Organization Constitution
Constitution of the Yale International Relations Association, Inc.
Article I: Name and Purpose
Section One. The name of the Corporation shall be Yale International Relations Association, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as ‘YIRA’).
Section Two. The purpose of YIRA shall be to provide its members and, whenever possible, the Yale University community with an education relating to international affairs. Programs that promote these interests, both directly and indirectly, shall be within the scope of this group's purpose.
Article II: Programs
Section One. The constituent programs of YIRA shall include the following:
a.Security Council Simulation at Yale (SCSY).
b.Yale Model United Nations (YMUN).
c.Model United Nations Team of Yale (MUNTY)
d. The Speakers Committee.
Section Two. SCSY, which shall be held annually, shall be staffed in its entirety by students enrolled at Yale University, and shall serve as a Model United Nations conference for students at the college level.
Section Three. YMUN, which shall be held annually, shall be staffed in its entirety by students enrolled at Yale University, and shall serve as a Model United Nations conference for students at the high school level.
Section Four. SCSY and YMUN shall not be held during the same semester of a given academic year.
Section Five. MUNTY shall represent Yale University at inter-collegiate Model United Nations conferences.
a. The size of MUNTY and the inter-collegiate Model UN conferences in which MUNTY participates shall be decided upon by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.
b. A member of MUNTY in good standing may choose to continue his/her membership for the following academic year by indicating such an interest to the Head Delegate at the start of the new academic year. Remaining vacancies on MUNTY shall be filled by a rigorous tryout process during the beginning of each academic year, which shall be conducted by a Selection Committee appointed by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. At the discretion of the head delegate in consultation with the board of directors, a second try-out may be held at the start of the second semester. If a member of MUNTY chooses not to continue, he/she shall be required to undergo the tryout process if he/she wishes to participate on MUNTY in a subsequent academic year.
c. Each member of MUNTY shall be required to fulfill an obligation to SCSY and YMUN for each year of participation on MUNTY. Failure to fulfill this requirement without gaining the prior approval of the head delegate may lead to disciplinary action being taken against that team member at the discretion of the head delegate.
d. Each member of MUNTY shall participate in at least one inter-collegiate Model UN conference. e. Staffing for each inter-collegiate Model UN conference shall be conducted by the Head Delegate in consultation with the Board of Directors.
f. The Board of Directors shall reserve the right to remove any member of MUNTY by a two-thirds (2/3) majority with just cause, including, but not limited to, failure to fulfill SCSY or YMUN obligations, reprehensible conduct while in attendance at an inter-collegiate Model UN conference, or misrepresentation of YIRA.
Section Six. The Speakers Committee shall function on a continual basis. Seeking to encourage awareness of international affairs, the goal shall be to spearhead YIRA's efforts to educate the YIRA membership, as well as the Yale and New Haven communities. The Committee shall also coordinate with SCSY and YMUN in finding speakers and all other activities that fall under the committee's mission.
Section Seven. Staffing for all constituent programs of YIRA shall be based solely upon merit and shall be conducted without discrimination to race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.
Section Eight. Constituent programs of YIRA shall not also be independently registered organizations with the Yale College Dean’s Office or with other Yale or non-Yale organizations.
Article III: Membership
Section One. Members of YIRA shall consist of students in good standing at Yale University who have fully completed all of their assigned responsibilities to at least one of the constituent programs of YIRA during a given academic year. The Di rector in charge of each respective program shall, upon completion of the program, submit a list of prospective members, including their fulfilled responsibilities, to the Board of Directors, which shall, by majority vote, individually elect into membersh ip each person on the list submitted. Election of members shall be concluded prior to the first day of April of that academic year. All Directors shall automatically be elected into membership.
Section Two. The membership list shall be publicized upon completion of the final round of member elections by the Board of Directors for a given academic year, but at least one week prior to the date set for Annual General Elections.
Section Three. Membership in YIRA shall begin on the first day of April following member elections and shall end on the following thirty-first of March. Once elected, a member may resign his/her membership upon submission of a letter to the President or may lose his/her membership, with just cause, through two-thirds (2/3)vote of the Board of Directors.
Section Four. Members shall have the right to vote at all meetings of the membership. Members shall have the right of access to this Constitution and to the YIRA membership list. They shall have such other rights, privileges, and duties as granted them by the Board of Directors. Such benefits may include, but are not limited to, subsidies for educational travel or transportation and lodging for inter-collegiate Model UN conferences.
