Constitution of the World Cat Congress

• 5.1 The five foundation member organisations are:
  • The Australian Cat Federation Inc. (ACF)
  • The Cat Fanciers Association Inc. (CFA)
  • The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe)
  • The International Cat Association Inc. (TICA)
  • World Cat Federation (WCF)
• 5.2 The WCC can admit additional member organisations at its discretion. Such additional members shall be represented by the presidents or their designees. Their application for membership shall be put to the Executive Session of the Annual General Meeting by the nominator and seconder. Should the application be successful, the President or designee of the new member organisation will be entitled to participate in the remainder of the meeting provided the annual membership fee has been paid.
• 5.3 Any organisation seeking membership shall send an application to the WCC Secretary in line with the procedure described in article 7.8.2 . They shall be nominated and seconded in writing by two of the members and such nomination, together with all relevant details of the nominee as set out below, shall be communicated to the members with the agenda for the next meeting.
• 5.4 Admission to membership of the WCC shall be determined by a vote of a qualified majority of the member organisations.
• 5.5 Qualifications for membership:
  • 5.5.1 The organisation should represent at least 1000 individuals.
  • 5.5.2 The organisation shall have had at least ten year’s experience as a properly constituted cat registry or be comprised of a number of member bodies which conduct such registries.
  • 5.5.3 The organisation should have at least twenty appropriately qualified judges.
  • 5.5.4 The organisation should have demonstrated a willingness to co-operate with other cat organisations and its aims and objectives should be consistent with those of the WCC members.
  • 5.5.5 The organisation shall have a Code of Ethics containing the common minimum requirements.
• 5.6 A member organisation may, at any time, resign from the WCC by delivering a written notice of resignation, signed by two officers authorized to act on behalf of the member organisation.
• 5.7 In the event a member group, federation or affiliate of any WCC member organisation (i.e. ACF, CCCA, CFA, FIFe, GCCF, NZCF, SACC, TICA, WCF) is suspended or expelled from that WCC member organisation, it shall not be recognized in any way by other WCC member organisations. In the case of suspension, non-recognition would be reviewed at the appropriate time.
• 5.8 Should a WCC member organisation receive an application for membership from an affiliate or club of another WCC member organisation, they will notify the initial parent body of such an applicant prior to considering it. Should any dispute exist between the affiliate or club and its parent body, then the WCC member organisation receiving the application for membership will defer considering the application until such dispute has been either resolved by mutual consent or settled by litigation.

• 6.1 The affairs of the organisation shall be administered by an Executive Board to be made up as follows:
  • President
  • Vice-President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer (positions c and d may be combined)
    The President shall be elected on odd years. The Vice-President shall be elected on even years. The Secretary and Treasurer or Secretary/Treasurer shall be appointed in the same year as the Vice President.
• 6.2 All officers shall be elected from among the delegates present of the member organisations or shall be subject to appointment of suitably qualified persons by the delegates.
  Term of office: each officer shall be elected or appointed for a period of two years or until the AGM of the year in which the original term expires.
• 6.3 Responsibilities of Officers:
  • 6.3.1 The President:
    Represents the WCC on any official level.
    Guides the activities of the WCC.
    Chairs the Annual General Meeting.
  • 6.3.2 The Vice-President:
    Participates in any decision making at Executive level.
    Substitutes for the President as and when necessary.
  • 6.3.3 The Secretary:
    Deals with all correspondence.
    Keeps Minutes of all Meetings.
    Convenes all Meetings.
    Liaises with the host member regarding the Annual Meeting.
    Disseminates all information to the members.
    Liaises with any sponsor/s in connection with sponsorship.
  • 6.3.4 The Treasurer:
    Keeps true records of finances, records of receipts and expenditure in such a manner as the delegates may direct.
    Makes authorized payments.
    Presents a statement of account to the Annual General Meeting.
    Ensures that such accounts are audited annually by an independent person who is suitably qualified.
    Presents a budget for the current year to the Annual General Meeting.

