Definition : Board of directors - Quorum

It is possible to make a decision without having a meeting. Article 354 of the Civil Code of Québec recognizes the value of a written resolution: "Resolutions in writing signed by all the persons qualified to vote at a meeting are as valid as if passed at a meeting of the board of directors, at a general meeting or at a meeting of any other organ”. Co-owners and directors may make a decision by the means of a resolution in writing, without any general meeting of the board of directors or meeting of co-owners being held as such. This mechanism is provided by law, when it is not essential for a meeting or a general meeting to be convened, since the salient points of the subject to be discussed have already been dealt with, to everyone’s satisfaction. This is to avoid cumbersome formalism, although written resolutions should be used with caution and parsimony.

In order for the board of directors to validly deliberate and make decisions, the declarations of co-ownership generally provide that a minimum number of directors must participate to the meeting. This requirement is called the quorum. Unless the board of directors is composed of a single director, the quorum at a meeting of the board of directors is generally set by the By-laws of the immovable by a majority of the current directors. Recall that the quorum is defined in order to ensure the representativeness and authority of the board of directors. It avoids decision-making by a limited number of directors. Therefore, it must be checked at each board meeting.

  Section 339 of the Civil Code of Quebec establishes as a basic rule that the term of office of a director is one year. The By-law of the immovable usually describe all the terms and conditions specific to the office of director, including the duration of his mandate. Thus, a syndicate of co-owners may, at the end of the By-law of the immovable, extend the duration of the building to more than one year (for example to two or three years). At the end of the stipulated term, the term of office shall continue if it is not denounced. Consequently, if no co-owner objects to the actions of the directors, they may continue to exercise the powers conferred on them. A director remains in office until the next annual meeting, whether before or after the end of one year. He is a director at the meeting until he has been replaced by the election of a new director in order to prevent the syndicate from being without a director in the event that the election cannot be held at that time as a result of an adjournment or otherwise.