THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE CZECH CHAMBER OF ARCHITECTS
in compliance with the provisions of Section 23 subs. 6 of Act no. 360/1992 Coll. on Practice of Profession of Certified Architects and on Practice of Profession of Certified Engineers and Technicians Active in Construction as amended by Acts nos. 164/1993 Coll., 275/1994 Coll. and 224/2003 Coll. (hereinafter referred to as the „Act") and implementing some provisions of the Act defining the authority of the Czech Chamber of Architects, and in particular in compliance with the provisions of Paragraph h) of said Subsection and in compliance with the authorization resulting from the provisions of Section 25 subs. 4, para. b) and the authorization resulting from the provision of Section 30 subs. 1
declares
this
ORGANIZATIONAL, PROCEDURAL
AND ELECTORAL CODE
OF THE CZECH CHAMBER OF ARCHITECTS
adopted on the 24th of April 1993 and
amended on the 16th of April 1994,
on the 29th of April 1995,
on the 27th of April 1996,
on the 28th of April 1998,
on the 13th of April 1999,
on the 11th of April 2000,
on the 20th of April 2002
and on the 24th April 2004
(unabridged version)
PART ONE
INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
Section 1
This Code implements the provisions of Sections 8, 21 to 23 inclusive and Sections 30a through 30r inclusive of the Act, stipulating
a) The statute of the Czech Chamber of Architects (hereinafter referred to as the “Chamber“) and its management,
b) Details of membership in the Chamber,
c) Details of the structure and mutual relationships of the major and auxiliary bodies of the Chamber,
d) Details of the procedural principles and the decision-making of the bodies of the Chamber,
e) Details of the nomination of candidates and election to the individual bodies of the Chamber.
Section 2
Statute of the Chamber
[implementing Sections 23 and 30 of the Act]
(1)The Czech Chamber of Architects is a self-administered professional organization.
(2) The registered seat of the Chamber is in Prague.
(3) The Chamber has authority throughout the Czech Republic.
(4) The Chamber is a legal entity.
MANAGEMENT OF THE CHAMBER
[implementing Section 30 of the Act]
Section 3
(1)The Chamber shall have its own bank account, into which it is entitled to accept payments and to manage these payments.
(2)The Chamber may own and administer real estate and other assets.
(3)The Board of Directors of the Chamber is authorized to administer the Chamber's assets and funds.
(4)The Board of Directors of the Czech Chamber of Architects shall notify the Supervisory Board of the Czech Chamber of Architects of proposed single expenditures equal to or exceeding CZK 150,000.
(5) The Board of Directors of the Chamber is obliged to present to the General Assembly of the Chamber a report on the financial state and the results of the management of the Chamber for theprevious year, verified by an independent auditor.
Section 4
(1) The funds of the Chamber shall be spent and assets shall be used for the performance of the activities that appertain to the Chamber pursuant to Section 23 subs. 6 of the Act and pursuant to this Code. The financing of all activities of the Chamber is governed by the budget. The Board of Directors shall submit the draft budget for approval to the General Assembly.
(2)The preparation of the annual financial statement is undertaken by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall submit the prepared annual financial statement to an independent auditor for review no later than the 28th of February in the following year. The audited annual financial statement shall be submitted for review to the Supervisory Board of the Chamber no later than the 31st of March.
(3) After the annual financial statement has been audited by an independent auditor and reviewed by the SupervisoryBoard of the Chamber, the Board of Directors shall submit key data from the annual financial statement and a report on the economic results of the Chamber to the General Assembly for consideration and the budget for the next year for approval. In addition, the Supervisory Board shall submit a report on the results of its review with a proposal for approval or remedies to the General Assembly.
(4)The annual financial statement shall be prepared in compliance with generally binding legal statute and standard accounting principles in order to provide comprehensive information regarding the financial situation and the assets of the Chamber. The audited financial statement data shall be published in the Chamber's Bulletin.
(5)Should a special financial statement be prepared, the provisions of Subsections 3 through 5 inclusive stipulating the process audit, review, approval and disclosure of the annual financial statement shall apply commensurately.
(6)In addition to the annual financial statement, the Board of Directors or the Director of the Chamber Office, on the basis of authorization granted by the Board of Directors, shall ensure in compliance with valid accounting procedures the preparation of a simplified quarterly summary balance sheet providing basic information about the current financial position and assets of the Chamber and the effectiveness and efficiency of its management over the past calendar quarter. The simplified quarterly summary balance sheet shall be reviewed by the Supervisory Board.
(7)In addition to the simplified quarterly summary balance sheet, the Board of Directors or the Director of the Chamber Office, on the basis of authorization granted by the Board of Directors, shall ensure in compliance with valid accounting procedures the preparation of a monthly profit and loss statement providing basic information about the current financial position and assets of the Chamber, and the effectiveness and efficiency of its management over the preceding calendar month. The Supervisory Board may request that a specific monthly profit and loss statement be submitted for review.
