EURALEX
Constitution
The needs of EURALEX have changed since its founding some 25 years ago. The
last updating of the constitution was in 1994. The board believes that an new
update is needed to take into account the current circumstances. We wish to start
a consultation process before presenting the amended text at the General
Meeting to be held in Barcelona during the 13th EURALEX International
Congress.
Following
the Board Meeting in Barcelona in June 2007, a number of changes have been
proposed. The proposed revised articles are underlined in the following text
If you have
any comments or believe further changes should be made, proposals should be
sent to the EURALEX Secretary Treasurer before the 31st May 2008. These may be
sent by post to the address below or by email to geoffrey.williams@univ-ubs.fr.
Subject line: EURALEX Constitution. A pdf
copy of the constitution can be downloaded from this site.
Professor
Geoffrey Williams
EURALEX Secretary Treasurer
Université de Bretagne Sud
4 rue Jean Zay
BP 92116
56321 LORIENT CEDEX
FRANCE
EURALEX Constitution - 1994
PREAMBLE
An international association known as the EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR LEXICOGRAPHY
(EURALEX), hereinafter referred to as "the Association", was
established at the 1983 Exeter Conference on Lexicography (LEXeter '83). This
Constitution, originally drafted at the inaugural meeting of 12 September 1983,
was agreed at General Meeting of 13 September 1986 and amended at General
Meetings of 8 August 1992 and 3 September 1994.
The current
version of this constitution was amended at the General Meeting of September
2008.
DOMICILE
Article 1. The domicile of the Association
shall be in a European country. At its first meeting after its election the
Executive Board shall appoint one of its members, the address of whom shall be
the domicile of the Association until a new Board is elected.
AIMS
Article 2. The purpose of the Association
shall be to promote scholarly and professional activities related to
lexicography, including the training of dictionary makers and dictionary users.
The purpose of the Association shall be to promote scholarly and
professional activities in the field of lexicography and related disciplines
insofar as they contribute to lexicography.
Article 3. The Association shall carry out
its purpose by encouraging the exchange of information and ideas through
meetings, publications and any other means its members may consider
appropriate.
Article 4. The Association shall seek contact
and affiliation with other bodies which are active in related fields.
Article 5. The Association shall refrain from
engaging in any political activity.
MEMBERSHIP
Article 6. In order to become a member of the
Association a candidate must pay the required annual subscription in advance
before 1st January, and fulfil such other qualifications as may be required for
the different categories of membership. Members shall be entitled to attend all
EURALEX meetings and to receive copies of the regular EURALEX Newsletter and of
the annual membership list, preferential rates for meetings and publications
sponsored by EURALEX and other sundry benefits. The right to vote and hold
office shall be open to all Members.
It is
proposed to clarify this article.
6.1 In order
to become a member of the Association a candidate must pay the required annual
subscription in advance before 1st January, and fulfil such other
qualifications as may be required for the different categories of membership.
6.2 Members
shall be entitled to attend all General and Extraordinary meetings of the
Association, and to receive copies of the regular EURALEX Newsletter and
of the annual membership list. Members have the right to preferential rates for
events and publications initiated or supported by EURALEX and other sundry benefits.
6.3 The right to vote and hold office shall be open to all Members.
Article 7. Personal Membership shall be
granted to those who are engaged in a field of work of direct relevance to
lexicography, to those engaged in full-time studies, or engaged in a training
programme in lexicography or a related field, and to those retired from
full-time employment who are otherwise qualified for membership.
It is
proposed to simplify this article.
Personal
Membership is available to individuals who are interested in lexicography and
subscribe to the aims laid out in Articles 2 to 5 of this Constitution.
Article 8. Honorary Membership shall be offered
by the Executive Board, on the proposal of a Member, to those who are
considered by that Board to have made an outstanding contribution to
lexicography, provided that this decision is ratified by the General Meeting of
the Association. Honorary Members shall be exempted from paying an annual
subscription.