• 7.1 Each member organisation is entitled to representation by one voting delegate and has one vote. A voting delegate can only represent one member organisation. In addition to a voting delegate, each member organisation will be entitled to a second person to act in an advisory capacity.
• 7.2 The location and date of each Annual General Meeting shall be decided, where possible, at least two years in advance at each Annual Meeting.
• 7.3 The physical Annual General Meetings of the WCC (the Business meeting) will be held in conjunction with an Open Meeting, a seminar and preferably a show run by the host member organisation.
• 7.4 All motions to be passed by a simple majority of the member organisations. All amendments to the Constitution shall be passed by a qualified majority of the member organisations.
• 7.5 The WCC may utilize electronic or postal voting instead of a physical meeting, at the discretion of any two of the President, Vice-President Secretary.
• 7.6 At all meetings of the WCC where questions of order or practice arise, the ruling of the Chairman shall be accepted as final.
• 7.7 A simple majority of the member organisations shall constitute a quorum.
• 7.8 Annual General Meeting – Proposals, Agenda and Minutes
  • 7.8.1 The member organisations of the WCC are convened by e-mail, sent 4 (four) calendar months prior to the date set for the WCC Annual General Meeting, and they shall send a receipt of confirmation to the WCC Secretary.
  • 7.8.2 The member organisations may send proposals and items for discussion and nominations on letter-headed paper, in an appropriate format by e-mail 2 (two) calendar months prior to the date set for the annual meeting the receipt of which shall be acknowledged by the WCC Secretary by e-mail.
  • 7.8.3 The Agenda for the WCC AGM, which shall include all proposals and discussion items, shall be sent by the WCC Secretary to all member organisations, by e-mail, 1 (one) calendar month prior to the date set for the AGM.
  • 7.8.4 Executive Session of the Annual General Meeting:
    • The Business Meeting may go into an “Executive Session” in which only the delegates, advisers and officers may be present.
    • Matters to be dealt with in this session may include:
      • Admission of new members
      • Matters of discipline
      • Sensitive financial matters
      • as well as
      • Any Matter which the Business Meeting decides should be included.
  • 7.8.5 The draft Minutes of the AGM shall be circulated to the WCC member organisations within 2 (two) months following the meeting and shall be acknowledged or amended within one month thereafter. The final version of the Minutes of the Business Meeting shall then be sent to the member organisations and posted on the WCC web site. The final version of the Minutes of the Executive Session shall be sent to the member organisations but shall not be published on the WCC web site.
• 7.9 Voting: A simple majority shall be 50% of the Members plus one and used for all decisions unless otherwise stated. Where a quaified majority is required, this shall be 75% of the Members.
• 8. Finance
  • 8.1 The financial year shall end on 31st December each year.
  • 8.2 All member organisations shall pay an annual membership fee. The amount of this fee shall be decided at each Annual General Meeting and shall be fixed in the currency of the country where the treasurer resides. This fee is intended to cover the running costs of the WCC.
  • 8.3 The current annual membership fee shall be paid not later than the 31st January each year. Non-payment of this fee shall preclude voting rights and official attendance at the Annual General or any other meeting, electronic or physical.
  • 8.4 Each of the member organisations is responsible for the travel and lodging and incidental expenses of its delegate. In the event of a show being held in conjunction with the Annual General Meeting, the host organisation should utilise the services of delegate or officer/judges, paying a previously agreed amount towards the travelling and other expenses of such delegate or officer/judges. Host bodies will not incur other expenses on behalf of WCC without prior consultation between the delegates.
  • 8.5 All WCC member organisations shall have the same travel allowance to attend the meeting.
  • For those delegates who receive compensation for possible Judging engagements in connection with the WCC or the weekends immediately preceding or after such meetings, this compensation will be deducted from the amount they may receive from WCC as travel compensation. If the host organisation chooses to pay a Judging fee, such fee shall be deemed to belong to the judge in question and has nothing to do with the travel compensation. In principle no travel compensation will be given if the meeting takes place on the continent of residence of the WCC delegate concerned, but the distance involved from the delegates residence to the meeting venue will be taken into account.
