Statutes & Rules of Procedure
The Statutes of JEF-Europe are downloadable in pdf format in 
EN and FR.
The Rules of Procedure of JEF-Europe are downloadable in pdf format here.
Statutes
as amended by the XX European Congress in Florence, Italy [1 November 2009]
I: General Provisions
1: Name of the Association
a. The international non-profit youth association, regulated by the provisions of Title III of the Belgian law of 27th of June 1921 on non-profit organisations, international non-profit organisations and foundations (articles 46 to 57) as modified by the law of 2nd of May 2002, is called "Jeunes Européens Fédéralistes" in French, “Young European Federalists” in English and its literal translation into other languages.
b. It is abbreviated to the short name JEF while the common name JEF Europe may also be used.
2: Registered Office of the Association
a. The office of the association is registered in the Brussels-Capital Region under the following address: Waversesteenweg/Chaussée de Wavre 214 d, B-1050 Elsene/Ixelles (Brussels).
b. It can be transferred to any other location in the Brussels-Capital Region by a simple decision of the Administrative Council, which is the Executive Bureau, to be published in the “Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur Belge".
3: Objectives of the Association
a. The goal of JEF is the creation of a democratic European federation. JEF will promote true European citizenship, work for the widening and deepening of the EU and strive for a more just and integrated society on the European continent. These are crucial ingredients for peace and a first step towards a world federation.
b. The ideals and aims of JEF are defined by the Manifesto of Ventotene, the Political Platform and JEF policies approved by the European Congress or the Federal Committee.
c. JEF is independent from all political parties and ideologies and pursues its objectives autonomously.
4: Means to Realise the Objectives
a. To achieve its goal and pursue its ideals and aims, JEF may have recourse to all appropriate means.
b. These means include in particular:
i) the coordination of its local, regional, national and European bodies and the inclusion of its members in the work of the association;
ii) the development of the contacts and exchanges between European youth;
iii) the regular organisation of campaigns, projects, study-seminars, trainings and educational courses in the field of European affairs;
iv) the issuing of press releases and the publication of magazines, on-line or in paper version, in order to voice the opinion of the European youth;
v) the organisation of meetings, activities and street actions to raise awareness of European affairs among the general public;
vi) the advocacy of its objectives towards both public and private organisations.
5: Affiliations
a. The JEF is the youth movement of the Union of European Federalists (UEF). Relations between JEF and UEF are governed by an agreement ratified by the statutory bodies of the two associations.
b. Relations between JEF and UEF or EMI are governed by an agreement ratified by the statutory bodies of the associations concerned.
6: Structure of JEF
a. JEF's statutory bodies are: the European Congress, the Federal Committee, the Executive Bureau, the Arbitration Board and the Auditors Committee. Their composition, powers and functioning are described by the present Statutes.
b. In addition, the European Congress may set out general Rules of Procedure for JEF, and each body may draw up its own internal Rules of Procedure.
II. Members
7: Criteria of Membership
a. Members of JEF are physical persons who join the association through a section. In an area where no JEF section is recognised, individuals may join by yearly sending their membership fee to the Treasurer of JEF.
b. All persons who accept the Statutes and objectives of JEF, can become members of a JEF section.
8:Membership Age
JEF members lose their active and passive voting right in all JEF bodies at the age of 35. Further regulations fall under the internal regulation of the member sections.
9: Subscriptions
The subscriptions of the members of a section are collected by the sections according to their respective internal regulations and are then transferred to JEF. The annual subscription to be transferred for each member to JEF is decided by the European Congress.
10: Membership Card
A standard European membership card can be agreed by the Federal Committee and may be issued by national, regional or local sections on receipt of their subscription.
11: Cessation of Membership
a. Members leave the association by resignation, by death, by non-payment of the subscription or by expulsion. Members who cease to take part in the association have no right to use the association's name or assets.
b. A member can resign from the organisation by voluntary suspension of membership. The member will have to notify the Federal Committee of the resignation by registered letter sent to the Secretariat.
c. Expulsion of members
i) A member can be expelled from JEF only for non-observance of the Statutes and the objectives of the association or for non-payment of membership fees for three consecutive years. For these reasons, a member of JEF can be excluded by decision of the European Congress requiring a majority of three quarters on the proposal of the Federal Committee and after a favourable opinion from the Arbitration Board.
ii) Any decision of expulsion must be preceded by a notice announced by registered delivery, from the Federal Committee to the member concerned, at least six months in advance. Before a decision is taken, the member concerned will be able to ask for a hearing before the Federal Committee and the Arbitration Board to present his/her defence.
