Constitution:

ARTICLE I. Name and Purpose

Section 1. The name of the organization shall be the National Security and Law Society, Chicago-Kent College of Law Chapter (referred to herein as “NSLS”),

Section 2.  The purpose of NSLS shall be:

(a) To foster interest in, and understanding of, the legal aspects and ramifications of national security by sponsoring speakers and programs concerning the many issues covered by this umbrella.

(b) To aid members in their pursuits of careers in these fields.

(c) To contribute to the development of national security law.

ARTICLE II.  Relationship with the International Office

Section 1.  NSLS will be the representative of the International Office of the National Security and Law Society (referred to herein at the “International Office”) to Chicago-Kent College of Law, and as such will be subject to the Constitution and By-Laws of the International Office in addition to this document.

Section 2.  NSLS shall have one vote during the selection process for the International Executive Committee.  This chapter’s process for determining this vote will be determined by the Chapter Executive Committee and added to the Chapter By-Laws below once decided.

ARTICLE III.  Relationship with Chicago-Kent College of Law

Section 1.  NSLS will be subject to the rules established by Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Section 2.  NSLS will be subject to the rules established by Chicago-Kent College of Law Student Body Association (“SBA”).

ARTICLE IV.  Membership

Section 1.  Regular membership in NSLS shall be open to all Chicago-Kent College of Law students.

Section 2.  Regular members are considered in good standing if they attend at least half of the general meetings in a given semester.  For the purposes of electing members to the Executive Committee, members must attend at least half of the general meetings during an academic year.

Section 3.  Limited absences from meetings for serious cause shall not jeopardize a regular member’s status as a member in good standing.

Section 4.  Professional membership in NSLS shall be open to professionals working within the area of National Security Law, to Chicago-Kent alumni, any former NSLS regular member, and to Chicago-Kent College of Law faculty.

Section 5. Professional members are not required to attend general meetings, and may only be forced to resign their membership based on a 2/3 vote during a general meeting.  Requests for such a vote will be made in writing by the requestor and delivered to any member of the executive committee one academic week prior to the requested vote.

Section 6. The president must write a revocation of membership letter to the professional in question, and must allow the professional to respond if requested by the professional member.

Section 7.  No qualified member of any kind shall be refused membership on the basis of race, gender, age, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, religion, or political beliefs.

ARTICLE V.  Voting:

Section 1.  Only regular members in good standing shall have the right to vote in NSLS.

Section 2.  Unless otherwise specified in this Constitution or relevant By-Laws:

(a) Any regular or professional member of NSLS may move for a vote in order to decide any matter at a general meeting, except as specified otherwise in this Constitution or relevant By-Laws.  If the motion is carried by one quarter of the members present at the meeting, the matter shall be determined by majority vote, except as specified otherwise in this Constitution or relevant By-Laws.

(b) No vote may occur unless a five (5) regular members are present for the meeting at which the vote is taken, one of which must be a Member-at-Large.

Section 3.  Proxy ballots shall be recognized at either General or Executive Committee Meetings.  A proxy ballot is valid only if it is in writing and includes the name, phone number, signature of the voting member.

ARTICLE VI.  Meetings

Section 1.  The first general meeting of the academic year shall be held within 30 calendar days of the commencement of Fall classes.

Section 2.  The last general meeting of the academic year shall be held no later than two weeks before Read Week.  Planning for the next academic year’s Fall Semester events will be finalized where possible during this general meeting or during prior meetings.

Section 3.  The general membership of NSLS shall meet at least twice every semester.  Meetings shall be called by the Executive Committee and members shall be given due notice of the time and place of such meetings.  Whenever possible due notice shall include publication of a public notice.

Section 4.  Meetings and functions of NSLS shall be open to the public except as the Executive Committee shall otherwise provide.  Regular members of NSLS will have first priority for any professional dinners.  Any events involving recruiters will be open to Kent law students and, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, students from other law schools.

Section 5.  A quorum at general meetings of NSLS shall be one quarter of the membership qualified to vote.

ARTICLE VII.  The Executive Committee

Section 1.  The Executive Committee (“ExComm”) of NSLS shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, two Members-at-Large, and two Faculty Advisors.

(a) The President shall preside over General Meetings and shall call and preside over Executive Committee Meetings.  He or she shall be responsible to NSLS for the faithful execution of the purposes and policies of NSLS.  The President may also create standing and Ad-Hoc committees and appoint chairpersons with the approval of three of the other executive officers, one of which must be a Member-at-Large.  The President shall also create and maintain a position standard operating procedure (“SOP”) that shall be filed with the Secretary.  The President shall attend the annual meeting with International chapter unless he or she has a valid reason for inability to attend.  The President will not have a vote in NSLS elections or on issues presented; instead he will act as the tie-breaker should the need arise.

(b) The Vice-President shall coordinate and oversee any committees.  The Vice-President shall also have primary responsibility for coordinating publicity of NSLS events.  Additionally, if for any reason the President is unable to attend either a General Meeting or a meeting of the Executive Committee, the Vice-President shall preside over the meeting.  The Vice-President shall also create and maintain a position SOP that shall be filed with the Secretary.  The Vice-President shall attend the annual meeting with International Chapter in the event that the President is unable to attend.

