16 Constituent Bodies

16.1 There shall be no formal tier of administration between the Council and the Constituent Bodies and to facilitate the administration of the Game by the Union in accordance with its objects, these Rules, the RFU Regulations, the Laws of the Game and the IRB Regulations, and to secure the representation of Clubs and Schools on the Council, each one of them shall be allocated to a Constituent Body and shall subject to Rule 17.9 be entitled to vote at every election of a representative or representatives to represent that Constituent Body and its allocated members on the Council.

16.2 The following Rugby Unions shall be Constituent

Bodies within the meaning of these Rules:-

Army Lancashire

Berkshire Leicestershire

Buckinghamshire Middlesex

Cambridge University North Midlands

Cheshire Northumberland

Cornwall Notts, Lincs & Derbys

Cumbria Oxfordshire

Devonshire Oxford University

Dorset & Wiltshire Royal Air Force

Durham Royal Navy

Eastern Counties Somerset

East Midlands SRFU

ERFSU Staffordshire

Gloucestershire Surrey

Hampshire Sussex

Hertfordshire Warwickshire

Kent Yorkshire

16.3 With the exception of the ERFSU and the SRFU each Constituent Body must have in membership with it not less than fifteen members who are Members or whose secretaries or other officers or officials are Members as their nominees

16.4 The allocation of each Club to a Constituent Body shall be made by the Council, and no Club may transfer from one Constituent Body to another without the permission of the Council. The allocation of a Club shall not prevent it from being a member of an adjacent Constituent Body, but such additional membership shall in no way alter or affect its allocation nor shall it confer a right to vote in the election of a Representative to the Council for such adjacent Constituent Body

16.5 A School may only be in membership with the ERFSU

16.6 Subject to Rule 16.7 each Constituent Body named in Rule 16.2 and the Clubs allocated to it or in the case of the ERFSU the Schools in membership with it shall be entitled to one Representative on the Council

16.7 When the number of Clubs allocated to a Constituent Body (or in the case of the ERFSU the number of Schools in membership with it) on 1st January for two consecutive years is seventy or more that Constituent Body shall be entitled to a second Representative on the Council

16.8 When the number of Clubs allocated to a Constituent Body which is entitled to a second Representative on the Council (or in the case of the ERFSU the number of Schools in membership with it) on 1st January for two consecutive years falls below seventy that Constituent Body shall cease to be entitled to a second Representative on the Council

16.9 The Constituent Bodies together with their allocated Clubs as at 31st May each year shall be listed in the Handbook provided that in the case of the ERFSU this Rule shall have been complied with if the Schools in membership with it are listed in the handbook of the ERFSU

17. Constituent Body Representatives

17.1 Subject to Rule 17.9 Representatives to the Council shall be elected annually by each Constituent Body and the Clubs allocated to it, each of which shall be entitled to one vote. In the case of a Constituent Body entitled to two Representatives on the Council the Constituent Body concerned and its Clubs shall be entitled to vote for two persons. Election shall be by a simple majority of the votes recorded

17.2 A Representative elected to the Council shall assume office after the next Annual General Meeting of the Union, and shall be eligible for re-election from year to year

17.3 The election of Representatives to the Council shall be made before 1st April each year. All candidates for election or re-election must be proposed by one and seconded by another Club comprising the relevant Constituent Body including itself. Every nomination must be in writing and must be received by the secretary of the Constituent Body concerned by not later than 1st March

17.4 Where more candidates are nominated than the number of Representatives to the Council to which a Constituent Body and the Clubs allocated to it are entitled the names of all candidates for election shall be sent by it to its allocated Clubs not later than 15th March, and such election shall be made either at a meeting of representatives from the Clubs concerned or by a postal ballot as the committee of the Constituent Body may decide

17.5 Where the election is made at a meeting not less than seven days notice shall be given to each Club concerned of the date, time and place of such meeting. The representatives of the Clubs attending such a meeting shall choose their own chairman who shall not have a second or casting vote. Subject to the provisions of Rule 17, the procedure for and at such a meeting shall be determined by the committee of the Constituent Body concerned as it shall consider appropriate

17.6 Where the election is made by postal ballot the election shall be supervised by the chairman of the Constituent Body concerned assisted by two scrutineers appointed by its committee. In this case a ballot paper shall be sent with the notification of candidates' names made in accordance with Rule 17.4. The vote of the Club having been recorded on the ballot paper it shall be signed by an officer of the Club on its behalf and sent to the secretary of the Constituent Body to arrive not later than the first post on 28th March. The ballot papers received shall then be examined by the chairman and scrutineers who shall personally certify the votes cast for each of the candidates

17.7 The Chief Executive shall be informed of the results of all such elections by 1st April, failing which the Council shall fill any vacancies

17.8 If any election shall result in a tie the Representative shall be appointed by the Council from the candidates who shall have received an equal number of votes

17.9 The Representatives to the Council for the SRFU and the ERFSU shall be elected by their respective committees

17.10 The qualifications which govern the Union's selection of players for England teams shall apply to all persons nominated for Constituent Body representation on the Council

17.11 The Council shall have power to decide whether for any reason any elected Representative to the Council is ineligible to become, or to continue as, a Member of the Council

17.12 In the event of any vacancy arising between one Annual General Meeting and 31st March then next ensuing, the Constituent Body concerned shall forthwith elect another Representative to the Council within thirty days or such longer time as the Council may prescribe, or in default the Council shall fill the vacancy. If a vacancy arises between 1st April and the following Annual General Meeting the Representative to the Council notified to the Chief Executive for the ensuing year in accordance with Rule 17.7 shall immediately take office