| Statutes
of Estonian Association of Judges |
| (approved,
with amendments, by the annual meeting of Estonian
Association of Judges on 24 November 2000) |
| |
| I
General provisions |
| 1. Eesti
Kohtunike Ühing (Estonian Association of Judges
– official name) is a non-profit voluntary
association of the judges of the Republic of Estonia,
founded on 18 December 1991. |
| 2. The
non-official short name of the Estonian Association
of Judges (hereinafter “Association”)
shall be EKoÜ. |
| 3. The
seat of the Association shall be Tallinn. |
| 4. The
activities of the Association shall be based on
the principles of democracy, on the initiative and
voluntary activities of its members |
5. The
objectives of the Association are to:
1) associate judges into a professional organisation;
2) protect the independence of courts and judges;
3) protect the individual, work-related and socio-economic
rights and legal interests of judges;
4) shape and maintain the high level of professional
ethics of judges;
5) study the history of the courts which have functioned
on the Estonian territory. |
| 6. For
the attainment of its objectives the Association
is entitled to: |
1) organise
meetings, seminars, conferences and convene judges
to deliberations concerning matters of importance
for the courts and the judiciary;
2) organise professional and social gatherings for
the members of the Association;
3) monitor the taking of decisions concerning administration
of justice and the judicial system by national and
local government bodies and to give opinions on
draft Acts pertaining to court system and, if need
be, on other draft Acts, to national and local government
authorities and other organisations;
4) monitor the application of law upon administration
of justice and, if need be, make proposals to subjects
entitled to propose draft laws to amend or repeal
laws;
5) issue periodicals and other publications, to
disseminate information on administration of justice;
6) co-operate with other organisations. |
| 7. The
Association is a legal person governed by private
law. It has a seal and emblem of its own. |
| |
| II
Members of Association, their rights and obligations |
| 8. The
Association shall have active members and honourable
members. |
| 9. A judge
who recognises the Statutes of the Association and
wishes to participate in the activities of the Association
may be a member thereof. A judge shall become a
member of the Association by a decision of the management
board on the basis of his or her written application.
The honourable members of the Association shall
be elected by an annual meeting on the proposal
of the management board. The statute of honourable
members shall be approved by the management board. |
| 10. An
active member of the Association has the right to: |
1) participate
in the activities of the Association pursuant to
these Statutes;
2) vote and be elected into the management, working
and revision bodies of the Association;
3) submit to the referred bodies or directly to
annual meetings proposals concerning the activities
of the Association and make inquiries in regard
to issues pertaining to the Association;
4) resign from the Association at his or her own
request. |
| Honourable
members have the right to participate in the Association’s
gatherings and at annual meetings they shall have
the right to speak. |
11. An
active member of the Association shall pay a joining
fee and annual membership fees. The amount of the
fees shall be determined by annual meetings.
Annual fees shall be paid by 30June the latest. |
| 12. An
active member of the Association is obliged to observe
the requirements of the Statutes and to contribute
to the achievement of the objectives of the Association.
Duties may be imposed on the members of the Association
only by resolutions of general meetings. |
| 13. Members
may be excluded from the Association by a decision
of the management board: |
1) for
non-payment of a membership fee by 30 June without
a good reason;
2) upon a removal or release of the judge from his
or her office, unless he or she is released from
office because of attainment of retirement age;
3) for failure to fulfil the provisions of the Statutes
or for causing significant damage to the Association.
|
Resignation
from the Association is effected by a decision of
the management board on the basis of a written application
of the member.
The person concerned shall be informed of the management
board’s decision on exclusion or resignation
in writing within two weeks.
If the member does not consent to the decision of
the management board he or she may address the general
meeting to have the matter decided. |
| If membership
terminates in the middle of a calendar year, the
membership fee provided for by the Statutes shall
be paid for the whole calendar year. |
| |
| III
Management bodies of the Association |
| 14. The
highest body of the Association is the general meeting
of its members. The general meeting adopts resolutions
on all management matters of the Association which
are not placed within the competence of the management
board by law or the Statutes. The management board
calls the regular general meeting annually in November. |
Extraordinary
general meeting shall be called on the demand of
the Chairman, the management board or the internal
audit committee of the Association or if at least
1/10 of the members so demand in writing indicating
the reason thereof.
