CONSTITUTION of the STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION of
THE
We the Students of The George Washington University Law School, in order to form a
more perfect student government, establish justice and ensure the educational
values of student life, provide a responsive forum for varying student
viewpoints, encourage accountability among the students, faculty,
administration, alumni and surrounding community, promote the general welfare
of the student body, and secure a tradition of academic excellence and
professional growth to ourselves and our successors, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the Student Bar Association of The George Washington
University Law School.
Article I – Legislative Powers
Section
1. Vestment of Legislative Power
The legislative power herein granted shall be vested in a Senate of the Student
Bar Association; but the students reserve to themselves the power to propose
legislative measures and laws and to enact or reject the same at the polls,
independent of the Senate, and the students shall also have the power to
approve or reject at the polls any Act or item passed by the Senate, with such
exceptions as shall be herein provided.
Section 2. Senate of the
Student Bar Association
The Senate of the Student Bar Association shall be composed of the following
members: one at-large Division Senator from the Full-Time Juris
Doctorate Division, chosen every academic year by the students of the Classes
thereof; one at-large Division Senator from the Part-Time Juris
Doctorate Division, chosen every academic year by the students of the Classes
thereof; one at-large Division Senator from the Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridicial Science programs, known collectively as the
Post-Juris Doctorate Division, chosen every academic
year by the students of the Classes thereof; and an apportioned number of Class
Senators from each Class, chosen every academic year by the students of the
several Classes, in such manner and for such terms as shall be herein
specified. On any question that shall be before the Senate, the members thereof
shall each have one vote.
The Vice-President of the Student Bar Association shall preside over meetings of the Senate, but the presiding officer shall have no vote on any question before it, unless the Senate is equally divided. In the absence of the Vice-President, the Treasurer shall preside; and in the absence of the Vice-President and the Treasurer, the Secretary shall preside. The Senate may by law provide for the case of the absence of the Vice-President, the Treasurer and the Secretary, declaring who shall act as presiding officer; and such person shall act accordingly until the Vice-President, Treasurer or Secretary is present.
Class Senators shall be apportioned among the several Classes according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each Class. The actual enumeration shall be made within one year after the first meeting of the Senate, and shall thereafter be made every subsequent year, in such a manner as it shall by law direct. The number of Class Senators shall not exceed one for every eighty-five persons, but each Class shall have at least one Class Senator; and until such enumeration shall be made, the Full-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2005 shall be entitled to choose four, the Part-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2005 one, the Full-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2006 four, the Part-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2006 one, the Full-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2007 four, the Part-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2007 one, the Part-Time Juris Doctorate Class of 2008 one, and the Post-Juris Doctorate Class of 2005 one.
No person except a student of The George Washington University Law School shall be eligible for membership to the Senate. No person shall be a Division Senator who is not a student of a Class belonging to the Division that he or she shall be chosen to represent; and no person shall be a Class Senator who is not a student of that Class from which he or she shall be chosen.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any Division or Class, the President of the Student Bar Association shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise during a recess of academic classes, the President shall be empowered to make temporary appointments until the students of the Division or of the Class, whichever the case may be, fill the vacancies by election upon resumption of academic classes. In either case, however, the Division Senator or Class Senator shall be a student of the respective Division or Class that he or she is selected to represent.
The Senate shall have the sole power of impeachment for offenses against the Student Bar Association by malfeasance in office, corruption, dereliction of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor, but no person shall be impeached unless a majority of the members elected concur therein.
The court for the trial of
impeachments shall be composed of the elected members of the Senate; when sitting
for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation to try the impeachment
truly and impartially according to the evidence. The Chief Judge of the Student
Bar Association shall preside over all trials of impeachment, except in the
case of impeachment of the Chief Judge, when the Chief Pro Tempore shall
preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds
of the members of the court.
Judgment in cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the Student Bar Association; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to charge, hearing, judgment, and punishment, pursuant to the rules and regulations of The George Washington University Law School and/or The George Washington University.
Section 3. Election, Terms of
Office and Assemblage of Senators
The Senate shall prescribe the
Times, Places, and Manner of holding elections for Division Senators and Class
Senators.
The Senate shall hold one day of
elections in each semester. For the spring semester, the Senate shall prescribe
a day of elections which shall be no later than the last Wednesday in February.
