Statutes

The official statutes of the Academy are drafted in Dutch. Only the  Dutch version is authoritative. The following translation is unofficial.

STATUTES
as of 12 October 2018 of the Foundation:
The Hague Academy of International Law,
with its registered seat in the municipality of The Hague

Name and headquarters.
Article 1
1.      With the cooperation of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an Academy of International Law named: Foundation The Hague Academy of International Law (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Foundation’ or ‘the Academy’) was established.
2.      The Foundation shall have its headquarters in the municipality of The Hague.
3.      The Foundation shall also be referred to as: “Académie de droit international de La Haye” or “The Hague Academy of International Law”.
4.      The Foundation is not for profit.
5.      The Foundation was established by notarial deed dated twenty-seven January nineteen hundred and fourteen.

Purpose.
Article 2
The Foundation constitutes a centre for the advanced study of and research on international public and private law and related sciences, with the aim of promoting in-depth scientific research on issues relating to international legal relationships by conducting educational and research activities and any other activity that could contribute towards achieving this objective.

Organs.
Article 3
The Foundation has the following organs:
a. the Board;
b. the Curatorium;
c. the Secretary-General of the Academy (hereinafter to be referred to as: “the Secretary-General”), and
d. the Treasurer.

The Board.
Article 4
1.      The Foundation shall have a Board, which is charged with the management of the Foundation.
2.      The members of the Board shall be appointed by means of co-optation by the Board, on the understanding that only persons who are members of the Board of the Carnegie foundation, registered in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce under number 41149745, may be appointed as members of the Board.
3.      A member of the Board who no longer meets the requirement as referred to in paragraph 2 of this article shall resign.
4.      In the event of the absence or inability to act of one or more members of the Board, the management of the Foundation shall temporarily rest with the remaining members of the Board. In the event of the absence or inability to act of all members or a single member of the Board, the management of the Foundation shall temporarily be entrusted to one or more persons designated annually by the Board for this purpose.
5.      The Board is competent to take decisions relating to the conclusion of contracts for the acquisition, alienation and encumbrance of registered property, and to enter into agreements whereby the Foundation binds itself as caution or solidary co-debtor or guarantor or to grant security for a debt owed by another party.
6.      No remuneration is to be granted to the members of the Board in their capacity of member of the Board, except for a non-excessive attendance fee and a reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.

The Board: Representation.
Article 5
1.      The Board represents the Academy.
2.      The power of representation can also be vested in two members of the Board acting jointly.
3.      The Board may decide to grant a power of attorney to one or more members of the Board, or to third parties to represent the Academy, within the limits of this power of attorney.
4.      Members of the Board cannot dispose of the assets of the Foundation on a personal basis.

The Curatorium.
Article 6
1.      The Foundation has a Curatorium that is charged with the scientific direction of the Academy. It is composed of minimum seven (7) and no more than nineteen (19) members. There may be no more than one national from the same State at the same time. 
2.      One of these members must have the Dutch nationality. He is appointed by the Board and represents the Curatorium in the capacity of an observer.
3.      The Curatorium appoints the other members by means of co-optation.
4.      Members of the Curatorium are appointed for a period of six (6) years and may be reappointed no more than once.
5.      The Curatorium elects its President and Vice-President among its members for a mandate of six (6) years, with the one-off possibility of reappointment in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.
6.      The elections referred to in this article shall be held in writing by secret ballot.
7.      The members of the Curatorium shall not be granted any remuneration in this capacity, except for a non-excessive attendance fee and a reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.

Curatorium: working method and decision-making.
Article 7
1.      The Curatorium meets at least once a year.
2.      The presence of the majority of the members is required for the validity of the Curatorium decisions.
3.      Every member of the Curatorium who, without a valid reason, is consecutively absent at three meetings, shall be deemed to have resigned.
4.      In implementation of the provisions of Article 2, the Curatorium shall establish the annual programme of scientific activities of the Academy. The Curatorium also appoints the most renowned specialists from various States to give courses, lectures or seminars.
5.      The Curatorium appoints one or more of its members to attend the Academy during the period in which courses take place.

Secretary-General.
Article 8
1.      The Curatorium appoints the Secretary-General by secret ballot.
2.      The Secretary-General shall be appointed for a period of six (6) years and may be reappointed not more than once.
3.      His remuneration shall be settled by the Board.
4.      The Secretary-General is responsible for scientific and educational matters under the authority of the Curatorium, whose meetings and decisions he prepares and implements.
5.      The Secretary-General does not work on the basis of a contract of employment under civil law.

