Our statutes

IOWater statutes were updated on 12 December 2000.

 

I) PURPOSE AND COMPOSITION OF THE ASSOCIATION

 

ARTICLE 1 

The Association's objectives in the field of water and related activities are to:

• Facilitate exchanges between the various decision-makers, designers, managers, industrialists, trainers, researchers, users concerned, to better solve together their problems, coordinate their actions, disseminate their information;
• Pool their skills and develop partnerships between French and foreign public and private organizations and to carry out projects and programs of common and collective interest in order to better respond to the requests and needs requiring the multiple and more and more complex know-how of the "International Water Community".

It carries out its missions:

• As part of cooperation with developing countries,
• Within a European approach to the management of water resources and aquatic environments,
• In France, to reinforce and multiply the actions of the various public and private stakeholders of the sector.

The six priority missions of the "INTERNATIONAL OFFICE FOR WATER" are to:

1. Disseminate reliable information adapted to the needs of its various partners,
2. Collect, analyze and make easily available the scientific, technical, economic and institutional documentation on the different water issues, to ensure a technological watch to constantly update knowledge in real time, to make regulatory and normative information, including the European one, more readily available,
3. Contribute to the training of water professionals and facilitate their permanent adaptation to new jobs, functions and qualifications, induced by technical progress and, secondly, by the variety of local regional or national contexts,
4. Enable the priorities of the professional community and users to be expressed on the themes chosen for study and research, facilitate the general training curricula launched by the public authorities, promote knowledge and disseminate results to the users concerned, and possibly carry out applied studies and experiments, as a complement to and in consistency with the specialized research and training institutions,
5. Collaborate in programs for the management and summary of data on water quality, pollution, water resources and environmental protection, especially initiated by the French Environment Institute and the European Environment Agency,
6. Develop expertise and assessment abilities in these areas, especially on legal, economic and institutional issues, to foster local or regional skills and to promote integrated water resources management in the interested countries.

Its duration is unlimited.

Its home office is located in Paris.

 

ARTICLE 2

To be become a member, you must be approved by the Management Board and your contibution duly paid.

Members of the French Association for Water Studies (AFEE) and the International Training Center for Water Resources Management (CEFIGRE) are members of the Association.

The members of the Association may be founder members, associate members, active members or corresponding members.

The founder members are those who have contributed to the Association's own funding by providing a minimum amount set by the General Assembly as reserve funds, without recovery right.

Associate members are those who participate in a joint activity with the Association by making personnel, data or know-how available or by participating, specifically and significantly, in the pre-financing of the activity development.

Membership is reserved for public institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, associations, foundations and foreign members.

The annual dues for each category of members shall be determined by decision of the General Assembly.

The title of honorary member may be awarded by the Management Board to persons who render or have rendered services to the Association. This title confers on the persons who obtained it the right to be a member of the General Assembly without having to pay a contribution.

The former presidents of the AFEE, CEFIGRE, the Water Institute, and subsequently the "INTERNATIONAL OFFICE FOR WATER" are honorary members of the Association.

 

ARTICLE 3

Association membership is lost through:

1. Resignation;
2. Cancellation by the Management Board for non-payment of the dues or for serious reasons, unless appeal is made to the General Assembly. The member concerned shall first be called upon to provide explanations;
3. Loss of a position in which the member was admitted;
4. Disappearance of the legal entity or company concerned.

 

II) ADMINISTRATION AND FUNCTIONING 

ARTICLE 4

The Association shall be administered by a board of [28] members.

The appointment of the Board members, proposed by their respective colleges, is pronounced by the General Assembly by secret ballot:

• eight members from bilateral or multilateral cooperation organizations or from European and foreign institutions particularly linked with the association,
• eight members from the French public sector:
• six members proposed by the Basin Agencies,
• a member jointly proposed by the LIMOUSIN Region, the Departments (counties) of this region and the cities of Limoges and La Souterraine,
• a member jointly proposed by the Provence-Alps-Riviera Region, the Alpes-Maritimes Department and the Valbonne / Sophia-Antipolis Planning Association,
• three members proposed by the federations or associations of local, departmental or regional elected representatives concerned with water resources management,
• a member representing the associated training and research institutions or their regional groupings,
• eight members from private sector companies, banking institutions and water users.

