Statutes of the International Association for Ecology (INTECOL) (August 2005)
P1	Name and seat of the association
	1.	The association shall carry the name International Association for Ecology (INTECOL). It is entered into the "Vereinsregister" of the district court of the city of Osnabrueck, Germany. After registration it carries the attribute registered association" (eingetragner Verein) in the abbreviated form "e.V."
	2.	The association is affiliated with the ICSU family of scientific organizations as the section responsible for general ecology within the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS).
P2	Aims of the Association
	1.	The association pursues exclusively and directly goals of public utility as specified in the section of tax exempt activities of the revenue regulation.
	2.	The association will assist and/or support the following:
		a)	the development of the science of ecology and the application of ecological principles to global problems, especially by assisting international cooperation;
		b)	the collection, evaluation and distribution of information about ecology;
		c)	national, regional and international actions which will serve ecological research, training of personal, coordination of general publications of ecological principles and the recognition of the importance of ecology for economy and society;
		d)	the organization of conferences, meetings, symposia, programs and projects, conduct of speaking-series, publication of manuscripts, and measures which are deemed necessary to reach the goals of the association.
P3	Non-profit status
	The association operates as a non-profit organization and seeks no financial gain for its members.
P4	Insignia
	The association uses for its identification the acronym INTECOL.
P5	Membership
	1.	The association distinguishes the following membership types
		a)	ordinary members;
		b)	honorary members;
		c)	regional and national associations of ecology;
		d)	scientific institutions, organizations or corporations.
	2.	The application for membership is to be sent to the executive board, which decides about the acceptance. The accepted member recognizes the statutes of the association.
	3	Membership terminates
		a)	by death;
		b)	by renouncement in writing to the executive board;
		c)	by expulsion through the board;
		d)	if membership fees or other payments are overdue for more than one year and are not received within six months after dunning.
		Expulsion requires a simple majority vote of the board. With the termination of membership all demands from the association are lost.
P6	Rights and obligations of members
	1.	Members have the right to participate in the general assemblies of the association, to make proposals and to cast their votes. Each member has one vote, which he/she can cast only in person. He/she may be elected for offices after reaching 18 years of age.
	2.	Members are obliged to pay their annual dues as set by the general assembly. Honorary members pay no dues.
	3.	Members receive published information such as newsletters, bulletins, and information about the congresses of the association, primarily via email and the web site (www.intecol.net).
P7	The use of the financial resources of the association
	1.	The means of the association may only be used for objectives written in the statutes. The members receive no payment from the association.
	2.	No member may benefit from expenditures alien to the aims of the association or from extraordinarily high remunerations.
P8	Fiscal year
	The fiscal year is the calendar year.
P9	Governance of the association
	The governing bodies of the association are
	1.	The general assembly (council);
	2.	The executive board, consisting of the president, the vice-president, the secretary-general, the treasurer and two board members. The executive board should also have the power to co-opt up to two other board members to help it discharge its business when appropriate;
	3.	The board, consisting of a minimum of nine and a maximum of twenty additional members, which will be elected by the council with a simple majority taking into account adequate regional representation. The immediate past president is always a member of the board.
P10	The general assembly (council)
	1.	The general assembly will be called together in conjunction with the international congresses of the association, normally every fourth year. The invitation to the council meeting will be published on the web site together with details of the congress.
	2.	Specified proposals to the council must come in writing to the executive board at least one month before the event.
	3.	The council covers at least
		a)	the report of the board;
		b)	the report of the treasurer;
		c)	the election of the new board;
		The board will be elected for four years by a simple majority. It will conduct the business of the association until the next election. President, secretary-general and treasurer will be elected separately from the other board members.
		d)	all changes of the statutes;
		e)	decisions about the proposals brought to the council for consideration;
		f)	dissolution of the association.
	4.	An extraordinary council meeting must be called if at least 10% of the ordinary members announce this in writing and give the reason for such a meeting.
		Any ordinary and extraordinary council meeting may be competent when properly announced. It rules over proposals with a simple majority with the exception of changing statutes or dissolution of the association. Each council meeting and resolutions passed require a protocol which needs to be signed by the chairman and must be countersigned by one member of the executive board.
P11	Executive board and board
	1.	The executive board is responsible of the orderly administration of all offices and has to appoint temporary replacements in case any member of the executive board is incapacitated.
	2.	Executive board and board are called together by the president and if he/she be absent, by the secretary-general. The invitation including the agenda should come ordinarily in writing three months in advance. In exceptional cases, a deadline of one month serves.
		Executive board and board decide with a simple majority vote unless the statutes direct otherwise. In case of equal votes, the vote of the board member presiding over the meeting decides.
	3.	Each board meeting requires written minutes that have been approved and signed by the presiding board member and the secretary-general. The minutes should be archived.
	4.	The board will receive annually a copy of the association's accounts from the treasurer.
	5.	Members of the executive board and board carry their offices honorarily.
P12	Changes of statutes
	1.	Statute changes require a 3/4 majority of the members present.
	2.	Proposed changes to the statutes should normally be published on the association's web site at least three months prior to a council meeting.
P13	Liability
	The association is liable only for such financial obligations which were caused by the executive board up to the amount of US$ 5,000.00 for a single event. Engagements higher than US$ 5,000.00 require a majority agreement of the board.
P14	Dissolving the association
	1.	The dissolution of the association can be achieved only by an extraordinary council meeting in which 3/4 of the ordinary members present vote in favor.
	2.	The executive board will decide the fate of the association's resources in the event of its dissolution, but these must be used solely for the advancement of ecology or its application.
These revised statutes were approved by the INTECOL general assembly in Montreal on 9 August 2005, to take into account the association's new web-based method of operation.