Article 9. Institutional Membership shall be
granted to institutions, e.g. universities, academies, training centres,
publishing houses and other organizations, with an interest in lexicography as
a profession. Such institutions shall be allowed to nominate two
representatives who will receive copies of the EURALEX Newsletter, the annual
membership list, and other publications.
It is
proposed to add at the ned of this paragraph that:
These representatives have the right to vote and hold office as laid down
in Article 6.3.
Article 10. IFF Membership shall be granted to
institutions sponsored by the International Friendship Fund (see Article 23).
Any number of individuals affiliated to such institution shall on request be
included in the membership list; they shall enjoy full membership rights (see
Article 6), except that the institution will receive only one copy of any free
publication. Such publications will be addressed to one named person who will
act as the institution's contact with EURALEX.
Proposal: The board believes that in the current context the IFF is no
longer necessary and should be discontinued all the moreso as the funding for
this no longer exists. A new category of sponsored membership will be proposed.
The formulation of this new article has been delegated to the
president, past presidents etc and past secretary treasurer. See article 23.
Article 11. Supporting membership shall be
granted to those who, although not engaged in a field directly related to
lexicography, nonetheless wish to further their interest in the subject by
supporting the activities of the Association.
The Board
proposes to add
These members subscribe to the aims laid out in Articles 2 to 5 of this
Constitution.
The Board is currently looking at a revised version of this article.
ADMINISTRATION
Article 12. A General Meeting, which is open to
all Members of the Association, shall be convened normally every two years. It
shall elect the Officers and other members of the Executive Board (see Article
14) and receive for consideration Reports by the President and the
Secretary-Treasurer concerning the administration and activities of the
Association. General Meetings of the Association shall be carried out according
to the following rules, known in Britain as the Citrine Rules: Meetings should
be quorate; proposals and nominations should be made and seconded by different
individuals; points of order may be made at any stage of a discussion; in
points of argument the ruling of the chair is final. The General Meeting shall
appoint up to two Auditors to check the accounts for the current term of
office. The Accountant(s) may give advice to the Secretary-Treasurer on
principles for the bookkeeping, and at notice of at least one week they shall
have access to the books and to all relevant vouchers. Their report shall be presented
to the first subsequent ordinary General Meeting. Decisions shall be taken by a
majority of votes cast by Members, who may delegate their vote by proxy to
another Member. Members accepting a proxy mandate shall obtain a certificate to
this effect. Members shall have the right to confirm, amend or annul certain
functions carried out by members of the Executive Board. They shall also have
the right to propose or to ratify, normally on the recommendation of the
Executive Board, the formation, redesignation or dissolution of Standing or Ad
Hoc Committees (see Article 14), as well as appointments to them. Participants
at General Meetings of EURALEX may express themselves in any European language.
The Executive Board shall be empowered to produce documents in languages
decided by the Board.
The Board
proposes to clarify this. A notable chnage is the specification of who they
auditors may be. Important additions or changes are in italics.
12.1. A General Meeting, which is open to all
Members of the Association, shall be convened normally every two years. It
shall elect the Officers and other members of the Executive Board (see Article
14) and receive for consideration Reports by the President and the
Secretary-Treasurer concerning the administration and activities of the
Association.
12.2. General Meetings of the Association shall be carried out according to the
following rules, known in Britain as the Citrine
Rules: Meetings should be quorate; proposals and nominations should be made and
seconded by different individuals; points of order may be made at any stage of
a discussion; in points of argument the ruling of the chair is final. 12.3. The
General Meeting shall appoint up to two Auditors who are members of the
association but not currently on the board to check the accounts for the
current term of office. These auditors may give advice to the
Secretary-Treasurer on principles for the bookkeeping, and at notice of at
least one week they shall have access to the books and to all relevant
vouchers. Their report shall be presented to the first subsequent ordinary
General Meeting.
12.4. Decisions shall be taken by a majority of votes cast by Members, who may
delegate their vote by proxy to another Member. Members accepting a proxy
mandate shall obtain a certificate to this effect. A voting member cannot
hold more than two proxy mandates. Members shall have the right to confirm,
amend or annul certain functions carried out by members of the Executive Board.
