\n
Art. 5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Collective and individual members<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>Membership of the FEDE is open to people and institutions that share its views and objectives. The admission of new members is, in all cases, subject to the agreement of the association (Art. 8).<\/p>\nCollective member<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n2<\/sup>FEDE members are in principle collective members<\/strong>: independent schools, institutes and establish-ments that carry out educational activities; organisations or associations focusing on education, and professional or interprofessional organisations and trade unions. Collective members designate and appoint a natural person to act as their representative<\/strong> in their relations with the FEDE.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>Where several establishments are part of the same educational group, each establishment has its own representative. An establishment is defined as such on the basis of a company registration number or equivalent national form of registration specific to the country where it was set up. Educational groups may decide at any time to designate, remove or modify the representatives of the establishments in the group; these are internal matters at the discretion of the educational groups and do not have to be justified by them.<\/p>\nIndividual member<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n4<\/sup>Persons renowned for their services to education, new professions or job creation, or who have or have had high-profile and successful professional or academic careers, may be accepted as individual members. The same principle applies to persons who have previously held office within the Federation and who feel an attachment to it.<\/p>\nArt. 6 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Membership categories<\/strong><\/p>\nEvery individual or collective member necessarily belongs to one of the following seven categories: full member, affiliated member, observer member, associate member, honorary member, qualified member or probationary member.<\/p>\n
1- <\/sup>FULL MEMBERS <\/strong>are members who demonstrate or have demonstrated their dedication to the as-sociation\u2019s cause; who, except in the case of a major impediment, take part in General Assembly ses-sions and make themselves available when necessary to carry out relevant tasks. Full members may receive a membership certificate and communicate their membership of the Federation to third parties; they may use the title \u201cFEDE member\u201d or an equivalent term when referring to themselves.<\/p>\n\n- Geographic location<\/span>: FULL MEMBERS are institutions located in any member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: FULL MEMBERS enjoy full voting rights at the General Assembly. FULL MEMBERS wishing to take on responsibilities within the Committee or the Executive Council may stand for election after two full years of membership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2- <\/sup>AFFILIATED MEMBERS <\/strong>are legal persons who wish to be associated with the FEDE. In particular, they may be organisations or associations operating in the field of education, or professional or interprofessional organisations and trade unions.<\/p>\n\n- Geographic location<\/span>: AFFILIATED MEMBERS are institutions that may or may not be located in a member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: AFFILIATED MEMBERS do not enjoy voting rights at the General Assembly and are therefore not eligible. However, FEDE bodies may entrust an AFFILIATE MEMBER with a specific assignment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3- <\/sup>OBSERVER MEMBERS<\/strong> are members which carry out educational or teaching activities in a country that is not a member of the Council of Europe. Likewise, the legal persons mentioned in Art. 6(2) that do not belong to a Council of Europe member state may also be accepted as \u201caffiliated observer members\u2019\u201d. Observer Members may elect from amongst themselves Associate Members who will enjoy the same rights as full members.<\/p>\n\n- Geographic locatio<\/span>n: OBSERVER MEMBERS are institutions located in a non-member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: OBSERVER MEMBERS do not enjoy voting rights at the General Assembly and are therefore not eligible. However, FEDE bodies may entrust an OBSERVER MEMBER with a specific assignment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
4- <\/sup>ASSOCIATE MEMBERS<\/strong> are members elected by and amongst observer members for a period of four years, during the year preceding elections to the FEDE Committee and Executive Council (i.e. no later than 31 December of the preceding year). ASSOCIATE MEMBERS are appointed according to the Rules of Procedure.<\/p>\n\n- Geographic location<\/span>: ASSOCIATE MEMBERS are institutions located in a non-member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: ASSOCIATE MEMBERS enjoy voting rights at the General Assembly. ASSOCIATE MEMBERS wishing to take on responsibilities within the Committee or the Executive Council may stand for election; however, they shall never represent more than 30% of the total Committee membership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
5- <\/sup>HONORARY MEMBERS <\/strong>are persons admitted to the association on the basis of special services rendered to the FEDE or the causes it supports. They may introduce themselves as \u201chonorary FEDE members\u201d to third parties. The membership category to which they belong is honorary.<\/p>\n\n- Geographic locatio<\/span>n: HONORARY MEMBERS are institutions or individuals, which may or may not be located in a member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: HONORARY MEMBERS do not enjoy voting rights at the General Assembly and are therefore not eligible. However, FEDE bodies may entrust an HONORARY MEMBER with a specific assignment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
6- <\/sup>QUALIFIED MEMBERS <\/strong>are natural persons. They are individual members renowned for their services to education, new professions or job creation, or who have or have had high-profile and suc-cessful professional or academic careers. This membership category is honorary.<\/p>\n\n- Geographic location:<\/span> QUALIFIED MEMBERS are natural persons who may or may not be located in a member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: QUALIFIED MEMBERS do not enjoy voting rights at the General Assembly and are therefore not eligible. However, FEDE bodies may entrust a QUALIFIED MEMBER with a specific task.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
7- <\/sup>PROBATIONARY MEMBERS <\/strong>are legal entities whose membership application has been approved by the FEDE Committee, subject to a one-year probationary period intended to support their integration and assess their alignment with and commitment to FEDE values and objectives.<\/p>\nThe duration of the probationary period shall be set to 12 months, renewable once, starting from the date of the Committee\u2019s approval. At the end of this probationary period, the Committee shall decide whether to validate the institution’s membership, with three possible outcomes:<\/p>\n
– Admission as a full member, enjoying the full range of members\u2019 rights.
