International Development Studies Student Association (IDSSA)

Students pursuing a degree in International Development are strongly encouraged to participate in the activities of the International Development Studies Student Association (IDSSA) which is the student wing of the IDS program.

The Association creates opportunities for students to participate in the process of giving the Program a more creative shape. It also raises the profile of the Program, creates awareness among the faculty and students about development challenges facing the world today, keeps students informed as to job opportunities in the broad field of International Development, and organizes different events on such special days/events as National AIDS Day, International Development Week, and International Women's Day.

Important to mention is that the IDSSA aims to provide students with an open forum for debates and discussions around developmental issues and concerns. It also is a great place for students to socialize.

Contact Information:

International Development Studies Student Association
IDSSA@yorku.ca

Constitution and By-laws of the International Development Studies Student Association

Adopted October 2002

The following are the Official Constitution and By-laws of the International Development Studies Student Association.

PREAMBLE

Herein is created the Constitution of International Development Studies Student Association, containing the duties and responsibilities to which the organization is bound.

This, the Constitution of International Development Studies Student Association shall have as its custodians the Speaker, and Chair of the International Development Studies Student Association.

PART I – MANDATE

1.1 The mandate of the International Development Studies Student Association, hereby referred to as IDSSA, shall be to put forth and support the notions of educating, informing, and advancing international development in an academic and practical context to the York University, local, national, and international communities while instilling the values of universal unity, equality, and justice.

PART II – INTERPRETATION

2.1 In this Constitution, By-laws, and Appendices:

‘the Association’ refers to International Development Studies Student Association;
‘Executive’ refers to a member of the Executive Council of the IDSSA;
‘Academic Year’ refers to the period between May 1 and April 30.

2.2 IDSSA shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of the Constitution and all Subsidiary regulations. The Association shall, however, make all determination of construction and interpretation with due regard to the following, whichever are directly applicable in given circumstances:

interpretations, and guidelines, if any, set out in the most current edition of Roberts Rules of Order (Newly Revised);
interpretive precedents set by the Canadian House of Commons, including Speakers’ rulings;
Black’s Law Dictionary;
Accepted rules of grammatical and lexical construction in Canadian English.

2.3

The Speaker, subject to an appeal to the Association shall interpret the Constitution and all subsidiary regulations, in the first instance.
Where a decision of the Speaker is appealed to the Association, it is the duty of each Exec to restrict their vote only to the legal correctness of the decision of the Speaker.
Unless and until the Association reverses a decision of the Speaker, the decision of the Speaker shall be final and conclusive.

PART III – CONSTITUENTS

3.1 A constituent is anyone that wishes to be part of the IDSSA.

3.2 A constituent may:

vote in elections, general meetings, and referenda of IDSSA;
sign petitions created by IDSSA;
make nominations for positions within IDSSA; and
be elected or appointed as an Executive Council member of the IDSSA.
Attend all Executive and general meetings unless they are declared in camera.

PART IV – MEMBERSHIP

4.1 The majority of the members of the Executive Council shall manage the property and business of the IDSSA. A majority of the number of members in office at any time shall constitute a quorum.

4.2 The constituents of IDSSA shall democratically elect the members of the Executive Council as determined by its Constitution, By-laws and the rules and regulations developed by the Executive. The members of the Executive Council shall be:

the Chair;
the Treasurer;
the Secretary;
two External Affairs Officers
two Internal Affairs Officers; and
one Project Coordinator

4.3 The terms of members shall expire on the 30th day of April in the year following that of their election.

4.4 The term of office for a member who has been appointed by IDSSA before October 15 shall expire with the acceptance of the Chief Returning Officers report in the annual fall elections. Voting members who are appointed by IDSSA after the annual fall election period shall continue to hold office until April 30.

4.5 The members may, by a motion passed by two-thirds of the Executive voting and present at a meeting of the IDSSA, remove any member, before the expiration of his or her term of office. No such motion is valid unless proper notice was given to all members, including the member whose removal is sought, that such a motion would come before the IDSSA at the meeting in question. Such a motion may be done by secret ballot.

4.6 The members may by majority vote remove from office a member who is absent and /or more than 30 minutes late for three meetings of IDSSA for which proper notice was given.

