IAIP – Constitution

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(Revised 2011)

Article 1: Name and Language
Article 2: Function
Article 3: Members, their rights and obligations
Article 4: Organization Structure
Article 5: Delegate Assembly (D.A.)
Article 6: The Board and its Duties
Article 7: Specific Duties of individual Members of the Board
Article 8: Election of the Members of the Board
Article 9: Recall
Article 10: The Sections
Article 11: The Council
Article 12: Amendments to the Constitution
Article 13: Voting Procedures
Article 14: Arbitrating Body
Article 15: Dissolution

Preamble

In order to bring together the organized bodies of Individual Psychology throughout the world and to provide a forum for international dialogue, collaboration and cooperation among these various bodies in regard to the further development and application of Individual Psychology, the individual organizations have created this Association.  It is the aim of this association to mutually encourage the members’ respective activities, to support their good fellowship and to enable them to make of their separate efforts a common cause.  We hereby mutually agree to base all decisions upon a profound respect for, and appreciation of, the diversity found within our international membership with respect to language, culture, politics, economics and professional areas of interest.  

Article 1: Name and Language

1.1 The official name of the association shall be the International Association of Individual Psychology (hereinafter referred to as “IAIP”). The association is based in Vienna. Wherever conflicts may exist between the various translations of this constitution, the German language version shall be considered the correct version. 

1.2 All functions mentioned in this constitution are female and male.

Article 2: Function

2.1 The primary function and purpose of IAIP is to promote the development of Individual Psychology theory, research and application throughout the world.  IAIP seeks to facilitate international dialogue, cooperation and collaboration among those bodies of the world actively involved in Individual Psychology.  The Association works to encourage and assist in the further growth of Individual Psychology throughout the international community. The IAIP is a nonprofit association.

2.2 The purpose of the Association is reached through the following ideological means: 

2.2.1 Organization and carrying out of conferences, congresses, trainings, presentations, meetings and discussion events.

2.2.2 Implementation and running of a library.

2.2.3 Implementation and running of an information website.

2.2.4 Editing of publications.

2.2.5 Cooperation with organizations and individuals within the country and abroad who pursue a similar purpose.

2.2.6 Dealing with specific topics of Individual Psychology in competent Sections.

2.2.7 Support for organizations and enterprises that pursue similar purposes.

2.3 The purpose of the Association is reached through the following material means:

2.3.1 Admission fee and membership dues.

2.3.2 Participation fees for events, congresses and trainings.

2.3.3 Donations, subventions of public authorities and private enterprises.

2.3.4 Collections.

2.3.5 Donations from last will and testament.

2.3.6 Earnings through editing publications.

Article 3: Members, their rights and obligations

3.1 Members shall be societies or institutes in various regions of the world which share the aims of the IAIP.  Members are to be independent non-profit organizations that do not belong to any other organization or political bodies and which operate in accordance with generally accepted democratic principles.

3.2 There shall be two membership categories within the IAIP:  regional associations and training institutes.  

a) A regional association can only apply for membership if it consists of at least a minimum of individual members who pay annual membership dues.

b) A training institute shall be an accredited and registered organization primarily involved in the provision of professional training in Individual Psychology to tuition paying students.  In order to become a member, the training institute has to carry out its activities financially and organizationally independent of any other organization.

The Board is authorized to settle any further details regarding the prerequisites for regional associations and training institutes in by-laws which are to be confirmed by the Delegate Assembly.

3.3 Applications for membership shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary-General of the IAIP who shall then submit the application to the Board. The Board shall review the application and submit it to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Delegate Assembly with its recommendations.  Upon approval by a majority of the D.A. newly accepted members may immediately nominate delegates for the Assembly with full membership rights and duties.  The seating of new delegates shall be the first order of business after the D.A. meeting is opened.

3.4 All members shall be required to pay membership dues which shall be determined by the Delegate Assembly.  

3.5 Each member is entitled to voting representation in the Delegate Assembly according to its assigned number of delegates specified in Article 5, Section 3.

3.6 All members have to comply with the constitution, the by-laws and all decisions of the Association and its institutions. The Delegate Assembly may suspend or expel any members for noncompliance with the constitution, its by-laws or any decisions or for significantly damaging the reputation of the Association.  A two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the D.A. is required for the suspension or expulsion of members.

Article 4: Organization Structure

The bodies of the IAIP are

  1. the Delegate Assembly (D.A.),
  2. the Board,
  3. the Sections,
  4. the Council,
  5. the Arbitrating Body.

Article 5: Delegate Assembly (D.A.)

5.1 The D.A. is the “meeting of members” as defined by the Association’s Constitution. It shall meet at regularly scheduled intervals as determined by the Board, at least twice (2) at each international congress and no later than every four years.  The invitation is drafted by the Board and has to include the place of meeting, date, time of beginning as well as the preliminary agenda and has to be sent to the last notified postal or e-mail address of each member. The invitation is to be sent at least two months prior to the day of the Delegate Assembly. Any applications for the D.A. have to reach the Board at least three weeks prior to the day of the next D.A. in order to be included in the agenda.

