1. The society shall be called the International Playing Card Society (The Society).
2. The Society and its activities shall be governed by the laws of England.
1. The objects of The Society are to stimulate and facilitate interest and research into the history and development of playing cards and associated card games, and to provide a forum for the exchange of information on those subjects.
1. Membership shall be open to all persons, organisations and institutions supporting the objects of The Society.
2. There shall be two classes of membership: ‘Ordinary’ and ‘Associate’. Associate membership shall be available only to public authorities, learned institutions, commercial undertakings involved in the design, manufacture or distribution of playing cards and similar organisations. Associate members shall be entitled to nominate in writing to the Secretary a correspondent to receive all information literature, material and documents which may be circulated to the membership generally. The nominated correspondent shall be entitled to attend General Meetings with the right to speak but not to vote.
3. Honorary Life Membership may be granted by a General Meeting to any person who, in the opinion of the Council, has rendered outstanding service to the work of The Society or independently to the study of playing cards. It shall carry the rights of full membership but shall be free from subscriptions.
4. The full benefits of membership shall include receipt of all information, literature and material (e.g. the journal, monographs and pattern sheets) access to the Members’ Area of The Society’s website and the rights to attend conventions, to vote at General Meetings and to be nominated to serve on Council.
5. Members’ details, including names, addresses and interests, will be held on computer for the purposes of communication. Names and addresses are for the exclusive use of members only and are not to be disclosed to third parties.
6. Any member prejudicing, in the opinion of the Council, the interests of The Society shall be called upon to provide an explanation of his or her activities. If the Council is not satisfied with such explanation, or if one is not forthcoming, the person may be expelled from The Society.
1. The Council shall set the annual subscriptions for membership of The Society.
2. All subscriptions shall be due and payable at the beginning of The Society’s financial year, which shall run from 1 January to 31 December. A Member in arrears shall have no voting rights.
3. A member who has not paid the subscription by 31 March of any year will be deemed to have resigned from The Society.
4. The Council shall have the power to waive or reduce subscriptions in special circumstances for a limited period.
1. Joint membership is available to couples at the same address and confers full membership rights on each, including voting rights and the right to attend IPCS conventions, but they shall be entitled to receive only one set of information, literature, material and documents free of charge from The Society.
2. The subscription rate for joint ordinary membership shall be one half greater than for individual ordinary members.
1. All moneys raised by, or on behalf of, The Society shall be used, as decided by the Council, to further the objects of The Society, and for no other purpose.
2. The Treasurer shall keep proper accounts of the finances of The Society. The accounts shall be independently examined at least once a year by an independent examiner appointed at the Annual General Meeting. A statement of the accounts for the previous year shall be presented by the Treasurer to the Annual General Meeting.
3. A bank account shall be held in the name of The Society and shall be operated by the Treasurer. All cheques shall normally require the signatures of the Treasurer and one other Member of Council to draw on the funds within the account.
1. The Society’s affairs shall be administered by a Council comprising a Chairperson, a Deputy Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and such other officers as may be decided by the Council, and not more than 10 Ordinary Council Members and not more than 3 Co-opted Council Members, all of whom shall have full voting powers.
2. Members of the Council shall be members of The Society at the time of election and service. They shall be elected by separate vote of those members of The Society present at the Annual General Meeting and shall hold office till the Annual General Meeting in the following year. There shall be no limit on the number of times they may stand for election.
3. If the position of any member of the Council becomes vacant pending the election of a replacement at an Annual General Meeting, the remaining members of the Council may make interim arrangements for essential duties to be covered.
4. The Council shall elect one of its members to act as Chairperson, whose appointment shall be subject to approval by the members of The Society present at the Annual General Meeting.
5. The Council shall invite a suitable individual to serve as President, normally for a 3-year period.
1. The Council shall meet not less than three times a year.
2. In the absence of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, any other member of the Council chosen by those present shall preside at meetings of the Council.
3. All questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of those present and voting. No member of council shall exercise more than one vote, except that in the case of equality of votes the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote.
4. The quorum for meetings of the Council shall be five. In the absence of a quorum, business may be dealt with but any decisions taken only become valid after ratification at the next meeting at which a quorum exists.
5. At least 14 days notice of meetings of the Council and of the business to be transacted shall be given by the Secretary to each Council member.
1. An Annual General Meeting will be held once every calendar year and shall be held within 15 months of the previous Annual General Meeting.
2. At least 30 days notice in writing of the time, date, place and business to be transacted shall be given to each member.
3. The Chairperson (or in his or her absence, the Deputy Chairperson) shall conduct the Annual General Meeting.
4. The quorum necessary to transact business shall be not less than 20 members. Each member present shall have one vote, and issues arising at the Annual General Meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast. The Chairperson’s declaration as to the result of voting and his or her decision of procedure shall be final.
1. The positions of Council members shall be filled by voting at the Annual General Meeting, and vacancies will be declared in the notice of the Annual General Meeting. Each member present at the Annual General Meeting shall have one vote. Voting shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast.
2. Each retiring elected Council member shall be deemed automatically nominated for re-election to the post he or she currently holds, unless he or she gives written notice of his or her intention not to stand for re-election. All other candidates for election shall be nominated to the Chairperson in writing, as directed in the notice of the Annual General Meeting.
3. If more nominations are received than there are vacancies to be filled, the election shall be decided by vote and the result declared by the Chairperson.
4. If the nominations received do not exceed the vacancies to be filled, the Chairperson shall declare the candidates appointed unopposed.
5. Where there remain any unfilled vacancies the Chairperson may invite nominations from the members present.
1. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Council or convened at the written request (stating the purposes for which the meeting is to be called) of not less that 10 members of The Society. The date of the meeting will be the earliest convenient as decided by the Council.
2. At least 30 days notice in writing of the time, date, place and business of the Extraordinary General Meeting shall be given to each member.
3. The business debated at an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be confined to the purposes stated in the notice.
5. The quorum for the Extraordinary General Meeting shall be 12.
1. Alteration of the constitution may be agreed only at an Annual General Meeting, or an Extraordinary General Meeting.
1. On dissolution of The Society, the Council shall decide whether to distribute to current members any assets remaining after all debts and liabilities have been discharged, or whether to donate them to an appropriate organisation supporting The Society’s objects.
1. Council may from time to time make rules regulating any activities of The Society not covered by this Constitution and may make proposals for amendments to the Constitution.