CIUTI Statutes

1.Title - Statutes - Objects
2.Members
3.General Assembly
4.Council
5.Budget, Accounts
6.Final arrangements

Annex to the Moniteur belge of 24 November 1994, p.8513. Identification number: 18477/94

Chapter 1: Title - Statutes - Objects

§ 1 Title

An international Association of scientific and pedagogical status is hereby founded under the title of: "Conférence Internationale Permanente d'Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes (CIUTI)".

This Association is governed under Belgian law by the act of 25 October 1919, as amended by the act of 5 December 1954.

§ 2 Head Office

The head office is currently situated in Mons (Ecole d'Interprètes Internationaux de l'Université de Mons Hainaut, avenue de Champ de Mars 17 - 7000 Mons).

The head office may be transferred to any other location in Belgium, by resolution of the annual general meeting, published in the appendix to the Moniteur belge in the same month as that of the meeting.

§ 3 Objects

The mission of CIUTI, which is devoid of any profit motive, is to:

a) harmonise syllabuses and examinations, in order to promote student mobility between member institutions and thus to facilitate total operationalisation of available training resources;

b) promote and develop student and staff exchanges;

c) ensure collaboration between members in research and in development of new teaching methods and establish mutual assistance in the preparation of documentation;

d) sustain and promote concerted action by members in their relations with international organisations and their linguistic services, other institutions of an international nature having to do with the training of interpreters and translators, as well as the international Associations of interpreters and translators.

Chapter 2: Members

§ 4 Composition

The Association is composed of members who are signatories, represented by their delegates, and of any members admitted at a later date.

It is composed of active members, who alone enjoy voting rights, and of associate members.

§ 5 Active members

The status of active member may be granted to any institute, legally constituted in terms of the laws and practice of its own country, which is statutorily part of a higher education institution or constitutes such in its own right and which has a management executive and a teaching staff who are able to guarantee professional training at higher education level.

Each active member may cast one vote at general assemblies.

§ 6 Admission of new active members

I. Terms of admission

Membership shall be open to those institutions which:

a) are recognised institutions of higher education or statutorily form part of a such an institution;

b) admit as matriculated students and as candidates to final examinations only those in possession of a recognised entry qualification to higher education in the country concerned;

c) have a management executive and a teaching staff able to guarantee a level of training commensurate with the standards of an institution of higher education and with the requirements of professional interpreting and translating.

II. Admission procedures

Admission of new members shall be subject to a decision of the General Assembly carried by a two-thirds majority of members present, including a vote in favour by member institute(s) whose home country is the same as that of the candidate.

If such institute(s) vote against admission of the new member, the admission procedure shall be postponed until the following ordinary general assembly of the Association, at which admission may be approved by a three-quarters majority of members present, notwithstanding any negative vote cast by such institute(s).

§ 7 Associate members

The general assembly may grant associate membership to institutes, Associations or organisations who are interested in the activities of or promotion of the aims of CIUTI.

§ 8 Obligations, cessation of membership, exclusions

In joining the Association, members shall be committed to the statutes, internal regulation and decisions taken by the general assembly.

Membership shall cease upon receipt by the president of written notice of resignation at least four weeks before the opening of the following ordinary general assembly.

If any member ceases to fulfil one or several of the conditions listed under § 3, paragraph 1, that member shall inform the president immediately and, at the latest, four weeks before the opening of the following ordinary general assembly. The Association shall decide whether membership shall remain in force and, if so, on what conditions.

Any decision concerning suspension or exclusion of a member, following the opportunity being granted to that member to speak in their own defence, shall be ratified by a three-quarters majority of members present at the general assembly, excluding the member concerned, who shall abstain. The decision to exclude deprives the institution in question of membership.

Suspension of a member shall deny that member the right to exercise the rights of membership, until such time as a three-quarters majority of members present shall decide otherwise.

Excluded or resigning members shall have no rights over the funds of the Association and may not claim reimbursement of membership subscriptions.

§ 9 Subscriptions

In joining the Association, active members undertake to pay the annual subscription. The amount and due date of such subscription shall be determined at each ordinary general assembly meeting.

Any member who has been excluded from the Association, has resigned or has had his or her membership invalidated shall remain liable to pay the annual subscription until he or she actually leaves the Association.

Any member institute which has not paid annual subscriptions, including that of the current year, shall be denied the right to vote at the general assembly.

The financial assets of the Association derive essentially from the subscriptions and contributions of member institutes.

The treasurer shall be responsible for the proper administration of all available resources and for their deployment. He or she shall inform the Executive Committee (bureau) of the financial situation of the Association and shall present accounts as and when requested to do so. Moreover, he or she shall, in advance of each session of the Council, prepare a financial report to be presented in the name of the Executive Committee of the Association.

In the name of the Council, the treasurer shall present to the general assembly a detailed report of the outcome of the audit of ledgers and accounts for the previous calendar year.

The general assembly shall appoint two auditors who shall remain in office until the following general assembly, at which they shall report on the outcome of their audit. Members of the Council may not be appointed as auditors.

CHAPTER 3: General Assembly

§ 10

The general assembly shall be fully empowered to fulfil the objects of the Association. It is composed of all active members and shall meet at least once per year.