III: SECTIONS
12: Criteria of membership
a. A group of members of JEF may organise themselves into local, regional and national sections in accordance with the Statutes and federal principles.
b. Membership of JEF is open to sections in countries eligible for membership of the Council of Europe.
c. Sections of JEF must comply with the following criteria:
i) There does not already exist a functioning JEF group in the same area.
ii) They accept the Statutes and objectives of JEF and are willing to contribute to the realisation of its ideals and aims.
iii) They pay in the European subscription for their members.
iv) They show an active commitment in the organisation for at least one year.
v) They adhere to high standards of democracy in their internal working.
vi) Their membership is open to all young people who accept the Statutes and objectives of JEF.
d. National sections must return an annual membership statement for each year by the end of March of the following year to the Secretariat. This statement must include a declaration on the number of members signed by the legal representative of the section, who is committed to submit supporting documents upon request by any FC member, such as an updated version of the Statutes or the minutes of the last meeting of the supreme statutory body (e.g. national congress or general assembly).
e. National sections must also transfer the relevant membership subscription by the same deadline as the annual membership statement. The Federal Committee can elaborate policy on dealing with sections who fail to fulfil these requirements on time.
13: Candidate Sections
a. A national contact group may be accepted as a candidate section by the Federal Committee and may be accepted as a full member section by the European Congress after at least one year as a candidate section.
b. Sections applying to the Federal Committee to become a candidate section, and candidate sections applying to the European Congress to become a full section, shall provide the following to the Federal Committee/European Congress:
i) Their Statutes or constitutive documents;
ii) A list of current Board members;
iii) A membership list;
iv) A list of recent activities;
v) Relevant working documents, policies or publicity.
c. In case of failure to become a member section, the following rules shall apply:
i) A candidate section whose application for full membership is rejected, may reapply for full membership at the first or second subsequent Federal Committee. If the second application should be rejected or no second application is made, the section’s status as a candidate section shall lapse automatically.
ii) If a candidate section does not apply for full membership within the second European Congress at which it could be accepted, the section’s status as a candidate section shall lapse automatically.
14: Cessation of Membership for Sections
a. Member sections can cease to be part of JEF through resignation, cessation of their status as organisations recognised by law, non-payment of membership fees, or expulsion. Member sections that cease to be part of the association have no rights over the association.
b. A member section may decide voluntarily to leave the association by resignation. The section shall notify the European Congress of its decision, by recorded delivery to the Secretariat, at least one year before the next meeting of the European Congress.
c. Expulsion of member sections:
(i) National sections or candidate sections of JEF can only be expelled for reasons of their non-adherence to the present Statutes and to the objectives of the association, or of non-payment of membership fees or non-submission of a member section report for at least two consecutive years.
The Federal Committee of JEF shall have the power to investigate a monitoring process on sections, the rules of which are stipulated in the Rules of Procedure. Subject to this provision, sections of JEF could be excluded by a decision initiated and taken by the Federal Committee after a favourable opinion from the Arbitration Board.
(ii) All decisions on exclusion must be preceded by a notice, sent by recorded delivery at least six months in advance from the Federal Committee to the section concerned. Before it will be enacted, the section concerned can ask for a hearing before the Federal Committee and the Arbitration Board to present their defence.
(iii) The European Congress may recognise, by a three-quarters majority and on the recommendation of the Federal Committee that a member section has ceased to exist.
IV: The European Congress
15: Composition
a. The European Congress is composed of 100 delegates, representing the members of the association.
b. The proportional distribution of delegates is made on the basis of the registered members of each national section for the two years preceding the year of the European Congress, whose corresponding fees were paid before the 1st of June preceding the Congress. Each national section shall receive at least two delegates unless its membership is lower than 50. In this case, it shall receive one delegate.
c. The delegates to the European Congress from the national sections are elected democratically by them, ensuring fair and proportional representation of their members. No national section can receive more than one fourth of all delegates.
16: Powers of the European Congress
a. The European Congress is the supreme decision-making body of JEF and has full powers to accomplish the objectives of the association.
b. Its powers include in particular:
i) The election for a mandate of two years of: the President, the two Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, and the direct members of the Federal Committee, the Arbitration Board, and the Auditors Committee;
ii) The determination of the general political orientation of JEF, by definition of the ideals and aims of the organisation via the Political Platform and JEF Policies;
iii) The approval of the annual accounts;
iv) The approval of the administration of the outgoing Executive Bureau and Federal Committee and their discharge;
v) The modification of the Statutes;
vi) The dissolution of the association;
vii) The fixing of the amount of the member subscription to be transferred to JEF;
viii) The appointment of honorary members of JEF.
17: Calling of meetings
a. The European Congress meets at least once every two years by convocation of the Executive Bureau communicated by e-mail and by publication on the website of the organisation. Notice of the European Congress is to be given to the sections of JEF at least six weeks in advance, communicated by e-mail and by publication on the website of the organisation.
b. An extraordinary European Congress may be called at the request of, at least, one third of the members of the Federal Committee or one third of the Presidents of the national sections.