For the fall semester, the day of elections shall be no later than the last
Wednesday in September. The Senate shall also prescribe for each semester an
auxiliary day for elections, to be invoked in the case of school closure or
other emergency; and the auxiliary day in each case shall be in a week
subsequent to the week for which the initial date is prescribed. In no case
shall the auxiliary day be later than fourteen days following the initial date.
All election results shall be ratified by the Senate within twenty-one days
following the day on which the election is held.
The Class Senator(s) from the
Full-Time Juris Doctorate Class that is in its second
year of study during the spring semester, and the Class Senator(s) from the
Part-Time Juris Doctorate Class that is in its third
year of study during the spring semester shall each be chosen in the election
held in the spring semester. They shall hold their offices for a term that
begins on the day the results of their elections are ratified and ends at
The Division Senator from the
Full-Time Juris Doctorate Division, the Division
Senator from the Part-Time Juris Doctorate Division,
the Class Senator(s) from the Full-Time Juris
Doctorate Class that is in its first year of study during the spring semester,
the Class Senator(s) from the Part-Time Juris
Doctorate Class that is in its second year of study in the spring semester, and
the Class Senator(s) from the Part-Time Juris
Doctorate Class that is in its first year of study during the spring semester
shall be chosen in the election held in the spring semester. They shall hold
their offices for a term that begins on the day the results of their elections
are ratified and ends on the day the results of the election held in the following
spring semester are ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
The Class Senator(s) from the
Full-Time Juris Doctorate Class that is in its first
year of study during the fall semester and the Class Senator(s) from the
Part-Time Juris Doctorate Class that is in its first
year of study during the fall semester shall be chosen in the election held in
the fall semester. They shall hold their offices for a term that begins on the
day the results of their elections are ratified and ends on the day the results
of the election held in the following spring semester are ratified.
The Division Senator from the Post-Juris Doctorate Division and the Class Senator from the
Post-Juris Doctorate Class shall be chosen in the
election held in the fall semester. They shall hold their offices for a term
that begins on the day the results of their elections are ratified and ends at
The Senate shall assemble at least once in every semester and as many times as it shall by law prescribe; and such meeting shall begin at eight o’clock post meridiem (8:00 p.m.) on the first Tuesday following the beginning of academic classes for a semester, unless the Senate shall by law appoint a different day or time.
Section 4. Proceedings and
Rules of the Senate
A majority of the members elected shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from meeting to meeting, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as the Senate may provide.
The Senate may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members
for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a
member from a meeting.
The Senate shall keep a record of
its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same and make it available
for public viewing, excepting such parts as may in its
judgment require secrecy in order to protect the general welfare of the
students. The yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire
of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the record.
The meetings of the Senate and of
the committees thereof that may be established shall be open to the student
body, unless when the business is such that two-thirds of the Senate deem it necessary that a meeting be closed.
A vote of two-fifths of the members
of the Senate shall be sufficient to call an emergency meeting of the full
Senate.
Section 5. Disqualifications
and Impeachment of Senators
The Division Senators and Class Senators of the Senate shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, malfeasance in office, corruption, dereliction of duty, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Section 6. Passage of Bills and
Joint Resolutions
Every Bill which shall have passed
the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of the
Student Bar Association; if the President approves, he or she shall sign it,
but if not he or she shall return it with his or her objections to the Senate,
who shall enter the objections at large on their record and proceed to
reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the Senate shall
agree to pass the Bill, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the vote
of the Senate shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the
persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the record of the
Senate. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within seven days
(Saturdays and Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him or
her, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he or she had signed it,
unless the Senate by their adjournment prevents its return, in which case it
shall not be a law.
Every Joint Resolution, except those that shall be passed in accordance with the provisions of the fifth Article of this Constitution, shall be presented to the President of the Student Bar Association; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by the President, or being disapproved by him or her, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a Bill.
Section 7. Initiative and
Referendum
The students of the Student Bar
Association shall have the power to enact laws independently of the Senate by
way of initiative. The students shall likewise have the power to approve or
reject any Act or item passed by the Senate by way of referendum, except those
items making appropriations for the expense of the Student Bar Association
government or for a student organization existing at the time of the passage of
such an Act.
