1. In these Rules and Procedures:-

‘the Institute’ means the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland, Limited;

‘the Board’ means the board of directors of the Institute;

2. Where, pursuant to the provisions of Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute, the Board upholds a complaint against a member that he, she or it is guilty of or has been involved in stated misbehaviour (which term shall include but not be limited to breach of the Code of Practice and any guidelines on professional practice for the time being in force pursuant to the provisions of Article 48 of the Articles of Association of the Institute) and the Board decides, pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute, to propose to the Full Members of the Institute termination of membership as the sanction on the member against whom or which the complaint has been upheld and to approve and authorise the holding of a postal vote, then such postal vote shall be conducted in accordance with these Rules and Procedures.

3. All Full Members of the Institute, and only Full Members of the Institute, shall be entitled to vote in a postal vote conducted pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute.

4. The persons entitled under Article 37 of the Articles of Association of the Institute to vote at a General Meeting or Ordinary Meeting of the Institute on behalf of a Full Member to whom the provisions of said Article 37 relate may vote on her or his behalf in a postal vote conducted pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute, and all references in these Rules and Procedures to Full Members and voters shall be construed accordingly.

5. On the expiry of the period of notice given pursuant to paragraph (b) of Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute, the Board shall as soon as practicable (and in any event not later than fourteen days) send by post to each Full Member the following:

1. A ballot paper which has printed on it a number distinguishing it from all other ballot papers issued as part of the particular postal vote and which is designed so that a voter can indicate clearly by marking the ballot paper with an X in a place indicated for that purpose whether he or she is in favour of or against the proposal;

2. A form to be signed by the Full Member to whom the ballot paper was sent acknowledging receipt of the ballot paper and declaring that he or she received it and is the person casting the ballot, the signature of the Full Member to be accompanied on the form by the signature (with address) of another person (not being a member of the Institute) acting as witness;

3. An envelope which can be securely sealed and into which the ballot paper can be placed;

4. An envelope (which need not be pre-paid) which can be securely sealed and which has printed on it, or is labeled with, the address to which the ballot must be returned and the description ‘Postal Vote IAI’, and into which the form referred to at (ii) and the envelope referred to at (iii) can be placed;

5. Instructions that for a valid ballot to be cast the voter must mark the ballot paper with one X in one or other of the places indicated on it, place the ballot paper into the envelope referred to at (iii) and seal it, place that envelope and the completed form referred to at (ii) into the envelope referred to at (iv) and seal it, and post that envelope so that it reaches the address marked on the envelope by a date which shall be specified in the instructions;

6. A statement from the Board that it has, pursuant to the provisions of Article 18 of the Articles of Association, upheld a complaint against the member in respect of whose proposed termination of membership the postal vote is being conducted that he, she or it is guilty of or has been involved in stated misbehaviour and that the Board has decided that termination of membership is the appropriate sanction, together with a description of the nature of the complaint and of the procedures followed in considering the complaint.

6. The address of a Full Member to which the items referred to in 5 above shall be sent shall be the address to which notice of a General Meeting of the Institute would be sent to that Full Member.

7. The date referred to in 5 (v) above shall be determined by the Board subject to the requirement that it shall be not less than thirty-five days and not more than forty-five days after the date of the completion of the posting by the Board to the Full Members of the items referred to in 5 above.

8. The accidental failure to post any or all of the items referred to in 5 above to any Full Member, or the failure of any items posted to any Full Member to reach her or him, or the failure of a ballot posted by a Full Member to reach the correct address, shall not invalidate a postal vote conducted pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute.

9. Not less than five days after the date referred to in 5 (v) the Board shall have the envelopes containing the ballot papers and forms opened, the ballots checked for validity in accordance with 5 above, and counted. All envelopes received bearing the description ‘Postal Vote IAI’ shall be kept together unopened until the time appointed by the Board for the opening, checking and counting to begin. The opening of the envelopes enclosing the ballot papers shall be done in such a way as to ensure that marked ballot papers cannot be matched to completed forms.

10. The result of a postal vote conducted pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute shall be determined by the majority of ballots cast. A ballot shall not be deemed to have been cast unless done so in full compliance with the provisions of these Rules and Procedures and unless it is valid in accordance with said provisions.

11. The opening of envelopes and the checking and counting of ballots referred to in 9 above shall take place under the supervision of a Full Member of the Institute appointed for that purpose (with her or his agreement) by the Board. The Board shall also appoint an observer to be present at the opening, checking and counting, such observer being a person other than a member of any class of the Institute. The member in respect of whose proposed termination of membership the postal vote is being conducted shall be entitled to be present, or represented by a person of her, his or its choosing, at the opening, checking and counting but the absence of said member or her, his or its representative at the opening, checking and counting shall not invalidate the result of a postal vote conducted pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute.

12. The Full Member appointed by the Board under the provisions of 11 above to supervise the opening, checking and counting shall declare the result of a postal vote conducted pursuant to Article 18 of the Articles of Association of the Institute and, and as soon as may be practicable thereafter, inform the secretary of said result who shall communicate it to the Board.