STATUTES Postgraduate International Tax Law Alumni Club -
Association of Graduates of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law
of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
The Association shall bear the name "Postgraduate International Tax Law Club - Alumni Association of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration".
The Association, which is a non-profit organisation, shall promote research and teaching in the field of European and international tax law.
The Association shall carry out research projects and offer adult education in the fields of law and economics, as well as related subject areas, and produce scientific publications and documents related to these subjects. These activities shall meet the requirements of the General University Studies Act and the University Studies Act.
The Association shall fulfil solely scientific purposes as defined in §§ 34 ff of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Procedures Act. Consequently, the provisions of § 39 of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Procedures Act in particular are relevant.
The main means for the realisation of the purposes of the Association are lectures, conferences, research projects, scientific publications and the establishment of a library.
The necessary funds shall be raised through membership contributions and donations.
The Association shall consist of full, associate, supporting or honorary members.
All graduates of the Degree Course in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration may become full members of the Association. Graduates are those persons who have completed the course of studies, either with the award of an academic degree or otherwise.
Those persons who have been admitted to the Degree Course in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, but have not completed the course of studies with an academic degree or otherwise may become associate members. Associate members who have completed the Degree Course in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, either with the award of an academic degree or otherwise, shall automatically become full members.
Supporting members are those who assist the activities of the Association through increased membership contributions or in other ways.
Those persons who have made an extraordinary contribution to the Association, to the Degree Course in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration or to international tax law in general may become honorary members.
Only natural persons may become full, associate or honorary members.
Supporting members may be natural or legal persons.
The decision on admission to full, associate or supporting membership shall be made by the Executive Committee. Appeals against the refusal of membership may be made to the General Assembly.
The final decision on admission to honorary membership shall be made by the general assembly.
Prior to the legal establishment of the Association, provisional admission to membership shall be decided on by the founders. Membership will cease to be provisional once the Association has been legally established.
Membership shall be terminated on the death of a member (with legal persons, on loss of legal personality), on voluntary withdrawal from the Association, on cancellation of membership, or following the exclusion of a member.
Membership may be terminated on August 31 of each year. The Executive Committee must be notified of termination of membership at least one month in advance. In the case of late notification, membership shall end on the following termination date.
Membership may be cancelled by the Executive Committee if payment of membership fees is more than 12 months overdue. The liability for membership fees owed shall remain in place despite the cancellation. On payment of the outstanding fees, membership shall be restored to the member in question.
A member may be excluded by the Executive Committee as a consequence of serious breaches of the responsibilities of members or disreputable behaviour. Appeals against exclusion may be made to the General Assembly.
Members are entitled to participate in all events organised by the Association and make use of all facilities of the Association.
It is the duty of every member of promote the interests of the Association and to refrain from actions which would damage its standing and reputation. The statutes of the Association and the resolutions of the bodies of the Association are to be observed and respected at all times. Furthermore it is the responsibility of all members to pay membership fees punctually in the amount determined by the General Assembly.
The bodies which constitute the Association are the General Assembly, Class Representatives, the Executive Committee, the Presidium, the Auditors and the Arbitration Panel.
All bodies of the Association - unless otherwise stated in individual cases - are subject to the following provisions:
Meetings of each body can be convened by any member of the Presidium at any time. Furthermore, meetings of Class Representatives may be convened by any individual member of the Class Representatives, of the Auditors by any individual Auditor, and of the Arbitration Panel by any individual member of the Panel.
The President is obliged to convene a body within four weeks, once this request has been made to him or her by one-third of the members of the body in question. This also applies to requests made by an Auditor to convene a particular body of the Association.
The member who requests a meeting of a particular body must notify all members of the body of his request at least one week in advance and is further obliged to compile an agenda.
The member who requests that a body convene shall act as chairperson. This also applies to situations where the request was made by a member who does not belong to the body in question. Should the member who made the request be unable to attend, then the President, or, should he or she be unable to attend, his or her representative shall act as chairperson. If no member of the Presidium is in attendance, then the oldest member present among those requested to convene shall act as chairperson. Otherwise, the oldest member present of the body in question shall act as chairperson.