The powers of initiative and of
referendum shall be invoked upon the receipt by the Secretary of the Student
Bar Association of a petition bearing the valid signatures of no less than
fifteen percent of the qualified electors of the Student Bar Association, and
such petition shall set forth the proposed measure at length. The Secretary
shall submit the measure thus proposed to the students of the Student Bar
Association at the first election held not less than twenty days after such
petition shall have been filed.
A measure initiated shall become a
law, and an Act or item referred shall be rejected, when a majority of the
respective votes cast thereon, and not less than thirty-five percent of the
total votes cast at the election at which initiative or referendum was
submitted, are cast in favor thereof; and the measure or rejection, whichever
the case may be, shall take effect upon proclamation by the President, which
shall be made within seven days after the official certification of the results
of the election. The veto power of the President shall not extend to measures
initiated or Acts or items rejected by the students.
If conflicting initiatives
submitted to the students at the same election are approved, the one receiving
the highest number of affirmative votes shall thereby become law as to all
conflicting provisions.
The same initiative, either in form
or in essential substance, shall not be submitted to the students,
affirmatively or negatively, more often than once in an academic year.
The limitations set forth in this Constitution regarding the scope and subject matter of laws enacted by the Senate shall in all cases apply to those enacted by initiative; and nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to abridge the power of the Senate to amend or repeal the provisions of an initiative which shall have become law, provided that such amendment or repeal shall comply with requirements set forth in the sixth section of this Article.
Section 8. Scope of
Legislative Power
The Senate shall have
power—To faithfully represent student views and promote student interests
to the administration, faculty, alumni and surrounding community in
consideration of issues involving academic, social, administrative and
community affairs;
To establish, execute and regulate
any program which it deems necessary through the appropriate officers, departments,
boards, committees, commissions, agencies, bureaus, clubs or organizations
directly recognized and funded by the Student Bar Association;
To recognize and sponsor, and to
withdraw recognition and sponsorship of, any student club or organization;
To impose fees to pay the debts and
disburse funds for the common welfare of the Student Bar Association; but all
fees shall be uniform throughout the Student Bar Association;
To establish and enact legislative
codes and rules of public governance and finances;
To provide for the participation of
the Student Bar Association in the prosecution of or defense against charges,
conduction of hearings, rendering of judgments, and issuance of punishments or
sanctions as may be appropriate under the rules and regulations of The George
Washington University and The George Washington University Law School;
To promulgate rules and procedures
for the conduction of elections and of votes for initiative measures and
referendums, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution;
To exercise exclusive legislation
and authority over all places and property occupied or controlled by the
Student Bar Association, and to dispose of and make all needful rules
respecting the property belonging to the Student Bar Association;—And
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the Student Bar Association, or in any officer, department, board, committee, commission, agency, bureau, club or organization thereof.
Section 9. Limitations on
Legislative Power
No money shall be drawn from the
treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular
statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money
shall be published from time to time.
The Senate shall pass no law that
violates the rules and regulations of The George Washington University Law
School or of the university at large, the municipal laws of the
Section
1. Vestment of Executive Power
The executive power shall be vested in a President of the Student Bar Association. The President and the Vice-President shall be elected in the spring semester and shall hold their offices for a term beginning on the date on which the results of their election are ratified and end on the date on which the results of the election held in the following spring semester are ratified; the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2. Executive
Election, Installation and Succession
The President and Vice-President
shall be chosen by the students of the Student Bar Association on the day of
the general election held in the spring semester, at the places where the
students shall vote for their Senators. The returns of every election for
President and Vice-President shall be compiled on distinct lists from each such
place, and said lists shall contain the names of all persons voted for as
President and all persons voted for as Vice-President. The lists shall be
signed and transmitted to the Vice-President, who shall publish them in the
presence of the members of the Senate. The person having the greatest number of
votes for President shall be President, if such number is a majority of the
votes cast for that office; and if no person shall have a majority, then the
students shall, in a run-off election, choose between the two persons having
the highest number of votes for President. In the event that the candidates in
the run-off election receive the same number of votes, the Class Senators of
the newly-installed Senate shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President.
But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by Class, the
representation from each Class having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall
consist of a Class Senator or Class Senators from two-thirds of the Classes, and a majority of all Classes shall be necessary to
a choice. The person having the greatest number of votes for Vice-President
shall likewise be Vice-President, if such number is a majority of the votes
cast for that office; and if no person shall have a majority, then the students
shall, in a run-off election, choose between the two persons having the highest
number of votes for Vice-President. In the event that the candidates in the
run-off election receive the same number of votes, the election shall be
decided in like manner as in the case of the President. The administration of
election contests for the offices of President and Vice-President shall be in
such manner as may be prescribed by law.
