Minutes of the 9th EIN Annual General Meeting
MINUTES OF THE 9th EIN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
on Tuesday 17th October 2006, at Garden Court Chambers, London
Present (identified from attendance sheets):
Name / Organisation
A Shaw / EIN trustee
Jo Pettit / IAS
Keith Best / EIN trustee
Graham Brown / EIN trustee
Gail Elliman / EIN trustee
Innocent Okwuosa / EIN trustee
Michael Ellman / Jack Benson Solicitors
Geoffrey Care / Immigration Appellate Authority
Kahiye Alim / Asylum Aid
Colin Bascom / Pathway Housing Association
Mark Symes / HJT
Finn Jensen / EIN Trustee
In Attendance
Louis Julienne / EIN staff member
John Dean / EIN staff member
Introduction to the meeting
The Chair, Keith Best gave an introduction to EIN, including a brief history and paid tribute to two of its founders, Finn Jensen and Milan Shah for their vision and hard work in helping bring the organisation forward in its tenth year. He paid a special tribute to Alan Havern, who had passed away a few months earlier, for the valuable work and commitment he had shown to EIN over the years.
Keith Best described how EIN has continued to develop its products and services in order to help its members interpret a rapidly changing environment and improve the quality of work carried out across the sector by representatives, adjudicators, policy makers and others. He stated how EIN continues to diversify its membership base: As well as having a solid base of representatives, EIN is a provider to the Department of Constitutional Affairs' Interim Judicial Portal, and has a growing body of academic members, as well as those drawn from the Home Office and overseas organisations.
Keith Best recognised that in a changing environment, EIN needs to respond to the needs of its members and help them make the most of their online research. A new project had been developed and represented the start of a new stage in the organisation's development as it develops new services to help its members respond to the challenges of a new legislative environment and funding regime.
He congratulated the EIN staff team for playing a key role in EIN's work over the year. He also acknowledged the important work of the members of the Board of Trustees who continued to support and guide the organisation. He ended by thanking EIN's members for their continued support during 2005 and EIN's funders, Lloyds TSB Charitable Trust, Nuffield Foundation and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
John Dean presented a memo to the Chair. The Chair accepted the memo but it was not dealt with as no notice had been given.
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1 Apologies
Apologies from: David Jones (EIN Trustee), Habib Rahman (JCWI), Shami Chakrabarti (Liberty), Maggie Crabtree (EIN).
2 Minutes of 2005 AGM and matters arising
The Minutes of the AGM of 2004 were approved. There were no matters arising.
3 Election of the Trustees and new Trustees, Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer
a) Anne Shaw was re-appointed unanimously as a Trustee of EIN.
David Jones was re-appointed unanimously as a Trustee of EIN.
b) Keith Best reported that he would step down as Chair as he felt he had been in the position too long and it was time for someone new to take over. Gail Elliman was nominated as Chair and seconded by Graham Brown. The nomination was accepted unanimously.
Keith Best paid tribute to Gail Elliman for her sterling work and commitment as a Trustee and Vice-Chair of the organisation.
c) Anne Shaw nominated Finn Jensen as Vice-Chair and seconded by Innocent Okwuosa. The nomination was accepted unanimously.
d) Innocent Okwuosa was re-appointed unanimously as Treasurer.
4 Special Resolutions
a) Resolution 1
NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS
Article 9. It is proposed that the passing of a special resolution shall be called by at least 42 days rather than 60 days notice.
The resolution was proposed by Finn Jensen and seconded by Anne Shaw. The resolution was accepted unanimously.
b) Resolution 2
PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
Article 12(b) It is proposed that the quorum for any General Meeting shall be reduced from fifteen members to seven members.
The resolution was proposed by Graham Brown and seconded by Finn Jensen. The resolution was accepted unanimously.
c) Resolution 3
TRUSTEES' EXPENSES
Article 37. It is proposed that the payment to a trustee for professional services rendered be incorporated in the charity's Articles of Association subject to permission being granted from the Charity Commission.
The resolution was proposed by Finn Jensen and seconded by Innocent Okwuosa . The resolution was accepted unanimously.
d) Resolution 4
NOTICES
Article 56(b). It is proposed that a notice given by the charity to members should also include that notice be sent electronically through email.
The resolution was proposed by Anne Shaw and seconded by Michael Ellman. The resolution was accepted unanimously.
5 Presentation of the Annual Report and Accounts
Keith Best presented the 2005 Annual Report and Accounts. Anne Shaw proposed that the 2005 Annual Report and Accounts be adopted by the meeting. Gail Elliman seconded the proposal. The 2005 Annual Report and Accounts were adopted unanimously as an accurate and true record of the situation of EIN during 2005.
