ald constitution

8/12/2019 Ald Constitution

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CONSTITUTION AND BY LAWS

THE ASSOCIATION OF LAW DEBATERS- WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

Preamble

We, the students of Western Mindanao State University College of Law, in order to

establish a society where law students can exercise their freedom of speech and expression in anopen forum, engage in academic discussion on a variety of issues on the local, regional, national,

and international level, and expand learning in order to become more critical and productivecitizens as well as active and competent law professionals in the future, do ordain and establish

this Constitution of the Association of Law Debaters in Western Mindanao State University for

the student body.

ARTICLE INAME, LOGO AND DOMICILE OF ORGANIZATION

Section 1. Name of the Organization- The name of this organization shall be The Association of

Law Debaters in Western Mindanao State University (The ALD-WMSU).

Section 2. Nature of the Organization- The Nature of the organization is a non-profit, non-stock

association of law students who are debaters as well.

Section 3. Logo/Emblem- The organization will adopt the logo which is described as follows

Section 4. Domicile- The domicile of the organization will be at the College of Law of WesternMindanao State University, Baliwasan Normal Road, Zamboanga City, Philippines.

For the purpose of brevity, to be referred as the ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE II - STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The purpose of this organization shall be:

1. To encourage the WMSU College of Law community to actively participate in eventswhich will develop speech and debating skills, including communication, persuasion,

organization, style, and delivery.2. Shall be a tool for continuous academic growth of law students in Western Mindanao

State University.

3. Shall encourage WMSU Law students to understand various issues in the country andaround the world and their respective legal implication in the National and InternationalLaws.

4. To provide its members with the opportunity to interact with students from numerousother schools involved in various Parliamentary (Philippine Debate Union) and LawDebates (Moot Court and Modified Oregon Oxford Tournaments). A Law Debate Team

would be a unique asset to the WMSU College of Law because no other organization

provides a forum for the improvement of individual communication skills at all levels ofability.

5. To provide access to competitions in the area as well as on a national and internationallevel.

6. Shall engage in several public debates throughout the academic year to inform andentertain the WMSU College of Law students.

7. Shall organize and run a Parliamentary or Modified Oregon Oxford Debate formattournament outside and inside the campus. The association, in line with its interest forculture of criticalness and legal education shall organize open forums which will focus on

various National and International issues.


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ARTICLE IIIMEMBERSHIP AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Section 1. Membership-

a. All WMSU College of Law students who are enrolled in the College of Law are eligiblefor interview. The interview procedure will include a test of speaking and argumentative

ability (the specifics of which will depend on the number of applicants and the discretion

of the Novice Recruitment officer and/or Executive Board).b. Students who will pass this stage shall be considered probationary members.c. The Executive Board may determine when to conduct the recruitment and interview stageprovided that it would be within the first or second semester of the academic year.

Section 2. Classification of Membership-

A. In order to gain regular membership, probationary members must meet the requirednumber of attendance in debate training and workshop.

B. Probationary members shall also be trained and assessed by working in hosting eventsthat will be conducted by the Association within the academic year. After a year

following the application, the applicants will be eligible for assessment for regular

membership.

C. Only regular members shall be eligible for representing the Association in various local,national and international tournaments and events. Tournament eligibility in any givenevent will also be based on a point system which will be under the discretion of the

officers and will be dependent on the student's participation, active semesters on theteam, and available funding.

D. SPECIAL Provision for non-members to compete (presumed gifted)HOWEVER, May invite law students (non-members) to participate in the tournamentonly for that purpose, shall be required to undergo the process after the tourney.

Section 3. Membership Dues-

a. The amount of 75 php for probationary members and 100 php for regular members willbe charged every semester for membership dues.b. The amount collected will be used for the necessary expenses of the association with the

approval of the Executive body.

c. These dues maybe increased upon majority vote of all regular members in anadministrative meeting called for that purpose. Such increase will take effect thefollowing semester.

d. The money will be paid the first Monday of the second month of the semester the studentbecomes a probationary member or regular member. Members may be allowed to paylate or be exempted to pay provided that the Executive board sees a valid ground to

approve it.

e.

The Society will examine its fiscal resources on a yearly basis to determine how manynew members it will receive. The Association shall not discriminate against any studenton the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, creed, age, disability, marital

status, major and/or degree program, political opinions or affiliations.