\n– Extension of the probationary period for up to one further year; where appropriate, a complimentary assessment may be conducted.
\n– Refusal to grant membership, with immediate termination of the application process and without any obligation to justify the decision. In the event that an application is definitely rejected, the applicant shall have no right to appeal nor compensation.<\/p>\n
All probationary members commit to abide by the FEDE Statutes, Rules of Procedure and Operational Rules. Any infringement may result in the immediate termination of the probationary period by the Committee.<\/p>\n
\n- Geographic location<\/span>: PROBATIONARY MEMBERS are legal entities that may or may not be located in a member country of the Council of Europe.<\/li>\n
- Voting rights and eligibility<\/span>: PROBATIONARY MEMBERS do not enjoy voting rights at the General Assembly and are therefore not eligible. However, FEDE bodies may entrust a PROBATIONARY MEMBER with a specific task.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Art. 7 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Membership privileges<\/strong><\/p>\nRegardless of their membership category, all FEDE members are invited to events organised by the Federation and receive all the information reserved for members or intended to raise awareness of the FEDE and its members before government authorities and the public. Where FEDE initiatives or programmes are also open to third parties, the conditions in place for members are in principle more favourable than for non-members.<\/p>\n
Art. 8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Admission of new members<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>A person or institution mentioned in Art. 5(1) that wishes to join the association must present their application in writing to the Chairperson. All applicants are required to pay in advance an application fee and an admission fee that are calculated according to a table of fees established by the Executive Council. Whatever the final decision made on the application, the application fee is not refundable. The admission fee is refunded if membership is refused.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>The application form is submitted to the Committee, which grants or does not grant the applicant membership status according to the various membership categories.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>The Chairperson transfers the duly completed and submitted application to the Committee for consideration at its next meeting following the receipt of the application form.<\/p>\n4<\/sup>Newly admitted members are placed in one of the categories specified in Art. 6. Applicants who do not agree with the decision taken by the Committee in this respect have the right to withdraw their application by stating this wish in writing to the Chairperson within 15 days of the decision.<\/p>\n5<\/sup>The Committee can impose on candidates a probationary year of activity within the FEDE before it decides whether to grant membership; this probationary year may be renewed once. In this case, the decision whether to grant definitive membership is made at the end of the probationary period. Whatever the final decision made, the application fee is not refundable. 50% of the admission fee is refunded if membership is refused.<\/p>\n6<\/sup>If an applicant does not agree with the Committee\u2019s decision to impose a probationary period, it may withdraw its application by sending a written request to the Chairperson within 15 days. The application fee is not refundable.<\/p>\n7<\/sup>The categories of membership granted are listed in Article 6. An applicant that does not agree with the category of membership granted to it by the Committee has the right to withdraw its application by sending a written request to the Chairperson within 15 days.<\/p>\n8<\/sup>Furthermore, the right of appeal of applicants whose application is rejected, or who have grievances, is covered by Article 26.<\/p>\nArt. 9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Resignations<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>According to the law, \u2018members are authorised by the law to leave the association, provided that their decision to leave is announced six months before the end of the calendar year or, in the case where a financial year has been defined, six months prior to the end of that year\u2019.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>Resignations must be made in writing.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>Membership fees are due in keeping with Art. 20(4).<\/p>\nArt. 10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Expulsions<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>In conformity with Article 25, the Executive Council has the right to impose sanctions on members.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>The possible sanctions against members that do not respect the FEDE\u2019s rules are: surveillance measures, reprimand, suspension, removal from office, and expulsion. The Executive Council is sovereign as to the degree of sanction applied.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>Only the General Assembly can pronounce the expulsion of members belonging to the Committee or Executive Council.<\/p>\n4<\/sup>The member is informed of the sanction in writing, and the reason is indicated.<\/p>\n5<\/sup>The excluded member\u2019s right of appeal is governed by Art. 26.<\/p>\n6<\/sup>Membership fees are due in accordance with Art. 20(4).<\/p>\n7<\/sup>Members who are behind with payments of their membership fees, or with any other financial obliga-tions to the FEDE, automatically owe interest on arrears at the statutory rate in force in Switzerland + 2 percentage points.<\/p>\n8<\/sup>Where surveillance measures are applied, a surveillance fee will be charged.<\/p>\n9<\/sup>Any member subject to surveillance measures, suspension or removal from office in the year of elections or the year preceding elections may not stand for election for membership of the Committee or Executive Council.<\/p>\nArt. 11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0List of members<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>The association keeps an updated list of members that indicates their membership category and, in the case of collective members, the names of their respective representatives. The responsibility for keeping this list lies with the Chairperson (within the meaning of Art. 12b), who delegates its practical execution to a trustworthy person.