Article I
(Establishment)
This organization shall be known as "The American Constitution Society
of Harvard Law School" (the Society). This organization shall be a
local chapter of the national American Constitution Society for Law and
Policy.
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Article II Mission Committee
(Statement of Purpose)
The American Constitution Society of Harvard Law School is a
nonpartisan society whose mission is to harness the values of
compassion and respect for each individual, and to incorporate them
into American law and politics, in order to build a stronger and more
decent national community. The Society''s role is to influence the
debate on the law, both in its interpretation and its creation, and to
restore these traditional American values to their rightful place in
legal and political debate. Our goal is a rekindling of the hope that
by reason and decency, we can create an America that is better for us
all.
We
believe that the law, and, in particular, the Constitution, serves
human values. We believe that the Constitution is a charter of liberty,
the blueprint for a noble and unique experiment designed to prevent any
excesses of power that do not protect the human dignity necessary for
individuals to realize the full potential of their lives. The goal of
the Constitution, and the United States it created, is to permit people
to succeed in the "pursuit of happiness," one of the inalienable rights
this nation explicitly was founded to secure to the American people.
We
believe that the Constitution, and by extension, many other areas of
American law, can be understood only by reference to transcendent
principles of decency, reason, humanity, and compassion. We believe
that those who enforce the law must have greater concern for the way in
which it affects the lives of the people who make up the nation in
which we live. And we believe these principles should form a starting
point for enactment, as well as interpretation, of the law.
We
believe deeply in the importance of law as the mechanism which governs
the relationships between and among the individuals and institutions
that form our society, and we recognize the direct relationship between
legal theory and the broader political debate about the kind of society
in which we live.
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Article III
(Membership)
Active membership shall be open to all current Harvard Law School
students, faculty, and staff, or those pursuing joint or concurrent
degrees with Harvard Law School. Additional requirements of active
membership may be determined the Society Bylaws. Only active members
may vote at any Society meeting.
Associate membership shall be open to all former Harvard Law School students, faculty, and staff.
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Article IV
(Officers and Executive Board)
There shall be an Executive Board of the Society, which shall meet
periodically to determine the general direction of the Society and to
carryout its duties as outlined in the By-laws. The Executive Board
shall consist of all current officers. Executive Board meetings shall
be publicized and open to all active members of the Society. Only
Executive Board members may vote at any Executive Board meeting. Each
officer shall be given one vote, with exception of the Faculty Advisor.
Only
current Harvard Law School students, faculty, and staff, and those
pursuing joint or concurrent degrees with Harvard Law School, may serve
as officers.
The American Constitution Society officers shall be as follows:
- Faculty
Advisor: The Faculty Advisor, a member of the Harvard Law School
faculty, shall serve as a nonvoting, advisory resource for the Society
members, facilitate the acquisition of speakers, and serve as a liaison
between the local chapter and the advisors of American Constitution
Society chapters at other schools.
-
President: The President shall call and chair all General Body and
Executive Board meetings, set the agenda for the Executive Board
meetings, coordinate the operations and direction of the Society, and
serve as a liaison for the Society, the Harvard Law School
administration, and the national American Constitutional Society for
Law and Policy.
- Vice-President: The
Vice-President shall call and chair General Body and Executive Board
meetings in the President''s absence, assist the President in his/her
duties, coordinate the activities of the chairpersons, chair the
Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and also serve as the SocietyŐs
parliamentarian.
- Secretary: The Secretary
shall compile and maintain the minutes of meetings and the records of
the organization. The Secretary shall also keep a current list of
members, and be responsible for the maintenance and timely updating of
the chapter website.
- Treasurer: The
Treasurer shall maintain the financial accounts and records of the
Society, submit the Society''s financial reports as required, create
the Society''s budget, and submit that budget to the Executive Board.
The Treasurer shall also be responsible for submitting requests for
funding with the ACS national office and other sources in a timely
manner.
- Program Chairperson: The Program
Chairperson shall lead the Program Committee, which shall be
responsible for planning and organizing the Society events with the
approval of the Executive Committee.
- Publicity
Chairperson: The Publicity Chairperson shall lead the Publicity
Committee, which shall be responsible for publicity for the Society
events, membership drives, and general membership meetings. The
Publicity Chairperson shall also be responsible for informing the ACS
national office of chapter events and functions.
- Alumni
Relations Chairperson: The Alumni Relations Chairperson shall lead the
Alumni Relations Committee, which will be responsible for communicating
with associate members of the Society, and for recruiting new associate
members.
- Membership Relations Chairperson:
The Membership Relations Chairperson shall be responsible for hosting
social activities and sponsoring membership drives. The Membership
Relations Chairperson shall also be responsible for updating the
chapter weblog (ŇblogÓ) and encouraging members to write for the
chapter blog, the HLS Record, and other print and online media.
- At-Large
Members: Two representatives of the third-year class at Harvard Law
School, two representatives of the second-year class at Harvard Law
School, three representatives of the first-year class at Harvard Law
School, and two representatives of the graduate program at Harvard Law
School (including L.L.M.s) shall be elected as at-large members of the
Executive Board.
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Article V
(Positions and Committees)
The Executive Board may, in its discretion, establish additional
positions to be appointed or elected from the active or associate
membership as the need arises. Such positions may include the position
of Website Administrator or Historian. Individuals serving in any
position so established shall also be eligible to run for offices of
the Executive Board, if they are otherwise eligible for the relevant
office.