Section 4. Voting Rights- ALL MEMBERS? REGULAR MEMBERS Membership allows one to

vote and join a committee. Membership will be renewed by registration and dues at the

beginning of each semester. Membership will be subjected to assessment based on attendanceand performance in meetings and debate trainings


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ARTICLE IVOFFICERS

A. Titles and Responsibilities

A.1. Executi ve Board1. President: Organize and run meetings; facilitate interactions between different branches

of the

Society; act as secondary signatory for bank accounts; handle all administrative

issues not explicitly delegated to another officer.

2. Vice President, Finance (Treasurer): Keep records of all financial transactions for allbranches of the Society; act as primary signatory for bank accounts; reimburse Society

members for Society related costs after approving those costs; ensure payment of debts to

the Society.3. Vice-President, External Relations: Act as liaison among Western Mindanao State

University administration, Office of the Dean of the College of Law and the Society

4. Events Director: Work with administration and organization of debate tournaments,socials and forum. The Events Director will be the Head in planning the events whichwill be organized and hosted by the Association; Schedule Society members to specific

shifts and occupations as are deemed necessary

5. Captain, ALD-WMSU Debate Team:: shall; head the recruitment and training of newmembers in the debate team; Act as a liaison to and contact for different tournaments;

make travel arrangements for tournaments; work with the financial officer to determine

acceptable travel expenses and purchase plane tickets; pre-register and register teams fortournaments; maintain contact with members of the Society about tournament

opportunities and results.

Other Off ices

1. Secretary: Keep minutes of all meetings; maintain records of tournament results afterreleased by captains; compose newsletter at least once a year with help of financial

officer to report the Associations activities and victories for the benefit of the current

members, alumni, and WMSU administration.

2. Novice Recruitment Chair: Organize recruitment efforts (flyers, tables at activity fairs,etc.), coordinate interview process; work with treasurer and team captain to determine

recruiting policies for given year.

3. Public Relations Officer: Maintain the debate team website or social media accounts;Work with Novice Recruitment Chair and Secretary for Information Dissemination

4. Head for Research: Tasked in Matter loading for Parliamentary Debate regardingdifferent issues in the Region, Country and internationally; compile the different printedresearch materials; the officer shall head the research team in Oregon Oxford debateformat and Moot Court; Research on latest jurisprudence, law and other related legal

documents beneficial and necessary for the debate team.

Article VELECTIONS AND REMOVAL PROCESS


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Section 1. Elections- Elections will be held by silent, preferential ballot at the last Saturday of the

first month of the first semester of one academic year to determine officers for that year. The

election for each office will occur one at a time, beginning with President and proceedingindividually in the order that the offices are listed on this constitution. The results will be

tabulated immediately by the Acting Secretary and President or the Secretary and President of

the previous Executive Board. Anyone not elected may drop down and compete in other races.

Section 2. Qualifications- The conditions on offices are that they have participated actively in the

Society for at least one full academic year prior to election; they are bona fide students of

WMSU College of Law and that they do not hold any Executive position in other WMSU and

College of Law organizations. Failure to meet these requirements will automatically result todisqualification.

Section 3. Removal-

1. In the event that an officer other than the President resigns, a new officer will be electedwithin a two week period. If the President resigns, the Vice-President of Finance will

assume the responsibilities of President temporarily in addition to their responsibilities as

Vice-President of Finance and will conduct an election of a new President. This electionmust be held within two weeks of the resignation or removal of the president.

2. If the Vice-President of Finance becomes elected as the replacement President then theymust oversee an election for a new Vice-President of Finance within two weeks of their

election to President. This person will only have one vote on the board while they holdtwo offices.

3. To involuntarily remove an officer, 2/3 of the eligible voting regular members must signa petition requesting that officers removal, and new elections must be held at the nextregular meeting

4. Officers may be removed if they fail to comply with the guidelines set forth in theSociety Contract or fail to fulfill the here-enumerated duties and eligibility. Removal can

be determined by the executive board upon consent by a 2/3 majority of the Society'sregular members on a special meeting called for that purpose.

Section 4- Canvassing

1. Any matters up for decision by the Association can be decided by either 1) an entireregular members vote, or 2) an executive board vote. The President will decide whichmethod to invoke. All officers may vote in matters relegated to the entire team, excepting

the President, who may only vote in the instance of a tie. Any executive board decisions

resulting in a tie can only be broken by a second vote of the team President.2. In the event that an individual is elected to multiple executive board positions, that

individual shall only receive one executive board vote. The remaining executive board

position or positions will go to the person or persons holding Other Offices in order untilthere are 5 persons on the executive board.

