HUNGARIAN ATLANTIC COUNCIL
1016 Budapest, Bérc u. 13-15.
CHARTER
Budapest, 12 December 2012
CHARTER[1]
of the Hungarian Atlantic Council
Chapter 1
General provisions
- The name of the Organization:
Hungarian Atlantic Council – hereinafter referred to as: Council.
- Headquarters of the Organization:
1016 Budapest, Bérc u. 13-15.
- Legal status of the Organization:
The Hungarian Atlantic Council is a legal entity founded according to Act no. 2 of 1989 on the right of association, and the Civil Code.
Chapter 2
Activities and goal of the Council
- Goal of the Council:
(1)The goal of the Hungarian Atlantic Council: to promote, strengthen, and validate Euro-Atlantic integration while keeping in mind our most basic national and common interests.
(2)The Hungarian Atlantic Council – while adhering to the common values and interests of Euro-Atlantic cooperation – wishes to take an active role in
a)promoting the contractually defined principles of NATO and EU,
b)uniting the activities of Hungarian organizations dedicated towards the ideology and goals of transatlantic cooperation,
c)promoting cooperation between the democratic countries of Europe and North America,
d)spreading the European spirit and the main ideology of Atlantic cooperation within the Hungarian public opinion.
(3)The Hungarian Atlantic Council (HAC) and its youth organization, the Hungarian Youth Atlantic Council (HYAC) represent Hungary in
- the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) and its youth organization
- the international bodies and events of the Atlantic movement
(4)In order to reach the goals outlined in paragraph (1) The Hungarian Atlantic Council performs activities of public benefit that promote Euro-Atlantic integration.
Such activities include:
- organizing conferences and other social gatherings
- putting out publications
- organizing exhibitions
- supporting publishing, the conduction of research, and the formation of clubs
- giving educational lectures
- taking part in adult education in cooperation with other organizations
(5)In order to fulfill the goals outlined in paragraphs (1) and (2), the Council cooperates with other foreign and local organizations during the activities outlined in paragraphs (3) and (4)
(6)The Council does not engage in any political activity, is independent of any political parties, and neither provides nor receives any financial support whatsoever to and from such parties. It is also forbidden from backing or funding any candidate representative in the Hungarian Parliament, the European Parliament, or any local government.
(7)Any documents related to the operation of the Council are publicly accessible. Access must be provided by the Secretary-General. In case of such inquiries the relevant regulations regarding the protection of personal information must be considered.
Chapter 3
Membership of the Council
5. Members of the Council
(1)The Council consists of individual ordinary, active supporting, institutional ordinary, and active supporting institutional members.
(2)An ordinary member of the Council can be any person or legal entity invited by the Presidium whom – having accepted the invitation – understands and adheres to this Charter and pays the annual membership fee.
(3)A supporting member of the Council can be any person or legal entity who wishes to support the Council in reaching its goals.
(4)The Council can have a maximum of 300 (three hundred) individual ordinary and 30 (thirty) institutional ordinary members.
(5)As an obvious consequence of the public nature of its activities, anyone apart from the members of the Council can benefit from its services for public benefit.
6. Formation of ordinary membership
(1)The invitation and admission of ordinary members is decided by the Presidium.
(2)Decisions by the Presidium regarding the invitation of new members are made based on current needs, and the principles of admission of members approved by the Presidium itself on an annual basis.
(3)If the number of individual ordinary members drops below 120, the Presidium calls for an Assembly meeting in order to decide on the invitation of new members.
7. Formation of supporting membership
The Presidium decides on the acknowledgement of supporting members based on their statement of support. In all other aspects, the formation of supporting membership shall be governed by the rules regarding the formation of ordinary membership.
8. Termination of membership
(1)Membership status is terminated in the event of:
- death of the member in case of natural persons, or termination of the legal entity,
- withdrawal,
- expulsion.
(2)The intention to withdrawal must be submitted to the Presidium in the form of a written statement.
(3)The Presidium will decide to expel any member whose actions violate the Charter, or in any way damage the good reputation of the Council. The decision must have proper reason, and the member must be informed about the possibility of legal remedy. The Assembly shall decide on any legal remedy against the decision.
9. Members rights and obligations
(1)It is both the right and obligation of members to take part in the work performed by the Council.
(2)One appointed representative each from both the individual ordinary and the institutional ordinary members has the right to participate in the election of the bodies and officers of the Council, and the right to vote during the Assembly of the Council.
(3)Representatives of the individual supporting and institutional supporting members have the right to participate in the Assembly of the Council, where they may speak up and submit motions. However, they do not have the right to vote, and cannot be elected as officers of the organization.
