Statutes and rules

Statutes

Article I – Name, Address, Business Year

1. The European Music School Union (EMU) is an association under private German law (§57 Z.1.BGB)) based in Bonn, Germany. The association shall be registered in the register of associations of Bonn.

2. Its business year coincides with the calendar year.

Article II – Objectives

The Union of Music Schools has the following objectives:

a) to promote music education and music practice

b) to co-operate by exchanging information on all questions concerning music schools

c) to promote exchanges of student delegations, teachers, pupils, orchestras, choirs, other
music groups and the like,

d) to raise the interest of the competent authorities and the public on questions of music education in general and to encourage amateur music and music studies

e) to help creating and developing nation-wide federations of music schools

f) to keep up systematic contacts with interested international Institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Music Council (IMC) and its international organisations.

Article III – Purpose

The association has only and directly non profit purposes in the sense of the part “tax-privileged purposes” of the tax code.The association is acting selfless; it is not predominantly aiming for its own profit.All means flowing to the association have to be used to fulfil the objectives and tasks defined in this statutes and must not be returned to members if they leave the association.The members will not receive any financial benefit from the capital of the association.No person shall be benefited by expenses which do not correspond to the aims of the association or which are disproportionately high.

Article IV – Membership

Federations of Music Schools from all European countries or their national representatives
may be ordinary members of the Music School Union: Only one organisation per country may be member.

2. Each ordinary member shall notify his designated delegate or deputy to the Music School Union.

3. The General Assembly shall decide on the admission of new members.

4. Membership ends by resignation notified in writing to the, Bureau three months before the end of the business year.

5. National music school associations or federations in the process of being formed and/or their representatives may be invited to EMU events, as well as institutions from non-member countries.

6. Firms and private persons may be admitted as supporting members if they support EMU with a minimum annual contribution.  Supporting members shall not have the right to vote.  The duration of their membership shall not be limited in time.

7. The General Assembly may nominate Honorary Members.
Honorary Members may participate in General Assemblies and other public EMU events.  The Bureau may entrust Honorary Members with specific tasks.
Honorary Members shall not have the right to vote.  The duration of their membership shall not be limited in time.

Article V – Organs

The Organs of the Music School Union are:

1. The General Assembly

2.  The Bureau

Article VI – The General Assembly

1. The General Assembly consists of the delegates of the members, their deputies and
the members of the Bureau.

2.  The General Assembly has the following duties:

a) to elect the members of the Bureau for a term of three years,
b) to approve the progress report and business report of the Bureau,
c) to give final discharge to the Bureau
d) to elect two auditors for a term of three years,
e) to adopt a resolution on the working programme on the basis of the tasks
set out under Art.II,
f) to admit new members,
g) to fix the membership fees,
h) to modify the Statutes,
i) to designate Honorary Members
j) to dissolve the Association.

3. Once a year, and not less than every second year, the President shall convene the   General Assembly to an ordinary session, by means of a written convocation including the order of business and sent out two months in advance.  Upon request of not less than a fifth of the members or upon decision of the Bureau, the President shall convene the General Assembly for an extraordinary session, not less than one month in advance.

4. Any General Assembly duly convened forms a quorum.

5. The session shall be chaired by the President, or in his/her absence, by the Vice-
President.

6. Each ordinary member has the right to vote, on condition his/her membership fee has been paid in time (see Art.  VIII,2).  The General Assembly shall take its decisions by simple majority.  A three quarters majority of all voting members present is required to modify the Statutes, to fix the membership fees or to dissolve the association.  Voting by proxy is prohibited.

7. The resolutions of the General Assembly shall be put on record and signed by the chairman of the session and by the recording clark.

8. The General Assembly may fix its rules of procedure.

Article VII – The Bureau

1. Executive board in the legal sense of §26 BGB are the president and the vice president. The Bureau consists of the President, the Vice-President and three to five additional members of the Bureau.

2. The members of the Bureau shall be elected by the General Assembly for a term of three years.They may be reelected once.

3. The Bureau is responsible for the implementation of the duties of the Music School Union in conformity with the resolutions taken by the General Assembly.

4. Each member of the Bureau shall be given specific tasks.

5. The Bureau may appoint a Secretary General, entrusted with the current business on behalf of the Board. He/she takes part in the meetings of the Bureau with advisory functions.

6. The Bureau shall meet at least once a year.

7. The President or Vice-President may sign individually with legally binding effect and
represent the Association to the outside.

Article VIII – Membership fees

1. The annual fee for members shall be based on the total expenses of all the members of the members of EMU. In the case that music education is organised in multidisciplinary institutions, membership fee is based on the total costs of the music education in this institute.

2. The membership fee shall be paid during the first three months of each calendar
year.

3. The annual minimum contribution to be paid by supporting members shall be fixed by the General Assembly. Honorary members shall not pay any contribution.

4. In case the EMU has no proper funds available, members shall give persons from their own association interested in taking part in common EMU activities the opportunity to do so by granting them financial support.

5. Only the property of the association shall be liable for commitments; any personal liability of the members is excluded.

Article IX – Legally Binding Text Version

In case of uncertainties arising in relation with the interpretation of provisions contained in these statutes, the German version shall apply as the authentic version.

Article X – Liquidation

1. For the liquidation of the association three quarters of the members with voting power must be attendant. If a meeting of members with the aim of liquidation of the association should not be quorate, then another meeting can be summoned which will be quorate in any case.

2. If the association should be liquidated or terminated or if tax-privileged purposes should no longer exist the capital of the association will be given to a juristic person  of public law or to another tax-privileged corporation. Before this there will be a decision of the liquidating general assembly on how to use the existing capital for charitable purposes of the music school system.

Article XI – Entry Into Force

This revised version of the Statutes shall enter into force on 16 May 2012.