Constitution

I. General Description

1.§  The name of the Association is Nemzetközi Magyarságtudományi Társaság In English: International Association of Hungarian Studies In French: Association Internationale des Études Hongroises In German: Internationale Gesellschaft für Hungarologie In Russian: Mez’dunarodnoje Obsc’estvo po Hungarologii

2. The Association maintains contacts with all countries in which Hungarian Studies is taught at institutions of higher education, and in which Hungarian Studies is included in academic research programs.

3. The central offices of the Association are based in Budapest.

4. The official language of the Association is Hungarian.

II. Aims and Activities of the Association

2.§ The aim of the Association is to promote academic research and public interest in the area indicated in 1.§ (2), and to encourage and coordinate the work of scholars, teachers and other specialists in the field of Hungarian Studies, and realize academic research programs between universities and equivalent research institutions.

3. § In order to work towards these goals the Association
a) maintains close contacts with all institutions and individuals engaged in research or other activities relating to Hungarian studies;
b) organizes lectures, discussions, conferences and congresses;
c) assists teachers and researchers of Hungarian Studies through the cooperation of higher education and research institutes in Hungary, including participation in and assistance of international doctoral training;
d) makes available the results of international scholarship in Hungarian Studies through regular publications;
e) is a member of FILLM (Fédération Internationale des Langues et Littératures Modernes) and is thus in direct contact with other international organizations.

III. The Funding of the Association

4.§ The Associations funds are made up of:
a) members subscriptions and the donations of supporting members;
b) a subsidy from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences;
c) the support of international organizations;
d) other miscellaneous sources (lectures, conferences, publications etc.).

IV. Political Neutrality of the Association

5.§ The International Association of Hungarian Studies does not take part in political activity of any kind. It is independent of political parties, neither does it support or accept support from political parties, nor does it support or put forth parliamentary or regional representatives.

V. Membership of the Association

6.§ The Association admits both individual and corporate members. There are three forms of membership:
a) ordinary (individual or corporate)
b) honorary
c) supporting (individual or corporate)

7. §

1. Ordinary individual membership is open to all persons whose research involves Hungarian Studies, or who teach subjects relating to these areas within the framework of higher education. Their scholarly, pedagogical or literary activity should in some way contribute to the clarification of questions relevant to Hungarian studies, and they should identify with the aims of the Association.

2. Ordinary corporate membership is open to all institutions or organizations which meet the requirements of 7.§ (1). (Any member of a body enjoying corporate membership of the Association is also entitled to apply for individual membership.)

3. Members are registered on the basis of a written application and invitation by two members to join the Association. The invitation is then followed by authorization by the Executive Committee.

8.§ 1. Ordinary individual or corporate members of the Association are entitled: – to participate in the meetings and programmes of the Association; – to nominate new members; – to make use of the facilities of the Association; – to receive the regular publications of the Association.

2. Ordinary members are entitled to vote at the General Assembly and other sessions of the Association. Individual and corporate members are both entitled to a single vote.

3. Individual and corporate members are expected to contribute towards the realization of the aims of the Association and to abide by its Constitution. All ordinary members are required to make regular payment of subscriptions.

9.§

1. Honorary membership may be awarded to those individuals, whose achievements in connection with the Associations aims have won international scholarly recognition, thus furthering the interests of the Association.

2. Honorary members are elected by the majority decision of the General Assembly on the basis of a recommendation from the Executive Committee.

10.§

1. Institutions, organizations, individuals or corporate bodies who agree with the aims of the Association, and who have contributed to their realization through an individual or regular provision of financial support can become supporting members of the Association.

2. Supporting members are entitled to make use of the facilities of the Association, and their delegates may attend the programmes and in an advisory capacity the General Assembly of the Association.

3. Applications for supporting membership are considered by the Executive Committee.

11.§

1. Membership will be terminated in cases of: a) resignation; b) cancellation; c) decease.

2. Resignation shall be submitted in writing. Membership will then be terminated on the last day of the calendar year in which the resignation was submitted.

3. The Executive Committee will terminate the membership of those who do not pay their subscriptions on request. VI. Special Departments of the Association

12.§

The General Assembly of the Association may create special departments on the recommendation of the Executive Committee. The General Assembly is also empowered to discontinue existing departments. When elected by the General Assembly, the chairman of a department will automatically be made a member of the Executive Committee. VII. The Organizational Structure of the Association

13.§

The organs of the Association are as follows: – The General Assembly, – The Executive Committee, – The Accounts Committee.

14.§

1. The General Assembly is the sovereign body of the Association.

2. The General Assembly is convened every 3-5 years. The preparation and convocation of the General Assembly is the responsibility of the President and the General Secretary of the Association. The General Assembly is chaired by the President.

3. The resolutions of the General Assembly are reached by majority decision.

4. Extraordinary meetings of the General Assembly can be convened on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the President or the General Secretary. They may also be convened on the basis of a recommendation from one third of the ordinary membership.

