CONSTITUTION OF
THE HONG KONG RUGBY REFEREES SOCIETY
Hereinafter referred to as “the Constitution”. Amended in HKRRS Annual General Meeting 2020.
CONTENTS
Name and Address
Objectives of the Society
Membership of the HKRU
Membership of the Society
Funds of the Society
The Executive Committee (EXCOM)
Election of the Executive Committee
Authority of the Executive Committee
Coaching and Selection of Referees
Meetings and Communication
Disciplinary Action
Dissolution of the Society
Alterations or Additions to the Constitution
1. Name and Address
The Society shall be known as the Hong Kong Rugby Referees Society (HKRRS), hereinafter referred to as “the Society”.
The Society's registered address is care of the Hong Kong Rugby Union, Olympic House, 1 Stadium Path, So Kon Po, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
2. Objectives of the Society
The Objectives of the Society are to:
Promote rugby union football ("rugby") in Hong Kong.
Provide qualified match officials for rugby matches.
Recruit, train and develop match officials for games under the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU).
Improve the standards of match officiating within Hong Kong.
Generate funds and to use such funds for the furtherance of the interests of the Society and its members ("Members").
Comply with the Society and HKRU Codes of Conduct and any Mission Statement of the Society and the HKRU.
Engage in such other activities approved by the Executive Committee (EXCOM).
3. Membership of the HKRU
The Society is a founder member of the HKRU.
The Society shall maintain its membership of the HKRU.
The Society shall be represented at the Annual General Meeting and other General Meetings of the HKRU by, in order of sequence, the President, Vice President or another Member of EXCOM nominated by the President or Vice President if either is unable to attend.
4. Membership of the Society
Membership of the Society shall be open to anyone interested in match officiating of rugby matches or the game in general played under World Rugby’s Laws of the Game of rugby. Membership shall be comprised of four basic categories: (i) Full Member; (ii) Associate Member; (iii) Social Member; and (iv) Honorary Life Member.
Full Membership shall be upon approval of EXCOM for those who successfully complete a World Rugby course, pass a “safety field test” with a qualified referee coach and upon payment of an annual subscription which shall be determined by EXCOM. Prospective new Full Members moving to Hong Kong from overseas must produce a letter of introduction from their home society or go through the procedure in the previous sentence unless determined otherwise by EXCOM. Full Members of the Society are expected to contribute to Society activities and to strive to uphold the Objectives of the Society.
Society activities for these purposes shall include, at EXCOM’s discretion, but are not limited to:
Refereeing, assistant refereeing, touch judging, technical zone management, assessing, coaching, mentoring and performance reviewing and assisting with any of the foregoing.
Associate or Social Membership shall be confined to those who do not actively referee rugby or contribute directly to the activities of the Society as defined at 4.2 above, subject to the approval of EXCOM, and upon payment of the annual subscription as determined by EXCOM. Associate and Social Members are not permitted to vote on Society matters. The Society’s Secretary, Treasurer and any Membership Secretary will agree on and maintain a list of Full, Associate and Social Members.
The annual subscription, which shall be decided from time to time by EXCOM shall become due after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society and before the start of the season following the AGM. Full Members who have not paid their annual subscriptions by the end of the September following the AGM shall have their Membership suspended until such time as their subscriptions are paid and will not be allowed to take any part in the business of the Society or to enjoy any benefit of Membership. Late payment of subscriptions shall attract a penalty premium payment as determined by EXCOM from time to time.
EXCOM may award Honorary Life Membership for those who have rendered special service to the game of rugby. Full guidelines are contained in the Honorary Life Membership Policy document available on request. Members awarded Honorary Life Membership shall have the same rights as other Full Members of the Society.
It is a condition of Membership that all Members adhere to, and agree to be bound by, the provisions of this Constitution.
5. Funds of the Society
The funds shall be used only to meet expenses, and to support or promote the Objectives of the Society.
The funds shall not be used for other purposes.
6. The Executive Committee (EXCOM)
EXCOM shall comprise the office bearing positions of (i) President, (ii) Vice President, (iii) Secretary, (iv) Treasurer, (v) Fixture Secretary, (vi) Membership Secretary and up to three elected Members. Only Full Members of the Society may serve on EXCOM.
EXCOM shall have the power to invite any other Society Members, whom by virtue of general qualification or experience may contribute to the administering of the Society as Co-opted Members of EXCOM. Co-opted Members shall not have voting rights on EXCOM.
EXCOM shall administer the Society subject to any overall guidance and instruction of the Membership by resolution at General Meetings.
