At least three months before the beginning of a general chapter, each socius shall send to all the voters at the general chapter a careful assessment of the more serious problems within the area for which he is appointed.

1. Other socii foster the mutual relationships of the provinces with the Master of the Order. They help him by communicating the decisions and the directives of the central government to the provinces committed to them, and by knowing the provinces well, and according to the plans of the Master of the Order, by frequenting them often, and also by visiting them in his place. However, they enjoy no jurisdiction over individual provinces.
2. Their chief function is to help the provinces and to promote collaboration between those of the same region, putting into practice what is said about this in nn. 390-395. If the Master of the Order so decides, they may also be put in charge of some secretariats.

To the assistant for fraternal life and formation in the Order these especially pertain:

1. to help the Master of the Order in all things which pertain to fraternal life and religious formation of the brethren, whether initial or ongoing [permanentem].
2. to help all the provinces, that they might provide for the religious formation of the brethren and for the flourishing of fraternal life;
3. when possible, to gather together the masters of initial formation as well as the promoters of permanent formation of one or several regions.
4. to facilitate for the provinces the instruction and the formation of the formators as well as the augmentation and execution of the plans of the provincials pertaining to ongoing formation.

1. The main duties of the socius for the intellectual life in the Order are:
   1. to help the Master of the Order to promote the Order’s doctrinal mission according to n. 90, § II;
   2. to help all the provinces make the best possible provision for both the initial and permanent intellectual formation of the brothers;
   3. to deal with all matters which pertain to centres of study under the immediate jurisdiction of the Master of the Order, including scientific institutes and the Leonine Commission;
   4. at suitable times to bring together the regents and promoters of one or more regions; to foster congresses, etc.;
   5. to deal with the Holy See concerning studies in the Order.
2. Other duties, which might impede him in the exercise of his office, shall not be imposed on the socius for the intellectual life.

The main duties of the socius for the apostolate in the Order are:

1. to assist the Master of the Order in everything which concerns the ministry of the word;
2. to deal with problems arising from the apostolic life and evangelization for the whole Order;
3. as a special responsibility, to negotiate with the Holy See on behalf of the Order’s missions, to help the Master of the Order to govern the missions, and to gather and communicate information about them.

1. The minutes of the sessions, signed by the Master of the Order and the secretaries, together with the documents pertaining to the chapter itself, shall be placed in the archive of the Order.
2. The printed acts of the chapter shall be sent as soon as possible to all the provinces; there shall be at least two copies in every convent of the Order, and they shall be read in the manner laid down by the chapter.

A general chapter, under the presidency of the Master or vicar of the Order, shall be conducted in the following manner:

1. on the day before the commencement of the chapter: 
   1. the credentials of the voters shall be examined by three of the brothers designated by the president. Serious difficulties shall be referred to the voters of the chapter;
   2. at least two secretaries shall be appointed by the president and they may be assisted by other secretarial staff;
   3. three revisers shall be designated from the voters with the consent of the chapter. It will be their task to verify in due time the texts that have been approved;
   4. the president, having consulted the chapter, shall confirm the allocation already made of chapter members to the various commissions, which may be modified if he deems it opportune.
2. The chapter shall begin with the celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit. After the homily, in the prayer of the faithful, petitions shall be made for the successful outcome of the chapter and for the living and the dead.
   1. In the first plenary session of the general chapter, the method of procedure shall be discussed;
   2. the commissions begin their work. The chairman of each commission, having heard the preference of the other members, shall appoint a secretary from among the voters or other participants who shall record accurately the minutes of the commission; a commission shall conduct and conclude all business by public or secret votes; the chairman of a commission shall report to the president of the chapter as well as to the chapter itself in plenary sessions. The written resolutions of each commission shall be distributed to all the voters as well as the other participants before the plenary sessions;
   3. the Master shall give a report on the state of the Order;
   4. the Master shall give a report on his personal receipts and expenses to the commission on economic administration which shall inform the chapter about it;
   5. in an elective chapter, the election of the Master of the Order shall be conducted on the fifth day from the beginning of the chapter;
   6. the voters with the Master shall discuss chapter matters and shall make decisions by majority vote; there shall be a secret vote when the president or a significant number of the voters request it. If the votes are equal, the matter shall be remitted for further examination and a new vote. If the voting is still equal, the president of the chapter shall break the tie with his vote. Questions shall be resolved by way of admonition, declaration, or ordination, and if a new constitution is to be formulated, this shall be done without ambiguity;
   7. voters may propose questions for discussion even while the chapter is under way, and they shall determine the schedule for discussing them;
   8. within two days after every session, the minutes as well as the approved texts verified by the revisers shall be set out in a suitable place so that they can be examined by all. If a doubt is raised about an approved text, the revisers shall refer the matter to the chapter as soon as possible;
   9. the time and place of the next chapter shall be noted in the acts;
   10. during the chapter, the acts shall be prepared and signed by the president, the revisers, and the secretaries.
3. If the Master happens to be away from the chapter, he shall appoint a vicar from among the vocals who will take his place in all matters.

Not later than two months before a general chapter, each prior provincial shall send to the Master of the Order an accurate report, approved by the provincial council, concerning
the state of the province. This report shall be in the form designed for this purpose by the general council in which the more serious problems and statistical aspects shall be set out clearly. A copy of this report shall be distributed to each of the voters at the chapter.

1. Once the chapter has been convoked, the brothers who have the right to do so shall send to the Master or vicar of the Order the petitions and questions which they wish to propose to the chapter.
2. The following, apart from the members of the chapter, may submit petitions and questions:
   1. all major superiors, the socii of the Master of the Order, and the procurator general;
   2. any chapter and council and also the moderator team of a centre of studies;
   3. any religious provided that his proposal is countersigned by at least five brothers who have active voting rights, or is presented by a member of the chapter who shall judge whether the petition ought to be submitted or not;
   4. monasteries or federations of our nuns; provincial or national councils of fraternities of St Dominic.
3. Councils general or federations of congregations aggregated to the Order may submit their requests and suggestions concerning the Dominican family to a general chapter.
4.  
   1. Questions to be submitted to the general chapter by those who have the right or authority to do so shall be sent to the Master of the Order six months before the chapter;
   2. they shall be set down briefly in Latin or a modern language accepted by the general council and submitted on as many separate pages as there are separate questions.
5.  
   1. The Master of the Order shall see to it that the questions mentioned in § IV, 1, assigned to different commissions according to differing material, are conveyed to each member of the chapter as soon as possible;
   2. members of these commissions are: brothers with voting rights in the chapter (as provided for in nn. 407 to 409-bis) and the socii of the Master of the Order (as provided for in n. 410);
   3. the voters shall at once let the Master of the Order know which three commissions they wish to belong to, in their order of preference, while acknowledging the Master’s right to arrange things freely according to the needs of the chapter;
   4. the Master of the Order shall then appoint the presidents of the commissions and inform the capitulars about the commission to which each has been assigned so that in the meantime they may study very carefully the questions which have been assigned to their own commission.

The Master of the Order shall appoint a secretary general of the chapter who shall have charge of everything that pertains to the preparation and organization of the chapter.