5.2 Upon request of at least five (5) members or of a tenth of members (in case this should be less than five members), the Board is bound to call an extraordinary meeting of the Delegates Assembly.  Such an Extraordinary D.A. meeting may be held through electronic mails or other means of indirect communication.  The agenda of the extraordinary Delegate Assembly shall be limited to that presented by the requesting member groups.  As far as the invitation is concerned, the regulations of Article 5 Section 1 apply correspondingly.

5.3 Each training institute shall be entitled to two (2) delegates. Regional societies with a minimum of 25, but no more than 100 members shall be assigned two (2) delegates.  For each up to 100 members over the initial 100, a regional society shall be granted one additional delegate to a maximum of eight (8) delegates.

5.4 A delegate can only represent one (1) member. Each delegate has only one (1) vote. 

5.5 A quorum shall exist when at least half of the total number of accredited delegates are present.  In cases where the required half of the delegates is not reached within 30 minutes after the appointed beginning of the D.A. session, the Delegate Assembly shall be deemed to be quorate in its current composition as long as at least two-thirds (2/3) of those present agree to it. The regulations of this paragraph are not applicable to extraordinary Delegate Assemblies which are held via electronic mail or other means of indirect communication. 

5.6 Resolutions can only be passed if they refer to the agenda. This does not apply to resolutions concerning the setting of an extraordinary Delegate Assembly.

5.7 Delegates are to be selected by their respective member organizations.  The list of member’s delegates shall be submitted to the Secretary-General prior to any D.A. meeting.  The delegate list in the Secretary-General’s possession shall be binding.  Members must notify the Secretary-General of any changes in the official list of delegates before the beginning of any D.A. meeting.  

5.8 The Delegate Assembly shall

  1. vote to accept the minutes of the previous D.A. meetings, receive a financial report from the Treasurer and reports from each Section,
  2. determine the amount of the financial contributions (dues) required of the members,
  3. pass the report from the Board,
  4. elect new members for the Board (President, Vice President, Secretary-General, and Treasurer) and displace individual or all members of the Board,
  5. approve any changes to the Constitution and association’s By-Laws.

5.9 A member organization that is more than six (6) months in delay with its financial obligations to the IAIP shall not be entitled to further representation at the D.A. until its financial obligations have been duly met.   

Article 6: The Board and its Duties 

6.1. The Board represents the “management” in the sense of the Association’s law. It carries out all duties that are not clearly assigned to another body of the Association. The duties of the Board include the administration of the Association, the execution of any issues of the IAIP between the Congresses and the fulfillment of the duties stated hereafter, as well as the carrying out of any tasks arising from the decisions taken at the Delegate Assembly. 

6.2 The Board consists of four members, i.e. the President, the Vice President, the Secretary-General and the Treasurer. The members of the Board are elected by the Delegate Assembly for a period of three years, and in any case they stay in office until the D.A. meeting scheduled for the end of that period, however, for a duration of four years at the most. The President and the Vice President may not come from the same continent.    

6.3 The Board shall

  1. prepare and conduct all Delegate Assembly meetings.
  2. Receive reports from the chairpersons of the Sections.
  3. Report to the Delegate Assembly.
  4. Review pending applications for membership and give corresponding recommendations to the general assembly.
  5. Review the current status of each member and make any necessary recommendations to the general assembly.
  6. Appoint Honorary Presidents of the IAIP who will become members of the Council and dismiss them. 

6.4 Vacancies among the Members of the Board may be coopted by the Board itself and they shall stay in office until the election at the next regular Delegate Assembly meeting. 

Article 7: Specific Duties of individual Members of the Board

7.1 The President represents the IAIP in all external issues, presides all meetings of the Board and of the Delegate Assembly, carries out all tasks described in this Constitution and implements all decisions taken by the Delegate Assembly. The President can delegate these tasks to other members of the Board, especially to the Vice President.

7.2 The Secretary-General shall keep the records of the IAIP, distribute all information and receive any information from the members. Together with the President he prepares the items of the agenda for all meetings of the Board and of the Council as well as of the Delegate Assembly. The Secretary-General shall be responsible for transmitting all notifications from members and from external sources to the Board.  He shall be responsible for distributing any information to the members and shall be the official body through which the members of the Board communicate among themselves. All information sent by the Secretary-General to the members shall be addressed to the address which the member has officially registered with the IAIP.  A message properly sent to this address shall be presumed to have been effectively transmitted to the member in question.

7.3 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial expenditures and transactions of the IAIP including the administration of money holdings, submitting due bills to members and receiving payments.  The Treasurer shall keep records of all financial transactions and shall prepare an annual budget.  The Treasurer shall report on all monies received and spent.

7.4 The Vice President represents the President in case the latter is absent.

7.5 The Board is quorate if all its members were invited and if at least half of them are present. The Board passes its resolutions by simple majority; in case of an equality of votes, the vote of the President is decisive. The Board may also pass resolutions by remote polling (via electronic mail or other means of indirect communication). In case only two members of the Board are present or if only two members of the Board take part in the remote polling, the resolutions can only be passed unanimously.  

