AACC – Alps-Adriatic Centre for Cross-border Cooperation
AACC – Alpe-Adria Zentrum für grenzüberschreitende Kooperation
AACC – Alpsko-Jadranski center za čezmejno sodelovanje
AACC – Centro Alpe-Adria per la Cooperazione transfrontaliera
Article 1
Name, Head Office and Business Operations of the Association
(1) The Association is named “AACC: Alps-Adriatic Centre for Cross-border Co-operation”.
(2) The head office of the Association is in Klagenfurt, and it operates throughout Austria and abroad.
If necessary, branch offices can be founded in other states of the federation.
Article 2
Purpose of the Association
(1) The work of the association is non-profitable.
(2) Purpose of the Association: To promote cross-border and friendly neighbourhood co-operation in Europe.
Article 3
Instruments to Implement the Policies of the Association
(1) The purpose of the Association will be achieved by performing the following activities:
– Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe (primarily problems of juridical settlement of inter-ethnic
relations in reference to the growth of the EU and to preserve peace in Central and Eastern Europe).
– Interstate co-operation and economic development (economic co-operation at the state and
international level, with the slogan “Benefit from Diversity“)
– Education and behaviour to strengthen and improve international co-operation.
– Analysis and development of cross-border co-operation with the aid of advanced IT applications.
– General questions concerning EU growth towards the East, as well as know-how transfer and support
to candidate states in the Alps-Adriatic region.
(2) The organisational instruments of the Association are:
– The foundation of an interstate network among public-juridical establishments
– Research (monitoring, forming and managing the Centre to exchange experiences)
– Processing and provision of EU projects
– Advising politicians (consulting)
– Organising lectures, seminars, discussions and excursions
– Producing scientific publications
– Performing market analysis
– Documentation
– Planning educational courses
– Exchanging technical know-how
(3) To achieve the purpose of the Association financial funds are necessary which are
to be collected in following ways:
– Membership
– Subsidies and presents
– Income from projects and events
– Proceeds from collections
– Sale of own publications
– Legacies, inheritances and other sources of income
(4) In order to achieve the goals of the Association, it is authorised to form capital and private trading
companies, to participate in such companies or to manage companies within the framework of its goals.
Article 4
Membership
The members of the Association are:
– regular members who are active in the Association,
– associate members who support the Association mainly by paying a higher membership fee,
– supporting members can be natural persons and legal entities, especially communities and other public establishments
that support the activities of the Association by paying a higher membership fee and provide substantial support, and
– honorary members who are accepted by the Assembly of the Association due to their exceptional merits.
Article 5
Acquisition of Members
– The members of the Association can all be natural persons and legal entities.
– The Executive Board makes decisions concerning the acceptance of regular, associate and supporting members.
Acceptance can be denied with no explanation. Honorary members are inaugurated by the Assembly
following a proposal from the Executive Board.
Article 6
Termination of Membership
(1) Membership terminates with death, and for legal entities with the loss of the status of the subject,
voluntary withdrawal or deletion.
(2) Voluntary withdrawal is always possible; whoever wants to withdraw must announce this in writing to
the Executive Board. This does not cancel obligations towards the Association until the moment of withdrawal.
(3) Members who have delayed paying their membership fee for more than one year can be cancelled from
the membership list after being reminded three times without success. The obligation to pay the due
membership fee, however, remains.
(4) The Executive Board is allowed to exclude a member from the Association if obligations according to the Rules
are seriously violated or if acting towards the Association in a damaging way. Within two weeks after receipt
of the written decision on exclusion a member has the right to make a claim against exclusion to the Assembly.
(5) Due to the reasons quoted in Article 4, the Assembly is also allowed to cancel honorary membership
following a proposal by the Executive Board.
Article 7
Rights and Obligations of Members
(1) All members of the Association have the right to participate in the Assembly and to put forward proposals. However,
the right to make decisions as well as active and passive voting rights are reserved only for honorary and regular members.
(2) During the Assemblies members have the right to be informed by the Executive Board about the activities
and financial affairs of the Association. If requested with an explanation by one tenth of the members,
the Executive Board is obligated to inform each of these members in writing also outside the Assembly
within 4 weeks after the written request has been made.
(3) Members are obliged to support the interests of the Association to the best of their ability and to withdraw
from all action that could endanger the reputation and work of the Association. They must respect the rules
of the Association and the decisions of its bodies. They are also obliged to pay the enrolment and membership
fee, as specified by the Assembly. Honorary members are exempt from paying the membership fee and taxes.
Article 8
The Assembly
(1) The regular Assembly is convened every fourth year.
(2) An extraordinary Assembly is convened on the basis of the Executive Board or a decision by the Assembly,
a written demand by at least one third of the members or at the request of the auditors. In all the mentioned
cases the Assembly must be convened at the latest within two months after giving notice in writing to the Executive Board.
(3) Invitations in writing for a regular or extraordinary Assembly must be sent to all members at the latest
two weeks before the Assembly is held. The invitation must specify the place, time and agenda of the Assembly.
The Assembly is convened by the Executive Board.
(4) The proposals for the Assembly’s agenda should be submitted to the Executive Board at least one week before the Assembly.
(5) Valid decisions except the one concerning the convening of an extraordinary Assembly are permitted
only regarding the points of the agenda.
(6) All members can participate in the Assembly. The voting right is regulated according to Article 7 of the Rules.
