Last updated: 24th May 2007

This document governs how the JCR is run. It’s not perfect, and it’s not exhaustive: there are a lot of traditions of the JCR that aren’t written down here. However, this is the first place to check if you’re unsure about the correct procedure for doing something like calling an emergency JCR meeting.

The interpretation of the constituion is up to the JCR President and Returning Officer. If an issue of interpretation cannot be resolved, the wording should be changed (with a JCR motion) to be less ambiguous.

This document should be accurate as of the above date. If a change to the constitution is passed (at two consecutive JCR meetings or in a referendum, as required), the change takes effect immediately, even if this document is not updated to reflect it.

Table of Contents:

  1. General
  2. Meetings
  3. Finances
  4. Election Regulations

    General

  1. Members
    1. All members of the College in statu pupillari, and all Visiting Students at the college, shall be full members of the JCR, with the right to use all JCR facilities and to vote in all JCR Meetings (subject to clause 22 (iii), below), elections and referendums; and they alone shall have voting rights. Members of other colleges shall have the right to use JCR facilities subject to a vote of the JCR, but shall have no voting rights. Any guest of a JCR Member shall also have the right to use JCR facilities, but shall have no voting rights. All members of the JCR have the right to opt out of the JCR, and forfeit their voting rights as a result.
    2. Any College member who is not in statu pupillari may gain permission to become a member of the JCR, and will be expected to pay the equivalent of each JCR member’s share of the JCR block grant.
    3. Any person may be made an honorary member of the JCR, subject to the passing of a motion at a JCR meeting. They shall not have voting rights but may stand for non-committee posts in JCR elections. They shall have the right to use JCR facilities.
  2. JCR Committee and Officers
    1. There shall be a JCR Committee consisting of the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, the Domestic Officer, Accommodation Officer, the Libraries and Academic Affairs Officer, the SU’s Officer, the Welfare Officer (Male), the Welfare Officer (Female), the President of the Entertainments Committee, the Clubs and Societies Officer, the Admissions and Access Officer, the LGBT Officer, the International Students Officer, the Equal Opportunities Officer, the Returning Officer and the Computing and Website Officer, as well as non-committee officers as reasonably deemed appropriate by themselves or the JCR president. The MCR President will be a non-voting member.
    2. The JCR Committee shall be chaired by the President, and shall have no executive power independent of the JCR.
    3. JCR Officers shall be subject to standing orders, as voted by the JCR from time to time.
    4. The President (or deputy) and one other JCR Officer shall represent the JCR at Domestic and Buildings Committee on unreserved business; the President (or deputy) and Treasurer (or deputy) will represent the JCR at College Meetings on unreserved business; the President (or deputy) and Libraries and Academic Affairs Officer (or deputy) will represent the JCR at Academic Committee on unreserved business. A deputy is defined as any Officer on the JCR Committee asked in advance to attend by the President or other Officer named in this point.
    5. This should only be the case where the mandated Officer has a compelling reason for non-attendance, and is designed to ensure that the JCR always has the maximum representation to the SCR.
    6. The President, and SU’s Officer shall have voting rights on OUSU Council (provided the policy document indicates that we are still a member of said organisation), along with a third delegate drawn from the body of the JCR who has expressed an interest in attending, but who will be expected to vote along lines expressed by a majority of the JCR. If the President or SUs rep are unable to attend OUSU Council they must ensure another member attends in their place, to vote as outlined above. If the JCR believes that the third delegate has not or will not represent its interests in the manner outlined above, and passes a motion to this effect, then he/she will have voting rights withdrawn. The JCR Vice President is mandated to ensure the presence of a third delegate, by attending themselves if necessary.
    7. All JCR Committee members shall attend JCR Meetings from their opening until 11.30pm or until all the Priority Motions have been discussed, whichever is the earlier. If an Officer fails to attend two JCR Meetings in one term without a reasonable excuse, the JCR President will be obliged to bring a motion of no confidence after the second absence, at the most convenient time (either in an ordinary or extraordinary meeting) unless
      1. the offender is the JCR President OR
      2. another officer is willing to take up the motion, and the JCR President is willing to cede the motion in which case the motion will be brought by any other member of the JCR committee.
      If a motion of no confidence in any JCR Officer is passed by a two thirds majority in two successive JCR meetings this will result in automatic dismissal from office.
