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I: NAME
The Mess will be known as 'The Hong Kong Police Senior
Officers' Mess'.
II: OBJECT
To
provide social amenities for officers of the rank of Superintendent and
above, and civilian equivalents, of the Hong Kong Police Force.
III: MEMBERSHIP
a.
Full Membership
Full membership will be offered to:
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(i)
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All officers of the substantive rank of Superintendent
and above, of the Hong Kong Police Force.
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(ii)
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Such civilian officers of the Hong Kong
Police Force who are members of the Permanent and Pensionable
Establishment of the Hong Kong Government, who are already associate
members of the Mess, and who are invited to become full members by the
Mess Committee.
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(iii)
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All officers who retire as full members but
who continue in service on pension or agreement; until their service
with the Hong Kong Police or Government is concluded.
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Full members shall be entitled to use all the facilities of
the Mess and to attend all Mess functions, other than private functions.
They shall have voting rights at all General Meetings of the Mess.
b. Associate Membership
Associate membership will be offered to:
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(i)
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Such civilian officers of the Hong Kong
Police Force who are invited to become associate members by the Mess
Committee.
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(ii)
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Such other persons who are attached full
time to the Hong Kong Police Force and who are invited to become
associate members by the Mess Committee.
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Any civilian officer of the Hong Kong Police Force or such
other person who is attached full time to the Hong Kong Police Force may
apply in writing to the Mess Committee for associate membership of the
Mess providing he or she is of equivalent status to a Superintendent or
above. The Mess Committee will subsequently either accept or reject the
application.
c. Temporary Membership
Under exceptional circumstances and subject to the
absolute discretion of the Mess Committee, temporary membership will be
offered to such persons who are invited to become temporary members by
the Mess Committee provided that the length of such membership will not
be more than 12 months on each occasion and the exact period thereof will
be determined by the Mess Committee taking into consideration the
circumstances of each case.
d. Life Membership
All retiring full members, whose service with the Hong Kong
Police or Government has concluded, will be offered life membership.
e. Honorary Membership
Honorary membership will be offered to:
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(i)
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All officers of the rank of
Superintendent and above of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force.
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(ii)
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All honorary officers of the rank of
Superintendent and above of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force.
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(iii)
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Any person who has been granted honorary
membership in accordance with the terms of any previous constitution of
the Mess.
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(iv)
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Such persons who are not otherwise
eligible for full, associate or honorary membership under the terms of
this constitution, who are invited to become honorary members by the
Mess Committee.
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Associate, temporary, life and honorary members shall
be entitled to use all the facilities of the Mess. They shall have no voting rights
at General Meetings of the Mess.
Save for temporary members, they will be permitted to attend
organised Mess functions, other than private functions, at the discretion
of the Mess Committee.
A decision by the Mess Committee to invite any person
to become a full, associate, temporary or honorary member of the Mess
must be unanimous and shall be recorded on the Mess Committee minutes.
The Hon. Secretary shall maintain a register
containing the following particulars:
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(i)
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The name, title, honours and address of
all members.
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(ii)
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The date they became members.
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(iii)
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Category of membership.
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(iv)
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The date of any change of category of
membership.
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It shall be the responsibility of all members to
inform the Hon. Secretary of any changes in their particulars and any
matter which may affect their membership status.
IV: OFFICES
Office bearers of the Mess will be:
a. Honorary President - Ex officio - Commissioner of
Police.
b. President of the Mess Committee (PMC).
c. Hon. Secretary.
d. Hon. Treasurer.
At formal Mess functions the most junior member
present shall act as Vice-President but this shall not thereby constitute
him an office bearer of the Mess.
V: COMMITTEE
The Mess Committee will be chaired by the PMC and
comprising Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer together with four other
standing members. The PMC
will be appointed by the Honorary President - Ex officio normally for a
term of two years and not more than four years in total. Other Committee
members will be elected by ballot at an Annual General Meeting. Each nominee for the Mess
Committee must be proposed by two full members and the ballot paper must
be signed by the nominee, signifying his or her agreement.
Where, at an Annual General Meeting, the number of nominees
does not exceed the number of places on the Mess Committee, the election
will be by acclamation.
A quorum for a Mess Committee Meeting will consist of
four members, including at least one office bearer. The Mess Committee is empowered to
co-opt office bearers and committee members when a vacancy occurs on the
Committee due to the absence of a member during his term of office and,
in addition to such standing members, the Committee may co-opt other
members as necessary.
VI: GENERAL MEETING
A general meeting of the Mess called the Annual
General Meeting will normally be held during the month of May.
General Meetings other than Annual General Meetings
shall be known as Extraordinary General Meetings.
An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called at the
request in writing of not less than five members. Such requests will contain the
substance of the reasons for the calling of the meeting and will be sent
to the Hon. Secretary. A meeting will be held within ten days of receipt
of the request.
Each member shall be given at least seven days notice
in writing of the time, venue, and business of a General Meeting.
The quorum for a General Meeting will consist of not
less than 10 per cent of the number of full members of the Mess.
If members present at a General Meeting cannot form a
quorum, the PMC will delay opening of the Meeting for 30 minutes, at the
end of which those full members who are present shall form a quorum.
Voting, other than for the election of the Committee,
shall be by a show of hands.
A resolution passed at a General Meeting in accordance
with the Constitution shall be binding upon all members of the Mess.
VII: CONDUCT OF THE MESS
The Mess shall be managed by a Committee constituted
in accordance with the provisions hereof. Subject to the Constitution and any resolution passed
in a General Meeting of the Mess, the Committee shall have the absolute
discretion to conduct the affairs of the Mess as it thinks fit inclusive
of, inter alia, the power to delegate, authorize and engage any
one or more of its Committee members to conduct and/or enter into any
kind of affairs, contract or agreement on behalf of the Committee, which
shall be binding upon all members of the Mess.
