British Rottweiler Association Rules.
NAME AND OBJECTS
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The association shall be called the British Rottweiler Association.
2. The object of the Society will be to support and encourage all aspects of Rottweilers in Great Britain by:
a. The organisation of Shows and Training Classes.
b. Providing instruction in all matters appertaining to the Breed
c. Maintaining the Breed in accordance with the Standard approved by the Kennel Club.
d. Providing the opportunity for the interchange of knowledge and ideas between Rottweiler owners by meetings, newsletters etc.
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
3 a. The Officers shall consist of a President, Chairman of the Committee, Vice Chairman of the Committee, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. They will hold office from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting or Committee Meeting at which elected until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting next following.
b. The members may at the Annual General Meeting elect such persons as they wish as Honorary Vice Presidents. Such Honorary Vice Presidents will hold office from the completion of the Annual General Meeting at which elected until the commencement of the following Annual General Meeting. There shall be no limit to the number of Honorary Vice Presidents.
c. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Committee of 8 Members, 4 to retire annually but to be eligible for re-election. They shall be elected in accordance with Rule 4e. The Members of the Committee will hold office from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting at which elected until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting at which they are due to retire.
d. The President shall be ipso facto an additional Member of the Committee.
e. The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be elected in accordance with Rule 4f. They shall have the right to attend all Meetings of the Committee and Association and shall act on the decision of the Committee and Association as instructed from time to time. The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be ipso facto additional Members of the Committee.
f. Meetings of the Committee shall be held as often as deemed necessary but at least every 3 months. A quorum for Committee Meetings shall be 4 for the transaction of business. Should any Committee Member be absent from three consecutive Committee Meetings without an explanation satisfactory to the Committee being given, he/she shall be deemed to have automatically relinquished his/her Committee membership.
g. Officers and Committee of the BRA shall not serve concurrently on any other Rottweiler Breed Club Committee.
h. No person while an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee or hold any other office or appointment within a Kennel Club registered society.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
4. a. The President shall be nominated by the Committee and elected in accordance with Rule 4f.
b. The Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected from the Committee Members by the Committee at the first Committee Meeting held after the AGM.
c. The Honorary Secretary shall be nominated by the Committee and elected in accordance with Rule 4f.
d. The Honorary Treasurer shall be nominated by the Committee and elected in accordance with Rule 4f.
e. The Members of the Committee shall be elected by the Members at the AGM. Any member who has been in membership of the Association for the preceding one year can be nominated by another member who has been a member for the preceding two years, subject to the consent of the nominee. These nominations must be in the hands of the Honorary Secretary at least 28 days before the date of the Meeting together with the names of the retiring Committee Members willing to stand for re-election. The period of 28 days is to exclude the date of receipt of nominations and the date of the AGM. Nominations and notifications of willingness to stand for re- election are to be sealed in an envelope clearly marked ‘Nomination’ and are to contain no other matter. Envelopes containing nominations are to be opened by the Chairman in the presence of Committee Members at a Committee Meeting to be held not less than 21 days prior to the AGM. If the number of Nominees together with the retiring Members of the Committee who are willing to stand again exceed 4 in number, a voting paper recording the names of the Nominees, and in the case of Members of the previous Committee the number of times they have attended meetings, will be issued. The Members at the AGM must record no more than the required number of votes on these voting papers. The Candidates obtaining the largest number of votes together with the Members of the Committee not due for retirement shall be declared by the Chairman to be the Committee Members for the ensuing year. In the event of an even number of votes being recorded for any two or more Candidates a final decision between these Candidates will be made by a vote of Members present at the AGM.
f. The nominations of the Committee for President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer, shall be submitted to a vote of Members present at the AGM for acceptance. In the event of Members refusing to endorse the Committee’s nomination for any 1 or more of the Officers, the wishes of the Members will be ascertained by postal nominations and a postal ballot conducted in accordance with Rule 4e except that the result of such voting shall be submitted by the Scrutineers to a Special General Meeting and the words ‘Special General Meeting’ shall be substituted for the words ‘AGM’ wherever shown in Rule 4e.
g. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt a Member to fill a vacancy provided the total number of the Committee Members does not exceed the number allowed for full Committee. A Committee Member co-opted to fill a vacancy caused by the loss of a Committee Member who was not due to retire at the next AGM shall have his co-option confirmed or rejected by the Members at the next AGM and then shall be due to retire at the AGM following the one at which his co-option was confirmed. Additional Members may however be co-opted for special purposes for periods not exceeding 1 year. Such Members too have the status of Committee Members but may only vote on the subjects for which they were co-opted.
h. In all matters of decision the Chairman shall have the casting vote only.
ELECTION OF MEMBERS
5. Candidates for Membership of the Association shall be proposed by 1 Member and seconded by another, and elected by a show of hands by the Committee at one of their Meetings. Two or more negatives from Members of the Committee shall exclude a Candidate from Membership except that the two Members recording a negative vote shall not be in Joint Membership together and, if they are, a further negative is required to exclude.
MEMBERSHIP LIST
6. The Association must maintain an up to date list of Members and their addresses, and those of branch members where appropriate and, if so requested, make the list of names available for inspection by the Kennel Club and Members of the Association. A declaration of the number of members of the Association must be made with Annual Returns.
