Statutes

I - OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 1 : Name
1.1 An Association, ruled by the French law of 1, july 1901 and the French decree of 16 August 1901, know as "Cooperation for the Continuing Development of Urban and Suburban Transportation", and to by the initial letters CODATU, is founded between the members of the present statutes.
1.2 The statutes are supplemented and implemented by a set of By-laws .

ARTICLE 2 : Object
2.1 CODATU is an Association with an international vocation : its aim is to promote scientific, technical, economic, and social exchanges and activities concerning urban and suburban transportation ; it is based on the exchange of experiences between developing and industrialized countries..
2.2 The Association fulfils its mission :
a) by the exchange of information among its members,,
b) by organizing and sponsoring periodical meetings, in particular international congresses,
c) by co-ordinating research, studies and experiments, notably through technical committees,
d) by periodical and occasional publications,,
e) by initiating training actions in partnership with its members .

ARTICLE 3 : Head office
The head office is located in "Lyon Urban Community" ; it may be transferred, somewhere else in France, after the decision of the General Council.

ARTICLE 4 : Duration
The duration of the Association is indefinite .

ARTICLE 5 : Organization
The Association includes Ex-Officio members, active members, national or regional committees and honorary members.
5.1 Ex-Officio members : lThe national govemmental deparments either in charge of urban transport and/or their infrastructure, or in charge of international relations, or the public institutions acting as such or delegate.
5.2 Active members : Active members shall be gathered within four bodies :
Body I : Training, study and research organizations,
Body II : Territorial Authorities, groups or associations of territorial authorities of public transport.
Body III : Professionals of transport ; public and private consulting and engineering companies, manufacturers and equipment suppliers, operators, infrastructure or equipment engineers, professional associations or organizations, other specialized organizations.
Body IV : Individual members .
5.3 National and regional committees
5.3.1 Any independant nation may, trough a representative national organization, apply for admission as a National Committee .
5.3.2 A regional group of independent nations may apply for admission as a Regional Committee .
5.4 Honorary members
Honorary members are persons who have rendered the Association outsanding services; they are exempted from paying the annual subscription fee .

ARTICLE 6 : Admission - Expulsion
6.1 Admission
The Council decides on the admission of Ex-Officio members, active members and national or regional committees ; it proposes to the General Assembly who should be awarded as honorary members .
The applications for admission are examined by the Executive Director before being presented to the Council 6.1.1. Ex-Officio Members
6.1.1. Ex-Officio member
The concerned institutions may submit a motivated application for admission as Ex-Officio member .
6.1.2. Active members
The concerned corporate of individuals address their application for admission, considering the statutes and the amount of the subscription of the different bodies agreed by the General Assembly .
The Executive Director submits the application to the Council in consultation with the possible concerned national committees .
6.1.3. National Committees
A national organization, representative of the categories of active members, may submit its application for admission as a national committee considering the statutes and the amount of the subscription agreed by the General Assembly .
This organization may be :
- either an organization created in view of its participation to the Association.
- or the committee or the sub-committee of an existing national organization.
The way the organization functions is established in accordance with its needs in consideration of the particular conditions of the nation it represents . Only one national committee shall be admitted for each nation.
6.1.4. Regional Committees
A regional organization, representative of the concerned nations and of the categories of active members, may submit an application for admission as a regional committee .
6.2. A member loses his membership due to the following cases :
a) Resignation.
b) Death for an individual member, liquidation or dissolution for a legal entity,
c)Exclusion decided by the Council for non-payment of the subscription or for serious reasons, the concerned member shall be required to provide an explanation beforehand .

ARTICLE 7 : Funds
The funds of the Association include :
- the subscriptions from active members, and from national and regional committees, fixed by the General Assembly on a proposal of the Council.
- the subsidies from national public institutions, territorial and public authorities, or from any other national or international organizations,.
- the sums received in return for the performance achieved by the Association within the limits of its object,
- exceptional contributions,.
- any other funds authorized by the law refered to in article 1 .