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>In the case of a disparity or disparities between the list and the source documents (meeting reports, correspondence etc.), the information in the source documents takes precedence unless counterevidence is provided.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>The list may be freely consulted by members. The list is not assignable, transferable or usable. Consultation of the list may however be refused by the Executive Council for legitimate reasons, namely in cases where there is reason to believe that the list will be used in a way that is alien to or runs counter to the interests of the association. In cases of doubt, the person in charge of keeping the list seeks the permission of the Executive Council before authorising the consultation of the list or providing a copy of it.<\/p>\n4<\/sup>The list of members is freely available to those members wishing to exercise their legal right to convene the General Assembly (Art. 12d(2)).<\/p>\n5<\/sup>The list of members may appear in the Federation\u2019s publications (directory and other documents) as well as on its website. No member may refuse the inclusion of its name in the FEDE\u2019s communications or, particularly, in its directory. The refusal to be listed as a FEDE member entails immediate expulsion.<\/p>\n<\/div>III.ORGANISATION<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n
Art. 12\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0General Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n12a\u00a0Membership<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>The General Assembly, as a decision-making body of the association, is composed exclusively of full and associate members.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>Affiliated members, observer members, honorary members, qualified members and probationary members have the right to attend sessions of the General Assembly, but their vote is only advisory in nature.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>Individual members and the representatives of collective members within the meaning of Art. 5(2 and 3) attend General Assembly sessions and, according to their membership category, exercise a full or advisory vote.<\/p>\n12b\u00a0Prerogatives<\/strong><\/p>\nThe General Assembly is the supreme body of the association. It approves the Federation\u2019s strategy, appoints from amongst its members a Chairperson, who is automatically Chairperson of the Committee and of the Executive Council, names the members of the Executive Council and Committee, and approves the Federation\u2019s annual accounts and financial report. The General Assembly possesses all the other powers accorded it by the present Statutes.<\/p>\n
12c\u00a0Sessions<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>The General Assembly meets whenever necessary but at least once per year in the context of an \u2018ordinary session\u2019. At this session the Federation\u2019s accounts and finances for the current year or previous financial year (within the meaning of Art. 22) are discussed, and, where necessary, the members of the Executive Council, the Committee and, where relevant, the auditors are elected or returned to office.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>The General Assembly is chaired by the Chairperson or, in the Chairperson\u2019s absence, by the Vice-Chairperson or one of the Vice-Chairperson(s) if there are several, or, in the absence of the Vice-Chairperson(s), by another member of the Executive Council or the Committee. If none of these per-sons are available, the full members present elect a chairperson for the session from amongst themselves.<\/p>\n12d\u00a0Convening the General Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>The General Assembly is convened by the Chairperson, the Executive Council or at least three members of the Executive Council.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>In keeping with the law, a request to convene a session of the General Assembly may be made by the Federation\u2019s members if it is supported by at least one fifth of those members. The members concerned must be up to date with payment of their membership fees. This right belongs to all members of the categories set out in Articles 6(1) and 6(4). The request must be made to the Chairperson or the Executive Council.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>Notices convening the General Assembly are issued in writing and sent to every member, regardless of their membership category, at least one month in advance.<\/p>\n12e\u00a0Agenda<\/strong><\/p>\nNotices convening the General Assembly are accompanied by the agenda. Any member who has individual proposals to make may do so during the session in the \u2018other business\u2019 portion that must be in-cluded in the agenda.<\/p>\n
12f\u00a0Deliberations<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>Where the General Assembly has been duly convened it may legitimately deliberate regardless of the number of members present or represented.<\/p>\n2<\/sup>A member unable to attend the session in person may be represented by another member. However, a given member may not be proxy for more than three members (and cannot therefore be in possession of more than four ballot papers, including that member\u2019s own). Moreover, a full member or associate member must be represented by another member of the same category (Art. 6). Powers of representation must be conferred in writing by the person to be represented (by proxy). Representation by a person who is not a member of the association is not allowed.<\/p>\n3<\/sup>An attendance list stating the names of members present and members represented is drawn up under the responsibility of the Chairperson or chairperson of the session. A list of proxies is annexed.<\/p>\n4<\/sup>The Chairperson or chairperson of the session also ensures that at least a brief report of the deliberations is drawn up by the General Secretary or the session Secretary appointed by the General Assembly to replace the General Secretary. The decisions mentioned in the report do not enter into force unless the following conditions are met:<\/p>\n– the report is signed by at least two people (including the Chairperson or the session chairperson and its author);<\/p>\n
– it states that the Assembly has been duly convened (or that all its members are present or represented);<\/p>\n
– it refers to the attendance list (or to the fact that all members are present);<\/p>\n
– it states the results of the votes.<\/p>\n
12g\u00a0Votes\/majorities<\/strong><\/p>\n1<\/sup>Every full member and every associate member who is present or duly represented enjoys a full vote at the General Assembly.<\/p>\n