International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy
Draft Statutes – Version A: 18/08/2010 - Click here to read Version B
1.1 The name of the Association shall be the “International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy”, herein after referred to as “IIPPE”.
1.2 The aims of IIPPE are: i) to promote Marxist political economy; ii) to command and criticize mainstream economics; iii) to critically and constructively engage with heterodox alternatives to mainstream economics; iv) to assess and advance political economy across other social sciences; and v) to engage with activism through formulation of progressive policy and support for progressive movements.
1.3 IIPPE is a non-profit association of researchers, students, practitioners and other persons committed to the pursuit of the aims indicated in clause 1.2. Its main functions are: i) to promote and facilitate the collective pursuit by its members of the aims indicated in 2.1, within Working Groups and within IIPPE as a whole; and ii) to promote the sharing of knowledge and information relevant to the pursuit of those aims within and across the Working Groups, IIPPE as a whole, academia, and society, namely through virtual fora, newsletters, seminars, conferences, publications, and other means of communication.
2.1 Membership is for a single calendar year, open to all persons sympathetic to the aims of IIPPE and willing to abide by its Statutes, and valid upon receipt of the annual Membership Fee.
2.2 The Membership Fee shall be determined annually by a resolution proposed by the Executive Committee and approved by majority at the Annual General Meeting.
2.3 In the event of a failure of a resolution concerning Membership Fees to gain an overall majority, the preceding fees shall remain operative.
2.4 Payment of the membership fee brings rights of membership for the calendar year in which the fee is paid. New members enrolling after 31 August in any given year are entitled additionally to membership for the whole of the subsequent calendar year.
2.5 All members have the right to terminate their membership by formally expressing their wish to resign to a member of the Executive Committee or of the Secretariat. Resignation will be effective upon reception of this request and shall not give rise to reimbursement of the membership fee.
3.1 The main bodies within the organizational structure of IIPPE shall be the Working Groups, the Executive Committee, the Board of Working Group Coordinators and the Secretariat.
4.1 The Working Groups are entirely self-run structures that promote and facilitate the pursuit of IIPPE’s general aims within a specific existential, theoretical or political field. This shall be made explicit in the name of the Working Group and in a short statement to be made public in IIPPE’s website.
4.2 Each Working Group shall have one or more coordinators. The coordinator(s) shall be nominated as of the original procedure to create the Working Group, or through any subsequent selection or nomination process within the Working Group. These coordinator(s) shall be member(s) of the Board of Working Group Coordinators.
4.3 Membership in a Working Group is activated by request to the current coordinator(s) and is valid upon reception of that request. Each Working Group will choose its own procedures for running itself and undertaking its activities.
4.4 Working Groups are encouraged to share some of the results of their activities with the broader membership of IIPPE, namely as of the Annual Conference and through Working Papers or other means of communication. They are also encouraged to actively share some of those results with academia and society in general.
4.5 Working Groups may be terminated through a resolution of the Executive Committee seconded by majority at a Membership Meeting, in the event of gross violation of IIPPE’s aims as indicated in clause 2.1, or of total lack of significant activity over the course of the previous year.
5.1 The Executive Committee shall be composed of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, and the Treasurer. It is responsible for defining IIPPE’s strategic orientation in consultation with the Board of Working Group Coordinators and for generally overseeing the pursuit of IIPPE’s aims.
5.2 The Executive Committee shall be elected by majority voting at the General Annual Meeting from among the competing lists. Only valid members of IIPPE may be elected to its Executive Committee. Its mandate lasts one year and there is no limit to the number of times the mandate may be renovated.
5.3 The members of the Executive Committee may resign by formally expressing their wish to do so to the Membership. In the event of resignation of one member of the Executive Committee, the remaining two shall co-opt a third member for the remainder of the term and reassign the positions within the Executive Committee as deemed appropriate. In the event of resignation of two or more members of the Executive Committee, a new Executive Committee shall be elected at an extraordinary Membership Meeting.
5.4 The Executive Committee shall confirm, appoint, and/or replace if necessary, all the members of the Secretariat. It shall also create new positions within the Secretariat or eliminate existing ones according to the strategic orientation and current needs of IIPPE.
5.5 The Executive Committee shall present an Annual Report to the membership, which shall include financial and activity reports for the previous year.
5.6 The members of the Executive Committee will in principle be joint holders of IIPPE’s bank account and jointly responsible for the use of that account. In particular, the Treasurer will be responsible for keeping a detailed account of any transactions conducted in IIPPE’s name, as well as all of its expenses and revenues, to be presented in summarized form in the Annual Report.
5.7 The Chairperson is responsible for generally representing IIPPE in official dealings with other organizations or individuals. Should the Chairperson be unable to fulfill this responsibility on a particular occasion and for a particular purpose, s/he may delegate this responsibility to the Vice-Chairperson (by default) or to a member of IIPPE of his/her choosing according to the circumstances. Delegation of this responsibility is valid upon formal communication to the other members of the Executive Committee.
6.1 The Secretariat shall be composed of those members who are appointed by the Executive Committee to undertake specific horizontal tasks within IIPPE and/or with a view to pursuing IIPPE’s aims. Minimally, it shall be composed of the Newsletter Editor, the External Relations Officer, the Website Administrator, the Working Groups Facilitator, the Publications Officer and the Educational Resources Officer. Additional Positions within the Secretariat may be created or terminated by the Executive Committee, according to the strategic orientation and current needs of IIPPE and by way of a formal communication to the Membership.
