 |
Statutes
Download as PDF
STATUTES OF THE INTERNATIONAL INPUT-OUTPUT ASSOCIATION
Approved by the ordinary General Assembly held on June 27, 2012
§
1 Name, seat and activities of the Association
The name of the Association shall
be “International Input-Output Association” (in German:
“Internationale Gesellschaft für Input-Output-Analyse”)
and it shall have its seat in Vienna. The activities of the
Association shall not be restricted to Austria only.
§ 2 Objectives and purpose
The main objective of the
Association shall be the advancement of research in and teaching of
all areas of input-output analysis. The Association shall also
promote the integration and use of input-output applications and
techniques in other scientific disciplines.
The Association shall be non-profit
making, its sole aim being the achievement of non-profit purposes as
set forth in these statutes.
These objectives shall be achieved
by:
Promoting the exchange of
scientific experience between members of the Association.
Organizing public lectures and
events, especially scientific conferences.
Publishing a scientific journal as
well as other relevant scientific publications.
Supporting scientific studies.
Supporting relevant educational
institutions and libraries.
Widening access to scientific
publications and relevant statistical data.
Encouraging and promoting
scientific research and teaching.
Co-operating with scientific
associations and institutions of a similar kind and pursuing similar
objectives.
Providing financial support to
members.
Awarding prizes for outstanding
scientific achievements.
Carrying out any other activities
that are expedient with respect to achieving the object of the
Association.
§ 3 Funds of the Association
The Association shall draw the
necessary funds for performing its activities from membership dues,
donations, subsidies as well as income and gains from the assets of
the Association.
§ 4 Membership
The Association shall have
regular, institutional and honorary members.
All scholars and other qualified
(natural) persons, independent of sex, race, religion and
nationality, who are actively engaged in the field of input-output
analysis, input-output statistics and related scientific fields can
become regular members of the Association.
Legal entities, irrespective of
whether private or public, resident or foreign, as well as
partnerships and institutions with legal capacity, in particular
corporations under public law, companies, foundations, associations,
etc. may become institutional members of the Association.
Institutional members must pay a special, higher membership fee.
These (institutional) members shall have the right to name up to
three persons who will basically hold all rights and duties of
regular members, with the exception of the payment of membership
fees.
Persons who have made themselves
particularly deserving with regard to the Association or its
objectives may be appointed as honorary members.
§ 5 Rights and duties of the members
All members shall be committed to
promoting the interests of the Association; institutional members
shall contribute to these goals at least by paying the special
membership fee.
Regular members (and the persons
named by the institutional members) shall be entitled to participate
in scientific events organized by the Association and to make use of
its infrastructure. In addition, they shall be entitled to
participate and vote in the General Assembly, and to hold the active
and passive voting right to the Council of the Association.
Honorary members shall have the
same rights as the regular members of the Association.
The members shall provide prompt
payment of the membership fees in the valid amount set.
§ 6 Acquisition and loss of membership
Members shall be admitted by the
Management of the Association. Institutional members shall also
report the persons named by them (representatives) to the
Management. If a representative is recalled from his/her function or
leaves the Association, his/her successor must also be reported to
the Management. If an institutional member ceases to be a member of
the Association, its representatives shall also lose their
membership rights.
If a member fails to pay its
membership fees for two consecutive years despite a written
reminder, its membership shall automatically be terminated. This
shall, however, not affect the member's duty to pay the membership
fees due.
Members who wish to leave the
Association may do so as at December 31 of any year. The declaration
of withdrawal in writing shall be sent to the Management of the
Association by November 15 (date of receipt) at the latest. If the
declaration of withdrawal is received at a later date, it shall
become effective only as at the last day of the following year. This
shall, however, not affect the member's duty to pay the membership
fees due.
Membership shall also expire upon
the death of a regular member and/or the loss of legal capacity of
an institutional member.
In case of gross violation of its
membership duties or dishonourable conduct, the Council may exclude
a member. In the above case, the Council may also recall
representatives from their function and revoke honorary memberships
granted.
§ 7 Notifications
Notifications and invitations to
the members as well as communications and notifications to the
Association may be sent in writing, by fax or by e-mail. In case of
doubt about the identity of the sender of an e-mail, the recipient of
the message may require a confirmation of the message in writing or
by telefax, with timeliness of the e-mail message being maintained if
confirmation is sent promptly by the sender.
§ 8 Organs of the Association
The organs of the Association shall
be the General Assembly, the Council, the Management and the
Auditors.
§ 9 The General Assembly
An ordinary General Assembly shall
be held at least every four years, if possible in the context of an
international input-output conference. It may also be held outside
of Austria. Reports of the Council and of the Auditors must be
prepared annually and made available to the members in written form.
An extraordinary General Assembly
must be held within four weeks upon application by at least one
tenth of the regular members, and upon request by the Council, the
Management or the Auditors.
All members must receive an
invitation to attend the General Assembly, ordinary or
extraordinary, including the agenda. The invitation shall be sent by
the Secretary of the Association, and shall be dispatched at least
three weeks before the date on which the General Assembly will be
held.