    8. A candidate (excluding the JCR Treasurer and Access and Admissions Officer) who has been elected (subject to the ‘Election Regulations’ section of this constitution) in Michaelmas to a JCR Officer post in which there is an incumbent of the position, shall assume the post formally after the hokey cokey, around 2am at the end of the Christmas bop. At this time the preceding occupant shall formally vacate the post. The new JCR Treasurer and Access and Admissions officer will assume their posts on the 1st of January at which point their preceding occupants shall formally vacate the post. A candidate elected in the Trinity elections to a JCR Officer post in which there is an incumbent of the position, shall assume the post formally on Saturday of 8th week, Trinity Term, at which point the preceding occupant shall formally vacate the post. If the candidate has been elected in an election for a vacant post, then they shall formally assume office as soon as the results become known.
  3. Ball Committee
    1. The Ball Committee shall include, principally, a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
    2. These three persons will be full members of the Corpus JCR or MCR at all times between their appointment to these respective positions until the term in which the ball will be held.
    3. Individuals wishing to apply to the positions of Ball Chair, Ball Secretary, and Ball Treasurer, will be invited to apply to these positions by the end of 1st week of Trinity Term at least three terms in advance of the proposed Ball.
    4. Applications will be on forms provided through the JCR and MCR and will be submitted to a panel consisting of the JCR and MCR Presidents, JCR Treasurer, the previous Ball Chair (where possible), Dean, Domestic Bursar and Junior Dean. This panel will be responsible for selecting the three individuals most likely to plan an enjoyable and profitable ball. The panel will assess applicants on the strength of their written applications, and, if it is deemed necessary, will invite applicants to interview.
    5. It will be the responsibility of the successful Ball Chair, Secretary and Treasurer to table the initial formal request to have a ball to Governing Body. This request will be tabled in time for discussion at the College meeting in 6th week of Trinity Term one year ahead of the planned ball. The composition of the request will involve regular consultation with the Dean and Domestic Bursar.
    6. It will be the responsibility of the Ball Chair, Secretary and Treasurer to co-opt the remainder of a larger Ball Committee composed of members of the JCR and MCRs no later than the Michaelmas Term following the appointment of the three principal Ball Committee members. All Common Rooms hope and expect that individuals unsuccessful in their applications to the positions of Ball Chair, Secretary and Treasurer will join the Ball Committee in other positions, in order to ensure their ideas and talents are not wasted.
    7. The Ball Chair, Secretary and Treasurer will ensure that at least one of these three is present at all ordinary JCR Meetings between their appointment to the Ball Committee and the night of the Ball itself. This person will be responsible for giving a verbal report on the progress of the ball at the same time as the elected JCR Committee officers give their verbal reports, and will answer any questions from JCR members concerning the progress of the ball thereafter.
    8. The JCR or MCR Committee can, through their respective Presidents, bring a motion of no confidence in the Ball Chair, Secretary or Treasurer to the appointing panel at any time between the appointment of these persons and the staging of the Ball. If a motion of no confidence in the Ball Chair, Secretary or Treasurer is passed at an ordinary JCR meeting the JCR President will be obliged to submit it to the appointing panel.
  4. Policy Document and Affiliations
    1. The JCR shall have, alongside the Standing Orders, an official “Policy Document” which details its position on matters which it considers important.
    2. Sections may be added to it, amended in it or removed from it subject to the passing of motions (with a simple majority) at one Ordinary JCR meeting. The policy document must be reviewed in toto every five years. The JCR Treasurer shall publish details annually of any affiliations and subscriptions of the JCR to any external organisation.
    3. The JCR’s current affiliations shall be listed in the JCR Policy Document.
    4. The JCR’s affiliations shall be subject to a referendum at the Michaelmas Term 7th week elections. The result of this referendum may be overturned by a 2/3 majority decision at one ordinary JCR meeting.
  5. Mandates
    1. When the JCR has expressed its policy by accepting any motion, it shall be mandatory for all elected JCR officers to give full expression to this policy at any meeting which they attend ex officio.
    2. If it is clear that the failure of a motion is an explicit expression of JCR policy then it shall be mandatory for all elected JCR officers to give full expression to this policy at any meeting which they attend ex officio.
    3. The JCR can mandate any JCR Committee member to vote in accordance with its wishes and to give full expression to JCR Policy at any meeting which they attend ex officio.
    4. JCR Officers are mandatable to represent the JCR’s interests within College, and mandatable within the scope of their job descriptions as they appear in Standing Orders.
