Statutes of the International Association for Official Statistics
September 1987
1. Name
1.1. The name of the Association shall be the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS), hereinafter called the Association. The Association shall be a Section of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) in accordance with Article 8a of the ISI Statutes and para. 205 of the ISI By-laws.* (* cf. Attachment)
2. Objectives
2.1. The objectives of the Association shall be to promote the understanding and advancement of official statistics and related subjects and to foster the development of effective and efficient official statistical services through international contacts among individuals and organizations, including users of official statistics as well as research institutes.
2.2. In order to realize its objectives, the Association may:
a) organize meetings, seminars, conferences, and related activities independently or in collaboration with other organizations;
b) collaborate with international, national, regional and other organizations and institutions having objectives consistent with those of the Association, including official statistical offices, and other ISI Sections;
c) publish periodicals, pamphlets, books, information circulars, etc. independently or in cooperation with other organizations;
d) undertake or participate in cooperative activities, make business transactions and take all other necessary action for the advancement of the objectives of the Association.
3. Membership
3.1. The membership of the Association shall be of two types, without any restriction on number:-
a) individual members;
b) institutional members which may be educational and scientific institutions, government and non-profit organizations, business enterprises, etc., each of which shall be entitled to designate a representative who may attend meetings of the Association, and participate in the Association’s scientific programme of meetings with the same privileged as the individual members. Institutional members shall be entitled to receive one set of the publications of the Association on the same conditions as individual members.
3.2. Members of the International Statistical Institute may become individual members of the Association by applying to the Executive Director and paying any prescribed dues. Payment of section dues by members of the Institute shall be in accordance with the By-laws of the ISI.
3.3. Individuals who are not members of the ISI and institutions, who are interested in the objectives of the Association may become members by applying to the Executive Director and paying any prescribed dues.
3.4. Membership shall be terminated either by resignation, or for non-payment of the dues of the Association during the preceding calendar year, or for other reasons as may be prescribed by the Executive Committee.
4. Organs
4.1. The organs of the Association are:
a) the General Assembly composed of the individual members;
b) the Executive Committee composed of the Officers of the Association in accordance with art.
5. General Assembly
5.1. The General Assembly shall be the highest authority of the Association.
5.2. A meeting of the General Assembly shall as a general rule be convened at least once in two years and, if possible, conjointly with the ordinary meetings of the Association.
5.3. Subject to Article 5.2, the meetings of the General Assembly shall be held at such times and places as the Executive Committee may decide.
5.4. Notification specifying the place and date of a General Assembly shall be sent to all members of the Association not less than three months before the date of the meeting.
5.5. Each individual member shall have one vote. Proxy voting is not allowed.
5.6. The decisions of the General Assembly shall be made by a majority of votes cast at a meeting or by mail except as otherwise stated by the Statutes.
5.7. The General Assembly may, if needed, establish a Council composed of individual members to assist in the formulation of policies and programmes of the Association.
6. The Executive Committee
6.1. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the proper management of the affairs of the Association in accordance with the policy decisions and guidelines of the General Assembly.
6.2. The Executive Committee may appoint standing and ad hoc committees.
6.3. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the Officers who shall be a President, a President-Elect, four Vice-Presidents, and the Director of the Permanent Office of ISI (ex-officio) acting as the Executive Director and Treasurer. The President may designate Vice Presidents to be in charge of the supervision of specific Association affairs; in any case a Vice President for Scientific Programmes and a Vice President for Finance shall be designated.
6.4. The term of office of all elected Officers shall be two years. Officers on retirement shall be eligible for re-election to the same office for only one further term of two years.
6.5. The elected Officers shall all be citizens of different countries (or federations of countries) and the Executive Committee shall have balanced representation from different geographic areas and from producers and users of statistics.
6.6. The President shall preside over the meetings of the General Assembly and shall have general responsibility for the execution of the policies and decisions of the General Assembly. In order to insure the continuity of management of the Association, the President shall keep the President-Elect closely informed with respect to all relevant management activities.
6.7. The Association shall be represented in law and otherwise by the President or by an Officer to be designated by the President.
6.8. In the event that the Presidency is vacant or that the President is for any other reason unable to fulfil his responsibilities the President-Elect shall serve for the remaining term of the President or until the President shall again be able to serve, as the case may be. If the President-Elect is for any reason unable to fulfil this responsibility, one of the Vice Presidents shall be elected by the Executive Committee in his place.
6.9. The President-Elect shall utilize his term to get acquainted with the business of the Association. Upon the expiry of his term of office the President-Elect will assume the duty of President for the next two-year term.
6.10. The Officers shall assist the President in all important activities of the Association. In order to facilitate their work, they will be kept informed about all the important matters arising in the course of their term.
6.11. The Vice President for Scientific Programmes shall be responsible for co-ordination of the activities involved in arranging meetings, seminars, conferences, and publications of the Association.
6.12. The Vice President for Finance shall be responsible for the financial policy and the financial administration of the Association.
6.13. The Director of the Permanent Office of ISI shall provide general advice and guidance to the Association on administrative affairs and meeting arrangements, and in particular shall serve in a liaison capacity between the Association and (1) the Officers and the Permanent Office of the ISI, and (2) the Organizing Committees for the biennial sessions of the ISI and for other joint meetings with the ISI or its Sections.
