At an Extraordinary Meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 26th September 2020, Fellows considered a Resolution to change the Society’s Statutes in relation to the way in which the Society should in the future deal with allegations and complaints about the behaviour of Fellows. Council is delighted that Fellows have overwhelmingly voted to support this reform.
The Society will now implement the changes without delay. Council had long been concerned to remove judgements about the behaviour of Fellows which might lead to the termination of their Fellowship from the vote solely of those Fellows who can in person attend an Extraordinary General Meeting in London.
Following the example of other Societies, Professional Bodies and Charities, Council proposed new procedures, independent of Council, to deal with aspects of the conduct of Fellows which might be harmful to the interests and welfare of the Society. These include the adoption of a Code of Behaviours, that would support our existing Statement of Values, including some “hard triggers” that could or would lead to an investigation into the behaviour of Fellows.
Council will appoint an independent Ethical Conduct Body composed of Fellows and others to oversee and undertake this process. Its role will be to investigate cases of alleged infringement of the Code of Behaviours, or complaints about the behaviour of Fellows.
‘This will bring the Society into line with current good practice, appropriate and practical for an organization that now numbers some 3000 Fellows worldwide.’ Paul Drury, President