No person except a student of The
George Washington University Law School shall be eligible to the offices of
President or Vice President.
In the case of the removal of the
President from office or of his or her death, resignation, or inability to
discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the Vice-President shall
become President.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the
office of the Vice-President, the President shall nominate a Vice-President who
shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of the Senate.
The Senate may by law provide for
the case of removal, death, resignation or inability both of the President and
Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President; and such
officer shall act accordingly, until the disability is removed or a President
is elected.
If, at the time fixed for the beginning
of the term of the President, the President-elect shall have died, become
incapacitated, failed to qualify, or otherwise opted not to assume the powers
of the Presidency, the Vice-President-elect shall become President. The Senate
may provide by law for the case wherein neither a President-elect nor a
Vice-President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President,
or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person
shall act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have qualified.
Whenever the President transmits to
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate his or her written declaration that he
or she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his or her office, and
until he or she transmits to the President Pro Tempore a written declaration to
the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice-President
as Acting President.
Before entering on the execution of his or her office, the President shall take the following oath or affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the Student Bar Association, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Student Bar Association.”
Section 3. Powers of the
President
The President shall be the chief
enforcer of the provisions contained within this Constitution, and shall take
care that the laws be faithfully executed and that the affairs of the
government be properly administered.
The President shall represent the
Student Bar Association to the faculty and administration of The George
Washington University Law School and of the university at large, to the Student
Association of The George Washington University, to the American Bar Association,
and to the community at large.
The President shall commission all
the officers of the Student Bar Association and shall receive representatives
from external organizations; commissions and grants shall run in the name of
the Student Bar Association and be attested to by the President. The President
may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their
respective offices; and he or she shall hold a meeting of all such executive
department heads no less than twice a semester.
The President, or at the discretion
of the President, the Treasurer of the Student Bar Association, shall present a
report to the Senate no less than once a semester concerning the budget and
financial status of the Student Bar Association.
The President, or his or her
designee, shall have power to make external contracts on behalf of the Student
Bar Association. Such contracts shall not require the consent of the Senate,
provided that the contracted price does not exceed the allocated budget of the
contracting entity.
The President shall nominate, and
by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the Senate shall appoint
directors of executive committees, student members of faculty committees,
Judges of the Supreme Court and inferior courts, and all other officers of the
Student Bar Association whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided
for, and which shall be established by law; but the Senate may by law vest the
appointment of such inferior officers, as it thinks proper, in the President
alone, in the Supreme Court, or in the directors of executive committees.
The President shall, as soon as
practicable after his or her election, nominate a Treasurer and Secretary of
the Student Bar Association to serve subordinate to the President, in
accordance with the provisions of the sixth clause of this section.
The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies in non-elective offices that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the next meeting of the Senate, unless a majority thereof shall otherwise approve the appointments, in which case the officers shall serve as if appointed under sixth clause of this section.
Section 4. State of the
Student Bar Association; Special Sessions of the
Senate
The President shall from time to
time give to the Senate information on the State of the Student Bar
Association, and shall recommend to their consideration such measures as he or
she shall judge necessary and expedient.
The President may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Senate by proclamation, stating therein the purpose for which they are convened, and the members of the Senate shall enter upon no business except that for which they were called.
Section 5. Disqualification
and Impeachment of the President, Vice-President, and other Executive Officers
Neither the President nor the
Vice-President shall be a member of the Senate during their continuance in
office. Nor shall they hold any office, elective or appointive, under the
authority of the Student Association of The George Washington University; and
no person holding any such office under the authority of the Student
Association shall be President or Vice-President during his or her continuance
in that office.
The President, Vice-President and all other executive officers of the Student Bar Association, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, malfeasance in office, corruption, dereliction of duty, or other high crimes and misdemeanors, in accordance with the sixth, seventh and eighth clauses of the second section of the first Article.
Section
1. Vestment of Judicial Power
The judicial power of the Student Bar Association shall be vested in one Supreme Court consisting of a Chief Judge and four Associate Judges.