The members of the Board are appointed for 3 years and renewed in full every 3 years.

Retiring members may be reappointed.

The Board shall select by secret ballot a Bureau from among its members. It shall be composed of a president, four vice-presidents, a secretary and a deputy secretary, a treasurer and an assistant treasurer, including one member representing respectively the Local Communities of Limousin and Provence-Alps-Riviera.

The number of Bureau members cannot exceed one-third of the Management Board.

Three representatives of foreign members of the association on the Management Board may also participate in the meetings of the Bureau.

The Bureau is elected for 3 years.

In the event of a vacancy, the members of the Board shall be replaced by the next General Assembly. The powers of the members so elected shall end at the time when that of the replaced members should normally expire.

The members of the Management Board may co-opt, on a temporary basis, the replacement of a member who has resigned between two meetings of the General Assembly.

The following may also attend meetings of the Management Board in an advisory capacity:

Representatives of the French Ministries responsible for Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Foreign Trade, Environment, Equipment, Industry and Health and the Financial Controller of the organizations being under the supervision of the Ministry for the Environmen:.

• representatives of the Ministries of Economic Cooperation and Environment of the Federal Republic of Germany;
• representatives of the European Commission,
• representatives of the founder members of the Association, as well as of associate members for matters concerning them, whose designation shall have to be approved by the Management Board.
• a second representative of the local authorities of the Limousin Region and the Provence-Alps-Riviera Region respectively.
• The presidents of the International Network of Basin Organizations and the Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water Sector.

 

ARTICLE 5

The Board shall meet at least once every six months and whenever convened by its President or on the request of one quarter of its members.

The presence of at least one third of the Board members is necessary to validate the deliberations.

The decisions of the Management Board are made up by a majority of votes. In the event of a tie, the President's vote shall prevail. Each member may delegate his powers to another member and may only hold a power.

Minutes shall be kept of the meetings.

The minutes shall be signed by the President and the Secretary. They shall be drawn up without blanks or erasures on numbered sheets kept at the Association home office.

 

ARTICLE 6

The members of the Management Board cannot receive any remuneration because of the duties entrusted to them.

Only expenses refunds are possible. They must be the subject of an express decision of the Management Board, decided on without the presence of the persons concerned; Justifications must be produced that shall be checked.

Agents paid by the Association may be called by the President to attend, in an advisory capacity, the meetings of the General Assembly and Management Board.

 

ARTICLE 7

The General Assembly of the Association shall include all its members as defined in Article 2.

It shall meet at least once a year and each time it is convened by the Management Board or on the request of at least one quarter of its members.

Its agenda is defined by the Management Board.

It chooses its Bureau, which may be that of the Management Board.

It approves the accounts for the closed fiscal year, votes the budget for the following fiscal year, deliberates on the items on the agenda and, if necessary, provides for the renewal of members of the Management Board.

It hears reports on the Board’s management, on the financial and moral situation of the Center.

It decides on the mechanisms of funding and use of the reserve fund made up of the contributions of the founder members.

The annual report and accounts are sent to all the members of the association.

The decisions of the General Assembly are made up by a majority of votes. In the event of a tie, the President shall have the casting vote. Each member may delegate his powers to another member and may only hold five powers.

Except in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, the agents paid by the Association shall not have access to the General Assembly.

Minutes shall be kept of the meetings.

The minutes shall be signed by the President and the Secretary. They shall be drawn up without blanks or erasures on numbered sheets kept at the Association home office.

 

ARTICLE 8

The President represents the Association in all acts of civil life. He orders the expenses. He may delegate in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Rules and Regulations.

