European Chamber Music Teachers Association 22 February 2007

Constitution of the Association

§1 The name of the Association shall be ‘Euroopan kamarimusiikkipedagoginen yhdistys ry’ in Finnish and ‘Europeiska Kammarmusikpedagogiska Föreningen rf’ in Swedish.
The Association shall use the unofficial name European Chamber Music Teachers Association (ECMTA) in international cooperation. The registered office of the Association shall be in Jyväskylä, Finland.

§2 The mission of the Association shall be the non-profit promotion of chamber music activity and education in Europe. For this purpose, the Association shall organize activities related to chamber music, for example, courses, educational events and conferences, as well as editing pedagogical materials and cooperating with music institutes and actors of the music industry, whenever possible. The Association shall make proposals and initiatives to enhance the position of chamber music activity.

§3 The Association may include both Individual Members and music institutes having legal capacity and providing education in the field, and corresponding national incorporated societies, whose domicile or place of business is in Europe, hereinafter in this Constitution referred to as Corporate Members.
At the meetings of the Association, the voting right of a Corporate Member shall be used by a representative nominated by the Corporation in question.
Individuals or incorporated societies wishing to support the mission and operation of the Association may become Contributing Members.

§4 Each Individual Member shall have one (1) vote at the meeting of the Association and each Corporate Member three (3) votes. The representative of a Corporate Member may not delegate his/her right to represent to another person. A Contributing Member shall have the right to be present and to speak at the meeting of the Association.

§5 The Individual, Corporate and Contributing Members of the Association shall pay an annual membership fee separately determined for each member group by the Board. Should a member have neglected the payment of the membership fee in the preceding accounting periods, he/she has no right to vote at the meetings of the Association until the payment is received in full.

§6 Should a member wish to resign from the Association, he/she is to notify the Board or the Chairperson in writing or to notify of the issue for entry into the minutes of the meeting of the Association. The resigning member shall be released from membership and the liabilities it involves regarding the Association at the end of the accounting year during which the resignation is announced.

§7 Should a member have not paid due membership fees for two years or otherwise have not fulfilled the obligations of membership, or should he/she have caused substantial harm to the Association with his/her activities in the Association or outside it, or should the member no longer comply with the terms of membership specified in legislation or in the Constitution of the Association, the member in question may be suspended from the Association as proposed by the Board, provided that the meeting of the Association approves the proposal by a 2/3 majority of the votes cast.

§8 The term of office of the Association shall be the period between two Annual Meetings.

§9 The affairs of the Association shall be administered by the Chairperson of the Board, elected for three years at a time at the Ordinary Meeting, and by the Board, consisting of three to seven (3-7) Ordinary Members and two (2) Deputy Members. The Board may use experts and appoint subordinate committees, should it so wish.

§10 The Board shall meet upon the call of the Chairperson, or should the Chairperson be unavailable, the Vice-Chairperson, whenever the need arises. The meeting shall have a quorum if at least half of the members of the Board are present. The notice of the meeting must be delivered to the members not later than one (1) month before the meeting. At the meeting of the Board, a simple majority of votes shall be required, and in the event of a tie vote, the vote of the Chairperson shall be decisive.

§11 Minutes must be taken at the meetings of the Board, signed by the Chairperson and Secretary of the meeting, and revised by two (2) Examiners of the Minutes elected at the meeting.

§12 The Association shall have one (1) Auditor and one (1) Deputy Auditor. The term of office of the Auditor shall be the period between two Annual Meetings.

§13 The Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the Board shall sign on behalf of the Association.

§14 The Board shall be in charge of

• organizing right after its election, i.e. electing a Vice-Chairperson from among its members and a Secretary and Treasurer either from among its members or from outside
• calling the meetings of the Association and preparing the issues to be handled in them
• executing the decisions of the meetings
• admitting new members
• keeping a record of members
• administering the assets and other possessions of the Association and ensuring their recording and the compilation of financial statements
• deciding on the sale, exchange and mortgage of the Association’s property
• representing the Association against a third person and an individual member of the Association
• compiling the annual report at the end of its term of office, for approval by the meeting of the Association
• taking adequate measures to promote the mission of the Association.

§15 The Ordinary Meeting of the Association, which shall elect the necessary officers from among its members, shall be held every three years by the end of April.

The following matters shall be handled at the Ordinary Meeting:

• The presentation of annual reports, accounts and auditor’s reports; the confirmation of the financial statements for the preceding term of office
• Decisions on granting discharge from liability to the Board or on other measures due to administration or reports pursued during the term of office
• For the following term of office, the election of the Chairperson of the Board and the Board, consisting of three to seven (3-7) members and two (2) deputy members
• The election of an Auditor and Deputy Auditor to audit the accounts and operations of the term of office
• Other matters proposed by the members of the Board or the Association.

 §16 Minutes shall be taken at the meeting of the Association, signed by the Chairperson of the meeting and checked by two (2) Examiners of the Minutes elected at the meeting. At the meetings of the Association, each Individual Member entitled to vote shall have one (1) vote and each Corporate Member entitled to vote shall have three (3) votes.

Voting shall be an open ballot, unless secret ballot is requested. A simple majority of votes shall be required for approval, except for decisions regarding §7 and §22. In the event of a tie vote, lots shall be cast in a secret ballot and at elections, and the vote of the Chairperson shall be decisive in an open ballot.

The Association shall gather at an Extraordinary Meeting, if at least one tenth (1/10) of the Association’s members entitled to vote regard it as necessary and make a written motion on it to the Board. The Board shall notify on the meetings of the Association at least six (6) weeks before the respective meeting by sending a letter or e-mail to the members and their representatives to the address they have given. The notice of the meeting is to state the matters to be handled at the meeting. In order to use their voting right at the meeting, the members are to notify the Association on participation in the meeting by the date mentioned in the notice of the meeting. This date may be four weeks from the date of the notice of the meeting, at the earliest.

§17 The accounting period of the Association shall be 1.1. - 31.12. Accounts and other documents regarding the Association’s administration are to be submitted to the Auditor, for the purpose mentioned in §18, six (6) weeks before the Ordinary Meeting, at the latest.

§18 The Auditor is to provide a report, addressed to the Ordinary Meeting of the Association, regarding the audits he/she has performed yearly on the accounts and administration of the Association. The report is to be submitted to the Board two weeks before the Ordinary Meeting, at the latest.

§19 The Association shall use the incomes accrued from membership fees and donations to implement its mission. The Board shall have overall responsibility for the administration of the Association’s assets.

§20 Decisions regarding alterations or amendments to the Constitution or the dissolution of the Association must be approved by at least 3/4 of the votes cast at the meeting of the Association. In addition, the decision must be approved by the same majority of members at a second meeting, held at least two (2) months after the first meeting. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the assets of the Association must be spent on the promotion of chamber music education in Europe, in accordance with the decision of the last meeting.

§21 In all other respects, the Association shall act in compliance with the provisions of the currently valid Associations Act.