(4)Individual ordinary members must pay a membership fee of HUF 3,000 per year. Retired members pay 50 (fifty) percent of the membership fee. The annual membership fee of institutional ordinary members is determined by the Presidium. If approved by the Presidium, institutional ordinary members may settle all or part of their membership fee with services in kind. The Presidium may exempt certain members from paying the membership fee.
Chapter 4
Main bodies and officers of the Council
10. Main bodies of the Council:
a)the Assembly,
b)the Presidium,
c)the Supervisory Board,
d)deleted
e)the membership.
11. Officers of the Council:
a)the President
b)the Vice Presidents
c)the Secretary-General
d)the President and Members of the Supervisory Board
e)presidential consultants
12. The Assembly
(1)The Assembly – comprised of all ordinary members, and convening at least once every year – is the main body of the Council. All meetings of the Assembly are public. However, the Assembly may decide to have a closed-door meeting when necessary.
(2)The Assembly has the right to make decisions regarding any issues pertaining to the operation of the Council, and to investigate the work of any of its bodies or officers. However, it may not revoke the authority of other bodies and officers of the Council.
(3)It is the exclusive competence of the Assembly to:
a)define and amend the Charter
b)elect and dismiss officers
c)subsequently approve the yearly budget, evaluate the yearly performance of the organization, approve financial statements
d)accept the report of public benefit
e)review the Presidium’s decision regarding member expulsion
f)decide on the termination of the Council, or its merger with another organization
(4)When calling for an ordinary Assembly of the Council – of which members need to be notified in writing – the Presidium must publish the agenda and send out any written documents. The Assembly must convene at least once a year, and invitations must reach members no later than 30 days before the date of the Assembly. The Presidium is obligated to call for an exceptional Assembly if this was requested in writing by at least 1/3 of all members together with a proposed agenda, except when there is already a planned assembly for a date within 60 days from the date of the request, or it is due to be called for. In the latter case, the questions in the proposed agenda must be added to the actual agenda. The Assembly is public.
(4.1.) The Assembly is considered quorate if more than half of the members holding voting rights are present. In case of an inquorate Assembly a new Assembly must be called for with the same agenda, which shall be quorate regardless of the number of people present. Members must be informed of this legal consequence of their absence in the invitation letters. The calling of a new Assembly due to the original one being inquorate may also take place according to the conditions outlined in the invitation letter to the original Assembly.
(4.2.)The Assembly shall be chaired by the President of the Council, or their appointed Vice-President in case of their absence.
(4.3.)Decisions of the Assembly – unless stipulated otherwise by the Charter – are made by way of open majority voting among those present. At least 2/3 of the votes of those present are required to:
a)define and amend the Charter,
b)terminate, or merge the Council with another organization, and
c)recall any of the Council’s bodies or officers
In case of a tied vote, the President gets the deciding vote.
(4.4.)The Assembly elects officers by way of confidential voting.
(5)The approval of the annual report requires a decision made by those present at the Assembly by way of a simple majority voice vote. In the event that the Assembly does not approve the annual report, the Presidium must amend the report taking into consideration the remarks and suggestions discussed during the Assembly. In order to have the amended report approved, it must call for an extraordinary Assembly to convene on a date no later than 30 days after the date of the original Assembly. These rules are also applicable to the approval of the statement of public benefit.
(6)Meeting minutes must be kept during every Assembly. The minutes contain the time and venue of the Assembly, the elected keeper of minutes, vote counters and meeting minutes verifiers, any significant events during the Assembly, statements, the number of votes for and against any decision as well as those who abstained or did not take part in the vote, the content and scope of any decisions made. The meeting minutes must be signed by the elected keeper of minutes, the Secretary-General, and one of the members present at the Assembly who has been elected as a meeting minute verifier.
(7)All decisions made during the Assembly must be kept on record (Book of Decisions). Any decision must be entered into the Book of Decisions after it has been made. In the entry, the content and scope of the decision, as well as the ratio of votes for and against the decision must be clearly noted.
(8)Those present at the Assembly who are affected by any Assembly decision shall be considered to have been notified about the decision if it has been declared at the Assembly. The people affected who are not present at the Assembly shall be notified within 8 days by the Secretary-General via e-mail and by publishing the decision on the Council’s website.
(9)Assembly decisions must be published on the Council’s website within 15 days of the date of the Assembly.
(10)Any requests to access documents regarding the operation of the organization shall be fulfilled by the Secretary-General at the headquarters of the organization during an agreed appointment within 10 working days from the submission of the request.
(11)Any reports or other informative materials regarding the operations and services provided by the organization must also be published on the Council’s website.
