1. Title

The name of the organisation is The Egyptological Society of Malta (henceforth referred to as The Society).

2. Emblem

The emblem shall be as portrayed by its statute as above.

3. Objects

   a.      The Society is established to promote and propogate education and study of the ancient Egyptians,             their art, religion and history and to discover the interaction between the Egyptians and other             peoples of the time.

   b.      To organise lectures, courses, discussions relative to the object 3a.

   c.      The Society shall be non profit-making.

4. Membership

   a.      Any person, subject to rule 4f, may become a Society member:

                     i.      upon payment if the membership fee, and
                     ii.     upon approval by the committee.

   b.      The membership fee of each Society member shall be such a sum as the committee may determine             from time to time.

   c.      All membership fees shall become due as from the first week of January of each year.

   d.      Any person joining the Society during the period of two months before the forthcoming membership            fee is due, will not be requested to pay the membership fee.

   e.      Outgoing members of the Society shall pay any outstanding dues and return all property and material            of the Society borrowed by them.

   f.      The Committee may, at its discretion, refuse any application for membership or suspend or cancel the            membership of any member, provided that this person is afforded the opportunity to appear before the            Committee.

5. The Committee

   a.      The management of the Society shall be entrusted to a body called the Committee. This body shall             convene at least once every six weeks. if, for any reason, the President is unable to convene the             committee, the Vice-President shall take over this duty.

   b.      The committee shall consist of at least five members. These will include a President, Vice-President,             Secretary, Treasurer and Public Relations Officer.

   c.      The President shall chair every committee meeting of the Society and shall have the right to know of             all Society proceedings. The President shall make a member ex-officio of any sub-committee or             section of the Society.

   d.      The Vice-President shall assist the President in his duties, without prejudice to rule 5c. The             Vice-President shall replace the President when thus delegated by the President.

   e.      The Secretary shall keep the minutes and be responsible for the Society's Committee
            correspondance. He shall inform all committee members of forthcoming committee meetings and of             their respective agenda. The Secretary shall also keep the minutes of any Annual General Meeting
            or Special General Meeting (henceforth AGM and SGM respectively).

   f.       The Treasurer shall be responsible for all the Society's financial affairs and for drawing up a balance             sheet to be presented to the AGM. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the organisation of             fund-raising activities for the Society.

   g.      The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for the Society's relations with the mass media.

   h.      The Committee may fill any vacancies in the Committee, which may occur between one AGM and             another.

   i.       The Committee may, in the interests of the Society, co-opt additional members on the Committee.

   j.       A committee member will resign from the Committee, if considered to have failed to carry out his             duties for a period of time without reason, held justifiable by the rest of the Committee or by             two-thirds of the Society's members.

   k.      Three members of the Committee, including eithe the President or the Vice-President, shall for a             quorum for committee meetings.

   l.       The Committee may keep, in the name of the Society, a bank account into which Society funds may             be deposited. Withdrawals from this account shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by             the President of his delegate.

   m.      The Committee shall present a report of the state of affairs of the Society during the previous year             to the AGM.

   n.      The Committee shall annually submit the accounts of the Society for examination. The audited             accounts shall be presented to the AGM as a financial report. The Committee will decide as to who             will audit the accounts. Auditors must not be members of the outgoing Committee or contestants in             the election for the forthcoming Committee.

   o.      Persons may be invited by the Committee to act as observers during a committee meeting of the             Society.

6. Annual General Meeting

   a.      The AGM shall, unless the Committee otherwise decides, be held during the month of January each             year, for the purpose of presenting a report of the state of affairs and proceedings of the Society             during the previous year and for the purpose of electing a new committee.

   b.      The Committee shall forward to all members at least two clear weeks before this date fixed for the             AGM:

                    i.     The date, time and place of the forthcoming AGM;
                    ii.     The date, time and place of adjournment of the AGM, if the case arises;
                    iii.    The names of the retiring members of the Committee;
                    iv.    The date and time up to which the Secretary shall accept motions to be presented at the                            AGM, including proposals for amendments to the statute and proposals for inclusion on the                            AGM agenda;
                    v.    The name and address of a person appointed by the committee to receive applications for                            candidature of the above-mentioned elections;
                    vi.    The closing date for the receipt of the above-mentioned applications;
                    vii.   A copy of the application form to contest for election, subject to rule 7g.
                    viii.   Any other matters concerning the AGM.

   c.      The President or his delegate, in the absence of eithe of these, a chairperson, appointed by the             committee, shall chair the AGM or SGM, subject to rule 6d.

   d.      The Rules of Procedure of the AGM or SGM shall be:

                    i.      The Committee shall be responsible for setting up the Agenda in accordance to Rule 6e.
                    ii.     The chairperson may suspend individual members and/or suspend or adjourn the AGM or                            SGM in case of disorder, as he sees fit and proper.
                    iii.    The Secretary of the incumbent committee or, in the case of his absence, any other                            person appointed by the Committee, shall be responsible for the keeping of minutes during                            the AGM or SGM.

