I. Name
Article
1. The Society shall be
called SWISS PAKISTAN SOCIETY, hereinafter referred to as the
"Society" established under the provisions of Article 60 et seq. of
the Swiss Civil Code, with the headquarters in
II. Aims and Objects
Article
2. The aims and objects of
the Society shall be:
a)
To intensify and develop the existing
cordial relations between
b)
To disseminate knowledge in the above
fields by means, interalia, of meetings, lectures, symposia, exhibitions,
concerts, pamphlets and other publications;
c)
To remain non-political and
non-denominational.
III. Membership
Article 3. The membership of the Society shall be of the
following kinds:
a)
Corporate
b)
Ordinary: Individual, Family, Student
Article
4. Subject to the approval
by the Society's Board, corporate and ordinary membership shall be available to
any individual of Swiss or
Article
5. The Ambassador of
Pakistan in
Article
6. The entrance fees and
annual subscriptions for corporate and ordinary memberships shall be fixed by
the General Meeting on the recommendation of the Board.
Article
7. Subjects to be discussed
at the Annual General Meeting should be submitted to the Board at least five
days prior to the Meeting. Members can terminate their membership of the
Society after giving a six-month notice by registered letter addressed to the
Board at the end of a calendar year.
IV. Organisation
Article
8. The organs of the Society
are:
a)
The General Meeting
b)
The Board
Article
9. The General Meeting shall
be the supreme body of the Society. It shall meet at least once annually not
later than the end of March, and may be called by the Board or at the request
of one fifth of membership. A notice of fifteen days shall be given to all
members before a General Meeting is held.
Article
10. The General Meeting shall
normally transact the following business:
a)
Approval of the report on the working
and progress of Society for the previous year;
b)
Consideration of matters referred to it
by the Board or by members;
c)
Approval of guidelines for the
programme of activities of the Society for the year;
d)
Fixing the level of entrance fees and
annual subscriptions payable by members during the year;
e)
Approval of the Statement of Accounts
for the preceding year and the budget for the current year;
f)
Election of the Board members (See
article 11);
g)
Election of two auditors
Article
11. The Board shall consist
of:
a)
a President
b)
two Vice-Presidents
c)
an Executive Vice President (with
Treasury portfolio)
d)
a Secretary
e)
two members without portfolio
f)
The board members of the previous
tenure who have handed over their responsibilities to new elected members shall
remain honorary members of the board for one more term.
If in a meeting of
the Board there is an equality of votes, the President will use his casting
vote.
Article
12. The tenure of office of
Board members shall be two years. They shall be eligible for re-election. In order
to ensure continuity in the activities of the Society, at least three members
of the Board shall, as far as possible, be re-elected.
Article
13. Vacancy or vacancies on
the Board shall be filled by the latter, and the member(s) so co-opted shall
hold office until next elections.
V. Functions of the Board members
Article
14. The Board shall conduct
the affairs of the Society and represent it to the outside world. It shall
determine the Society's programme of activities and supervise its finances. It
shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
Article
15. The President shall
supervise all activities of the Society and preside at the General Meetings,
meetings of the Board and other functions. He shall be responsible for the
proper functioning of the Society and the realisation of its aims and objects.
Article
16. The two Vice-Presidents
shall assume, in the order of their availability, the functions of the
President whenever the need arises. They shall also perform special tasks that
may be entrusted to them by the Board.
Article
17. The Secretary shall be
responsible for the following:
a)
Issuing timely notice for meetings,
functions etc.;
b)
Preparing minutes of all meetings and
circulating them directly to members within a fortnight of the meeting;
c)
Preparing the annual report for the
General Meeting in consultation with the Board;
d)
Keeping an up-to-date list of members
and keeping the Treasurer informed;
e)
Maintaining the entire record and the
archives of the Society.
Article 18. The Treasurer shall be responsible
for the following:
a)
All financial transactions of the
Society;
b)
Collection of member's subscriptions
(including entrance fees, if any) and keeping the Secretary informed;
c)
Payment of all bills for expenses
incurred by the Board of by any individual member of the Board on behalf of the
Society;
a) Presentation
to the General Meeting of the audited annual Statement of Accounts;
b) Presentation
to the General Meeting of the annual budget for the year.
VI. Amendments to the Constitution of the Society
Article
19. Amendments to the
Constitution may be proposed in writing by the Board or by any member of the
Society and circulated to all members at least 20 days before a General
Meeting.
Decisions on such
amendments shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the members present at a
General Meeting, it being understood that at least one-third of the members of
the Society are present at such a Meeting.
If the required
quorum is not available at the Meeting, a new General Meeting shall be called
in which amendments to the Constitution shall be decided upon the two-thirds
majority of members present.