18: Proxies
a. A delegate elected but unable to take part in the European Congress may give to another delegate a written permission to use his vote (a proxy vote). A delegate receiving a proxy vote may transfer it to another delegate, unless explicitly forbidden by the donor of the proxy.
b. Each delegate may only be allowed one proxy vote, except with a previous agreement of the Federal Committee. This decision of the Federal Committee must be considered and passed by a majority of two thirds.
19: Quorum
At least half of the total number of delegates must be present or represented for the European Congress to act validly.
20: Voting
a. Decisions of the European Congress concerning the amount of the individual subscription, modification of the Statutes, dissolution of the association and modification of the Political Platform have to be approved by the statutory majority of delegates as set out elsewhere in these Statutes and by a majority of all national sections present and voting. Details of such proposals must be included on the agenda of the European Congress and sent out at least six weeks before the European Congress.
b. The decisions of the European Congress must be stored in a register held at the registered office.
c. Decisions of the European Congress will be made available to members by publication on the website of the organisation and will be sent by e-mail, through the intermediary of the national sections if necessary.
V: THE FEDERAL COMMITTEE
21: Composition
a. The Federal Committee is composed of:
i) The Presidents of the national sections
ii) A maximum number of members directly elected by the European Congress calculated inversely proportional to the number of national sections as follows:
- up to 22 or less sections - 23 direct members
- 23 sections - 22 direct members
- 24 sections - 21 direct members
- 25 or more sections - 20 direct members
iii) the President and two Vice-Presidents and of non-voting members as follows:
iv) co-opted members.
v) the Treasurer and the General Secretary.
b. The Federal Committee can elect co-opted members with consultative votes.
c. Should a directly-elected member of the Federal Committee resign, s/he will be replaced by the non-elected candidate who obtained most votes in the election to the Federal Committee at the last European Congress.
d. The direct members of the federal Committee are elected for the period between two European Congresses, meaning two years. Their mandate is renewable.
22: Powers
a. The Federal Committee is entrusted with the on-going political and organisational work of the association between two European Congresses. All the powers are at its disposal, except those which the present Statutes reserve specifically to the Congress.
b. Its powers are in particular:
i) The election of the Presidium which consists of three persons to chair the Federal Committee and coordinate and steer its proceedings during and in-between the FC sessions. At least one of them should be elected from among the directly elected members of the Federal Committee;
ii) The election of at least four members of the Executive Bureau from among the directly elected members of the Federal Committee with a renewable mandate of two years;
iii) The control over the decisions and policies of the Executive Bureau and the administration of the Secretariat;
iv)The formulation of JEF Policies and priorities of the association in specific fields;
v) The coordination of activities between the sections;
vi) The provisional approval of the annual accounts and the budget and their submission to the next European Congress for ratification of the years since the last European Congress;
vii) The approval of the budget and the supervision of the financial management;
viii) The approval of the Financial Guidelines;
ix) The appointment of the Secretary General with a mandate of two years on recommendation of the Executive Bureau;
xx) The preparations of the meetings of the European Congress;
xxi) The dismissal of any elected or appointed officer for serious misconduct before the end of their mandate, taken by a three quarters majority vote, after a motivated warning at the previous FC and a fair hearing.
23: Calling of Meetings
a. The meetings of the Federal Committee take place at least twice a year on convocation of the Executive Bureau and must be communicated by e-mail and by publication on the website of the organisation at least three weeks in advance.
b. On the request of one third of its members or half of the Presidents of the national sections, it must be called within six weeks. Notice of the Federal Committee meetings must be given at least three weeks in advance.
24: Proxies
The national presidents may be represented by another delegate from their Section, freely appointed by them, through a written notification to the Secretary General. As for directly elected members, they can give a written permission (proxy vote) to another Federal Committee member to represent them. Nevertheless, each member present can be allowed only one proxy vote.
25:Quorum
In order to have a valid discussion in the Federal Committee meetings, at least half of the members must be present or represented.
VI: Executive Bureau
26: Composition
a. The Executive Bureau is composed of the President, the two Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, at least four members elected by the Federal Committee and the Secretary General.
b. Should the President of JEF resign before the end of his/her term, s/he will be replaced by the senior Vice-President, who received the highest number of votes in the vice-presidential election at the European Congress.
c. Should a Vice-President, the Treasurer or a member of the Executive Bureau resign or be dismissed, the Federal Committee will elect another person from amongst its directly elected members at its next meeting to fill the vacancy. Should a Vice-President become President after his/her resignation, the same procedure will apply.
d. The Secretary General does not have a vote.