    5. The JCR banner is not permitted to be carried on external marches/demonstrations except in cases approved by a meeting of the JCR, or where the stated aim of the march/demonstration is in accordance with explicit JCR policy as laid out in the Policy Document.
    6. All costs reasonably incurred by JCR Officers when fulfilling a mandate will be met by the JCR, within the constraints of the budget.
  6. Referendums
    1. Referendums, including those under clause 7, but excluding the yearly referendum on Outside Affiliations under clause 4, shall be called by the JCR President if and only if a motion to that effect is passed by a JCR Meeting.
    2. Referendums other than those provided for in clause 7 and clause 4 shall be purely advisory and not binding on the JCR.
    3. Referendums shall be conducted by secret ballot. Polling shall run for twelve hours on one weekday. Every member of the JCR shall be entitled to vote. The JCR Returning Officer shall be responsible for the conduct of referendums and shall publicise referendums at least two weeks in advance.
    4. No referendums may be held except as provided for in this clause and in clause 4 or 7.
  7. Amendments to the Constitution, Standing Orders and Policy Document
    1. Clauses 1 (ii), 7, and 24-27 of the JCR Constitution may be amended or repealed only by a referendum as provided for in clause 6, provided that at least fifty JCR members vote and that at least 2/3 of those voting in the referendum vote in favour of such amendment or repeal.
    2. The JCR Constitution (except as in (i)) may be amended or repealed if the same motion for amendment or repeal is passed by a 2/3 majority at two consecutive meetings, of which only one may be an extraordinary meeting. Any such change will not take effect until after its second passage.
    3. Standing Orders may be amended or repealed if the motion for amendment or repeal is passed by a 2/3 majority at one ordinary JCR meeting.
    4. The JCR Policy Document may be added to or amended as provided for under clause 4.
  8. Entertainments committee constitution
    1. The committee shall have 5 members, and shall elect one of their number as president. The president will be a member of the JCR committee.
    2. Members of the Entertainments Committee shall be elected by preference voting, which is applied as follows; The JCR votes for 5 candidates out of everyone standing with no preference between those candidates. The five people with the highest number of votes get elected onto the committee. In the event of a tie, there must be a re-vote between the people who tied.
    3. If a person resigns, a new member will be selected as follows: the post shall first be offered to those who stood for election but failed to get in, highest votes first. If these refuse, or if NOTA is reached, any person may be co-opted, subject to the JCR committee’s approval.
    4. The Entz committee shall stay within the financial limits set by the JCR.
  9. JCR Tea
    1. All voting members of the JCR Committee shall be available for JCR tea duty on a regular basis.
  10. Officers’ Reports
    1. JCR Committee members must make verbal reports on their activities at the start of each JCR meeting (in accordance with clause 14 (i) etc.), and should make written reports (to be published in the JCR and on the JCR Website) before the 5th week JCR meeting of each term and by the end of 8th week. Non-committee officers should make written reports before the 8th week meeting.
    2. The JCR mailing list should be notified when officers’ written reports are available online and in the JCR.
  11. Smoking
    1. Smoking is banned in the JCR and Beer Cellar.

    12. Meetings

  12. Timetable of meetings
    1. Ordinary JCR Meetings shall be held on the second, fifth and eighth Sundays of each Full Term, and shall begin between 7.30pm and 8.30pm.
    2. The JCR Vice-President shall advertise each meeting one week in advance, and shall receive motions to be discussed until 12.00 midnight on the Thursday immediately prior to the meeting.
    3. The agenda for each meeting shall be published by 9.00am on the Saturday immediately prior to the meeting. The JCR President shall have discretionary power to admit an emergency motion at any time until the meeting is declared officially open. The JCR President must admit any emergency motion backed by a petition of the signatures of 35 JCR Members. All emergency motions involving expenditure of JCR funds must be backed by such a petition.
    4. Notices of meetings and agendas must be advertised or published over the JCR e-mail list, on the JCR website and be available for consultation in the JCR by the time stated in (iii).
  13. Extraordinary meetings
    1. An Extraordinary Meeting of the JCR shall be called by the JCR President at any time within Full Term if requested by any member of the JCR, provided that this member shall produce the signatures of 35 JCR Members including his/her own in support of the calling of such a meeting.
    2. The time and agenda of the meeting shall be published forty-eight hours before the beginning of the meeting, and the time of the meeting shall be fixed by the President as soon as possible.
