STATUTE
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JUDGES
CONSTITUTION
Article 1
1. The International Association of Judges is hereby established.
2. The seat of the Association is in Rome.
Article 2
The Association does not have any political or trade-union character.
Article 3
1. The objects of the Association are as follows:
(a) to safeguard the independence of the judicial authority, as an essential requirement of the judicial function and guarantee of human rights and freedom.
(b) to safeguard the constitutional and moral standing of the judicial authority.
(c) to increase and perfect the knowledge and the understanding of Judges by putting them in touch with Judges of other countries, and by enabling them to become familiar with the nature and functioning of foreign organizations, with foreign laws and, in particular, with how those laws operate in practice.
(d) to study together judicial problems, whether these are of regional, national or universal interest, and to arrive at better solutions to them.
2. These objects are to be pursued by the following means:
(a) by the organization of conferences and meetings of Study Commissions.
(b) by the establishment of cultural relations.
(c) by promoting and enhancing friendly relations between Judges of different countries.
(d) by furthering mutual assistance between national associations and groups; by encouraging exchange of information and by facilitating professional and vacational visits by Judges to other countries.
(e) in any other way approved by the Central Council.
Article 4
1. The following are members of the Association:
(a) Those national associations which were, or whose provisional committees were, signatories to the Constitution on the 6th September 1953.
(b) Such national associations or national representative groups as the Central Council decides to admit to membership.
(c) Such regional associations representing judges where there are no such national associations as the Central Council decides to admit to membership.
2. All members must be apolitical and independent from executive and legislative powers.
3. All members must promote in their country or region the objects pursued by the International Association of Judges.
Article 5
1. A member loses its membership status if the Central Council determines that the member is not complying with the criteria for membership set out in Article 4(2) and (3).
2. If the payment of a member’s subscription is in arrears of over three years, that member shall cease to belong to the Association unless the Central Council decides to the contrary.
Article 6
When a request is made, a member may be monitored and be required to submit a report on the situation of the judiciary in its country and the member’s compliance with the criteria set out in Article 4 (2) and (3).
Article 7
1. The Central Council is the organ of the Association responsible for formulating policy. Every member is entitled to appoint one delegate to the Central Council, who may be assisted by a colleague.
2. Each member has one vote.
3. A member may authorize the delegate of another member to vote on its behalf at meetings of the Central Council. No more than two such authorizations can be given to the same member association.
4. If the payment of a member’s subscription is in arrears of over one year, that member shall lose its voting rights until the subscription arrears have been paid in full.
5. No decision may be taken by the Central Council unless a majority of the members are present or represented. In exceptional circumstances the Presidency Committee may authorise a member to cast its vote either by registered letter or by e-mail. Votes cast by registered letter or by e-mail count towards the necessary majority quorum. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a decision may be taken by a majority of those who are present at a meeting of the Central Council conducted pursuant to Article 7, Para. 8
6. Decisions are taken by a majority vote save that a majority of two thirds of the votes cast is required for the admission and for the exclusion of any member. Abstentions will not be counted as a vote cast. The members who are not entitled to vote in accordance with Article 7.4 are not considered for the formation of a majority
7. A meeting of the Central Council shall be convened by the President at least once every two years, except in situations of force majeure or where otherwise impossible. These meetings shall take place at the seats of the different members, preferably in rotation.
8. A meeting of the Central Council can also be organised by electronic means, when the Presidency Committee resolves that it is necessary to do so in situations of force majeure or where it is otherwise impossible to hold a regular meeting in person.
Article 8
1. The President represents the International Association of Judges and directs the Association. The President is assisted by six Vice-Presidents whom should be convened (if necessary, also by electronic means) at least once a year if possible, as the Presidency Committee.
2. One of the Vice-Presidents may be designated First Vice-President by a vote of the Central Council, after proposal by a Member.
3. In electing the President and the First Vice President the members of the Central Council shall consider the global diversity and unity of I.A.J. as well as the desirability of regional turnover.
4. The General Secretariat is the executive agency of the Association. It is situated in Rome. The Secretary General shall be assisted by one or more Deputy Secretaries General. After consultation of the Presidency Committee, the President appoints one of them as treasurer. The treasurer represents the IAJ in budgetary issues and in its relations to banks. He/she has the power to sign contracts with banks, to open and close bank accounts of the IAJ upon decision of the Presidency Committee.
