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Constitution

As ratified at the Autumn 2025 EGM

1. Name

1.1. Official Title

a. The Society shall be known as the Edinburgh University Railway Society or RailSoc (the "Society").

2. Aims

2.1. The aims of the Society shall be

a. To discuss and promote rail travel around Edinburgh, Scotland, the UK, and beyond.

b. To provide a social forum where rail enthusiasts can engage with their hobby and meet other rail enthusiasts.

c. To conduct rail trips around Edinburgh to highlight the heritage and importance of our railways.

d. To organise and host guest lectures related to rail.

3. Membership

3.1. Forms of Membership

a. Full Membership of the Society is open to all matriculated students of Edinburgh University.

b. Membership shall be at least 75% matriculated students of Edinburgh University.

c. Full membership lists should be filed with the Activities Office at least once per semester to ensure membership databases are up to date.

d. If any dispute of membership should arise, the list registered through the Students’ Association database will be used as the official list.

e. Full Membership must be renewed each academic year.

3.2. Associate Membership

a. Associate Membership of the Society is open to any person who is not eligible for Full Membership.

b. Associate Membership must be renewed each academic year.

3.3 Lifetime Membership

a. Eligible members deemed to have provided exceptional service to the Society may be nominated for Lifetime Membership.

b. Any Member who has sat on the Committee for at least one calendar year is eligible for nomination.

c. An eligible Member must be nominated by a vote of the Committee and confirmed by simple majority at a General Meeting.

d. More than one Member may be nominated or confirmed at once.

e. A Lifetime Member may attend Society events after they have graduated and/or left Edinburgh University.

f. Lifetime Membership need not be renewed each academic year.

g. A register of Lifetime Members will be kept by the Secretary.

h. A Member may resign their Lifetime Membership at any time by writing to the Secretary.

3.4. Membership Entitlements

a. Entitlement to attend all Society events.

  1. In the event of limited space for a given event, attendance will be confirmed on a first-come first-served basis.

b. Entitlement to attend General Meetings.

c. Entitlement to other Society privileges, as arranged by the Committee.

3.5. Membership Responsibilities

a. Members must not act in a manner which brings the Society into disrepute.

b. Members must not cause damage to Society property or venues for Society events.

3.6. Breach of Responsibilities

a. The Committee may impose sanctions for misconduct on members, based on verifiable evidence collected, taking into account the seriousness of the misconduct with reference to the membership responsibilities and standard code of conduct, any previous warnings, and any mitigating circumstances. When appropriate the following sanctions may be applied:

  1. Informal Warning
  2. First Written Warnings will be issued for a minor offence or complaint;
  3. Final Written Warnings will be issued for: a further offence or complaint or if the conduct of the member failed to improve following a previous warning, or if the actions are serious enough to warrant a Final Written Warning.
  4. Removal from membership will occur if there is a further serious event of misconduct, or if the conduct of the member failed to improve following a previous written warning, or if the member committed an act of gross misconduct.
  5. Edinburgh University Students’ Association (“the Students' Association”') Societies department will be notified upon removal of a member and provided with a copy of the evidence pertaining to the sanctions process and removal. All persons removed from membership may appeal to the Societies' department against such removal.

4. Management 

4.1. Committee of Office Bearers

a. The business of the Society shall be managed by a Committee of Office Bearers. 

b. Any full student Member of the Society shall be entitled to sit on the Committee.

c. The Office Bearers must be Members of the Society and matriculated students of Edinburgh University.

4.2. Executive Office Bearers

a. The Committee must consist of a President, Secretary, and Treasurer (the Executive Officers) as a minimum.

b. These Office Bearers will be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

c. No person may be elected to more than one of these posts simultaneously.

4.3. President

a. The President will chair the General Committee and Extraordinary General Meetings.

b. The President is responsible to the Annual General Meeting and the General Committee and is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the Society.

c. It is the President’s responsibility to ensure the Society has submitted their annual report, risk assessment, and re-registration forms to the Activities Office.

d. Should the President resign a new President or Acting President will be voted in at an EGM.