27: Powers
a. The Executive Bureau is responsible for the overall management of the association.
b. The Executive Bureau is responsible for the management of the organisation and carries into effect the decisions taken by the Federal Committee. It carries out its functions subject to the control of the Federal Committee, to which it is accountable.
c. The preparation of the meetings of the Federal Committee and ensuring their follow-up;
d. The initiating and defence of legal actions are undertaken in the name of the association by the Executive Bureau. This could in addition include all administrative deeds or financial acts.
28: Calling of Meetings
The President of JEF shall convene at least four meetings of the Executive Bureau each year. S/he shall also convene an Executive Bureau meeting if requested to do so by at least one third of its voting members.
29: Quorum
In order to constitute a valid meeting of the Executive Bureau, at least half of the members with a right to vote must be present.
30: Chair
The meetings of the Executive Bureau are chaired by the President or the next most senior officer. In case of a parity of votes the President (or officer in the chair) has a casting vote. All meetings of the Executive Bureau are open to members of the Federal Committee, the Arbitration Board or the Auditors Committee, but they do not have the right to speak. The Executive Bureau may decide to close parts or all of a specific meeting.
31: Expenses
Members of the Executive Bureau who incur expenses as a result of carrying out missions entrusted to them by the Federal Committee, the European Congress or the Executive Bureau, shall be, partly or totally, indemnified by the association.
32: The Secretary General and the Treasurer
a. The Secretary General is in charge of the European Secretariat of the association. S/he is responsible for relations with the sections of JEF Europe and the coordination of their activities. S/he is accountable to the Executive Bureau and the Federal Committee.
b. The Secretary General has the right to be present and to speak at all statutory meetings of the association
c. The Secretary General may attend (without a vote) the meetings of the European Congress, of the Federal Committee and of the Executive Bureau.
d. The Treasurer keeps the accounts and prepares the budget. S/he is accountable to the Executive Bureau and the Federal Committee.
e. If the Secretary General or the Treasurer do not complete his/her term of office, the Executive Bureau will appoint a replacement to be ratified by the next available Federal Committee meeting to serve for the remainder of the outgoing officer's term of office.
VII: Arbitration Board
33: Composition
The Arbitration Board has five members elected by the European Congress. They elect a chairperson from among their members.
34: Powers
The Arbitration Board’s function is to settle statutory conflicts between members, JEF sections and statutory bodies of JEF. No dissenting opinion shall be delivered in public by any member of the Arbitration Board. All the decisions of the Arbitration Board are final. The Arbitration Board takes its decisions by simple majority.
VIII: Auditors Committee
35: Composition
The Auditors Committee is composed of at least two members and maximum three, elected by the European Congress.
36: Powers
The Auditors Committee verifies at least once a year the accounts of the association. It is accountable to the Federal Committee, to which it has to report at least once a year.
IX: JEF Policies
37: JEF Policies
a. JEF Policy is made by its members through resolutions passed by their elected representatives at meetings of the European Congress or Federal Committee. Internal JEF Policies pertain to organisational matters while external JEF Policies determine the ideals and aims of the organisation.
b. JEF Policies are public and will be made available on-line to ensure transparency. The Secretariat will hold all JEF Policies in the JEF Policy Book.
c. The Executive Bureau and its Secretariat implement the JEF Policies according to their respective mandates.
d. The Executive Bureau is entitled to make decisions in the name of JEF on urgent matters for which a response cannot be delayed and where there is no JEF Policy or where JEF Policy is no longer appropriate in changing circumstances, and on matters which related to the implementation of policy. The Executive Bureau will be held accountable for its decisions at the following Federal Committee meeting.
38: Duration of Validity
a. JEF Policies will lapse exactly two years and six months after they are adopted unless re-approved by a European Congress or Federal Committee;
b. The Secretariat will ensure that all policies due to lapse are put before the relevant Political Commission, Working Group or plenary session of the European Congress or Federal Committee for their consideration.
X: Miscellaneous Provisions
39: Voting majorities
a. Unless otherwise required by the Statutes or the law, a decision by the bodies of the association shall require a simple majority.
b. The election of the President and the Vice-Presidents of JEF shall take place according to the Single Transferable vote system. The delegates shall give a priority preference to all candidates. All other elections shall be held according to the list system. For this purpose, the delegates shall give a non-priority preference to a number of candidates not exceeding the first integer number above the two thirds of the seats available. This provision applies equally to the election by the Federal Committee of the members of the Executive Bureau.
40: Minutes of meetings
a. The decisions of the European Congress, the Federal Committee and the Executive Bureau are recorded in the minutes made by the Secretary General and have to be distributed to the Federal Committee within one month after the meeting.
b. All the decisions relating to the nomination, the revocation and the suspension of functions of the administrators established in accordance with the law, are to be communicated to the Federal Public Justice Service (Federale Overheidsdienst Justitie/Service public fédéral Justice) and are to be published, at the expenses of the association, in the appendices of the Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur belge.
