Statutes
Article 1 – Designation, nature and headquarters
1. The Lyceum – International Lisbon Club, hereafter designated by Club, is a private non-profit association, neutral in political and religious matters, constituted for an undetermined period under article 157 and following of the Civil Code and complementary legislation, which apply to anything not stipulated in these statutes.
2. The headquarters for this association are located in the Lisbon district, …
Article 2 – Purposes
1. The Club aims to congregate women interested in art, literature, sciences and social issues and that wish to:
a) Develop relationships based on an ideal of friendship, solidarity and mutual aid, in order to better know, understand and help each other;
b) Contribute to the promotion of knowledge regarding the cultural, regional and local heritage;
c) Establish friendly relationships with women from other countries, whether or not belonging to other Clubs.
2. In the pursuit of these purposes and in order to create favourable conditions to its expansion, the association shall promote:
a) Meetings and other manifestations of a friendly and cultural character;
b) Gatherings with its fellow Clubs, located in Portugal or abroad.
Article 3 – Affiliation
1. The Club is affiliated with the International Association of Lyceum Clubs.
2. As long as another Lyceum International Club is constituted in Portugal, the formation of the Portuguese Federation of Lyceum International Clubs shall be promoted.
Article 4 – Revenue
The financial assets the Club will have at its disposal shall be comprised of:
a) Membership fees from its effective members;
b) Donations and subsidies the Board considers as conforming to n. 1 of article 1.
Article 5 – Members
1. The Club is formed by honorary members and by effective members.
2. It is considered as an honorary member the individual or collective person to which this title is attributed by deliberation of the General Assembly, taking into account the relevance of services rendered or the prestige gained by the Club. Honorary members shall be invited to participate in the General Assembly meetings.
3. The admission of effective members is determined by a Board deliberation, upon proposal by an existing member through the form of a letter addressed to the Board.
4. The status of a member is lost as a consequence of:
a) The member’s resignation, communicated in writing to the Board’s President;
b) Expulsion, deliberated by the General Assembly, based on the lack of payment of the annual membership fee or other conduct seriously damaging to the Club’s interests.
Article 6 – Duties of the effective members
Effective members must:
a) Regularly pay the membership fee, in the deadline and amount determined annually by the General Assembly;
b) Engage in a conduct that guarantees the efficiency, prestige, the progress and the development of the Club;
c) Abide by and respect the dispositions of these statutes.
Article 7 – Effective members’ rights
Effective members have the following rights, the exercise of which is conditioned by the integral fulfilment of the duties enumerated in the previous article:
a) Propose, discuss and vote in the General Assembly regarding matters of interest for the Club;
b) Elect and dismiss the social bodies and apply for election to these bodies;
c) Request an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly, under the terms laid out in these statutes.
Article 8 – Duties and rights of honorary members
To abide by and respect the dispositions of these statutes and to participate, without the right to vote, in the General Assemblies.
Article 9 – Social bodies
The Club defines as social bodies the General Assembly, the Board and the Fiscal Council.
Article 10 – General Assembly
1. The General Assembly is formed by the set of Club members that have their membership fees paid.
2. This body gathers ordinarily in the first trimester of each year, to appreciate, discuss and vote on the activities report and the previous year’s accounts, as well as in the last trimester to approve the budget and activities plan for the next year. It gathers also every two years to elect its officials, the Board and the Fiscal Council; this meeting should coincide with the Assembly’s meeting that approves the accounts.
3. The General Assembly shall extraordinarily meet in the cases mentioned in these statutes, and any time it may be called by the its President, when called in a properly justified manner by the Board and Fiscal Council, or yet when called upon by a fourth of the effective members; such request must be accompanied by the intended agenda for the meeting.
4. The call to any General Assembly must be announced with a minimum of fifteen days in advance (legal minimum– 8 days; article 173, n.º 1 of the Civil Code) and must be accompanied by the respective agenda.
5. Any Club member may be represented by another member as long as this is communicated in writing to the General Assembly’s President before the proceedings begin, and a member cannot have more than one representative.
Article 11 – General Assembly’s Board
1. The General Assembly’s Board is constituted by a President, 1st Secretary and 2nd Secretary.
2. It is the Board’s President responsibility to:
a) Call the ordinary or extraordinary General Assembly and preside to its meeting;
b) To sign the minutes books and the session minutes;
c) To handover office to the social bodies officials, during the next fifteen days following election or, in the case of substitutes, the fifteen days following the cessation of the office held by the effective member, signing the minutes together with such officials.
3. It is the 1st Secretary duty to:
a) Replace the President whenever she is impeded;
b) Provide for the General Assembly’s Board proceedings;
c) Write down and read the session minutes, which are to be signed together with the President.
4. It is the 2nd Secretary function to assist the 1st Secretary in performing her duties and to act as replacement whenever the 1st Secretary is impeded.
Article 12 – General Assembly proceedings
1. The General Assembly can only validly deliberate, on a first call, as long as at least half of the effective members are present or represented at the appointed time. A second call may be issued for the same day and place, with at least an hour’s notice, in which case the Assembly may deliberate as long as at least a quarter of the effective members are present or represented, with exception to the cases enumerated in the statutes that require a higher quorum.
2. The deliberations require the absolute majority of the present members, without a particular requirement regarding its form, with the exceptions explicitly mentioned in the statutes.