Section Five. The Board of Directors, by majority vote, or one-fifth (1/5) or more of the members, by petition filed with the President or any other Director, may call a General Meeting of the membership at any time during the months of Septemb er through May, provided such meetings are not called on a holiday of Yale College. The date, time, location, purpose(s), and agenda of the meeting must be specified. At least seven days notice shall be given to all members.
Section Six. A petition calling a General Meeting must be filed no less than ten days before the specified date of the meeting, otherwise the Board of Directors shall decide, by a majority vote, the date, time, and location of the meeting, provided that the date is within three weeks of the date of filing. The Director that a petition is filed with must inform the Board of Directors within twenty-four hours. The Board of Directors shall inform the membership within seventy-two hours of receiving the petition.
Article IV: The Board of Directors
Section One. Governing power of YIRA shall be vested in its Board of Directors.
Section Two. The Board of Directors of YIRA shall consist of the President, Treasurer, Vice President, Secretary-General of SCSY, Secretary-General of YMUN, Head Delegate of MUNTY, and the Chair of the Speakers Committee. Each of these Directors shall have one vote.
Section Three. The Board of Directors may, at any time, by a two-thirds (2/3) majority, elect any member an Ex-Officio Director. An Ex Officio Director shall enjoy all rights and privileges of a Director, except the right to vote.
Section Four. A Director may resign his/her office upon submission of a letter to the President.
Section Five. Any Ex Officio Director may be removed by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Board of Directors at a meeting called expressly for the purpose of such removal.
Section Six. Any Director of YIRA may be impeached, with cause, by the passage of a motion to impeach by the Board of Directors or the filing of a petition to impeach by the membership, as defined by this constitution. Grounds for impeachment include, but are not limited to, a consistent failure to execute the duties of office, and the misuse, mishandling, or theft of YIRA funds, equipment, or resources. An impeached Director will continue to have all powers necessary to execute his/her office except the right or privilege of access to YIRA funds and he/she shall be prohibited from making purchases or rentals on behalf of YIRA. An impeached Director shall not sign any deeds, leases, contracts, instruments of transfer, or any other instruments. Following the impeachment of a Director, the Board must carry out removal proceedings and put forward a motion to remove to the membership, as defined by this constitution. Upon the passage of such a motion to remove, an impeached Director is immediately removed from office, though he/she retains his/her membership. The removed Director must immediately relinquish all control of any materials related to that office to the Board of Directors. Upon a defeat of such a motion to remove, an impeached Di rector is no longer impeached and regains all of his/her rights and privileges that were suspended during impeachment.
Section Seven. Two-thirds (2/3) of all Directors eligible to vote, by a motion to impeach, may impeach a Director. A Director impeached by the Board may be removed by a majority vote of the membership present and voting at aGeneral Meeting wi thin one month of the impeachment. The vote may be taken following any meeting of the membership, provided that notice of the time and place of such a meeting and the reasons for impeachment, passed by the Board of Directors as described above, are given to each member at least one week prior to such meeting. Quorum for such a meeting shall be one-third (1/3) of the membership.
Section Eight. One-third (1/3) or more of the members, by petition filed with the President or any other Director, may impeach a Director. The petition may state the time and place of the meeting at which the motion to remove is to be presented to the membership, provided that the date is no less than ten days after but within one month of the date of filing. A Director impeached by a petition filed by the membership may be removed by a majority of the entire membership eligible to vote withi n one month of the impeachment. The vote may be taken following any meeting of the membership, provided that notice of the time and place of such a meeting and the reasons for impeachment, stated in the petition as described above, are given to each memb er at least one week prior to such meeting. Quorum for such a meeting shall be three-fifths (3/5) of the membership.
Section Nine. Vacancies in the Board of Directors shall be filled by election of a majority of all Directors eligible to vote. If the President's office is vacant, the Vice President shall assume the office of President and a new Vice President shall be filled by election of a majority of all Directors eligible to vote.
Section Ten. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held on call of the President at times and places determined by the President. During the months of September through April, there shall be a minimum of one meeting per month.
Section Eleven. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the President and shall be called by the President if requested in writing by one-third (1/3) of the Directors. The request must state the date and purpose of such a m eeting. Two days notice of each meeting shall be given to each Director. A special meeting may not be called on a holiday of Yale College.
Section Twelve. A majority of voting Directors shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Board of Directors. In the case of a tie vote, the motion shall be deemed to have failed. A majority of Directors present at any meeting, if less th an a quorum, may adjourn or recess the meeting.
