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Constitution of the Maldivian Medical Students' Association |
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We, the Maldivian medical students, irrespective of the country we reside for the purpose of studies;
Desirous of a forum for interaction among ourselves in fostering close cooperation towards the enhancement of our well- being;
Conscious that close cooperation among ourselves will be mutually beneficial as well as provide a support base for protecting and enhancing our educational needs and interests;
Aware that the professionalism inherent among us individually can be further enhanced by participation at various national and international healthcare related activities and that opportunities for participation at such activities, can be better facilitated if approached collectively;
Recognizing that increased co-operation, contact and exchange among ourselves will contribute to identify positive Maldivian identity for us on campus, as well as the promotion of friendship and understanding among us upon completion of studies;
Do hereby agree to establish an association to be known as the Maldivian Medical Students’ Association, herein after referred to as the Association.
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Chapter I - OBJECTIVES |
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Article 1: The objectives of the Association shall be: a) To establish a common forum for interaction among Maldivian medical, nursing and paramedical students all over the world; b) To establish and maintain administrative and technical services that may be required for such an interaction; c) To foster and encourage positive Maldivian identity for our students on campus; d) To create a conductive environment for the Maldivian students in the otherwise unpredictable world outside the Maldives; e) To provide help, advice and information to those aspiring to join the medical, nursing and paramedical student profession from the Maldives; f) To act as a support base for Maldivian students as far as possible; g) To establish understanding and cooperation with Maldivian and International health sector related bodies; h) To encourage, facilitate and coordinate participation of Maldivian medical, nursing and paramedical students at Maldivian and International health care related seminars, meetings, and workshops, which are relevant to Maldives; i) Protect the educational interests of its members; j) Disseminate information and provide assistance in the field of health, to improve public awareness on all matters of health; k) Assist the Government of Maldives in their efforts to disseminate health information, eradicate or control epidemic, endemic and other diseases; l) Organize social gatherings from time to time; so as to improve the interaction among members and to foster Nationalism; and m) Establish mutually beneficial relationship with Maldivian and International establishments with interests similar to this Association. |
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Chapter II- DEFINITIONS |
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Article 2: a) Constitution refers to the Constitution of the Association. b) Member refers to a member of the Association. c) Medical student refers to any Maldivian student enrolled in and studying for an undergraduate, postgraduate or a super-specialty medical degree anywhere in the world. d) Nursing student refers to any Maldivian student enrolled in and studying for an undergraduate, postgraduate or higher degree in nursing anywhere in the world. e) Paramedical student refers to any Maldivian student enrolled in and studying in an allied medical program anywhere in the world. |
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CHAPTER III - CENTRAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE |
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Article 3: a) The Association's Central Executive Office shall be located in Kathmandu, Nepal, until further amendments are made to this Constitution. b) A branch office may be opened in any other country where there are ten or more members of this Association studying at a given time, after due consultation with the Central Executive Office. c) In countries where there are less than ten members of this Association, a representative shall be appointed by the Central Executive Office in consultation with the members in that country.
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CHAPTER IV- MEMBERSHIP |
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Article 4:
The membership of the Association shall be an acknowledgement of the acceptance of the Constitution and the rules of the Association. Article 5: Any Maldivian medical, nursing and paramedical student who is a bona fide student of an institution in any part of the world may become a full member. Full members can remain so until they complete their study program. In situations where a compulsory clinical attachment is required after completion of the study program, it shall also be considered as part of the study program. Article 6: a) A full member of the Association, upon completion of his/her study program, shall become an Associate Member. b) All Maldivian doctors and paramedics may also become Associate Members provided they express the desire to so. Article 7: The Director for Maldives at the SAARC Secretariat shall remain as the Patron of the Association, until further amendments are made to this constitution, provided he or she expresses the desire to do so. Article 8: The following shall remain as the Advisors of the Maldivian Medical Students' Association: a) Hon. Minister of Health of Republic of Maldives. (If request accepted) b) Hon. Minister of Education. (If request accepted) c) Hon. Minister of Planning and National Development. (If request accepted) d) Immediate past President and Vice- President of the Association, provided they become Associate Members of the Association. Article 9: Individuals willing to provide support for the Association financially or otherwise may be awarded Honorary Membership at the discretion of the Executive Body. Article 10: a) All members (full and associate) shall pay a membership fee which is non- refundable. b) Membership fee shall be decided by a resolution in a General Assembly meeting. The Executive Body may revise the fees from time to time, which must be fixed by the General Assembly. However, the revised membership fee shall only be inducted at the next term of the Executive Body Article 11; Any member, who wishes to terminate his/her membership, may submit the request in writing to the Executive Body of the Association. Article 12: a) All members shall honour and respect the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives.
b) Any member who acts contrary to the constitution of the Association or whose omission and commission results in blemishing the image of Maldivian medical, nursing and paramedical fraternity and the Maldives, in campus or in the country he or she is studying, or is involved in activities which may disrupt the harmony and understanding among Maldivian medical, nursing and paramedical students, shall be expelled from the Association if found guilty after an inquiry by a committee setup by the Executive Body for the purpose. The decision of the Executive Body shall be final and non-negotiable. Such a member shall never be re-inducted to the Association.