5. The above officers shall be elected every other year by the Central Council. In case the Central Council could not be convened in an electoral year, due to a situation of force majeure or where otherwise impossible, such elections will take place during the next meeting of the Central Council. Until these elections, the above officers will continue in their offices. In the event that the impossibility of holding a meeting continues for a second year, the Presidency Committee may by unanimous vote decide to extend the prolongation for one further year but if its members are not unanimous there shall be elections by electronic means according to Article 7, Paragraph 8. There must be at least one Vice-President from each Regional Group. No Vice-President may be re-elected more than three times. The outgoing President will remain on the Presidency Committee for a further two years without voting rights.
6. The President of the Association can appoint for assistance a general representative from the Judges of the same country as the President to act as the President’s personal assistant and to participate in all deliberations of the Association.
Article 9
General Regulations of the Association and its attachments shall be approved by the Central Council.
Article 10
1. The Central Council will fix the annual contribution which members are required to pay to the General Secretariat to meet the running costs of the Association.
2. The General Secretariat will present annual financial accounts to the Central Council. In any year in which the Central Council does not meet, these accounts shall be presented to the President.
3. The Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General in charge of the finance have the signature on the accounts of the Union.
4. Current expenses are made by the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General in charge of the finance under the control of the President. Other expenses must be beforehand authorized by the President.
5. A Regional Group may fix an annual supplementary contribution.
Article 11
1. Members may establish Regional Groups within the framework of the International Association of Judges, if the Central Council does not oppose, in order to promote the objects of this Association, where this is best done in a regional context, and in order to promote regional cooperation in areas pertaining to the judiciaries of the member states, conforming to the principles and objects of the International Association of Judges.
2. The President of each Regional Group shall be a Vice-President who belongs to that Regional Group.
Article 12
1. The Constitution and Regulations may be amended by the Central Council upon the proposal of either the President or at least three members, submitted to the General Secretariat not less than three months before the meeting of the Central Council. Within one month of receipt of such a proposal, the General Secretariat must circulate it to all members of the Association.
2. In order to amend the Constitution there must be a vote in favour by majority of not less than two-thirds of the votes cast. Abstentions will not be counted as a vote cast.
3. In order to amend the Regulations there must be a vote in favour by the majority of the votes cast.
4. A member may authorize a delegate of another member to vote on its behalf. Article 7 point 3 applies.
5. Sub-amendments are inadmissible except when they represent a modification of a proposal. The Presidency Committee decides on the question of admissibility.
Article 13
1. This Constitution is adopted in five original texts: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
2. In the case of any difficulty of interpretation the French text shall prevail.
Transitional Provision
The transitional provision approved on the 6th September, 1953 is annulled.
REGULATIONS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
Article 1
Register of Members
There shall be kept at the General Secretariat a register of members and an alphabetical card index or electronic file recording the date on which each member has joined and payments of annual subscriptions.
Article 2
Central Council
1. Notice of a meeting of the Central Council must be sent to members at least two months before the date of the meeting.
2. In the month following such notice, members may request the President to include any particular matter in the agenda. Where at least two members concur in making such a request, the President must comply with it.
3. The agenda must be circulated to members at least fifteen days before the meeting.
Article 3
Voting
1. The nominations of candidates seeking election as office holders must be presented in written form at the first session of the meeting of the Central Council during which the election is to take place. The nominations must include the names of the candidates, their membership to a national association or national representative group, member of the International Association of Judges (Article 2.2.ii of the Constitution), and the positions they are or were holding within their national judiciary and national association or group.
2. Every delegate must vote for as many candidates as there are posts available and include in the vote for the election of Vice-Presidents at least one candidate of each Regional Group. Ballot papers which do not comply with this rule shall be considered null and void.
3. The President may decide that the election of office holders be effected by secret ballot.
4. Whatsoever the subject matter of a vote, if at least three delegates so require, the vote shall be taken by secret ballot.
5. When the meeting of the Central Council is held according to the provision of Article 7, Paragraph 8, of the Constitution, the Presidency Committee, in consultation with the General Secretariat, shall decide the technical means by which the votes may be given in compliance with the principles set by this Article.
Article 4
Contributions
The amount of the annual subscription shall be fixed by the Central Council which, for this purpose, shall divide the members into four categories. The Central Council will also establish, on the proposal of the Presidency Committee, the percentage of the automatic increase of the contributions This subscription must be paid to the General Secretariat before the 31st January of each year.
