ISI Statutes
ARTICLE 1: NAME AND REGISTERED OFFICE
The name of the Society is the International Statistical Institute. Hereafter, the Society shall be referred to as the ISI. The official seat of the ISI is in The Hague, Netherlands.
ARTICLE 2: OBJECTIVE
The objective of the ISI is to promote the understanding, development, and good practice of Statistics worldwide.
The Society shall try to achieve this objective by:
a) Promoting excellence in statistical research, education and practice;
b) Supporting the international statistical community in the establishment and maintenance of sound statistical institutions;
c) Fostering the appreciation by governments and the public at large of the value of Statistics and statistical methods in all aspects of human endeavour; and
d) Facilitating collaboration among diverse groups of ISI members, and among statistical societies and other national and international organisations with statistical interests.
ARTICLE 3: MEMBERS
3.1. Types of membership There shall be three types of members:
a) Individual members
b) Organisational members
c) Affiliated members
3.2. Individual memberships
a) There are three types of individual membership
1) regular members
2) elected members
3) ex-officio members
b) Any individual can become a regular member of the ISI by applying for membership.
c) For elected membership, an individual (regular member or potential new member) must be nominated. Elected members shall have made significant contributions in one or more of the following areas: statistical research, practice, education, administration of statistical service, or the promotion of the profession. The nomination and election processes are specified in the By-laws.
d) All individual members have voting rights.
e) Regular and elected members must pay annual dues which shall be determined by the Council.
3.3 Organisational Membership
a) There are two categories of organisational membership:
1) Institutional
2) Corporate
b) National, regional, and international statistical institutes/agencies may become institutional members of the ISI.
c) Any other organisation may join as corporate member, subject to approval by the Executive Committee.
d) Each organisational member is entitled to designate one person as an ex-officio member, who will have all the rights of individual membership.
e) The fees for organisational memberships shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
3.4 Affiliated membership
a) Any non-profit organisation, including national or regional statistical societies, may become an affiliated member of the ISI, subject to approval by the Executive Committee.
b) The fees for affiliated members shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
3.5 Decisions on Membership
The Executive Committee is responsible for all final decisions on applications for membership.
3.6 Termination of membership
a) Regular and elected membership ends by:
- Death of the member
- Resignation by member
- Termination of the membership by ISI
- In case a member is deprived from his civic rights
b) In case the member is a legal entity the membership ends when the entity ends to exist, also when this is the result of a merger or splitting up unless the Executive Committee decides otherwise.
c) Individual, Organisational and Affiliated members who do not pay their dues for two years may have their membership terminated by the Executive Committee.
d) If the Executive Committee determines that an individual, organisational or affiliated member has acted in a way that contravenes the Statutes or is detrimental to the objectives of the ISI, the Executive Committee may terminate the membership.
e) The member may appeal the decision to the Council within four weeks of receipt of the decision. The Council shall make a final decision according to the provisions in the By-laws.
ARTICLE 4: BY-LAWS
The By-laws of the ISI are established and adapted by the Executive Committee after consultation of the Council. No By-law shall be in contravention with the Law and/or these Statutes.
ARTICLE 5: ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
The organisational structure of the ISI includes:
- The General Assembly;
- The Associations;
- The Council;
- The Executive Committee;
- The Standing Committees; and
- The Permanent Office
ARTICLE 6: GENERAL ASSEMBLY
a) The General Assembly shall be composed of all individual members of the ISI.
b) The General Assembly is the highest authority within the ISI and has the following responsibilities and authority: - Decisions for any changes to the Statutes; - Appointment and, when necessary, dismissal of members of the Executive Committee and the elected members of the Council; - Establishment of Associations to promote the mission and objectives of the ISI in particular areas of specialization or in particular geographical regions; - Approval of the annual report; - Designating of ISI representatives for appropriate events; - Decisions relating to the dissolution of the ISI; and - Decisions regarding the installation and working modalities of ISI Standing Committees.
c) The General Assembly shall be convened by the Executive Committee at least once a year. There shall be a meeting of the General Assembly at the ISI biennial World Statistics Congress.
d) The Executive Committee may convene special meetings of the General Assembly whenever it is deemed necessary. A special meeting may also be convened by a request of at least one tenth of the individual members.
e) Members shall be informed of the date and place of the meetings at least two months in advance. The convocation for the General Assembly may be sent electronically or through postal mail. In agreement with the member, the convocation may be sent electronically in a readable and reproducible form to address made available by the member If the special meeting is requested by members (see item d) above), it shall be announced within two months of receiving the request.
f) The President shall chair the meetings of the General Assembly.
g) Decisions shall be made by consensus or by voting In case of voting, each individual member of the ISI shall have one vote. Voting by proxy is not allowed, unless the provisions in article 15 of these Statutes.. Depending on the format of the meeting, voting may be done in person or via electronic means. Electronic voting may be organised prior to the General Assembly. Votes expressed electronically shall be considered as valid as votes in person at the General Assembly
h) Except as otherwise provided by law or by these Statutes, decisions of the General Assembly shall be made by a simple majority of the votes cast. For the purpose of computing a majority, abstentions and spoiled votes shall not be counted. In the event of a tie, the chair shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
ARTICLE 7: ASSOCIATIONS
a) An ISI Association may be established by the General Assembly to promote the mission and objective 4 of the ISI in particular areas of specialization or in particular geographical regions. An Association shall have: Its own members Its own organizational structure, Statutes and By-laws.
b) The President of the Associations shall be ex-officio member of the ISI Council (see Article 8).
c) The Director of the ISI shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee of the Association.
d) The ISI Association shall not undertake any action that contravenes the objectives and interests of the ISI.