13. The Presidium
(1)Duties and competence of the Presidium:
a)execution of decisions made by the Assembly;
b)governing the operation of the Council;
c)preparation of the statement of public benefit for every given year no later than the 31st of May of the following year;
d)preparation of the annual report and presenting it to the Assembly in conjunction with the statement of public benefit;
e)preparation of the financial plan and presenting it to the Assembly in conjunction with the annual report;
f)approval of the annual principles of admission of members;
g)determining the annual membership fee for institutional ordinary members;
h)other duties outlined in the Charter.
(2)The Presidium must notify all parties affected by any of its decisions within 8 days after the date of the decision by way of registered mail. It must also publish any decision on the Council’s website.
(3)The Presidium is made up of the President and the Vice Presidents; with a headcount of 9 (1 + 8 people). The President and the Vice Presidents are elected for a period of 3 (three) years by the Assembly by way of a majority voting among those present.
(4)The Presidium convenes as frequently as necessary, but at least once a year. Its meetings are open to the public. Meetings are called for by the President. The agenda of the meeting must be sent together with the written invitation to members of the Council, members of the Supervisory Board, the Secretary-General, the President of the HYAC – all of whom may participate in the meeting with rights of deliberation – , and other invitees if necessary no later than 1 day before the date of the meeting in case of urgent matters, and no later than 8 days before the meeting in case of ordinary matters. In case the President of the HYAC is unable to attend, they can be represented by another officer of the HYAC.
(5)Any meeting of the Presidium is considered quorate if more than half of the members are present. In case of an inquorate meeting a new meeting with the same agenda must be called for on a date within 14 days of the original meeting, which shall be quorate regardless of the number of members present. Members must be informed of the legal consequence of their absence in the invitation letters. The calling of a new meeting due to the original one being inquorate may also take place according to the conditions outlined in the invitation letter to the original meeting.
(6)The Presidium makes decisions by way of a simple majority voice vote. Minutes must be kept on all meetings of the Presidium. The meeting minutes must contain a summary of every matter discussed, and all decisions must be recorded word for word. The Presidium elects the keeper of minutes, who will then sign the minutes along with two members of the Presidium. All decisions made by the Presidium must be recorded (Book of Decisions of the Presidium) by noting the time, content, and scope of the decision along with the names and ratio of those in favor of and those against the decision. Any requests to access documents regarding the operation of the Presidium shall be fulfilled by the Secretary-General at the headquarters of the Council during an agreed appointment within 10 working days from the submission of the request.
(7)The President
a)represents the Council towards third parties and authorities,
b)chairs the meetings of the Presidium and the Assembly,
c)governs the operation of the Presidium
d)practices the competence of the whole Presidium – with its subsequent approval – in between meetings in case of matters of urgency
(8)The President may only be substituted by the Vice-President elected by them. Vice Presidents may only act within in the competence appointed to them by the President or the Presidium.
(9)The Secretary-General
a)represents the Council towards third parties and authorities;
b)manages the administrative tasks within the Council (specifically: handles all correspondence, the publication of all decisions, reports, and other informative materials, handles all records, provides access to documents, and maintains the member manifest);
c)handles any other day-to-day administrative tasks related to the operation of the Council;
d)practices employers rights among the employees of the Council;
e)oversees the execution of the budget and other plans based on the decisions of the Assembly, and under the supervision of the Presidium;
f)is liable for the financial management of the Council and for adhering to the budget at all times;
g)must report to the Presidium and the Assembly regarding his or her activities
h)must keep a record of all decisions made by the Assembly in a way that the content, time, and scope of the decision, as well as the ratio of those in favor of and against the decision (including their names, if possible) are clearly identifiable (Book of Decisions)
(9.1.) The Secretary-General is employed by the Presidium with a permanent contract, and by practicing employers rights towards them.
(9.2.) In case of the inability to fill the position of the Secretary-General, their tasks shall temporarily be fulfilled by one of the Vice Presidents acting as Executive Vice President, commissioned in writing by the President. This shall not be in the form of any separate labor relation.
(10)The President and the Secretary-General are authorized to sign on behalf of the Council.
14. The Supervisory Board
(1)The Supervisory Board is made up of three people. The Chairman and two members are elected from the members of the Council by the Assembly for a period of three years.
(2)The Supervisory Board defines its own regulations.
(3)The Supervisory Board oversees the operation and financial management of the Council. It is therefore authorized to request reports from officers, and to request any piece of information from employees of the Council. It can also view and analyze the books and other documents of the non-profit organization, either personally or by way of a commissioned person.