New York | Constitutional Law
Legal Question
The meaning of the word ''MAY'' and ''SHALL''
When used in the constitution of an Association, how do the words ''may'' and ''shall'' differ?
The amendment provision of our Association's constitution says:
1. ''The National Council ''may'' decide to invite ALL members of the National Council to vote by mail if ANY of the members are absent''
2. ''Amendments of the constitution and by-laws ''shall'' be adopted by 2/3 majority of the National Councilmembers, who vote within two months of intimation of the amendments''
The question is, from (1) above, is the National Council REQUIRED to invite all National Council members to vote by mail, or does the national council has the OPTION to INVITE OR NOT TO INVITE all members of the national council to vote by mail?
A supplementary question is is the 2/3 majority required of ALL National Council members or, the members who are voting?
In a nutshell, does the word ''may'' provides an OPTION (to invite or not to invite)
Note: The word ''shall'' is used 64 times in the constitution, and every time it implies a mandatory action. On the other hand, the word ''may'' is used 5 times and we are not sureit implies a mandatory action or an optional action.
Thanks for you help
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Legal Answer
Re: The meaning of the word ''MAY'' and ''SHALL''
"Shall" means "must." "May" means "can, but need not".
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Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman 12301 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90025
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Re: The meaning of the word ''MAY'' and ''SHALL''
Shall is mandatory; may is permissive.
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Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC PO Bx 984 Los Lunas, NM 87031-0984
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