5. Application for membership shall be made to the General Secretary on the prescribed form provided by the Society. Except founder members, who shall automatically be Full Members, subject to the payment of the prescribed fees, each application will require a proposer and a seconder, both being corporate members of the Society. The Committee shall have the absolute discretion in deciding whether any person shall or shall not be admitted to membership of the Society. Membership shall commence on acceptance by the Society in writing and on payment by the applicant of the required fees as prescribed from time to time in the Bye-laws. Resignation of members shall be effective from the time of receipt of such resignation by the Society in writing, provided the member has paid up all the subscriptions due to the Society.

6. The management of the Society shall be the responsibility of an Executive Committee of the society, herein known as the Committee. The Committee shall consist of the following eight persons elected from among corporate members at the Annual General Meeting :-

7. (a) The President shall take the chair at all General Meetings and Committee Meeting and shall regulate the proceedings. He shall represent the Society in its dealings with outside persons. In case the office of the President become vacant the Vice-President shall become President for the unexpired session.

(b) The Vice-President shall deputise for the President in all affairs of the Society. He shall take the chair at all General Meetings and Committee Meetings in the latter's absence. In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, the meeting may elect any Committee member to take the chair. In case the office of the Vice-President becomes vacant the General Secretary shall become Vice-President for the unexpired session.

(c) The General Secretary shall attend to all correspondence and keep all records of the Society (other than financial records and the Register of the Society). He shall summon all General Meetings and Committee Meetings and shall keep minutes of all such meetings.

(d) The Treasurer shall look after all funds and collect and disburse all monies on behalf of the Society. He shall keep proper books of account of all monetary transactions and shall be responsible for their correctness. He is authorized to expend, without the prior approval of the Committee, a sum up to $500 in any month, for expenses on behalf of the Society. He shall not keep more than $250 in the form of cash, and any money in excess of this amount shall be deposited in the account of the Society to be opened at a bank approved by the Committee. Payments of all accounts by cheques shall be signed by the Treasurer and either the President or the Vice-President.

(e) The Membership Secretary shall attend to all matters relating to membership of the Society, including recruitment measures, screening of applications, and recommendations to the Committee of those candidates suitable for election as members. He shall be responsible for the upkeep of the Register of the Society.

(f) The Publications Secretary shall superintend the assembly of materials, editing and publication of such papers, bulletins, newsletters and other publications as the Committee may direct.

(g) The Consultation Services Secretary shall arrange for technical consultation services to be rendered by specialists in statistics or in allied subjects to members of the Society. He shall also arrange to solicit the opinions of specialists on such issues in the field of statistics as may cause concern of the Committee from time to time.

(h) The Programme Secretary shall organise professional meetings, lectures, seminars, forums and other functions and gatherings of the Society under the direction of the Committee.

8. The Committee shall have powers :-

(b) to make, alter or rescind rules and regulations for any purposes, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and Bye-laws;

(c) to appoint sub-committee and/or employees as and when necessary and to define the duties of such sub-committees and/or employees;

(d) to appoint corporate members to fill vacancies of the Committee in its midst for the unexpired session or to act in a temporary capacity during the absence of certain Committee members, except for the posts of President and Vice-president;

(e) to use its discretion in the event of any question or matter arising out of any point which is not expressly provided for in the Constitution or Bye-laws; and

(f) to execute any other businesses in furtherance of the objects of the Society.

9. (a) Two Honorary Auditors for the session shall be appointed by a resolution of the corporate members at each Annual General Meeting. The Honorary Auditors shall not be Committee members, and shall be eligible for re-election. The Honorary Auditors shall have access at all reasonable times to the accounts of the financial transactions of the Society and they shall verify and sign upon their satisfaction the annual statement of accounts before it is submitted by the Committee to the Annual General meeting.

(b) The financial year of the Society shall close on the 31st December in each year, to which day the accounts shall be balanced.

10. The Society may hold the following types of meetings :-

(a) Annual General Meeting of members of the Society;

(b) Extraordinary General Meeting of corporate members only;

(c) Professional Meetings;

(d) Committee Meetings;

(e) Sub-committee Meetings; and

(f) Any other meetings in furtherance of the objects of the Society.

11. The Annual General Meeting shall be held during the month of March on a date to be fixed by the Committee. The following shall be the business of the Annual General Meeting :-

(a) to confirm minutes of previous General Meetings;

(b) to receive and adopt the annual report of the Committee;

(c) to receive and adopt the statement of accounts;

(d) to receive the report of the Scrutineers on the election of Committee members;

(e) to appoint two Honorary Auditors for the ensuing session; and

(f) to consider any other matter put forward by the Committee or requested for in writing by ten percent of the total number of corporate members or twenty corporate members, whichever is smaller as the case may be, such request having been made at least two weeks before the Annual General Meeting to the General Secretary.

12. Extraordinary General Meetings may be held at any reasonable time for the purpose of making, altering and rescinding the Constitution or Bye-laws and of conducting any other business for which such meetings may be convened. Extraordinary General Meetings shall be summoned by the Committee, or requested for in writing by ten percent of the total number of corporate members or twenty corporate members, whichever is smaller as the case may be.

