Statutes 2004 version
From SI Exco News
SERVAS INTERNATIONAL - STATUTES
SERVAS INTERNATIONAL, a non-profit federation incorporated under Articles 60 to 79 of the Civil Code of Switzerland, and in conformity with Swiss Law, with legal seat currently at Ceresstrasse 23, CH 8008 Zurich, Switzerland, hereby adopts the following statutes, repealing all previously adopted statues:
I Definition Servas International is an international, non-profit, non governmental federation of national Servas groups, encompassing an international network of hosts and travellers. The purpose of the network is to help build world peace, goodwill and understanding by providing opportunities for personal contacts among people of different cultures, backgrounds and nationalities.
II Membership 1. Any National Servas group containing ten or more hosts (including day hosts), may become, or be reinstated as, a member group of Servas International by a majority vote of the General Assembly. A group may be proposed for membership by a. direct application by the group; or b. recommendation from a Servas International Area Coordinator; or c. invitation from the General Assembly. 2. The obligations of a member group to Servas International consist of, and are limited to, paying fees and of following the regulations and procedures as decided by the General Assembly according to Section IV, 3f of the statutes. 3. A member group may lose its membership of Servas International by majority vote of the General Assembly if a. it has been without a functioning national secretary for two consecutive years; or b. it has fewer hosts than in subsection 1) above for two consecutive years; or c. it does not fulfil its obligations for two consecutive years.
III Officers Servas International shall have at least 6 and no more than 25 officers. Six of these officers shall be elected by the General Assembly: President, Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Peace Secretary and Host List Coordinator. These officers constitute the Executive Committee. The SI News Editor shall also be elected by the General Assembly. Each of the remaining may be elected or appointed by the General Assembly, or appointed by the Executive Committee, as determined by the General Assembly. The term of office for all officers ends no later than three months after a General Assembly.
IV General Assembly 1. The General Assembly of Servas International shall consist exclusively of one delegate from each member group. These delegates have the right to vote and to speak. The officers of Servas International have speaking rights only. The General Assembly may also grant speaking rights (which may be restricted to specified agenda items) to other individuals. 2. The General Assembly shall meet as regular intervals as decided by each General Assembly. In addition to this, the General Assembly may be convened at any time when requested by one fifth of member groups. In such an event, at least three months’ written notice, including agenda, time and place, must be given to each member group.
Page One 3. The General Assembly shall: a. review and adopt the minutes of the last General Assembly as published or corrected; b. review and vote on reports of Servas International’s office holders; c. review and vote on the audited accounts and the auditor’s reports; d. decide upon the programme of activities of Servas International; e. adopt a budget showing projected expenditure up to the next General Assembly; f. decide upon fees, regulations and procedures of Servas International; g. elect the Executive Committee; h. elect other Servas International officers, or delegate this responsibility to the Executive Committee; i. elect members of committees or working parties for special tasks deemed necessary by the General Assembly, or delegate this responsibility to the Executive Committee; j. elect an auditor, or empower the Executive Committee to pay for independent professional auditing. The auditor shall verify, annually, the accounts of the Treasurer and shall submit a report to the Executive Committee. These reports shall be submitted for adoption to the next General Assembly; k. determine which members of the Executive Committee shall be empowered to sign on behalf of Servas International. Two signatures shall be required. 4. An item may be submitted for inclusion on the agenda only by a national group (represented by its national secretary), or by members of the Executive Committee. All items submitted by member groups must be sent to the President at least six months before the General Assembly to be placed on the agenda of the coming General Assembly. Its expenditure is limited to the budget adopted by the General Assembly. 5. Decisions of the General Assembly, in addition to being recorded in the minutes of the meeting, shall be abstracted from the minutes and a list of such decisions sent to each national Servas group. 6. Decisions can be made only on items published in the agenda. 7. Decisions made by the General Assembly are binding on the activities and priorities of Servas International.