Section 5- Length of Term- Terms will last for one academic year, beginning in the first week ofthe second month of the first semester. However, the officer may run for reelection and hold the

same position for three consecutive terms.

Article VI- FUNDING


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Section 1. The Club/Organization will have a Vice President for Finance designated as the party

responsible for finances. All funds raised through Association dues, donations, or fundraisers are

acknowledged as ALD-WMSU funds and will be maintained in a bank account if possible.

Section 2. The organization shall be funded by the following means:

A. Annual registration fee of regular and probationary membersB. Fund raising activityC. Donors

Section 3. All money transaction must be used only in events related to the Association and duly

approved and signed by the Vice President, Finance (Treasurer), President and The Association

Adviser

Article VII- MEETINGS AND TRAININGS

Section 1. The Association shall hold meetings that allow members to carry on administrativebusiness and to practice and teach debating skills through practice rounds. The Association shall

hold two different types of meetings. They will be as follows:

A. Administrative -Ideally, meetings will be held once a month. If occasion arisesthat the members decide that the meetings need to be more or less frequent for aperiod of time, meetings shall be called as necessary. Any Executive officer can

call a meeting. Meetings shall parliamentary rules and procedures. The time of the

subsequent meeting will be decided before the closure of the meeting at hand.

Special meeting may be called for any of the following purpose: Amendment ofthe Constitution, Removal of Officers and Members, Special Election and other

concerns which substantially affect the interest of the Association and require theurgent decision of the body. A quorum of a regular meeting shall be 50 plus 1 ofall the voting regular members without prejudice to the voting requirement

required in removal of officers and constitutional amendment.

B. Training - Practice Rounds - These mock competitions will be scheduled atadministrative meetings and will be presided over by an experienced judge. This

judge, an experienced member of the team, will be responsible for critiquing thecompetitors and deciding the outcome. Debate training will be conducted twice a

month on a weekend and may be increased if necessary as may be decided by the

Team Captain with the approval of the Executive Body. Practice rounds will use

the British Parliamentary Debate Format or Asian Parliamentary Debate formatand Modified Oregon Oxford Debate format or Moot Court Debate.

Article VIIITHE ASSOCIATION ADVISER

Section 1. This Club/Organization will have at least one member of the WMSU College Lawfaculty or administration serve as an society adviser.

Section 2. Duties and responsibilities of the Adviser(s): Be available to all members forconsultation for advice, counsel, and as a resource; meet with President for urgent concerns; Sign

appropriate budget, event and tournament paperwork; be familiar with rules_____ pertaining to

student Club/Organizations; if able, attend the Association meetings and activities ; performeligibility checks on all officers and members, and inform ineligible members of their status ;Keep open lines of communication with the Executive Board and Debate Team on matters of

concern regarding the Association

Section 3. The executive board will meet with prospective advisers and make a recommendation

to the general membership; the permanent members will confirm the adviser(s) by a of

majority vote


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Section 4. The regular members may remove an adviser by a majority vote on the basis of failure

to observe the roles and duties of the adviser provided in Article _____ of this constitution. This

vote may not take place until one week after the adviser is informed of the groups intent and oneweek after all the regular members has been notified

Article IX- CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Section 1. A constitutional amendment may be proposed by any member and must have thesignatures of at least five other members. The amendment must be submitted in writing to the

regular members three days for the Administrative meeting called for that purpose.

Section 2. An amendment, in the spirit of the organization, will be debated before the Society.

That debate will be judged by the members of the executive board, and the 2/3 of the regular

voting members will approve the amendment. The amendment can only become finalized uponthe approval of the Adviser of the ALD-WMSU. In the event that the Adviser will veto such

amendment, the veto can be overridden with a majority vote of all the regular members of the

Association in a special meeting called for that purpose.

ARTICLE X -MISC

Hierarchy of Law- The provisions of this Constitution are governed by and subordinate to the

constitution and laws of the Philippines as well as the policies of the Board of Trustees ofWestern Mindanao State University, College of Law and the Student Constitution.

Signed by:

ALDRIN ABDURAHIM ARNOLD BUCOYFOUNDER, ALD-WMSU FOUNDER, ALD-WMSU

FOUNDING MEMBERS

PRINCESS AYOMA MARTI GREGORIO EARL RASHEEDA JOE

YULEE TOLENTINO


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