EXCOM shall endeavour to meet monthly during the rugby playing season. Meetings may be held in person or virtually using electronic means e.g. telephone or video conferencing. The President of the Society shall be the Chairman of all EXCOM meetings, except that in his absence the Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer, in that order, shall take the Chair. The quorum for meetings of EXCOM shall be 5 or more, two of whom must be Office bearers. The involvement of an EXCOM Member for the duration of the meeting via telephone or video link shall still be included in the quorum.
Wherever possible, not less than seven (7) days’ notice shall be given of meetings of EXCOM, along with any agenda. Voting on any motion of which notice has been given, or any motion arising out of discussion, shall require a simple majority for the motion to be carried, with the Chairman of the meeting having an additional and casting vote in the event of a tied vote. Voting shall be by a show of hands, verbal or electronic means, e.g polling application.
In any situation whereby a Member of EXCOM may have a potential or actual conflict of interest in the outcome of the matter being discussed, the Member shall declare the potential or actual conflict of interest. EXCOM shall then decide (by a vote of the non-conflicted members) whether the Member should be recused from further discussions involving the matter under discussion.
7. Election of the Executive Committee
EXCOM shall be elected by voting at the AGM and will serve until the concluding adjournment of the next AGM. It is expected that any candidate for the post of President shall have at least one year’s experience of serving on EXCOM before being nominated for election.
EXCOM Members shall be eligible for re-election.
The procedure for electing Members of EXCOM is set out in section 10.8 below. In the event of a tied vote in electing Members of EXCOM, the vote shall be re-taken. If after a second vote there is another tie, the Chairman of the Meeting shall have a casting vote.
EXCOM Members may resign during their period of office. Any Member of EXCOM who fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings of EXCOM without good cause shall be deemed to have resigned their post.
In the event of the resignation of an EXCOM Member, the other Members of EXCOM shall have the power to fill the vacancy from among Full Members of the Society via an Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”). Nominations and voting will follow the procedure set out in section 10.8 below. In the event of the resignation of the President, the Vice President shall assume the post until the election of a new President at the next General Meeting of the Society following the procedure set out in section 10.8 below.
No Member may be elected to more than one post on EXCOM.
The maximum consecutive years a Member may serve in the same role on EXCOM shall be 5 years, unless an extension is unanimously agreed by EXCOM on an annual basis.
8. Authority of the Executive Committee
EXCOM shall have delegated authority and shall be fully empowered to:
Administer the funds of the Society.
Appoint a Chairman for the Coaching & Selection Group (CSG), Disciplinary Committee and any other Committee deemed necessary to be established to further the Objectives of the Society. Membership of such Committees shall be from within both the Full and Associate Members of the Society. The establishment of Committees and recommendations made by Committees shall be communicated to Society Members.
Request the resignation, or reprimand, suspend or terminate the Membership of any Member in respect of any proven misconduct in contravention of the Objectives of the Society as detailed in section 2 (Objectives of the Society) above or other matters that may reflect adversely on the Society. However, to observe the guiding principle that common sense, fairness and natural justice should apply, any action detailed in the previous sentence shall only be taken after following the procedure in section 11 below
Interpret this Constitution in the event of any dispute regarding its meaning and to make rulings on any question or matter not provided for within this Constitution. Any such interpretations or rulings must be confirmed by the Membership in General Meeting.
Following each meeting of the EXCOM, any matters discussed and any decisions reached which are deemed relevant to the Members shall be conveyed to the Membership. This will normally be given as a verbal report at a General Meeting by the President or their representative.
9. Coaching and Selection of Referees
The EXCOM shall appoint a Chairman of the Coaching & Selection Group (CSG):
The CSG Chairman shall invite suitably qualified Members to join the board that shall also include the HKRU Head of Match Officiating and/or delegate(s).
The CSG shall grade match officials into panels according to ability.
The HKRU Head of Match Officiating, or delegate, will appoint match officials from the match official panels to fixtures in Hong Kong.
The CSG will select match officials to games or tournament conducted overseas for EXCOM to ratify.
The CSG shall assess and evaluate all match official grades at a frequency determined by EXCOM and publish the outcome to the Membership.
10. Meetings and Communication
Society meetings shall be in the form of Extraordinary General Meetings, Annual General Meetings or General Meetings. The words “called for”, “in writing”, “send”, “sent” or “sent to” in the following paragraphs will be taken to mean either by post, fax, email or by posting on the Society’s website or via social media. The President of the Society shall be the Chairman of all Society meetings, except that in his absence the Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership or Fixtures Secretary, in that order, shall take the Chair and in their absence any Member of EXCOM shall take the Chair.
Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM)
An EGM may be called by the Secretary to address Society business deemed too urgent to wait for the Annual General Meeting. This could include, but is not limited to, alterations to the Constitution or changes to EXCOM.
Extraordinary General Meetings shall be convened by the Secretary. Notice of the date, time and venue of the meeting, and the agenda, will be sent to all Members, Full and Associate, at least twenty-eight (28) days before the meeting. The quorum required for the EGM shall be the presence of a minimum of twenty (20) Full Members of the Society. If the quorum cannot be formed by 30 minutes after the scheduled time for the meeting to start, the meeting shall be adjourned and re-scheduled. For a rescheduled meeting the presence of any number of Members of the Society shall be the quorum.
Members eligible to vote but unable to attend the meeting, shall be allowed to send a proxy vote in writing to the Secretary on any item on the published agenda on which a vote might be taken. Such proxy must indicate clearly the agenda item the proxy refers to and the voting instructions to be cast and must be received by the Secretary by midnight of the day before the meeting.
Voting shall be by show of hands or via secret ballot as deemed by EXCOM, and all Full Members attending, shall be allowed one vote and the Chairman of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote in the event of a tied vote. Proxy votes will be added to those votes taken on a show of hands or via secret ballot to give a total voting figure.
Decisions shall be made by simple majority except in the case of changes to the Constitution (see section 13 below).
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The AGM shall be held before 30th June each year. Notice of the date, time and venue of the AGM will be sent to all Full, Associate, Social and Honorary Life Members, at least twenty-eight (28) days before the meeting. The quorum required for the AGM shall be the presence of a minimum of twenty (20) Full Members of the Society. If the quorum cannot be formed by 30 minutes after the scheduled time for the meeting to start, the meeting shall be adjourned and re-scheduled. For a rescheduled meeting the presence of any number of Members of the Society shall be the quorum. The business of the AGM will be to:
Approve the Annual Reports of the President, CSG and the Head of Match Officiating on the season just ended. These reports will be sent to all Members at least seven (7) days before the meeting.
Approve either provisional or audited accounts from the Treasurer for the financial year ending on 30th April prior to the meeting. The accounts will be sent to all Members at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
Elect the Members of the EXCOM for the ensuing year. Nominations for Membership of EXCOM will be called for by the Secretary at the same time as the Notice of the AGM is sent to Members, i.e. at least twenty-eight (28) days before the meeting.
Nominations must be proposed and seconded by Full Members of the Society and sent to the Secretary at least fourteen (14) days before the meeting. A Member may not propose him/herself. A list of all nominations will be sent by the Secretary, along with a voting form and the final agenda, at least seven (7) days before the meeting. Members unable to attend the meeting should return a completed voting form to the Secretary before midnight of the day before the meeting.
Voting for the election of EXCOM Members will be by secret ballot among those Full Members present. The Secretary will prepare ballot forms if a vote is required. Votes will be counted by two Full Members present who shall be neither current EXCOM Members, nor candidates for election, nor a Member who has nominated or seconded a Member for election]. The Secretary will give to the two vote counters any voting forms he had received prior to the meeting. The total votes cast shall be given by the two vote counters to the Chairman of the meeting who shall then announce the result of the voting.
After nominations have been received and a list of nominations sent to Members, nominations shall be deemed closed. Where the nominations received indicate that an election is not required for any post(s), the Chairman of the AGM shall declare the Member(s) nominated to be elected unopposed. No nominations will be accepted from the floor of the AGM except as detailed in the following paragraph.
If any post on EXCOM has no nomination received, the Chairman of the meeting will call for nominations from the floor from those present and voting will be restricted to those present only and by a show of hands or via secret ballot as deemed by EXCOM. In the event that no nomination is received from the floor the incoming EXCOM shall co-opt a Full Member of the Society to take the unfilled post. Any person so co-opted shall hold office until the next AGM and shall be eligible for re-election.
Dispatch any other business on the published agenda for the meeting. Any Member wishing to raise an item of Any Other Business at the AGM shall give notice thereof, either in writing or verbally, to the President or to the Secretary prior to the start of the meeting. In addition, the Chairman of the meeting may, at his sole discretion, accept items of any other business arising from discussion during the meeting.
All Full Members attending shall be allowed one vote on any item on the agenda requiring a vote, with voting on all matters undertaken by show of hands, or via secret ballot as deemed by EXCOM except the election of Members of EXCOM which shall only be via secret ballot. Full Members shall be allowed one vote and the Chairman of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote in the event of a tied vote.
