REVISED
AND ADOPTED AT CARACAS, VENZUELA, 2001
1.
Offices
2.
Membership
3.
Board of Governors
4.
Postal Ballot
5.
Duties of Officers
6.
Committees
7.
Management Committee
8.
Tournaments
9.
Tournament Committees
10.
Finance
11.
Books and Records
12.
Notices
13.
Seal
14.
Rules of Order and Quorum
15.
Indemnification
1 OFFICES
1.1
The principal office of CACBF shall be in the country of
residence of the president of CACBF who shall be in charge thereof.
1.2
CACBF may also have offices at such other places as the
Board may from time to time appoint or as the business of CACBF may require
2 MEMBERSHIP
2.1
A NBO of an independent or substantially self-governing country
or territory within Zone 5 may apply for membership of CACBF and be elected
thereto by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Board on such terms and/or
conditions the Board deems reasonable.
Provided such NBO satisfies the requirements herein below.
2.2
In order to be eligible for such membership as aforesaid the
NBO must provide proof of the following:-
i.
It has an appropriate register of members.
ii.
It is open to all citizens or residents of the particular
country subject only to meeting the requirements of such NBO.
iii.
It is the officially recognised NBO of that country.
iv.
It undertakes to comply with the Constitution and By-Laws of
CACBF.
v.
It upholds an image of integrity and enforces a standard of
ethics acceptable to CACBF.
vi.
It complies with all the applicable rules and regulations of
CACBF governing its Bridge Competitions.
vii.
It plays Bridge according to the current International
Codes.
viii.
It agrees to play bridge in all CACBF competitions against
all other NBO’s which are invitees to such competitions.
2.3
Upon election of a NBO to membership of CACBF the Honorary
Secretary shall inform such NBO of its election, of any special terms and/or
conditions and shall give such NBO a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws.
2.4
Each NBO on being elected to membership of CACBF shall
submit to the Honorary Secretary the following documents and shall undertake to
update them periodically:-
i.
A copy of its Constitution.
ii.
A list of its officers (to be submitted annually thereafter).
iii.
A list of its members (to be submitted annually thereafter).
iv.
A copy of its programme of events.
2.5
Any member of CACBF which is not in arrears in dues or in performance
of its duties to CACBF may resign in good standing.
2.6.1 A member may be suspended from membership of the CACBF for:-
(a)
failure for a period of two full years to pay its annual
dues or charges
OR
(b)
failure to maintain its membership as an NBO in good standing.
2.6.2 A member may be
suspended by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Board either for an indefinite
period or for a definite period if the Board in its discretion concludes that
the member is not conforming or has not conformed with the requirements for
eligibility for membership of CACBF or is bringing disrepute upon CACBF or its
Bridge Competitions. The decision of
the Board shall be final.
2.7.1 A member
suspended pursuant to Section 2.6.1 (a) may be reinstated by the affirmative
vote of a majority of the Board upon payment of a sum of money equal to the
dues and charges in arrears.
2.7.2 A member temporarily
suspended pursuant to Section 2.6.1 (b) may be reinstated by the affirmative
vote of a majority of the Board on such conditions as the Board may prescribe.
2.7.3 A member
temporarily suspended pursuant to Section 2.6.2 may be reinstated by the affirmative
vote of two-thirds of the Board on such conditions as the Board prescribes.
2.8.1 A member
may be removed from membership of CACBF by the affirmative vote of two-thirds
of the Board.
2.8.2 The Board
shall remove and/or suspend from membership of CACBF any member which has been
removed and/or suspended from membership of WBF until such time as such member
is reinstated to membership of WBF.
2.8.3 Any member
removed from membership pursuant to Section 2.8.1 may be reinstated only by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Board.
3 BOARD
OF GOVERNORS
3.1
Each member of CACBF shall inform the Honorary Secretary in
writing of the name of its representative to sit on the Board and whether or
not such representative has power to name an alternate before the first meeting
of the Board.
3.2
Each member of CACBF shall be entitled to have two advisors
at meetings of the Board but these shall not be entitled to vote.
3.3
Each member of the Board shall have one vote only except for
the Chairman who shall have both an original vote and a casting vote. Provided however that in the election of the
officers of CACBF only the NBO members of the Board shall be entitled to vote
and there shall be no casting vote.
3.4
The President shall chair all meetings of the Board at which
he/she is present and in his/her absence one of the other officers present in
the order of precedence as set out at Article 9.1 of the Constitution shall
chair the meeting.
3.5
The Agenda for the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors
shall be as follows:-
i.
Appointment of Tournament Appeals Committee
ii.
Confirmation of Minutes
iii.
Matters Arising
iv.
Reports from Committees and Officers
v.
Election of Officers
(if appropriate)
vi.
Fixing the Entrance, Membership and other fees.
vii.
Fixing of dates and sites for future Tournaments
viii.
Business for which Prior Notice has been given by NBO’s.
ix.
Any Other Business
3.6
For the purpose of clarifying sub-paragraph 3 of this paragraph it is
stipulated that:-
a) at any
meeting of the Board only NBO members of the Board in good standing shall be
eligible to vote or members thereof be eligible to hold office
AND
b) this
sub-paragraph shall not be construed so as to deprive any and/or all of the
officers of a vote and/or votes to which he and/or they is and/or are entitled
by these By-Laws and the Constitution.
3.7
At any meeting of the Board it may allow any person who is not a member
to attend as an observer on such terms as it may prescribe.