Section Thirteen. All meetings of the Board of Directors shall be open to the membership, except when the Board by majority vote elects to restrict attendance or conduct business in private.
Section Fourteen. The Board of Directors may appoint an Executive Committee consisting of no less than three members. An Executive Committee shall have all powers of the Board of Directors, except the power to amend the Constitution and the po wer to alter the composition of the Board of Directors or the membership, between meetings of the Board of Directors. A two-thirds (2/3) majority of all Directors eligible to vote shall be required to constitute and appoint an Executive Committee. The Board of Directors may constitute and appoint such other committees with such powers and authority as the Board shall designate.
Section Fifteen. No Director shall be granted any special privileges with regards to the constituent programs of YIRA, and all Directors shall be subject to all rules, regulations, and procedures relevant to their participation in each constituent program.
Article V: Election of the Directors
Section One. Only an undergraduate member of YIRA may stand as a candidate for the Board of Directors. No person may hold more than one voting position on the Board of Directors.
Section Two. The term of office for all Directors shall begin the first day of the month of May following their election and shall end on the following thirtieth of April.
Section Three. The President, Treasurer, Vice-President, and the Chair of the Speakers Committee shall be elected by majority vote of all members present at an election meeting called for Annual General Elections. Elections shall be conducted in the aforementioned order. Any und ergraduate member of YIRA may stand as a candidate for the aforementioned positions. Such a meeting shall be held on call of the Board of Directors at a time and place determined by the Board of Directors, but at least one week prior to the thirtieth of April of the current academic year. Written notice of the time and place of Annual General Elections shall be given to each Director and member of YIRA at least one week prior to the meeting.
Section Four. During Annual General Elections, if a candidate fails to receive a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes shall be eliminated and another vote taken. Successive votes shall be taken using this same process until a candidate receives a majority. In the case of a tie, a revote shall be taken, and if the tie persists, the election shall be decided by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. If a Director is a candidate for election in which there is such an irreconcilable tie, he/she must disqualify himself/herself from the Board of Directors’ decision.
Section Five. The format of Annual General Elections shall provide the candidate with a forum to address the membership, allow the membership to question the candidate and then, following the candidate's retirement, allow for discussion on the relevant aspects of the candidate's background. Balloting shall be in secret. Voting by proxy shall be disallowed.
Section Six. Annual General Elections shall be supervised and ballots tabulated by a three-member Election Supervisory Committee. The Board of Directors shall, by majority vote, constitute and appoint this committee no more than two week prior to the date set for Annual General Elections. Past and present Directors who are not candidates shall be eligible to serve on the Election Supervisory Committee.
Section Seven. The Secretary-General of SCSY and the Secretary-General of YMUN shall be selected based upon a rigorous application and interview process. Candidates for the position of Secretary-General from the current Board of Directors shall exclude themselves from the entire decision-making process. Only undergraduate members of YIRA who have served on the staff of the conference for which they are applying to be Secretary-General may stand as a candidate for the aforementioned positions. Applications shall be screened by the Board of Directors for evidence of experience, commitment, knowledge, and anything else deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors pertaining to the administration of a Model UN conference. Applicants selected by majority vote of the Board of Directors shall be interviewed by a panel consisting of the President and the two current Secretaries-General. If any of these Directors are themselves candidates for the position of Secretary-General, they shall be replace d by other Directors by majority decision of the Board of Directors. The three-member panel shall proceed to select the new Secretary-General by a majority vote after ample discussion. In the event a majority cannot be obtained, the panelists shall rank the candidates in their order of preference, and the candidate with the highest average rank shall be named the next Secretary-General. If a tie persists, the selection shall be made by a majority of all Directors eligible to vote.
Section Eight. The Secretaries-General of SCSY and YMUN shall be appointed no later than on month after the closing of the preceding conference.
Section Nine. Newly appointed Secretaries-General shall serve as Ex Officio Directors until their term of office begins in accordance with Section Two of this Article.
Section Ten. The Head Delegate of MUNTY shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of YIRA who are also members of MUNTY in good standing present at an election meeting called specifically for such an election. Only undergraduate members of YIRA who are also members of MUNTY in good standing may stand as a candidate for the aforementioned position. This election meeting shall be held on call of the Board of Directors at a time and place determined by the Board of Directors prior to An nual General Elections. Written notice of the time and place of this election meeting shall be given to each member of MUNTY at least one week prior to the meeting. The election of the Head Delegate of MUNTY shall be conducted in accordance with Annual General Election procedure. The Election Supervisory Committee for this election need not be the same as the Election Supervisory Committee for Annual General Elections.