In the event of legal representation, the President may only be replaced by a representative acting under a special power of attorney.

The representatives of the Association shall have full civil rights.

 

ARTICLE 9

The deliberations of the Management Board concerning the acquisition, exchange and disposal of buildings necessary for the purpose pursued by the Association, the issuance of mortgages on the said buildings, the leases exceeding nine years, the alienation of property included in the endowment and loans must be approved by the General Assembly.

 

ARTICLE 10

The deliberations of the Management Board relating to the acceptance of gifts and bequests are valid only after administrative approval given in accordance with article 910 of the Civil Code, article 7 of the law of 4 February 1901 and Decree No. 66-388 of 13 June 1966, as amended.

The deliberations of the General Assembly relating to the disposal of movable and immovable property depending on the endowment, the issuance of mortgages and loans are valid only after administrative approval.

 

ARTICLE 11

The "INTERNATIONAL OFFICE FOR WATER", in addition to its home office in PARIS, manages two centers located respectively in:

• LIMOGES - LA SOUTERRAINE and
• SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS-VALBONNE

A Director-General of IOWater shall be appointed by the Management Board and shall take care of the day-to-day management of the home office within the delegations given to him by the Board.

The Management Board shall also appoint the directors of specialized bodies or departments, after consulting the Director General.

IOWater functioning is organized around:

• its International Cooperation Department in Sophia-Antipolis, (International Institute for Water Administration),
• its Department for Professional Training and Studies in Limoges, which manages the educational units and the laboratory of La Souterraine (National Water Training Center),
• The Documentation and Data Department which manages the logistics of the National Center for Water-related Information and Documentation in Limoges.

Each Department manages, under the authority of the Director General, all the resources necessary for carrying out its tasks, under the control, whenever necessary, of steering committees gathering the partners contributing financially to the activities.

Activities carried out specifically on behalf of the Water Agencies cannot be modified without the consent of their representatives in the corresponding steering committees.

The modification of the programs carried out with funding from an international organization cannot be decided without the consent of its representative in the corresponding steering committees.

IOWater activities are subject, as the case may be, to the advices of, firstly, the Scientific and Technical Board and, secondly, of the INTERNATIONAL ORIENTATION BOARD.

 

The Scientific and Technical Board

The members of the Scientific and Technical Board are appointed by the Management Board on the proposal of the Higher Education Institutions, Universities and Research Centers that are members of the Association.

The European and international scientific and technical organizations, with which IOWater is carrying out joint cooperation activities, as well as the European Environment Agency, propose nominations to the Scientific and Technical Board, as far as they are concerned.

The Scientific and Technical Board is consulted on the methodologies used and the educational and scientific programs of the Office, as well as on its documentary organization.

It organizes IOWater's activities carried out jointly with educational and research institutions, members of the association.

It receives all the studies and publications of the Office.

 

The International Orientation Board

The members of the International Orientation Board are appointed by the Management Board on proposal of:

• bilateral or multilateral cooperation organizations interested in the activities of the Association,
• the European Commission,
• the French and German ministries responsible for international cooperation,
• the relevant national administrations or bodies of the different countries where the Office is carrying out development activities,
• scientific, technical and academic organizations with which the Office is pursuing joint cooperation activities.

The International Orientation Board is consulted on all IOWater’s activities carried out abroad or under an international cooperation program.

It organizes the Office's activities carried out jointly with bilateral and multilateral cooperation organizations, members of the association.

They receive all the international studies and publications of the Office.

The Presidents of the Scientific and Technical Board and International Orientation Board of the Association are elected by the Management Board of the Association on proposal of their respective members. Either Board may decide to establish, as appropriate, specialized technical sections or regional sections.

Either Board may designate a permanent bureau if relevant. The Director-General, assisted by the competent director (s), shall provide the secretariat for the meetings.

