STATUTES

CHAPTER THREE: STRUCTURE OF THE ALLIANCE

ARTICLE 6 : STRUCTURE

The structure of the Alliance is the following:

The General Assembly

v      The President

v      The two Vice-Presidents

v      The Secretary General

v      The Follow-up Committee

ARTICLE 7 : THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

7.1 - The General Assembly consists of all the members of the Alliance; it is the highest authority to take decisions and define actions.

7.2 - The Alliance holds at least one ordinary General Assembly every year, alternatively on the Northern and the Southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Within the context of this guideline, each yearly session shall be held in the country of the member agency which, with the consent of the General Assembly, has voluntarily taken the commitment to host it.

7.3 - The General Assembly may be convened in extraordinary session upon request of the President, or at least of three member agencies.

7.4 - Both the ordinary and the extraordinary sessions are called and chaired by the President or, in case of his incapacity or impediment, by one of the two Vice-Presidents and can be held only in the presence of at least half of the member agencies.

7.5 - Each founding or ordinary member agency has one vote.

7.6 - The sessions of the General Assembly are open. They may also be convened in camera, without the attendance of the observers, once agreed upon by the majority of those present.

ARTICLE 8 : ORDINARY SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1.  The ordinary session of the General Assembly;

 Appoints the President and the two Vice-Presidents of the Alliance

v      Elects the Secretary General;

v      Decides on admission, exclusion or suspension of members

v      Approves the annual budget;

v      Evaluates the reports proposed by the Follow-up Committee and any other business it may deem necessary;

v      If necessary, appoints a special committee with the specific task of examining controversies on the interpretation or the enforcement of the Statutes.

1.  Resolutions of the General Assembly in ordinary session are taken by a majority of the members present.

8.3 - However, decisions by the General Assembly on:

v      Appointment of the President and Vice-Presidents;

v      Election of the Secretary General require a qualified majority of two thirds of the members present;

While:

v      Admission of new member agencies to the Alliance;

v      Admission of new members to the Alliance requires a qualified majority of three-quarters of the members present.

ARTICLE 9 : EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

9.1 - The General Assembly in extraordinary session decides on :

v      Amendment of the Statutes

v      Dissolution of the association

v      Other questions which do not fall within the scope of the ordinary General Assembly.

9.2 - Resolutions of the General Assembly in extraordinary session are taken by a majority of three-quarters of the members present.

ARTICLE 10 : THE PRESIDENT AND THE TWO VICE-PRESIDENTS

10.1 - The President shall be appointed for a term of one year. He shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the member agency which hosts the current General Assembly. He shall stay in office till the opening of the next ordinary General Assembly.

10.2 - The President represents the Alliance, calls and presides over meetings of the General Assembly and Follow-up Committee; he has other authority received by the General Assembly.

10.3 - The two Vice-Presidents shall be appointed for a term of one year. They shall be the Chief Executive Officers of the two member agencies which have, respectively, (1) assumed the previous presidency (First Vice-President) and (2) proposed to host the following meeting of the General Assembly (Second Vice-President).

10.4 - The President and the two Vice-Presidents may delegate their authority to a representative of the same agency.

ARTICLE 11 : THE FOLLOW-UP COMMITTEE

11.1 - The Follow-up Committee is the executive body of the Alliance. It is responsible for the handling of the Alliance's administrative activities.

11.2 - The Follow-up Committee consists of the President, the two Vice-Presidents and the Secretary General.

11.3 - The competence of the Follow-up Committee is the following :

v      To implement the General Assembly decisions;

v      To fix the date and Venue of the General Assembly meetings, in accordance with the hosting agency;

v      To draw up the draft agenda of the meeting and send it to the members at least three weeks prior to the meeting of the General Assembly;

v      To prepare for the presentation by the President to the General Assembly reports on the activities of the Alliance;

v      To present to the General Assembly membership and withdrawal applications from the Alliance.

11.4 - Resolutions of the Follow-up Committee shall be taken by simple majority of the members present. The President has a casting vote in the case of a tie.

11.5 - In the event of resignation of a member from the Follow-up Committee in between two General Assemblies, such member shall be replaced according to the following procedure:

          a)  If the vacancy affects the post of President, the new                           President shall be the first Vice-President;

v      If the vacancy affects the post of first Vice-President, his position shall remain vacant till the next General Assembly;

v      If the vacancy affects the post of second Vice-President, who has the task of hosting the next General Assembly, the Follow-up Committee is authorized to fill the vacancy by co-opting the senior Chief Executive Officer of any member agency ready to accept the commitment to host the General Assembly.

11.6 - The Follow-up Committee is called and chaired by the President or, in his absence, by the first Vice-President and must meet at least two months before the General Assembly, in order to prepare the agenda well in advance and distribute it to the member agencies at least three weeks prior to the General Assembly.

11.7 - If considered necessary, the Follow-up Committee may hold an extraordinary meeting.

11.8 - The quorum for the conduct of business within the Follow-up Committee is three.

ARTICLE 12 : THE SECRETARY GENERAL

12.1 - The Secretary General shall be elected for a term of three years, renewable.

12.2 - The applications for the Secretary General position shall be addressed to the Follow-up Committee before being submitted to the General Assembly.

12.3 - The responsibilities of the Secretary General are as follows :

a)  To secure the continuity of the management between the General Assemblies.

v      To secure the coordination between members.

v      To prepare the necessary documents for decisions to be taken by the ordinary and the extraordinary General Assemblies.

v      To secure the cooperation with other similar institutions.

v      To keep the Alliance funds with the written consent of the President and supervise the implementation of the budget within the limits of the authorization given by the General Assembly.

v      To present the annual budget to the General Assembly.