41: Finances
a. The financial year begins on the 1st of January and ends on the 31st of December of each year. The accounts and the budget are submitted yearly to the Federal Committee.
b. The accounts will be sent, in accordance with article 51 of the Belgian law on international non-profit organisations, to the Federal Public Justice Service (Federale Overheidsdienst Justitie/Service Public Fédéral Justice).
42: Removal from Office
a. All elected and appointed officers, including the Secretary General, and members of the statutory bodies listed in article 6 can, after a fair hearing, be dismissed before the end of term of their mandate for serious misconduct, after a reasoned decision of the body which has appointed them, taken by a three quarters majority vote.
43: Modification of the Statutes
a. The Statutes can only be modified by the European Congress by a decision to be taken with a two thirds majority of the present or represented delegates. Each proposal of modification of the Statutes must be communicated to the Federal Committee at the last meeting before the European Congress and the latest two months before the meeting of the European Congress. The proposed modifications must appear in the calling note.
b. In order for the European Congress to debate validly on a proposal for modification of the Statutes there must be two thirds of the delegates present or represented. If the quorum is not reached, a new European Congress can be summoned immediately, with the power to make amendments under a standard quorum of one half of the delegates present.
c. The modifications of the Statutes must be submitted to the Ministry of Justice (Federale Overheidsdienst Justitie/Service Public Fédéral Justice) and will have effect only after approval by the proper authority in accordance with article 50§3 of the Belgian law on international non-profit organisations and after publication in the appendices of the “Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur belge”, in accordance with the article 51§3 of the aforementioned law.
44: Dissolution of the Association
a. The association can be dissolved by a decision of the European Congress, acting in accordance with herein before mentioned conditions concerning the modification of the Statutes.
b. The European Congress will determine the method of dissolution and liquidation of the association. It will decide upon the distribution of the assets to the patrimony of the dissolved association. In default of such a decision, they will be transferred to the international association according to the Dutch law, UNION OF EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS, whose registered seat is in The Hague, or successively to the international association of the Belgian law EUROPEAN MOVEMENT whose registered seat is in Brussels at Square de Meeûs 25, B-1050 Brussels, or the WORLD FEDERALIST MOVEMENT whose registered seat is in New York, New York Plaza 66.
47: Omissions
Everything that is not foreseen in the present Statutes will be regulated according to Belgian law.
Rules of Procedure
as amended by the XX European Congress in Florence, Italy [1 November 2009]
I. Rules of Procedure for JEF
These Rules of Procedure are supplementary and subordinate to the Statutes of the Young European Federalists (JEF or JEF Europe) and regulate the implementation of the Statutes.
By 'delegate' shall be meant delegate to the European Congress as well as member of the Federal Committee and of the Executive Bureau. By ‘observer’ shall be meant any other member of JEF present at statutory meetings. By ‘section’ shall be meant national section, unless specified otherwise.
1. Quorum
Unless otherwise determined by the Statutes, at all meetings of the statutory bodies of JEF, more than half of the delegates present or represented shall constitute the quorum.
2. Voting
a. Unless otherwise determined by the Statutes and the Rules of Procedure, voting is by simple majority.
b. By simple majority shall be understood more than half of the votes cast, abstentions not counted.
c. By absolute majority shall be understood more than half of the votes cast, abstentions counted.
d. Each delegate shall have one vote and, in addition, the right to exercise the proxy vote of another delegate who has given his/her authorisation in writing. The chair of the session shall announce the proxies at the start of the meeting.
e. By 'chair' shall be meant the Presidium of the European Congress, the Presidium of the Federal Committee, the President of JEF or any other duly appointed person presiding over a statutory body of JEF.
f. Voting shall happen by showing of the delegates’ cards or, in the absence of these, by showing of hands. The result shall be announced by the chair. When a delegate entitled to vote requests it, there shall be a formal count of the votes.
g. For all elections as well as whenever a delegate requests it, there shall be a secret ballot.
h. The person(s) who sit(s) in the chair at meetings shall not have a casting vote.
3. Minutes
Written minutes of all meetings shall record resolutions, decisions, motions and votes with all necessary explanatory information. In addition to this, the deliberations of the European Congress shall be recorded. Minutes and decisions of the European Congress, Federal Committee and Executive Board shall be made available to all delegates and sections not later than one month after the meeting. The documents shall be voted upon at the next ordinary meeting.