6 Appointment of Auditors
Graham Brown proposed that EIN's current auditors be re-appointed as auditors for year 2006. The proposal was seconded by Innocent Okwuosa. It was agreed unanimously that the current auditors, Castleryce Ltd. incorporating Subhash Shah, should remain as EIN's auditors for 2006 subject to further agreement on fees and terms and conditions.
7 Any Other Business
Gail Elliman moved for a vote of thanks to Keith Best for steering the organisation as Chair to the prominent position it presently occupies in the immigration field. This was endorsed unanimously by the meeting.
There was no other business so Keith Best thanked all those present and ended the meeting.
A Brief History of Gail Elliman
Armed only with a degree in English and Drama, in 1988 I abandoned a tenuous career in the world of music and entertainment to study for the bar. I have worked in the field of immigration and asylum since qualifying in 1990, working for UKIAS (which then became the Immigration Advisory Service) as an advisor and a representative before the courts as well as being engaged in training, lobbying and policy work We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun those were heady, youthful days when there was no legal aid for advice or representation, no rights of appeal for asylum-seekers, no Human Rights legislation at all, and the Citizens' Directive was not even a twinkle in Luxembourg's eye.
I became an Immigration Adjudicator in 2000 - and am now a part-time Immigration Judge. I am also Assistant Deputy Coroner for Southwark Coroner's Court. In the meantime I continue to contribute to various publications and to be engaged in training projects for judges and practitioners.
My involvement with the EIN began when I became a freelance indexer, keen to engage with a project that was going to enable practitioners to use technology to easily access information. When I first practiced in this field our sources of law were little other than a few bits of legislation and nothing more than a copy of MacDonald and the JCWI Handbook graced my bookshelves We never knew how lucky we were.
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I have now been a Trustee of EIN since 2000 and Vice Chair from 2001. During that time we have seen an ever-increasing body of case-law and successive governments with an unstoppable addiction to immigration legislation. Nevertheless my enthusiasm for the very human world of immigration law remains, as does my enthusiasm for the very technological world of EIN as a means of finding our way through the maze. We are a small organisation with a very large database of information - through both the EIN and HJT databases. Nevertheless we continue to operate with four dedicated staff members and volunteers all of whom are committed to our aims and to our members.
With the support of funders, members and partners I intend to ensure that the future of EIN continues to be secure so that we can provide the best and most up-to-date legal information for the users whom we serve - the community organisations and practitioners, judiciary, academics, researchers and others. I want to see EIN providing as broad a range of information as possible to as broad a range of users as possible. Increasing European harmonisation means that we need to look further for our sources of law but our own case law is providing a bedrock for many of the principles emerging from the EU. We are here only to provide you with the tools for your trade and I hope that we will continue to provide both the quantity and the quality of information that you (and your clients) deserve.
EIN Appoints a New Director and New Trustees
EIN appointed Louis Julienne as its Director after the departure of Helen Wadham, who left to pursue post-graduate studies. Louis Julienne was acting Director during Helen Wadham's maternity leave from January 2006 and was confirmed in the post in July 2006.
Louis Julienne brings with him over 25 years' experience of working in the voluntary sector in education, housing, health and youth and community work. For the past 9 years he has been a management consultant working in the voluntary, public and private sectors.
"I am relatively new to the world of immigration; my background is in management consultancy in the voluntary and community sectors and journalism," said Louis Julienne. "To help bridge my knowledge gap I intend consulting with EIN's membership over the coming months to find out more about what members do and how EIN can improve its service delivery to their needs. I am very excited by the prospect of leading EIN into a new era and helping it to continue delivering a first class service to its members."
NEW EIN TRUSTEES
Arif Iqbal and Daniel Francis have been appointed as EIN Trustees. Arif Iqbal is a barrister currently undertaking work experience with Heartlands Solicitors in order to cross-qualify as a solicitor. He was President of Wolverhampton University Law Society. His experiences include fund raising and collection of medical goods for India/Pakistan Earthquake Relief.
Daniel Francis is an experienced manager including management consultant in India, 5 years with IBM and three years as a Project Manager with Accenture. He has a particular interest in the rights of refugees, particularly those fleeing conflict
Gail Elliman (Chair)
Finn Jensen (Vice-Chair)
Vanessa Davies (Treasurer)
Keith Best
Graham Brown
Daniel Francis
Arif Iqbal
John Kelly
Electronic Immigration Networtk (EIN)
The Progress Centre, Charlton Place, Manchester M12 6HS
Tel: 0845 458 4151
Fax: 0845 458 0051
Email: admin@ein.org.uk
Web: http://www.ein.org.uk
EIN is a not-for-profit company Limited by Guarantee.
Registered in England No: 3273715
Registered Charity No: 1059147