Bye-Laws

Art. 1. Members of the Steering Committee may not vote at General Assemblies, except when this restriction would deprive a country of all representation, and then only when authorised by a vote of the Assembly. It is recommended that member societies do not send delegates who are members of the Steering Committee.

Art. 2. Proxies within the Steering Committee are accepted only up to two votes; no member can dispose of more than three votes at any given meeting.

Art. 3. If a vacancy occurs during the period of office of a Steering Committee member, the next eligible candidate in descending order of votes from the previous election shall be appointed to serve until the next General Assembly.

Art. 4. A member who fails to attend two consecutive Steering Committee meetings shall be sent a letter by the President inquiring whether they will continue. If the answer is negative, absent, or affirmative but followed by another absence, the Steering Committee may replace the member with the next eligible candidate. Travel subsidies may be rotated by the Treasurer to mitigate financial hardship.

Art. 5. Nominations for the President and Steering Committee are made by member societies and by the Steering Committee. Once elected, a Steering Committee member is not considered a representative of any institution. Only candidates who receive at least fifteen votes may be elected; if necessary to reach the statutory minimum of twenty-nine members, candidates with fewer votes may be appointed in descending order, serving until the next election.

Art. 6. The Steering Committee constitutes consultative committees whose members need not all be Steering Committee members. There are presently seven such committees: General Policy; Teaching Philosophy; Ethics of Science and Technologies (especially Bioethics); Intercultural Research in Philosophy; International Cooperation and Philosophical Encounters; Human Rights; and Gender Issues. Each committee submits an annual report. The President, Secretary General or Treasurer, and one Vice-President are ex officio voting members of every committee.

Art. 7. The Bureau normally meets twice a year (one meeting may be replaced by correspondence in non-urgent cases); the Steering Committee normally meets once a year. The Secretary General sends the agenda and documentation to all members two months in advance.

Art. 8. The Secretary General and Treasurer are responsible, in consultation with the President, for the administration of FISP. They are authorised to use the services of an officer who may act as assistant secretary, sign current documents, and co-sign cheques. Decisions of importance must be made with the consent of the Steering Committee, or at least the Bureau.

Art. 9. The Secretary General presents an annual report to the Steering Committee, with a preliminary version to the Bureau, detailing the activities of the officers and circulating the minutes of meetings.

Art. 10. If the President cannot attend a meeting, the Vice-Presidents — in the order of succession defined in the Statutes — chair it. Each Vice-President serves as ex officio member of at least one consultative committee.

Art. 11. The President (or a nominee) and the Chair of the Committee on Teaching Philosophy act for FISP in the administration of the International Philosophy Olympiads, in accordance with Article 2(f) of the Statutes.

Art. 12. Membership, fees, and voting rights:

1. To qualify for admission, a society must have existed and been active for at least two years and have at least one hundred members. The Steering Committee assesses its admission criteria, the level of scholarly work, and its publications.
2. Corresponding members may send one delegate to the General Assembly without voting rights.
3. Annual fees:
   • Corresponding Members (0 votes): €80
   • Full Members, 1 vote (100–500 members): €200
   • Full Members, 2 votes (501–1500 members): €400
   • Full Members, 3 votes (1501–3500 members): €600
   • Full Members, 4 votes (over 3500 members): €900
   Reductions may be granted by the Bureau only on exceptional grounds.
4. Member societies from a single country may deploy at most 8 votes in total, distributed among themselves by mutual agreement.

Art. 13. Fees are payable annually before 15 February, after which a society is suspended until overdue fees are paid. Each society also submits an annual activity report; failure to do so for three successive years is grounds for suspension. Voting rights are calculated from the arithmetic average of declared members between General Assemblies.

Art. 14. The basic unit of annual fees is decided by the General Assembly and remains unchanged until the next Assembly, unless a major devaluation requires revision. The Treasurer is authorised to make special arrangements when money conversion is impossible. All fees collected are used for the activities of the Federation.

Art. 15. The Treasurer prepares an annual budget made available in advance, accompanied by a financial report detailing income and expenditure, sources and purposes of funds, and steps taken to secure outside funding.

Art. 16. Income is used first for normal administrative expenses, then for the expenses of Steering Committee members at meetings, with priority given to the President and officers of the Federation.

Art. 17. These Bye-Laws were agreed by the Steering Committee on 9 August 2003 in Istanbul and approved by the General Assembly on 13 August 2003 in Istanbul. Modifications were subsequently made and approved by the General Assembly in Seoul on 3 August 2008.