HKGCC - Guidline

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The following Guidelines come into effect in June 2003. They apply to all HKGCC committees other than the General Committee. They are intended as general guidelines only and not as hard and fast rules. Circumstances will often dictate variations. In all cases of doubt, the Chamber’s Articles and Bye-Laws will prevail.

HKGCC committees are designed to cover specific interests. Each committee has its own terms of reference and these vary to some extent with the different advisory obligations placed upon them. However, the following common guidelines pertain.

Establishment and Terms of Reference

1.	Committees should not be established unless there is a clear need for them.
2.	Each committee should have its own terms of reference which set out clearly its working parameters.

Role of the committees and relationship with the General Committee

The role of the committees is to provide functional advice to the Chamber General Committee and Directorate (comprising the Chamber CEO and senior divisional heads) on issues and government policies affecting the business sector. No committee of the Chamber, except the General Committee, has executive authority unless specifically authorised by the General Committee. Committees are encouraged to suggest activities including – for example – papers, press releases, programmes, projects or missions to accomplish special committee objectives. However, the final decision whether to implement such activities rests with the General Committee, through the CEO and the Secretariat. Although committees may be asked to facilitate contacts or arrangements, the Secretariat will be responsible for executing each such activity once the General Committee determines that it is of overall benefit for the Chamber and authorise the Secretariat to proceed with it. All such activities will be conducted in the name of the Chamber unless the General Committee, through the CEO, authorises the committee to put its name on the activity.

The General Committee may appoint at least one of its members to membership of each committee. All appointments to Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of HKGCC committees shall be subject to endorsement by the General Committee.

Committee Meetings


5.	In principle, committee meetings should not be held unless there are subjects of importance to discuss. Generally speaking, committees are expected to hold at least one meeting every three months.
6.	Notice of a committee meeting shall normally be issued by the Secretariat to all members of the committee by mail, fax or e-mail about 7 calendar days before the meeting date with the meeting agenda and relevant background papers, if any, attached.
7.	Three members of a committee shall form a quorum.
8.	The minutes of every meeting shall be drafted by the Secretariat and circulated to all members of the committee for inspection, comment and amendment, normally within 14 calendar days after the meeting. The draft minutes of the preceding meeting shall be submitted to the next one for Chairman’s signature if approved by the meeting. The signed copy of the minutes shall be filed in the Chamber and shall be open for inspection by any member of the committee.

Membership

9.	Each committee should seek to maintain an active and experienced membership in order to reflect in the broadest sense the skills and experience required to fully represent Chamber interests.
10.	Only Full Members of the Chamber are eligible to become members of Chamber committees. Generally, the committees are open to all Chamber members, but for some committees, eligibility is limited to members in related fields only, as specified in the respective Terms of Reference. Individual Associate members of the Chamber may, if eligible under the Terms of Reference of the committees, join as observers. A committee may, as it sees fit, co-opt individuals from the Chamber membership or outside organizations as members or observers.
11.	Each Full Member of the Chamber may nominate at most one representative to join any one of the committees which it is eligible to join. Nominees are normally expected to be in the business related to the work of the committees. There is no restriction on the number of committees that a member wishes to join. A member may nominate different representatives on different committees. Each representative must be either an employer or an employee of the member company.
12.	Members have a duty to attend committee meetings and to participate in activities initiated or endorsed by the committees. Members who fail to attend three consecutive committee meetings may be invited to resign, subject to the committee Chairman’s concurrence.
13.	Membership of the Chamber committee shall be terminated if the member: resigns from the committee; or ceases to work in the member company that he/she represents.

Chairmanship

14.	Each committee should have a Chairman and one or more Vice-Chairmen who must be elected each year from among committee members. The Chairmen should not serve longer than two years. In exceptional circumstances, with prior approval by the Chamber CEO, the Chairmen can be elected for a third year. Committees falling under the umbrella of the Chamber’s service policy think-tank, the Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries, may serve more than three years but not more than four, subject to agreement by the Chamber CEO.
15.	The election of Chairman and Vice-Chairmen shall be held annually at the first committee meeting after the Chamber Annual General Meeting. Each committee should organise its own nomination and election procedures. The election shall be the last substantive agenda item of the meeting, before “Any Other Business”.
16.	In case of a contested election, the one who gets more votes at the meeting shall be elected. In case of an uncontested election, the confirmed nominee shall be deemed to be elected. The election result shall be submitted to the General Committee for endorsement at its next meeting. Should the General Committee decide not to endorse the result, the committee should conduct a new election at its next meeting.

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