5. The duties of the General Assembly include:
a) the election of governing bodies and their officers;
b) the approval of the budget;
c) the acceptance and modification of the Constitution;
d) the election of honorary members; e) the discussion of the General Secretary’s report, and the report of the Chairman of the Accounts Committee;
f) the declaration of any plans to subdivide the Association or to unite it with other associations; g) any other matters arising, insofar as they fall within the authority of the General Assembly.

15.§

1. The Executive Committee consists of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Association, the General Secretary and the Deputy Secretary-General, the chairmen of the special departments, and 30-40 members elected by the General Assembly.

2. The Executive Committee prepares the Associations programmes, decides on the amount of the membership fee, handles the contributions of supporting members, and recommends honorary members for election by the General Assembly. It also adjudicates in the awarding of Lotz Medals. It is, furthermore, responsible for all duties which fall outside the authority of the General Assembly.

3. The Executive Committee is convened annually.

16.§

1. The Accounts Committee is responsible for the management of the Associations accounts and assets.

2. The Committee is made up of three members, who report regularly to the Executive Committee and to the General Assembly.

3. The members of the Accounts Committee may participate in the sessions of the Executive Committee. VIII. Decision-making

17.§

1. The General Assembly and the Executive Committee shall send out the invitations to the conventions at least one month earlier. The invitation shall contain the venue, time (another time) and the agenda. In addition, in case of General Assembly, the invitation shall contain the General Secretary’s report and the Accounts Committee’s report.

2. The governing bodies shall keep record of presence and absence at their conventions, and they shall be undersigned by the recorder and the President for conformation.

3. For the resolutions of the Executive Committee and the General Assembly to take effect, at least 50% + 1 members of the Associations ordinary members shall be present. The Executive Committee can only pass resolutions when at least half of its members are present. If this is not the case, its session shall be reconvened within three months, when its resolutions will take effect irrespective of the number of members present.

4. In the case of the General Assembly, nomination is public, while the election is carried out by secret ballot.

5. The reports made by the General Secretary and the Accounts Committee may be commented on in writing. Questions may be posed and they shall be answered in the General Assembly.

6. The members shall be informed in writing about the resolutions passed by the governing bodies.

IX. President and Vice-Presidents of the Association

18.§

1. The President chairs the General Assembly and the sessions of the Executive Committee. He or she is responsible for all matters which fall within the authority of these two bodies.

2. The Association has six Vice-Presidents. In the Presidents absence, one of these chosen by the President or by the General Secretary will stand in for him/her. The chosen Vice-President shall see to the tasks of the President.

3. The tasks of the Vice-Presidents are decided upon by the Executive Committee.

X. The General Secretary and the Deputy Secretary-General

19.§

1. The General Secretary and the Deputy Secretary-General represent the Association with equal authorization before the authorities and other official bodies.

2. Between sessions of the Executive Committee, the General Secretary manages the Association’s affairs. The General Secretary while still retaining ultimate responsibility may invest his or her powers in the Deputy Secretary-General. In the absence of the General Secretary the Deputy Secretary-General will stand in for him/her in all areas. He or she works in cooperation with the Secretariat at the central offices of the Association in Budapest. The Deputy Secretary-General presides over the Secretariat of the Association.

3. The General Secretary shall report on his or her activities to the Executive Committee and to the General Assembly. XI. Financial Affairs

20.§

1. The General Secretary and the Deputy Secretary-General are responsible for bank account management, and they are exclusively authorized to draw on the bank account of the Association.

2. The monetary transactions of the Association are carried out on a separate bank account designated for this purpose.

XII.

The Election of the Association’s Governing Bodies and Officers

21.§

The governing bodies and officers of the Association are elected from among public nominees by secret ballot by the General Assembly. Their term of office lasts until the elections of the next General Assembly.

22.§

1. The new directorship and officers are recommended to the General Assembly by the Executive Committee. These recommendations are prepared by a Nominations Committee set up by the Executive Committee at least one year before the General Assembly.

2. The list of names of the new directorship (including the list of members) approved by the Executive Committee shall be submitted to the members at least 6 months before the election. The members may propose new nominees by 25 votes. The proposals of the members shall be submitted to the Secretariat two weeks before the General Assembly at the latest.

23.§

1. The President, the Vice-Presidents and the members of the Accounts Committee can stand only once for re-election (ie. for a second term in office).

2. The General Secretary, the Deputy Secretary-General and the members of the Executive Committee can stand twice for re-election (ie. for a second and third term in office).

3. Any officer or member of the Executive Committee not re-elected can stand for election to another position. XIII. The Secretariat of the Association

24.§

The Association maintains a permanent Secretariat in Budapest which operates as an executive body responsible to the Executive Committee and the General Secretary. The Secretariat is presided over by the Deputy Secretary-General.