Article 6. General meeting
A. LEGISLATIVE POWER
The membership of the Federation, acting through a General Meeting, shall be the sovereign power of the Federation and, as such, shall make decisions as regards the whole of the affairs of the Federation and the actions to be undertaken in carrying out the objectives of the Federation.
B. BIENNIAL MEETING
A. General Meeting of the membership of the Federation shall be held biennial (every two years). Notice of the time, place and date of the General Meeting shall be sent to all members at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the biennial General Meeting.
C. AGENDA
At any General Meeting, the agenda shall include all the following matters:1. Reports of the Officers and Departments;2. Review of the budget and accounts of the Federation;3. Review of revenue and dues income to the Federation;4. Report of the auditors5. Review and consideration of all actions of the I.C.D.;6. The holding of any elections that are required by this Constitution;7. The establishment of a date and place for the next General Meeting;8. If necessary, the establishment of a date and place for the International Convention to be held pursuant to Article XI;
D. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
Extraordinary General Meetings of the membership may be called by the I.C.D. or by a written request delivered to the President and signed by at least one-third (1/3) of the National Members of the Federation. Notice of the date and place of the extraordinary General Meeting shall be sent to the membership at least thirty (30) days prior to the Meeting.
E. CONDUCT OF GENERAL MEETING
All General Meetings of the membership shall be conducted in accordance with the following terms and conditions:
- Quorum.At least one-half (1/2) of the National Members must be represented in person or by proxy in order to establish a quorum. In the absence of a quorum, any General Meeting may be adjourned or recessed, but no other business may be transacted except for motions designed to establish the means of obtaining a quorum. If a quorum cannot be established, another General Meeting will be convened with the same agenda within three (3) months.
- Voting.
Only National Members are entitled to vote at a General Meeting. Each National Member is entitled to one vote. In order to be eligible to vote at a General Meeting, the National Member must designate in writing the individual delegate that will represent the National Member. In the case that such delegate is unable to attend a General Meeting, that delegate may assign his or her proxy to any other National Member delegate, with one (1) person to hold no more than two (2) proxy votes. - Actions. No action may be adopted by the members at a General Meeting unless it has been approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the National Members present at the meeting in person or by proxy.
- Minutes. All actions taken by the membership at the General Meetings will be recorded in minutes taken by the Treasurer-Secretary. Copies of said minutes will be distributed to each National Member of the Federation prior to the next General Meeting of the membership.
- Attendance. Any member of the Federation may attend a General Meeting of the membership of the Federation.