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Document Information:
- Year: 2006
- Country: France
- Language: English
- Document Type: Domestic Law or Regulation
- Topic:
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Appendix IV
Model statutes proposed by
the Department of the Interior
to organizations requesting recognition of status as a non-profit organization
I. Purpose and composition of the organization
Article 1
The organization known as: < > founded in < > for the purpose of < >.
Its duration is:
fixed at < >
OR unlimited.
With its headquarters located at < >
Article 2
The stock shares of the organization are < >
Article 3
The organization is composed of members < >
To be a member, it is necessary to be approved by the board of directors.
The annual fee is: < > F (Francs)
for the members < > is < > F (Francs)
for the members < >
It can be repurchased by paying contractua lly a fixed sum at < > F (Franc).
The annual fees can be raised by a decision from the general assembly.
The title of the member < > can be decreed by the board of directors to the people who
return or who rendered servi ces announced to organization. This title confers to the
people who obtained it the right
to belong to the general assembly w ithout being required to pay a fee.
Article 4
Membership of the organization may be lost:
1°) by resignation;
2°) in consequence of non-payment of the fee or for serious grounds so deemed by the
board of directors, unless there is a recourse from the general assembly.
The said member must provide his explanations beforehand.
II. Administration and Operation
Article 5
The organization is managed by a council of which the number of the members, fixed by
deliberation of the general assembly, is betw een at least < > members and no more than <
> members maximum. The members of the council are elected by means of a secret
ballot, for < > years, by the general assembly and selected in the categories of members
of which this assembly is composed. Voting members can sit on the council when the
circumstances justify it; they must be a limited number. In the event of vacancy, the
council shall provisionally provide for th e replacement with its members. Final
replacements shall be carried out by the next general assembly.
During each renewal of the board of directors, the general assembly shall designate a
given number of provisional administrators who shall be available to replace any
members who might suddenly leave before the expiration of their mandate.
The capacities of the members thus elected shall end therefore at the time when the
mandate of the replaced members should normally have expired.
The renewal of the council takes place at < >
The outgoing members are re-eligible.
Each administrator cannot hold more than one capacity.
The council chooses among its members, by secret ballot, a board made up of a president,
one or < > vice-presidents, one or < > secretaries, a treasurer, and an assistant treasurer.
The board is elected for < > years.
Article 6
The council meets at least once every six mont hs, and each time that it is convened by the
president, or at the request one quarter of the members.
The presence of at least one third of the me mbers of the board of directors is necessary
for the validity of the deliberations.
In the event of a divided cons ensus of opinion, the president shall have the final word.
There shall be an official report of the meetings.
The official reports shall be signed by the pr esident and the secretary. They must be
produced without white-outs or erasures, on numbered pages and preserved at the
headquarters of the organization.
Article 7
The members of the board of directors cannot receive any remuneration for the functions
which are entrusted to them.
Only the reimbursement of expenses is acceptable. These must be the result of a precise
decision from the board of direct ors, ruling out any benefit to the said parties; proof must
be produced which shal l be verifiable.
Agents remunerated by the organization can be called by the president to assist in an
advisory capacity for the meeti ngs of the general assembly and the board of directors.
Article 8
The general assembly of the orga nization includes the members < >
The general assembly meets < > and each time that it is convened by the board of
directors or at the request of at least one quarter of the members of the organization.
The agenda is regulated by the board of directors. The general assembly chooses the
board which can be that of the board of directors. It hears the reports on the management
of the board of directors, on the financial standing and on the moral of organization.
It approves the closing of financial account s, votes on the budget for the following fiscal
period, deliberates on the questions put on the agenda and pr ovides, if it is necessary, for
the renewal of the members of the board of directors.
There shall be an official report of the meetings.
The official reports shall be signed by the pr esident and the secretary. They are produced
without white-outs, nor erasures, on numbered pages and preserved at the headquarters of
the organization.
Each member present cannot hold any more capac ities than < > in addition to his own.
In the event of a divided consensus of opinion, the president shall have the final word.
The annual report and the accounts are gi ven each year to all the members of
organization.
Except by application, in regards to the provisions of the preceding article, the
remunerated agents, non-members of orga nization, do not have access to the general
assembly.
Article 9
The president represents the organization in a ll aspects of civil life. He authorizes the
expenditures. He can delegate authority under conditions which have been set by the
internal policies of the organization.
In the event of legal represen tation, the president can only be replaced by a representative
acting under the terms of a special procurati on. The representatives of the organization
must benefit from the full exercise of their civil rights.
Article 10
The deliberations of the board of directors relating to acquisitions, exchanges and
transfers for buildings necessary for the objectives of the organization, constitutions of
mortgages on the aforementioned buildings, bonds exceeding nine years, transfer of
assets pertaining to staffing and loans, mu st be approved by the general assembly.