4.4. Treasurer

a. The Treasurer shall be accountable to the Committee and Members for the finances of the society.

b. The Treasurer shall keep and prepare Accounts of the Society and provide a provisional budget, as exhaustive as possible, to be presented at the Annual General Meeting.

c. It is the Treasurer’s responsibility to ensure the annual financial report is complete and submitted along with the Society’s annual report.

d. Should the Treasurer resign, a new Treasurer or Acting Treasurer will be voted in at an EGM.

4.5. Secretary

a. The Secretary shall be responsible for the administration of the society.

b. The Secretary shall also be responsible for any correspondence within or on behalf of the Society and prepare the agendas and the minutes of every committee meeting, AGM and EGM.

c. Should the Secretary resign, a new Secretary or Acting Secretary will be voted in at an EGM.

4.6. Welfare Officer

a. The Welfare Officer shall be responsible for the promotion of safeguarding, diversity, and inclusion in the Society, in compliance with EUSA and venue standards.

b. The Welfare Officer shall also be responsible for the promotion of the Society's Code of Conduct, and reporting of procedures to the Executive Officers and EUSA.

c. Should the Welfare Officer themselves be involved in a complaint or otherwise deemed unable to carry out their duties, an Executive Officer will be obliged to act as an Interim Welfare Officer to ensure that any issues are dealt with swiftly, with respect for the involved parties, and in accordance with both EUSA and venue standards, and the Society's Code of Conduct.

d. Should the Welfare Officer resign, a new Welfare Officer or Acting Welfare Officer will be voted in at an EGM.

4.7. General Committee (non-Executive)

a. The General Committee Members shall support the Executive Officers with the upkeep of the Society and the planning and delivery of its activities.

b. The Executive Officers may appoint General Committee Members to roles within the Committee that align with their skills and expertise, including but not limited to:

  1. Vice President
  2. Social Secretary
  3. Publicity Officer
  4. Railway Advocacy Officer
  5. Model Railway Tsar
  6. Archivist

c. The Executive Officers shall determine, prior to any given General Meeting, the number of General Committee Members to be elected at that meeting.

d. Should a General Committee Member resign, an EGM may be called at the discretion of the Executive Officers to vote in a replacement.

4.8. Conduct

a. All Office Bearers shall act in good faith towards the Society in all actions they undertake on its behalf.

b. The Committee will at all times uphold their commitment to providing a safe community space for all Society participants, in line with the EUSA Equal Opportunity Policy.

c. The Committee will take note of, and always take steps to oppose in the Society, the normalisation in our university spaces of sexual violence, transphobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia and xenophobia. These will be denounced by the Committee if they threaten the security of the Society, the welfare of both its members and non-members, and of those connected to the wider scope of the Society as a community. The Committee are responsible for the protection of the community they are elected to safeguard and advocate for, ensuring it is a queer-supportive, neurodivergence-acceptive space.

4.9. Recall

a. The Members shall have the right to seek the recall of any or all of the Office Bearers.

b. The right to recall must be exercised at a quorate Extraordinary General Meeting.

c. A motion to recall any or all of the Office Bearers must be carried with a two-thirds majority to be binding.

5. General Meetings

5.1. Annual General Meeting 

a. All members of the Society are entitled to attend Annual General Meetings (hereinafter referred to as the AGM).

b. It is the responsibility of the Secretary to ensure that members receive at least 14 days written/email notification of the AGM and of elections not held at the AGM.

c. Motions to be discussed should be presented to the Secretary in advance of the AGM. 

d. Only fully matriculated students are entitled to vote at the AGM. 

e. All Office Bearer roles shall be subject to election annually at the AGM.

f. All Members who are matriculated students at the University of Edinburgh shall be entitled to stand and to vote in elections.

g. Motions carried by a simple majority at quorate AGMs are binding on the Society, except those to dissolve the Society (three-quarters), alter the Constitution (two-thirds), or recall Office Bearers (two-thirds), which require a larger than simple majority as specified in their respective clauses (8.1(a), 9.1(a), 4.9(c)).

h. The quorum shall be 15% of the membership of the Society.

i. It is the responsibility of the outgoing Treasurer to present the final reports for the previous year and a complete account of the current state of finances. They must present an accurate breakdown of the definite commitment for which the Society has been engaged in the current year, henceforth to be known as the Budget. Emphasis must be placed on comparing this Budget with current income. 

j. The Secretary shall report on the administrative affairs of the society.

