AT MEETINGS

29.	At all General Meetings of the Society the President and in his or her absence the Treasurer, or in their absence a Member of the Committee, shall take the chair. Every Ordinary, Supporting or Life Member present shall be entitled to one vote upon every motion, and in the case of equality of the votes, the chairman shall have second or casting vote.

	PROXY VOTING

30.	Any member entitled to attend and vote at a meeting may appoint a proxy to attend and vote on his or her behalf. The Proxy Form must be completed correctly and be in the hands of the Secretary before the start of the Meeting.  The proxy form shall state the members name and who is to exercise the member’s voting rights.

	QUORUMS

31.	The quorum at all Meetings of the Society shall be ten voting members. The quorum at Committee Meetings shall be three.

	VOTING

32.	The voting at all Meetings, including Meetings of the Committee, shall be in first instance by voice, PROVIDED that if not less than three members shall so demand voting shall be by show of hands; PROVIDED ALSO that if not less than three members shall so demand, voting shall be by ballot.

	FINANCIAL YEAR

33.	The Financial Year shall end on the 31st of October in each year, to which day the accounts of the Society are balanced.

	INTERPRETATION OF THIS CONSTITUTION

34.	The Committee is the sole authority for the interpretation of this Constitution and of the rules made thereunder. The decision of the Committee upon any question of interpretation or upon any matter affecting the Society and not provided for by this Constitution or by the rules made hereunder, shall be final and binding on the Members.

	ALTERATION TO CONSTITUTION

35.	This Constitution may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting subject to provisions 25 - 29, provided that no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless it be carried by a simple majority of half of the Members eligible to vote and who are present, plus one. For the purposes of this clause, Members voting by proxy are deemed to be present.

36	No addition to or alteration or recession of the rules shall be approved if it affects the personal benefit clause or the winding up clause.

	CONTROL OF FUNDS

37.	The control and investment of the funds of the Society shall be with the Committee. Banking operations on the Society's accounts shall be carried on by the Treasurer, or in the absence of the Treasurer, by a member appointed by the Committee.

38.	All cheques drawn on behalf of the Society shall have two signatures. Any two of the Treasurer and one other committee member as previously agreed by the committee shall have the power to sign.

	WINDING UP

39.	The Society shall be wound up by a resolution passed at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting, subject to the provisions of clauses 26, 27 and 28. Such a resolution requires a simple majority of all the valid votes cast by Members voting at the General Meeting in person.

	If such a resolution is passed, a second General Meeting must be called, subject to the provisions of clauses 26, 27 and 28, not earlier than thirty days from the first Meeting, to pass a resolution confirming the earlier decision to wind up the Society. If this resolution is not passed by a simple majority, the earlier resolution lapses. If the confirming resolution is passed, the Members must appoint a liquidator to wind up the affairs of the Society.

	If upon winding up or dissolution of the Society there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Society but shall be given or transferred to some other non-profit body having objects similar to the objects of the Society, or for some other charitable purpose, within New Zealand.

	The property of the Society, in the event of a winding up, shall be given to another Society with similar objects or activities, to be voted upon by the remaining members.

	ANNUAL CONVENTION

40.	The organising committee(s) for the respective annual convention(s) appointed at the Annual General Meeting shall be responsible for deciding the venue and the drawing up of the programme(s) for the annual convention(s) at which they are appointed the annual convention.

41.	The organising committee is responsible for organising and presenting awards for the promotion of science fiction and fantasy in New Zealand.  The number of such awards, their organisation and presentation shall be on such terms and conditions as the organising committee thinks fit.

42.	The organising committee is to maintain proper books of accounts for the annual convention and shall present such accounts to the Committee for tabling at the Annual General Meeting.

43.	Nothing in this constitution shall prevent the Committee from appointing a new organising committee for the annual convention.

	MISCONDUCT

44.	If the conduct of any member shall be reported as objectionable, the Committee shall on receiving a written complaint, or may on its own initiative, take the matter into consideration and notify the member of the complaint. The Committee shall have the authority to require the offending member to attend a meeting of the Committee to have his or her case heard.

45.	If, after the member concerned has been heard at a meeting of the Committee, his or her conduct shall be deemed by the Committee to be contrary to this Constitution, or inconsistent with the character, welfare or interests of the Society, or such as to render him or her unfit to associate with members of the Society, the Committee shall have the power by a majority decision of its members present at the meeting to expel or otherwise deal with the offending member, or to suspend him or her for so long as the Committee shall think fit.

46.	If such member shall feel aggrieved by the decision of the Committee, he or she may, within seven days after being notified in writing thereof, appeal by notice in writing to the Secretary. Thereupon within twenty-eight days a Special General Meeting shall be convened at which a report shall be presented by the Committee, the member heard, and the matter determined by ballot. A simple majority of half the members eligible to vote and present, plus one, shall be required to carry any motion either to confirm the action of the Committee or otherwise. For the purposes of this clause, members voting by proxy are deemed to be present.