Article 11
Deliberations of the board of directors relating to the acceptan ce of gifts and legacies are
valid only after administrativ e approval given under the cond itions prescribed by article
910 of the Civil code, article 7 of the law of February 4, 1901 and the modified decree n°
66-388 of June 13, 1966.
The deliberations of the general assembly relati ng to transfers of movable assets and real
estate connected with staffing, to the constitution of mortgages and loans, are valid only
after administrative approval.
Article 12
III. Endowment, annual resources
Article 13
Endowment includes:
1°) a sum valued in accordance with the re gulations of the following article;
2°) buildings necessary for the goal of the organization as well as wood, forests or
grounds to be timbered;
3°) capital coming from donations, unless im mediate employment was authorized;
4°) sums accrued from recurring fees;
5°) at least a tenth, annually compounded, of the net inco me from the assets of
organization;
6°) part of the surplus of resources which is not necessa ry for the operation of the
organization for the following fiscal year.
Article 14
All movable capital, including those of the endow ment, is placed in registered securities,
in denominated titles, titles which have been established in memorandums of reference as
prescribed in article 55 of the law n° 87- 416 from June 17, 1987 for savings or holdings
accepted by the Bank of France ( La Banque de France) in guarantee of advances.
Article 15
The annual receipts of organization are composed of:
l°) the income of its assets excluding the fraction prescribed in 5° of article 13;
2°) fees and subscription quotas of its members;
3°) grants originating from the following sour ces: governmental, regional, departmental,
local or publicly-owned establishments;
4°) the product of endowments from their us e as authorized for the fiscal year;
5°) the resources created in exceptional circum stances and, if it is necessary, with the
approval of the proper authority;
6°) the product of sales and remunerati ons received for services rendered.
Article 16
An audit shall be performed annually in the form of a statement of income with an
assessment and an appendix.
Each establishment of the organization must perform a separate audit which shall
therefore be organized in the form of a speci al chapter in the overall audit report of the
organization.
It shall be verified each year by the prefect of the department, by the Minister of the
Interior and by the Minister of Employment for the use of the funds coming from all the
subsidies granted during the past fiscal year.
IV. Amendment of the statutes and dissolution
Article 17
The statutes can be modified by the general assembly through a motion from the board of
directors or through a moti on from a tenth of the members who make up the general
assembly.
In either case, the motions for the amendments are to be entered on the agenda for the
next general assembly, which must be sent to all the members of the assembly at least < >
days in advance. The assembly must be co mposed of at least one quarter of the active
members. If this proportion is not reached, th e assembly shall be reconvened again after
an interval of at least fifteen days, and this time, it shall be free to deliberate with
whatever number of members present or repr esented. In all cases, the statutes can only
be amended with a majority two thirds vote of the members present or represented.
Article 18
The general assembly that is called to decide upon the dissolution of the organization and
that is especially convened for this purpos e, under the conditions laid down from the
preceding article, must include at least half of the active members plus one.
If this proportion is not reached, the assembly shall be reconvened again after an interval
of at least fifteen days, and at this time, it shall be free to deliberate with whatever
number of members present or represented. In all cases, the statutes can only be
amended with a majority two thirds vote of the members present or represented.
Article 19
In the event of dissolution, the general assembly shall appoint one or more
commissioners who shall be in charge of the liquidation of the assets of the organization.
The general assembly shall allot the net credit to one or more similar establishments that
are public or Non-profit, or with establishments who are in accord with article 6,
subparagraph 2, from the law of July 1,1901 which was modified.
Article 20
The deliberations of general assembly prescribed in articles 17, 18 and 19 are
immediately addressed to the Minister of th e Department of the Interior and to the
minister (sic). These are valid only after approval from the Government.
V – Supervision and Rules of Procedure
Article 21
The < >
must make known in three months (to the prefecture of the department or the sub-
prefecture of the district where the organi zation has its headquarters) all the changes
which have occurred in the administration or in the management of the organization.
The ledgers and financial records of the organization shall be presented, without
tampering, at the request of the Minister of the Department of the Interior or of the
prefect (of them or of their de legate or of any other civil servant accredited by them).
The annual report and the accounts – including those of the local committees – shall be
addressed each year to the prefect of the depart ment, to the Minister of the Department of
the Interior and to the minister of < >.
Article 22
The Minister of the Department of the Interi or and the minister (sic) have the right to
allow their delegates to visit the establishments founded by the organization and to hold
the establishments accountable for their operation.
Article 23
The Rules of Procedure, prepared by the boa rd of directors and adopted by the general
assembly, shall be addressed to the prefectur e of the department. They can only be put
into effect and modified after being approved by the Minister of the Department of the
Interior.