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Statutes

PRESIDENCY: SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, DUBLIN 4, IRELAND

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SECRETARIAT: CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL DE PHILOSOPHIE ET DES SCIENCES HUMAINES (CIPSH), UNESCO, 1, RUE MIOLLIS, 75732 PARIS CEDEX 15, FRANCE

 

STATUTES

adopted at the Xth International Philosophical Congress (Amsterdam, August 1948), modified at Brussels on 22 August 1953, at Venice on 24 September 1958, at Varna on 16 September 1973, at Düsseldorf on 30 August 1978, at Montréal on 24 August 1983, at Brighton on 24 August 1988, at Moscow on 25 August 1993, at Boston on 13 August 1998, at Istanbul on 13 August 2003, and at Seoul on 3 August 2008.

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CHAPTER I

NATURE, AIM, HEADQUARTERS AND DURATION OF THE FEDERATION

 

Art. 1. THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETIES (FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DES SOCIETES DE PHILOSOPHIE, or FISP) consists of Societies and Institutions whose activities are devoted to the development and pursuit of philosophical studies and research.

Art. 2. The aim of the Federation is as follows:

  1. to contribute directly to the development of professional relations and of the exchange of ideas between philosophers of all countries, freely and with mutual respect;

  2. to facilitate relations between philosophers of different countries whenever it is useful or necessary to have recourse to international cooperation;

  3. to foster contacts between institutions, societies and periodical publications devoted to philosophy;

  4. to collect documentation which helps the development and organization of philosophical studies. Members of the federated societies will have access to the archives so created;

  5. to contribute financially to the formation, development and maintenance of these philosophical archives;

  6. to undertake, whenever needed, and by means of extraordinary grants, any other tasks the accomplishment of which will further philosophical activities at an international level:

  7. to sponsor every five years (in the normal course of events) a World Congress of Philosophy and to promote other smaller conferences and meetings of an international character in diverse parts of the world.  

Art. 3. The Federation may receive subsidies from governments or intergovernmental organizations, as well as donations from corporations, societies, institutions or individuals. The use of these funds may be restricted to specific tasks, projects of research, or publications, or be used to organize particular congresses, in so far as these activities are clearly connected with the aims of the Federation and are meant to support, at an     international level, the progress of philosophical studies and their communication to the world of learning and the educated public.

In the cases outlined above, the Federation may either undertake the execution of such activities on its own or delegate them to a competent organization to which, in such a case, it would transfer the amount of the subsidy necessary to carry out of the task in question, always however remaining itself responsible for the final results.

Art. 4. FISP is an Association satisfying the norms of articles 60ff. of the Swiss Civil Code. Its headquarters are in Fribourg (Switzerland).

Art. 5. The duration of the Federation is unlimited.

CHAPTER II

 

COMPOSITION OF THE FEDERATION

 

Art. 6. Only regularly constituted philosophical societies may apply for admission to the Federation.

Art. 7. Applications for admission of new members shall be acted on by the Steering Committee. Admission requires approval by a three-quarters majority; an appeal against non-admission may be made to the General Assembly.

Art. 8. All members of the Federation enjoy the advantages and observe the conditions set down in these Statutes.

Member societies of FISP are classified into two groups: a) Full members, b) Corresponding members.

Further details as to the rights and duties of members in each group are laid down in the Bye-Laws.

Art. 9. Membership in the Federation may be terminated:

  1. by resignation, subject to one year's notice.

  2. by exclusion, pronounced by the General Assembly with a two-thirds majority of the votes, on the grounds of:

    • failure to observe the Statutes or Bye-Laws;

    • persistent opposition to the realization of the aims of the Federation.

CHAPTER III

 

FUNCTIONING OF THE FEDERATION

 

Art. 10. The Federation operates through the General Assembly, the Steering Committee, the President and the Bureau.

Art. 11. The General Assembly is composed of the delegates of all societies and institutions which are members of FISP, each delegate being duly appointed for this purpose.

The number of votes and of delegates and the limitations on the maximum votes available to a single country are fixed by the dispositions of Chapter V of the Bye-Laws.

Art. 12. The General Assembly meets in ordinary session on the occasion of the World Congresses of Philosophy, which generally take place every five years, and in extraordinary session whenever required by circumstances.

The initiative for summoning meetings lies in all cases with the President.

Art. 13. The proceedings of the Assembly are effected by the duly appointed delegates present. Delegation is valid provided it has been formulated in writing and sent by the respective Society to the President at least two months before the meeting of the Assembly. This communication must state:

  1. the name of the delegate

  2. the scope of his or her mandate

Art. 14. The competence of the Assembly includes all questions relating to the activity of the Federation. In particular:

  1. it lays down the budget of the Federation and examines the record of the preceding administration;

  2. it decides upon cases of the exclusion of members;

  3. it elects the President of the Federation and proceeds to elections in order to constitute or renew the Steering Committee. For the election of a new President, if more than two candidates have received votes and no candidate secures an absolute majority of those voting on the first ballot, a second ballot will take place among the two candidates who have received the highest number of votes. The one who receives the higher number of votes in this ballot will be elected. The President is not eligible for immediate reelection.
    In the election of members to the Steering Committee candidates shall be declared elected in descending order of the number of votes received until all vacancies are filled.

  4. it outlines in broad terms the activity of the Steering Committee and validates or repudiates its past activities;

  5. it proceeds, if required, to a revision of the clauses of these Statutes, as laid before it by the Steering Committee or on the initiative of at least five member societies from at least three countries;

  6. it may appoint committees entrusted with the task of studying particular problems and submitting reports to the Assembly.