There shall be several standing Committees: the Constitution and Bylaws
Committee, Program Committee, Publicity Committee, Alumni Relations
Committee, and Member Relations Committee; the duties and
responsibilities of each committee shall be determined by the Chair of
the committee with the approval of the Executive Board and in keeping
with Article IV. The Executive Board may, in its discretion, establish
additional ad hoc or standing committees, such as the Mission
Committee. The Board shall provide for governance of such additional
committees, and may dissolve such additional committees at its
discretion.
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Article VI
(Elections and Term of Officers)
The Society officers shall be elected by a meeting of the active
membership in April of each academic year, except that the at-large
representatives shall be elected by a meeting of the active membership
no later than November of each academic year.
Officers shall be elected sequentially, in the order listed above, so
that candidates not elected to one office may run for subsequent
offices. Nominations for candidates shall be accepted immediately
before the election to each position. No individual may hold more than
one office. Each office may only be held by one person.
All
officers shall be elected by the following method: Each active member
present at the election meeting, including by means specified pursuant
to Article IX, shall have the opportunity to vote for a preferred
candidate for the office in question, except that for elections of the
at-large representatives, only members of the class represented (e.g.,
1L, 2L, 3L, graduate) shall have the opportunity to vote for that
classŐs representative. If one candidate receives a simple majority of
votes cast by the active members present, that candidate shall be
declared elected. If no candidate receives a simple majority of the
votes, the two candidates receiving the most votes shall participate in
a second, run-off election; the candidate with a simple majority of the
run-off votes shall then be declared elected.
Each
officer will serve for a term of one year from the day following
commencement of the academic year in which they were elected to the day
following commencement of the next academic year. At-large
representatives will serve from the day elected to the day following
commencement of the current academic year.
Officers
may be suspended for good cause by a three-quarters vote of the
remaining members of the Executive Board. In the case of suspension,
the Executive Board may, by majority vote, appoint an acting person to
serve in that position. Suspensions may not last longer than two months
without a vote for removal or reinstatement by the general membership.
An officer may be reinstated by a majority vote of the active members
present and voting at a general body meeting. Officers may be removed
for good cause by a vote of two-thirds of the general membership.
Vacancies
in any representative position shall be filled by special election for
the duration of the unexpired term; provided that if such vacancy
occurs within 30 days of the end of such term, the Executive Board may
appoint any active member to serve the remainder of such term, or leave
the position unfilled until the next election at which such office
would be filled.
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Article VII
(Conduct of Business)
Regular operations of the Society may be determined by the Executive
Board. Quorum is required at all Executive Board meetings. A quorum at
such a meeting shall consist of one-half of the members of the
Executive Board, not counting the Faculty Advisor. The Executive Board
shall strive for consensus; if consensus is not reasonably available,
decisions shall be made by majority vote of those present and voting.
General
Body meetings of the active members may be called by the President, by
one-third of the Executive Board, or by twenty percent of the active
members of the Society. The President must call at least five
membership meetings per academic year. Quorum is required for all
General Body meetings. A quorum at such a meeting shall consist of at
least twenty-five percent of the active membership, except that no
quorum may be established without one-half of the Executive Board
present. Reasonable notice shall be given for all General Body
meetings. At such meetings, the membership shall strive for consensus;
if consensus is not reasonably available, decisions shall be made by
majority vote of those present and voting. Decisions of the active
membership shall be binding on the Executive Board.
The
Executive Board may establish guidelines for conducting business,
including quorum or voting requirements, by email, by telephone, or by
other reasonable means, except that neither quorum nor voting
requirements may be satisfied by proxies assigned to others.
Any
decision of the Executive Board may be overturned, unless otherwise
stipulated in the Society Constitution or Bylaws, by a majority vote of
the active members present and voting at a general body meeting.
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Article VIII
(Bylaws)
At any General Body meeting of the active members, a majority of those
present and voting may choose to adopt bylaws not inconsistent with any
provision of this Constitution.
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Article IX
(Amendments)
At least seven days before any attempt to amend this constitution,
reasonable notice shall be given to the active membership and the text
submitted to the Executive Board. A quorum equal to that required for a
general body meeting of the active membership shall be necessary to
amend the Constitution. Amendments to this Constitution shall be
adopted by approval of two-thirds of the active membership present and
voting, except that no amendment shall be adopted without the
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Executive Board.
This Constitution can be amended in its entirety or amendment by amendment.
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Article X
(Other Governing Rules)
The Society shall be governed by this constitution, such bylaws as may
be instituted, and the rules and regulations of Harvard University and
Harvard Law School.
All
procedures for the operation of the Society not otherwise governed as
provided in the paragraph above shall be governed by RobertŐs Rules of
Order, except that in any meeting, two-thirds of those active members
present and voting may elect to suspend RobertŐs Rules.
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Article XI
(Adoption and Ratification)
Upon approval of a majority of the active members of the Society voting
on the record as of April 15, 2002, this constitution shall be
immediately effective and shall replace any previous constitution.
The
Founding Members of the Society shall be the undersigned, attesting to
their presence at the adoption of the constitution on April 15, 2002.
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