British Society for Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery
(Company Limited by Guarantee number SC465033)
Company Rules
Registered address: British Society for Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery, 25 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2ER. Company Limited by Guarantee.
bscos.org.uk
These Rules were adopted in accordance with Article 20 of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation on 1st September 2016 as amended 25th April 2021.
Membership of the Society
a. Ordinary Membership shall be open to Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons working in the United Kingdom, who have a special interest in orthopaedic problems relating to children and who commit a significant proportion of their clinical time to dealing with such matters. Where possible, they should have demonstrated their interest in children’s orthopaedics and fracture management by research and publication. Application for Ordinary Membership shall be made to the Secretary. It must be accompanied by a curriculum vitae and supported by two referees who are already Members of the Society and in good standing. Where an application has been approved by the Board of Directors, it will be announced to the Society Members.
Ordinary Membership will cease on receipt of a member’s written resignation, or if there is a failure to pay the annual subscription.
It is expected that a Member will attend the Society’s annual scientific meeting or an Allied Society meeting regularly. Membership will cease if a Member has not attended a relevant scientific meeting for three consecutive years.
b. Overseas Membership shall be available to Ordinary Members who are working abroad, have a special interest in orthopaedic problems relating to children and who continue to commit a significant proportion of their clinical time to dealing with such matters. Application for Overseas Membership shall be made to the Secretary. It must be accompanied by a curriculum vitae and supported by two referees who are already Members of the Society and in good standing. Where an application has been approved by the Board of Directors it will be announced to the Society Members.
Overseas Membership will cease on receipt of a Member’s written resignation or where there is a failure to pay the annual subscription.
c. Honorary Membership may be offered to distinguished surgeons and scientists who have a special interest in children’s orthopaedics. Recommendations may be made either by the Board of Directors, or to the Board of Directors by 20 Members, and will be approved at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
d. The Board may determine other categories of membership (non-voting) at its discretion. Details of these membership categories can be found in the Company Byelaws.
e. The Board of Directors shall retain the right to exercise discretion over extraordinary matters in respect of Society Membership.
The Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall comprise the President, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, the President Elect, the Immediate Past President, one ‘Early Years member’, one Diversity & Inclusion lead, one DGH member and four ‘Ordinary members’.
Ordinary (or exceptionally other Board members) may be co-opted onto sub-committees and/or sub-committee leads may be invited to the Board to facilitate liaison between the Board and its sub-committees.
The President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer are the Officers of the Society.
Upon completion of the term of office or resignation of the relevant incumbent director:
a. The President elect shall be elected one year in advance of taking up the post of President. They shall be elected by the Ordinary members at large, from amongst those voting members of the Board willing to serve, who have completed at least one year on the Board (and/or are within three years of leaving the Board).
b. The President shall serve for a period of two years upon completion of their term as President elect. The President where possible shall chair all meetings of the Board. In his/her absence the Immediate Past president or President Elect or in their absence one of the other officers shall assume the chair.
c. The Immediate past president shall serve one further year as a Board member upon completion of their term as President of the Board.
d. The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be elected by the ordinary members at large from amongst those voting members of the Board of Directors who are willing to serve and shall hold office for a period of two years, they shall be eligible for re-election for one further year only.
e. There shall be four Ordinary members proposed from amongst and elected by the Ordinary members at large of the Society. They shall hold office for three years, fulfilling a liaison role with the subcommittees of the Board. They may stand for re-election to this role for one further term.
f. There shall be an Early Years member of the Board who shall be within 10 years of appointment proposed from amongst Ordinary members of the Society to the Consultant grade on the date nominations are requested and shall be elected by the Ordinary members at large of the Society. They shall hold office for 3 years and may not stand for re-election to this role (but may stand subsequently for election as an Ordinary member).
g. There shall be a Diversity & Inclusion member of the Board proposed from amongst and elected by the Ordinary members at large of the Society. They shall hold office for three years, and may stand for re-election to this role for one further term.
h. There shall be a DGH member of the Board proposed from amongst those who work predominantly outside of tertiary children’s centres, and elected by the Ordinary members at large of the Society. They shall hold office for three years, and may stand for re-election to this role for one further term.
The Board of Directors shall have the power to co-opt additional non-voting Members where appropriate.
The following may be invited to attend the Board on a non-voting basis for the period of their tenure in that role:
i. The Webmaster &/or The Chair of the Publicity subcommittee
ii. The Chair of the Education subcommittee
iii. The Chair of the Research subcommittee
All members are expected to adhere to the Society’s Code of Conduct.
