By-Laws
I.
Establishment
Article
1: Name and Legal Status
- ASSOCIATION
FOR ONE DEMOCRATIC STATE
IN PALESTINE / ISRAEL (hereafter, the Association) is established
as a not-for-profit organization under Articles 60 et seq. of the Swiss
Civil Code.
Article
2: Aims
The
Association's goals are:
- Durable
peace in Israel/Palestine
through building a single democratic state for those
who live in historical Palestine and all Palestinian refugees who desire
to return to their homeland.
- Democracy
as the provision of universal
human rights. Such is the path of justice, measured in non-violence,
and the true road to peace.
- A
society in which no ethnic
or religious group can dominate others.
- Reconciliation
to heal the wounds of a
troubled past.
- Promote inter-ethnic understanding
and solidarity through educational and
cultural activities.
Article
3: Seat
- The Association shall be based in Geneva/Switzerland.
Article
4: Duration
- The Association is of unlimited duration.
Article
5: Resources
The
resources of the Association are made up of:
- dues and contributions of the members;
- contributions of other organizations with
which it is associated;
- gifts, wills, grants and donations.
II.
Membership and Affiliations:
Article
6: Eligibility
- Organisations
may affiliate with the Association by formally endorsing the aims specified
in Article 2. Organizations have the right to send delegates, with observer
status, to meetings of the General Assembly.
Article
7: Contributions
-
The General Assembly shall determine the
annual contribution of its members.
- The
members must pay the annual contribution before February 28 of every
year.
- Members
may request exemption of payment from the Board.
Article
8: Loss of Membership
-
A member may resign his or her membership
at any time without explaining the cause of the resignation.
- The
Board retains the right to cancel the membership of any member. The
member can appeal this decision to
the General Assembly.
Article
9: Rights and Responsibilities
III.
ORGANIZATION
The
organs of the association are:
A.
General Assembly
B.
The Board of Directors
C.
Comptroller of the Accounts
D.
Chapters of the Association
A. General
assembly
Article
10
- The
General Assembly shall be the ultimate authority of the Association.
The competencies of the General Assembly include the following actions,
as deemed necessary to advance the aims of the Association:
- Approve
and modify the by-laws;
- Elect
the members of the Board;
- Set
the amount of membership dues;
- Approve
reports and accounts;
- Dismiss
members of the Board;
- Dissolve
the Association.
Article
11 Quorum
- The
required quorum for a convened General Assembly shall be 40 percent
of the membership. The Board shall retain the right to change the quorum.
Article
12 Voting
- Every
member has the right to one vote. Decisions are made by a simple majority
of votes by members present. In case of a tie, the president has two
votes.
Article
13 President and Reporter of the Assembly
- The
President presides over the General Assembly. If the President cannot
preside over the General Assembly, the President may appoint another
member of the Board to do so.
- The
Reporter of the Assembly is appointed by the President from the membership
of the Association.
- The
minutes (verbal-process) are to be signed by the President and the Reporter
of the Assembly after approval by the General Assembly.
B.
The Board of Directors
Article
14 Composition
- The
Association is administered by a Board composed of at least 3 members
of the Association, who are elected by the General Assembly.
- Board
members serve for a term of three years.
- Board
members can resign at any time. The resigned member shall be replaced
by the member who received the next highest number of votes in the elections.
Article
15 Functions
The
Board has the following duties and authority:
- Elect
the president and secretary (administrative director) from its membership;
- Take
any measures deemed to promote the aims of the Association;
- Represent
the Association to the world community;
- Execute
the decisions of the General Assembly;
- Decide
on admission and exclusion of members;
- Convene
the General Assembly;
- Choose
the comptroller of accounts, who must be legally qualified to perform
such work;
- Propose
the dissolution of the Association;
- Study
all suggestions presented by the members of the Association;
- Take
on new members of the board with the approval of the membership.
Article
16: Financial Authority
- For
financial transactions involving the Association's accounts, the president
and a member of the board chosen by the board have the right to sign
individually.
Article
17 Voting
- Decisions
of the Board shall be taken by simple majority of its members present.
In case of a tie, the President has the decisive vote.
C-
Comptroller of the Accounts
Article
18
- The
comptroller of accounts is chosen by the Board and shall not be a member
of the Association. The comptroller prepares a comprehensive financial
report on all transactions related to the Association for review by
the General Assembly.
D
– Chapters of the Association.
Article
19: Principles
- The
Association for One Democratic State strongly encourages its members
to form local, national, or regional affiliated chapters of the Association
to promote its goals. Each chapter must be approved by the Board.
Article
20 Governance and affiliated chapters
- Members
of Chapters shall be members of the Association. Chapters function under
the approval of the Board. The Board is responsible for assessing their
adherence in word and practice to the aims of the Association. Once
approved, they are autonomous in carrying out these objectives. The
Board reserves the right to revoke a chapter's membership if, in the
judgement of the Board, the principles of the Association have been
violated.
IV.
DISSOLUTION – LIQUIDATION
Article
21
- For
purposes of adjudication of any conflict regarding the terms and meanings
of the by-laws, the official English version shall apply, under the
Swiss and Geneva laws governing not-for-profit organisations.
Article
22
- The
dissolution of the Association shall be decided upon by an extraordinary
General Assembly. Dissolution shall require a two-thirds majority vote
by members present.
Article
23
- In
the event of dissolution, distribution of the assets of the Association
shall be decided by the General Assembly in a manner consistent with
the aims of the Association (Article 2).
These
by-laws are written under the laws of Switzerland . They were approved
by the General Assembly in Geneva , October 8 2006, at which date they
entered into force. |