Section 9 – General Meetings 

I. General 
A. 
Every student member of the Union shall be entitled to attend General Meetings. 
B. 
There shall be three types of General Meetings: the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the 
Welcoming General Meeting (WGM) and Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM). 
C. 
Sectional Meetings, as outlined in the Constitution, may be called for by a petition of 25 
members of the Section concerned and shall be subject to the same rules as a GM except 
that quorum shall be as outlined in the Constitution. 
D. 
Only student members may vote at a General Meeting. 
E. 
General Meetings shall take precedence over all meetings of societies wherever they are 
held. 
F. 
Quorum for a General Meeting shall be 1% of the Union membership. 
G. 
No question once decided at a meeting may be reopened at the same meeting. 
H. 
Proof of Union membership may be required to vote or speak at a GM. 
I. 
Speaking rights may be granted to non-members of the Union if a two-thirds majority of the 
meeting agree it. 
J. 
Policy passed at a GM shall overrule that passed at Council or Committee level except in the 
case of Establishment Committee. 
II. Timing and Notice 
A. 
An AGM shall be held once per annum in the first or second term. 
B. 
Governance Committee shall decide the time and place of the AGM with the proviso that it 
should not be held in the first or last week of the term. 
C. 
Notice of at least one week for a AGM will be given on the official notice board. The date of 
the AGM shall be publicised at least six weeks before the meeting. 
D. 
The agenda for the AGM shall be displayed on the official notice board at least four days 
beforehand. 
E. 
A WGM shall be held once per annum in the second or third week of the first term. 
F. 
Governance Committee shall decide the time and place for the WGM . 
G. 
The Date of the WGM shall be publicised from the first day of the first term on the official 
notice board and elsewhere as appropriate. 
H. 
An EGM may be called by any of the following: 
1. 
the General Secretary; 
2. 
a motion of the Executive; 
3. 
a motion of Union Council; 
4. 
a member of the Executive on receipt of a written request from 2% of the student 
members of the Union; 
5. 
a member of the Executive on receipt of a notice of appeal against a decision of a 
Discipline Committee; 
6. 
the submission of a no-confidence motion; 
7. 
as a result of an inquorate referendum. 
I. 
An EGM must be held within seven days of receiving the request to hold it. 
J. 
Notice of at least three days for an EGM shall be given on the official notice board. 
K. 
The agenda and motion to be discussed must be displayed a minimum of 24 hours in 
advance on the Official Union Notice Board. 
III. Minutes 
A. 
Minutes shall be taken by the General Manager or their appointee. 
B. 
A copy of the draft minutes of General Meetings and the motions passed must be displayed 
by the F&A Officer within 10 working days of the meeting on the Official Union Notice Board. 
C. 
The M&C Officer shall be responsible for conveying all decisions made at General Meetings 
to the membership by: 
1. 
including a summary of the business of each General Meeting in at least one issue of any 
regular Union news sheet; 
2. 
submitting details to the Editor of the student paper; 
3. 
any other means as outlined by Council from time to time. 
IV. The Order of Business 
A. 
The order of business of the Annual General Meeting shall be as follows: 
1. 
Announcements - any student member of the Union may make an announcement; 
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2. 
Minutes of the Previous AGM and any EGMs to have taken place since the last AGM. 
Corrections may be made and the minutes accepted by a simple majority before moving 
onto the next item of business; 
3. 
Matters Arising; 
4. 
Acceptance of the Agenda - alterations to the agenda may be made here. 
a. 
Each alteration, including the addition of any Emergency Motion, must have a 
proposer. There will be one speech in favour and one against, then the meeting shall 
move straight to the vote. A simple majority is required to accept an alteration. 
b. 
After five minutes, no new alterations may be proposed and the Chair shall move to 
the vote on any current alteration as soon as possible. 
5. 
Report to the Membership, in a format to be determined by the Council, but which must 
include the annual accounts of the previous year; 
6. 
Questions to Officers - all members of Council, sabbatical or non-sabbatical, may be 
questioned by the floor; 
7. 
