Rules of Procedure

as last amended by the Statutory Congress at Tampere in August 2005

I - THE CONGRESS

NOTICE

1. A notice stating where and when the Congress shall take place shall be sent to members by the Secretary General at least two months prior to the Congress.

Such a notice shall be accompanied by a draft agenda.

DELEGATIONS AND CREDENTIALS

2. Each regular member taking part in the Congress shall submit to the Secretary General a list of names of its delegates designating the head of its delegation.

3. A delegation shall not include more than three delegates; it may be accompanied by a reasonable number of observers.

4. The vote shall be cast by the head of the delegation or, in his or her absence, by one of the other delegates in the order in which their names appear on the list.

5. A regular member not represented at the Congress may assign its proxy, in writing, to another regular member in good standing.

6. Before and during the Congress, a Credentials Committee made up of the Secretary General and the Treasurer, shall review proxies and determine whether members wishing to participate directly or by proxy to decisions made by the Congress are in good standing. The Credentials Committee shall report continuously to the Congress on the number of members present or represented by proxy who are authorised to vote. The Congress may, at any time and for good reason, dissolve this committee and appoint a new Credentials Committee that may overrule the previous committee conclusions.

CONGRESS VOTING PROCEDURE

7. Votes on business shall normally be taken by a show of hands and, unless otherwise provided in the By-laws, by a simple majority of votes cast by the regular members present or represented by proxy; abstentions shall not be counted.

8. In the event of objections or doubt, the Chairperson may proceed to take a second vote, either by a show of hands or by secret ballot.

9. When a motion is put by one delegation and seconded by another, a request for a secret ballot may be voted upon and resolved before the matter under discussion is actually put to the vote. A decision to take a secret vote shall be adopted by a simple majority of a show of hands.

10. A secret ballot shall be the rule for elections to Council.

11. The Congress shall appoint three scrutineers who shall assist the chairperson in counting votes cast by a show of hands and who shall count votes cast by secret ballot. A scrutineer who is a candidate for a position being voted upon shall be replaced by another scrutineer appointed by the Congress.

PROCEDURE DURING DEBATES

12. The Congress shall be chaired by the President of FIT or a Vice-President appointed by the President. The Congress may however at any time decide by vote to dismiss the chairperson and to appoint a successor who shall assume the chair immediately.

13. Meetings of the Congress shall be conducted in accordance with rules generally accepted for deliberative assemblies.

14. The chairperson, or any regular member seconded by another regular member, may propose that time limits be set for discussions.

15. Any duly represented regular member may submit a motion related to the agenda item under discussion.

Before it may be discussed, such a motion must be seconded by another delegation.

OBSERVERS

16. In addition to associate sponsor members, candidate members may be represented by observers. The chairperson shall grant reasonable speaking time to such observers when their admission to full membership is being discussed.

17. The observers referred to in the previous section shall receive the same documents as regular members.

18. The Council and the Executive Committee may invite observers to a congress, indicating the items on the agenda for which such observers may be admitted.

19. The Congress may at any time invite an observer to attend one or more of its meetings.

It may also request an observer to refrain from attending certain meetings.

20. Observers invited under either of the two preceding articles may receive documents within the limits laid down by the body that invited them.

II - THE COUNCIL

MEETINGS

21. The first meeting of the newly elected Council shall take place immediately after the Congress. The outgoing President chairs until the new Committee is elected. The Secretary General also remains in office until the new Committee is elected.

22. At the time of this first meeting, the members of Council elected shall first of all proceed to the cooption laid down in article 33 of the By-laws.

23. At its first meeting the Council shall elect from among its members the Executive Committee; the vote shall be taken by secret ballot, each name to be submitted separately.

24. Any vacancy on the Executive Committee shall be filled by Council using the same voting procedure.

25. Attendance by at least half the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

26. The date and place of the next meeting shall be determined by the Council.

DEPUTIES, EXPERTS AND OBSERVERS

27. Any Council member may nominate a deputy to replace him or her at a Council meeting; this shall be done in writing by means of a letter addressed to the President or the Chairperson of that meeting, as the case maybe. A person designated as a deputy must be a member of a regular member of FIT in good standing at the time of the nomination.

28. A Council member who wishes to be supported by an expert must have the permission of the President or Chairperson of the Meeting in advance; such permission may be granted subject to ratification by the Council at the opening of the meeting.

29. Chairpersons of commissions or committees, special delegates and representatives of member organisations may attend Council meetings as observers.

30. The Council may invite other observers. The Executive Committee may also do so subject to approval by Council.

31. The Council may decide to hold part of a meeting without the presence of experts and observers.

COUNCIL VOTING PROCEDURE

32. Except for decisions pursuant to article 18 of the By-laws or to article 36 of these Rules of Procedure, Council decisions shall be taken by simple majority of the members present or represented by a deputy.

