Statutes of the European Association of Political Consultants
amended at the founding meeting on September 14th, 1996 in Vienna. Changed at the Member Assembly 2002 in Innsbruck.
ARTICLE I. Definition
The European Association of Political Consultants (EAPC) is a society of individuals who are actively involved in tasks of communication concerning the political as well as the public area.
ARTICLE II. Targets
The targets of the EAPC are:
- development, support and maintenance of democratic processes
- mutual exchange of information and experience
- support of co-operation and understanding beyond all borders
ARTICLE III. Working field
The working field of the EAPC cover all countries which are members of the European Council.
ARTICLE IV. Membership
The EAPC distinguishes between the following types of memberships:
Regular membership
shall be open to persons who have been active as consultants in the field of political or public affairs.
Associated membership
Teachers, professors, students, active politicians, political journalists and others; associated members are entitled to take part in all meetings but do not have the right to vote.
Honorary membership
the General Assembly may grant honorary membership to deserving personalities. Honorary members have their membership and right to vote for lifetime.
ARTICLE V. Admission/Fees
Applicants for the EAPC membership have to present two actual members of the EAPC as their supporters. The decision to accept or reject an application is made by the Board. A candidate, whose application is rejected, shall be entitled to reapply fo membership at the next Gerneral Assembly.
The amount of the fees shall be fixed at the Annual General Assembly.
Honorary members don't have to pay any fees.
The annual membership fee is payable in advance and due on 30 June each year.
Members who are one year in arrears with the payment of their membership fee shall be excluded from the Association.
Membership can be cancelled annually.
ARTICLE VI. Levels of decision-making
The EAPC is structured as follows:
The General Assembly, consisting of regular members, associated members and honorary members that meet at least once a year.
The Board, consisting of:
- the President
- one to three Vice-Presidents
- the Treasurer
- the Executive Secretary
- two members in charge of controlling
- as well as a maximum of eight additional members
The board meets at least once a year.
The President who is responsible for the daily business and who has to report in written to the board at least twice a year.
The President of the Association or, in his absence one of the other members of the Board, shall preside over all sessions of the General Assembly and all meetings of the Board. The President shall have custody of the Association's records and supervision of all administrative activities of the Association.
The Executive Secretary shall be responsible for keeping a record of the General Assembly's decisions and taking the minutes of the Board meetings.
The Treasurer shall have custody of the funds of the Association, maintain books of accounts and collect dues, fees and donations as directed by the Board. The Treasurer shall supervise the collection and disbursement of all funds of the Association. He shall have the right to open a bank account in the name of the Association and to draw from such funds. He shall present a financial report to the General Assembly annually.
ARTICLE VII. Domicile and office
The domicile of the Association shall be the domicile of the acting President. The domicile office shall be based at the address of the acting Executive Secretary.
ARTICLE VIII. Election
The Board shall be nominated and elected by the General Assembly every two years with a simple majority for a two year term of office.
ARTICLE IX. Committees
The Board may appoint committees and task forces for the full-filling of special tasks.
ARTICLE X. Vote
All decisions of the General Assembly as well as of the Board may be made by a simple majority. An exception would be the dissolution of the Association or amendments to the statutes which require a 2/3 majority.
ARTICLE XI. Meetings
Date and place of the next General Assembly or the next meeting shall be fixed at the last meeting prior to the upcoming event. The minimum number of meetings is fixed in article VI.
In urgent cases a meeting of the Board must be arranged within two months if at least three members of the Board demand it in written.
For an extraordinary General Assembly a demand of at least a quarter of all members would be necessary. In that case it must be arranged within three months after the demand.
ARTICLE XII. Official language
The official language of the EAPC shall be English. That applies to the organization of conferences and meetings as well as to everything in writing.
ARTICLE XIII. Amendments to the statutes
Amendments to the statutes are possible with a 2/3 majority of the General Assembly.
ARTICLE XIV. Dissolution of the Association
The EAPC may be dissolved by a 2/3 majority of a General Assembly.
ARTICLE XV. Liability
No member of the EAPC can be made liable for the Association in any way. An exception are personal liabilities that are taken over by a member voluntarily and with a written confirmation.