Article 5
Rendering of accounts
1. Accounts shall be rendered for the period between one meeting of the Central Council and the next. If the Central Council does not meet in the course of any year, the accounts shall be rendered, in accordance with art. 10 of the Constitution, to the President on the 31st December.
2. The accounts rendered shall include:
a) A balance sheet and a profit and loss account.
b) A certificate from the Bank at which the Association holds its funds stating the balance held on a date which must be less than one month before the meeting of the Central Committee or the 31st December, as the case may be.
c) Production of the ledger and all accounting documents.
3. The Central Council before it sits shall designate two delegates to scrutinize the annual accounts and to recommend whether or not they should be approved.
4. The Central Council shall, where appropriate, approve the accounts presented by the General Secretariat.
5. When the meeting of the Central Council is held according to the provision of Article 7, Paragraph 8, of the Constitution, technical rules on the rendering of accounts will be provided to the member Associations in advance by the Presidency Committee, in compliance with the principles set by this Article.
Article 6
Delegation of Authority
The delegations of authority provided for in Article 7 point 3 and Article 12 point 3 of the Constitution must be effected in writing.
Article 7
Study Commissions
1. Four Study Commissions are set up:
1st Commission: The organization of the Judiciary; the status of the judiciary; the rights of the individual.
2nd Commission: Civil law and procedure (comparative and international aspects of these).
3rd Commission: Criminal law and procedure (comparative and international aspects of these).
4th Commission: Public and social law (comparative and international aspects of these).
2. Each Study Commission shall be composed of one representative from each Association who will be nominated each year at the request of the General Secretariat. If an Association does not communicate names of new representatives, it will be understood that the current representatives continue in office.
3. The subjects to be studied shall be decided by the Central Council after the Chairperson of the Commission have been heard. The Central Council will fix the times and places of meetings.
4. Each Commission shall elect its Chairperson and two Vice-Chairpersons for two years. The Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson may be re-elected once. The election will take place at the end of the annual meeting. In case the Study Commission could not be convened in an electoral year for a situation of force majeure or where otherwise impossible, such elections will take place during the next meeting of the Commission. Until these elections, the above officers will continue in their offices. In the event that the impossibility of holding a meeting continues for a second year, the Presidency Committee may by unanimous vote decide to extend the prolongation for one further year but if its members are not unanimous there shall be elections by electronic means according to Article 7, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution
5. The Chairperson will determine the working methods of the Commission and will prepare the questionnaire and the general report. The Chairperson may also decide to convene the respective Commissions by video link and organise webinars. The Chairperson may be assisted by a secretary whom the Chairperson may select at will from the Judges of the same Country. The Chairperson may communicate directly with the members of the Commission.
6. The Secretary General, if so requested by the Chairperson, is charged with coordinating the work of the members of the Study Commission, and particularly with the circulation of the Chairperson’s questionnaire and the members’ reports, and the translation of the reports into languages other than the original. The members’ reports should include proposal for subjects to be studied in the future.
7. After the end of each session, the Chairpersons submit to the Secretary General copies of all reports and other documents, to be kept in the archives of the Association.
8. The Secretary General is charged with ensuring the widest possible distribution of final resolutions.
Article 8
Correspondence
1. Copies of all official letters must be sent to the President and to the Secretary General.
2. When the President or the Secretary General corresponds with a member, each will send copies of such correspondence to the other.
Article 9
Permitted Languages
1. Ordinary correspondence may be written by the President, the Secretary General and by each of the Associations, groups or committees belonging to the Association in their own National language.
2. The principal documents of the International Association of Judges must be drawn up in the following five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. In case of doubt, unless otherwise provided, the French text shall prevail.
3. The working languages of the Association are English, French and Spanish for the Central Council, in cases where there is simultaneous translation. When there is no-simultaneous translation, the working languages are English and French.
Article 10
Minutes
The Minutes of the Central Council rank as principal documents.
Article 11
Admission of New Members
The following rules shall apply to the admission of new members:
1. Only one association or national representative group of each Country may be admitted to the International Association of Judges.
2. The Association or group applying must be representative of the judiciary of its Country. There is no requirement, however, that its membership should include any specified minimum percentage of the judiciary of the Country in question. Nor is there a requirement that the association or group should have a formal constitution.
3. The association or group applying must furnish proof that its activities and its principles accord with those of the International Association of Judges, as embodied in its Constitution.