Section 2. Chief Judge
Presides; Administrative Authority; Qualifications of Judges
The Chief Judge shall preside at
all terms and sittings of the Supreme Court, and in
his or her absence or disability the Judges present shall select one of their
number Chief Pro Tempore.
In accordance with rules
established by the Supreme Court and not in conflict with other provisions of
this Constitution and laws governing such matters, the general administrative
authority over all courts in the Student Bar Association shall be vested in the
Supreme Court and shall be exercised by the Chief Judge. The Chief Judge shall
be the executive head of the courts and may appoint an administrative director
thereof.
The Judges of the Supreme Court shall be students of The George Washington University Law School, and shall hold their offices during good behavior until their respective date of graduation, transfer to another school, failure to enroll for a fall or spring semester, resignation, death or removal from office.
Section 3. Extent of Judicial
Power
The Supreme Court shall have the
power to review all actions and decisions of the various committees of the
Student Bar Association created under the authority of this Constitution;
provided that standing to challenge the action or decision of a committee of
the Student Bar Association shall be limited to members of such committee, or
to students of The George Washington University Law School who can show by
clear and convincing evidence that they have been subject to a concrete and
particularized injury as a result of such action or decision.
The Supreme Court shall have the
power to review any legislation enacted pursuant to the first Article of this
Constitution, and any action taken in the administration thereof, for
consistency with the provisions of this Constitution; provided that standing to
challenge the constitutionality of such legislation or action taken in the
administration thereof shall be limited to members of the Senate, or to
students of The George Washington University who can show by clear and
convincing evidence that they have been subject to a concrete and
particularized injury as a result of such legislation or action taken in the
administration thereof.
In no case shall jurisdiction
extend to matters involving appropriations or budgetary decisions by the Senate,
the Treasurer, or members of any financial committees that may be created by
the Senate.
The Supreme Court shall have the
power of review over the dismissals of all unelected executive officers of the
Student Bar Association.
The Supreme Court shall have the
power to issue advisory opinions on any matter certified to it by a vote of no
less than one-fourth of the members of the Senate, but such power shall not be
construed to diminish the power of the judiciary to review the
constitutionality of legislation pursuant to the second clause of this section.
The Supreme Court shall have the
power to review and resolve any other dispute or controversy submitted to it by
a vote of no less than one-fourth of the members of the Senate, consistent with
the provisions of this Article.
Pursuant to its powers of review
under this Article, the Supreme Court may, at its discretion and whenever
practicable, fashion declaratory or equitable relief for any party which it
finds to be aggrieved. Such relief shall be consistent with the provisions of
this Constitution, the rules and regulations of The George Washington
University Law School and the university at large, and the laws of the District
of Columbia and the United States, and shall not substantially interfere with
the ability of the Student Bar Association and its officers to discharge their
duties effectively. Any judicial invalidation of legislation, done pursuant to
the power granted in this section, shall be manifestly within the interests of
the student body.
Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to limit or eliminate the right of any student to make and pursue a claim to the administration of The George Washington University Law School or the university at large, in accordance with the operative procedures and guidelines thereof.
Section 4. Disqualification
and Impeachment of Judges
No Judge of the Supreme Court shall
be a member of the Senate, or otherwise hold any other office, elective or
appointive, under the authority of the Student Bar Association. Neither shall
the Judges of the Supreme Court hold any office, elective or appointive, under
the authority of the Student Association of The George Washington University;
and no person holding any such office under the authority of the Student Association
shall be a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the inferior courts during his or
her continuance in that office.
The Judges, both of the Supreme Court and inferior courts, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, malfeasance in office, corruption, dereliction of duty, or other high crimes and misdemeanors, in accordance with the sixth, seventh and eighth clauses of the second section of the first Article.
Article IV—Students
Section
1. Studentship, Due Process and Equal Protection
All persons who are enrolled in a
degree-granting program or otherwise registered for academic credit upon the
student rolls of The George Washington University Law School are students of
the Student Bar Association and of the Class to which they belong.
No student shall be deprived of any right which shall be created under this Constitution without due process of law; nor shall any student be denied the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Rights and
Qualifications of Electors
The right of a qualified elector to
exercise the franchise shall not be infringed; and the votes of the students in
all elections, initiatives, and referendums shall be by ballot or by such other
method as may be prescribed by law, provided that secrecy in voting is
preserved.
