ASPHER Statutes
INPA status confirmation (registration in Belgium)
English version | French version .

I. Name, Purpose, Means of Action, Composition

§1. The Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) is an association of institutions and individuals primarily concerned with strengthening the role of public health by improving the training of public health professionals for both practice and research within the European Region, as defined by WHO.

§2. The Association serves the collective needs of the directors and deans, faculty and staff, as they pursue the education and training of professional public health personnel. In fulfilment of its mission, ASPHER directs its activities to the following goals: assist schools and university departments of public health to achieve their missions of professional and graduate education, research and service; build coalitions with other programs and public health organisations to increase public awareness, appreciation and support of public health; secure the recognition of ASPHER's position as a leader in public health.

§3. In the fulfilment of its mission, the Association will in particular use the following means: promote public awareness and understanding of the critical roles played by education, science and practice in public health; identify and disseminate strategies to increase diversity in disciplines, professions, faculty, students and staff in schools of public health; provide a forum for communication among directors of departments of public health and deans of schools of public health, public health faculties, staff and students; encourage and support the expansion of the schools of public health; identify and expand funding resources to support schools of public health in their missions of education, research and service; initiate co-operative actions and help build international, national and local coalitions with other organisations whose mission is to improve the public health.

§4. The Association is composed of institutional, associate, individual and honorary members. Institutional: institutional membership is open to institutions like schools or faculties, departments or units responsible for education in public health within the European Region. It carries the right to appoint 2 representatives to the General Assembly, only one of whom will be entitled to vote. Associate: associate membership is open to institutions with a legitimate interest in public health or public health training, which want to support ASPHER in its missions. It carries the right to participate in all activities of the association other than Administrative Meetings. Individual: individual membership is open to individuals as described in §1. It carries the right to participate in all activities of the Association other than Administrative Meetings. Honorary: honorary membership may be conferred upon individuals who have rendered distinguished services to the Association. It carries the right to participate in all activities of the Association other than Administrative Meetings.

Institutional members, associate, individual and honorary members must have been accepted by the General Assembly upon proposal of two other members, and they must undertake to pay the annual contribution that is decided yearly by the General Assembly.

The requests for admission must be sent in writing to the Executive Director or in absence to the Secretary Treasurer, who submits them at the closest General Assembly. The Executive Board may, before the closest General Assembly, decide to grant provisional membership and the members thus temporarily admitted are bound to pay the contribution as decided; they enjoy full rights except voting rights which will only be granted as soon as officially confirmed at the beginning of the General Assembly.

§5. The amount of the annual contribution shall be decided by the General Assembly, specifically for each category of membership.

§6. Every institutional member shall nominate two types of representatives. For the continuing links with the Association, the two persons will be the Dean/Director on one hand and on the other hand the "ASPHER contact person". The latter should be designated by the Dean/Director among colleagues holding important responsibilities within the institution. As far as the representation at General Assemblies is concerned, the procedure is described in §13.

§7. The members may withdraw on giving their notice to the President of the Executive Board, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; they then loose their quality of members of the Association at the expiration of the current civil year.

The Executive Board may remove a member either for lack of payment of his/her contribution six months after its due date, or for serious reason. The Executive Board must, if need be, first of all request all explanations from the concerned member. The Executive Board issues a decision that may be submitted to the general Assembly that rules at the last resort.

II. Administration, Functioning

§8. Executive Board

The Association will be managed by an Executive Board of 9 members, 8 of which are elected by secret ballot at the General Ordinary Assembly, among institutional members, and the ninth member being the Director of the French National School of Public Health (ENSP) or his/her Deputy. The General Assembly may choose to expand the membership to 10 members. No more than two Members of the Executive Board shall come from the same country and no more than one from any given institution.

In case more than a third of the members of the Executive Board resign in one year, the Board will be bound to call a General Ordinary Assembly called extraordinarily in order to see to their replacement. The President shall represent the Association and shall preside over the General Assembly and the Executive Board. The President will be responsible for carrying out the resolutions of the Board and for the good functioning of the Association that he/she represents towards Law and in all its civil actions. The immediate Past-President (vice-president) or the President-Elect (vice-president) shall deputise for the President as required.

One member of the Executive Board will serve as Secretary Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer will be responsible for the agenda and the minutes of the General Assembly and for the monitoring and the presentation of the accounts of the Association. The Executive Board is accountable to the General Assembly.

§9. Meetings for resolutions of the Executive Board

The Executive Board shall meet at least once a year and each time it is called by its President, either at the head office, or at any other place. The agenda shall be set by the President or by the members calling the meeting; it cannot be set during the meeting. The presence of at least one third of the members shall be required for the validity of the resolutions. The resolutions shall be passed with the majority of votes of the members who are present, each member having one voting right. In case of division of votes, the President will have a casting vote. The resolutions of the Board will be recorded in minutes on a special numbered Register, free of blanks and alterations and signed by the President.