4.7 When a member’s position is terminated pursuant to paragraph [4.5] , the IDSSA may appoint an eligible constituent to assume the position of the removed Executive for the remainder of that Executive’s term of office.

4.8 The Executive Council shall select a constituent, called the Speaker, who shall chair the meetings of the IDSSA. The Speaker shall be a member of the Executive Council, but shall not vote unless it is to break a tie.

4.9 At the commencement of each meeting the Secretary will record the names of those persons in attendance and the Speaker will determine whether quorum is present.

4.10 Motions will be passed by a majority of the participating Executive by a verbal vote recorded by the Secretary.

4.11 Executive Council may motion to conduct any business of a sensitive nature in camera. Executives shall not disclose any details of any business discussed in camera, such discussion shall be considered a violation of the trust bestowed upon the members of the Executive Council.

4.12 The procedure at meetings of IDSSA shall be according to “Robert’s Rules of Order” newly revised.

4.13 A constituent cannot occupy more than one position on the Executive Council.

4.14 Notwithstanding section {4.13}, if a position is left vacant, another member of council may take on some or all of the responsibilities of that position if approved by a two thirds majority vote of the Executive Council.

(i) This person will retain only one title and, if applicable, only one vote.

PART V – DUTIES OF EXECUTIVES

5.1 The duties of the Chair shall be:

to act as Chief Executive Officer of the Association;
to serve as official representative of the Association;
signing authority over finances, with the Treasurer;
from time to time as required by the Association, to prepare and present, with the Treasurer, a financial report to the Association;
to assume the role of Speaker in their absence;
to assist in planning and execution of the IDSSA’s projects; and
to coordinate the e-mail mailing list and activities of the Webmaster.

5.2 The duties of the Treasurer shall be:

to act as Chief Financial Officer of the Association;
from time to time as required by the Association, to prepare and present, with the Chair, a financial report to the Association;
to coordinate bookkeeping with the Chair;
to manage the cash flow of the Association;
to assist in planning and execution of the IDSSA’s projects;
to reconcile bank accounts monthly; and
signing authority over finances, with the Chair.

5.3 The duties of the Secretary shall be:

to act as Chief Administrative Officer of the Association;
to record minutes of all Association meetings;
to compile meeting agendas;
to assist in planning and execution of the IDSSA’s projects; and
to be responsible for all general administrative tasks of the Association.

5.4 The duties of the External Affairs Officers shall be:

to increase external awareness of the Association and the York International Development Studies academic program;
one Officer shall be responsible for academic external affairs contacts, one Officer shall be responsible for non-academic external affairs contacts;
to actively network and liase with academic and non-academic organizations to create fulfilling and mutual partnerships; and
to assist in planning and execution of the IDSSA’s projects.

5.5 The duties of the Internal Affairs Officers shall be:

to increase internal awareness of the Association and the York International Development Studies academic program;
one Officer shall be responsible for academic internal affairs contacts, one Officer shall be responsible for non-academic internal affairs contacts;
to actively network and liase with academic and non-academic organizations to create fulfilling and mutual partnerships; and
to assist in planning and execution of the IDSSA’s projects.

5.6 The duties of the Project Coordinator shall be:

to execute all Executive approved activities, events, and projects;
create and chair any necessary sub-committees, and act as their liaison to the Executive.

5.7 The duties of the Speaker shall be:

to be the chairperson at meetings of the IDSSA;
to maintain a high level of familiarity with the Association’s governing documents, including its Constitution and by- laws, and with the motions of the Executive Council and of the members of the Executive Council and the General Assembly; and
to assist in planning and execution of the IDSSA’s projects.

5.8 It will be the duty of all Executive members to:

submit an annual report describing the activities and duties that they participated in during their term of office. These reports will be provided to the newly elected candidate for that position; and
have a general understanding of the IDSSA Constitution as a whole, with specific knowledge and understanding of any section that corresponds to their given position on the Executive Council.

PART VI- EXECUTIVE’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST

6.1 A conflict of interest will be determined on the grounds of:

any member with financial responsibilities being in contract with any organization that the Association is also in contract with;
any member involved in any organization of whose mandate is contradictory to that of the Associations mandate; and
any member having acted on the behalf of the Association in a manner that is self-serving rather than in the best interests of the Association and its constituents.

