World Conference of the Catholic University Institutions of Philosophy
STATUTES
Unanimously approved by the First General Assembly of the Conference, UNESCO, Paris, 24 March 2000
ARTICLE 1 : NAME – NATURE – OBJECTS
1. The name of this organisation is the World Conference of the Catholic University Institutions of Philosophy.
2. The Conference brings together as a forum and network, on a voluntary and not-for-profit basis, Catholic university institutions whose activities are higher education and/or research in the field of philosophy. The working languages of the Conference are, in alphabetical order, English, French, German and Spanish.
3. The aims of the Conference, although they are not limited to these, are:
a. to promote communication and scientific and pedagogical collaboration between member institutions;
b. to constitute means of collecting and transmitting information and ideas ;
c. to constitute ways of developing philosophical research for its members, the philosophical community and the ecclesiastical community ;
d. to take the initiative, in this philosophical context, of understanding the situations and problems created by contemporary society, and, in order to find answers to them, to encourage similar initiatives amongst member institutions;
e. to render all appropriate services that will be asked of it within the Church;
f. to cooperate with the schools and institutions of philosophy in an ecumenical and inter-religious spirit.
4. The Conference achieves its objectives by focusing on the following:
a. the General Assemblies.
b. the constitution of special committees that study specific problems.
c. meetings of the regional groups.
d. creating the best tools for the exchange of information, concertation and the development of teaching and research: Information Bulletin, Website, international Catalogue of research, etc.
e. The Conference works in concertation with IFCU. The headquarters of the Conference is the place of residence of its President.
ARTICLE 2 : MEMBERS
5. Only university institutions can be members of the Conference.
a. Can be admitted as ordinary members institutions that regularly offer and confer higher academic degrees in philosophy (at least a licence or maîtrise or their equivalent) or pursue high level research in philosophy.
b. Can be admitted as associate members institutions that are aiming towards the admission criteria of the ordinary members and/or confer university degrees in philosophy.
6. Each member institution is represented by a single person.
a. this delegate will normally be the main person responsible for the institution during the term of his mandate.
b. the institution can designate another of its members as a deputy.
7. The conference will maintain relations with Catholic and non-Catholic professional philosophical organisations and with other non-strictly philosophical associations such as the Conference of Catholic institutions of theology, the various sectors of IFCU, etc.
ARTICLE 3: ADMINISTRATION
8. The organs of the Conference are:
a. The General Assembly
b. The regional meetings
c. The Administrative Board
d. The Bureau
e. The Committees
f. The permanent Secretariat
a) The General Assembly
9. The General Assembly is empowered to take final decisions and ratification for the whole Conference.
10. The members of the General Assembly are delegates that are accredited by the member institutions, either personally or by proxy.
11. a. Only the ordinary members are entitled to vote.
b. The members of the Board are entitled ex-officio to attend the General Assembly and take part in all the elections.
12. The Board invites the ordinary members and the associate members to the General Assembly. It can also invite observers and guests who have a right of expression.
13. The General Assembly meets in ordinary session every 4 years. It can also meet in extraordinary session at the request of two thirds of the ordinary members of the Conference or on the proposal of the President of the Board if the latter accepts.
14. The main aim of these regular meetings of the General Assembly is to pursue the objectives defined in article 3. The General Assembly takes place in conjunction with a Congress or an International Colloquium.
15. The purpose of these regular meetings is to: ratify the proceedings of the Board, elect the members of the Board and Bureau, examine the reports, choose and implement the orientations, and study all other items submitted to the Conference.
16. Each member institution, present or represented, has one vote. An institution can be represented if a proxy is given to a delegate who is present. No delegate can have more than two proxies. All proxies must be submitted in writing to the President.
17. Except for a special disposition to the contrary, an absolute majority of votes at a meeting is required and sufficient for the adoption of a proposal.
b) The regional meetings
18. The regional groups are constituents of the World Conference. They meet every four years alternately with the General Assembly. The purpose of these meetings is to manifest and verify the objectives of the World Conference for the region they represent.
19. The responsibility of these meetings is entrusted to the Board member who is responsible for the region or a member of the Conference who has been delegated by the Board for this purpose. He convenes them, presides them until the election of a president by the participants and presents reports on them to the Board on a regular basis.