They shall also have the right to propose or to ratify, normally on the
recommendation of the Executive Board, the formation, redesignation or
dissolution of Standing or Ad Hoc Committees (see Article 14), as well as
appointments to them.
12.5. Participants at General Meetings of EURALEX may express themselves in any
European language. The Executive Board shall be empowered to produce documents
in languages decided by the Board.
Article 13. An Extraordinary General Meeting of
the Association may be convoked by the Executive Board on its own authority, or
by a petition signed by at least one third of the Membership, and it must be
held within three months of the receipt by the Secretary-Treasurer of any such
petition. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall not be quorate unless the
number of votes which could be cast at it, either directly or by proxy, exceeds
a figure which amounts to one tenth of the Membership.
Article 14. The Association shall be governed
by an Executive Board composed of up to nine members, including four principal
Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer and Assistant
Secretary-Treasurer), elected at each General Meeting from among its Members.
At the end of his or her term of presidency, the President shall continue ex
officio as a member of the Executive Board for a further two years, thus
increasing the Board by one member. The Executive Board shall have the power to
convoke, at its discretion, Standing and Ad Hoc Committees and to invite
Members of the Association to serve in various capacities, such as that of
Membership Secretary, Minutes Secretary, Editor of the Association's Newsletter
and similar functions.
The Board
wishes to clarify this. The Past President and The Editor of the Internatioanal
Journal of Lexicography are ex-officio members of the board.
The Association shall be governed by an Executive
Board composed of up to nine elected members, including four principal Officers
(President, Vice‑President, Secretary-Treasurer and Assistant
Secretary-Treasurer), elected at each General Meeting from among its Members.
At the end of his or her term of presidency, the President shall continue ex
officio as a member of the Executive Board for a further two years. The Editor
of the International Journal of Lexicography shall be an ex-officio
memberof the board. The organiser of the forthcoming congress will resign
normal membership of the board and serve as an ex officio member. The The
Executive Board shall have the power to convoke, at its discretion, Standing
and Ad Hoc Committees and to invite Members of the Association to serve in
various capacities, such as that of Membership Secretary, Minutes Secretary,
Editor of the Association's Newsletter and similar functions.
Article 15. The President shall be elected by
the Members at the General Meeting, shall serve for a term of two years, and
shall not normally be eligible for immediate re election. The President shall
convene and preside over the General Meeting and any Extraordinary General
Meeting of the Association, and the meetings of the Executive Board. He or she shall
sign all official acts, shall be the premier representative of the Association
in public, and shall provide leadership within the Association.
Article 16. The Vice President shall be elected
by the Members at the General Meeting, shall normally serve for a term of two
years and shall not normally be eligible for immediate re election. The person
elected as Vice President shall automatically be nominated for the post of
President at the following General Meeting. The Vice President shall deputise
for the President in the President's absence or indisposition.
Article 17. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be
elected by the Members at the General Meeting. He or she shall be responsible
for the general administration of the Association, and for such records, documents
and publications as the Executive Board considers appropriate. He or she shall
manage the funds of the Association and shall keep regular accounts and present
a Report, both retrospective and prospective, on the budget to the General
Meeting.
Article 18. The Assistant Secretary-Treasurer
shall be elected by the Members at the General Meeting. He or she shall assist
in performing the Secretary-Treasurer's duties and shall deputise for the
Secretary-Treasurer in the Secretary-Treasurer's absence or indisposition.
Article 19. The Executive Board shall have the
power to conduct postal ballots among the Membership of the Association on
specific urgent issues which cannot, in the view of the Executive Board, be
deferred until the following General Meeting or until any Extraordinary General
Meeting which may subsequently be convoked. The result of any such ballot shall
be determined by a majority of voting slips received by the Secretary-Treasurer
on the day appointed, and any such issue put to a postal ballot shall appear as
a substantive agenda item for the next General Meeting or for any immediately
subsequent Extraordinary General Meeting.