ARTICLE 8: COUNCIL
a) The Council shall be composed of:
• The members of the Executive Committee;
• The Presidents of the ISI Associations;
• The Immediate ISI Past President;
• A number of ISI members who are elected to four-year terms.
The process for electing these members is specified in the By-laws. The number of these members shall be at least three more than the number of Associations represented on the Council;
• The Director of the ISI, who shall be an ex-officio member without voting rights;
• The Director General of Statistics Netherlands, who shall be an ex-officio member without voting rights; and
• Any additional members as deemed necessary by the General Assembly
b) The Council shall:
• Advise the Executive Committee on the policies and programmes of the ISI;
• Participate in the long-term planning process;
• Assist the Executive Committee in the implementation of policies and programmes when appropriate.
• Establish and, when necessary, dissolve Committees and Special Interest Groups ; and
• Develop operating procedures for ISI Committees and Special Interest Groups;
c) The Council shall be convened by the President at least once a year. There shall be a meeting of the Council at the ISI biennial World Statistics Congress.
ARTICLE 9: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
a) The Executive Committee shall be composed of a President, a President-Elect and four Vice Presidents. The Director of the ISI shall serve as the Secretary to the Executive Committee and will attend the meeting of the EC in that capacity.
b) The President-Elect and Vice Presidents shall be elected according to the provisions in the By-laws. The President-Elect shall serve a two year term and become President at the end of this term. The Vice Presidents shall be elected to four-year terms.
c) In the event that the President cannot perform his/her duties, the President-Elect shall assume the responsibilities.
d) The Executive Committee shall have the following responsibilities and authority:
• Develop in consultation with the Council the policies and programmes of the ISI
• Implement the policies and programmes of the ISI
• Administer ISI financial matters
• Determine membership fees for organisational and affiliated members
• Take all final decisions on application for membership
• Convene the General Assembly meetings
• Establish and adapt the By-laws of the ISI after consultation of the Council.
• Appoint the Director
• Submit an annual report that covers the ISI’s activities and finances to the General Assembly
• Take any decision relating to the acquisition, sale and mortgaging of real estate
ARTICLE 10: STANDING COMMITTEES
a) The following Standing Committees are part of the organisational structure:
• - Membership Election Committee
• - Nominations Committee
b) New Standing Committees are installed by the General Assembly at the proposal of the Executive Committee after consultation with the Council.
ARTICLE 11: PERMANENT OFFICE
a) The Permanent Office shall be composed of a Director and a number of staff members as determined by the Executive Committee.
b) The Director manages the Permanent Office and reports to the Executive Committee. S/he shall serve as Secretary/Treasurer of the ISI. The Director does not have to be an individual member of the ISI.
c) The Director shall not serve simultaneously as an elected member of the Executive Committee or the Council.
ARTICLE 12: REPRESENTATION
The ISI shall be represented in legal and other relevant matters by the Executive Committee. The Director can be authorised by the EC to represent the ISI on its behalf.
ARTICLE 13: FINANCES
a) The fiscal year of the ISI is the calendar year.
b) The sources of the ISI’s finances are:
• Dues/fees of the individual and organisational members and affiliated organizations;
• The revenues from ISI publications
• Grants from international organizations, governments and other bodies, • Endowments and gifts;
• Income from any reserve funds or from other sources.
ARTICLE 14: REPORTING
a) The Executive Committee shall present an annual report to the General Assembly about the activities and the finances. This report shall be presented within six months after the end of the calendar year. The report will be signed by the members of the Executive Committee and the Director.
ARTICLE 15: AMENDMENT TO THE STATUTES
a) Proposals for amendments to the Statutes shall be submitted for an opinion by the Council
b). The proposals for amendments and the opinion expressed by the Council shall be brought forward to the members, who shall be asked to express their opinion. The members are also asked to provide a (electronic) proxy for the voting at the General Assembly in concordance with the opinion expressed by the member.
c) The period for voting and providing of proxies shall be no more than thirty days before the decision making in the General Assembly.
d) The proposal for the amendment of the statutes shall be submitted to General Assembly, together with the outcome of the consultation process and the proxies provided accordingly. e) A simple majority is required for the amendment to be successful, except in the case of dissolution of the ISI (see Article 16)
ARTICLE 16: DISSOLUTION
a) The ISI can be dissolved only by a decision of the General Assembly. The procedures shall be in accordance with Article 15 except that a two-thirds majority is required for the amendment to be successful. A liquidation of the ISI shall follow the procedures described in the By-laws.
b) The balance after liquidation will be disposed in accordance with the objectives of the ISI.
Final provisions
The Statutes and By-Laws of the ISI are subject to Dutch law.