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CHAPTER V- EXECUTIVE BODY (EB) |
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Article 13 Executive Body is defined as the directing and coordinating authority of the Maldivian Medical Students’ Association and shall be responsible for implementing all its activities. Article 14 Executive Body shall be elected from full members in the country where the EB is located, by the General Assembly. The officers of the Executive Body shall be elected from simple majority or by unanimity in the election. Article 15Executive Body shall consist of maximum 9 (nine) members;
1 President One Representative from each academic programme from the country where the Central Executive Office is located, namely;
Undergraduate medicine Article 16 The term of the Executive Body shall be one calendar year from the date of its commission. Article 17 The Executive Body shall formulate its action plan for the duration of its term in office and present to the General Assembly, within 60 days of its election. Implementation of plans shall require support of majority of the full members of the Association. Article 18 The Executive Body shall meet at least once in two months. The General Secretary shall notify the members of the Executive Body five days in advance about the proposed meeting and arrange a date convenient for majority of the members, if not all. Article 19 The Executive Body shall have the right to formulate rules and regulations provided they are not contrary to the Constitution of the Association. Article 20 If any member of the Executive Body is absent for three or more consecutive meetings without prior notice he or she shall be relieved from his/her elected post. Article 21 a) The President of the Association shall be responsible for leading his/her elected panel of members to achieve the objectives of the Association. b) The President shall represent the Association in local and international arenas where representation of the Association is required, whenever possible. If for any reason the President is unable to represent the Association as aforementioned, he/she shall choose a member of the Executive Body to represent the Association. Article 22 Vice-President shall assist the President to ensure smooth functioning of the Association and shall be the person responsible for the same in the absence of the President Article 23 a) General Secretary is responsible for carrying out routine administrative work and other assignments related to the Association that are entrusted upon him/her by the President and Vice President, under their direct supervision. b) The General Secretary shall maintain the minutes of the meetings and the attendance of the members. Article 24 The Joint Secretary shall assist the Secretary in executing the latter's duties as well as the duties of the Secretary in his/her absence. Article 25 The Treasurer shall administer the property and funds, and maintain all records of financial accounts of the Association Article 26 The Representative from each academic programme shall express the views of the members of the respective academic programme and fulfill the responsibilities entrusted upon him/her by the president or the vice- president.
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CHAPTER VI- GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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CHAPTER VII- COUNTRY CHAPTERS |
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Article 34 a) Country Chapters of the Maldivian Medical Students’ Association shall be opened as per Article 3 (b). b) Such a branch office shall be named as Maldivian Medical Students' Association's Chapter for that particular country. Article 35 a) In countries where respective Country Chapters of the Maldivian Medical Students’ Association are established, the Administrative Body of the respective Country Chapters shall hold Chapter Assemblies of its members as per Article 28 (a). b) The deliberations of such meetings shall be forwarded to the Central Executive Office of the Maldivian Medical Students' Association in a report form within one month of the meeting.
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CHAPTER VIII- FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS |
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Article 36 Current financial sources of the Association shall be membership fees and the money obtained from fundraising activities. It shall be utilized for different activities of the Association. Article 37 A bank account shall be in the name of the Association. All finances of the Association shall be kept in a bank in a country where the Central Executive Office is located, in case of Maldivian Medical Students' Association and in case of Country Chapters it should be kept in a bank where such Chapter is located. Article 38 All revenue of the Association should be promptly deposited in the account of the Association, by the Treasurer and he/she shall be held responsible for any losses resulting from failure to do so. Article 39 a) No transaction shall be made without a written approval of the President, or in his/her absence by a person of the Executive Body authorized by him/her b) All the transactions shall be signed by at least two Executive Body members, of which one must be the President or his/her designate. Such a transaction shall not exceed US$ 150.00, unless otherwise approved by two-third majority of full members. Article 40 The Executive Body shall be held responsible for all finances incurred during its term in office and shall give details of the revenue and expenditure during its term as mentioned in Article 29. Article 41 Members of the Association shall have the right to audit the financial transactions of the previous year. This may be done by a five-member team elected by the full members of the Association, in coordination with the Executive Body for the next term.