§ 11

Each active member shall be represented by one person delegated by the member. Each delegate may have an alternate, also appointed by the member. Each active member shall pay the expenses of its delegate and his/her alternate.

§ 12

The general assembly shall define the general policy of the Association. It shall be the sole body responsible for appointing and dismissing members of the Council (administrateurs), for approving budgets and accounts, for amending the statutes, for dissolving the Association and for excluding a member. It shall be presented with the annual report of the outgoing Council.

§ 13

Except it be decided otherwise, the general assembly shall make valid deliberation only if two-thirds of active members are present or represented by another active member. Excepting special amendment of the present statutes, decisions shall be taken by simple majority of active members present or represented.

Each active member may cast one vote only.

§ 14

Without prejudice to § 5 of the Belgian act of 25 October 1919, any proposal to amend the statutes of the Association must be made by the Council or by at least one-fifth of the active members.

The Council must give at least three months' notice to the members of the Association of the date of the general assembly which will give a ruling on the said proposal.

No resolution shall be valid unless it is supported by a two-thirds majority of votes cast. Nevertheless, if this general assembly does not bring together two-thirds of the active members of the Association, a new assembly shall be called with the same agenda. This new assembly shall give a definitive and valid ruling on the proposal in question, whatever the number of members present or represented.

Amendments to the statutes shall have effect only when the conditions of notification defined in article 3 of the Belgian act of 25 October 1919 have been fulfilled.

§ 15

The ordinary general assembly shall be called once per year by the general secretary of the Council.

The latter shall also be responsible for calling extraordinary general assemblies upon request of the Council or if one-fifth of the active members should demand it.

In this case, the general assembly must be called within a maximum period of three months. The agenda and the notice of the place at which the assembly will be held shall be communicated in writing to active members at least thirty days prior to the date of the assembly. The general assembly shall meet at a place and on a date decided by the preceding assembly.

If, for unavoidable reasons, the general assembly were unable to meet at the chosen place and date, the general secretary shall without delay notify member institutes and shall invite them to indicate the nearest date on which they would be able and willing to host the general assembly. Such offers shall then be considered and accepted by a vote of the Executive Committee (bureau).

The agenda of each general assembly shall be determined by the President.

All decisions are recorded in a register signed by the president or by two members of the Council (administrateurs) and shall be made available to members by the general secretary.

All expenses relating to the organisation of the meeting shall be met by the member institute whose director or nominee presides over the general assembly.

Any substantial common expense may be shared among members, according to a scale determined by the general assembly for each particular case.

CHAPTER 4: Council (conseil d'administration)

§ 16

The Association shall be administered by a Council consisting of at least three members. Members of the Council (adminstrateurs) shall be appointed by the general assembly for a period of three years. Their mandate shall be renewable. At least one member of the Council must be of Belgian nationality.

The mandate of a member of the Council expires: a) upon his or her decease; b) upon his or her resignation; c) when he or she no longer belongs to the member institute he or she was part of at the time of election; d) when the member institute to which he or she belongs ceases to be a member of the Association.

§ 17

The Council shall have full power to manage and administer the Association with the exception of the attributions of the general assembly. It delegates the day-to-day running of the Association to the Executive Committee (bureau). The Council reports to the general assembly, to which it is responsible.

§ 18

The Council shall elect from among its members an Executive Committee (bureau) composed of the following officers:

a president,
three vice-presidents,
a treasurer,
a general secretary
and, if necessary, one or several members of the Association.

None of these offices is remunerated and it is forbidden to hold more than one concurrently.

The Executive Committee shall be elected for the same period as the Council. It shall report to each session of the Council, to which it is responsible. The role of the Executive Committee is to conduct the day-to-day business of the association.

The current Executive Committee is composed of the president, three vice-presidents, the treasurer and the general secretary.

§ 19

The Council shall meet whenever it is in the interest of the Association that it should do so. It may hold valid deliberation only when at least half of its members are present or represented. Each member of Council (administrateur) may be represented by another member of Council. Decisions shall be taken by simple majority of those present or represented. No member of Council may dispose of more than one proxy.

Resolutions shall be recorded in a register signed by the president or by two members of Council and held by the general secretary who shall make it available to members of the Association.

§ 20

All deeds which commit the Association shall, except where special proxy is arranged by the general assembly, be signed by two members of Council.

§ 21

Legal proceedings, be they prosecuted or defended, shall be pursued at the behest of the Council, represented by one of its members designated to this end.

CHAPTER 5: Budget, Accounts

§ 22

The Association's year ends on 31 March.

The Council shall be responsible for submitting to the approval of the general assembly the accounts.

CHAPTER 6: Final arrangements

§ 23

The general assembly, convened according to the same rules as those for the amendment of statutes, may, in the presence of three-quarters of the active members, dissolve the Association and delegate to a representative responsibility for distribution of the assets of the Association.

If the quorum of three-quarters of the membership is not present, the general assembly shall be convened again three months later and may then make valid deliberation whatever the number of members present.

Dissolution may be decided upon only by a two-thirds majority of members present.

§ 24

All matters not covered by these statutes and, in particular, publications to be made in the appendix to the Moniteur belge, shall be dealt with in conformity with Belgian law.

§ 25

The general secretary shall be fully empowered to carry out the formalities of registration of the statutes of the Association.