No person shall be a qualified
elector for any office established under this Constitution, or for any
initiative or referendum proposed, who is not a student of the Student Bar
Association.
No student shall be a qualified elector for a Division Senator unless that student is also a student of a Class belonging to the Division that said Senator shall be chosen to represent; and no student shall be a qualified elector for a Class Senator unless that student is also a student of the Class from which said Senator shall be chosen.
Section 3. Other Rights
Retained by the Students
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the students.
The Senate, whenever two-thirds of the members of the thereof deem it necessary, shall by Joint Resolution propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the receipt and certification of the Secretary of the Student Bar Association of a petition bearing the valid signatures of no less than one-fourth of the qualified electors of the Student Bar Association, shall call a convention for proposing Amendments, which in either case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution when ratified by three-fourths of the Classes of the Student Bar Association, or by conventions in three-fourths of the Classes (if a majority of the qualified electors in each such Class have concurred in the formation of the convention thereof), as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Senate.
Section
1. Separate and Distinct Branches of Government
The legislative, executive and judicial branches of this government shall be separate and distinct, and no person or collection of persons being one of these branches shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except as heretofore directed or permitted.
Section 2. Previous Governing
Instruments and Laws Null and Void; Exceptions
Upon the ratification and
establishment of this Constitution, all previous governing instruments of the
Student Bar Association, and all laws made in pursuance thereof, shall, on the
date this Constitution takes effect, be null and void, provided:—That all
debts contracted and engagements entered into before the ratification of this
Constitution shall be as valid against the Student Bar Association under this
Constitution as under the preceding system of student government which it
shall, upon its effective date, supercede;
That on the date this Constitution
takes effect, the student serving as Vice-President for the Full-Time Juris Doctorate Division under the previous and superceded
governing instruments shall become the Division Senator for that Division, and
the student serving as Vice-President for the Part-Time Juris
Doctorate Division under said instruments shall become the Division Senator for
that Division; and a Vice-President shall be chosen consistent with the fourth
clause of the second section of the second Article of this Constitution;
That unless otherwise provided
herein, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to affect the tenure,
term or status of any person holding any elective office in the Student Bar
Association on the date this Constitution takes effect;—And
That all persons holding any such elective offices shall retain their office until the ratification of the results of the first spring semester election held after the date this Constitution takes effect, or conversely, where appropriate, until such time as the semester in which said election is held shall conclude.
Section 3. Supremacy of
Constitution; Uniform System of Government; Oath of Office
This Constitution, and the laws of
the Student Bar Association which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all
external contracts made or which shall be made under the Student Bar
Association, shall be the supreme law of the student body of The George
Washington University Law School; and all student organizations shall be bound
thereby, any thing in the constitutions or policies of those organizations to
the contrary notwithstanding.
The right to a uniform system of
governance being fundamental to the harmony and unity of the student body, no
government independent of, or separate from, the government established herein
shall be elected or established within the jurisdiction of the Student Bar
Association.
The Division Senators and Class Senators, and all executive and judicial officers of the Student Bar Association shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the Student Bar Association.
Article VII—Ratification and Establishment
Section
1. Method of Ratification
The ratification of the conventions of six Classes shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution, which shall be enrolled and deposited in the archives of the Student Bar Association; and printed copies shall be prefixed to the books containing the laws of this Student Bar Association, and all future editions thereof.
Section 2. Effective Date
This Constitution, once duly
ratified by the method set forth in the first section of this Article, shall
take effect on the first day of September in the year Two Thousand and Four,
and on that date the officers of the Student Bar Association shall thenceforth
proceed to faithfully perform the business of government under the authority
and guidance of this Constitution of the Student Bar Association of The George
Washington University Law School.
Done in
Convention by the unanimous consent of the Classes present the twenty-fourth
day of February in the year Two Thousand and Four, and in the year of The George
Washington University Law School the one hundred fortieth. In witness whereof,
we have hereunto subscribed our names:
|
Attest: Debora Motyka
Vice President for the Day
Division and Delegate from the
The Full-Time Juris
Doctorate Class of 2004 William E. Wilder The Full-Time Juris
Doctorate Class of 2006 |
Eveylon Corrie
Westbrook
Vice President for the Evening
Division and Jane Yanovsky The Full-Time Juris
Doctorate Class of 2005 Arkan El-Seblani The Post-Juris Doctorate Class of 2004 |