Constitution
We were going to wait for 115 years after our founding to get our own constitution, but that's against SBA rules.
The full constitution is available as a Microsoft Word Document here.
Constitution of Canadian Content
March 2005
Preamble
Article I: Name
Article II: Purpose
Article III: Membership
Article IV: Officers
Article V: Amendment Process
Canadian Content focuses on serving the needs of Canadian students at New York University School of Law, providing networking opportunities, organizing social events and working on issues affecting Canadian students studying at NYU Law.
This organization should be known as “Canadian Content”.
1. To provide a forum for discussion and support for Canadian NYU Law student and students interested in living or working in Canada .
2. To work with Admissions and Recruiting, as well as Career Services, to build NYU law's profile inside Canada with both prospective students and legal employers.
3. To agitate for change of restrictive Canadian bar association rules that make it difficult for foreign trained law students to be called to the bar.
4. To serve as an informational resource about Canada to students at the School of Law .
5. To encourage the administration to bring Canadian visiting professors and speakers.
6. To serve as a social and networking resource for Canadians and people interested in Canada .
7. To serve as a tie to Canadian alumni.
Section A. Membership
1. Any registered J.D., J.S.D., or L.L.M student (full or part time) is eligible for membership.
Section B. Membership Qualification(s)
1. Membership in Canadian Content shall not be denied because of age, color, disability, gender, familial status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or medical status.
Section C. Selection of Members
1. New members may join at any time during the school year
Section D. Voting Privileges
1. At the end of each school year, all members will have the opportunity to vote for the following year's Board.
2. Other voting privileges may be invoked as needed, and will require a three fourths majority.
Section E. Termination of Membership
1. Members who are inactive for more than two semesters are considered to have voluntarily terminated their memberships.
2. Any member who violates the rules and regulations of Canadian Content shall be dismissed from the group.
3. Any member who requires internal disciplinary action shall be on probation for one semester.
Section A. Elected Officers
The executive board is the elected governing body of Canadian Content, and is responsible for the proper management of the group. Each position shall be filled by one student only, although students may fill more than one position as needed.
1. President – The president is the leader of the organization, will oversee all projects, meetings, events, and activities, and will head the project leaders.
2. Vice President – The vice president will assist the president, will head the voting committee, and will be automatically elected president should the need arise.
3. Treasurer – The treasurer shall handle all funding disbursements and account management and will head the finance committee .
4. Secretary – The secretary will be responsible for taking minutes at all official meetings and will head the publicity and marketing committee.
Section B. Qualifications for holding office
1. All active members that are on academic, social, or disciplinary probation are prohibited from holding any office or committee standing — elected or appointed.
Section C. Selection of Officers
1. Elections will be administered by the outgoing executive board, but shall take place in April of each school year.
2. Canadian Content will have two sessions for members to vote. Any member may run for any position and must submit a brief position paper. These papers will be available to the active members for one week prior to the elections. Election is by a simply majority of members who attend the voting session. Voting procedures will be determined by the outgoing executive board.
3. Officers elected in the spring will take position in the fall and will hold office for a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years.
Section D. Filling Vacancies
1. The vice president will assume the role of president until the following election.
3. The treasurer will step in as vice president.
3. The secretary will step in as treasurer.
4. A secretary vacancy shall be filled as needed by selection of the board.
Section E. Recall of Officers
1. A gross violation of duties shall lead to a special voting session run by the voting committee to determine if an officer is to be removed.
2. All elected officers are subject to recall by the General Membership. Any elected officer who is recalled shall be removed from office.
3. To bring any recall proposal to a vote of the General Membership by secret ballot, a recall proposal shall be signed by twenty-five members, formatted to include the printed name, signature, phone number, and student identification number of each signing member.
4. The Vice-President shall be responsible for confirming any recall proposal, scheduling a hearing and administering the voting procedure. An exception shall be made if the Vice-President is the elected officer named in a recall proposal. In this case, the Secretary shall assume the duties of the Vice-President in these proceedings.
5. An official notification of a confirmed recall proposal shall be made to the elected officer and the General Membership no less than five academic days prior to the hearing. A hearing shall be held no less than three academic days before voting.
6. Voting shall be by secret ballot through the use of student mailboxes. The period for voting shall be no less than five academic days.
7. A three fourths majority is required to remove an officer from his/her position.
1. Amendment proposals to this Constitution shall be formatted to included the printed name, signature, phone number, and student identification number of each signing member, and shall be submitted to any member of the Executive Board.
2. An official notification of a proposed Amendment shall be made to the General membership no less than four academic days prior to a hearing.
3. A hearing on any properly submitted proposed Amendment shall be held no less than three academic days before voting.
4. Voting shall be by a secret ballot through the use of student mailboxes. The period for voting shall be no less than five academic days.
5. Amendments to this Constitution shall pass by a three fourths vote of quorum of the General Membership.