6.14. The Executive Director, under the general direction of the President, shall serve as an assistant to the President, co-ordinate the activities of the Association, be in charge of the executive work of the Association, and shall perform other duties as delegated by the President. A Secretariat serving under the direction of the Executive Director shall execute the administration of operating activities.
6.15. The Treasurer shall administer the funds, maintain the accounts and provide the financial records of the Association as specified by the Vice President for Finance.
6.16. At the conclusion of their term of office, it shall be the responsibility of the President and the Vice Presidents to prepare comprehensive reports to the Association about their management during the previous two years (or since the last reports). The reports shall be presented to the General Assembly at each ordinary meeting of the Association.
6.17. If, for any reason, an office becomes vacant, a substitute officer shall be appointed, on the nomination of the President and with the approval of a majority of the Executive Committee.
7. Election of Officers
7.1. Officers shall be elected by secret vote recorded on ballot papers to be sent to all individual members of the Association by mail not less than six months prior to the next meeting of the General Assembly at an ordinary meeting and to be returned by them to the Executive Director by mail not less than three months prior to the said meeting.
7.2. Every two years the Executive Committee shall appoint a nominating committee consisting of five members who shall be selected from among the individual members of the Association and shall all be citizens of different countries (or federations of countries). The Executive Committee shall designate one member of the nominating committee as its chairman. In nominating candidates the nominating committee shall give careful attention to the importance of achieving proper geographical distribution. The final list of nominations so prepared shall be printed on ballot papers and sent to members for voting. However, if there is only one candidate for an office, the candidate in question shall be declared elected without vote.
7.3. The ballot papers with votes recorded in a secret form by the members must reach the Executive Director not later than three months after the date of issue of the ballot papers.
7.4. Not later than three months before the next ordinary meeting the Executive Director shall open the envelopes with ballots, destroy the envelopes and then count the votes. The President shall resolve any ties by casting an additional vote. Candidates for each office receiving the largest number of votes shall be considered elected and the membership of the Association shall be notified of the results of the elections. This notification shall include the information about any ties that may have occurred.
7.5. The term of office of each Officer shall begin after the meeting of the General Assembly at the first ordinary meeting of the Association following their election.
8. Meetings of the Association
8.1. Ordinary meetings of the Association shall, if possible, be convened conjointly with each ordinary session of the ISI.
8.2. Meetings other than the ordinary meetings of the Association shall be held at such times and places as the Executive Committee may decide.
8.3. Throughout these Statutes “two years” shall mean the interval between two successive ordinary meetings.
9. Regional Chapters
9.1. When the number of members of the Association in a particular region covering more than one country is not less than twenty, a regional chapter of the Association may be formed with the approval of the Executive Committee to promote the aims and objectives of the Association in that region.
9.2. The objectives and functions of the regional chapter of the Association shall be in conformity with those of the Association and must be approved by the Executive Committee. Periodic reviews of the activities of the regional chapter shall be the responsibility of the Executive Committee and of the General Assembly.
10. Finance
10.1. Financial resources of the Association shall consist of membership dues, donations, contributions and income, if any, from other sources.
10.2. No donation may be accepted unless approved by the Executive Committee.
10.3. The membership dues to be paid by members, which may be different for individual and institutional members and for different countries, shall be prescribed by the Executive Committee.
10.4. In exceptional cases of recognized hardship the Executive Committee may waive, reduce or postpone the payment of dues for which an individual member is liable.
10.5. The Officers of the Executive Committee, except the Executive Director, shall serve without compensation.
10.6. At each ordinary meeting the accounts of the Association shall be audited by two members of the Association and their report shall be presented, together with the report by the Vice President for Finance, to the General Assembly at an ordinary meeting for acceptance by a majority of votes.
11. Amendments to the statutes
11.1. Proposals to amend the Statutes may be made in writing to the President by any ten individual members of the Association. Proposed amendments shall be considered by the Executive Committee and, if approved by the Executive Committee or, if submitted to the General Assembly, by a majority vote at a meeting of the General Assembly, shall be submitted to a mail vote of the individual membership accompanied by the views of the Executive Committee. Ratification of the proposed amendments will require a majority of two-thirds of all votes cast.
11.2. The dissolution of the Association or the alteration of its name shall be treated as an amendment of its Statutes.
12. Language
12.1. The working languages of the Association shall be English and French. Working languages may be used and shall be equally valid for correspondence, articles and other communications submitted to and by the Association.
Attachment
INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL INSTITUTE
Statutes
Article 8a:
To promote the objective of the Institute in particular geographical regions and in particular fields of statistical specialization, the General Assembly may establish associations which shall be known as Sections of the Institute, whose membership need not be limited to members of the Institute.
By-Laws
Article 205:
Each Section shall have its own officers and statutes. The objectives of each Section must be in harmony with those of the Institute; and its rules of admission to membership shall provide, among other things, that any individual member of the Institute is entitled to membership in the Section on request, and without payment of the sectional dues provided he is not already on similar conditions member of another Section of the Institute. Each Section’s statement of objectives, its rules of admission to membership, its statutes, and amendments to any of the foregoing shall be subject to approval by the Council, and the sectional officers shall be responsible to the said Council to whatever extent the Council regard as essential. In addition to having sectional programmes, the Sections shall co-operate in the scientific work of the Institute. In advance of each ordinary session, they shall be consulted regarding the scientific programme of the session. They shall be served so far as practicable by the Permanent Office of the Institute.
