Approved at the AGM in Siena, March 2003
These statutes come into force immediately after they are carried.
Carried at ESN International's founding meeting February 10th,
1990. The latest amendment to these statutes was made March 3,
2003.
Article 1 NAME OF THE ORGANISATION
The name of the organisation is Erasmus Student Network (ESN). ESN is a non- profit organisation, legally based in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it was founded on the 10th of February 1990. The organisation has its official seat where the President resides.
Article 2 AIMS
2.1 ESN aims at working in the interest of students who are
spending a part of their professional education at a higher education
institution in a country other than the one in which their home
institution is situated, by means of:
2.1.1 Improvement of the social and practical integration of exchange students at their host institutions.
2.1.2 Representation of the needs and expectations of exchange students on the local, national and international level.
2.1.3 Provision of relevant information about academic exchange programmes and ESN resources.
2.1.4 Reintegration of homecoming students by making them active in the network.
2.1.5 Contribution to evaluation of different exchange programmes.
2.2 ESN aims at concerning itself directly or indirectly with these goals, defined as broadly as possible.
2.3 ESN aims at creating the conditions for better understanding of each other’s cultures and national habits, between students of different nationalities.
2.4 ESN is a non- political organisation, and works without:
2.4.1 Connection to political parties or systems;
2.4.2 Commitment to specific political thoughts or ideologies;
2.4.3 Connection to any religious or confessional groupings.
Article 3 STRUCTURE
The official bodies of the Organisation are the full member sections, the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the National Platforms, the Council of National Representatives (CNR), and the Board.
Article 4 MEMBERSHIP
4.1 Any student organisation, which operates legally and in accordance with the principles and aims of ESN, can apply for membership
4.1.1 An application for membership of ESN has to be presented to the Board, which have to approve it by a two- third majority.
4.1.2 An accepted organisation shall be known as a "section". It has the right to vote at the Annual General Meeting, and to propose candidates for the post of National Representative or for the Board.
4.2 Exclusion of a section has to be carried by a two third majority by the CNR.
4.2.1 A section can be excluded if;
4.2.1.1 It works in ways that are incompatible with the spirit of ESN;
4.2.1.2 Its membership fee is more than one year overdue.
4.2.2 At least one month before the meeting of the CNR, where the Board will propose exclusion of a section, that section must be contacted in writing and be informed of their imminent exclusion.
4.2.2.1 the section will from that date have three weeks to respond to the Board’s proposal.
4.2.2.2 If the section responds in writing, the board must make the section’s letter available to the National Representatives before a decision is taken.
4.2.3 An excluded section may reapply for membership at the earliest twelve months from the date of exclusion.
4.3 A section may withdraw by sending a written notice to the board or their National Platform.
4.3.1 The withdrawal will be effective from the date of mailing.
4.3.2 Any obligation, monetary or other, accepted by the section must be fulfilled before sending a letter of withdrawal.
4.4 The Board may extend associate membership to student organisations who wish to cooperate with ESN.
4.4.1 Associate members are not entitled to vote at the AGM, to field candidates for posts in ESN’s formal structure, or to use the name of the organisation.
4.4.2 The Board can revoke associate membership.
Article 5 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
5.1 The Annual General Meeting is the highest decision making body of ESN, and must be convened by the Board once every year.
5.1.1 One third of the National Representatives can call an Extraordinary General Meeting.
5.1.2 Only an approved member section can organise an AGM. The organising committee takes full organisational, financial and legal responsibility for the AGM.
5.1.3 An AGM is qualified to make decisions when 51% of all sections are present.
5.2 Notice of the Annual General Meeting must be mailed to the sections at least ninety days in advance and must include information about date and place.
5.3 All sections must receive agenda and documents for the General Meeting no later than thirty days in advance.
5.4 For the AGM the Board must present a report of activities and general policy for approval.
5.5 The Board must present task lists, policies and budget for the coming year for approval by the AGM.
5.6 The AGM must at the end of the meeting vote to approve the Board’s record, and thereby release the board from their responsibility. The new Board cannot take over until such a vote has been given.
5.7 The AGM shall be conducted in accordance with the Standing Orders for the AGM.
Article 6 NATIONAL PLATFORMS
6.1 The sections of one member country together form the National Platform.
6.1.1 The National Platform elects the country’s National Representative in accordance with its own statutes or established procedures.
6.2 A National Platform must be comprised of all the country’s sections to be recognised as such.
6.2.1 The National Platforms must approve potential candidates for the Board before these make their candidature known.
Article 7 NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
7.1 From each country with at least one member section, one National Representative shall be elected.
7.2 A National Representative is elected for a period of one year by his/her National Platform.
7.3 A National Representative can only be elected while being a student, or within the first twelve months after graduation.
Article 8 THE COUNCIL OF NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
8.1 The CNR is composed of all National Representatives.
8.2 All members of the Council have one vote.
8.3 Each member is responsible for the contact between the national and international levels.
8.4 National Representatives are not allocated tasks, but can, should they wish to do so, be part of a working group under the supervision of a Board member.
8.5 The CNR scrutinises and checks the work of the Board, and must be consulted on budgetary, strategic and policy matters.