If convened properly, the General
Assembly shall be quorate if at least thirty members entitled to
vote are present.
Elections and the passing of
resolutions by the General Assembly shall generally require a simple
majority of the votes cast. However, resolutions by which the
statutes of the Association are to be amended or by which the
Association is to be dissolved shall require a qualified majority of
two thirds of the valid votes cast.
The General Assembly shall be
chaired by the President; if s/he is not available, it shall be
chaired by the Vice-President, or by the Managing Director, if the
Vice-President is not available either.
§ 10 Tasks of the General Assembly
The following tasks shall be
reserved for the General Assembly:
Approval of the management
reports and the annual accounts (prepared since the last General
Assembly).
Fixing of the membership fees.
Appointment of the Auditors.
Passing of resolutions on
amendment of the statutes and on dissolution of the Association.
Dismissal of Council members.
Passing of resolutions on other
motions or issues submitted to the Association by the Management or
the Council.
§ 11 The Council
The Council shall consist of nine
elected members, the members of the Management and one of the
editors of a scientific journal (published, if applicable) as well
as up to three co-opted members.
The nine members to be elected
shall be elected from among the members of the Association, by all
members and representatives who are entitled to participate in the
General Assembly.
Elections shall take place in
written form by letter, telefax or e-mail, or also by means of an
electronic voting system that ensures confidentiality of the voting
procedure.
The elected members shall serve
for a term of three years, the term of office commencing in each
case on January 1 of the year following the election; each year,
three Council members shall be elected. Immediate re-election after
expiry of a Council member's term of office shall be possible only
once. If any Council members should, for whatever reason, resign
during a three-year term, a number of members shall be elected for
the remaining period of the term that ensures that the number of
Council members elected is restored to nine.
In order to ensure a smooth
transition from the rules concerning the Council terms applicable
until June 2012 to the currently applicable rules, the following
addendum to §11(4) shall apply:
Of the four Council members
elected for the term starting in 2013, three will serve for a
five-year term (2013-2017); the member elected with the smallest
number of votes will serve a three-year term (2013-2015).
The three Council members elected
for the term starting in 2016 will be elected for a four-year term
(2016-2019).
Starting with the 2018 term, three
Council members shall be elected each year, for a three-year term
each.
Co-opted members shall serve for a
restricted term of one up to a maximum of three years. Co-opted
members may be re-appointed.
The Secretary shall manage the
election of the Council members.
All members of the Association
shall be entitled to nominate, by September 30 of each election year
at the latest, up to three members of the Association as candidates
for Council election; nominations shall be sent to the Secretary.
Within two weeks, the Secretary
shall ask all persons nominated whether they are ready to run as
Council candidates, and shall – within four weeks after expiry
of the nomination deadline – prepare and send to all members a
list of all candidates who are willing to run for Council election.
Each person entitled to vote may,
within two weeks, elect up to three candidates; the (three)
candidates winning most of the votes shall be elected. In the event
of a tie between two or more persons elected, lots shall be drawn.
The election results shall be made available to the Auditors and
shall be checked by them.
Within two weeks after receiving
the votes cast, the Auditor shall establish the election results,
and the Secretary shall inform all members, in particular those
elected as Council members, about the result of the elections.
After the election, the new
Council shall elect a President and two Vice-Presidents from among
the nine members elected. They shall represent the Council to the
outside. The President's and the Vice-Presidents' term of office
shall also commence on January 1; they shall serve for three years.
The President and the Vice-Presidents may be re-elected only once.
§ 12 Council operations
The Council shall be chaired by
the President, in case of his/her absence it shall be chaired by the
older Vice-President; if the latter is also absent, it shall be
chaired by the younger Vice-President.
The Council shall be quorate if
more than 50 % of its members are present, in any case including the
President and one of the Vice-Presidents. Council resolutions shall
be adopted by simple majority of the votes cast. In case of a tie,
the chairman shall have the casting vote.
The members of the Management shall
not be entitled to vote in resolutions concerning the Management or
including instructions issued to the Management.
(3) The
Council shall operate on the basis of Bylaws drawn up by itself.
Resolutions amending the Council's Bylaws shall require a qualified
majority of two thirds of the valid votes cast.
(4) Issues
that need to be dealt with before the next meeting may also be
resolved by way of circular resolution or through an electronic
voting system. All Council members need to be informed about such
motions including reasons; as regards the quorum and the majority of
votes required, para. 2 shall apply accordingly.
(5) Council
meetings shall be convened by the President, and in case of his/her
absence by one of the Vice-Presidents. They may instruct the
Management to convene a meeting. In urgent cases, the Management,
too, may convene a Council meeting.
(6) Council
members shall hold honorary offices. They shall, however, be entitled
to reimbursement of demonstrable costs incurred by them in the
context of their activities for the Association, provided they have
obtained the Secretary's or Treasurer's consent before actually
incurring these costs.