4 POSTAL
BALLOT
4.1
Subject to Article 13.2 of the Constitution in lieu of a meeting any matter
within the jurisdiction of the Board may be acted on by Postal Ballot.
4.2
Each Postal Ballot shall allow two weeks from the date of
the Ballot or such shorter period of time as is reasonable in all the
circumstances for replies and shall set forth the matter to be acted on and
shall be sent and/or given to each member of the Board by sending the same to
the last address submitted by the member as his or its address and/or by giving
the same to such person as is known to be capable of receiving it on behalf of
the member.
4.3
Any Ballot not returned within the prescribed period of time
shall be presumed to be an affirmative vote.
4.4
For the purpose of avoiding confusion in construing and
applying sub-paragraph 2 of this paragraph it is stipulated that “Postal
Ballot” shall include telexes, e-mails, and other means of telecommunications
electronic or otherwise as approved by the Board from time to time.
5 OFFICERS
5.1
Candidates for election to office shall be nominated and
seconded by NBO members of the Board
5.2.1 The President
shall be the Chief Executive Officer of CACBF.
He/she shall preside at all meetings of the Board and the Management
Committee, if any; he/she shall keep the seal, if any; he/she shall have
general supervision of the officers of CACBF; he/she shall sign or countersign
all certificates, contracts and other instruments of CACBF as authorised by the
Board and/or Management Committee; and shall perform all such duties as are
incidental or are properly required of him/her by the Board and/or the
Management Committee. The President
shall report to the Board at its Annual Meeting.
5.2.2 The
President shall be responsible for the representation of CACBF within WBF and
in discharge of that responsibility shall attend meetings of the Executive
Council of WBF and such other meetings of WBF as shall be of interest to
CACBF. Provided however he/she may in
his/her absolute discretion delegate such responsibility to any other
person. Such person needs not be a
representative of a NBO member of the Board or an officer of CACBF at the time
of such delegation.
5.3
The First Vice-President shall act for the President
whenever the latter is unable to perform his/her duties for whatever reason
except that the First Vice-President shall not while so acting exercise the
President’s powers under sub-paragraph 7 of paragraph 5 and sub-paragraph 3 of
paragraph 6 of these By-Laws. He/she
shall also perform such other duties as are assigned to him by the Board and/or
Management Committee and/or the President from time to time.
5.4
The Second Vice-President shall be the Chairman of the
Tournament Organising Committee and as such shall be responsible for the
arrangements for the particular Tournament.
In addition, he/she shall be the Executive Officer for the Credentials
Committee and in this capacity he shall receive the lists of the names of the
players and non-playing captains who intend to participate in the Tournament
and prepares the same for the Credentials Committee.
5.5
The Honorary Secretary shall perform all such duties as may be
assigned and/or delegated to him/her by the Board and/or the Management
Committee, if there is one, and/or the President. He/she shall issue Notices for all meetings; he/she shall keep
the minutes of all meetings of the Board; and, he/she shall have charge of the
Minute Books of CACBF and all other records, documents and other papers of
CACBF.
5.6
The Honorary Treasurer shall perform those duties imposed on
him/her by the Constitution and these By-Laws.
5.7
In the case of absence or inability to act of any officer of
CACBF and of any person authorised to act in his/her place the Board and/or
Management Committee and/or the President shall from time to time delegate the
powers and/or duties of such office to any other officer or any other person
whom it and/or he/she may select.
5.8
The compensation paid to any officer or agent of CACBF shall
be fixed and approved by the Board.
5.9
Any person chosen by the President to perform certain duties
may be removed at any time with or without cause by the President.
6
COMMITTEES
6.1
While Standing Committees may be appointed by the Board, the
Management Committee and/or the Board may appoint Special Committees. The appointed Board and/or Management
Committee may invest such Committees with such powers as it deems fit.
6.2
All Standing and Special Committees shall keep regular
minutes of the transactions of their meetings and shall report the same to the
Board.
6.3
The Board in its discretion may appoint a Constitution and
By-Laws Committee which shall comprise not less than three nor more than five
members.
6.3.1 The
Honorary Secretary shall be the Chairman of this Committee.
6.3.2 This
Committee shall consider and take account of all matters pertaining to the
Constitution and the By-Laws of CACBF and formulate recommendations for any
desirable alterations, amendments or repeals thereto and submit the same to the
Board.
6.4
The Board shall appoint a Rules and Regulations Committee
which shall comprise five members including the President and the Honorary
Secretary.
6.4.1 The Rules
and Regulations Committee shall consider and take account of all matters
pertaining to the Rules and Regulations of CACBF competitions and formulate and
recommend to the Board any desirable additions, alterations, amendments and/or
repeals thereto.
6.4.2 The Rules
and Regulations established by this Committee must include the following:-
1.
Each contestant as a condition of its admission agrees to
abide by all applicable Rules and Regulations of CACBF governing the particular
contest, and further consents to the power of CACBF through its constituent
authority to enforce proper behaviour and to discipline any offender.
2. In the
event a team or pair refuses to play in any round or match against another team
or pair the match shall be recorded as forfeited and the offending team or pair
may be suspended from participating in any CACBF contest for two full calendar
years following such offence.
6.5
The Board may appoint a Laws Committee of not less than
three nor more than five members drawn from at least three members of CACBF.
6.5.1 This Committee shall be the sole competent authority to hear and decide on points of law referred to it during a CACBF Tournament.