Art. 15. Decisions in the General Assembly are reached by an absolute majority of those voting, except for amendments of the Statutes, for which a two-thirds majority is required.

In urgent cases and upon the decision of the Bureau, voting can take place outside the plenary Assemblies and by correspondence.

Art. 16. The Assembly is chaired by the President of the Federation, who, after consulting the Steering Committee, prepares the agenda and has the minutes of the debates drawn up.

Art. 17. The Steering Committee is the administrative body of the Federation. In addition to the President and Secretary General, each of whom is a voting member ex officio, it consists of a maximum of thirty-nine and a minimum of twenty-nine members, elected by the General Assembly in secret ballot, upon nomination from member societies and from the Steering Committee then in office.

Members of the Steering Committee are elected for five years and are reeligible for not more than two further periods of five years each.

The Steering Committee itself appoints the members of the Bureau of the Federation (other than the President) for a period of five years. The Bureau comprises the President, three Vice-Presidents, the Secretary General and the Treasurer. The retiring President is by right a member of the Bureau for one further period of five years.

Art. 18. The Steering Committee is chaired by the President of the Federation. Its tasks are:

  1. to ascertain the wishes of the member societies with respect to their international activities;

  2. to coordinate these wishes;

  3. to look into the ways of satisfying them;

  4. to present a draft budget to the General Assembly;

  5. to supervise the execution of activities involved in the programme of the Federation, whether or not entrusted to an external or affiliated organization, and to receive periodic reports on this matter from the President;

  6. in urgent cases, and when an extraordinary convocation of the General Assembly is not practicable, to conclude agreements according to which the Federation undertakes to accomplish at the international level certain tasks in accordance with its aims and the nature and conditions of the development of philosophy. These tasks may be carried out by the Federation itself by means of subsidies added to its budget for the purpose, or alternatively may be entrusted to competent organizations to which funds would be transferred from its budget. In these cases a report shall be submitted at the following General Assembly.

Art. 19. The President of the Federation assumes the following functions:

  1. he or she chairs the sessions of the General Assembly;

  2. he or she chairs the meetings of the Steering Committee, and consults its members by correspondence;

  3. he or she chairs the meetings of the Bureau;

  4. he or she represents the Federation, or arranges for it to be represented, in any situation where the activities of the Federation require this;

  5. he or she authorises the expenditures of the Federation within the statutory scope of the budget;

  6. he or she supervises the preparation of the World Congress of Philosophy and presides over it during the whole of its duration;

  7. Upon completion of his or her term as President, he or she continues as a member of the Bureau for a five year period. Upon completion of this term, he or she becomes an Honorary President, is entitled to receive all information sent to Steering Committee members, and has the right to attend Steering Committee meetings as an observer with the right to speak but without the right to vote.

Art. 20. The tasks of the Bureau are:

  1. to coordinate the activities of the consultative committees designated in the Bye-Laws, and to recommend action based on reports to the Steering Committee by its committees;

  2. in urgent cases, and when an extraordinary meeting of the Steering Committee is not practicable, to take action in the name of the Steering Committee, which action is to be reported to the Steering Committee;

  3. to approve the agenda prepared by the Secretary General for meetings of the Steering Committee, and when appropriate to prepare recommendations on agenda items for the Steering Committee;

  4. to certify the reports of the Treasurer and of the Secretary General, for presentation to the Steering Committee;

  5. to receive from the President and Secretary General quarterly reports of interim activities of FISP (including information about invitations for FISP representation or participation and about outside funding), and to help through consultation to guide the Federation's activity;

  6. to carry out tasks requested by the President to foster the activities of FISP.

Art. 21. Three Vice-Presidents are elected by the Steering Committee from among members who have already served on the Steering Committee for at least three years. They are equal in all respects except for the succession to presidency. This order of succession is determined by the number of votes they receive for vice-presidency, the first in the order of succession being the Vice-President who receives most votes. If two Vice-Presidents receive the same number of votes, their order of succession is determined by a random procedure.

If the President resigns, dies, is removed from the office, or becomes unable to discharge the duties of his or her office, the Steering Committee determines that one of the Vice-Presidents, according to their order of succession, assumes the office of the President until the inability is removed or a new President is elected by the General Assembly. Vice-Presidents are not eligible for immediate reelection.

Art. 22. The Secretary General of the Federation is responsible for the practical conduct of its affairs, in consultation with and subject to the approval of the President,. He or she performs the following functions:

  1. he or she maintains the membership list and corresponds with member societies;

  2. he or she organizes and prepares the agenda for meetings of the Bureau and the Steering Committee;

  3. he or she coordinates the work of the consultative committees;

  4. he or she prepares the Bulletin and other publications of the Federation;

  5. he or she, together with the President, represents the Federation in its relations with other institutions and organizations, governmental or professional, and with the public.

Art. 23. The Secretary General and the Treasurer are normally elected from among the members of the Steering Committee. However if no member of the Steering Committee is willing to serve in either of these offices or is able to secure a majority of votes from those members of the steering Committee voting, then:

  1. the Steering Committee may elect a Secretary General who is an active and distinguished member of the philosophical profession but not a member of the Committee itself. The Secretary General so elected will be ipso facto co-opted to the Steering Committee and to the Bureau.

  2. the Steering Committee is also entitled to appoint as Treasurer someone who is not a member of it. It is not required that this person be an active member of the profession; however, he or she should be familiar with its affairs. In this latter case the Treasurer would not be co-opted to the Steering Committee and the Bureau and would participate in meetings of these bodies without the right to vote.

Art. 24. Decisions as to matters not covered by these Statutes are left to the Steering Committee and may be fixed in Bye-Laws elaborated by that Committee.

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