Motions; 
8. 
Special Resolutions; 
9. 
Any Other Business. 
B. 
The order of business of the Welcoming General Meeting shall be as follows 
1. 
Acceptance of the Agenda; 
2. 
Introduction to UCL Union; 
The Executive shall give a presentation on the democratic structure of UCL Union and 
anything else relating to the Union as deemed necessary. 
3. 
Presentation of the Calendar; 
a. 
This shall include the dates of all planned meeting s of the Executive, Union Council 
and its standing committees as a recommended to the last statutory meeting of 
Council in the previous term. 
b. 
This shall also include the year diary planned by Activities Board in the last meeting 
of the Spring term. 
c. 
The General Secretary shall give a verbal report on items contained in the Calendar. 
4. 
Acceptance of the Calendar; 
5. 
Motions; 
6. 
Special Resolutions; 
7. 
Any Other Business. 
C. 
The order of business of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be as follows: 
1. 
Acceptance of the Agenda; 
2. 
Motion(s); 
3. 
Any Other Business. 
V. Chair 
A. 
The chair of the meeting shall be the General Secretary. In the absence of the General 
Secretary, any member of Governance Committee may take the Chair. In their absence a 
member of the Executive shall take the chair. 
B. 
The duties of the Chair shall be as follows: 
1. 
to keep the meeting in order; 
2. 
to interpret and make rulings on the Constitution and Standing Orders; 
3. 
to rule on points of order; 
4. 
to see that remarks are relevant to the business at hand; 
5. 
to provide information relevant to the business or procedure of the UGM; 
6. 
to ensure the general smooth running of the meeting; 
7. 
to have the casting vote should the house be equally divided. Other than this the Chair 
may not vote in any debate. 
C. 
The Chair: 
1. 
shall be heard in silence; 
2. 
may expel any member from the meeting if that person refuses to obey the chair; 
3. 
may not participate in any debate; 
4. 
may vacate the chair in order to participate in the debate; 
5. 
shall announce at the beginning of each meeting at what time the meeting will be 
adjourned if there is still business to be discussed. 
VI. Members of the Floor 
A. 
Only members of the Union shall be considered members of the floor. 
B. 
Members of the floor shall be entitled to: 
1. 
propose or second any motion or amendment; 
2. 
speak on any motion or amendment; 
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3. 
vote on any item of debate; 
4. 
raise a point of order; 
5. 
move any procedural motion; 
6. 
call for a quorum count; 
7. 
call for a recount; 
8. 
request a ruling from the chair; 
9. 
request that a guest speaker address the meeting. 
VII. Debating Procedure and Voting 
A. 
Only one motion or amendment shall be debated at any one time. 
B. 
The debating procedure shall be as outlined for Union Council, except that a request for a 
recount, and procedural motions of No Confidence in the Chair or to challenge the must be 
supported by 25 members of the floor. A request for a card vote or a division of the House 
may also be made, which must be supported by 25 members of the floor. 
C. 
If necessary, tellers may be appointed from Governance Committee and Elections Committee 
by the Chair to assist in counting the vote. 
VIII. Motions, Amendments and Lapsing Policy 
A. 
The procedures and requirements for motions, amendments and lapsing policy shall be the 
same as those laid down for Union Council. 
B. 
Copies of motions shall be displayed on the official notice board before the meeting at which 
they are to be discussed for the same duration as would be required were they to be 
discussed at Union Council. 
C. 
Special Resolutions 
1. 
Special Resolutions must be used to amend the Constitution or Standing Orders of the 
Union; 
2. 
Fourteen days notice is required for special resolutions except for the Welcoming General 
Meeting, where they must be received by the Finance & Administration Officer before the 
end of the previous term; 
3. 
Special Resolutions must be passed by two General Meetings separated by at least two 
term weeks but by not more than a term month or by a single Referendum; 
4. 
As required by the Education Act 1994, all changes to the Constitution must be forwarded 
to College Council for their approval, prior to those changes taking effect. 
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