(c) The Secretary shall prepare meeting agendas, take minutes, coordinate the minutes of any committees, collect member sign-in sheets, e-mail meeting minutes to members, create and maintain a position SOP, maintain membership files, files on events, and program evaluations.

(d) The Treasurer shall have primary responsibility for collection, allocation, and disbursement of NSLS funds, including drawing up and submitting the NSLS budget to the Chicago-Kent College of Law’s SBA each semester, meeting with SBA Treasurer as required, reporting on funds at general meetings, creating and maintaining a position SOP that shall be filed with Secretary, submitting check request forms with the SBA, and filing accounting records with the International Office as required.

(e) The two Members-at-Large (MAL) shall be the primary liaisons between the Executive Committee and the general membership.  They shall also share miscellaneous responsibilities and privileges not expressly reserved for the other officers by this Constitution or relevant By-Laws.

(f) The two Faculty Advisors shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee and shall not have a vote.

(g) In the event that NSLS membership is not large enough, or not enough members seek elective office to a position, any executive officer may hold more than one position.  This provision does not apply to the Faculty Advisor.  At the first general meeting of each new semester an election shall be held to fill any remaining open officer positions.

(h) The President will not also hold office as Treasurer.

(i) A Member-at-Large will not also hold any other office on the Executive Committee.

(j) Any officer may hold the same position for two consecutive terms only.  A term of office shall last for one year from election.

Section 2.  The Executive Committee shall function as the governing body of NSLS and shall be primarily responsible for the transaction of the business and functions of NSLS.

Section 3.  The Executive Committee shall meet at least once per month, apart from general meetings and exclusive of final examination and vacation periods.  The Executive Committee shall coordinate meeting agendas prior to each meeting.  Members of the Executive Committee shall be given due notice of the time, place and agenda of meetings, at least one week prior to such meetings.  The meetings shall be open unless the Executive Committee shall decide otherwise.  The Secretary shall publish the minutes of all Executive Committee meetings through the website and by sending an e-mail to all members of NSLS within one calendar week of any Executive Committee meeting.

Section 4.  The general membership of NSLS shall have the right to take issue with any substantive decisions of the Executive Committee.  The general membership may overturn any decision of the Executive Committee by a two-thirds vote of those students present at the next general meeting provided a quorum of members in good standing exists.

Section 5.  The Executive Committee may not take action on any issue before it unless a quorum is present.  A quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of two-thirds of the members of the Committee, not including the Faculty Advisor.  All decisions shall be made by a majority vote of those members of the Executive Committee present, unless otherwise specified in this Constitution or in any relevant By-Laws.

(a) A unanimous agreement between the two Members-at-Large shall serve to prevent any action being taken on an issue by the Executive Committee until it can be decided by a vote of the general membership as outlined in Section 4 above.

ARTICLE VIII.  Selection of the Executive Committee

Section 1.  Any student member in good standing, who does not also hold an upcoming executive position in the international chapter of NSLS and plans to complete one full academic year at Chicago-Kent College of Law, shall be eligible for election as an officer of NSLS.

1. One Faculty Advisor shall not be elected by the general membership, but instead selected by the Executive Committee.  The nominee receiving a majority of available votes wins.  In the event that no nominee receives a majority of votes, a run-off ballot shall he held between the two nominees receiving the most votes.

Section 2.  New Executive Committee members shall assume their duties immediately upon their election.

Section 3.  Procedure for Election of Executive Committee Members:

(a) The last general membership meeting of the Spring Semester shall be held for the additional purpose of electing officers of NSLS.

(b) All members interested in running for election must notify the Executive Committee seven academic calendar days prior to the Election Meeting.  Each Candidate for President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall make a presentation at the beginning of the Election Meeting.

(1) If a Candidate cannot attend the Election Meeting, he or she may request that a sitting officer of the Executive Committee read a presentation for him or her.

(c) After all of the above Candidate presentations are complete, the voting shall be by secret ballot.  The officers responsible for counting secret ballots shall be established in the NSLS by-laws, where at least one of the officers shall be a Member-at-Large.  No member shall count the votes if he or she is also running for reelection to the same position.

(d) The Candidate for each office receiving a majority of available votes wins.  In the event that no Candidate receives a majority of votes, a run-off ballot shall be held between the two Candidates receiving the most votes.

(e) After the election of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer is complete, each Member-at-Large Candidate shall make a presentation.

(1) Any Non-elected Candidates for President, Vice-President, and Secretary, or Treasurer shall have the opportunity to be a Candidate for Member-at-Large, but shall not make a second presentation.

(f) After all of the Member-at-Large Candidate presentations are complete, the voting shall be by secret ballot.  The officers responsible for counting secret ballots shall be established in the NSLS by-laws, where at least one of the officers shall be a Member-at-Large.   No member shall count the votes if he or she is also running for reelection to the same position.

(g) The two Candidates receiving the most votes win.  In the event that there are not two clear winners, a run-off ballot shall be held between any Candidates with the same number of votes.