Article 8: Election of the Members of the Board

8.1 The election procedure of the IAIP shall be by written ballot and may be secret if requested by ten percent (10%) of the delegates present.  

8.2 The Secretary-General shall solicit nominations for the members of the Board from each member at least six (6) months prior to the next regularly scheduled Delegate Assembly meeting.  The Secretary-General shall then inform all members about the nominations received and all nominated members at least two months prior to the Delegate Assembly meeting.  During the Delegate Assembly meeting additional nominations may be submitted from the floor before the beginning of the election process.  All nominations from the floor must receive a minimum of ten endorsements from other delegates.

8.3 Elections shall require an absolute majority. Balloting shall be repeated until the total required number of members of the Council are elected by such a majority.  As soon as any one person receives such a majority, he or she shall be deemed elected.  

8.4 The sequence of balloting and other details of the proceeding shall be determined by the President.

8.5 The newly elected Members of the Board shall assume their duties at the end of the Delegate Assembly meeting at which they were elected unless otherwise decided by the Delegate Assembly.

Article 9: Recall

9.1 Upon petition of a majority of the Board or of ten percent of the members, an Extraordinary Delegate Assembly meeting is to be convoked for the purpose of recalling one or various members of the Board of the IAIP.  For a recall a two-thirds (2/3) majority is required in the Delegate Assembly meeting.

Article 10: The Sections

10.1 The IAIP shall form Sections with specific subjects.  The Sections must be based upon primary fields of recognized professional activity.  The Sections are no legal personalities. Currently there are the six following Sections: 

  • Science: Theory and Research.
  • Counseling.
  • Therapy.
  • Education / Pedagogics.
  • Economy & Organizations.
  • Psychotherapy for children and adolescents.

10.2 Each Section shall develop its own by-laws. The by-laws shall be submitted to the Delegate Assembly for approval and may not contradict the Constitution of the IAIP. The by-laws of the Sections are summarized in the annex to the Association’s Constitution.  

10.3 Each Section shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman by an absolute majority vote. The chairperson shall also be a member of the Council in which he/she represents the Section. 

10.4 The members determine independently which of their delegates will represent them in the various Sections of the IAIP. The representatives must meet the terms of admission set by the Section’s by-laws.

10.5 A new Section can be established through the following procedure:

  1. A petition must be submitted to the Board for establishing the new Section along with letters of approval (declarations of support) from the chairperson of a minimum of five (5) members.
  2. The Board shall submit the petition to the Delegate Assembly along with its recommendation for approval.
  3. The Delegate Assembly must then approve the petition by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.

10.6 According to need and upon approval by the Board, the President may convoke ad-hoc committees.  The duration of such an ad-hoc committee will be determined by the President in cooperation with the Board.  The President shall appoint the chairperson of each committee who, in turn, shall appoint the committee’s members.

Article 11: The Council

11.1 The Council consists of Honorary Presidents (Article 6 Section 3) and the chairpersons of all Sections. The   Council elects a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. In case the chairperson of an Section is absent, the vice-chairperson assumes the representation in the Council.

11.2 The Council assists the exchange of expertise between the various Sections and the members. It also assists in preparing International Congresses and advises the Board on professional questions.

11.3 The Council can report to the Delegate Assembly. Its members can participate in the Delegate Assembly meeting in an capacity.

11.4 The Council has to meet with the Board for mentoring purposes at least once during an International Congress.

Article 12: Amendments to the Constitution

12.1 A two-thirds (2/3) majority of votes cast at a Delegate Assembly or Extraordinary Delegate Assembly shall be required for an amendment to the Constitution.  

12.2 The members shall be informed about any proposed amendments as soon as possible.  The final vote on such an amendment to the Constitution may not be carried out until at least sixty (60) days after the members have been notified of the proposed amendment.   

Article 13: Voting Procedures

13. All motions must receive a simple majority of favorable votes for passage.  Only votes in favor and votes against shall be counted.  Abstentions shall be regarded as votes not cast.

Article 14: Arbitrating Body

14.1 For arbitrating any conflicts arising within the Association, the Arbitrating Body is appointed. It is an “Arbitrating Body” in the sense of the Association’s Constitution and not a tribunal of arbitration as of the Austrian §§ 577ff ZPO. 

14.2 The members of the Arbitrating Body may not belong to any institution – except for the Delegate Assembly – that is involved in the conflict. After having heard both parties if all its members are present or by circulation if all its members participate, the Arbitrating Body comes to a decision with simple majority. It takes its decision to the best of its knowledge. Its decisions are irrevocable within the Association.

14.3 In addition the Board is authorized to define the composition and the means and methods in by-laws. 

Article 15: Dissolution

15.1 A voluntary dissolution of the Association is only possible with a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the total number of authorized voting delegates in the Delegate Assembly meeting. In the event of a dissolution, the Delegate Assembly also decides on the clearing of the Association and on the destiny of the Association’s assets that are left after having balanced all liabilities.

15.2 In case of the Association’s dissolution or if the so far privileged purpose of the Association is not given any longer, the remaining assets of the Association shall be used for non-profit purposes in the sense of the Austrian §§ 34ff Bundesabgabenordnung (Federal Fiscal Code) only.