4. Notice on resolutions
a. Resolutions can be submitted by delegates or national sections as well as observers. They shall be submitted to the Secretariat at least three weeks before the start of the European Congress or Federal Committee so that they can be sent to all Congress delegates or members of the FC in advance.
b. Resolutions submitted to the Congress and FC after the three week deadline or resolutions submitted by observers must be endorsed by a recognised commission or working group of the Congress and FC, unless the provisions of point c) below are valid.
c. The three week deadline can be waived if two thirds of the European Congress or FC agree.
5. Application of substantive motions and amendments, procedural motions, points of order and points of information
The following rules apply to the European Congress and the Federal Committee. The Executive Bureau, Auditors Board and Arbitration Board may use them also if they chose to do so.
6. Substantive motions and amendments
a. Unless otherwise specified in the Statutes and the Rules of Procedure, all motions shall require a simple majority of the votes cast in order to be passed. In case of a tie, the motion is not passed.
b. Any delegate or observer shall have the right to propose motions and amendments to motions, and these shall be put to a vote, unless: a procedural motion to move to the next business is passed, or a procedural motion to postpone the decision is passed, or a contradictory motion or amendment has already been passed at the same meeting, or the proposer withdraws the motion, or in the case of an amendment, it is accepted by the proposer of the substantive motion.
c. If the proposer of a motion or amendment withdraws it, this can be proposed by any other delegate or observer in his/her place.
d. Where there are two or more mutually contradictory amendments to a proposal, a vote shall be taken on the amendment which differs the most from the original proposal according to the opinion of the Presidium. If this amendment is passed, the other mutually contradictory amendment will fall without a vote.
e. The decision to accept or reject an amendment must be made before the main motion which it seeks to amend is put to a vote. If the amendment is accepted by the proposer of the main motion or by the vote, it shall be incorporated into the motion.
f. Any delegate or observer of JEF shall have the right to speak once and once only on each motion and amendment, unless a motion to close the list of speakers has been passed.
g. A delegate or observer shall have the right to reply to a personal attack on him/herself immediately.
h. The proposer of a motion shall have the right to reply to the debate.
i. All motions and amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Presidium before being put to the vote.
7. Procedural motions
a. Any delegate or observer of JEF shall have the right to propose any of the following procedural motions. A procedural motion shall be adopted by consensus or put to a vote immediately with a discussion of two one-minute speeches, by one speaker in favour and one against.
i) A motion to change the membership of the Presidium.
ii) A motion to overrule a decision of the Presidium.
iii) A motion to close the list of speakers on a specific motion or amendment.
iv) A motion to move to the next business.
v) A motion to restrict the time available to each speaker.
vi) A motion to exclude from the meeting person(s) causing a disturbance.
vii) A motion to adopt or to amend the agenda or timetable.
viii) A motion to change the persons counting the votes.
ix) A motion to postpone the decision.
x) A motion to move to an immediate vote.
xi) A motion to waive the 3-week resolution deadline.
b. No other procedural motion shall be eligible for consideration.
8. Points of order
A delegate or observer of JEF shall have the right to raise a point of order, that is, to draw the attention of the Presidium to the fact that the procedure or discussion is not in accordance with the Rules of Procedure or the Statutes or previously agreed procedural motions.
9. Points of information
The Presidium may at their discretion allow points of information to be made. Points of information are to be brief and must relate to facts and not opinion. The Presidium may choose not to accept such points if a member or members of JEF are abusing the procedure to gain additional speaking rights or if time for debate is limited.
10. Amendments to the Rules of Procedure
a. Sections I and II of the Rules of Procedure may only be amended by the European Congress.
b. Section III may be amended by the Federal Committee.
c. Other statutory bodies of JEF Europe may establish their own Rules of Procedure.
d. Proposed amendments to the rules of procedure require an absolute majority in the relevant statutory body and must be sent to delegates and observers with the agenda of the meeting.
II. Rules of Procedure for Meetings of the European Congress
1. Introduction
a. The calling notice of the European Congress, together with a draft agenda, shall be sent by the Executive Bureau of JEF at least six weeks in advance to all national and regional sections. The draft agenda shall include notably: a report of the Secretariat on the activities carried by the organisation; discussion on the activity reports submitted at every FC by all Executive Board and Federal Committee mandate holders; finances; elections; proposed amendments to the Statutes and the Rules of Procedure; items proposed for inclusion by a previous European Congress; proposals to exclude a member of JEF; application of candidate sections for membership.
b. Any section or delegate may request the inclusion of supplementary items in the agenda. Such request must reach the Secretariat at least 15 days in advance of the opening of the European Congress.