The meeting is quorate when at least half of the members of the body which has been convened are in attendance.
Should the convened body not be quorate, the meeting shall take place 15 minutes later with the same agenda if at least two members of the body are present. In such cases, the meeting is deemed to be quorate.
Resolutions may be made by the body only with regard to the matters on the agenda.
Votes and resolutions shall take place on the basis of a simple majority of those members of the body in attendance. Resolutions of the General Assembly which amend the statues of the Association, or which seek to dissolve the Association, shall only take effect if in addition the written consent of more than two-thirds of the full members of the Association has been received.
Each body may also make resolutions outside convened meetings. In such cases, the written support of all members of the body for the motion is required.
Each body may also hold meetings without an official request having been made, if all members of the body are present and agree to hold a meeting. In such cases, the meeting is quorate and not obliged to follow a fixed agenda.
At times when the General Assembly is due to convene, and during and directly after the sessions of the General Assembly, meetings of other bodies of the Association may take place, as long as these have not been called by the body itself and if at least two members of the body are present. In such cases, the meeting is quorate and not obliged to follow a fixed agenda.
The General Assembly may be convened as frequently as desired. However, it is the duty of the President to ensure that the General Assembly convenes at least once a year, with the year beginning on September 1.
All full members are members of the General Assembly. Each full member shall have one vote. Voting rights may be transferred to another member by way of written authorisation.
Associate, supporting and honorary members may participate, but are not entitled to vote.
The responsibilities of the General Assembly shall include acceptance and approval of the annual report and accounts, adoption of resolutions with regard to the budget, appointment of Class Representatives and Auditors, determination of membership fees, decisions on appeals against the refusal of and exclusion from membership, resolutions amending the statutes or on the voluntary dissolving of the Association, as well as deliberations and resolutions on matters on the agenda.
A class shall consist of those full members who commenced their degree course at the same point in time. Graduates of the part-time and full-time courses who commenced their degrees at the same point in time shall form their own separate classes.
Events and other activities of a particular class which are not open to members of other classes shall be co-ordinated and organised by the respective Class Representatives.
The Class Representatives shall consist of
one spokesperson for each class,
one or more deputy spokespersons.
The members of a class may put forward candidates for the positions of spokesperson and deputy spokesperson. Such a proposal comes about when a simple majority of the members of a class present at the General Assembly elect a candidate for each position. Should the members of a class propose neither a spokesperson nor at least one deputy spokesperson, the Presidium shall co-opt one member to act as spokesperson and at least one member to act as deputy spokesperson.
The election of the spokesperson and deputy spokesperson(s) is incumbent on the General Assembly. Should the proposed candidate be rejected by the General Assembly, the class, by a simple majority of those members present at the General Assembly, and the Presidium may continue to propose candidates until one member is elected.
Meetings of the Class Representatives may be convened whenever necessary.
the Academic Head of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
the Deputy Academic Head of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration,
the Commercial Officer of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, and
the Executive Director.
The Academic Head of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration shall be the academic appointed to that position by the Vice-Chancellor of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. He or she must consent to his or her membership of the Executive Committee.
The Deputy Academic Head of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration shall be the academic appointed to that position by the Vice-Chancellor of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. The appointment of a Deputy Academic Head is not essential. He or she must consent to his or her membership of the Executive Committee.
The Commercial Officer of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration shall be nominated by the legal entity with which the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law carries out commercial and organisational co-operation. Should no form of co-operation exist with a legal entity in accordance with § 23 section 1 of the University Studies Act, the Commercial Officer shall be appointed by the Academic Head. The appointment of a Commercial Officer is not essential. He or she must consent to his or her membership of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Director shall assist the Executive Committee and the Presidium in carrying out the activities of the Association. The Executive Director shall be appointed or dismissed by the Executive Committee; dismissal may take place at any time. The appointment of an Executive Director is not essential.