ARTICLE IX.  Removal of Executive Committee Members

Section 1.  Any member of the Executive Committee may voluntarily resign from the Committee by submitting a notice of resignation to the Committee.

(a)  Resignations are effective when accepted by vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 2.  Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed for cause.  Cause is limited to continued failure to perform duties as specified in this Constitution, misappropriation of funds, failure to maintain their status as a member in good standing, or failure to attend more than half of the Committee meetings for which they have received due notice.

1. In addition, Faculty Advisor may be temporarily removed if they visit at other law schools or are no longer available to provide advice.

Section 3.

(a) If a member in good standing feels that an Executive Committee member should be removed from office for cause, the member may initiate removal proceedings by filing a petition for removal signed by at least half of the members in good standing.

(b) The original petition should be submitted to the Executive Committee and one copy to the Committee member to whom it pertains.

(c) The Executive Committee shall then call a special meeting of the general membership within two academic weeks in order to address the issue.  In the event that a General Meeting has been scheduled, the removal proceedings may be included on the General Meeting agenda but the general membership must be given at least one academic week’s notice that the petition for removal shall be discussed at the meeting.

(d) The Committee member in question shall be allowed the opportunity to respond to the allegations of the petition in the presence of the general membership.

(e) After the Committee member has responded to the petition, a secret ballot shall be held.  If the motion is approved by a three fourths majority of those members in good standing, the Executive Committee member shall be immediately removed from office.

Section 4.  When a vacancy occurs on the Executive Committee, a special meeting of the general membership shall be called within two academic weeks in order to hold elections to fill the vacancy.  Members shall be given notice of the time and place of the meeting as well as the agenda at least one academic week in advance.  If a General Meeting is already scheduled within two academic weeks, elections may be held at that meeting provided that members are given notice of at least one academic week that such elections will occur.

ARTICLE X.  Finances

Section 1.  NSLS at Chicago-Kent College of Law shall submit chapter dues of $100 to the international office no later than September 25th of each academic year.

Section 2.  NSLS at Chicago-Kent College of Law shall not charge its members membership dues.

Section 3.  NSLS at Chicago-Kent College of Law shall maintain two separate accounts with the Office of Finance and Administration.

(a) One account shall be established by the SBA, and will allow the SBA to deposit any funding allotted to NSLS for an academic semester.  These funds will revert back to SBA at the end of each semester if unspent, unless otherwise authorized to keep the funds by the SBA.

(b) One account shall be established by the NSLS Treasurer, will remain separate from the SBA account, and will allow NSLS to deposit any funds collected by their own fundraising.  These funds will remain with the NSLS at the end of each semester.

Section 4.  At no time shall NSLS or its members open and maintain any accounts outside of Chicago-Kent College of Law for NSLS purposes.

Section 5.  All funds raised by NSLS apart from the SBA shall be deposited into the NSLS’s non-SBA account by the end of the following academic day.  Prior to deposit, the funds will be counted by two executive committee officers, one of which shall be the Treasurer.

Section 6.  In the event that NSLS dissolves, all debts shall be paid from either NSLS account.

(a) Any remaining funds in the SBA account shall revert back to the SBA.

(b) Fifty percent of the remaining funds in the non-SBA account shall revert to the SBA and fifty percent of the remaining funds shall revert to the NSLS international chapter.

ARTICLE XI.  Amendments

Section 1.  Any NSLS member may propose amendments to this Constitution by submitting them to the Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee shall then submit such amendments to the members at a general or special meeting.  Notice shall be given to members at least one academic week in advance of any such meeting.

Section 2.  Amendments to this Constitution must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of regular members in good standing present at a valid general meeting.

ARTICLE XII.  By-Laws

Section 1.  The Executive Committee shall establish and amend existing By-Laws to govern and coordinate all standing long-term projects of NSLS.  Projects for which By-Laws shall be adopted include any project which, when adopted as a project of NSLS, can reasonably be expected to continue beyond the present year.

Section 2.  Any NSLS member may propose the adoption of By-Laws for any proposed NSLS project, or may propose amendments to the By-Laws or any existing project.

Section 3.  By-Laws for any proposed NSLS project or amendments to the By-Laws of existing projects may be adopted by a majority of the Executive Committee at an Executive Committee meeting provided notice of the proposed By-Laws is given to the Executive Committee at least one academic week in advance of that meeting.

ARTICLE XIII.  Ratification

This Constitution shall take effect after it receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the persons present at an NSLS meeting for ratification.

ADDENDUM, 09/22/2023

1. Elections:
   1. NSLS shall hold a popular vote election, open to all NSLS members, for the positions of President and Treasurer. Election and/or appointment may be allowed for other positions.
   2. Only one (1) person may serve as President and only one (1) person may serve as Treasurer, and the same person shall not occupy the positions of President and Treasurer concurrently.
   3. Pursuant to SBA Bylaws Article XI, Section 2(b), NSLS elections may be challenged by any member through submission to the Student Bar Association.
2. Executive Board Responsibilities:
   1. If then in existence, the President and Treasurer must attend the SBA Leadership Seminar held at the beginning of each academic year.
3. In case of conflict between provisions of existing By-Laws and this Addendum, the latter shall take force.