Chapter 1: Nature, aim, headquarters and duration of the Society
ART. 1– The European Society for Analytic Philosophy is an association of European philosophers working in the analytic tradition. Its members come from all European countries.
ART. 2 – The aims of the Society are as follows:
a) to further contacts among analytic philosophers in Europe;
b) to organize the European Congress for Analytic Philosophy (ECAP), every 3 years;
c) to promote analytic philosophy in Europe;
d) to promote international philosophical exchanges on all levels.
ART. 3 – The Society may receive subsidies from governments or intergovernmental organizations, as well as donations from private associations or from individuals. These funds may be restricted to specific tasks, projects of research, or publications, or to organize particular colloquia, insofar as these activities are clearly connected with the aims of the Society and are meant to support, on an international level, the progress of philosophical studies and their communication to the world of learning and to the educated public.
In the cases outlined above, the Society may either undertake the execution of such activities on its own or delegate them to a competent organization to which, in such a case, it would transfer the amount of the subsidy necessary to the carrying out of the task in question, always however remaining itself responsible for the final results.
ART. 4 – ESAP is an Association satisfying the norms of articles 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code. Its headquarters are in Geneva (Switzerland).
ART. 5 – The duration of the Society is unlimited.
Chapter 2: Composition of the Society
ART. 6 – All participants who are registered for ECAP become members of the society unless they stipulate during the registration process that they do not wish to do so. The duration of membership is from the first day of the Congress till the day before the beginning of the next Congress. Regularly constituted philosophical societies may also apply for admission to the Society.
ART. 7 – All members of the Society enjoy the advantages and support the charges set down in these Statutes or in the By-laws.
ART. 8 – Membership in the Society may be terminated:
a) by resignation.
b) by exclusion, pronounced by the General Assembly with a two-thirds majority of votes, on the grounds of:
1. failure to observe the Statutes or By-laws;
2. persistent opposition to the realization of the aims of the Society.
Chapter 3: Functioning of the Society
ART. 9 – The Society operates through the General Assembly, the Steering Committee and, the President
ART. 10 – The General Assembly normally meets on the occasion of ECAP. The initiative for its convocation lies with the President.
ART. 11 – The General Assembly is composed of the delegates of all Societies and institutions which are full members of ESAP and the individual members who attend the ECAP serving as an occasion for the meeting.
ART. 12 – The number of votes and limitations of the maximum votes available to a single country in the Assembly are fixed by the dispositions of the By-laws.
ART. 13 – The competence of the Assembly includes all questions relating to the activity of the Society. In particular:
a) it hears a report on the preceding administration, including the budget;
b) it decides upon cases of exclusion of members;
c) it outlines broadly the activity of the Steering Committee and validates or repudiates its past activities;
d) it proceeds, if required, to a revision of clauses of these Statutes, as laid before it by the Steering Committee or on the initiative of at least five members from at least three countries;
e) it may appoint committees entrusted with the task of studying particular problems and submitting reports to the Assembly.
ART. 14 – Decisions in the General Assembly are made by the absolute majority of those voting, except for amendments of the Statutes, for which a 2/3 majority is required.
In urgent cases and upon the decision of the Steering Committee, voting can take place outside the plenary Assemblies and by correspondence.
ART. 15 – The Assembly is chaired by the President of the Society, who after consulting the Steering Committee, prepares the agenda and has the minutes of the debates drawn up.
ART. 16 – The Steering Committee is the administrative body of the Society. It is chaired by the President of the Society. Its tasks are:
a) to supervise the execution of activities involved in the programme of the Society, whether or not entrusted to an external or affiliated organization, and to receive to this effect periodic reports from the President;
b) in urgent cases, and when an extraordinary convocation of the General Assembly is not practicable, to conclude agreements according to which the Society undertakes to accomplish on the international level certain tasks in accordance with its aims. These tasks may be carried out by the Society itself by means of subsidies added to its budget for the purpose, or alternatively entrusted to competent organizations to which funds would be transferred from its budget. In these cases, a report shall be submitted at the subsequent General Assembly.
ART. 17 – The President of the Society assumes the following functions:
a) chair the sessions of the General Assembly;
b) chair the meetings of the Steering Committee, and consult its members by correspondence;
c) represent the Society or have himself represented, in cases where this is required by the activity of the Society;
d) order expenditures of the Society within the statutory scope of the budget.
ART.18 – Decisions as to matters not covered by these Statutes are left to the Steering Committee and may be fixed in By-laws elaborated by that Committee.
ART.19 – The Steering Committee may introduce small technical modifications to the Charter to preserve its internal consistency, provided that such modifications do not alter the substantive content of the Statutes.
By-Laws
General Assembly
In all meetings of the General Assembly, the number of votes expressed by ESAP members from the hosting country cannot exceed 1/5 of all present members.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is composed of up to 20 members. It is elected by the Assembly for three years, following the nomination of new members by the outgoing Steering Committee. Its renewal can be delayed for up to six months if the Assembly cannot meet in time. All members of the Steering Committee must be based in a European country. As a rule, each member of the Steering Committee should be based in a different country. Every effort should be made to have a balanced representation of countries in the Steering Committee.
President
The President is nominated by the outgoing Steering Committee and is elected for three years by the General Assembly. Election of the President can be delayed as specified in the case of the Steering Committee. For the election of the President, if there are more than two candidates having received votes and no candidate reaches the absolute majority of those voting on the first ballot, a second ballot will take place among the two candidates having received the highest number of votes. The one who receives the higher number of votes in this ballot is elected.
Statutes revised and approved by the ESAP General Assembly on August 24th, 2023, during ECAP11 in Vienna.