Article 13 – Board
1. The Board is composed by the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and ‘Vogal’.
2. It is the Board’s responsibility, as the managing social body of the Club, to:
a) Elaborate the activities plan and zeal over its execution;
b) Represent the Club, in the judicial system and outside it;
c) Deliberate over proposals, petitions and complaints addressed by Club members in writing;
d) Prepare the budget and the annual accounts reporting, keeping up-to-date all documentation during the exercise;
e) Provide the Fiscal Council the books and other documents for examination whenever the Council requests, also facilitating these documents for consultation to any member that requests it in the eight-day period previous to the ordinary General Assembly;
f) Request the General Assembly’s Board President the calling of an extraordinary session, whenever deemed necessary;
g) Deliberate over the admission of new effective members;
h) Propose to the General Assembly the assignment of the title of honorary member;
i) Propose to the General Assembly the expulsion of a member;
j) Propose to the General Assembly the voluntary dissolution of the Club;
k) Nominate specialised commissions for specific purposes.
3. The President’s functions are:
a) To socially represent the Club, which can only be obliged through its President and with an explicit mandate from the Board;
b) To oversee and coordinate the Board’s work;
c) To sign, together with the Treasurer or, in case of impediment, with the Vice-President, all revenue and expenses documents, namely the payment orders;
4. It is the Vice-President duty to:
a) Assist the President in all acts and activities, acting as her replacement in case of impediment;
b) Sign, together with the Treasurer whenever the President is impeded, or together with the President when the Treasurer is impeded, all revenue and expenses documents, namely the payment orders.
5. The Treasurer’s functions are as follows:
a) To keep an up-to-date registry of the financial situation, discriminating by chronological order the inflows and outflows of funds;
b) To receive the revenues and proceed to their deposit in the Club’s bank account;
c) To sign, together with the President or the Vice-President whenever the former is impeded, all revenue and expenses documents, namely the payment orders.
6. It is the Secretary’s duty to:
a) Write down the meetings minutes;
b) Prepare and write any document to be sent out and ensure its proper handling;
c) Maintain in good order all books and documents pertaining the Board.
7. The Vogal’s duties are:
a) To assist the Secretary in performing her duties and to replace her in case of impediment;
b) To act as liaison with other officials.
Article 14 – Board proceedings
1. The Board shall convene at least once a month. Its deliberations must be noted in the minutes book and are only valid if the majority of the Board members are present.
2. Deliberations require a simple majority. The decision to admit new members into the Club requires the approval of at least three Board members.
3. A Board member may be represented by another, through an explicit mandate.
4. Deliberations involving expenses for the Club must be approved by all Board members.
Article 15 – Fiscal Council
1. The Fiscal Council is constituted by a President and two ‘Vogais’ and can only function with the majority of its members.
2. It is the Fiscal Council’s role to:
a) Provide formal advices and opinions when requested by the Board;
b) Periodically examine the Club’s accounting, requesting any clarifications as deemed fit;
c) Summon an extraordinary General Assembly when having knowledge of any problem or irregularity in the Club’s financial management;
d) Elaborate a formal opinion regarding the budget, activities and annual accounting reports.
3. The Fiscal Council must write and sign all meetings’ minutes in its own book.
Article 16 – Elections process
1. The election of the social bodies’ officials is done by secret scrutiny.
2. The members of the most voted list shall be considered as elected. The running lists must be presented to the President of the General Assembly’s Board with at least eight days in advance of the ordinary General Assembly, in order to allow its distributions to the participating members.
3. Only effective members with full rights may run for election.
4. Mandate terms have a length of two years.
5. Each candidate may only be elected for one office.
6. Re-election for a consecutive mandate is only allowed once.
7. For each social body, substitute members shall be elected, as follows: 2 for the Board, 1 for the Fiscal Council, 1 for the General Assembly’s Board.
8. After the voting and announcement of its results, the President of the General Assembly’s Board shall schedule the date for handover of offices.
Article 17 – Dismissal of social bodies’ officials
The members holding offices in social bodies may be discharged, when there is serious motive, whether based on actions taken during the performance of their offices or on other facts such that justifiably question the suitability of the member to perform such office.
Article 18 – Changes to the Statutes
1. Changes in these statutes can only be made by initiative of the Board or by at least a third of the effective members.
2. The request for an extraordinary General Assembly to enact such changes must be addressed to the General Assembly’s Board President, accompanied by the text of the proposed change.
3. The call for the General Assembly must be made within the next eight days, accompanied by the text of the proposed change.
4. The General Assembly deliberation is only valid if at least three quarters of the effective members are present or represented.
5. The deliberation requires the favourable votes of at least two thirds of the members present or represented in the General Assembly.
Article 19 – Member expulsion
The expulsion of any member from the Club can only take place by deliberation of an extraordinary General Assembly expressly called for the effect and requires that the proposal, properly justified, gathers at least the favourable vote of three quarters of the members present or represented.
Article 20 – Voluntary dissolution
1. The voluntary dissolution of the Club can only be deliberated in an extraordinary General Assembly, called upon by initiative of the Board or by at least half the effective members.
2. The Assembly’s deliberation is only valid if at least three quarters of the effective members are present or represented.
3. Such deliberation requires the favourable vote of at least three quarters of the members present.