8.6 The CNR can reverse Board decisions.
8.7 The CNR can remove single members of the Board, or the Board as a whole, through a vote of no confidence.
8.7.1 An NR can be excluded from the CNR by his/her colleagues, if his/her activities are deemed incompatible with the spirit and aims of ESN.
8.8 The Board must meet with the CNR once, right after the AGM, and twice during the year.
8.8.1 The President of ESN must by mail inform the NRs of a meeting with the Board at least one month in advance, stating time and place. The final agenda for the meeting must be sent to all at least one week in advance.
8.8.2 An extraordinary meeting between the CNR and the Board must take place if two-thirds of the NRs request it.
8.9 The CNR must approve the final agenda and documents for the AGM.
8.10 The CNR will conduct its affairs in accordance with the relevant Standing Orders.
Article 9 THE BOARD
9.1 The Board consists of seven people elected by two groups, the CNR and the sections present at the AGM, each group having half the vote.
9.1.1 The Board shall consist of the following: A President, a Vice-president, a Treasurer and a Secretary. The remaining three members will be regular Board members.
9.1.2 A Board member cannot be a National Representative.
9.2 The Board sits for one year, and is replaced at the following AGM.
9.2.1 A Board member must resign if faced with a vote of no confidence from the CNR.
9.2.2 If such a vote is carried, or if a Board member for other reasons decides to step down in midterm, the CNR will, at the earliest possible opportunity, elect one of its members to the vacant position. That person’s National Platform will then appoint another NR.
9.3 The Board has responsibility for the management of all tasks, and handles all day- to- day business.
9.3.1 The Board can make decisions on all matters concerning ESN, except budgetary, strategic, and policy matters and exclusion of sections.
9.3.2 Board decisions can be reversed by the CNR and the AGM.
9.3.3 Working groups can be established under the supervision of a Board member, to assist with certain tasks.
9.4 The President will convene the Board on a regular basis.
9.5 Notice of Board meetings must be mailed at least three weeks in advance, stating time and place, the final agenda at least one week in advance.
9.6 The Board will conduct its affairs in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Board.
Article 10 WORKING GROUPS
10.1 The Board can establish working groups chaired by a Board member.
10.2 A working group is responsible to the Board and must present a report of its activities at least every six months.
10.3 The CNR can abolish working groups.
Article 11 FINANCES
11.1 The financial resources of the organisation consist of membership fees and other income.
11.2 All full member sections are obliged to pay an annual membership fee.
11.2.1 The membership fee covers one calendar year.
11.2.2 For the first year of membership, a section only pays half the fee.
11.2.3 Sections whose application lies within the months of November and December will be exempt from membership fees for the remainder of that year.
11.3 The membership fee is decided by the AGM.
11.3.1 Proposals can be made by the Board or by any member section.
11.3.2 If no decision is reached, the membership fee for the preceding year will be maintained.
11.4 The fiscal year runs from 1st of January to 31st of December.
11.5 The Treasurer is, on behalf of the Board, responsible for the accounting of the financial means of the organisation, and for presenting the accounts for approval by the AGM, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
11.6 At the AGM two individuals, both independent from the Board or the CNR, must be appointed to audit the finances of the organisation.
11.7 The organisation’s budget for the current fiscal year must be submitted for approval to the AGM.
11.8 At the AGM the Board should also present an interim report of ESN’s finances for the period of 1st of January to end of February.
Article 12 OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
12.1 The AGM can create, revise, and abolish the official documents of the organisation, in accordance with the Statutes and Standing Orders.
Article 13 STANDING ORDERS
13.1 All official meetings of the Board, the CNR and the AGM shall be conducted in accordance with the relevant Standing Orders.
13.2 The Statutes and the Standing Orders are separate documents. The Statutes are concerned with general organisational principles; while the Standing Orders are concerned with the procedural conduct of the organisations various bodies.
13.3 If the Statutes and Standing Orders are not in compliance with each other, the Statutes overrule the Standing Orders.
13.4 The Standing Orders of ESN are:
• Procedure for electing the Board.
• Regulations concerning the conduct of the Board and the CNR.
• Regulations concerning the conduct of the Annual General Meeting.
13.5 Changes to the Standing Orders must be initiated in accordance with the same procedure as for Statute changes.
Article 14 VALIDITY Of STATUTES
14.1 This English text is the official version of the Statutes.
14.2 Disputes concerning differences of interpretation of these Statutes shall be settled by the Board, but can be overruled by the CNR.
Article 15 CHANGING STATUTES
15.1 The Board, the Council of National Representatives or the member sections may initiate amendments to these Statutes.
15.2 If the Board initiates changes, they must be decided at a Board meeting no less than 60 days before the AGM, where they must be confirmed.
15.3 If the CNR initiates changes, they must be decided at a council meeting no less than 30 days before the AGM, where they must be confirmed.
15.4 If a member section initiates changes, it must have written backing from at least five other sections, and present their proposals to the Board in writing, at least 60 days before the AGM, where they must be approved.
15.5 Changes to these Statutes must be approved at an AGM by 51% of all full members.
Article 16 DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANISATION
16.1 Dissolution of ESN must be decided by a 51% majority of sections at two consecutive General Meetings, held no less than three months after each other.
16.2 In case of dissolution, all assets of ESN will be turned over to UNICEF.
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