    3. The procedure for Extraordinary meetings shall be the same as for Ordinary meetings as provided for in clauses 14 to 23, except that there shall be no minutes read from the previous meeting, nor any Officers Reports. The reading of minutes and reports from JCR Officers shall be carried out at the next Ordinary meeting.
  14. Order of meetings
    1. JCR Meetings shall take the following order: the reading of the minutes, followed by objections to the minutes; when any and all objections have been settled in accordance with (ii), the signing of the minutes by the Chair; Officers’ Reports and questions to the Officers; the motions, Priority and then Simple.
    2. The Chair shall either uphold or reject any objection to the minutes; his/her decision may be overturned by a 2/3 majority against his/her ruling, following a procedural motion challenging that ruling.
    3. A summary of the minutes shall be sent to the JCR mailing list by the officer who took them, stating which resolutions have been passed, which failed and what the results will mean, not more than 1 week after the meeting at which they were taken. There should be a reference to how a full copy of the minutes can be consulted as soon as it is available.
  15. Motions
    1. JCR motions shall be divided into two separate categories, Priority and Simple, which shall be published under separate headings.
    2. Priority motions shall be taken first; they shall include any motion to amend the JCR constitution, any motion concerning matters coming within the Standing Orders of an elected JCR Officer, any motion amending the JCR Policy document, any motion relating to the expenditure of JCR money, and any motion which the JCR Committee decides should have priority status.
    3. Any JCR member may propose a motion, provided that s/he has another JCR member as a seconder, and that the motion meets the conditions outlined in 12 ii), iii) and iv).
    4. Any motion falls in the absence of its proposer and seconder, unless they nominate a deputy and notify the Chair in writing prior to the start of the JCR Meeting.
    5. A motion may be withdrawn by the proposer (or seconder in the proposer’s absence) provided debate has not commenced. Once debate has commenced a motion can only be withdrawn in accordance with a procedural motion as defined in clause 17, below.
    6. The chair shall ask directly after the reading of each motion whether any member of the JCR present wishes to oppose the motion or ask any questions of the proposer. If no member so wishes, then the motion shall be automatically passed without debate.
    7. The JCR President must check every motion for relevance to the policy document. All motions deemed relevant to the policy document must contain a final clause under “resolves” reading “to include the consequences of the above in the JCR policy document”, to be voted on separately from the main motion
  16. Points of Information and Order
    1. If a motion has not passed without debate as provided for in 15 (vi), there shall be a period of short factual questions to the proposer by other members of the JCR present. When there are no further questions for the proposer, the chair shall ask whether any member wishes to oppose or debate the motion. If no member so wishes, then the motion shall be automatically passed without debate.
    2. If a motion has not passed without debate as provided for in (i) and 15 (vi), debate on the motion shall commence. The proposer of the motion shall give a short speech in proposition of the motion. The motion will then be open to debate as specified in clause 18.
    3. Points of Order have precedence over all other business, but they may not be raised during a vote, unless relating to the conduct of that vote.
    4. Points of Order shall have priority in the following order: a request for a quorum count, a request for a ruling from the Chair, e. g. on controversiality or on a Guest Speaker, a request for a recount, other Points of Order.
  17. Procedural Motions
    1. Procedural motions have precedence over all other business except Points of Order, but may not be raised during a speech or vote.
    2. There shall be the following procedural motions, which are listed in order of priority:
      1. that the status of a motion be changed, and thus it should be taken next (this may only be raised between motions).
      2. that the Chair’s ruling, e. g. on controversiality, be overturned.
      3. that a motion be not put.
      4. that a motion be now put, i. e. that the meeting now come to a vote.
      5. that a motion be taken in parts, to be specified by the proposer of the procedural motion.
    3. Every procedural motion must have a proposer and seconder; debate shall be confined to one speech for the procedural motion, and one speech against.
    4. The overturning of a Chair’s ruling requires a 2/3 majority (except as in 20 (iii) below).The outcome of other procedural motions shall be decided by a simple majority.
  18. Debate
    1. Any JCR member is entitled to speak on a motion, provided that:
      1. the vote on the motion is not already in progress or been taken.
      2. a procedural motion that the motion be not put, or that the meeting come to a vote, has not been passed.
      3. if an amendment is before the JCR, remarks are confined to this amendment
      4. s/he is called by the Chair to speak.