Notice of the general meeting shall be given at
least seven days in advance. |
| 15. The
general meeting may adopt resolutions if the meeting
was called in adherence to all requirements arising
from law and these Statutes. The general meeting
shall have a quorum if more than one half of the
members of the association participate or are represented.
The general meeting is competent to adopt resolutions
on matters of which notice was given upon calling
the general meeting. A member of the Association
or representative of a member who is granted an
unattested proxy may participate and vote in the
general meeting. Only another member of the Association
may be a representative. |
| A general
meeting shall be opened by the Chairman of the management
board, or in his or her absence by the most senior
member of the management board or the most senior
active member present; thereafter the chair and
secretary of the meeting are elected. The minutes
shall be taken of the meeting. The minutes shall
be signed by the chair and the secretary of the
meeting. |
16. A general
meeting shall:
1) approve and amend the Statutes;
2) determine the amounts of membership fee and joining
fee;
3) discuss and take decisions on issues concerning
the activities of the Association;
4) determine the number of members of the management
board and internal audit committee;
5) approve the annual report prepared by the management
board and the opinion of the internal audit committee
appended to it;
6) hear and approve the activity plan of the Association
for the next year;
7) approve the budget;
8) elect, by secret ballot, the Chairman of the
Association, members of the management board and
internal audit committee for the term of two years;
9) elect honourable members of the Association;
10) take decisions on issues proposed for decision
by the general meeting by the management board or
members of the Association. |
| 17. A resolution
of the general meeting is adopted if over one-half
of the members of the Association or their representatives
who participate in the meeting vote in favour of
the resolution. A resolution of the general meeting
shall be deemed to be adopted without calling the
general meeting if all members of the Association
vote in favour of the resolution in writing. |
| 18. A resolution
on amendment of the Statutes is adopted if over
two-thirds of the members or their representatives
who participate in the general meeting vote in favour.
The consent of 9/10 of the members is required for
changing a statutory objective of the Association. |
19. Between
the general meetings the activities of the Association
shall be governed by the management board, who shall
decide on the issues which are not within the competence
of a general meeting. The management board shall
have 9 members.
The Chairman of the Association shall also be the
Chairman of the management board. The management
board shall elect a vice-chairman and a treasurer
from among themselves. |
| 20. The
management board shall convene as need be or if
at least three members of the management board or
the Chairman so requires. |
The management
board shall have a quorum if more than one half
of the members of the management board are present.
The decisions of the management board shall be taken
by majority vote of the members of the management
board present. The management board may take decisions
without convening a meeting if 2/3 of the management
board members vote in favour in writing. The minutes
shall be taken of management board meetings. |
| 21. Each
management board member has the right to represent
the Association in all legal acts, unless otherwise
provided by law. |
| 22. The
management board or the Chairman of the management
board has the right to set up working committees
to elaborate problems and draw up opinions. |
| 23. The
internal audit committee shall give written opinions
on annual reports drafted by the management board
and, if need be, shall audit the organisational
and financial activities of the management board. |
| 24. The
internal audit committee shall elect a Chairman
from among themselves. |
| 25. Members
of the internal audit committee may participate
in the management board meetings with the right
to speak. |
| |
| IV
Assets of the Association |
| 26. The
following are the sources of assets of the Association: |
1) joining
fees and membership fees;
2) income from publishing;
3) other receipts |
| 27. The
financial year of the Association shall start in
1 July and end on 30 June. |
| |
| V
Termination of the Association’s activities |
| 28. The
Association shall terminate its activities if: |
1) the
general meeting decides to terminate the activities
by 2/3 majority vote;
2) the number of members of the Association falls
below 50. |
| 29. Upon
termination of activities of the Association the
assets remaining after satisfaction of the claims
of creditors shall be distributed among entitled
persons by the resolution of the general meeting. |
| |
Hurma Kiviloo
Chairman of Estonian Association of Judges
|
| |