2. Number of delegates
a. The Secretary General shall inform the Federal Committee about the allocation of delegates to each section at least four months before the date of the European Congress. The proportional distribution of delegates is made on the basis of the registered members of each national section for the two years preceding the year of the European Congress, whose relevant membership fees were paid until the 1st of June preceding the meeting of the European Congress. Each national section shall receive at least two delegates unless its membership is lower than 50. In this case, it shall receive one delegate.
b. Sections that fail to pay the membership dues to JEF for both years preceding the European Congress are not entitled to any delegate.
c. Sections that fail to pay their dues of either year or to submit the declaration of membership as described in article 12 of the statues shall only be entitled to one delegate without voting rights who will not be reimbursed for his/her travel expenses, regardless of the level of any membership fees that have been paid.
d. Any organisation that applies to become a national section of JEF between European Congresses, has fulfilled its financial obligations towards JEF for the coming European Congress and has been provisionally accepted by the Federal Committee as candidate section, will be entitled to one delegate if the application is confirmed by the European Congress as a full member section.
e. The distribution of the delegates per section shall take place according to the corrected Sainte-Laguë system as detailed in the annex to the Rules of Procedure. For this purpose, the average membership of each section, as previously defined, shall be divided by the integer odd numbers and the result of each division will be placed in the decreasing order till the number of 100 delegates is exhausted. Delegates of sections recognised as full members during the Congress are provisionally added to the total number of delegates for the duration of the meeting of the European Congress.
3. Credential's Committee
The Credential's Committee shall consist of three members appointed by the Federal Committee, the Auditors Committee and the Arbitration Board respectively. The Committee shall verify that the distribution of the delegates has been done in conformity with the Statutes and the Rules of Procedure of JEF and if the delegates were elected in fulfilment of the Statutes and the Rules of Procedure of JEF. For this purpose, it will have the right to modify the decisions of the Arbitration Board on the abovementioned field. The Committee shall report to the European Congress.
4. Opening of the European Congress
a. The President of JEF shall take the Chair at the beginning of the European Congress and announce the number of delegates present and entitled to vote, as well as the number of the proxy votes, based on the decisions of the Credential's Committee.
b. The European Congress shall then elect four members of JEF who shall not be candidates for any other office subject to election at the European Congress to count the votes during the European Congress.
c. The European Congress then nominates five persons who are not candidates for any other office subject to election, proposed by the outgoing Federal Committee, to chair the European Congress sittings. These persons shall constitute the European Congress Presidium. The Presidium shall be solely responsible for the functioning of the European Congress. It shall decide by simple majority on all matters arising during the European Congress.
d. The European Congress may then nominate a maximum of five persons, proposed by the outgoing Federal Committee to take part in the Resolutions' Committee. The task of this Committee will be to prepare, discuss and modify, if need be, all the resolutions proposed to the European Congress.
e. The European Congress shall then adopt by simple majority its agenda and timetable upon the proposal of the outgoing Executive Bureau. Any subsequent change of agenda or the timetable will require a majority of two thirds of the votes cast in favour of the change.
5. Elections
a. The elections must be conducted by a Returning Officer, who shall not be a candidate, be nominated by the Executive Bureau and ratified by the European Congress.
b. If any delegate objects to a decision of the Returning Officer, s/he may appeal to the Presidium of the European Congress.
d. The European Congress shall then proceed successively to the elections of: the President; two Vice-Presidents; the members of the Federal Committee to be directly elected by the European Congress; five members of the Arbitration Board; and two or three members of the Auditors Committee.
6. Quotas
a. At least 40% of the directly elected members of the Federal Committee shall be of the least represented gender, the point of reference being the number of positions to be filled.
b. The same applies to the members of the Executive Bureau elected either by the European Congress or the Federal Committee after the European Congress, i.e. not the Secretary General.
c. The European Congress shall aim to elect at least one of the three positions of President and the two Vice-presidents of the other relevant gender.
d. There shall always be a common list for elections.
e. Sections should aim for their delegations to the European Congress to be gender balanced.
III. Rules of Procedure for Meetings of the Federal Committee
1. Meetings
a. The Executive Bureau of JEF shall call for the meeting of the Federal Committee. Notice of the session and a draft agenda of the meeting shall be circulated to the delegates of the Federal Committee at the latest 30 days in advance.
b. The Federal Committee shall meet in extraordinary session with a notice of 20 days, not later than 60 days after the receipt of the request by one third of the members of the Federal Committee. The agenda shall be circulated ten days before the meeting and shall include only the items proposed in connection with the calling of the extraordinary meeting.
c. At the beginning of the first meeting after the election of a new Federal Committee, the President will take the chair and proceed with the opening formalities of the meeting in line with articles (d) and (e) in place of the Presidium. The Federal Committee will then elect three members to serve as its Presidium until the next full European Congress. The FC will also elect the chairs and co-chairs of the recognised Political Commissions and Working Groups.
d. At the start of each meeting the Presidium will check which members of the Federal Committee are present and entitled to vote as well as the number of proxy votes.
e. The Federal Committee will then be asked to elect two tellers to count votes.
f. The meetings of the Federal Committee are open. By simple majority, the Federal Committee may decide that part of the meeting shall be closed.
g. Co-opted members of the Federal Committee may be proposed by any member of the statutory organs of JEF. Before the Federal Committee decides upon the proposal, the proposed person must have given his/her written consent. Co-opted members have all the rights of full members but are non-voting.
h. Any member has the right to add a declaration of vote to the minutes before the meeting is ended.
i. The Federal Committee may, with an absolute majority of the votes of the members, and add new items to the agenda of the meeting.
