Section 21
Section 21
The following provisions shall apply to registered societies —
(a)
the movable property of a society, if not vested in trustees, shall be vested in the governing body of the society, and may be described, in any civil and criminal proceedings, as the property of the governing body of the society by its proper title, if known;
(b)
the immovable property of a society may, if not registered in the names of trustees, notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, be registered in the name of the society, and all instruments relating to that property shall be valid and effective as if they had been executed by a registered proprietor provided that they are executed by 3 office-bearers of the society whose appointments are authenticated by a certificate issued by the Registrar and sealed with the seal of the society;
(c)
a society may sue or be sued in the name of any one of its members as shall be declared by it, and registered by the Registrar as the officer of the society for that purpose and, if no such person is registered, it shall be competent for any person having a claim or demand against the society to sue the society in the name of any office-bearer of the society;
(d)
no suit or proceedings by or against a registered society in any civil court shall abate or discontinue by reason that the person, by or against whom the suit or proceedings has been brought or continued, has died or ceased to have the capacity whereof he has sued or been sued, and that suit or proceedings shall be continued in the name of or against the successor of that person;
(e)
(i)
any judgment in any such suit against a registered society shall be enforced only against the property of the society and not against the person sued or his property;
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(ii)
the application for execution shall refer to the judgment and to the fact that the party against whom it is to be recovered having sued or having been sued, as the case may be, on behalf of the society, and shall require the judgment to be enforced only against the property of the society;
(f)
any member of a society who —
(i)
fails to pay a subscription which, according to the rules of the society to which he belongs, he is bound to pay;
(ii)
owes money to the society;
(iii)
contrary to the rules of the society, takes possession of or detains, any property thereof; or
(iv)
injures or destroys any property of the society, may, in the manner provided under paragraphs (a) to (e) be sued for that subscription, money or for the damages accruing from such wrongful possession or detention, or injury or destruction:
Provided that if the defendant is successful in that suit and is awarded costs, he may elect to recover them from the officer in whose name the suit was brought or from the society and, in the latter case, may apply for execution against the property of the society;
(g)
any member of a society who —
(i)
commits theft of or dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use, any money or other property;
(ii)
wilfully and maliciously injures or destroys any property of the society; or
(iii)
forges any deed, bond, security for money, receipt or other instrument whereby the funds of the society may be exposed to loss, is liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he was not a member of the society;
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(h)
in the absence of specific provision in the rules of a society, any number not less than three-fifths of the members of the society resident in Brunei Darussalam may determine that the society shall be dissolved forthwith or at an agreed time, and all necessary steps shall be taken for the disposal and settlement of the property of the society, its claims and liabilities, according to any rules of that society applicable thereto and if none, then as the governing body shall direct:
Provided that if any dispute arises among the members of the governing body or the members of such society under this section, such dispute may be decided by the Registrar and any person aggrieved by his decision may within 30 days from the date of such decision appeal to the court.
Furnishing of information and order of dissolution.