(8)The Chamber will cover the necessary expenses incurred in connection with the discharge of the functions of the bodies of the Chamber, as well as compensation for the time spent in connection with the discharge of these functions to the amount of CZK 300.00 per hour for permanent activities and CZK 150.00 for each full hour of other necessary time spent in connection with the discharge of these permanent activities. This provision does not apply to General Assemblies and or to the activities of initiative groups.
THE CHAMBER Budget
[implementing Section25 subs. 4, para. i) and Section30 of the Act]
Section 4a
Instruments of financial management and budget
(1)The Chamber’s management is governed by its annual budget. This budget shall be approved by the General Assembly.
(2)The Chamber’s books shall be kept in accordance with the relevant legislation.[1]
(3)The Chamber’s budget is a financial plan governing the financing of the Chamber’s activities over a financial year; it comprises the expected revenues and estimated expenditures of the Chamber. The financial years runs concurrently with the calendar year.
(4) A balanced budget shall always be drawn up and submitted for approval. A budget deficit may be approved only exceptionally, in cases where such deficit may be met by
a) Funds from previous years, or
b)A contractually ensured loan,[2] a credit[3] or a returnable accommodation (hereinafter the “returnable sources“).
BUDGETARY PROCES
Section 4b
Budget preparation
The Board of Directors, in cooperation with the Chamber Office, prepares a draft budget on the basis of its budget strategy. The draft budget so prepared shall be published at least twenty-one days before it is discussed at the General Assembly of the Chamber. In accordance with the Procedural Code of the General Assembly, certified or resident registered persons may comment on the draft budget either in writing within the term set at the time of the draft budget’s publication, or orally at the General Assembly.
Section 4c
Provisional expenditures
and management principles during the period of provisional expenditures
(1) Until the General Assembly, the budget management of the Chamber is governed by the volumes of revenues and expenditures included in the budget approved for the previous financial year. Monthly expenditures are released in amounts up to one twelfth of the total amount expended in the previous year. It is permissible to exceed the aforementioned limit in cases of mandatory expenses directly related to the activities of the Chamber as set forth by the Act and approved by the Board of Directors.
(2) Should the budget not be approved by the General Assembly, the following principles are to be followed in the period of provisional expenditures:
a) Monthly expenditures shall be drawn in amounts not exceeding one twelfth of the approved budget for the preceding year,
b)The real volume of expended funds shall be matched to the real course of expenditures,
c)The Chamber shall fulfill duly and punctually not only its legal obligations but also its contractual obligations in order to retain smooth management,
d) No new contract relations threatening fulfillment of the obligations of the Chamber as set forth by the Act shall be made,
e) the aforementioned limit may be exceeded in cases of mandatory expenses directly related to the activities of the Chamber as set forth by the Act and approved by the Board of Directors.
(3)The budgetary revenues and expenditures arising in the period of provisional expenditures shall become revenues and expenditures of the Chamber’s approved budget.
(4) Should budgetary disapproval threaten the due performance of self-administration, the Board of Directors is obligated to convene an extraordinary General Assembly under the conditions set forth by the Act.
Section 4d
Budget management and budget changes
(1)The Chamber shall conduct its financial management in accordance with the approved budget and regularly, systematically and fully controls the management thereof throughout the financial year.
(2)The Chamber secures financial control in accordance with the relevant legislation.[4]
(3)The Board of Directors may change the previously approved budget of the Chamber by a three-fifth’s majority of votes of all members, and only for the following reasons:
a) Changes in management organization financed by a budget (organizational changes),
b) Changes of legal regulations affecting the size of budget revenues or expenditures (methodological changes) among which price changes affected by amendments of legal statutes concerning regulated prices are also included, or
c) Changes of fact affecting fulfillment of budget revenues or expenditures (material changes).
(4) Budgetary changes are effected through budgetary measures that shall be recorded in sequence.
(5) A budgetary measure is:
a) a transfer of budgetary finances, in which the particular income or expenses mutually affect one another, without affecting the total size of the budget or the approved difference in total receipts or expenses,
b) the use of new income not foreseen in the budget to meet new expenses not identified in the budget, thereby raising the total size of the budget,
c) the binding of budgetary expenses, if the covering thereof is threatened by incomplete budgetary income; this measure reduces the total size of the budget.
(6) The undertaking of budgetary measures is obligatory where changes affect the financial relationship to another budget or the binding indexes to other persons, or if there is an immediate threat of budgetary deficit.
PART TWO
MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHAMBER
Section 5
Types of membership
[implementing Section 23, Subsections 2, 3 and 4 of the Act]
(1) Regular members of the Chamber are all certified architects, certified urban planners and certified designers of environmentally stable land-use systems; regular members of the Chamber are also all registered persons practicing their profession on the territory of the Czech Republic under the conditions set forth in the Act on Professional Practice by Persons from Other EEA States and the Swiss Confederation, or under the conditions set forth by a bilateral or multiple international agreement made between the Czech Chamber of Architects and a state other than an EEA state or the Swiss Confederation, unless such an agreement is excluded by the obligations of the Czech Republic towards EEA states or the Swiss Confederation.