II - MANAGEMENT AND FUNCTIONNING

ARTICLE 8 : Ordinary General Assembly
8.1 The General Assembly includes all the members of the Association; each Ex-Officio member, active member, national and regional member, has the right to be represented by a voting delegate, each voting delegate can make use of one vote for the individual members, of five votes for Ex-Officio members and active members, and of ten votes for the regional or national committees. Each voting delegate can also be commissioned to vote for one (and only one) absent voting delegate .
8.2 The General Assembly is the sole competent to :
- control the management of the President and of the General Council, and notably to approve the accounts of the concluded financial year and vote the budget of the following financial year,
-fix the amount of the subscription of active members, and of national and regional committees,
- fix the number of members at the General Council as well as the number of representatives of the various bodies and of the National and Regional Committees, and eventually provide their replacement,,
-decide on the locations of international conferences .
8.3 The General Assembly i s held once a year and every time it is invited by the President or after a written request of no less than a quarter of its members.
8.4 The regulations governing the issue in advance of notices and agendas of the meetings for the General Assembly and for the appointment of the votiing delegates are contained in the By Laws .
8.5 The meetings of the General Assembly are conducted in accordance with the By-laws and normal committee practice..
8.6 The General Assembly can validly deliberate whatever the number of attending or represented members, decisions are made by a simple majority of the attending or represented members, in case of vote sharing, the President has the right to express a preponderant vote.
8.7 No matters can be decided at General Assembly meetings which do not appear on the previously approved, published agenda, issued in accordance with the By-laws.
Under condition of urgency, or other special circumstances which interfere with the normal working of the Association, the Council is entrusted to take such action as they deem appropriate in the interest of the Association, subject to approval at the next meeting of the General Assembly.
8.8 The minutes of the General Assemblies are signed by the President and by the Secretary .
The copies and abstracts of the minutes of the meetings of the General Council and of the General Assemblies are certified true by the President of the Association or by two Executive members..

ARTICLE 9 : Extraordinary General Assembly
The Extraordinary General Assembly decides on an amendment of the statutes or on the dissolution of the Association. To deliberate validly, half of the voting delegates must attend to it, if the quorum is not reached on the occasion of the meeting, after the first notice, the Assembly will be invited again, on the occasion of this new meeting, it will have the possibility to deliberate validly whatever the number of attending voting delegates..
The decisions are made by a majority of two-thirds of attending voting delegates.
In case of dissolution, the General Assembly appoints one or several auditors in charge of the clearing of the Association's possessions .

ARTICLE 10 : Council
10.1 The Council includes thirty five (35) members maximum ; it comprises :
- representatives of active members ; each body of active members is represented at the Council ;
- representatives of regional and national committees.
The General Assembly fixes the total number of members as well as the number of representatives of the various bodies and of the national and regional committees .
10.2 The Council has full powers to make all the decisions which are not reserved to the General Assembly .
10.3 Elections of the members of the Council
The members are elcted at secret vote by the General Assembly for a renewable period of three years ; the candidates are appointed by the corresponding voting delegates .
10.4 The Council is held at least twice a year. The decisions are made by the simple majority of the attending or represented members. In order to deliberate validly, the Council must include half of the attending or represented members.
Each member has at his disposal one vote ; he can also be commissioned to vote for two absent members maximum . It case of vote sharing, the vote of the President is final.
10.5 The minutes of the meetings are signed by the President and the Secretary
10.6 The members of the Council cannot receive any paiement for the duties that are confided to them The refunds of expenses are possible, with written proof.

ARTICLE 11 : Board
The Council chooses among its members, for a renewable period of three years, at secret vote, a Board that includes :
- The President
- one or several Vice-Presidents,
- the Treasurer and eventually the deputy Tresurer,
- the Secretary and eventually the deputy Secretary
President :
The President invites and presides at the General Assemblies, the Council, the Committee of Strategic Orientation and the Board ; he leads the debate. He represents the Association in all the acts of the civil life and is entrusted with all authority in this respect. He can delegate his authority for specific matters to one Executive member. If he isn't available, he will be replaced by one of his Vice-Presidents, and if they are not able to do so by any Executive member.
The Treasurer :
The Treasurer ensures the management of the Association's funds. He makes all the payments and collects all the receipts ; he updates a funding accountancy in receipts and in expenses, and, if necessary, a topical accountancy.
The Secretary :
The Secretary seconds the President for the administrative functionning of the Association ; by this right, he prepares and sends the notices, the minutes, the mailing. He keeps the registrer provided for by article 5 of the law of 1 July 1901.

ARTICLE 12 : Committee of Strategic Orientation
12.1 The Committee of Strategic Orientation is the permanent instrument, set by the Board, that has to think over and to make suggestions on the development of the Association's actions, and notably on its scientific policy.
12.2 The Committee of Strategic Orientation is set up by the Council on proposal of the Board, it includes experts coming notably from the technical and scientific committees of the conferences ; its members are appointed for a renewable period of three years.
12.3 It meets at least on the occasion of the General Assembly, under the presidency of the President of the Association.

ARTICLE 13 : The Executive Director
The Executive Director is appointed for three years by the Council, on proposal of the Board. Under the authority of the President, he applies the decisions of the Council ; his term is renewable .

ARTICLE 14 : Official languages
The official languages of the Association are French and English ; these two official languages are used if needed at all the meetings and for all the mailing, the publications and the documents distributed to the members of the Association by the Secretariat .
Other languages can be used with preliminary agreement from the Board .

ARTICLE 15 : By-Laws
The By-Laws is establisehd by the Council ; it determines the conditions of the administrative, financial, technical and scientific functionning of the Association, and especially :
- concerning the General Assembly : the development, the appointment of the voting delegates, the mailing conditions for the notices and the agendas,
- the tasks and the formation of technical committees
- the arrangements concerning the international congresses, notably the tasks and the formation of scientific committees,
- the publications.