PART VII – POWERS

7.1 IDSSA shall be empowered to:

create legislation in the context of this Constitution;
receive and administer all funds accruing to IDSSA;
engage in any undertaking necessary to achieve the objectives of the Association; and
to do all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the objectives of the IDSSA.

7.2 IDSSA may administer its own affairs in all things and make or cause to be made for IDSSA, in its name, any kind of contract which IDSSA may lawfully enter into and , save as hereinafter provided, generally, may exercise all such other powers and do all such other acts and things as IDSSA is by its purpose or otherwise authorized to exercise and do.

7.3 The voting members shall take such steps as they may deem requisite to enable IDSSA to acquire, accept, solicit or receive legacies, gifts, grants, settlements, bequest, endowments and donations of any kind whatsoever for the purpose of furthering the objectives of IDSSA.

7.4 The IDSSA shall administer its own electoral process with due regard for democracy and rule of law.

PART VII – FINANCES

8.1 All expenditures must conform to the budgetary appropriations as authorized by the Association. No expenditures are to be made until such authorization has been received. No motion regarding monies shall be introduced unless charged against a budget.

8.2 The Treasurer must present the annual budget to the Executive Council no later than the first of October of each year.

8.3

In the event that a budget is not prepared for the current fiscal year, the Association is presumed to have adopted the budget from the previous fiscal year.
The Association may not increase the amount in spending to any budget without a new budget being prepared.

8.4

Contracts, documents or any instruments in writing requiring the signature of the Association, shall be signed by the members as specified in the by- laws of the Association, or in the absence of such by-laws, by the following members:
1. the Chair; and
2. the Treasurer.
All cheques, purchase orders, service orders, etc. require the signature of both signing officers unless they are pre-approved by the Executive Council and are charged to budget.
If the Chair or the Treasurer are absent the Association shall designate another one of its Executives as a Signing Officer.

IX – SUPREMECY

9.1 The Constitution, By-laws, and Appendices of the IDSSA are the principle rules and regulations governing the activities of the members, any motion made by the Association must be in accordance with these rules and obligations or shall be considered of no force and effect.

X – AMENDATORY PROCEDURE

10.1 Providing quorum exists, a two-thirds majority or all voting members of the Association present in the meeting, shall be required to adopt, rescind, or amend the Constitution of IDSSA or one of its by-laws.

10.2 A notice of motion shall be given to the Association at least one regular meeting prior to voting on proposed amendments to this Constitution or its by-laws.

10.3 Amendments to this Constitution must clearly be stated to be such. Only constitutional precedents shall be considered binding on successive councils. Motions thus prefixed and without a meeting’s notice, will not be considered viable amendments.

10.4 Appendices may be changed by a two-thirds majority vote.

10.5 The Constitution and any attachments to it approved by the Executive shall bear the signatures of the Chair and the Speaker attesting to its validity.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES STUDENT ASSOCIATION BY-LAWS

BYLAW I- ELECTIONS

BE IT ENACTED as a by-law of the IDSSA, as follows;

PART I – CHIEF RETURNING OFFICER

1.1 The IDSSA, seven calendar days before the nominations open, shall appoint a Chief Returning Officer (C.R.O.) who shall be responsible to the IDSSA for proper administration of all elections held to fill positions within the IDSSA.

PART II – GENERAL

2.1 Elections will be held annually in March for the following:

the Chair;
the Treasurer;
the Secretary;
two External Affairs Officers
two Internal Affairs Officers; and
the Project Coordinator

2.2 Elections shall be held during the fall term before October 15 for any vacant positions.

2.3 All Constituents of the Association are entitled to vote for all applicable positions.

PART III CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY

3.1 All candidates for any elected position must be members of the IDSSA.

3.2 Members of the Executive are not eligible candidates for any position during a by-election unless they resign their position prior to the opening of nomination period.

PART IV – NOMINATIONS

4.1 The CRO shall by public notice declare nominations open for a seven-day period fourteen days prior to the dates of voting.