(2) Visiting members of the Chamber are all persons whose authority to practice professionally as architects in accordance with the Act has been verified abroad under conditions comparable to those valid for the certification of professional competence according to the Act and whose certificate has been recognized by the Chamber, if they apply to be entered into the list of registered visiting persons; this provision does not apply to registered visiting persons from other EEA states or from the Swiss Confederation.
(3) Extraordinary members of the Chamber are, in compliance with the Act, the following:
a) Persons who have applied for extraordinary membership of the Chamber on the basis of their own, particularly professional, interests, and who have become special members by the decision of the Board of Directors of the Chamber, or
b) Persons who have been awarded extraordinary membership of the Chamber by a decision of the Board of Directors, particularly in recognition of their contribution to the development of the profession.
Section 6
Commencement and cessation of membership
[implementing Section 23 subs. 2, 3 and 4 of the Act]
(1) Regular membership in the Chamber commences with the granting of certification or with registration of a resident person and ceases with the cessation or withdrawal of certification or with the withdrawal of a resident person’s registration.
(2) Visiting membership commences as of the date of entry into the list of registered visiting persons and ceases:
a) Upon written request of the visiting member, effective the submission date of such request,
b) By decision of the Chamber that it no longer recognizes the foreign certification for the professional practice of a visiting member.
c) By decision of the Board of Directors to cancel visiting membership on the basis of the non-fulfillment of the obligations of a visiting member.
(3) Extraordinary membership commences on the day of the decision of the Board of Directors to admit a person as an extraordinary member of the Chamber and ceases:
a) Upon written request of the extraordinary member, effective the submission date of such request,
b) By decision of the Board of Directors to cancel the extraordinary membership due to non-fulfillment of the obligations of an extraordinary member.
Section 7
Rights and obligations of members
[implementing Section 23 subs. 2, 3 and 4 of the Act]
(1) Regular members have the following rights in particular:
a) The right to participate in the General Assembly with a full vote,
b) The right to be elected or appointed to the bodies of the Chamber, with the exception of those members on who a disciplinary measure has been imposed and which has not yet been erased,
c) The right to participate in all of the Chamber's activities,
d) The right to turn to the bodies of the Chamber with proposals and suggestions.
(2) If, at the beginning of disciplinary proceedings, the Professional Court believes that there are justified concerns that a disciplinarily accused, who is the member of any body of the Chamber, will influence the course and results of the proceedings, it shall request that he/she suspend the discharge of their function(s) in the body of the Chamber for the whole period of the proceedings, and shall inform the chairperson of the body concerned. This fact shall be decided by a resolution against which no appeal can be lodged.
(3) The obligations of the regular members are as follows:
a) To conduct themselves in accordance with the Act and the internal Codes of the Chamber,
b) To pay duly and promptly annual membership dues of CZK 6,000. Should a person be able to demonstrate straitened financial circumstances (in particular due to illness, handicap, maternity leave or old age), the dues may, on the basis of a justified and supported application, be reduced to a minimum of CZK 1,500 by decision of the Board of Directors, or the due date may be postponed through a loan bearing no interest provided by the Chamber to the certified person concerned. The Board of Directors may decide to reduce the dues in cases of straitened financial circumstances, the illness or handicap of an architect of its own accord, or on the basis of an application submitted and recommended by at least two other certified persons associated with the Chamber and acting as guarantors; such a submitted application shall be considered individually on the basis of the recommendation of these guarantors. A regular member whose license has been suspended at his/her own request or a member whose certification has been suspended for disciplinary reasons shall also pay the minimum dues. Women on maternity leave whose certifications have been suspended are not liable for membership dues. If the obligation to pay the membership dues arises or ceases during a calendar year or, as the case may be, the amount of the dues changes during the year, then the dues shall be calculated pro rata, one twelfth of the annual dues multiplied by the appropriate number of months. The dues are to be paid by the 28th of February. If certification is granted after the 28th of February of the given year, the corresponding dues shall be paid within one month of the granting of certification.
(4) Visiting and extraordinary members have the following rights in particular:
a) The right to participate in the General Assembly in an advisory capacity, where the logistical conditions of the General Assembly allow this,
b) The right to be appointed to the Chamber's auxiliary bodies, especially working groups,
c) The right to participate in the creation of initiative groups,
d) The right to participate in all of the Chamber's activities, unless these are reserved for regular members only.
(5) The obligations of visiting members are:
a) To conduct themselves in accordance with current legislation, particularly the Act and the internal Codes of the Chamber, when practicing as architects on the territory of the Czech Republic,
b) To pay duly and promptly annual membership dues of CZK 3,000. If the obligation to pay the membership dues arises or ceases during the calendar year or the amount changes during the year, the dues shall be calculated pro rata, one twelfth of the annual fee multiplied by the appropriate number of months. The dues are to be paid by the 28th of February. If the visiting membership commences after the 28th of February of the given year, the corresponding dues shall be paid within one month of the commencement of the visiting membership.
(6) The obligations of extraordinary members as per Section 5 subs. 3 a) are as follows:
a) To conduct themselves in accordance with the Act as well as the internal Codes of the Chamber; whose provisions concerning certified and resident registered persons shall be applied commensurately,