    2. JCR members shall refrain from obstructing the constitutional proceedings of the JCR and must not use force or intimidation to prevent another JCR member from voting or expressing a point of view. If anyone is being obstructive or intimidatory, the College authorities shall be called.
    3. The procedure for Guest Speakers shall be as follows: any JCR member, provided that s/he has a seconder, may raise a Point of Order requesting a ruling from the Chair on a Guest’s right to speak; this ruling may be overturned by a 2/3 majority following a procedural motion challenging the ruling.
  19. Amendments
    1. Any JCR member may propose an amendment, provided that s/he has a seconder.
    2. If the proposer of the substantive motion accepts an amendment, that amendment automatically becomes part of the original proposer’s motion.
    3. If the proposer of the substantive motion does not accept an amendment, then a debate confined to the amendment ensues; if the amendment is subsequently passed, then the proposer of the amendment is now deemed proposer of the substantive motion.
    4. There can be no amendment to an amendment which is still being debated.
  20. Controversiality
    1. An amendment shall not be discussed or voted upon, if the Chair declares it to be controversial.
    2. The Chair may at his/her discretion declare an amendment to be controversial if, in his/her opinion, it cannot reasonably be expected to have arisen in a debate/discussion on the topic area with which the original motion was concerned. With regard to magazine subscriptions, an amendment will be allowed if it proposes an alternative magazine concerned with the same subject matter as the original magazine proposed.
    3. The Chair must declare an amendment controversial if on his/her refusal to declare it controversial, one third or more of those voting oppose its discussion.
    4. The Chair must declare an amendment admissible if, on his/her ruling it is controversial, two thirds or more of those voting approve its discussion.
  21. Resolution of motions
    1. Motions shall be binding on the JCR as a body if and only if there is a quorum of twenty-five JCR members present.
    2. Any motion passed after midnight shall be binding so long as the JCR Meeting is quorate.
    3. If all members wishing to speak on a motion have done so, or if a procedural motion to come to a vote has been passed, the Chair shall call the meeting to a vote. The proposer of the motion (or another member if the proposer wishes to cede the responsibility) shall be permitted a short speech (a maximum of 30 seconds) summing up the arguments for supporting the motion. One other member may give a short speech (a maximum of 30 seconds) summing up the arguments for opposing the motion, at the chair’s discretion. The summing up speeches must not introduce any new arguments or information; the chair should instruct the meeting to disregard any new arguments or information presented in the summation. Members raise their hands to vote for the motion, vote against, and abstain, in turn. The Chair and Secretary shall count the votes.
    4. If a motion requires a simple majority to pass, it shall pass if the number of votes for it exceeds the numbers of votes against. Abstentions shall be recorded but shall not affect the result of the vote. If a motion requires a two-thirds majority to pass, it shall pass if the number of votes for it is at least twice the number of votes against it. Motions not passing by the required majority shall fall. The chair must ensure that all present at the meeting understand the voting and resolution procedure prior to the vote commencing, particularly in the case of motions that are not resolved by a simple majority.
    5. Motions require a simple majority to pass, except for those for which this constitution requires a two-thirds majority.
    6. All motions concerning the expenditure of JCR funds require a two-thirds majority to pass.
    7. Any JCR member may raise a Point of Order, requesting a recount, provided that s/he has the support of ten other JCR members.
    8. Any member of the JCR present may propose a secret ballot as a method of resolution of motions which s/he deems controversial. If a third of those voting support this judgement then a secret ballot shall be used.
  22. The Chair and Secretary
    1. All remarks must be addressed through the Chair, and the authority of the Chair must be respected.
    2. Any JCR member, provided s/he has a seconder, may make a Point of Order, challenging the Chair’s neutrality. If the Chair deems her/himself biased, s/he is replaced by another Committee Member. If the Chair rules her/himself neutral, s/he cedes the Chair to another Committee Member, and the challenger speaks against her/his neutrality, and the original Chair speaks for it. The new Chair then calls the meeting to a vote: if less than 2/3 of those voting support the challenger, the challenged resumes the chair; if 2/3 or more support the challenger, the new chair remains for the remainder of the motion under discussion.
    3. The Chair should not express an opinion on any motion, or amendment, and may vote on a motion or amendment only in the event of a tied vote.
    4. When the Chair must use her/his casting vote s/he must ensure that:
      1. on a procedural motion, the JCR is allowed to continue discussing the substantive motion.