4. In every case, before membership is granted, the Central Council must be satisfiedthat the association is independent from executive and legislative powers in its own country.
5. The achievement of judicial independence in the concerned country should not be considered a criterion for admission of members. However, in circumstances where judicial independence has not been achieved, the association must demonstrate that it is making concerted efforts to achieve judicial independence.
6. The fundamental procedural rules governing the admission of new members are determined by the Presidency Committee, adopted by the Central Council and attached to this Regulation.
Article 12
Exclusion of members
1. Members, who do not fulfil the criteria for membership in the International Association of Judges, can be excluded by a decision of the Central Council.
2. As soon as it has knowledge of the fact that a member does not fulfil the criteria, the Presidency Committee, after consultation with the concerned Regional Group, may appoint two rapporteurs to inquire into the situation.
3. The process for admission of a member shall, with the necessary changes, apply when the exclusion of a member is being considered by the Central Council.
4. The decision to exclude shall be made by the special majority of the Central Council with the qualified majority referred to in article 7 point 6 of the Constitution.
Article 13
Monitoring (ad hoc and regular)
1. At the request of the PC a member shall submit a report on the situation of the judiciary in its country and/or the compliance of the member with the criteria set out in Article 4 (2) and (3) of the Constitution (Ad Hoc Monitoring).
2. If a written request that raises specific concerns over the independence of the judiciary and includes the grounds of these concerns is submitted on behalf of at least 5 members of the IAJ or if it arises from the resolution adopted by a Regional Group, the Presidency Committee shall forward that request to the respective member association.
3. The requested report shall answer the questions which were raised in the request and shall refer to steps taken by the association, if any, to promote the aims and objectives of the IAJ and defend the internationally recognized principles of an independent judiciary.
4. Every year, and for first time in 2020, 1/3 of member associations have to answer a monitoring survey on the situation of their association and the judiciary of their country (Regular Monitoring). Members associations will be chosen by alphabetic order of the name of the country they belong to. The form and the content of questionnaire for the purpose of the monitoring survey will be determined by the Central Council. The monitoring procedure can be suspended by the Presidency Committee, when the Central Council cannot be convened due to situations of force majeure or where otherwise impossible.
5. Any report or survey under this article shall be submitted at least one month before the second meeting of the Presidency Committee that meets immediately before the meeting of the Central Council. It shall be distributed to all members.
6. Failure by a member association to submit a report, or monitoring survey without justification allows the Presidency Committee to proceed in the manner prescribed by Article 12 of the present Regulation.
7. To receive and analyze the monitoring survey reports required by Article 13 (4), a commission is established within the Central Council. This commission, chaired by one of the Vice-presidents of IAJ appointed by the Presidency Committee consists of 2 representatives of every Regional Group elected within these Groups. At the end of its work, the commission sends a written report to the Presidency Committee. This report is spread to all the member associations.
Transitional provision
1. After the adoption of the new Constitution and the general Regulation under the Constitution, extraordinary members will automatically become full members.
2. These associations will submit the report referred to in Article 6 of the Constitution and Article 13 paragraphs 1 to 6 of this Regulation within one year of the adoption of this Regulation. A rapporteur shall also be appointed by the Presidency Committee to prepare a report, within one year, regarding the fulfilment by each of these associations of the criteria of Article 4(2) and (3) of the Constitution and Article 11 of this Regulation. If any of these associations doesn’t fulfil these criteria, the provisions of Article 5 of the Constitution and Article 12 of this Regulation apply.
3. As rapporteurs’ reports have been provided with respect to the application of the extraordinary members currently seeking ordinary membership, the requirements of paragraph 2 above are dispensed with.
ENCLOSURES
- Procedure to be Applied to Applications for Membership in the International Association of Judges (Article 11, Para. 6, of the Internal Regulation) and Questionnaire for a National Association of Judges Applying for Membership in the International Association of Judges
- Questionnaire under Article 13 of the Regulations
Administration fee for applicant associations
(Article 11, Para. 6, of the Internal Regulation)
Every applicant association has to pay to the Secretariat-General an administration fee in the amount corresponding to the lowest fee payable by member associations.
International Association of Judges
Union Internationale des Magistrats
Palazzo di Giustizia
Piazza Cavour – 00193 – Roma, Italy
tel. +39 06 6883 2213 – fax. +39 06 687 1195