VOTING RIGHTS
7. Each Member shall be entitled to 1 vote immediately upon acceptance of Membership. In the case of Joint Membership 1 vote each Member or partnership is allowed. Voting shall be by secret ballot.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
8 a. The Annual Subscriptions shall be such amount as agreed by Members in General Meeting and notified to the Kennel Club and shall be payable to the Honorary Treasurer on the 1st January each year. No Member whose subscription is unpaid is entitled to any of the privileges of Membership and if the Member shall fail to pay outstanding subscriptions by 1st March his/her name shall be automatically erased from the register. Acceptance back on the register will be dependent upon a new application and payment of back arrears.
No Member may attend the AGM who has not paid the subscription due on 1st January of the year in which the AGM is being held.
b. Candidates who wish to restrict their Membership to the British Rottweiler Association branches can be nominated Branch Members only. Such Members shall pay a reduced subscription to the British Rottweiler Association but will not receive the British Rottweiler Association Newsletters or have voting rights.
MEETINGS
The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than 31st March, not less than 14 days notice being given to Members in writing. No business shall be transacted at an Annual General Meeting unless notice thereof appears on the Agenda, with the exception of routine matters or those which in the opinion of the Chairman of the Meeting are urgent. Items for the Agenda must be in the hands of the Honorary Secretary not less than 21 days before the date of the Meeting. The Agenda will be circulated at the Meeting. The certified accounts will be made available on request fourteen days prior to the AGM.
The quorum for an Annual General Meeting shall be one Officer, four Committee members and two members.
SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS
A Special General Meeting shall be summoned by the Honorary Secretary if 25 members send in a signed requisition stating the subject to be discussed; no business other than the matter on the Agenda can be discussed at a Special General Meeting. The Committee of the Association is also empowered to call a Special General Meeting. Items for the Agenda must be in the hands of the Honorary Secretary 21 days prior to a Meeting. Members will be notified in writing of a Special General Meeting.
The Rules of the Association shall not be altered except at a General Meeting or Special General Meeting, the notice for which contains specific proposals to amend the Rules. Any alterations to the Rules passed at a General Meeting or a Special General Meeting shall not be brought into force until the Kennel Club has been advised and given its approval of the alterations.
The quorum for a Special General Meeting shall be one Officer, four Committee members and two members.
ACCOUNTS
9. A Banking Account shall be opened in the name of the Association into which all revenue of the Association shall be paid and from which withdrawals shall only be made on the signature of 2 Officers, one of whom shall be the Honorary Treasurer. The financial year of the Association shall be from the 1st January to the 31st December. The Honorary Treasurer shall receive all monies, keep a proper record of receipts and payments and submit properly audited income and expenditure account and balance sheet(s) to the Members at the Annual General Meeting. The certified accounts will be made available on request to members fourteen days prior to the AGM.
Certification of accounts must be carried out by one qualified Accountant or two unqualified individuals with accountancy experience, independent of the committee.
EXPULSION OF MEMBERS
10. Any Member who shall be disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A11.j.(5) and/or Kennel Club Rule A11.j.(9) shall ipso facto cease to be a Member of the Association.
If the conduct of any Member shall, in the opinion of the Committee of the Association be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interests of the Association, the Committee of the Association may, at a Meeting, the notice convening of which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the Member, determine that a Special General Meeting of the Association shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her.
Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused Member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising the place, date and hour of the Meeting that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If at the Meeting, a resolution to expel is passed by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting, his/her name shall forthwith be erased from the list of Members, and he/she shall thereupon cease for all purpose to be a Member of the Association except that he/she may, within two calendar months from the date of the Meeting, appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such condition as the Kennel Club may impose.
ASSOCIATION PROPERTY
11. The property of the Association shall be vested in the Committee and in the event of the Association ceasing to exist, a General Meeting shall be called to decide the disposal of the Association’s assets and the outcome of the Meeting notified to the Kennel Club.
(If a registered Association is wound up or ceases to be a Registered Association under these Regulations a final statement of accounts with a record of the disposal of the property of the Association shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club within six months and the persons named as Officers and Committee of the Association will be held responsible by the Kennel Club for the proper winding up of the Association).
FINAL COURT OF APPEAL
12. The Kennel Club shall be the final authority for interpreting the rules of the Society in all cases relative to canine or society matters.
The Association undertakes not to join any Federation of Societies or Clubs.
TRAINING RULES
13. A set of Rules will be produced and modified as required from time to time by the Committee to govern the conduct of training classes and competitions held by the Association. These Rules will be binding upon all persons taking part in these activities.
ANNUAL RETURNS TO THE KENNEL CLUB
14. The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year, Maintenance of Title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Honorary Secretary for continuance of Registration and that by 31st July each year other returns, as stipulated in Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Title of Societies and Breed Councils and the Affiliation of Agricultural Societies and Municipal Authorities, be forwarded to the Kennel Club. The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any changes of Honorary Secretary of the Society which may occur during the course of the year.
JUDGES LIST
15. As a member club of the Rottweiler Breed Council, the Association will adopt the Judges Lists that are produced by the Council.