Voting in Committee
In the event of a vote being required for Board of Directors matters, each Director shall have a vote. Invitees, Co-opted Members. In the event of a tie, the President’s decision will be binding.
Meetings of the Board
The Board of Directors shall meet three times a year; at the Annual Society Spring Meeting, in the Summer and in the Autumn. Matters of urgent and/or confidential business may be considered at the discretion of the President with advice of other Officers of the Society between meetings of the Board. The President may convene extraordinary meetings as deemed necessary. Online meetings shall be considered equally valid as those in-person for Board decisions.
All meetings of the Board shall be intimated to its members with no less than 6 weeks notice, unless all voting Board members mutually agree to a shorter notice period.
Elections to the Board
Elections shall normally take place when an incumbent Board Director’s tenure is completed. Where a Board Director’s position otherwise falls vacant, there shall be an election to that vacancy on the same basis as if the tenure had been completed.
The Honorary Secretary shall act as Returning officer for elections to the Board, or in their absence the Immediate past president shall take on this responsibility.
Eligible members of the Society shall be notified of Board elections within a maximum of 3 months of a position falling vacant. There shall be a minimum period of 1 month allowed for nominations to be received.
Only members in good standing may self-nominate for a position.
Elections shall be open and transparent, according to the timetable and process set out by the Returning officer in advance of each election. The results shall be published and made available to Ordinary members of the Society.
Quorum
The Board shall be quorate with a minimum of one officer and five other voting members present.
Subcommittees of the Board
The Board may establish at its discretion subcommittees and working groups, devolving authority to these groups within a remit established by the Board which will nevertheless retain responsibility for and oversight of all the Society’s activities.
The Chairs of the Research, Education, Publicity (and any other) subcommittees may be invited to attend Board meetings at the Board’s discretion.
An Ordinary member of the Board may be appointed to act as liaison and sit as an observer at subcommittee meetings.
Meetings of the Society
i. Scientific Meetings. The Society will meet at a date and venue recommended by the Board of Directors and approved at the Annual General Meeting. Scientific Meetings of the Society shall be open to all Members. A charge, set by the Board, may be levied for attendance. Non-Members may attend at the invitation of a Member and will be charged an entry fee. An attendance register shall be prepared by the local host and shall be passed to the Honorary Secretary.
ii. The Annual General Meeting shall be held during the Scientific Meeting of the Society. The President or, in his/her absence the Secretary, shall take the Chair. The Treasurer shall present a report on the Society’s financial standing. Postal and/or online ballots will be arranged for those matters requiring a decision by the Membership.
Ordinary, Overseas and Honorary Members may attend and have voting privileges. Associate members who are Consultants, Staff Grade, Associate Specialist & Specialty doctors may attend the AGM but shall not have voting privileges.
Affiliate members are not permitted to attend the AGM of the society nor do they have voting privileges.
iii An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Board at its discretion with a minimum of 6 weeks notice to the Ordinary members at large.
A group consisting of at least fifteen percent of Ordinary members in good standing may require such a meeting to be organised for a specific item of business.
Subscriptions
There will be an annual subscription. Ordinary and Overseas Members shall pay a full subscription. Honorary Members are exempt. Upon application, the Board shall have discretion to waive the fees for Overseas members who are working in a fully charitable capacity in low and middle income countries.
Subscriptions for other (non-voting) categories of membership shall be determined by the Board and approved at the annual meeting of the Society.
In the event of a member failing to pay the appropriate subscription in full within 3 months of the due date, that membership shall expire with immediate effect. Thereafter, a new formal application for membership following the relevant process would need to be submitted for readmission to the society.
Amendment(s) to the Company Rules
Notice of any proposed change(s) by members at large must be made at least 28 days before the next Annual General Meeting to the Honorary Secretary and should be supported by at least fifteen percent of Ordinary Members in good standing.
The Board may, at their discretion, recommend changes to the Company Rules with a minimum of 28 days notice to members of a vote on the proposed changes by postal or electronic ballot. Such a vote must be stayed if a valid requirement for an extraordinary general meeting (see above) is made about such recommendations.
ANNEX
1. ACCEA
The Society will act as a specialist society according to ACCEA, and will support its Members according to the rules and guidelines laid down by that organisation.
These rules should be read in conjunction with the Society Byelaws