The Board
believes this article needs clarifying
The Executive Board shall have the power to conduct
ballots among the Membership of the Association on specific urgent issues which
cannot, in the view of the Executive Board, be deferred until the following
General Meeting or until any Extraordinary General Meeting which may
subsequently be convoked. The result of any such ballot shall be determined by
a majority of voting slips received by the Secretary-Treasurer on the day
appointed, and any such issue put to a ballot shall appear as a substantive
agenda item for the next General Meeting or for any immediately subsequent
Extraordinary General Meeting.
Article 20. The Officers of the Association
shall be empowered to arbitrate on eventualities falling outside the scope of
these articles of association. In so doing, the Officers may use their
discretion to consult, without prejudice, any person or body they consider
appropriate in the given circumstance. A Report on all such cases shall be
presented to the Executive Board as soon as possible thereafter.
FINANCE
Article 21. The Association shall derive its
revenue from subscriptions by Members, from donations, from subsidies and from
such other funds as may accrue from its activities, such as conferences and
publications.
Article 22. The annual subscription rates shall
vary by category of membership (see Articles 7 11) and shall normally be
determined by the General Meeting on the recommendation of the Executive Board.
The appropriate membership fee must be remitted on request. The calendar year
for membership shall start on January 1st. Abatement for periods of membership
amounting to less than twelve months shall not be available.
Article 23. The Association has established an
International Friendship Fund (IFF) to assist colleagues who are unable to pay
their membership subscriptions because of currency convertibility difficulties.
The IFF is financed by voluntary contributions from EURALEX members, to which
the Executive Board may add a contribution from the Association not exceeding
the sum of the voluntary contributions. Gifts to the IFF from external sponsors
shall also be accepted. IFF sponsorship takes the form of IFF Memberships (see
Article 10), granted by the Executive Board. The IFF Membership shall cover an
institution (publishing house, library, university or academy department,
training centre etc. with an interest in lexicography), and not an individual.
The IFF sponsorships shall be subject to review every second year. Applications
for sponsorship for the coming term, including renewals, shall normally be
submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer before the end of October.
This Fund
effectively no longer exists as our move to having Oxford Journals managing our
subscriptions makes it difficult to collect extra funds. Gifts are always
welcome, but small amounts in currrency=ies other than sterling are too costly
to manage. This article must be rewritten in consequence of the changes to
article 10.
ACTIVITIES
Article 24. The Executive Board, in carrying
out the wishes of the General Meeting of Members, shall at all times strive to
achieve the aims of the Association with maximum effect and minimum
bureaucracy. Contacts with other bodies shall be sought without duplicating
effort, the free and critical exchange of information shall be encouraged and
the formation of regional, sectional and local branch groupings shall be
promoted.
Article 25. The two chief means of
communicating information in accordance with the aims of the Association shall
be the convening of meetings and the dissemination of publications such as a
Newsletter, a Journal or Conference Proceedings. General conferences on a wide
range of topics shall be held at regular intervals at different locations,
supplemented by small scale expert seminars and workshops on specific topics.
The Board
believes that this article needs clarifying.
The two chief means of communicating information in accordance with the
aims of the Association shall be the convening of meetings and the
dissemination of information through media such as a Newsletter, the
International Journal of Lexicography, the web site and internet mailing lists.
General conferences on a wide range of topics shall be held at regular
intervals at different locations, supplemented by small‑scale expert
seminars and workshops on specific topics.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Article 26. These articles of association may
be amended by a General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting, on
condition that such an amendment is supported by a vote of at least two thirds
of the Membership present. Only the General Meeting shall have the power to
dissolve the Association, which mandate must be ratified by nine tenths of the
Members in a subsequent postal ballot.
The Board
believes that this article needs clarifying.
These articles of association may be amended by a General Meeting or an
Extraordinary General Meeting, on condition that such an amendment is supported
by a vote of at least two thirds of the Membership present. Only the General
Meeting shall have the power to dissolve the Association, which mandate must be
ratified by nine tenths of the Members in a subsequent ballot.