(Adopted at the WJSA inaugural meeting on July 5th, 2019 in Madrid.)
§ 1 Name, head office
1. The name of the Association is Worlds of Journalism Study.
2. The Association has its head office in Munich, Germany.
3. After its registration in the Munich register court it will also bear the suffix “e.V.”
§ 2 Purpose
1. The purpose of the Association is to support academic research to assess the state of journalism around the world. To this end, the Members of the Association carry out surveys of journalists in the countries represented by the Membership of the Association.
2. The Association shall only pursue aims which are directly of a non-profit making nature, as defined in the section “Purposes Eligible for Tax Relief” of the German Tax Code.
3. The Association shall not pursue any economic aims of its own.
4. The Association’s funds may only be used for the purposes set out in the Statutes. The Members of the Association shall receive no remuneration or dividends from the Association’s funds.
5. No person may be favored by expenses that are alien to the purpose of the Association or by disproportionately high remuneration.
§ 3 Membership
1. Any natural or legal person who are involved in current research activities of the Worlds of Journalism Study may become a Member of the Association.
2. An application to join the Association must be made in writing to the Committee.
3. The Committee (see §4) shall decide whether to approve the application to join the Association.
4. Membership ends due to either: (a) Death of the Member; (b) Resignation by the Member; (c) Exclusion from the Association; (d) Non-compliance with Membership conditions (see §3, 1.), or (e) Dissolution of the Association.
5. A Member may resign from the Association at any point in time. Notice must be given in writing.
6. Members who have resigned from the Association shall have no claim to a share in the assets of the Association.
7. A Member who acts against the interests of the Association by willful intent or due to gross negligence may be excluded from the Association by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly of Members.
8. There are no Membership fees.
§ 4 The Committee
1. The Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Association in an honorary capacity.
2. The Committee shall consist of the first Chairperson; the second Chairperson; and the Secretary.
3. In accordance with Section 26 of the German Civil Code, the Association shall be represented by the first Chairperson and by the second Chairperson. Each of them shall be entitled to represent the Association alone.
4. The Members of the Committee shall be elected by the General Assembly of Members for a period of four years. All Members of the Committee shall remain in office until new elections are held, even if their term of office has expired.
5. The Members of the Committee can only be dismissed from office by an extraordinary General Assembly of Members.
§ 5 The General Assembly of Members
1. An ordinary General Assembly of Members must be held at least once in two years, either through physical attendance or by electronic means.
2. The Committee shall call an extraordinary General Assembly of Members if at least 10% of the Members send a written request to this effect to the Committee, stating the reasons.
3. A General Assembly of Members must be called in writing by giving a period of notice of at least four weeks and announcing the agenda.
4. Every General Assembly of Members has a quorum regardless of the number of Members present.
5. The General Assembly of Members shall be presided over by the first Chairperson or, if he or she is prevented from attending, by the second Chairperson. Should both not be present, the General Assembly will select a Member to head the meeting.
6. Resolutions shall be passed by a show of hands or through e-mail ballots. On the motion of a quarter of the General Assembly of Members, votes on elections and resolutions will be conducted by secret ballot.
7. Decisions on resolutions shall require a simple majority. When candidates are being elected to the Committee, the candidate who obtains the largest number of votes shall be elected. Abstentions shall not be counted.
8. Should the subject of the vote be the exclusion of a Member, an amendment to the Statutes, an amendment to the purpose or the dissolution of the Association, a two-thirds majority shall be required.
9. Amendments to the Statutes requested by the register court or the tax office can be decided by the Committee.
10. Minutes must be kept on the general assemblies of Members and are to be signed by the Secretary and by the person who chaired the meeting.
§ 6 The dissolution of the Association and the use of the Association’s assets
1. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the first and second Chairpersons shall be jointly authorized liquidators.
2. If the Association is dissolved or if its purposes should no longer be eligible for tax relief, its assets shall be transferred to a legal entity under public law or another tax-privileged organization for the purpose of using them to carry out academic research on journalism.