Law - Get togethers for meeting

ARTICLES OF LAW
By BHAG SINGH

Organised committees are regulated by the law or the participants themselves.

When does one hold one kind of meeting or another? In addition, are there limitations as to when such meetings may be convened and conducted? If so, are such conditions and limitations prescribed by law or otherwise complied with?

As stated in the Law of Meetings by Sir Sebag Shaw and Judge Dennis Smith, the word “meeting” is susceptible to many connotations, but in one of its more specific senses, it indicates an assembly of persons.

The same authors go on to say that “it may be fortuitous and casual or organised and contrived, and its objects may be as various as are the interests which are common to the generality of mankind. An assembly may forgather for the purpose of discussion or social intercourse, for entertainment, in order to indulge an aesthetic interest, to receive instruction, or to participate in the administration of public or private affairs”.

Of course, if any unlawful act is committed by any member of an assembly, he may be called to account for the consequences of that act. Thus when people assemble with some common object in view, their collective conduct should be regulated by rules extending beyond those which would affect each member.

Types of meetings

Generally all meetings can be divided into public meetings and private meetings. Public meetings are those which the public generally have access to. Such meetings will be concerned with matters of general interest.

Private meetings are those where people are admitted by virtue of some specific right or special capacity: for example, a meeting of shareholders in a company or the committee of a club.

It is in the context of this latter category that terms such as Annual General Meeting, Extra Ordinary General Meeting and Emergency General Meeting are used. Whether there is a requirement or need to hold them and whether a particular procedure must be followed depends on the nature of the organisation and the law by which it is governed.

In any organisation it is the members who elect the representatives from among themselves to manage the organisation. Such an elected group may be called the board, committee or governing council.

It follows that there needs to be in place a procedure for the members, who may be referred to as the general body, to be kept informed as well as to be able to indicate their approval or otherwise in respect of certain basic and fundamental matters.

AGM

It is in the light of this that such organisations will have an annual general meeting. In the case of companies formed under the Companies Act 1965, there is a statutory requirement to hold an annual general meeting once every calendar year and not more than 15 months after the holding of the last preceding annual general meeting.

If such a meeting cannot be held, the Registrar of Companies is empowered, on application made, to extend this period of time. A failure to hold the meeting as so provided would constitute an offence under the Act.

In the context of companies, what is generally required to be dealt with in an annual general meeting is the declaration of dividends, consideration of the accounts, balance sheets and report of directors and auditors, the election of directors in the place of those retiring, and the appointment and fixing of remuneration of auditors. This is referred to as ordinary business. Anything else is considered special business.

In the Societies Act 1966 which governs the set-up and operation of societies which are associations of seven or more persons, there is no such specific statutory requirement to hold an annual general meeting.

The Act merely sets the guidelines as to matters for which provisions must be made in the constitution or rules of the society. Thus in the case of societies, it is open to the members to state in their rules or constitution what is to be tabled at the annual general meeting.

On account of this, it may be said that the role and rational of the annual general meeting is to inform and discuss matters which are in a way routine matters and yet fundamental and necessary to be dealt with periodically.

Unlike companies, societies may hold their annual general meetings once in two or three years, if the constitution so permits. Some societies adopt a midway approach by electing office bearers for two- or three-year terms, and holding an annual general meeting every year to provide reports and present accounts for approval.

EOGM

Annual general meetings are held to discuss routine matters . To meet this requirement, an extra ordinary general meeting may in some cases be held immediately after the annual general meeting.

But whilst an annual general meeting, by the rules of the organisation must be held, an extra ordinary general meeting is held as and when necessary or not at all. Such a meeting could be called by the committee or at the request of a specified number of members. This is called requisitioning a “meeting”.

Anything could be special business in this regard. Thus the decision to purchase or sell property will be special business as well as decisions to propose a vote of no-confidence in the committee or to reverse a decision earlier made.

Finally, a provision could be made for an emergency general meeting. There is no legal definition of an emergency general meeting but it is sometimes provided for to be called at very short notice for some unusual or urgent matter. This being the case, the power to do so is vested in the committee or in the head of the organisation.

- THE STAR