V Executive Committee 1.The Executive Committee is responsible for the day to day running of Servas International between one General Assembly and the next. Its decisions and actions should be in accordance with decisions made by the General Assembly. Its expenditure is limited to the budget adopted by the General Assembly. 2. The Executive Committee shall appoint those Servas officers who have not been elected by the General Assembly. 3. If the post of any officer becomes vacant between General Assemblies, the Executive Committee may appoint a replacement. If the vacancy is for a member of the Executive committee, other than the President, the remaining members may make the appointment. 4. Within financial limits, the Executive Committee shall meet as often as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee. 5. The Executive Committee is empowered to make decisions either a. by a majority vote at a meeting of the Executive Committee; or b. by correspondence, provided that all members of the Executive Committee are given the opportunity to participate in the decisions. For a decision to be made by correspondence, votes must be received within one month of the date the motion is mailed/faxed, and the majority of the votes received must be affirmative.
VI Voting 1. All decisions of the General Assembly or the Executive Committee (except votes on the dissolution of Servas International, or an amendment to, or replacement of, the statutes) shall be taken by majority vote of the persons voting. In the event of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote.
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2. Voting procedure shall be made clear to all delegates before voting shall take place. Election for Servas officers shall be by secret vote. The right exists for any delegate to ask for a secret vote on any issue. 3. A delegate attending the General Assembly in more than one capacity shall have only one vote. 4. Only those delegates attending the General Assembly in person shall be permitted to vote. 5. If, in the election of the officers, there are more than two candidates for any position, and none of these receives more than half of the votes, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall stand in a further election in which all voters vote again. 6. If in the election of officers, there is only one candidate for any position, the candidate will automatically take office. 7. The minutes shall record the number of delegates voting for, voting against and abstaining.
VII Duties and Responsibilities of Officers
1. The President shall: a. oversee the general operation of Servas International; b. preside over all meetings of Servas International, or of the Executive Committee, or delegate this function to a suitable chairperson; c. represent Servas on other international bodies or delegate this function to other suitable persons; d. keep broadly informed about the work of Servas officers; e. represent the interests of SI News Editor and Archivist in the Executive Committee; f. be responsible for the organization of the International Conference/General Assembly; g. be responsible for the agenda of the Executive Committee and the agenda of the General Assembly; and h. perform any other functions directed by the General Assembly.
2. The Vice President shall: a. perform the functions of the President in the absence or incapacity of the President; b. be responsible for the development and strengthening of national Servas groups; c. keep broadly informed about the work of the Area Coordinators, and represent their interests in the Executive Committee; and d. perform such other functions as shall be delegated by the President or General Assembly.
3. The General Secretary shall: a. handle the correspondence of Servas International; b. collect information from national groups; c. arrange for the circulation of host lists and key lists of addresses; d. be responsible for the recording of the minutes of meetings and conferences, including the minutes of the General Assembly at the end of the term of office; and e. represent the interests of her/his assistants, National Secretaries and Main Contacts in the Executive Committee. In the case of an assistant or assistants being elected by the General Assembly or appointed by the Executive Committee, the General Secretary nevertheless carries the final responsibility for the duties of General Secretary.
4. The Treasurer shall: a. keep the financial accounts and records of Servas International and arrange for auditing; b. send out invoices and collect money owing to Servas International; c. submit an annual financial report to the Executive Committee; and d. collect financial information from member groups.
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5. The Peace Secretary shall: a. promote the peace aspect of Servas International in national groups and internationally; b. coordinate the work of national Peace Secretaries; c. represent the interest of the UN delegates and national Peace Secretaries in the Executive Committee; and d. encourage liaison with other peace organizations, and arrange representation in such organisations when appropriate.
6. The Host List Coordinator shall:
a. collect orders for host lists and notify national groups of these orders;
b. receive and distribute host lists for certain national groups as appropriate; and
c. produce and distribute host lists for certain national groups as appropriate.
VIII Dissolution 1. Dissolution of Servas International shall be effective upon a vote of the General Assembly carried by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. 2. After payment of outstanding debts of Servas International, and within a period determined by the General Assembly, and surplus funds shall be transferred to another non-profit organization, or organizations, interested in building world peace, as selected by a majority vote at the General Assembly dissolving Servas International. If that General Assembly cannot agree on such a non-profit organisation or organisations, it shall give specific authority to a committee of at least 5 persons to select the non-profit organisation or organisations.
IX Amendment of Statutes The Servas International Statutes may be amended or replaced at a General Assembly by an affirmative vote of at least two thirds of those present and voting, provided that notice of the proposed amendment or replacement is given to the delegates at least three months before the General Assembly at which it will be voted on.
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