Each member has one vote with a voting right. The transfer of a voting right to another member is allowed
when authorised in writing, but each member can represent only two other members. Legal entities
are represented by an authorised proxy. The Assembly, which is convened in accordance with the Rules,
constitutes a quorum irrespective of the number of members with a voting right present.
(7) At the Assembly the decisions are accepted, as a rule, with an ordinary majority of votes; in case of an
equal number of votes, the vote of the president is decisive. In case of a change in regulations or the
dissolution of the Association, a qualified majority of three thirds of valid votes is required.
(8) The Assembly is chaired by the president. If the president is held up, the Assembly is chaired by
a member of the Executive Board who is appointed by the president.
Article 9
Tasks of the Assembly
The following rights are reserved for the Assembly:
– Acceptance and confirmation of the annual and final balance sheet.
– Election and dismissal of the members of the Executive Board and the auditors.
– Fixing the amount of the enrolment and membership fee.
– Making decisions on changes to the Rules and the dissolution of the Association.
– Consulting and making decisions on all matters on the agenda.
Article 10
Executive Board
(1) The Executive Board consists of a minimum:
– President (male of female)
– Assistant for financial affairs (male or female)
– General secretary (male or female)
These members of the Executive Board are elected at the founding Assembly.
The Assembly is permitted to enlarge the Executive Board. The members of the Executive Board who are elected by
the Assembly after its foundation are in hereinafter named as the Enlarged Executive Board.
(2) The mandate of the Enlarged Executive Board lasts four years. In every case it lasts until the election of the
new Enlarged Executive Board. Members of the Executive Board can be re-elected.
(3) The Executive Board has the right to select another member. However, this member has no voting right.
(4) The Executive Board is summoned by the president or the general secretary in a written or oral form.
(5) The Executive Board forms a quorum if all the members were invited and at least five members are present.
(6) The Executive Board makes decisions with an ordinary majority. In the case of an equal number of votes,
the vote of the president is decisive.
(7) The president chairs the Executive Board. If he/she is held up, then the general secretary does so. If also he/she
is held up, the Executive Board is chaired by a member appointed by the president.
(8) The function of the members of the Enlarged Executive Board terminates with death, expiration
of the mandate, dismissal or resignation.
(9) The Assembly is allowed to dismiss individual members of the Enlarged Executive Board during
the mandate due to behaviour that harms the Association.
(10) Members of the Executive Board can resign by presenting their resignation in writing at any time.
The written resignation should be addressed to the Executive Board or to the Assembly in case the whole
Executive Board resigns. The dismissal of the Executive Board is valid only after a new one has been elected.
Article 11
Range of Activities of the Executive Board
(1) The Executive Board manages the Association. It performs all the tasks that are not delegated by the
Rules to some other body of the Association.
(2) The Association performs the following tasks as part of its activities:
– Making budget proposals and producing the annual and final balance sheet.
– Drafting the annual plan and reporting of activities.
– Organising and convening regular and extraordinary assemblies.
– Managing the property of the Association.
– Accepting, cancelling and dismissing members.
– Accepting and dismissing employees of the Association.
(3) The Executive Board is allowed to name a managing director. He/she performs the tasks described
by the Executive Board in the Rules of procedure.
(4) The Executive Board makes decisions on the formation of companies and participation in those
companies and asserts its partnership rights, primarily the voting right in companies in which the
Association participates. The Executive Board makes decisions on the implementation of the
voting right in companies in which the Association participates with an ordinary majority of votes.
Article 12
Specific Tasks of Individual Members of the Association
(1) The Association is presented to the public by the president (male or female), or vice-president
(male or female) if elected by the Assembly and general secretary.
(2) The president (male or female) runs the current affairs of the Association. He/she chairs the Assembly
and the meetings of the Executive Board. If there is the danger of delay, the president (male or female)
is allowed to make decisions according to his/her judgement also regarding affairs that belong to the range
of activities of the Assembly or Executive Board. The decisions must subsequently be confirmed by the
competent body of the Association.
Article 13
Auditors
(1) The Assembly selects two auditors for the mandate of the Executive Board, whose re-election is permissible.
(2) The auditors control the running of affairs and the balance sheet. They report to the Assembly on the results of the audit.
(3) Regarding the other points, it makes sense that the provisions in sections 2, 8, 9 and 10 of Article 10 apply to the auditors.
Article 14
Arbitration
(1) In all disputes deriving from relations in the Association arbitration is decisive.
(2) The arbitration board consists of three members. It is formed in such way that each party in the
dispute proposes one regular member to the Executive Board as arbiter within two weeks. Both arbiters
agree to the third arbiter being the president of the arbitration board. If they cannot agree, lots are drawn.
(3) The arbitration board makes decisions in the presence of all members with an ordinary majority. It makes
decisions according to its best knowledge and conscience. Its decisions are final within the Association.
Article 15
Dissolution of the Association
(1) Voluntary dissolution of the Association can be decided by three founding members of the Association
or by an extraordinary Assembly which is convened for this reason, with the majority of the votes as
specified in Article 7, Section 8 of the Rules.
(2) The last Executive Board must announce voluntary dismissal
– in written form to the authority, and
– report the dissolution in the magazine which publishes official news.
(3) In case of voluntary dissolution or if the purpose of the Association is omitted, the available property can in
no case belong to members of the Association. The last Executive Board of the Association (liquidator)
must hand over all the property to the legal entity, which Article 34 ff BAO accepts as non-profitable,
charitable or ecclesiastical and which was approved by the Assembly.