Statutes
Statutes of the ANAO Group
Article 1.
Membership
1. ANAO is a regional organization within the IAJ.
2. ANAO’s membership is composed of all national judicial associations that are members of the IAJ and that are affiliated with a country located wholly or partially in Asia, North America, or Oceania.
3. It shall be the responsibility of member national judicial associations to annually communicate to the President the names and contact information of individual delegates of the member national associations.
Article 2.
Objectives
1. ANAO’s over arching goals are to further the objectives of the IAJ in Asian, North American, and Oceanian countries, and to promote closer cooperation both among the judiciaries of ANAO member states. Specifically, ANAO aims to achieve the following objectives in Asian, North American, and Oceanian countries:
a. Safeguard the independence of the judiciary, as an essential characteristic of the judicial function and a guarantee of human rights and freedom.
b. Safeguard the constitutional and moral standing of judicial authority.
c. Increase and perfect the knowledge and the understanding of Judges by putting them in touch with Judges of other countries, and by enabling them to become familiar with the nature and functioning of foreign organizations, with foreign laws, and, in particular, with how those laws operate in practice.
d. Study together judicial problems, whether of regional or national interest in Asian, North American, and Oceanian countries, and to arrive at better solutions to them.
2. ANAO will also defend and represent the interests of Asian, North American, and Oceanian judiciaries where they are at stake in projects and decisions of international and transnational governmental organizations.
Article 3.
General Assembly of ANAO
1. The General Assembly is the body responsible for formulating ANAO policy. It is composed of each of the ANAO member organizations. Each member has one vote. 2. The General Assembly shall meet at least once per year. Meetings of the General Assembly are scheduled by the President, and may take place in the country of an ANAO member association, or in conjunction with a meeting of the IAJ, or may be held electronically or via video link. 3. Members must receive notice of a meeting of the General Assembly at least two months before the day of the meeting. In the month following such notice, members may request that the Executive Committee include a particular matter on the agenda. When two or more members concur in such a request, the matter must be included. The final agenda must be circulated to members at least fifteen days before the meeting. 4. A member may give the delegate of another member written authorization to vote on its behalf at meetings of the General Assembly, but no more than one such proxy authorization may be given to the same delegate. 5. The General Assembly shall not take any vote unless a majority of the members are presentor represented. 6. Decisions are made by majority vote. Votes shall be taken by secret ballot when three or more delegates so request. 7. ANAO members who have lost voting rights in the IAJ because of arrears in payment of contributions to IAJ likewise have no right to vote in ANAO. Likewise, upon ceasing to be a member of the IAJ, a national judicial association also ceases to be a member of ANAO.
Article 4.
President, Executive Committee, and Working Groups
1. The President represents and directs ANAO in accordance with the policies established by the General Assembly.
2. The General Assembly elects the President for a two-year term that may be renewed twice. The President shall be a Vice-President of the IAJ.
3. The General Assembly may also elect up to two Vice-Presidents for a term of 2 years who may be designated Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents respectively.
4. The Vice-Presidents may represent the President, and may attend any meeting on behalf of the President, as and when requested by the President.
5. The General Assembly may also confer the title of Honorary President up on any person who has had a presidential position of the ANAO which title shall be only honorific and will carry no formal executive role or other duty but will entitle such person to attend ANAO meetings and participate fully as if a delegate.
6. The President may appoint judges from other ANAO member organizations to form an Executive Committee to assist in carrying out the President’s duties.
7. The General Assembly may establish working groups to deal with recurring topics.
8. In these election of judges for service on the executive committee or on a working group, due weight should be given to ensuring representation of the different geographical areas and legal traditions of the Asian, North American, and Oceanian countries.
Article 5.
Language
1. The principal documents of ANAO must be drawn up in the primary working languages of the ANAO member organization.
2. The primary working languages of ANAO are English and French.
Article 6.
Finances
1. ANAO is funded primarily by allocations from the IAJ. The General Assembly may,how ever, fix a supplementary contribution to be paid by each ANAO member association.
2. The President shall present annual financial accounts to the General Assembly.
3. No expenditure of ANAO funds shall occur without the authorization of the General Assembly, except that the President may authorize the expenditure of such funds in an amount not to exceed €2,000.
4. The President or the General Assembly may appoint a Treasurer to carry out the ANAO’s financial responsibilities.
Article 7.
Amendments
1. A proposal to amend this Constitution may be submitted to the General Assembly by the President or by any group of at least two ANAO members. To be considered at a particular meeting of the General Assembly, such a proposal must be submitted at least three months prior to that meeting.
2. At least two months prior to a meeting of the General Assembly where a proposal to amend this Constitution is to be considered, the President must circulate the proposed amendment to all ANAO members.
3. An amendment shall been acted only upon the vote of a two-thirds majority of ANAO member associations eligible to vote. The voting procedures established in Article 3 apply.
Adopted by vote of the ANAO, April 10, 2016
International Association of Judges
Union Internationale des Magistrats
Palazzo di Giustizia
Piazza Cavour – 00193 – Roma, Italy
tel. +39 06 6883 2213 – fax. +39 06 687 1195