In the life of any organization, ranging from a civil association to publicly held corporations, the most important decisions are made by the group of people constituting all the members or business owners/shareholders. It is a legal requirement to inform such persons of the meeting where all important matters are discussed and decided.
Since the meeting so convened is supposed to have power in all important matters affecting the life of the organization in question, the means of calling the stakeholders is also of utmost importance.
You will find relevant information on this page about how to draft such notices.
Generally speaking, the earlier you give notice the better. On the other hand, the relevant laws set forth the minimum period of notice, such as 8 or 21 days before the date of the meeting. If a notice is given only after such deadline, the resolutions taken at the unduly called meeting may be challenged.
The exact requirement as to the content is specified by the relevant laws. Again, in general, the basic requirement is to specify the date and place of the meeting, the description of the meeting, the agenda and reference to the rules related to quorum, as well as the contact details of the person giving the notice.
The law requires the exact form to give a notice. Notices of meeting of an organization where the members can be identified and reached through mail or e-mail, can generally be served in the relevant postal or electronic means. Shareholders of publicly held corporation can be informed through a newspaper, by inserting a public notice.
It may happen that the number of attendees do not reach the number required to establish a quorum for the relevant meeting. In this case, the meeting needs to be adjourned and another meeting has to be called. Some experienced professionals include a reference to the date and place of the adjourned meeting in order to avoid having to repeat the entire process of calling a meeting again.
Based on the Bylaws of the Corporation, notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of [COMPANY NAME] will be held in [VENUE] on [DATE] at 10.00 A.M. for the purpose of transacting the business set out in this notice.
Please note that a simple majority of the shareholders is required for a quorum at the AGM.
Please find attached the agenda of the meeting.
Should you have any questions, please contact [NAME OF SECRETARY] directly at the following address.
This is a document used to inform the members of the Board of Directors that a meeting will be held on a specified date.
Notice of Annual General MeetingThis is a more complex notice to invite members of any organization to the Annual General Meeting. The template can be filled with relevant information.
If you want to learn more, check out our free Legal English e-books!
Download the e-books here!
If you prefer to learn legal English on your own, buy a study book on the terminology of civil law.
Terminology of Civil Law study book