The Executive Committee shall select one member to act as Treasurer and one member to act as Recording Clerk.
Spokespersons for each class shall be elected at the General Assembly. Past or existing spokespersons may be re-elected. They shall hold office until new elections are held. Should a class spokesperson withdraw from the Association or resign from his or her post, the Executive Committee may appoint a deputy spokesperson or another member of the class who is eligible for election to the position of spokesperson for the period until the next General Assembly.
The Academic Head shall remain a member of the Executive Committee until removed from his or her post by the Vice-Chancellor of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. This also applies to the Deputy Academic Head.
The Commercial Officer shall remain a member of the Executive Committee until removed from his or her post by the entity which nominated him or her. Likewise, the membership of the Commercial Officer shall end once co-operation with the legal entity which appointed him or her, as outlined in § 23 of the University Studies Act, is terminated.
Class spokespersons may tender their written resignation at any time. The notification of resignation should be directed to the Presidium. The resignation shall take effect only after the election or co-option of a successor.
The Executive Committee shall assume the leadership of the Association. The Executive Committee shall bear responsibility for all activities which these statutes do not specifically apportion to another body of the Association. In particular, this sphere of activity shall include compilation of the budget, the annual report and accounts; preparations for the General Assembly; the convening of the General Assembly; information for members regarding the activities, income and expenditures of the Association at the General Assembly; administration of the assets of the Association; admission to, exclusion from and withdrawal of membership of the Association; the appointment and dismissal of the Executive Director; the co-option of spokespersons following the resignation of the existing incumbent; the appointment and dismissal of the President; and the appointment and dismissal of employees of the Association.
The President shall be elected by the class spokespersons on the Executive Committee. The election of the President may take place at any time, but must take place in the meeting of the Executive Committee following the full convention of the General Assembly. The president shall remain in office until the election of a successor.
The President may be dismissed by the Executive Committee, or tender his or her resignation at any time. The resignation shall take effect only after the election of a successor.
The Presidium shall consist of the President, the Academic Head and the Commercial Officer. In cases where the President is not in attendance, he or she shall be represented by the Academic Head or the Commercial Officer of the Postgraduate Degree in International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, in that order of priority.
The Presidium may perform the activities and assume the competences of the Executive Committee between meetings of the Committee. Notification of resolutions passed shall be given at the following meeting of the Executive Committee.
The President shall represent the Association externally, in particular in dealings with the authorities and third parties. The President shall carry out this function in close co-operation with the other members of the Presidium.
Written dispatches and notices issued by the Association, in particular those documents which are binding on the Association, must be signed either by two members of the Presidium, or by one member of the Presidium and the Executive Director.
The General Assembly shall elect two members of the Association as auditors. Auditors shall hold this position until such time as successors are elected. Auditors may be re-elected.
The auditors shall continually oversee the operations of the Association and ensure the correctness of the annual report and accounts. The results of this audit are to be reported to the General Assembly.
The Arbitration Panel shall decide in all disputes over matters arising from the activities of the Association.
The oldest and second-oldest members of each class shall be members of the Arbitration Panel.
The Arbitration Panel shall make decisions to the best of its knowledge and in all conscience. All decisions of the Arbitration Panel are final within the Association.
In the event of the voluntary dissolution of the Association, the bodies of the Association must be notified of this in writing by the incumbent Executive Committee.
In the event of dissolution, or the discontinuation of the purposes of the Association, the assets of the Association shall under no circumstances be used for the benefit of the members. The assets shall be used exclusively and in whole for non-profit-making purposes, in particular for the benefit of research projects in the field of international tax law, as outlined in §§ 34 ff of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Procedures Act.
(c) Postgraduate program in international tax law of the
Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
c/o Akademie der Wirtschaftstreuhänder GmbH,
A 1121 Vienna, Schönbrunner Strasse 222-228/1/6/3, PO Box 63