§10. Powers of the Executive Board

The Executive Board shall be granted the widest powers to act on behalf of the General Assembly and to do or authorise all acts and operations allowed by the Association and that are not reserved to the General Assembly of the members.

The Executive Board members will designate among themselves by secrete ballot the Secretary-Treasurer. The President shall have a deliberative and casting vote.

The Executive Board may be assisted by any Committee and any Task Force of its choice; it sets their composition and their attributions will always be consultative.

The Executive Board must always keep at the disposal of the General Assembly an updated Register of its resolutions, minutes of the decisions and a statement of the technical, material and financial means of the Association.

All temporary or permanent delegations of powers must be recorded in writing on the Register of resolutions.

The Executive Board may recruit an Executive Director paid by the Association to fulfil the missions of the Association and notably act as an ambassador for the Association in the international arena, as an initiator of collaborative programmes between members, between members and international organisations, and between ASPHER and other international organisations, as a supervisor of the publication and research activities of the Association, and eventually as the Director of the day-to-day activities of ASPHER. The incumbent will remain accountable to the ASPHER Executive Board.

The Executive Director prepares and attends the Executive Board meetings as advisor and is a member ex-officio of Committees and Task Forces.

The Association may employ such full-time or part-time staff as needed to conduct the business of the corporation, under the direction of the Executive Director, or failing, the President.

Some remunerated agents of the Association may be called by the President to testify at the meetings held by the Executive Board, as advisers.

§11. Nominations and Elections

The President is elected by the General Assembly, one year prior to taking office. He/she will become a member of the Executive Board for four years: one as President-Elect (vice-president), two as President and as Chairperson of the Executive Board and one as immediate Past-President (vice-president). Member schools are asked by the Executive Director in March of the given year to nominate candidates (with a proposer and a seconder from two different schools other than the candidate’s own school). Only ASPHER member schools may make nominations. If there are no correctly nominated candidates in time for the Deans and Directors’ Retreat in May of the given year, then the President establishes a Search Committee under the chairmanship of the chair of the Deans and Directors’ Retreat with the responsibility to find suitable candidates within a deadline of 30 days prior to the General Assembly. The Search Committee would need to comprise the Past-President (vice-president).

The members at large shall be elected by the General Assembly, nominations for these posts are received at least one month before the General Assembly. Each nomination will require a proposer and a seconder from two different schools other than the candidates’ own schools. Only ASPHER member schools may make nominations. In the case where there are fewer candidates than vacancies by the required deadline of 30 days prior to the General Assembly, vacancies can be filled by way of co-option with an upper limit of two being the number of co-opted Executive Board members at any one time. Co-opted members will be part of the Executive Board until the next General Assembly when members will once again have the opportunity to vote for new Executive Board members. The members at large shall be elected for a period of 3 years, each year representing the time between two yearly General Assemblies, and shall be eligible for one further consecutive 3 year term, a total of 6 consecutive years. On behalf of the Executive Board, the President of Aspher may propose, when appropriately justified and being subject to approval by the General Assembly, to grant one extra 3 year term to one Executive Board member to serve on the Executive Board, even if this member has already served two full consecutive terms. Voting will be by secret ballot and Officers shall be elected by majority vote of the members present at the General Assembly of the Association.

Voting procedures

For the Election of the President-Elect (vice-president):
1. Candidates are elected with an absolute majority (i.e. half of the valid votes plus at least one) after a confidential vote (secret ballot). Should there be only one candidate, the Executive Board proposes to accept the candidate by acclamation.
2. If any candidate does not receive more than half of the votes cast on the first count of first preference votes, there has to be a second ballot. In case of a tie for the first place of more than 2 candidates or in case of a tie for second place then a second round of ballot will be held with the top two or tied candidates if more than two got the same number of votes. This process would be continued until we obtain the winner.

For the Election of the Executive Board Members:
1. Candidates are elected with an absolute majority (i.e. half of the valid votes plus at least one) after a confidential vote (secret ballot). Should there be only one candidate, the Executive Board proposes to accept the candidate by acclamation.
2. If there is no candidate(s) elected with an absolute majority in the first round of voting, then there is a second round of voting with no elimination of candidates – unless someone decides to withdraw his candidature – and election is based on the highest number of votes obtained (plurality system).

If any Officer in the Association is unable to complete his term, the Executive Board shall appoint a replacement for him who will serve until the next election by the Association.

§12. Remuneration

The members of the Executive Board may not personally get any kind of remuneration in consideration of their missions.

The sole reimbursement of costs will be possible. They will be subject to an express resolution of the Executive Board, taken without the persons concerned ; some justifications will be required and will be subject to checking.