20. The President or Vice-President takes part in the regional meetings. Member institutions of the Conference that belong to other regions should be invited to the regional meetings.
c) The Administrative Board
21. a. The Administrative Board of the Conference is made up of the President, the Vice-president, the Secretary-treasurer and as many other members as there are regions. Each region elects a delegate and his deputy amongst the deans or professors of the member Institutions. During his first term of election, the delegate will be the principal Officer « in function » of his Institution. The Secretary-treasurer can be a professor.
b. The election of the delegate is validated by the General Assembly; he then becomes vice-president of the region.
c. Normally, each region is represented on the Board.
d. The members of the Board remain in office until the next General Assembly.
22. The Board determines the frequency of its meetings. It can manage the ordinary business of the Conference between General Assemblies, such as the admission of new members or any other extraordinary business the Conference may entrust it with.
23. An extraordinary meeting of the Board may be called by the President or be held at the request of the majority of its members.
d) The Bureau
24. The Bureau of the World Conference is made up of the President, the Vice-president and the Secretary-treasurer. They do not cumulate the representation of the member institutions of the Conference they belong to.
25. The Vice-president will replace the President in case of absence. Should the Secretary-treasurer be unable to fulfil his obligations, the Board appoints a replacement with full powers until the next General Assembly.
26. The President is elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years, renewable once. The Vice-president is elected amongst the members of the Administrative Board for a renewable period of four years. The Secretary-treasurer is appointed by the Administrative Board on proposal of the President. They exercise their functions as from the General Assembly until the elections of the following General Assembly, except the Secretary-treasurer who has a three-year renewable mandate.
27. The functions of the members of the Bureau are the following:
a. The President calls and chairs all the meetings of the Conference and the Board. He generally directs and supervises the affairs and the activities of the Conference.
b. The Secretary-treasurer heads the Secretariat. He is responsible for:
. Preparing the Bulletin;
. Updating the Catalogue (list of members) of the Conference;
. Le relevé des programmes d’études et des recherches en philosophie;
. Updating the website;
. Publishing the proceedings ;
He keeps the archives and minutes of the Conference. He is responsible for the finances of the Conference and reports on them to the Assembly. He also carries out any other task that the President may entrust him with.
e) The Committees
28. The President appoints, with the approval of the Assembly, an Election Committee which is made up of at least three and at most five members of the Conference. This Committee submits to the members of the Conference candidacies for the Bureau and the Board during the regular General Assembly. Other candidates can be presented in a written proposal signed by twenty per cent of the members of the Conference who attend the Assembly. In both cases, all persons presented as a candidate to a function must have shown their intention to accept beforehand.
29. The President appoints, with the agreement of the Assembly, an Admissions Committee which will recommend to the General Assembly the entry of new members to the Conference.
30. The President appoints, with the agreement of the Board, any other Committee whose need may be felt for the good functioning of the Conference or for a specific matter.
f) The permanent Secretariat
31. The services of the permanent secretariat are ensured by the Secretary-treasurer.
g) Finances
32. The expenses of the budget are covered by the membership dues. These are fixed by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Board. A member institution which is two years in arrears in the payment of its dues can lose its right of vote and proxy.
ARTICLE 4 : AMENDMENTS
33. The present statutes can be modified, amended or revoked by the next General Assembly, if there is a two-third majority of expressed votes and the modification or the revocation has been submitted by the delegates in wiriting in one of the following two ways :
a. The President, with the agreement of the Board, sends the modification proposal to all the members at least two months before the General Assembly. Any member of the Conference can present such a proposal to the Board.
b. A delegate of a member institution sends a modification proposal to all the members at least two months before the General Assembly. This proposal must be accompanied by an approval that has been signed by at least twenty per cent of all the member institutions.
The Patron Saint of COMIUCAP is the Martyr St. Justin, of the Early church. The ecclesial acknowledgement of this fact goes back to 2008 and to the diligences done by Professor Philip Capelle in the Vatican. We are also proud to also acknolwledge that according to Tradition, the Tomb of the Martyr St. Justin can be found in the Cappucin church in via Veneto, not far from our Headquarters in the City of Rome. Here two links to St. Justin’s First Apology (Early Christian Writers) and (Audio).