      2. on an amendment, the substantive motion is preserved intact
      3. on a final vote, the status quo is preserved.
    5. The JCR President (or his/her deputy) shall chair all JCR meetings subject to (ii), (vi) and (vii).
    6. If the JCR President is proposing a motion, s/he must cede the Chair to another member of the JCR Committee.
    7. If the JCR President wishes to speak on a motion (other than to give a Point of Information or explain a Point of Order), s/he must declare an interest and cede the Chair; s/he cannot resume the Chair until the motion has been voted upon.
    8. When the JCR President is not in the Chair, s/he may vote on any and every motion and amendment.
    9. The JCR Vice-President (or deputy) shall act as Secretary in all JCR meetings. The Secretary shall deal with the minutes and assist the Chair.
  23. Re-opening debate
    1. No decision of the JCR determined by vote on a substantive motion shall be reopened for discussion until a term has elapsed since the meeting at which it was taken, unless a petition to reopen discussion is presented to the JCR President bearing the signatures of thirty-five JCR members, no sooner than one week after the original decision has been taken. This process shall be allowed only once in a term on any particular issue.

    24. Finances

  24. Bank accounts
    1. The JCR shall have two bank accounts, to be known as:
      1. main current account
      2. private account
    2. The JCR Treasurer and JCR President shall be co-signatories to both accounts.
  25. Use of accounts
    1. The funds of the JCR shall be administered primarily through the main current account, and it is into this account that the block grant shall be paid. The JCR Treasurer and JCR President shall ensure that expenditure from accounts a) and b) is appropriate for the purpose of representing and furthering the interests of JCR members in such a way as to assist in the educational aims of the college and university. In particular they must ensure that no payments are made from these accounts to any individual or organisation, except such as are necessary for the provision of facilities or services for JCR members as students.
  26. JCR levies
    1. If the JCR wishes to make payments not provided for in clause 25 above, such payments shall be made following an appropriate JCR motion.
    2. There shall be a voluntary levy on all JCR members. The JCR levy may be changed by a motion passed in a JCR meeting by a 2/3 majority.
    3. Any JCR member wishing to opt out of this levy may do so by writing to the JCR Treasurer by the end of first week of any term.
    4. The JCR Treasurer must ensure that the voluntary nature of the levy scheme is sufficiently advertised at the beginning of each term.
    5. An extraordinary levy shall not be raised unless it has received a 2/3 majority at two consecutive JCR meetings.
  27. Auditing and budgeting
    1. The JCR Treasurer shall present all JCR accounts for auditing before the end of every Michaelmas Term. He/she shall ensure that the accounts are professionally audited for the year ending 31 December and published annually in the JCR in Michaelmas Term.
    2. The JCR Treasurer shall produce a budget at the start of each term, to guide JCR expenditure. The budget shall be presented to the JCR at the first JCR meeting of the term as part of a motion endorsing the budget, and shall be debated as any other Priority Motion.

    28. Election regulations

  28. Timing
    1. Elections for the following JCR officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Domestic Officer, Welfare Officer (female), Returning Officer, Global and Local Issues Officer, International Students Officer, Charities Officer, Careers Officer, Admissions and Access officer, Equal Opportunities Officer and Tortoise Keeper shall be timed in order to coincide with the day of the OUSU Elections (usually on Thursday of Sixth Week) in every Michaelmas Term.
    2. Elections for Welfare Officer (male), Libraries and Academic Affairs Officer, Accommodation Officer, SUs Officer, Clubs and Societies Officer, LGBT Officer, Arts Officer, Poet Laureate, Computing and Website Officer, Corpus Cinema Curator and Disciplinary panel shall take place on Thursday of Seventh Week in every Trinity Term.
    3. The position of the LGBT Officer shall be an elected post, voted for by all members of the JCR. If no candidate is elected for the post, it shall be taken by either of the JCR Welfare Officers.
    4. The term of office of all JCR officers shall be one year, including ENTZ officers.
    5. Those persons elected at times different from those stated in (i)-(iii) (see (vi)) must resign at the time that those whom they replaced would have ended their term of office.
    6. Any JCR officer may stand for re-election at the end of his/her term of office.
    7. The JCR President may organise a by-election at any time at his/her discretion in the event of a JCR office or post not being occupied.
