GENERAL RULES
1§ Name, location, language
The name of the Association is Technica ry, and in these rules it is referred to as the Association. The registered office of the Association is in Turku, Finland, and its official language is Finnish.
2§ Purpose and activities
The purpose of the association is to act as an interest and cooperation organisation of the student associations of the Faculty of Technology of the University of Turku, to promote and supervise the general and common interests of its members and to promote cooperation between its members.
In order to achieve its aims, the Association shall
● To organise discussion, information and other similar events and to carry out information and publication activities;
● To maintain contact with organisations and administrative bodies close to the various study programmes of the faculty;
● Proposing student representatives to the administrative bodies of the Faculty of Engineering and similar working groups and commissions.
To support its activities, the Association may, with appropriate authorisation, organise entertainment, fund-raising and raffles, and accept post-regulations and donations.
3§ The Association is non-partisan and non-religious.
Membership
4§ Members
A registered student association within the Faculty of Technology of the University of Turku may be accepted as a full member of the Association. The meeting of the association decides on the admission.
5§ Resignation
A member has the right to resign from the Association by notifying the Board of Directors or its President in writing or by notifying the Association’s meeting of the resignation for entry in the minutes.
A member may be dismissed by the Association’s meeting if the member
● Has failed to fulfil the obligations to which they have committed by joining the Association;
● Has caused serious damage to the Association by their conduct within or outside the Association;
● No longer fulfils the conditions for membership; or
● Acts in material breach of the rules or purpose of the Association.
The decision to expel shall state the reason for the expulsion. The decision to expel must be taken by a majority of the votes cast at a meeting of the Association. Before the decision is taken, the member concerned must be given the opportunity to explain his/her position. The discussion of the expulsion shall be explicitly mentioned in the invitation to the Association’s meeting.
7§ Payments and obligations of members
By joining the association, a member organization accepts the purpose of the association and commits to paying the annual membership fee.
The amount of the annual membership fee to be collected from members is decided annually at the association’s autumn meeting. The association’s meeting may, by unanimous decision, decide on an additional membership fee for the association’s members if the financial situation of the association or other compelling reasons necessitate it.
Upon request, the association’s board may exempt a member organization from the fee if the payment is unreasonably high considering the financial situation of the member organization.
ACTIVITIES OF THE ASSOCIATION
8§ Decision-making
The decision-making power of the Association shall be exercised by the Association’s meeting. The meetings of the Association are the spring and autumn meetings and an extraordinary meeting. At meetings of the Association, the opinion supported by more than half of the votes cast shall become the decision of the Association meeting, except in cases where the law or these rules provide otherwise. In the event of a tie, the opinion supported by the chairman of the meeting shall be the decision. The election shall be by the highest number of votes cast, and in the event of a tie, the election shall be decided by lot.
9§ Meetings of the Association and notice of meetings
Meetings of the Association shall be convened by the Board of Directors of the Association at least two (2) weeks before the meeting by e-mail to the address provided by the member. The notice shall state the place and time of the meeting. In exceptional circumstances, remote attendance at meetings of the Association may be permitted by decision of the Board or the Association meeting. In such cases, participation shall be by telecommunication or other technical means.
Each full member of the Association shall elect at its own meeting a representative and an alternate representative to the Association’s meeting. One (1) representative may represent only one (1) member and may exercise one (1) vote. Each voting representative must have a proxy signed by the Association from the Member Association he/she represents.
A voting delegate shall not vote on decisions affecting his/her own interests.
10§ Quorum
The quorum for a meeting of the Association is constituted when the meeting has been convened in accordance with the rules.
11§ Spring Assembly
The Spring Assembly of the Association shall be held annually on a date to be fixed by the Board of Directors by 31 March. The purpose of the Spring Assembly is to
- to consider and approve the annual report of the previous year;
- to approve the accounts for the previous financial year and to decide on the discharge of the Board of Directors and other persons responsible for the accounts;
- to deal with any other subject that may arise.
12§ Autumn Assembly
The autumn assembly of the Association shall be held annually on a date to be determined by the Board of Directors by 15 December. The purpose of the autumn assembly is to
- to decide on the action plan for the following year;
- to decide on the budget for the following year;
- elect the President of the Board of Directors and at least two (2) but not more than eight (8) other members for the next term of office of the Association;
- elect an auditor and a deputy auditor for the Association for the following financial year;
- to deal with any other subject that may arise.
13§ Additional assembly
The Board of Directors may call an additional assembly of the Association. An additional assembly shall also be held when at least one (1) of the members of the Association entitled to vote requests it in writing to the Board of Directors for a purpose to be notified, or when the Assembly of the Association so decides. The assembly shall be held within thirty (30) days of the request, not including the period from June 1 to July 31.
14§ Order of meetings
The chairman elected by the association from among its members shall chair the meeting. The secretary of the meeting shall be elected at the beginning of the meeting. Each full member of the Association has the right of initiative at the Association’s meeting. Initiatives on matters that must be mentioned in the notice of the meeting must be submitted to the Association’s Board in sufficient time to be included in the notice of the meeting.
Matters not mentioned in the notice of meeting shall, after discussion, be deferred to the next meeting unless declared urgent by a majority of at least five-sixths (5/6) of the votes cast. Any decision concerning property of major importance for the operation of the Association shall be taken at a meeting of the Association by a majority of at least three-quarters (3/4) of the votes cast at the meeting.
15§ Placing on the table
At the request of at least two (2) representatives, the matter may be laid on the table at the first hearing. The matter may not be tabled again at a subsequent hearing.
16§ Board
Each regular member of the association selects at least one candidate for the board in their own meeting. The association’s meeting representative cannot act as a member of the board. Unless the association’s meeting decides otherwise, an effort will be made to select at least one representative from each member organization accepted as a regular member to the association’s board.
The Board shall consist of the President and at least two (2) but no more than eight (8) other members. The Board shall appoint from among its members a Vice-Chairman, a Treasurer and such other officers as may be necessary.
The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman or, in his absence, of the Vice-Chairman, whenever they deem it necessary or whenever at least half of the members of the Board so request. A quorum shall exist when the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman and at least half of the other members of the Board are present. Votes shall be taken by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the Chairman shall have the casting vote, but in the event of an election, the vote shall be by lot.
17§ Writing the name of the Association
The name of the Association shall be written by the President or a member of the Board, each separately. The right to write the name of the Association shall also be granted to any person who has a personal right to do so, expressly granted by the Board of the Association.
18§ Financial period and audit
The accounting period of the Association is the calendar year.
The financial statement with the necessary documents must be submitted to the auditor at least four (4) weeks before the spring meeting. The auditor must submit a written statement to the Board at least two (2) weeks before the spring meeting.
19§ Rules of Procedure
These rules may be supplemented by by-laws. The by-laws shall be decided by a simple majority of votes at the Association’s General Assembly.
20§ Amendment of the Statutes and dissolution of the Association
The decision to amend the Statutes and dissolve the Association shall be taken at a meeting of the Association by a majority of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast. The notice of the meeting shall mention the amendment of the Statutes or the dissolution of the Association. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the assets of the Association shall be used to further the purposes of the Association as determined by the meeting deciding on dissolution. In the event of dissolution of the Association, its assets shall be used for the same purpose.