If there is a tie, the chairperson shall have a casting vote.

33. Except for the co-option of Council members and election to the Executive Committee, decisions shall be taken by a show of hand.

On the motion of the chairperson, or another member of Council seconded by another member, Council may however decide to use a secret ballot.

34. At any time between Council meetings, the Executive Committee or the President, on his or her own initiative, may consult other Council members by correspondence. In such case, the Secretary General shall send a ballot paper as quickly as possible to all Council members, who shall have to cast their vote with the Secretary

General within 28 clear days from the day of dispatch of the said voting forms. A decision shall be considered to have been taken as soon as a motion has been approved or rejected by a majority. The results of the vote shall be communicated immediately to the Council members by the Secretary General.

REPORTS TO COUNCIL

35. At each of its annual meetings, the Council shall hear reports from the President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer, the Director of BABEL, the Managing Editor of Translatio-FIT Newsletter, the chairs of commissions and committees, including the Executive Committees of Regional Centres, and special delegates.

36. If the Council, by a two-thirds majority vote of all Council members, refuses to accept a report presented by a member of the Executive Committee, the member in question shall be required to relinquish his or her duties and an election to replace him or her shall be held on the following day. In any event, he or she will retain his or her functions as a member of the Council. Such a rejection shall be effective only as a result of a vote taken at a proper meeting of the Council at which the member in question may render an account and state his or her views. No decision of this nature shall be taken by correspondence.

AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF COUNCIL

37. The management and administration of FIT shall be vested in the Council. The latter may exercise all powers and perform all such acts as may be lawfully done and performed by FIT within the scope of its Bylaws and these Rules of Procedure.

38. Without prejudice to the general powers of the Council as described above, it is expressly declared that the Council shall have the following special powers and/or obligations:

(a) to purchase and lease property;

(b) to institute, conduct, defend, assist in or abandon any legal proceedings by or against FIT or its officers or Members, or otherwise concerning the By-laws or interests of FIT;

(d) to appropriate, allocate and apply the funds of FIT to any of the objectives of FIT and, if necessary, to raise funds by any available legal means;

(e) to draw up minutes of all meetings, which shall be read and approved at the next meeting and signed by the chairperson of that meeting.

Once approved by Council, the minutes shall be sent as soon as possible to members.

III - THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

39. The Executive Committee shall meet whenever convened by the President or by the Executive Committee member empowered to exercise the President's duties.

40. The Executive Committee shall also meet whenever a meeting is requested by any two of its members. The meeting shall then be convened within a month.

41. The meetings shall be held at such place as the Executive Committee shall determine.

42. Attendance by at least half of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

43. Votes shall always be taken by a show of hands and recorded by name.

44. In the event there are particularly important matters to be dealt with, those members of the Executive Committee who are unable to attend the meeting shall be consulted in writing and shall be allowed to vote by correspondence.

45. In case of a tie, the chairperson shall have a casting vote.

46. The Executive Committee may invite observers or experts to its meetings.

PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS

47. The President shall be the highest ranking officer and spokesperson for FIT. The President shall chair the Congress, subject to Article 12 of these Rules of Procedures, as well as Council and Executive Committee meetings. He or she shall be an ex officio member of all committees.

48. The Vice-Presidents shall assist the President. Should the President be prevented from discharging his or her duties, such functions shall be taken over by the Vice-President appointed by the Executive Committee at its discretion and without delay.

SECRETARY GENERAL

49. The Secretary General shall be responsible for organising Council and Executive Committee meetings and seeing to it that the notices of meetings, proposed agendas and relevant documents are received in time by those concerned.

50. The Secretary General shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of the Congress and of Council and Executive Committee meetings.

51. Correspondence shall be received and dispatched by the Secretary General, the President being constantly kept informed.

52. If the Secretary General is unable to attend a meeting, his or her functions shall be taken over by a vice-president appointed by the Executive Committee.

53. With the permission of the Executive Committee and on his or her own personal responsibility, the Secretary General may be assisted by an assistant who may attend meetings of the Executive Committee at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

TREASURER

54. The responsibilities of the Treasurer are described in Articles 39, 40 and 41 of the By-laws.

55. With the permission of the Executive Committee and on his or her own personal responsibility, the Treasurer may be assisted by an assistant who may attend meetings of the Executive Committee at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

56. Subject to ratification at the subsequent meeting of the Council, the Executive Committee shall have the following powers:

(a) to carry out the instructions specifically given to it by the Council or Congress, and to carry on the routine business of FIT in accordance with standing or prior instructions;

(b) to appoint and, at its sole discretion, to remove or suspend any secretary, clerk, agent or servant, to or from permanent, temporary or special employment or service, and to determine their duties and fix their salaries or emoluments, as the case may be;

(d) to pay all sums of money incidental to the development of FIT, in implementation of the budget for the current year as adopted by the Council;

(e) to refer to the Council or Congress all matters for which specific instructions have not been received or for which there is no precedent, except that in an emergency the Executive Committee may act on its own initiative, informing the Council immediately of what it has done;

(f) to recommend rules of procedure to be fol-lowed by the Council and the Executive Committee.