  • RULES FOR TRAVELLING EXPENSES:
  • 8.5.1. The annual allowance will be paid, upon receipt of a valid airline ticket.
  • 8.5.2. If the total of travelling costs is more than the annual agreed amount, the member organisation is responsible for the balance.
  • 8.5.3. WCC will pay each member organisation a set amount as determined every year during the meeting dependent upon the financial situation of the WCC.
  • 8.5.4. The amounts will be set every year during the meeting, dependent upon the financial situation of the WCC.
  • 8.6 The expenses of the three officers; the President, Vice-President and Secretary shall be paid by the WCC subject to the financial situation of the WCC and providing that the officer concerned is not attending as a delegate.
  • 8.7 In the event that the accumulated funds of the WCC are insufficient to meet the annual expenses, each member organisation shall contribute an equal share on receipt of an invoice from the Treasurer.
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World Cat Congress By-laws
1. All member organisations shall supply copies of their own breed codes to all other Secretariats, for ready identification/translation of colour and pattern on pedigrees.
2. Members shall not accept an affiliate club with a name which is the same as that of one of the member organisations.
3. Members shall ensure that their member clubs respect the dates of shows of other organisations.
4. All member organisations should report on the WCC in their own publications.
5. Regarding standards and the acceptance of new breeds in an organisation, the body of origin standard is to be closely adhered to and all standards for the same breed are to be very similar.
6. The annual membership fee, which is decided at the Annual General Meeting, shall be in Australian dollars and the costs involved in the transfer of the fee shall be met by the Member.
7. The costs of the business meeting shall be borne by WCC.
8. The Secretary shall receive an annual honorarium, the amount of which shall be decided by the delegates at each annual meeting.
9. All WCC members shall seek to make it mandatory that all breeding cats within their organisations be tested for any adverse hereditary condition if and when such genetic tests is available in their own country.  In the event that both parents of the cat in question have been tested negative for a specific adverse gene, further testing for that gene is not necessary.
10. In May 2013 it was decided that the WCC shall appoint a sub-committee to liaise and consult with specialists in the field of feline reproduction currently working with frozen semen artificial insemination in the cat to determine a protocol and guidelines for pedigree cat breeders wishing to utilise AI in their cats and to determine how best to monitor litters resulting from artificial insemination with frozen semen.
    The function of this sub-committee having been completed, it was therefore discharged in March, 2014.
11. Current Fees in Australian dollars:
    Annual Membership Fee: 400.00
    Secretary’s honorarium: 350.00 per month
    WCC Member Travel Allowance: 1,000.00
    Judge/Delegate travel fee: 250.00 per show day, payable by the Host Organisation
12. All WCC Members should, as a matter of courtesy, advise each other through the WCC Secretary, when new breeds or varieties are accepted or recognised in some official capacity by its organisation.
March, 2024
• 9. By-laws
  Decisions affecting WCC passed either at physical or electronic meetings by a simple majority of the delegates present shall become binding upon member bodies and shall constitute the WCC By-laws. However, this should not impinge on the right of each member organisation to conduct its own internal affairs according to its own constitution or rules.
read bylaws
• 10. Disciplinary Action
  • 10.1 Should any member organisation contravene the substance or intent of this constitution and/or the WCC By-laws, its membership of the WCC may be:
    1. suspended for a specified period, or
    2. expelled
    by a qualified majority vote of the members to that effect, the member organisation in dispute having no voting rights in the decision.
  • 10.2 If a WCC member organisation suspends or expels a judge, they shall inform all other WCC member organisations. The other WCC member organisations shall not accept such a suspended or expelled judge as their judge, unless the member organisation that suspended or expelled the judge has agreed in writing.
• 11. Dissolution
  In the event of the dissolution or winding up of the WCC by agreement in a qualified majority of the member organisations, following payment of all outstanding debts, any funds remaining in the account will be distributed in equal parts to the financial member organisations.

June, 2023

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