4.2 The nominations for any office shall be submitted to the CRO.

4.3 The nominations will be announced at a general meeting of the IDSSA one week prior to the voting date. At this time the nominated may announce their platform.

PART V – VOTING

5.1 Voting process will occur at the next general meeting one week after the nominations are announced.

5.2 Each constituent of the IDSSA will be provided with a separate ballot for each open position.

5.3 The ballots are to be counted immediately after all the ballots are collected by the CRO and then reported to the IDSSA.

5.4 A recount must be called within 48 hours of election results.

5.5 The results of any election held by the IDSSA must be archived.

PART V1 – VACANT POSITIONS

6.1 In the event that a position remains vacant, IDSSA shall appoint qualified persons as protem, which will have full privileges, rights and responsibilities of the position being filled.

(a) The term of office of any protem position will end with the acceptance of the C.R.O. report of the October election of on April 30 of the academic year, whichever comes first. Hence, any person appointed protem must become a candidate in the subsequent election should they decide to continue in office.

PART VII – TRANSITION PERIOD

7.1 At the acceptance of the C.R.O. report the Executive should train the incoming Executives through a transition period.

BYLAW II – REFERENDUM

BE IN ENACTED as a by-law of the IDSSA, as follows:

1.1 The IDSSA shall be empowered to hold referendums.

1.2 The IDSSA shall hold a referendum on a motion passed by a two-thirds of the Executive.

1.3 The referendum question must be phrased in a format to be answered by a vote of “Yes” or “No”. It must be a neutral question without bias for either response.

1.4 The issue to be questioned in a referendum must fall within the constitutional mandate of the IDSSA and must be of importance to the constituents of the IDSSA.

1.5 The Executive shall appoint a C.R.O. to monitor the referendum.

1.6 The C.R.O. shall follow the basic provisions for the position described for elections.

APPENDIX A – MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES

PART I – PRESIDING OFFICER

1.1 The presiding officer at the meetings of the IDSSA shall be the Speaker.

1.2 The Speaker shall:

Call the meeting to order.
Keep the meeting to the Order of Business.
Handle the discussion in an orderly way in that they shall:
1. Give every member a chance to speak
2. Keep all speakers to the rules of order and to the question.
3. In the case of multiple speakers, use affirmative action.
Not enter into the discussion except to contribute relevant objective information.
State each motion before it is discussed and before voting.
Put motions to vote and announce the outcome of voting.
Be familiar with parliamentary procedure to inform the IDSSA on proper procedure.
Suggest procedural motions as to adjournment and so forth to the IDSSA, but may not make them.
Adjourn the meeting.
Declare a motion defeated or carried in the event of a tie vote.

PART II – ORDER OF BUSINESS

2.1 For each meeting of the IDSSA the order of business called on the Agenda, shall be drawn up by the Speaker with the Chair’s advice as to the time, date, place and order of the meeting.

PART III – RULES OF ORDER

3.1 All members and guests of the Association present at the meetings of the IDSSA shall abide by the Rules of Order set down by the Speaker.

3.2 Questions will be decided on the existing rules, and after the question has been decided, a motion may be made to change the rule(s).

3.3 Rules may be suspended only on rare occasions by the consent of two-thirds of the Executive.

3.4 Whenever the Speaker has given ruling on a question of order of privilege, any member may rise in their place and state to the Speaker “I respectfully appeal to the Executive from your ruling.” The Speaker will then put the question to the Executive, “Shall the ruling of the Speaker be sustained?” Upon the voting the Speaker shall declare their ruling sustained or not sustained.

PART IV – PROPOSAL OF MOTIONS

4.1 Questions shall be submitted to a meeting in the form of a motion.

4.2 The secretary shall write the motion.

4.3 The motion is the property of the Executive only after it is read to the Council by the Speaker.

4.4 The mover of the motion may speak first on the motion or reserve the right to speak later. The motion must be seconded, the seconder may elect to speak second on the motion or reserve the right to speak later.

4.5 The motion, once proposed becomes subject to debate (if debatable). Until such time as the Speaker reads it the motion may be withdrawn or amended by the mover. The seconder must agree upon an amendment.

4.6 The motion once read by the Speaker is still subject to debate and may be accepted, amended or negated subject to approval of majority of the Executive.