 

III) ENDOWMENT, ANNUAL RESOURCES

 

ARTICLE 12

Endowment includes:

1. an amount of FF 100,000 in nominal value invested in accordance with the requirements of the following Article;
2. the estates necessary for the purpose sought by the Association, or derived from the net assets attributed to it by the dissolution of other similar establishments, as well as timber, forests or lands to be afforested;
3. capital from gifts unless immediate use has been authorized;
4. at least one-tenth, annually capitalized, of the income of the property of the Association;
5. the portion of the surplus resources that is not required for the operation of the Association for the following fiscal year.

 

ARTICLE 13

All the movable capital, including that of the endowment, shall be invested in registered securities, in securities for which is established the list of nominative references provided for in Article 55 of Act No. 87-416 of 17 June 1987 on Savings, or in securities admitted by the Bank of France for advance payments.

 

ARTICLE 14

The annual revenue of the Association shall consist of:

• the income of its property other than the fraction provided for in section 4 of Article 12;
• contributions and subscription fees of its members;
• subsidies from the State, regions, departments, municipalities and public bodies, as well as from international organizations and from the States on whose territory it operates;
• the income from gifts or allowances authorized for use during the fiscal year;
• resources exceptionally created and, where appropriate, with the approval of the competent authority;
• the income from remuneration received for service rendered.

 

ARTICLE 15

Accounts will be kept, which shall show annually a profit and loss statement, a balance sheet and an appendix.

Each branch of the Association shall keep separate accounts which form a special chapter of the overall accounts.

The use of funds from all the subsidies awarded during the past fiscal year is justified every year to the Prefect of Paris, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister for the Environment.

 

IV) AMENDMENT OF THE STATUTES AND DISSOLUTION

 

ARTICLE 16

The statutes may be amended by the General Assembly on proposal of the Management Board or on the proposal of the tenth of the members of which the General Assembly is composed.

In either case, proposals for amendments shall be placed on the agenda of the next General Assembly and shall be sent to all members of the Assembly at least 15 days in advance.

The Assembly must consist of at least one quarter of the members in office. If this proportion is not reached, the Assembly shall be reconvened, but at least fifteen days apart, and this time it may validly deliberate, whatever the number of members present or represented.

In all cases, the statutes may be amended only by a two-thirds majority of the members present or represented.

 

ARTICLE 17

The General Assembly, called upon to decide on the dissolution of the Association and specially convened for this purpose, under the conditions laid down in the preceding article, shall comprise at least half plus one of the members in office.

If this proportion is not reached, the Assembly shall be reconvened, but at least 15 days apart, and this time it may validly deliberate, whatever the number of members present or represented.

In any case, dissolution may only be carried out by a two-thirds majority of the members present or represented.

 

ARTICLE 18

In case of dissolution, the General Assembly appoints one or more commissioners, in charge of the liquidation of the property of the Association. It allocates the net assets to one or more similar institutions, either public or recognized of public utility or to institutions referred to in article 6 of the law of 1 July 1901.

 

ARTICLE 19

The deliberations of the General Assembly provided for in articles 16, 17 and 18 shall be addressed without delay to the Minister of the Interior and the Minister for the Environment.

They shall be valid only after approval by the French Government.

 

V) MONITORING AND RULES

 

ARTICLE 20

The President shall inform the Prefecture of the Department in which the Association has its registered office of any change in the administration or management of the Association within 3 months.

The registers of the Association and its accounting documents shall be presented, without displacement on any requisition from the Minister of the Interior or the Prefect, to them in person or their delegate or to any official accredited by the association

The annual report and the accounts, including those of the local institutions, are sent each year to the Prefect of the Department, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister for the Environment.

 

ARTICLE 21

The Minister of the Interior and the Minister for the Environment shall have the right to have their delegates visit the institutions founded by the Association and have a report on their functioning.

 

ARTICLE 22

The rules prepared by the Management Board and adopted by the General Assembly are sent to the Prefecture of the Department. They can only enter into force after approval by the Minister of the Interior.