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CHAPTER IX- THE ELECTION |
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Article 42 a) The outgoing Executive Body shall announce the date for the next general election one month before their term expires. b) During this period it should set up an Election Committee of three members, which has the support of at least seventy five percent of full members of the Association. Article 43 a) The general election shall be conducted once a year and it should be completed within a month of announcement of the date for election. b) The general election shall be conducted by a secret ballot supervised by the election committee. Article 44 a) Voting rights shall be restricted to full members who are present at the time of election only. b) Full members eligible for voting may execute his or her voting rights in this election. c) In each academic programmes mentioned in Article 15 where only one student is present, he or she shall automatically be elected as the Representative Member in the Executive Body in that academic programme. d) If more than one candidate contests for the same post and there is a draw, the election committee shall conduct a lucky draw in the presence of the candidates. Article 45 a) In the election at least seventy five percent of the full members in the country where the election is held should be present and should have executed their voting rights for the election results to be binding. b) If this is not achieved that election will be regarded as null and void and a new date for election should be fixed. In the subsequent election up to fifty percent of member voting will be considered as adequate. Article 46 a) Any candidate contesting for a post of the Association shall have one to propose and another to support him or her. b) No single person can contest for more than one post and the person who proposes and the one who supports for a candidate cannot propose or support for more than one candidate for the same post. Article 47 A member of the Executive Body may be re-elected for the same post for a maximum of two consecutive years only. However, he or she may stand for another post of the Executive Body. Article 48 If for any reason a post in the Executive Body falls vacant, the vacancy shall be filled within 45 days in a by-election. Article 49 The decision of the Election Committee shall be final and binding.
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CHAPTER X- MOTIONS AND RESIGNATIONS |
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Article 50 a) If a full member of the Association wants to submit a no confidence motion with regard to the elected Executive Body or that of a member of the Executive Body, he/she may do so after obtaining at least fifty percent of full members' support. Such a motion shall be submitted to the President, in writing along with the signatures of the supporters of the no confidence motion. In the event of such a motion, the President shall call for a special session of the General Assembly and he/ she shall invite a reputed guest for such a meeting. After hearing from both sides, a secret ballot shall be conducted after which the motion shall be considered approved if it enjoys three quarters of the votes cast. b) A no confidence motion against the President shall proceed as mentioned in Article 50 (a) which shall, however, be submitted to the Vice-President who shall call for a special session of the General Assembly and act according to Article 50 (a). The motion shall be considered if it enjoys seventy five percent of the votes cast. c) From the time of approval of no confidence motion the concerned authority or the member (s) in question shall be considered decommissioned. Article 51 The President may accept a resignation letter from any member of the Executive Body. However, the President's resignation shall only be approved by the acceptance of at least fifty percent of the Executive Body members.
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CHAPTER XI - AUTHORISATION AND DISSOLUTION |
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All the outgoing documents of the Association shall bear an authorized signature and the seal of the Association. Article 53 If for any reason the Association is dissolved, its properties shall be auctioned and any surplus funds from the auction shall be donated to a public health care program of the Republic of Maldives, which shall be determined by a simple majority of the full members at the meeting in which the motion for dissolution has been carried. Article 54 The Executive Body in office at the time of dissolution shall have unlimited liability for any outstanding debt they have incurred. All other members shall have no liability Article 55 The dissolution of the Association shall come into effect upon: a) The allocation of surplus funds or responsibilities for any outstanding debt as per Article 53 and b) The completion of all administrative requirements.
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CHAPTER XII- AMENDMENTS |
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Article 56 Any amendments to this Constitution of the Association that is deemed necessary shall only be made by the Executive Body at the General Assembly and shall get two-third majority from the full members of the Association. Article 57 This constitution shall come into force when the seven members of the first Executive Body sign- in the Constitution.
Done in Kathmandu, the capital city of the Kingdom of Nepal, based on a Draft Constitution presented at the inauguration ceremony by Dr. Mohamed Solih and Mr. Mohamed Ismail, who proposed the idea of a medical students’ association: with amendments suggested by members at the Inauguration Session and at the first General Assembly, and completely revised after three other special sessions held for that purpose, members of the Association unanimously approved the adoption of this Constitution as the Constitution of the Maldivian Medical Students’ Association, on Tuesday, 25th of September 2001 A.D (8 Rajab 1422 AH).
In faith whereof, the First Executive Body of the Maldivian Medical Students’ Association having been duly authorized for that purpose, sign this Constitution.
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©MMSA All rights reserved. November 2001