The Students' Union works under a set of rules we refer to as the Constitution. This is made up of several documents which govern various areas.

Core Constitution

The Core Constitution are the over-riding documents that set out the Students' Union's existence and objectives. These are high-level documents that are not easy to change, and are required by law.

Name	Description	Who can amend/change it?
Articles of Association	This is the legal document that creates the Students' Union as a Company Limited by Guarantee, in accordance with Section 18 of the Companies Act 2006. It describes the role of the Trustee Board, their powers and how they can make decisions.	A Company Law Meeting with a 75% majority vote
Code of Practice on the Students' Union	This document sets out various rules as to how the Students' Union must comply with the requirements of Section 22 of the Education Act 1994. It covers various aspects of the Students' Union, such as the right to free and fair elections, and how students may make complaints about the Students' Union.	The University of Manchester

Bye-Laws

The Bye-Laws are documents that supplement the Core Constitution by setting out rules and regulations for various areas of the Students' Union's activities in more detail. Bye-Laws can only be changed with the consent of the Senate and the Trustee Board.

Name	Description
Affiliations	Sets out the procedure for how the Students' Union becomes or ceases to be affiliated to any external organisation.
Annual Members Meeting	Describes the procedures and powers of the Annual Members Meeting.
Complaints	Sets out the Students' Union complaints procedure
Elections	Sets the procedure for all cross-campus elections.
Membership	Sets out the rules relating to membership of the Students' Union.
NUS	Sets out the rules governing the Union's link with the National Union of Students.
Officers of the Union	Sets out the roles of the Union's Officer, their duties and responsibilities, including Scrutiny procedures.
Policy	Describes how the Students' Union policy is set and implemented.
Referendums	Sets the procedure for All Student Votes.
Senate	Sets out the rules and procedures of the Student Senate.
Senate Committees	Sets out the composition and rules of the Senate's Committees.
Societies	Sets out the rules affecting Societies.
Student Media	Sets out the rules affecting Student Media.
Trustee Appeals	Describes the process for hearing an appeal of a Trustee against their removal by the Board.
Trustee Board Committees	Describes the role, composition and procedure of Trustee Board Committees.

Supplementary documents

Some of the Bye-Laws provide that extra rules may be created to go into even more detail than what is already in the Bye-Laws. These documents have the same validity as the Bye-Law themselves.

Membership

Name	Description	Who can amend/change it?
Code of Conduct	This document sets out binding rules on how students must behave. It also sets out the procedures for investigating and acting upon complaints.	Trustee Board

Elections and Referenda

Name	Description	Who can amend/change it?
Elections Complaints Procedure	Describes the specific procedure for making complaints about elections.	Deputy Returning Officer
Candidate Regulations	Sets out the guidelines on acceptable conduct for candidates. (Student Officer Elections 2014 version)	Returning Officer
Election Appeals Procedure	Governs the conduct of appeals made against the Returning Officer.	Trustee Board

Societies

All Society documents can be amended or changed by the Activities and Development Officer.

Name	Description
Guidelines on registering a Society	This sets out the rules for applying to create a new society or renew a registration of an existing society.
Society Model Constitution	This is the default Constitution for any Society. It applies to all Societies unless they create a bespoke Constitution that either supersedes or expressly revokes it.
Guidelines on Society membership	Sets out the rules for applying to become a member of a Society.
Guidelines on member and officer registers	Sets out the rules for keeping the register of members and officers.
Guidelines on removing a member of a Society	Sets out the rules for applying to remove a person from being a member of a Society.
Society Election Regulations	Governs the conduct of all elections of Officers of a Society.
Society Financial Regulations	This document sets out how Societies may access their funds held by the Students' Union. It also specifies how Treasurers must keep accounts.
Guidelines on Society Grants	Sets out how Societies may apply for grant funds from the Students' Union.

Student Media

Name	Description	Who can amend/change it?
Student Media Code of Conduct	This document sets out binding rules on how Media Outlets and students involved in Student Media must behave when producing or publishing content.	Activities and Development Officer, with the advice of the Media Group Committee