   e.      The Agenda of the AGM shall contain the following:

                    i.      The Chairperson shall declare the AGM open;
                    ii.     Reading of minutes of previous AGM;
                    iii.     Presidential Report of the previous year;
                    iv.    Administrative report of the previous year;
                    v.     Public Relations Report of the previous year;
                    vi.    Financial report, including assessts, of the previous year;
                    vii.    Motions and proposed amendments to the Statute;
                    viii.   Nomination of an Electoral Commission;
                    ix.    Election of a new committee by secret ballot;
                    x.     Any other matters.

   f.       Any decision taken during an AGM or SGM, except those concerning amendments to this Statute,             shall be approved by a simple majority.

   g.      Special General Meetings may also be convened when the Committee deems it fit and proper and             when a request, signed by at least one third of the Society's members, is addressed to the             Committee, containg the reason for which the SGM is being requested. The meeting shall be held             within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the above mentioned request.

   h.      The committee shall forward to all members at least one clear week before an SGM is the due the             following:

                    i.      The date, time and place of the forthcoming SGM;
                    ii.      The date, time and place of adjournment, if the case arises;
                    iii.     The date and time up to which the Secretayr shall accept motions to be presented at the                             SGM, including proposals inclusions in the SGM Agenda;
                    iv.     Any other matters concerning the SGM.

7. Elections of the Committee

   a.      The term of office of the committee expires after one year. Any committee member is eligible to             contest for re-election.

   b.      Five committee members, in accordance to Rule 5b and 5h, shall be elected annually. In the event of            the resignation, death or demotion Rule 5h applies.

   c.      The annual committee election shall be conducted by and shall be the responsibility of an Electoral             Commission (the EC).

   d.      The EC shall consist of at least two members of the Society not contesting the forthcoming election.             It shall be proposed by the outgoing committee and approved by the majority of members present at             the AGM.

   e.      The EC's word shall be final in that:

                    i.      It refuses applications for candidature of elections, if these applications do not conform
                           to the rules of this Statute;
                    ii.     It appoints assistants to help in performing its duties;
                    iii.    It takes any decisions relating to the elections.

   f.      Every candidate who shall contest for committee election must be a registered Society member.

   g.      The names of the candidates shall be submitted in writing to the person appointed for this purpose in            Rule 6b(v). The signature of the candidate and two seconders, who shall be Society members, shall            accompany the submittance.

   h.      On the day fixed for the election, each member present shll vote by secret ballot for not more that            five (5) of the candidates to sit on the committee.

   i.      Voting papers signed by the EC shall be used for election purposes. Votes shall be deposited by voters            in an appropriate ballot box.

   j.      The EC shall publish the election results immediately. In the event of a tie, the EC shall proceed to            hold a by-election between those candidates who have secured an equal number of votes.

   k.      The five (5) candidates securing the greatest number of votes in the election shall be declared            elected.

   l.       Any grievances as to the running of the election shall be submitted in writing to the EC not later than            four (4) days from the announcement of the final election results. At the discretion of the EC, fresh            elections may be held.

   m.      A meeting of all elected members shall be held not later than one week following the announcement             of the final election result. At this meeting, the members shall decide who will occupy which of the             posts mentioned in Rule 5b, starting with the President. If a committee member wishes it, th election             of any committee official shall proceed by secret ballot.

   n.      The outgoing committee shall hand over all materials, funds and Society matters to the newly elected             committee.

8. Dissolution

Should the Society decide at a general meeting to dissolve, all assets, book, funds and other Society possessions at that time shall be sold by auction among its members. Items not sold in this way shall be valued and sold to the public. The net surplus derived in this way shall be distributed equally among all paid members of the Society.

9. Amendments

   a.      The Secretary shall notify members, at least one week before an AGM or SGM, of proposals for the             amendment to the Statute.

   b.      Any amendments to this Statute, including this Rule, can be made at an AGM or at an SGM. It must             be carried out by two-thirds majority of those members present.

10. Affiliations

Other Societies may be affiliated to the Society subject to a set of regulations, which are agreed upon by the Society committee and without prejudice to this Statute.

11. Sections

   a.      The Committee may, in the interests of the Society, appoint groups, sections and/or sub-committees.

   b.      Articles of Association, governing the objectives, propgrammes, organisations and other matters             pertaining to the operations of these groups, sections and/or sub-committees, are to be drawn up             and agreed upon by the Committee and the Designate Director of the aforesaid group, section and/or             sub-committee.

   c.      The Director of a group, section and/or sub-committee will be a Society member appointed by the             committee for a period, which can be renewed, of twelve (12) calendar months. The Director will be             directly responsible to the Committee for all matters relating to the group, section and/or             sub-committee under his direction.

   d.      Articles of Association of groups, sections and/or sub-committees of the Society shall be appended             as such to the Society Statute. Such articles will carry the date of the approval by the Committee             on which the said group, section and/or sub-committee will be deemed to have been officially             established.

   e.      Groups, sections and/or sub-committees of the Society will be guided in all matters by the articles             and spirit of the Society Statute currently in force or as may be amended from time to time.

12. Miscellaneous

   a.      In exceptional circumstances, and unless this Statute declares otherwise, the President or his            delegate will be deemed to have power to take decisions regarding the Society's management. The            President's delegate shall be a Society member. Any such decisions shall be reported to the Society            Committee at the forthcoming committee meeting.

   b.      The affairs of the Society shall be regulated by this Statute. All Society members may be provided            with a copy of this Statute and shall abide by it.