6.2 Only active members of IIPPE may be nominated to Positions in the Secretariat. The mandate of each member of the Secretariat begins with his/her appointment by the Executive Committee and will automatically end in the event: i) of a different Executive Committee being elected; ii) of a request by the current Executive Committee for the Position to be terminated; or iii) of a request by the current Executive Committee for the Position to be occupied by a different person. ii) and iii) shall become effective upon formal communication by the Executive Committee to the Membership.
6.3 The Newsletter Editor is responsible for undertaking and overseeing the selection, collection, formatting and publication of contents through IIPPE’s official Newsletter, which shall serve as a privileged means of communication within and across the membership, namely for the purpose of official and other announcements. In consultation with the Executive Committee, s/he shall ensure that the Newsletter be an active instrument in the pursuit of IIPPE’s general aims as stated in 2.1, and its strategic orientation as defined by the Executive Committee.
6.4 The External Relations Officer is responsible for executing the strategic orientation as defined by the Executive Committee in matters related to IIPPE’s relations with external organizations and individuals, namely for the purposes of academic and/or political collaboration, and dissemination of IIPPE’s activities.
6.5 The Website Administrator is responsible for undertaking and overseeing the selection, collection, formatting and publication of contents through the official IIPPE Website(s), which shall serve as a privileged means of communication both across the membership and with academia and society more generally.
6.6 The Working Groups Facilitator is responsible for facilitating and supporting the activity of the Working Groups and for liaising between the latter, the Executive Committee and the Secretariat. S/he is additionally responsible for keeping and updating the Membership list.
6.7 The Publications Officer is responsible for coordinating and overseeing IIPPE’s editorial activity, including book and working paper series.
6.8 The Educational Resources Officer is responsible for coordinating and overseeing IIPPE’s activities in matters related to the provision of progressive educational support, including suggested curricula and reading lists.
7.1 The Board of Working Group Coordinators is composed of the Coordinators of all the Working Groups. It will meet in parallel with every Membership Meeting. Additional meetings of this Board will be convened in case a third of its rightful members express that intention to the Executive Committee.
7.2 The Board of Working Group Coordinators shall advise the Executive Committee on matters related to IIPPE’s strategic orientation and current needs. It shall also seek to articulate the activity of the various Working Groups.
7.3 The Board of Working Group Coordinators may vote to impeach the Executive Committee at a quorate meeting by a favourable vote of two thirds of the Working Group Coordinators present. For these purposes, those Working Groups represented by more than one Coordinator will have only one vote, to be decided by agreement among those Coordinators.
8.1 The Membership of IIPPE is the sovereign body governing its activities and organisation, as expressed by majority vote at a quorate Membership Meeting according to Clause 10.1 below. In regard to amendments to the Constitution and Rules, ratification shall require a majority of two thirds at a quorate membership meeting.
8.2 At least one Membership Meeting shall take place every year, and it shall take place at the same time and in the same place as the Annual Conference. Additional Membership Meetings may be called by a majority at a preceding and quorate Membership Meeting, or by a majority of the Working Group Coordinators, or by a majority of the Executive Committee, or by at least 25 per cent of the membership expressing their wish to the President in writing.
8.3 The precise time and place of all Membership Meetings shall be designated by the Chairperson. Extraordinary Membership Meetings shall be held only in the country in which the largest number of members reside, or at the same time and in the same place as a general IIPPE event.
8.4 The date, time and venue of any Membership Meeting will be communicated in writing by the Executive Committee to all members at least 3 months in advance.
8.5 In the interim period between Membership Meetings the business of the Association shall be conducted by the Executive Committee.
9.1 The quorum at a Membership Meeting shall be 20.
10.1 The entire Executive Committee Council shall be elected at least once every year at a Membership Meeting, usually taking place at the same time and in the same place as the Annual Conference.
10.2 The Executive Committee shall announce a due date for nominations and a circulation date by which the ballot shall be circulated. The announcement, the due date for nominations and the circulation date by which the ballot shall be circulated shall be 56, 28 and 21 days before the day of the election, respectively. The inauguration date shall be within one week of the date of the election.
10.3 The Executive Committee shall be elected by list voting, with each list indicating which candidate is to fill each position. Voting shall take place by ballot, with each IIPPE member present at the Membership Meeting selecting their first preference.
10.4 In the case of contested elections to the Executive Committee, the winning list will be that which receives more than half the number of votes plus one. If there is no absolute first-round majority, a second round of voting shall take place, in which the Members shall choose by ballot from among the two lists that received the highest number of votes in the first round.
11.1 These Statutes may be changed through a resolution proposed by the Executive Committee, or half the Working Group Coordinators, or a third of the Membership. This resolution becomes valid if adopted by a two third majority at a quorate Membership Meeting. The resolution will be announced to the Membership at least 21 days before the Membership Meeting.
12.1 IIPPE may be dissolved only through a resolution proposed by the Executive Committee, or half the Working Group Coordinators, or a third of the Membership. This resolution becomes valid only if adopted by a two third majority at a quorate Membership Meeting. The resolution will be announced to the Membership at least 21 days before the Membership Meeting.
12.2 If adopted according to the procedure indicated in 12.1, the resolution to terminate IIPPE shall enter into effect immediately.
13.1 All matters not covered by these Statutes and not addressed by UK Law shall be dealt with and decided by the Executive Committee. Such decisions may be overturned by a majority vote at a Membership Meeting.