Forum Mundial de Mediación - World Mediation Forum - Forum Mondial de Médiation  

STATUTES OF THE WORLD MEDIATION FORUM

The Worldwide Forum on Mediation is a nonprofit organization inscribed in Spain under National Number 163749 of the Public Register of Nonprofit Organizations.

The undersigned constitute a NON-PROFIT MAKING CIVIL ASSOCIATION, WORLD MEDIATION FORUM, hereafter called WMF, which will be governed by the following rules and regulations.

FIRST: OBJECTIVE.
The WMF will have as its objective the exchange and development of the knowledge and skills of Mediation in any of its forms without aiming to be an exhaustive outline.  It could be inter-cultural, interpersonal, inter-institutional, international.

To fulfil its objective, it will organize conferences, congresses, lectures, publications and other ways of sharing and exchanging information as it considers most opportune.

SECOND:
Bearing in mind the international character of the institution, it is agreed that the main office for legal effects will be established when there is agreement on the country where the Founding Statutes will be registered.

MEMBERS
THIRD:
All those individuals and organizations who present their application and are admitted as such by the Steering Committee will be members of the WMF.

There will be founding and full members. The first will be those who sign the current statute and the latter will be those who become members after the founding event.

FOURTH:
The full members will participate in the organization of the WMF directly or through their representatives, who will be elected in the manner and circumstances established in this statute and rules that are to be determined.

FIFTH:
The members shall:
a) be free to participate in all events organized by the Forum.
b) elect and be elected in the local or regional delegations to which they belong.
c) represent their delegation or region in the General Assembly on being elected in accordance with these statutes and those of the delegation.

SIXTH:
The members shall:
a) respect and make respected these statutes.
b) contribute to the sustaining of the institution by means of ordinary and extraordinary subscriptions that will be periodically established by the Assembly.

THE LOCAL DELEGATIONS
SEVENTH:
Bearing in mind the broad character of the WMF, delegations can be established in each country consisting of those members who are involved in mediation.

EIGHTH:
To constitute a delegation it will be necessary to have 15 members of whom up to a maximum of a third may be already members of the WMF, all subsequent members will join in accordance to the constitution of the delegation.

Subsequent members of the delegation will be able to belong to the WMF prior to joining the delegation.

NINTH:
This delegation will have to constitute itself under the statutory rules that are to be established by the General Assembly, with whatever necessary local adaptations, which will be proposed by the delegation’s organizing committee to the WMF Steering Committee for approval.

TENTH:
Each delegation will have a Steering Committee of no less than 5 people, no more than 2 from the same organization.

ELEVENTH:
Each delegation should meet at least twice a year to develop its objectives and will provide a report on the state of its activity in the field, in accordance with the rules and recommendations that are to be periodically established by the General Assembly.

TWELFTH:
The President of each delegation will be the representative of the associates of the same in the General Assembly of the Forum, and in his/her absence, the Vice-President.

THIRTEENTH:
No delegations will be able to organize independently conferences, congresses or other activities within three months prior or after the WMF Conference, without the consent of the WMF Steering Committee.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
FOURTEENTH:
Regarding the representation of the members who do not belong to any local delegation, the WMF, Steering Committee will create geographical regions for them to join, choosing a representative to the General Assembly from all the members of that particular region.  The manner in which this representative will be elected and the term of office of their representation will be established by the Steering Committee.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FIFTEENTH:
The General Assembly is the supreme authority of the WMF, and its decisions, taken according to its rules and regulations, will be binding on all members.
Its members are:
a) The founding members during their life time in case of individuals, and in the case of the organizations during their existence.
b) The President or the Vice-President of each Delegation and the representatives of the different regions.

SIXTEENTH:
The General Assembly will meet once a year preferably at the same time as the WMF Conference.

The country of celebration i.e. the site of the Conference, will be that in which the Secretary of the WMF Conference is to be located.

SEVENTEENTH:
The budgets and actions of the Steering Committee will be subject to the approval of the annual Assembly.

Decisions will be taken by simple majority of the members voting, the only exception being a modification of this rules and regulation which will require a two-thirds majority of the members voting.

Voting can be made by proxy, but no member may cast more than two proxy votes; or by an entrustable electronic system.

THE STEERING COMMITEE
EIGHTEENTH
The Steering Committee will be formed by a minimum number of 6 members and a maximum of 11.  They will be elected by the general assembly and will remain in office for 2 years.

The Steering Committee will name a President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Treasurer, and Publications Editor.  The Steering Committee will also name a Conference Secretary of the WMF who will be responsible for organizing the following WMF conference.  The Conference Secretary will also be the president-elect after the conference finishes.

The members of the committee can be re-elected for up to 4 years, after which they must take at least one year’s break from office.

NINETEENTH:
The Steering Committee, bearing in mind the different addresses of the members, will communicate and take decisions by means of communications of any kind, it being the role of the secretary to let the participants know of the decisions, communications and the means employed and the decisions taken in a register with respect to these matters, a copy of which will be supplied to each member of the committee.

TWENTIETH:
Functions of the Committee:
The Steering Committee is empowered to:
a) direct the activities and run the economic and administrative management of the WMF.
b) Carry out the decisions of the General Assembly.
c) Produce and submit for the approval of the General Assembly the annual budgets and state of accounts.
d) Produce the internal regulations for approval by the General Assembly.
e) Decide on the admission of new members, the constitution of delegations, definitions of the regions, and other matters relative to the powers granted by this statute.
f) Name employees, transfer them, grant powers, name representatives, and in general carry out those activities connected to the administration of the WMF.
g) Any other powers that are not within the exclusive competence of the General Assembly.

TWENTY FIRST:
The powers of the President of the WMF are:

To legally represent the WMF before all kinds of public or private bodies; convene, preside and chair the sessions of the General Assembly and the Steering Committee, direct the deliberations of both; order payments and authorize with his/her signature documents, minutes and correspondence; adopt any urgent measure that the well-being of the WMF requires or in the development of these activities is thought necessary.  However, no unbudgeted expenses shall be authorized by the President without the approval of the Treasurer.

TWENTY SECOND:
The Vice-President will substitute for the President in the event of his/her absence.

TWENTY THIRD:
The Secretary will have responsibility for those tasks of the WMF, which are purely administrative, expediting certifications, responsibility of archives and custody of the body’s documentation.

TWENTY FOURTH:
The Treasurer will collect and have custody of the funds of the WMF and will fulfil the payment orders expedited by the President.

TWENTY FIVE:
The languages of the WMF will be at least, English, French and Spanish.

The current statutes are approved and accepted by those who sign below, in Madrid, on the 30th of September of 1995.