Improper notice of special meeting given but all members attend without objection

[Nathan Zook]

Suppose there is a social function of the society.  Everyone shows up.  Two hours (and four drinks in) someone says, "You know.  I've been thinking.  We ought to do something.  Hey, mister president!  We should have a meeting right now!"

What would you advise?  How EXACTLY (as a matter of parliamentary rule) is this different from a hasty "special meeting"?  What precedent does a "hasty special" set in this regard?

The fact that, in the heat of the meeting, no one realizes that their decisions are ill-advised hardly obviates the fact that there is no properly held meeting.

In this thread, the discussion has exclusively referred to "the assembly".  In fact, the proper term is "the deliberative assembly".  This matters, because many (most?) of the rules exist explicitly to protect the society from itself.  The fundamental principle that a society can only act as a deliberative assembly at properly held meetings would seem to me to derive explicitly from the fact that the assemblies are to be deliberative.

If the society chooses, through the adoption of bylaws to such effect, to allow for emergency special meetings, then it may do so.  I would suggest that these be strongly limited in their scope, however.

As has been mentioned, the body can always (at a later, properly held meeting) ratify or repudiate actions taken by such a gathering.  That is, after everyone has had a chance to sober up.

[Guest Anonymous]

If a mandatory special meeting is called, abiding by the bylaws, and there is one objection due to that board member not being available, can we proceed? 

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 8/9/2023 at 4:48 AM, Guest Anonymous said:

If a mandatory special meeting is called, abiding by the bylaws, and there is one objection due to that board member not being available, can we proceed? 

Please start a new topic in the General Discussion forum: https://robertsrules.forumflash.com/forum/4-general-discussion/?do=add