IChemE Members to vote on Royal Charter and by-law changes

ICHEME Voting Members, ie Fellows and Chartered Members, are being invited to vote on proposed changes to the Institution’s Royal Charter and by-laws. The vote will be ahead of IChemE’s upcoming 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 20 May.

Last year, Voting Members approved a number of amendments to IChemE’s Royal Charter and by-laws. These changes established a Board of Trustees and the newly-formed Congress. At the time, it was agreed that the governing documents would be kept under continual review to allow any necessary amendments to be brought forward on a regular basis.

Voting Members are now being asked to vote on a Special Resolution to update IChemE’s Royal Charter and by-laws. A small number of changes have been proposed in order to provide further clarity to the current documentation, and to simplify some aspects.

The proposed changes to the by-laws reflect:

• Amendments to the membership grades and processes in line with the changes proposed by the Qualifications Committee. The changes include introducing a new regulation to provide further detail on the requirements of referees for applications.
• Clarification to the time scale before which the names of members in subscription arrears, or those who have not complied with continued professional development (CPD) requirements set out in the Regulations, can be removed from the Register of members by the Board.
• Clarification to the time frame allowed for Extraordinary General Meetings to be called and held. The proposed change provides the requisitionists with a longer time period within which to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting, should the Board fail to do so.
• Clarification in relation to the notice of, and participation in, General Meetings.
• Removal of some of the detailed clauses, specifically those referring to the Code of Conduct, from the by-laws to the Regulations, where it is deemed more appropriate for them to appear.
• Re-numbering of some by-laws as a result of the above changes.

There are two minor changes proposed to the Royal Charter, including one to remove a typographical error.

All Voting Members will have received an email from the IChemE’s CEO, Jon Prichard, with a link to the voting page and their unique voter code (UVC). The email will be sent via Democracy Technology Ltd (Mi-Voice), which has been appointed by the Board of Trustees to provide independent electoral services and to conduct the voting process.

Votes must be cast for or against the Special Resolution by 23:59 (BST) on Wednesday 15 May 2019. Members also have the option to abstain. There will be no voting on the Special Resolution at the AGM.

Members requiring any assistance using the voting site, should contact Mi-Voice via +44 (0) 2380 763987 or contact Mi-Voice support.

IChemE’s 2019 Annual General Meeting

IChemE’s 2019 AGM will be held at 18:00–19:00 BST, on 20 May, in Rugby, UK. It will be live-streamed via GoToWebinar, and those interested may register to watch the meeting online.

Members who wish to attend in person should register their attendance by confirming their name and membership number to Beverley Garratt.

All members may attend the meeting, but only Voting Members are entitled to vote.