Edinburgh Merchant Company Order Confirmation 1996

B. Election of members of Company

Qualifications for membership of Company

5 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the persons eligible for election as members are the following:—

(a) merchants, bankers or traders who carry on or who have carried on business on their own account;

(b) persons who, as principals or agents, individually or in partnership with others, carry on or have carried on business on their own account in any department or description of commerce, trade, manufacture or handicraft, or as architects, engineers or surveyors;

(c) managing directors, managers and principal officers of banks (including managers of branch banks), insurance or other companies having their head office in the United Kingdom;

(d) such additional classes of persons as the Company may from time to time approve:

Provided that a person shall not be elected as a member of the Company (other than an honorary member) unless he is a guild brother of the City of Edinburgh and either—

(i) carries on or has carried on business on his own account or exercises or has exercised his office, within the City of Edinburgh or within 20 miles from Her Majesty’s General Register House, Edinburgh or such other distance therefrom as the Company may from time to time determine; or

(ii) resides at the time of his election within the said city or within the said distance or such other distance as the Company may from time to time determine.

(2) Notice of a proposal to include any additional class of persons who shall be eligible for election as members of the Company shall be given at one of the stated general meetings of the Company and such class of persons shall not be eligible unless the proposal has been sanctioned by a resolution passed by two-thirds of the members present and voting at the immediately following stated general meeting of the Company or at any adjournment thereof.

Application for election

6 Every person desiring to be elected as a member shall lodge with the secretary an application in such form and with such information as may from time to time be required by the Company.

Election of members

7 With respect to applications for election as members—

(1) Every application shall, in the first instance, be considered by the Master’s court, who shall make a report as to the qualification and suitability of the applicant;

(2) The application along with such report shall thereafter be circulated to every member;

(3) Any member who wishes to object to an application must do so in writing to the secretary within 21 days of the date on which the said application is circulated;

(4) The application shall be remitted, within 42 days of the date on which the said application is circulated, to the Master’s court;

(5) After considering any objections lodged as aforesaid, the Master’s court may elect the applicant by a ballot in which at least 8 of their number vote for his election;

(6) If the application is refused by the Master’s court, the applicant within 14 days of being notified of such refusal, may notify the secretary in writing that he wishes to appeal; and

(7) If the applicant does appeal as aforesaid, the application shall be submitted to a general meeting of the Company where the Company may elect the applicant by a ballot in which at least two-thirds of the members present and voting vote for his election.

Date of election of members

8 The date of election of a member shall be the date of his election by the Master’s court or, in case of his election on appeal as provided for by the immediately preceding section of this Order, the date of his election by the Company.

Honorary members

9 The Company may elect as honorary members of the Company such persons, wheresoever resident or of whatsoever designation or calling, as may from their public eminence or public or private merits be deemed worthy to be elected.