57. The Executive Committee shall keep minutes of all meetings. Once the minutes approved, they shall be released to all member associations and organisations.

IV - ADMISSIONS, SUSPENSIONS, AND TERMINATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP

58. Before being submitted to Council pursuant to Article 11 of the By-laws, applications for membership shall be submitted to the Executive Committee by the Secretary General, together with the relevant documentation that shall necessarily include the total number of members in the association. The Executive Committee acting alone or with the assistance of persons appointed for that purpose shall examine the acceptability of applications and submit them to the Council together with its recommendations for a decision. In the course of its examination, the Executive Committee may consult member organisations likely to provide informed advice on the acceptability of the application. However, neither the Executive Committee nor the Council shall be bound by such advice.

The Secretary General shall notify the applicant as soon as possible of the decision taken.

59. A list of candidate members recommended to the Congress for admission to full membership shall be sent to member organisations at least two months prior to the Congress.

60. A member suspended pursuant to Article 19 of the By-laws shall be immediately informed of such decision by the Secretary General by way of a registered letter sent to the last known address of the member. The letter shall specify the conditions to be met for the suspension to be reversed and shall remind the member of the provisions for termination of membership in Article 20 of the Bylaws.

61. Decisions of Council on the admission of a candidate member or a sponsor or observer member, or on the suspension of a regular associate member or on the striking off of a sponsor or observer member shall be taken behind closed doors and in the absence of the member whose case is under consideration.

62. Decisions of Congress on the admission to full membership of a candidate member or on the expulsion of a regular or associate member shall be taken behind closed doors and in the absence of the member whose case is under consideration.

63. Newly admitted regular members may be recognised as voting members right away; they may not vote however on the admission of other members.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

64. In addition to the right to send observers to the Congress, associate members may participate in any activities that FIT may undertake. They can send observers to Council and Executive Committee meetings upon the written invitation of those bodies.

65. Associate members shall invite FIT to be represented by observers at their own meetings and activities to the extent they judge appropriate.

V - LANGUAGES

66. The official languages of FIT shall be French and English. Other languages may be admitted as working languages on an ad hoc basis.

67. At Congress, Council and Executive Committee meetings, delegates shall have the right to speak in the language of their choice. It will be the responsibility of the delegate concerned to provide his or her own interpreter.

VI - FIT COMMITTEES

68. The Congress or Council may require the Executive Committee to set up committees.

69. The Executive Committee shall set up FIT committees and appoint and remove their chairpersons. The Chairperson shall submit to the Executive Committee for endorsement a list of Committee members.

70. The Chairpersons of committees shall be full members of FIT member associations.

Committee members shall be members of FIT member associations or representatives of associate members.

Persons not belonging to any member organisation may be invited to act as observers.

71. Chairpersons and other Committee members shall not be appointed to a Committee for more than three consecutive terms of office.

72. A resolution to set up a Committee shall be based on a specific project or programme and specify the terms of reference and the time frame for the project or programme.

73. The Chairpersons of committees shall report to the Executive Committee according to their terms of reference.

VII - PUBLICATIONS

BABEL

74. FIT shall publish a quarterly scholarly journal Babel devoted to information, development and research in translation, interpreting and related fields.

75. The Director of Babel shall be appointed by the Council on the basis of competence and qualifications.

76. The Director of Babel may attend Congresses and Council and Executive Committee meetings as an observer. He or she shall submit a report to each Council meeting or to any meeting of the Executive Committee at the latter's request.

77. The Editor of Babel shall be appointed by the Council upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee and shall be accountable to the Director of Babel.

78. The rights and obligations as well as the duties of the Editor of Babel shall be determined by contract. The contract shall be signed and executed in the name of FIT by the Director of Babel and the President of FIT after consultation with the Council.

TRANSLATIO-FIT NEWSLETTER

79. FIT shall publish an official information bulletin Translatio-FIT Newsletter. This quart-erly bulletin shall keep readers informed of FIT activities, such as symposia and the work of committees, and convey information about member organisations. It shall also provide relevant general information.

80. The Editor of Translatio-FIT Newsletter shall be appointed by the Council upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee.

81. The Editor of Translatio-FIT Newsletter may attend Congresses and Council and Executive Committee meetings as an observer. He or she shall submit reports regularly to the Council or to the Executive Committee at the latter's request.

82. The rights and obligations as well as the duties of the Editor of Translatio-FIT Newsletter shall be determined by contract signed for FIT by the President of FIT acting on behalf of Council.