PART V – PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS

In the course of debate on a debatable motion, several subsidiary, procedural and privileged motions may arise and need to be decided . To have close reference, the order of precedence is listed and followed with explanations of special motions.

5.1 Motions, that may not be made if any other motion is pending:

Main Motions: presentation of any proposal to the Executive that has been seconded.
To rescind a previously decided motion

5.2 Motions that have precedence rule over the motion to which they pertain:
(a) Procedural Motions:

To withdraw or modify a motion.
To rise to a point of order.
To appeal from a decision of the Speaker.

5.3 Motions that have non definite precedence rule:
(a) Procedural Motions:

To close nominations.
To open nominations.

5.4 Motions that have a precedence over all motions in points 1, 2, and 3. These motions have a precedence over all motions that precede it.

(a) Subsidiary Motions:
1. To postpone action on a motion indefinitely.
2. To amend a main motion.
3. To postpone indefinitely.
4. To limit discussion to a certain time (2/3 vote required).
5. To the Previous Question – a call for the end of debate and immediate vote on the motion. Previous Question requires 2/3 majority, it is non-debatable, non-amendable and requires a seconder. If this motion is defeated, discussion on the main motion continues.
Privileged Motions:
1. To table a motion.
2. To call for order of the day.
3. Questions of Privilege – These refer to all members affecting the rights and immunities of the Executive collectively, or the position and conduct of the Executive in their representative character, members who raise on a so called question of privilege to correct reports of speeches and so on, are personal explanations only allowed by the indulgence of the Executive. The Speaker will decide if there has been a breach of privilege. Genuine questions of privilege should be presented at the beginning of the meetings before the order of business is started. When a motion is to be made concerning the conduct, election or right to hold a seat for an Executive, due notice, of at least a week, will be given to the member to prepare his defence. On making their statement, the member withdraws from the Executive room.
4. To take a recess.
5. To adjourn.
6. To set down the time for the next meeting.

PART VI – DEBATE ON A MOTION

As stated in the preamble “in modern assemblies the principle of freedom of speech must be limited to ensure that all the business at hand is covered.” Accordingly some motions must be dealt with or without debate or amendment.

6.1 The following motions are debatable. Any motion:

standing on the order of preceding for the day.
for the concurrence in a report of a Sub-Committee.
for the adjournment of the Executive to discuss a definite urgent matter.
to proceed to another order of business.
for the appointment of a Sub-Committee.
for the observation of the properties of the Executive Council, the maintenance of its authority, the appointment and conduct of its officers, the correctness of its records and the fixing of the times for meetings.

6.2 The following motions are not debatable. Any motion:

to adjourn a debate.
to adjourn a meeting.
to read the Order of Business.
to appoint a question for consideration at a subsequent meeting.
to restore any question or motion to the order paper.
that the decision of the Speaker be confirmed.
that any Executive now be heard.
to limit discussion.

PART VII – MINUTES

7.1 All items for the Agenda submitted after 24 hours, prior to the Executive meeting must be approved by the Chair or Speaker before being added to the Agenda.

7.2 Votes will be recorded in either the following manner:
(a) In Favour, Opposed, Abstentions
(b) Unanimous

7.3 Items on the Agenda (with or without motion) may be included in the minutes with a summary of the discussion on the topic.

7.4 Any Executive may make a specific request to have all the discussion placed in the minutes or to speak off the record.

7.5 Any reports given to the Executive must be recorded in the minutes and a written copy of the report submitted to the Secretary after the meeting.

7.6 The Chair and the Secretary sign the minutes after the final copy has been processed.

7.7 Guest names will appear listed under Executive members present.

7.8 Guest speakers will appear before business arising from the minutes on the Agenda.

7.9 The Chair’s weekly report shall be given under the Chair Remarks on the Agenda immediately following acceptance of the minutes.

PART VIII – RATIFICATION VOTES

8.1 Any motion passed giving the Association’s support, or involving a mutual project, program, or contract with, any other organization or agency will be given a thirty day moratorium at which time a ratification vote will be held to confirm the Association’s support. Any further discussion regarding the relationship of any specified organizations can be motioned to be re-opened on a bi-monthly basis with a 2/3 majority support of the entire Association.