Members eligible to vote but unable to attend the meeting, shall be allowed to send a proxy vote in writing to the Secretary on any item on the published agenda on which a vote might be taken. Such proxy must indicate clearly the agenda item the proxy refers to and the voting instructions to be cast and must be received by the Secretary by midnight of the day before the meeting. These proxy votes will be added to those votes taken on a show of hands or via secret ballot to give a total voting figure.
All decisions shall be made by simple majority except in the case of changes to the Constitution (see section 13 below).
General Meetings
General Meetings shall be convened by the Secretary. Notice of the date, time and venue of the meeting, and the agenda, will be sent to all Members, Full and Associate, at least seven (7) days before the meeting, except in the case of a General Meeting where any proposed amendments or additions to the Constitution will be voted on – see section 13 below – in which case at least twenty-eight (28) days’ notice must be given.
A quorum shall be the presence of a minimum of ten (10) Full Members of the Society. If the quorum cannot be formed by 15 (fifteen) minutes after the scheduled time of the meeting, the meeting shall be adjourned and re-scheduled. For a rescheduled meeting the presence of any number of Members of the Society shall be the quorum.
Members eligible to vote but unable to attend the meeting, shall be allowed to send a proxy vote in writing to the Secretary on any item on the published agenda on which a vote might be taken. Such proxy must indicate clearly the agenda item the proxy refers to and the voting instructions to be cast and must be received by the Secretary by midnight of the day before the meeting.
Voting shall be by show of hands or via secret ballot as deemed by EXCOM, and all Full Members attending shall be allowed one vote and the Chairman of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote in the event of a tied vote. Proxy votes will be added to those votes taken on a show of hands or via secret ballot to give a total voting figure.
Decisions shall be made by simple majority.
11. Disciplinary Action
It is a guiding principle that common sense, fairness and natural justice should be followed in the procedures detailed below. Furthermore, all disciplinary matters should be conducted in a confidential manner and it is important that all the parties involved deal with the matter as expeditiously as possible.
Any Member who is alleged to have contravened the Objectives of the Society or is alleged to have acted in any other manner that may reflect adversely on the Society will be considered for disciplinary action. Any Member making a complaint is permitted to ask for anonymity. Once received, the Member subject to any allegation(s) shall have the allegation(s) put to them in writing, within ten (10) days of EXCOM receiving such allegation, with a request that a response be made for initial consideration by EXCOM. Such response must be made within one (1) calendar month of the date of the allegation being put to the Member.
Thereafter, or if no response is received, if EXCOM believes there is a prima facie case to be answered it shall appoint a Disciplinary Committee to investigate the allegation. The Member shall be entitled to make representation to the Disciplinary Committee that is established to consider the matter, in person and/or in writing. The Member shall be entitled to representation by any Member of the Society of their choice.
The Disciplinary Committee shall comprise a Chairman appointed by the EXCOM and a minimum of two other Full Members of the Society, none of whom shall be Members of EXCOM. Before any investigation commences all Members of any Disciplinary Committee shall declare any actual or potential conflict of interest and, in the event of any actual or potential conflict of interest, shall be replaced.
After due consideration, the Disciplinary Committee shall make a decision and advise this to EXCOM to either take no action, reprimand, suspend or terminate the Membership of the offending Member. Subject to paragraphs 11.6 and 11.7 below, the decision of the Disciplinary Committee shall be final.
Any Member who is found by the Disciplinary Committee to have any allegation against them proven may appeal the decision to EXCOM against the finding and/or the sanction imposed. The decision made by EXCOM will be final with no further right of appeal.
Nothing in this section shall be taken to deny a Member’s rights in law.
12. Dissolution of the Society
The Society may only be dissolved by a General Meeting, or by the failure to hold an Annual General Meeting for two successive years, in which case any surplus in the Society's funds shall be handed to the HKRU.
13. Alterations or Additions to the Constitution
The Constitution of the Society shall not be amended or added to except at an Extraordinary General Meeting or Annual General Meeting and then only by a two-thirds majority of those Members present who are eligible to vote and of those proxy votes received.
A minimum of twenty-eight (28) days’ notice of any proposed amendments or additions to the Constitution shall be given to all Members of the Society eligible to vote.
Members eligible to vote but unable to attend the meeting shall be allowed to send a proxy vote in writing to the Secretary. Such proxy must indicate clearly the voting instructions to be cast and must be received by the Secretary by midnight of the day before the meeting. Proxy votes will be added to those votes taken on a show of hands to give a total voting figure. The Chairman of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote in the event of a tied vote.