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 regular colloquia;
c) to ensure that information relating to analytic philosophy in Europe is regularly circulated amongst members of the Society and among European philosophy departments;
d) to promote analytic philosophy in Europe;
e) 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 – Individual persons as well as regularly constituted philosophical societies may apply for admission to the Society.
ART. 7 – Applications for admission of new members shall be acted on by the Steering Committee, in conformity to the By-laws; an appeal against non-admission may be made to the General Assembly.
ART. 8 – All members of the Society enjoy the advantages and support the charges set down in these Statutes or in the By-laws.
ART. 9 – 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. 10 – The Society operates through the General Assembly, the Steering Committee, the President, and the Board of National Representatives.
ART. 11 – The General Assembly normally meets on the occasion of colloquia. The initiative for its convocation lies with the President. Exceptionally, an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly may be summoned by 1/3 of all members of the Society.
ART. 12 – The General Assembly is composed of the National Representatives, the delegates of all Societies and institutions which are full members of ESAP (in case such delegates do not coincide with the National Representatives), and the individual members who attend the colloquium serving as an occasion for the meeting.
ART. 13 – 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. 14 – The competence of the Assembly includes all questions relating to the activity of the Society. In particular:
a) it lays down the budget of the Society and examines the record of the preceding administration;
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. 15 – 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. 16 – 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. 17 – The Steering Committee is the administrative body of the Society. It is chaired by the President of the Society. Its tasks are :
a) to appoint one National Representative in each European country in which analytic philosophy is practised; for each country where a national society for analytic philosophy has been constituted and recognised by ESAP, the National Representative is appointed by the national society in conformity with its own Statutes and By-laws;
b) to ascertain the wishes of the National Representatives with respect to the activities of the Society;
c) to coordinate these wishes;
d) to look into the ways of satisfying them;
e) to present the General Assembly with a draft budget;
f) 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;
g) 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. 18 – 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.19 – 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.
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.
Voting in the General Assembly can take place by proxy. No member can go proxy for more than three other members.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is composed of up to 8 members. It is elected by the Assembly for three years. Its renewal can be delayed for up to six months if the Assembly cannot meet in time. No more than two members of the Steering Committee may belong to the same country. All members of the Steering Committee must belong to a European country.
In the election of the Steering Committee, each voting member of the Society can express a number of choices equal to (at most) 2/3 of the number of members to be elected.
National Representatives are regularly invited to the meetings of the Steering Committee, without right to vote. They should be regularly informed about the date, time, place and agenda of all meetings of the Steering Committee.
President
The President is elected for three years, and may be re-elected once. 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
Fees
Membership fees are fixed each year by the Steering Committee