5.2. Emergency General Meeting

a. The President may call an Extraordinary General Meeting for matters arising in the course of the year which require consideration by Members.

b. The EGM shall follow the procedure of the AGM outlined in clause 16.

c. All Members must receive at least 14 days' written/email notification of the EGM.

d. In the event of an Executive position becoming vacant, President will call an EGM to elect a replacement.

e. Any newly-elected Office Bearers will be communicated to the Societies Team after the election has taken place.

5.3. Refreshments

a. The Committee shall provide biscuits at every General Meeting as a goodwill gesture, at no cost to attendees, and without excessive expenditure on the part of the purchaser.

6. Finance

6.1. Finance Policy

a. The Treasurer must endeavour to ensure that the ordinary expenditure of any given year is not more than the ordinary income of that year. 

b. The financial year shall run from 1st April to 31st March.

c. Ordinary and extraordinary expenditure is defined at the discretion of the Committee.

6.2. General Finance

a. The Society shall be non-profit making. The Office Bearers and Members may only receive payment, direct or indirect, as reimbursement for legitimate expenses.

b. Any reserves at the end of the financial year shall be carried over into reserves for the following Financial Year.

c. A loss carried forward into the following financial year must be notified and explained at the Annual General Meeting.

d. Membership for the Society shall be set to the initial price of £0.00 and shall rise every year in line with inflation, RPI, or 3% — whichever is highest.

7. Policy

7.1. Re-registration, Annual Reports and Financial Reports

a. Re-registration of the society must be submitted in accordance with the deadlines set by the Activities Team.

b. Annual and Financial Reports must be completed and submitted as part of the re-registration process following the AGM in the second semester.

7.2. Society Status

a. The Society may not register to obtain any legal status, including a limited company or a charitable status.

7.3. Equal Opportunities Policy

a. The Society shall uphold and maintain its policy on the equality of opportunity as defined in the Equal Opportunities Policy. 

b. The Society will take all necessary steps to ensure that their meetings, events and socials are accessible to all.

c. The Society will ensure that it complies with any relevant data protection legislation.

d. The Society believes that discrimination or harassment, direct or indirect, based on a person’s gender, age (except where it relates to licensing laws), race, skin colour, nationality, religious belief, socio-economic background, disability, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, family situation, domestic responsibilities, or any other irrelevant distinction, is detrimental to the society, the university and wider society, and will not be tolerated.

e. The Students’ Association has a Zero Tolerance policy for sexual harassment and violence. This means that any case of sexual harassment or violence will be escalated to the final disciplinary stage (removal). Appeals will go through the formal complaints process of the Students’ Association.

f. The Students’ Association understands harassment to include all forms, whether expressed orally, in writing, or on any cyber or digital platform.

g. The Society shall abide by any applicable laws, byelaws and guidelines of the Edinburgh University Students’ Association in relation to recognised Societies.

8. Dissolution

8.1. Dissolution of the Society

a. A motion to dissolve the Society must be carried with a three-quarters majority at an EGM with a quorum of 25% of Membership called for that purpose to be binding.

b. In the event of dissolution, all funds remaining after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities following such a resolution shall be passed on to a charitable organisation having objects similar to those of the Society.

9. Alteration of the Constitution

9.1. Alteration

a. Any motion to alter the Constitution will have to be supported by two-thirds of the members present at the AGM or EGM, 14 days’ notice of which shall be given.

b. The Students’ Association considers the ruling society constitution to be that which is displayed on the Society Profile.