§13. General Assembly

The members shall meet in General Assembly, which is called Extraordinary when the resolution concerns a modification brought to the by-laws and it is otherwise called Ordinary.

The General Assembly shall be composed of institutional members who may be represented by two persons bearing powers in due form; however, each institutional member shall be granted only one voting right. The General Assembly shall be convened each year before November 15th, by the Executive Board, on the day, time and place mentioned on the convening. The General Assembly may be called by the Executive Board when it deems it necessary or upon request of at least one fourth of the institutional members. Such Assemblies shall be convened within a maximum period of two months from the date the request is made by at least one fourth of the institutional members. The convening will be sent at least 15 clear days before the date, by individual letters summarising the agenda. The Board will draw up the agenda that will only include propositions made by the Board itself and propositions that were brought to its attention one month prior to the Assembly, bearing the signature of at least one tenth of the institutional members.

These Assemblies will meet at the head office or at any other place. The President of the Executive Board shall preside over the Assembly or a member of the Board may deputise for the President if required. The duties of the Secretary for the General Assembly shall be carried out by the Secretary-Treasurer, member of the Board, or by the Executive Director. An attendance sheet shall be filled out and signed by the members of the Association upon their arrival and shall be certified by the President and Secretary-Treasurer.

Each member of the Association shall be entitled to one voting right plus as many as five maximum supplementary voting rights through proxies of other members. Exceptionally, the President may hold as many as 20 proxies, and the members of the Executive Board as many as 10. These proxies should be given in writing, and they should define for what the voting right is given to another member.

The remunerated agents of the Association may be called by the President to attend the General Assembly with a consultative voice. The resolutions of the General Assembly of the member shall be recorded in minutes drafted on a special numbered Register, free of blanks and alterations, and signed by both the President and the Secretary-Treasurer. The copies or excerpts of such minutes to be produced in Court or for any other purpose will be signed by the President or by two members of the Executive Board.

§14. General Ordinary Assembly

The General Ordinary Assembly shall hear the report of the Executive Board concerning its management and the moral and financial situation of the Association; it shall approve or rectify the accounts of the past year, decide the budget of the following year, see to the replacement of the members of the Board, and generally speaking, it shall discuss all the matters of general interest and all issues submitted by the Executive Board, except the ones concerning a modification of the by-laws.

Each fiscal year shall start on January 1st and end on December 31st of each year. In order to validly deliberate, the General Ordinary Assembly will need to comprise at least one fourth of the members of the Association. If such condition is not met, the General Assembly shall be called again in the formal conditions provided by article 13, and during the second Assembly, it shall validly deliberate, notwithstanding the number of members present or represented. The adoption of resolutions shall require a majority of the members present or represented.

§15. General Extraordinary Assembly

The General Extraordinary Assembly may modify any provision of the by-laws; it may in particular decide the early dissolution of the Association or its coalition with other associations having the same purpose.

In order to validly deliberate, the General Extraordinary Assembly will need to count at least half of the members. Failing such condition, the General Extraordinary Assembly will be called again within 15 days, in the formal conditions provided by article 13 above, and during this second Assembly, the Assembly will validly deliberate, notwithstanding the number of members present or represented, but concerning the sole matters set on the agenda of the first Assembly. The resolutions of the General Extraordinary Assembly shall be adopted with a majority of two thirds of the voting members, present or represented. They must be adopted unanimously in case of a resolution concerning the dissolution of the Association.

III. Endowment, Annual Resources, Financial Management

§16. Endowment

The endowment includes the contributions made by the members of the Association or by third parties for the good functioning of the Association and by the possible surplus of the yearly resources.

§17. Yearly Resources

The yearly resources of the Association include: the contributions paid by the members and which minimum amount and rate are decided yearly during the General Assembly; the income generated by the assets it owns; the subventions of the States, regions, communities and Public Establishments, and of the private patronage; the remuneration of services; the resources generated exceptionally, that may be subject to authorisation of the competent authority.

§18. Financial Management

The Association shall keep yearly books among which the statement of account, the results and the balance sheet. The Association must appoint an auditor for checking the accounts. The members are not personally financially liable.

IV. Interior Rules, Dissolution, Winding-up

§19. Interior Rules

The Interior Rules setting the necessary dispositions applicable to the present by-laws or to the fulfilment of the purpose of the Association may be drafted by the Executive Board without them being considered a modification of the by-laws and as long as they do not change their spirit.

§20. Dissolution, Winding-up

In case of a dissolution pronounced by a General Extraordinary Assembly according to the provisions of article 15 above, the Assembly shall appoint one or several referees in charge of winding-up the assets of the Association in ways congruent with the objectives of the association.

§21. The statutes come into force as soon as approved by the Extraordinary General Assembly.

§22. The disputes will be governed by the French law as long as the establishment of the association is in France.