    8. In the event of any of the non-Committee posts standing vacant, the JCR President may co-opt a member of the JCR to fill the post without a by-election, subject to ratification at the next Ordinary JCR meeting. Non-Committee posts are defined as any representative post of the JCR that does not fall within the JCR Committee as defined in point 2 (i).
  29. Nominations
    1. The JCR Returning Officer shall advertise for nominations for elections at least a fortnight before the election takes place. The advertisement should include a brief description for each position, written by the incumbent officer.
    2. Nominations for JCR elections shall close at midnight two days preceding the elections.
  30. Eligibility
    1. Only men may stand for the post of Welfare Officer (male). Only women may stand for the post of Welfare Officer (female). Any member of the JCR, regardless of gender, can propose or second a candidate for either of the above posts, and both posts are to be elected by both men and women.
    2. Voting members of the MCR may not stand for the post of JCR Member of the Disciplinary Panel. They may not propose or second a candidate for this post, nor vote for it.
    3. Except as provided for in (i) and (ii) above, any member of the JCR may stand for any post and for any number of posts provided that s/he is proposed and seconded by JCR members.
    4. No member may at any time hold more than one of the posts on the JCR Committee (apart from those circumstances outlined by clause 28 (iii) above). JCR Committee members shall be allowed to hold non-committee posts, except for that of JCR Returning Officer.
    5. In the event of any member of the JCR standing for two or more mutually exclusive posts s/he must inform the JCR Returning Officer of his/her preferences prior to the beginning of the count.
    6. In the event of a candidate being elected to two or more incompatible posts (as defined in clause iv, above), s/he shall be elected to the post of his/her choice. For the other post(s) his/her votes shall be redistributed in the usual way.
    7. Should a current JCR Officer be elected to a post which may not be held together with their current post, then s/he shall resign from the prior post upon taking up their new office. The returning officer may act as though the Officer's original post had been up for election at the same time as their new post and NOTA had been elected.
  31. Electioneering
    1. Candidates shall be permitted to produce publicity material.
    2. Candidates may not mention other candidates or include deliberate falsehoods in their publicity material.
    3. Candidates or their activists may not remove, deface, or obscure other candidates’ publicity materials. Illegal or improperly placed publicity materials should instead be reported to the Returning Officer, who shall have the right to remove them.
    4. Bribery or intimidation of voters, activists, candidates or the Returning Officer shall be considered an electoral offence.
    5. Electoral offences will be resolved by the Returning Officer; removal of candidacy shall be subject to the Dean’s approval.
  32. Hustings
    1. Hustings shall take place the night prior to any JCR election or by-election, and must begin between 8pm and 8.30pm.
    2. Hustings shall be chaired by the Returning Officer, or, if s/he is unavailable, the JCR President.
    3. Hustings shall be well publicised; each member of the JCR is entitled to attend the hustings and to put questions to the candidates.
    4. Each candidate shall be given the opportunity to make a speech, subject to a time limit to be determined in advance by the Returning Officer. The chair must ensure that the order in which candidates answer questions changes for each question, and over the course of the hustings does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to any candidate.
    5. All questions must be addressed to all candidates through the chair, and each candidate must be given an equal opportunity to speak. The chair shall have the right to rule out of order any question s/he deems to be irrelevant, offensive or implicitly aimed at a particular candidate, unless this ruling is overturned by a 2/3 majority of those JCR members present. It is the responsibility of the chair that each candidate as far as possible is heard in silence. The hustings must be conducted in a fair and orderly fashion.
  33. Polling
    1. The order of names of the candidates to appear on the ballot papers shall be determined by the drawing of lots in the presence of the Dean.
    2. Polling shall take place between 8am and 8pm.
    3. Ballot boxes must not be left unattended at any time. Any damage to the ballot box shall be reported the Returning Officer immediately.
    4. Scrutineers shall sign the list at the ballot box prior to issuing any ballot papers, and shall write down upon the list the number of the first ballot paper which they issue.
    5. Scrutineers may request identification from a voter before issuing them with a ballot paper.
    6. A voter must sign the voters’ register before taking their ballot paper.
    7. Voting by proxy is not permitted.
    8. The room in which the ballot box stands, shall be defined as “the polling area”, within which there shall be no materials, other than those authorised by the Returning Officer, exhibiting the name of any candidate or any issue of a political nature.
    9. No person(s) within the polling area may attempt to influence voters.
    10. Anyone may examine the voters’ register, provided
      1. s/he is a member of the JCR,
      2. the voters’ register remains within the polling area and the scrutineer’s sight at all times,
      3. the register is returned to the scrutineer if a voter is waiting to sign it.