14. The quorum for all General Meetings shall be fifteen percent of the total number of corporate members or thirty corporate members, whichever is bigger as the case may be. In the event of there being no quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned to the same day in the following week at a place and time to be appointed by the Committee and should the number then present be insufficient to form a quorum those present shall be considered a quorum.

15. At all General Meetings, questions and resolutions shall be decided according to a simple majority of votes being cast, the Chairman presiding having the casting vote in the event of a tie in the voting, except that any proposal or resolution involving an amendment to the Constitution or Bye-laws shall not be carried except by a two-thirds majority vote cast.

16. Voting at General Meetings shall be by show of hands except for the following matters, which shall be by secret ballot :-

(b) amendments to the Constitution and Bye-laws;

(c) dissolution of the Society; and

(d) any other matters for which voting by secret ballot is deemed preferable.

17. Every corporate member shall have one vote in the General Meetings, which may be given either personally or by proxy. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing, signed by the appointor, and shall be deposited with the General Secretary not less than forty-eight hours before the time for holding the meeting at which the person named in the instrument proposes to vote.

19. The Committee may meeting not less than four times a year during one session. Notice of each Committee Meeting together with the agenda shall be sent by the General Secretary to all Committee members at least one week before the date of every Committee Meeting. Five Committee members shall constitute a quorum at every Committee Meeting. All questions at Committee Meetings shall be decided by a simple majority vote of all those Committee members present and voting. In the event of a tie in the voting, the Chairman shall either exercise a casting vote, or have the matter deferred for further discussion. Any Committee member absent from three consecutive Committee Meetings without satisfactory explanation shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee.

20. The Committee shall arrange for Professional Meetings of the Society for the discussion of topics concerning statistics and its applications and the reading of papers and for other academic and professional matters from time to time.

21. (a) Nominations for posts in the Committee shall be invited from corporate members not less than four weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting. Any eligible member for nomination must be nominated by a corporate member and seconded by another corporate member, such nomination being sent in writing to the General Secretary together with the written consent of the member so nominated at lease two weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting. If insufficient nominations to fill all the posts are received, those nominated shall be voted on by secret ballot or declared elected ipso facto as the case may be, and nominations for the remaining posts be made from the floor and voted on by secret ballot at the Annual General Meeting.

(b) Voting papers for the election shall be distributed at the Annual General Meeting to all corporate members.

(c) The Committee shall appoint three Scrutineers who are corporate members. Scrutineers shall open the voting papers and count the votes. They shall report the results of the election to the President who will announce them at the Annual General Meeting. The voting papers shall be retained by the General Secretary and destroyed one month after the Annual General Meeting.

22. An Inaugural General Meeting of the Society shall be held to affirm support for the formation of the Society, to draw up the Constitution and Bye-laws of the Society, and to elect of those present the President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Treasurer and other members of the first Committee, and two Honorary Auditors. The first Committee shall be responsible for registering the Society with the Registrar of Societies, recruitment of members, general administration of the Society and the holding of the first Annual General Meeting, this interval of time constituting one session. The first Committee and its Committee members shall be deemed to be vested with the rights and powers of the Committee members respectively under the Constitution and Bye-laws.

23. It shall be lawful for the Society to receive voluntary gifts, donations and bequests in furtherance of its objects.

24. If the Society at any time acquires any fixed property, such property shall be vested in Trustees subject to a declaration of trust. Any Trustee may at any time resign his trusteeship. If a Trustee dies or becomes a lunatic or of unsound mind or moves away permanently or is absent from Hong Kong for a period of one year or more, he may be deemed to have resigned from his trusteeship. If a Trustee is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that he continues as a Trustee, a Committee Meeting may remove him from his trusteeship. The number of Trustees at any time shall not be greater than five nor less than two. Vacancies in the trusteeship may be filled by appointment of the Committee. Any proposal to remove a Trustee from his trusteeship or to appoint a new Trustee to fill a vacancy must be given in the notice of a Committee Meeting, at which the proposal is to be considered. Any change of Trustees shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies for approval.

25. No additions, deletions or alterations to the Constitution or Bye-laws shall be enforced or applied without the prior written approval of the Registrar of Societies.

26. Gambling of any kind, whether for stakes or not, is forbidden on the Society's premises or meeting places.

27. The funds of the Society shall not be used to pay the fines or legal costs of members who have been convicted in court.

28. The Society shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Society or its office-bearers or any committee or its members.

29. The Society shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purposes.

30. The Society shall not be dissolved except with the consent of not less than two-thirds of the corporate members of the Society present, expressed either in person or by proxy, at a General Meeting convened for the purpose, or by postal vote.

31. In the event of the Society being dissolved as provided in article 30 above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully discharges, and the remaining funds shall be disposed of before dissolution in accordance with the wishes of the majority of corporate members present at the General Meeting, or as expressed by the postal vote.