§ 13 Council tasks
The following tasks shall be
reserved for the Council:
The Council shall adopt the basic
resolutions on the activities of the Association.
The Council shall appoint the
Secretary and the Treasurer.
The Council shall approve the
management report and the annual accounts as well as the annual
budget.
The Council shall decide on all
scientific matters of the Association, and shall in particular plan
and organise the scientific conferences held by the Association.
The Council shall decide on
publication of any scientific journal or other scientific
publications. If a scientific journal is published, the council
shall appoint its editors and a scientific advisory board, if
required.
The Council shall decide on
granting funds to scientists and the award of scientific
prizes/distinctions/honours or prizes/distinctions/honours for
outstanding services provided to the Association.
The Council may install committees
or task forces that deal with specific tasks or projects.
The Council shall be entitled to
invite non-members to attend meetings and events organized by the
Association, and to pass on published material to non-members if
this appears useful.
The Council shall decide on the
exclusion of members, recall of representatives of institutional
members, as well as on conferment and withdrawal of honorary
membership.
If an Auditor resigns during
his/her term of office, the Council may nominate a substitute, whose
term of office shall extend until the next General Assembly.
The Council may give instructions
to the Management in individual instances but also on how to run the
Association in general.
The Council shall resolve on its
Bylaws.
§ 14 Management
The Management of the Association
shall include the Secretary and the Treasurer. The members of the
Management shall be appointed for a term of five years; they may be
re-appointed.
The members of the Management, too,
shall hold honorary offices and shall be entitled to reimbursement of
expenses incurred.
§ 15 Tasks of the Management
The Management shall be in charge
of the management of the Association in all legal and administrative
issues that are not under the responsibility of other organs of the
Association. Its tasks shall include:
Preparation of activity and
financial reports for the Council.
Preparation of an annual
management report and annual accounts, as well as preparation of a
budget for the next two years, within three months after the end of
the year at the latest.
Preparation of the General
Assembly.
Organization of Council elections.
Implementation of the Council's
resolutions and decisions, as well as following its instructions.
Convention of a Council meeting
according to § 12, as well as an extraordinary General Assembly
acc. to § 9 (2).
§ 16 The Secretary
The Secretary shall be head of
administration of the Association and shall be responsible for
handling day-to-day business. S/he shall represent the Association to
the outside and shall have sole signatory power in all matters
concerning the Association.
In all matters that carry financial
implications, s/he shall obtain the Treasurer's consent in advance.
In cases involving amounts of up to € 1,500.00, the Secretary
may also sign alone.
§ 17 The Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be responsible
for administration of the Association's funds, for keeping its books,
and for preparing the annual accounts and the annual budget, the
latter in collaboration with the Secretary.
S/he shall have sole signatory
authority for all matters in this context, in cases where an
individual transaction amounts to less than € 1,500.00; in
transactions involving higher amounts, the Treasurer shall sign
jointly with the Secretary.
§ 18 The Auditors
The General Assembly shall elect
two Auditors for a term of three years, one of whom must be a
business trustee qualified to work in Austria. Reappointment shall be
admissible. Persons who are not members of the Association may also
be appointed as Auditors.
They shall be responsible for
checking the financial management of the Association and for auditing
the financial reports and the annual accounts. They shall report to
the Council at least once a year, and otherwise to the General
Assembly; in case of any noteworthy issues, they shall inform the
Council (the President) without delay.
§ 19 The Journal
If the Association publishes a
scientific journal or other scientific publications, these shall in
any case be made available to its members at cost price or lower.
§ 20 The Arbitration Panel
(1) All
disputes arising from the association shall be settled by an
Arbitration Panel (not a court of arbitration under § 577 et
seq. Civil Code).
(2) The
Arbitration Panel shall consist of five members. It shall be
constituted in such a way that each litigating party shall within ten
days nominate two members (or representatives) as arbitrators to the
Council. These arbitrators shall elect a Chairman of the Arbitration
Panel from among all members, based on a majority of the votes cast.
In case of a tie, the Auditor elected from the pool of business
trustee qualified to work in Austria shall chair the Arbitration
Panel.
(3) The
Arbitration Panel shall take its decisions in the presence of all
members, based on a simple majority of the votes cast. The
Arbitration Panel shall decide to the best of its knowledge and
belief, after having heard both litigating parties. Its decisions
shall be final within the Association.
§ 21 Dissolution of the Association
Voluntary dissolution of the
Association can only be resolved upon at a General Assembly convened
for that purpose, and only with a majority of two thirds of the
valid votes casts.
This General Assembly shall also
resolve upon liquidation of the Association, provided it has assets.
In particular it shall nominate a liquidator and pass a resolution
as to whom the remaining assets shall be transferred after the
Association's liabilities have been covered. To the extent that it
is possible and permissible, these assets shall be transferred to a
scientific organization which pursues purposes similar to or
identical with those of the Association.
§ 22 Designations referring to persons
For all designations in these
statutes referring to persons, the term chosen shall apply to both
genders.
|
