Bylaws of a Chapter

[SoCaly]

This question has to do with which bylaws to follow in a nonprofit with the following structure:  a national organization, with regional/satellite offices, and each regional/satellite office with volunteer chapter(s). 

The regional office has its own set of bylaws which outline the running of its chapters. 

Chapters previously did not have Chapter bylaws, rather a Chapter Manual Guide (CMG). 

Recently, the regional office restructured the CMG to include bylaws, but kept these new bylaws under the the cover/title of CMG. Is this even a thing (as in, can there be bylaws at several different layers of an organization)?

Is it possible for there to both be chapter bylaws and regional bylaws? If so, which takes precedence in the event of conflicting language? 

There is a differing of opinions on which of these documents to follow. Is this a question for parliamentary procedure or legal standing? 

[Atul Kapur]

"If the unit for which the bylaws are to be drawn up is subject to a parent organization or superior body, such as a state or a national society (or both), or a federation, the bylaws governing at these higher levels should be studied for provisions which are binding upon subordinate units in a way that must be taken into account. The bylaws of a subordinate unit need to conform to those of a superior body only on clearly requisite points. For example, if the superior body limits the size of its subordinate units to 200 members, the bylaws may not contain a higher limit. But the subordinate unit should not adopt provisions from the other document that have no local application, and the bylaws of the superior body should not require it to do so." RONR (12th ed.) 56:7 (emphasis added)

30 minutes ago, SoCaly said:

Is it possible for there to both be chapter bylaws and regional bylaws? If so, which takes precedence in the event of conflicting language? 

Yes. Conflicting language should be avoided.

[SoCaly]

Thanks, this is very helpful.