Treasurer.
Article 9
1.      The Board appoints the Treasurer of the Academy.
2.      The Treasurer shall be appointed for a period of five (5) years and may be reappointed indefinitely.
3.      His remuneration shall be settled by the Board.
4.      The Treasurer shall be responsible for the management of the finances and personnel of the Academy, under the authority of the Board, whose meetings and decisions he prepares and implements.

Employees of the Academy.
Article 10
1.      The Board provides the Secretary-General and the Treasurer with sufficient support staff .
2.      The personnel of the Academy works on the basis of an employment contract under civil law.

Publication.
Article 11
1.      The Curatorium decides on the publication of courses or lectures, within the limits of the budgetary resources, which have been established by the Board.
2.      The Treasurer is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the publications.

Reports.
Article 12
Before the 31st of December of each year, the Secretary-General submits to the Curatorium and the Board a report on the Academy’s scientific activities in the past calendar year.

Admission to the Academy.
Article 13
The Curatorium decides on the admission to the various programmes, as well as on the withdrawal thereof, by disciplinary measure.

Registration fee. Scholarships.
Article 14
1.      After consultation with the Curatorium, the Board determines the amount of the registration fee.
2.      The Board may, after consultation with the Curatorium, institute scholarships. The Secretary-General decides on the recipients of those scholarships, in compliance with any conditions laid down by the scholarship donors.

Revenues.
Article 15
The revenues of the Foundation consist of:
a. registration fees as alleged in Article 14 paragraph 1;
b. the sales revenue of the Academy’s publications;
c. grants and scholarships from third parties, donations, bequests, or other gifts;
d. revenues from the assets of the Academy.

Budget.
Article 16
Each year, the Board shall adopt a budget of revenue and expenditure for the following calendar year. The adopted budget is communicated to the Curatorium for information and discussion.

Financial year and financial statements.
Article 17
1.      The financial year of the Foundation shall commence on the 1st of January and shall end on the 31st December each year.
2.      The Board is responsible for the financial position of the Foundation and for everything relating to the activities of the Foundation, and will make sure to preserve administrative documents, the books, documents and other data in such a way that the rights and obligations of the Foundation can be reassessed at all times.
3.      Each year before the 1st of June, the Treasurer shall submit to the Board the statement of income and expenditure for the past calendar year and a balance sheet of the assets and liabilities of the Foundation, drawn up at the end of the past calendar year. He shall enclose a verification report of these documents, drawn up by an office of experts appointed for this purpose by the Board.
4.      The annual accounts and balance sheet, with or without amendments, shall be adopted by the Board in June.
5.      The Board shall be obliged to keep the books, records and other data referred to in this article for a period of seven years.

Other necessary powers of the Board.
Article 18
Apart from the provisions in the preceding articles, the Board shall have all necessary powers to ensure a proper course of business.

Amendment of the Statutes.
Article 19
1.      If the Curatorium or the Board deems it necessary to amend the present Statutes, the organ concerned shall notify the other organ of its proposal, which shall be discussed at the next meeting of the latter organ.
2.      The Curatorium and the Board shall decide on the proposal, whether or not amended, at a joint meeting chaired by the eldest of the two Presidents, by a simple majority of votes of both organs.

Dissolution and liquidation.
Article 20
1.      Without prejudice to the provisions of the law, the Board, after obtaining the approval of the Curatorium, is authorised to dissolve the Foundation.
2.      Unless the Board in its resolution to dissolve the Foundation has appointed one or more other liquidators, the liquidation shall be carried out by the members of the Board.
3.      The liquidation shall take place with due observance of the relevant provisions of the law. During the liquidation, the Statutes will remain in force as far as possible.
4.      The decision to dissolve contains a clause on the destination of any balance remaining after liquidation. If, after the dissolution of the Foundation, and after all debts have been paid, assets in cash or possessions remain, these shall be donated or transferred to one or more other institution(s) with a similar purpose to that of the Foundation, on the understanding that the surplus shall go to:
a.      an institution of general interest, as referred to in Article 5b of the Dutch General Law on State Taxes or a provision replacing it, the objectives of which are comparable to those of the Foundation, or
b.      a foreign institution that exclusively or almost exclusively serves the general interest which is comparable to the one of the Foundation.

Transitional provision.
Article 21
The provision of Article 6 paragraph 4 only applies to members of the Curatorium who were appointed on or after the fourth of June two thousand and fifteen. Members of the Curatorium who were appointed before the fourth of June two thousand and fifteen may be reappointed twice.

END OF STATUTES.