    11. To be valid, a ballot paper must bear the signatures of both the Returning Officer and the Scrutineer, and the individual number of the ballot paper. Scrutineers shall not sign ballot papers in advance of their being required.
  34. Procedure for counting in all elections of JCR officers and representatives
    1. The Returning officer shall take the total number of votes cast, less those votes which are invalid or abstentions, and shall divide their number by the number of vacancies to be filled plus one. The figure thus obtained plus one, rounded down to the nearest whole number is the quota.
    2. If any candidates have polled this figure or greater then such a candidate(s) is/are elected to the post(s).
    3. If there are still positions for election after a candidate has obtained the quota, then the papers of the candidate(s) elected are redistributed according to the next preference, the total number of votes being distributed being equal to the surplus of the elected candidates and being divided in the ratio of the next preferences of all the elected candidates’ votes.
    4. If on redistribution a candidate attains the quota then s/he is deemed elected and his/her papers may be redistributed according to next preference, in the same manner as in (iii).
    5. If at any time no candidate attains or exceeds the quota then the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be eliminated and his/her papers shall be redistributed at full value according to next preference.
    6. It must be noted that the quota stays the same throughout the count, even if re-distributed papers of elected or eliminated candidates are non-transferable.
    7. If, at any stage, the number of vacant seats is equal to the number of candidates who have been neither elected or eliminated, all the remaining candidates shall be deemed elected, even if they have not reached the quota.
    8. In the event of a tie between candidates, the candidate with the highest number of first choices shall be deemed elected.
    9. At the conclusion of the count, the Returning Officer shall make an official declaration of the result, and shall display the result in the JCR.
  35. NOTA
    1. For each JCR Committee post, and for the posts of Returning Officer and the Entz Committee, a choice of “None of the above” shall be available.
    2. For the purposes of counting “None of the above” shall be treated as a candidate.
    3. If the election other than for Entz Committee is won by “None of the above” then:
      1. Nominations for that post shall re-open at midnight on Thursday of 7th week, and close at midnight on Tuesday of 8th week
      2. Any eligible member may be nominated, regardless of whether they were nominated originally
      3. Hustings for these posts shall be held on the night of Wednesday of 8th week
      4. The elections for these posts shall be held on Thursday of 8th week
      5. In the second election there shall be no option for “None of the above”
    4. If an elected member of the JCR Committee resigns within two days of his/her election in a first round ballot, the JCR Returning Officer may act as if “None of the Above” was elected.
    5. If “None of the Above” is elected to the Entz Committee, then all candidates who have already attained quota shall be declared elected, and an election as in (iii) a-e above shall be held for the remaining posts.
  36. Counters and Scrutineers
    1. The Returning Officer shall invite applications from those wishing to help with the count or scrutineer the elections, none of these being candidates. The Returning Officer shall not be obliged to accept all or any of these applications if s/he deems them to threaten the freedom and/or fairness of the election.
    2. Every candidate shall be entitled to send a representative to the count on her/his behalf, this representative not also being a candidate.
    3. Candidates standing for election are not entitled to be present at the count.
    4. All those present at the count shall be entitled to observe the entire process without impediment and may at any time call the Returning Officer’s attention to any aspect of the count about which s/he is unhappy. No one except assistant counters or the Returning Officer may intervene directly in the counting process.
    5. The Returning Officer may expel any counter from the counting room; any objections concerning a particular counter must be addressed to the Returning Officer.
  37. Returning Officer
    1. The Returning Officer, at the next JCR meeting after an election, shall report to the JCR on the details of the election and the count, and shall answer any questions put to her/him in this regard.
    2. The Returning Officer may vote in any JCR election or referendum, but must otherwise maintain strict neutrality in all matters pertaining to the election or referendum.
    3. In the event of the Returning Officer being unable to conduct the election, because s/he is standing in that election or otherwise, then if there is a convenient JCR meeting before the election, Deputy Returning Officers will be ratified at this meeting. If there is no such meeting, then the JCR President will ask for two volunteers, both being non-committee officers, to take over the running of the election at the close of nominations. If there is only one volunteer then s/he may run the election alone. If there are more than two volunteers then a random ballot, drawn by the JCR President, will decide which two volunteers run the election. If there are no volunteers then the JCR Vice President & JCR President will run the election.