ICHD statutes

Text adopted by the Statutory General Assembly, August 11th, 2000, in Oslo.
Also available as pdf (19Kb)

Article 1. Definition
1-a. The International Commission of Historical Demography (hereafter called ICHD) is an international non-governemental organization, whose permanent domicile and address is at Geneva, Switzerland.
1-b. The ICHD is an association of members of different nationalities, whose aim is to encourage the study of the history of population and of human society in general, and to further scientific exchange between researchers. The ICHD takes an interest in initiatives aiming at the development, the diffusion and the teaching of the science of historical demography.
1-c. The ICHD is governed by the statutes edited in the English language. Texts in other languages carry no juridical validity.
1-d. The ICHD has no fixed limit to the duration of its existence.
1-e. The permanent address of the ICHD is at Geneva, Switzerland, as long as the Board does not decide otherwise.
1-f. The ICHD recognizes as its date of foundation August 1960, at the General Assembly of the XIth International Congress of the International Committee of the Historical Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden.
1-g. The address of the secretariat of the ICHD is decided by the Board.

Article 2. Mode of action
2-a. The ICHD acts through meetings and publications.
2-b. Working languages of meetings and publications are French and English. The chaiman of a ICHD meeting decides upon whether an immediate translation into the other language is feasible. The editor in charge of a ICHD publication decides upon the languages to be used in that publication.
2-c. The person responsible for a ICHD meeting is appointed by the Board.
2-d. The person responsible for a ICHD publication is appointed by the Board.
2-e. The ICHD has the copyright to communications presented at the meetings which it organizes, whatever language is used. The ICHD retains the copyright to its publications, whatever the manner of financing, the date, the language, or the place of publication, unless a written contract has been drawn up, ceding the copyright to a third party, and duly signed by a legal representant of the ICHD.
2-f. The ICHD cooperates with other organizations, public or private, national or international, which may aid it -morally, materially or financially - in achieving its aims as defined in article 1 -b.

Article 3. Members
3-a. Members of the ICHD are elected according to the procedure described in article 3-d.
3-b. Members should already have contributed to the history of population and human society through research, publications, teaching or in other ways.
3-c. Members should be able to communicate at least in French or English.
3-d. To become a member of the ICHD, it is necessary to be accepted by the Board, which decides on the qualifications for admission. Candidates for membership in the ICHD should be presented to the Board in a letter of recommendation by a member of the ICHD, who should attest that the requirements in articles 3-b and 3-c are fulfilled. 3-e. Membership is lost by resignation, decease or expulsion by the Board. Expulsion takes effect by means of a registered letter to the party in question.
3-f. The Secretary General keeps a list of current members.
3-g. There are several types of members :
A/ Ordinary members
B/ Members who are national correspondents.
C/ Members who are organizations.
3-h. The Board decides how the members are classified by type, and is free to modify the classification.
3-i. A national correspondent does not necessarily reside in the country for which he/she is responsible. A corresponding member can cover several countries at the same time. There can be several correspondent for the same country.
3-j. Active members pay a membership fee. Former presidents and honorary presidents are exempted from paying the membership fee.
3-k. A member of the ICHD can be represented at a General Assembly by a nonmember, to whom the member must have given a written mandate. The mandatory, however, has no right to vote.

Article 4. General assemblies
4-a. The General Assembly comprises all active members of the ICHD. All the members duly inscribed, according to article 3-f, have the right to vote. Vote by correspondence is permitted.
4-b. The agenda of the General Assembly is drawn up by the Board.
4-c. The General Assembly meets at least once every 5 years.
4-d. This quinquennial assembly is called the Statutory General Assembly.
4-e. If need be, or on the occasion of a scientific meeting, or at the written proposal of half of the registered members plus one, the Board can convoke a General Assembly, called an Ordinary General Assembly.
4-f. The President, assisted by the members of the Board, presides over the General Assembly. At the Statutory General Assembly, the President reports upon the moral and financial situation of the ICHD.
4-g. At the Statutory General Assembly, after the business on the agenda has been attended to, one proceeds to the replacement of the outgoing members of the Board. Any absent member may give a written mandate to an attending member. The written mandate should be presented to the Board before the vote.
4-h. At the General Assemblies, only matters registered on the agenda should be treated.
4-i. French and English are the languages used at the General Assemblies. Interventions in other languages must be translated in one working language. The President decides whether an immediate translation into another language is opportune.
4-j. The Secretary General notifies members of the time and place of the General Assembly. The Board has no responsibility for notifications that have become lost due to causes beyond its control.

Article 5. The Board
5-a. The ICHD is governed by a Board composed of members elected for a 5-year period by the Statutory General Assembly.
5-b. The members of the Board can be re-elected.
5-c. The Board elects among its members a President, one or two vice-Presidents, and a Secretary General. If the outgoing President is re-elected to the Board, he/she cannot be appointed President for a second period.
5-d. In case of a vacancy, the Board makes a temporary replacement of this member. The next Statutory General Assembly makes the definitive replacement. Any member designed as a temporary replacement during the 5-year period is nominated only for the said period.
5-e. Candidates for membership on the Board should be presented in writing to the Board at least two months in advance of a Statutory General Assembly. Organizations are not eligible to the Board.
5-f. The Board must consist of persons of different nationalities.
5-g. The members of the Board should communicate at least in French or English, and if possible, in both languages.
5-h. The Board consists of at least 7 and at most 10 members.
5-i. The Secretary General should convoke at least one meeting of the Board between two Statutory Assemblies.
5-j. The Board appoints the persons responsible for meetings, working-groups and publications.
5-k. A member who has served as President is elegible for an honorary Presidency. Honorary Presidents are not eligible to the Board.
5-l. A member of the Board who has been absent from the meetings of the Board three times in a row, without valid reason, is considered by the Board as retiring. 5-m. A member of the Board can be represented at a meeting of the Board by another member of the Board, with the right to vote. The Board can invite experts to the meeting of the Board, but these invited persons have no right of vote.

Article 6. Administrative functions
6-a. The members of the Board function without remuneration. They serve at their own risk and peril. Travel expenses are secured by the members of the Board themselves, if possible with the assistance of the respective national committees or some other organization.
6-b. The Secretary General draws up the minutes of the proceedings of the General Assembly and of the Board, and preserves the archives of the ICHD.
6-c. The minutes of the proceedings of the Board are communicated only to members of the Board.
6-d. The Secretary General also exercises the functions of Treasurer, if the Board does not decide otherwise.
6-e. The ICHD is represented in court and officially by the President or the Secretary General.
6-f. The Board can, if it so wishes, draw up a set of internal rules in order to clarify the statutes, notably those that concern the internal administration of the ICHD.

Article 7. Modification of the Statutes
7-a. The Statutes can be modified on the proposal of the Board or by written proposal by one third of the members of the ICHD, the latter having to be presented to the Board at least two months in advance of a General Assembly.
7-b. Any modification of the present Statutes must be ratified by majority vote at a General Assembly.

Article 8. Resources
8-a. The budget of the ICHD is supplied through membership fees from the scientific institutions that adhere to it, various fees, registration fees at meetings, subscription fees, subsidies, gifts and legacies.
8-b. The Board decides upon the amount of the annual fee.
8-c. The financial year starts on January 1, and terminates on December 31 of the same year.

Article 9. Dissolution
9-a. The dissolution of the ICHD can be decided by at least two-thirds of the members present at a Statutory General Assembly. This General Assembly must appoint a liquidator.