2. Monitoring Process
a. A monitoring process on the situation of a section can be initiated by the Federal Committee with an absolute majority of delegates upon a motivated request of the Executive Bureau a national section or an individual member of the organisation.
b. The motivated request shall be submitted to the Secretariat at the latest three weeks before a meeting of the Federal Committee. Within a week, the Secretariat shall notify the reception of the request to the Executive Bureau the Presidium of the Federal Committee as well as to the concerned section that is entitled to react in written form to the claims expressed in the request.
c. The monitoring process should be led by a task-force consisting of three to five members elected by the Federal Committee, with the mandate of submitting a report on the facts raised in the submitted request to the Federal Committee six weeks before the next ordinary meeting.
d. The report shall expose the facts and the current situation of the concerned section in a neutral way based on hearings of concerned members with different points of view and on relevant legal, statutory and other organisational documents. The report can possibly include recommendations to the relevant section and the Federal Committee for a consensual solution of the issue and/or on the suspension/exclusion of the section.
e. The concerned section has the possibility to react in written form to the report submitted by the taskforce latest three weeks before the meeting of the Federal Committee.
f. After taking knowledge of the report, the Federal Committee can vote the discharge of the monitoring task-force or renew its mandate for future explorations.
g. On the basis of the submitted report, the Federal Committee has the following options: 1. End the monitoring process without consequences for the involved section; 2. Elaborate an internal policy resolution containing a series of mandatory requirements and recommendations for the section.
IV. Rules of Procedure for Other Statutory Bodies of JEF
1. Arbitration Board
a. The office of the member of the Arbitration Board is incompatible with any other elected office in JEF Europe.
b. A complaint to the Arbitration Board may be lodged through the Secretariat by: any individual member of JEF, any section, any statutory body of JEF.
c. The Arbitration Board may establish its own Rules of Procedure, nominate a chair and elect a rapporteur for each case.
d. Members of the Arbitration Board may attend the meetings of the Federal Committee.
ANNEX to the Rules of Procedure
aimed at clarifying the existing provisions on the ALLOCATION OF EUROPEAN CONGRESS
DELEGATES , according to the CORRECTED SAINT-LAGUË SYSTEM
The allocation of delegates for the European Congress consists of two stages:
1. Pre-allocation of delegates to eligible sections:
− According to the Statutes of JEF, each section is entitled to a pre-allocation of two delegates if it has paid membership fees to JEFfor both years preceding the European Congress year, and if their average membership in these years has been at least 50;
− Each section whose average membership for these two years was lower than 50, as well as sections which failed to pay for one of the two years (regardless of the average membership), are entitled only to one delegate and CANNOT take part in further allocation of delegates;
2. Allocation of additional delegates to eligible sections:
The number of additional delegates to be allocated is obtained by deducting the total number of preallocated delegates from the total size of the European Congress. The number of additional delegates thus obtained is assigned according to the corrected Sainte-Laguë method, which has four steps:
i) Calculate memberships eligible for further allocation of delegates: for each section calculate the average membership over the two relevant years and reduce it by 50, in order to avoid double assigning of delegates. Then put them all in a column in diminishing order (placing the highest values on the top).
ii) Divide each so calculated membership by 1.4 and then continue dividing the original number by following integer odd numbers, i.e. 3, 5, 7, etc. placing the results of each division in subsequent columns. One should thus obtain a table of numbers.
iii) In the entire table, mark the amount of highest numbers which is equal to the number of
delegates to be additionally assigned, i.e. if one needs to allocate 30 delegates one should select the 30 highest numbers in the table. One should omit the columns containing membership figures before they have been divided. If the table contains more equal integer numbers one should check their decimals in order to see which number is actually greater.
iv) In each line, sum up the amount of numbers that were selected (do not add together the selected numbers!). The amount of picked numbers indicates the number of additional delegates eligible to each section.
In order to check if the Sainte-Laguë method has been used correctly, sum up the number of pre-allocated delegates and the obtained additional delegates for each section. Their sum should be equal to the size of the European Congress in total.
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