Article VI: Duties of the Directors
Section One. The President shall call and preside at all meetings of YIRA and its Board of Directors. He/she shall be responsible for the yearly registration of YIRA with the Yale College Dean’s Office, pertinent legal issues, internal relatio ns including staff, alumni, and Yale faculty and administration, external relations including UNA-USA and business contacts, and all other matters related to the daily administration of YIRA. Furthermore, the President shall furnish each Director with a copy of this Constitution on assuming his/her duties and shall assist all other Directors with their duties if the need arises.
Section Two. The Treasurer shall have custody of YIRA funds and shall keep an open ledger of all receipts and disbursements. He/she shall prepare a comprehensive financial report at the end of each semester and shall submit this report to the Board of Directors and the Yale College Dean's Office in accordance with Yale College Undergraduate Regulations, and he/she shall file all necessary annual tax forms. In addition, the Treasurer shall serve as Chief Financial Officer for all constituent p rograms of YIRA.
Section 3. The Vice President shall preside at meetings in the President's absence, shall coordinate recruitment efforts, and shall keep all records, including the membership list comprising names, programs participated in, and responsibilities. In addition, the Vice President shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Board of Directors and General Meetings, and he/she shall write and distribute a weekly bulletin to all members. Finally, the Vice President shall be responsible for the maintenance of the YIRA World Wide Web page.
Section Four. The Secretary-General of SCSY shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer for the Security Council Simulation at Yale, and shall submit a budget for SCSY to the Board of Directors for approval by a majority vote. Furthermore, the S ecretary-General of SCSY shall be responsible for the selection and appointment of his/her secretariat, subject to majority approval by the Board of Directors; the selection and appointment of the remainder of the SCSY staff, in conjunction with his/her s ecretariat; and the training of his/her conference staff in topic paper writing, rules of parliamentary procedure, and other skills necessary in the effective operation of a Model UN conference.
Section Five. The Secretary-General of YMUN shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer for the Yale Model United Nations conference, and shall submit a budget for YMUN to the Board of Directors for approval by a majority vote. Furthermore, the Secretary-General of YMUN shall be responsible for the selection and appointment of his/her secretariat, subject to majority approval by the Board of Directors; the selection and appointment of the remainder of the YMUN staff, in conjunction with his/her secretariat; and the training of his/her conference staff in topic paper writing, rules of parliamentary procedure, and other skills necessary in the effective operation of a Model UN conference.
Section Six. The Head Delegate of MUNTY shall be responsible for all activities relating to attendance at inter-collegiate Model United Nations conferences, including, but not limited to, deciding which members of MUNTY participate in which con ference, country and committee assignments, research and preparation, mission briefings, registration, and transportation. The Head Delegate of MUNTY shall submit a budget for each conference to the Board of Directors for approval by a majority vote.
Section Seven. The Chair of the Speakers Committee shall call and preside at all meetings of the Speakers Committee. He/she must approve all invitations/letters sent out on behalf of the Speakers Committee. The Chair shall also coordinate all YIRA-sponsored speaking events.
Section Eight. It shall be the duty of each outgoing Director to relinquish all pertinent files regarding his/her position to his/her successor and to serve as an advisor to his/her successor.
Article VII: Amendments
Section One. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of all Directors eligible to vote. Amendments may be voted upon at any meeting of the Board of Directors provided that notice of the time and place of such a meeting and the substance of the proposed amendment are given to each Director at least one week prior to such a meeting. Amendments approved by the Board of Directors must be ratified by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the membership present and voting at a General Meeting held within t wo months of the passing of such amendments by the Board of Directors. The vote may be taken following any meeting of the membership, provided that notice of the time and place of such a meeting and the substance of the proposed amendment, passed by the Board of Directors as described above, are given to each member at least one week prior to such a meeting. Quorum for such a meeting shall be one-third (1/3) of the membership.
Section Two. The Board of Directors shall not have the power to amend this Constitution in such a manner as to permit any Director or member of YIRA to receive any profit from the operation or dissolution of YIRA.
Article VIII: Dissolution Provisions
Section One. Upon dissolution, the assets of YIRA shall be distributed to charitable, literary, or educational organizations.
Last Amended February 11, 2003.