VIII: MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Copies of the minutes of all Mess Committee Meetings
will be made available to all full members of the Mess as soon as
practicable after such meetings.
IX: ACCOUNTS
The finances of the Mess will be vested in the hands
of the Mess Committee who will instruct the Hon. Treasurer. The Mess Committee shall be
entitled to determine from time to time the ratio of the members'
subscriptions to the revenue obtained from sales so as to achieve an
income level which shall be sufficient to cover the costs and expenses of
the Mess. The Hon. Treasurer
will keep accounts and will present the same to the Mess Committee at any
time upon demand. The accounts will be made up and closed on 31st
March each year and will be audited by two full members of the
Mess who are not members of the Mess Committee. The accounts will be drawn up by
reference to Government's general accounting rules. A Balance Sheet showing a summary
of assets and liabilities of the Mess will be tabled by the Hon.
Treasurer at Annual General Meetings of the Mess.
X: MEMBERS
ACCOUNTS
Members'
accounts will be rendered monthly, and will contain the subscriptions for
the month, charges for the previous month, and any other charges as
directed by the Mess Committee. Should any accounts remain unpaid on the last day of
the month in which they were despatched, the member shall receive notice
drawing his or her attention to that fact, and the member's account
revised to include a surcharge at a rate to be determined from time to
time by the Mess Committee. Such
members shall continue to pay subscriptions but shall not be permitted to
use the Mess facilities until outstanding accounts have been paid.
XI: BANK ACCOUNT
Mess funds shall be held in accounts with recognized
banks in the name of the Hong Kong Police Senior Officers' Mess.
XII:
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Full Members
Full members will pay a monthly subscription at a sum
to be decided from time to time by the Mess Committee and approved by a
majority of members at a General Meeting.
Associate Members
Associate members will pay a monthly subscription at a
sum to be decided from time to time by the Mess Committee and approved by
a majority of members at a General Meeting.
Temporary Members
Temporary members will pay a monthly subscription at a
sum to be decided from time to time by the Mess Committee.
Life and Honorary Members
No monthly subscription shall be charged.
Absent Members
During vacation leave or other periods of absence from
Hong Kong no class of member will be required to pay subscriptions in
respect of any one or more complete calendar months of absence, provided
the Hon. Secretary has been informed in writing in advance of the
absence.
XIII: PRESENTATIONS
Full members shall be entitled to an official
presentation from other full members:
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a.
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On completion of employment with the
Hong Kong Police Force having served continuously for a period of not
less than 10 years and having been a full member of the Mess for not
less than three years. The term 'completion of employment' shall not
include dismissal, an order to resign, compulsory retirement,
retirement in the public interest, or non-renewal of agreement/contract
by reason of unsatisfactory performance.
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b.
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At any time when the presentation is
appointed by the Mess Committee.
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Each full member shall contribute to the presentation
by payment through his or her monthly account, or by other means as
directed by the Mess Committee, at an amount to be determined at a
General Meeting from time to time.
XIV: LIABILITY
In the event of any liability or debt being incurred,
whether as a result of conducting the affairs of the Mess or entering
into a contract or agreement pursuant to Article VII or otherwise, such liability
or debt shall be, instead of being borne by the Mess Committee or any
member thereof, borne equally by all full members of the Mess at the time
the liability is incurred and if such liability or debt is in excess of
Mess funds, such deficit shall be borne equally by all full members of
the Mess. The Mess Committee
shall be entitled to consider and subscribe to such insurance policies or
coverages on behalf of the Mess which is necessary to protect the
interest of the Mess and Mess members against liabilities inclusive but
not limited to such in relation to the compensation and/or liability to
the agent(s), employee(s) and/or the public.
XV: DISSOLUTION
If a majority of the full members present at a General
Meeting vote that the Mess should be dissolved, the Committee will
convene an Extraordinary General Meeting to consider such a proposal.
The Mess shall be dissolved if 75 per cent of the full
members present at the Extraordinary General Meeting vote accordingly
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Any assets remaining after any liabilities and debts
of the Mess have been discharged shall be donated to the Hong Kong Police
Welfare Fund
XVI: CHANGES TO
THE MESS CONSTITUTION
Changes to the Constitution must be ratified at a
General Meeting of the Mess, and by a simple majority of the full members
present.
XVII: SUSPENSION
OF MEMBERSHIP
Any membership of the Mess will be suspended if:
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a.
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a member is interdicted from duty, or
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b.
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having regard to all the circumstances,
the Mess Committee considers this course of action to be in the best
interests of the Mess.
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Suspended members will not be charged a subscription
for the period of their suspension. Suspended members shall not be
entitled to use any facility of the Mess. They will not be permitted to
attend organized Mess functions unless with the prior approval of the
Mess Committee. They shall have no voting rights at General Meetings of
the Mess.
XVIII: TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
Full members who are dismissed, ordered to resign,
compulsorily retired, retired in the public interest, or whose
agreement/contract is not renewed by reason of unsatisfactory performance
will have their membership of the Mess terminated and will not be invited
to become life members.
On a proposal with reasons from the Mess Committee, a
majority of full members at a General Meeting of the Mess may agree to
terminate the membership of a full, life or honorary member.
The membership of an associate member may be
terminated at any time by the Mess Committee without giving any reason
therefor.
The membership of a temporary member may be terminated
at any time by the Mess Committee without giving any reason therefor.
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