DD> Do such Unincorporated Associations require
DD> a chairman(ager/ess), secretary or treasurer?

AWL> No, as long as there is some sort of individual or
AWL> committee in charge, the titles are pretty meaningless.

 RS> Thats not right, and they aint normally 'in charge'
 RS> even in associations, incorporated or not.

OK, how about excercising the powers of management then?

AWL> Otherwise you could avoid the Common Law stuff on 
AWL> Unincorporated Associations by calling your organisational 
AWL> head "Grand Poobah" instead of President.

 RS> Yes, but pity your wild claims about what qualifys as an 
 RS> unincorporated association are just crap. That consideration 
 RS> only apply if you really do have an unincorporated 
 RS> association, and Fido aint one.

Then what the fuck is it Rod. It is an association, and it isn't incorporated...

DD> Do they have to have an Annual general meeting?

AWL> No. As long as there is some sort of organised
AWL> discussion of administration (Sysop/*C echos
AWL> could be considered permanent session meetings)

 RS> Oh bullshit. Next you will be trying to claim that a group 
 RS> of people who choose to meet down the pub on a particular 
 RS> evening regularly is also an unincorporated association, its 
 RS> complete tripe Alex.

They could well be. If they can be recognised from outside as having
membership in some named body such as "Pete's Avengers" but not
"Pete's Friday Night Crowd." If they have a "Grand High
Pisspot" or a titled "Keeper of the Loose Change" then they
could be an association. If they nominate someone to do things on behalf of
the membership (such as booking the back room, tipping the waitresses at
Christmas, paying and recovering deposits etc)... If people percieve them
to have some kind of structure and existance outside of the individuals
that make up the group...

DD> Are they obliged to keep minutes of any meetings?

AWL> No, but not doing so means that it comes down
AWL> to personal recollections (or logged e-mail :-)...

DD> Are they required to hold periodic elections?

AWL> No, Life Appointments can be valid. As can any other form 
AWL> of appointment..

 RS> But that doesnt automatically mean they are an 
 RS> unincorporated association.

But it would be hard for them to claim otherwise. If they are an
association (and formal Rules go a long way to proving that they are) or at
least they are not any other kind of body recognised by the Law (Religious
Order, School, etc) and are not incorporated (or exempt form doing so (such
as P&Cs)) then they may find themselves treated as one.

Remember that an association is just short hand for a defined group of
individuals, like a partnership... You sue the individuals collectively,
the association is just a handle to hold them by. Their membership list
determines who is and who is not a party to the action...

 RS> Thats the absolutely classic logic trap that just because 
 RS> cats have tails, doesnt say that every animal with a tail is 
 RS> a cat.

An association is a group of people. Therefor a group of people is an
association - wrong. 

However if a group of people doesn't fit any other catagory, and act
together in some common purpose, then they are an association (other
catagories could (I guess) be considered special cases of association, like
partnership, corporation, religious order, school, university etc)

 RS> All quite irrelevant when discussing your claim
 RS> that Fido is an unincorporated association. It aint.

Then, considering P4, the *Cs, Sysop Echos etc, what the fuck is it?

...Alex.
(Pagan & Proud)

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