Source: http://omaec.info/estatutos?lang=en
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 20:34:52+00:00

Document:
The O.M.A.A.E.E.C was established in Rome (Italy) on October 14, 1967. The rapid expansion acquired since its inception as an international NGO, the updating of its original statutes, was necessary. This review was conducted at the General Assembly held in Brussels (Belgium) on October 1, 1983. On March 2, 1989, the Holy See recognized the as Catholic International Organization OMAAEEC. As a result of this recognition, the new statutes were changed in the Constitutional Assembly held in Issy-les-Moulineaux (France) on October 28, 1989. The Extraordinary General Assembly held in Venice (Italy), on September 26, 1992 introduced some provisions to take into account the existence of Continental Unions and the growing number of partner organizations. The amendment of these Statutes was approved at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in Paris (France) on April 10, 2016.
The international organization is called World Organization of Catholic Education Alumni. Its initials are OMAEC, which will remain in all languages. The organization was established in Rome (Italy) on October 14, 1967.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting of April 10, 2016, it became an association under the 1901 French law.
OMAEC is a global organization comprised of World and Continental Associations, Confederations and Federations of Associations of Catholic Education Alumni in the world.
The institutional office is established in Via Aurelia, 476 – 00165 Rome – Italy.
The legal office is established in Paris (France).
They may establish representative offices elsewhere, for the purpose of operation.
The length of the Organization is unlimited.
a)	ENCOURAGE global commitment and cooperation of Alumni Associations of Catholic Education, to safeguard the dignity and the service of the human community without distinction, according to the principles of Catholic education.
b)	SERVE partner agencies in conducting their own purposes and stimulate relations between them: understanding, mutual support and common actions based on Christian values and charisms that encourage institutions that have educated their members. (Catholic Colleges and Universities, etc.).
c)	PROMOTE the creation of world organizations of alumni of Institutes of Consecrated Life or diocesan institutes, and the creation of Continental Unions and national federations, where none exist.
d)	PROMOTE global knowledge, affirmation and diffusion of gospel values in education, and particularly freedom of education.
e)	REPRESENT their bodies/organizations in all matters relating to common initiatives at the international level and in particular the United Nations Organization – UN and its agencies.
f)	HOLD permanently worldwide, relations with international organizations that are directly or indirectly interested in educational issues and the promotion of the person.
g)	OPINION on social, cultural, economic and political issues always defending Christian values related to its purposes.
The OMAEC official languages are French, English and Spanish, so that official documents will be drawn up in the three languages; documents and parliaments in meetings can only be in one of these three languages (defined in internal regulations of procedure).
1.	WORLD ORGANIZATIONS grouping associations of Alumni of schools linked to a congregation or religious order.
2.	CONTINENTAL ORGANIZATIONS grouping the National Organizations of Alumni of Catholic Education and the continental organizations of Alumni of schools linked to a congregation or religious order.
3.	NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS that include all the alumni associations of Catholic education in the same country.
The OMAEC can accept “Observer Organizations” who want to be in relationship with OMAEC. They do not have the right to vote in general assemblies and their leaders cannot exercise management positions and responsibility of OMAEC. It is the Executive Board which can accept an organization as “observer”, this decision will be ratified at the next General Assembly.
Organizations wishing to join OMAEC must send, along with their application for admission, the commitment to respect the Statutes, a copy of their own Statutes and the different documents defined in the internal regulations of OMAEC.
The Executive Board shall decide on the application for admission at the first meeting to take place, after verifying that the Statutes presented are consistent with those of the OMAEC.
In case of a favorable decision, admission is granted provisionally and ratification will be submitted to the next General Assembly.
In case of a negative decision, the Association-candidate may appeal to the Executive Council, requesting that it include its application for admission in the agenda of the next General Assembly session in which the Association-candidate will be present.
Any OMAEC Agency can withdraw from OAMEC after communicating and explaining directly to the Executive Council the reasons for its resignation. This will be confirmed by a registered letter sent to the headquarters of OMAEC, to the attention of the Chairman.
This resignation will be effective immediately and involves the waiver of any right on OMAEC funds existing at the time it is made.
The Executive Board may propose to the General Assembly to exclude an organization if its performance does not respect the current Statutes or if it does not abide by the directives of the General Assembly.
The organization concerned shall be invited to present its defense, if desired, in the General Assembly in which their exclusion is analyzed.
This exclusion means the loss of all rights on OMAEC funds.
1.	MEMBERS CORRESPONDENTS: the Executive Council may appoint a correspondent of OMAEC in countries where there is no association or federation. His/her mission is to promote in the country the existence of OMAEC and to coordinate and facilitate the establishment of an association or federation. The correspondents must be nationals of that country, except in exceptional cases decided by the Executive Council.
2.	DELEGATES: it is possible to appoint a member of OMAEC as a Delegate to International Organizations, or to give him/her a specific mission or a leadership position in a committee or a working group.
3.	HONORAY MEMBERS: a person who has rendered outstanding services to OMAEC. Lack of political rights.
These correspondent members have no voting rights.
The duration of correspondents and delegates appointment coincides with the period between General Assemblies and they are ratified at each General Assembly.
The supreme and sovereign body is the General Assembly of OMAEC partners or General Assembly, comprising all the members who are in full use of their social rights and are present at the meeting and / or represented.
Those referred to in Art.11, namely, honorary members, correspondents and delegates can attend the General Assembly, but only as observers without voting rights.
It must be called at least three (3) months in advance.
The call is made through personalized e-mail with return receipt. For this, the General Secretary shall be in possession of an updated list of addresses of the members.
They can convene Extraordinary General Assemblies at the Executive Board’s initiative or at the request of the majority of member organizations, with at least two (2) months notice.
The Annual and Extraordinary General Assembly shall be validly constituted on first call when a third of the members, present or represented, and on second call, whatever the number of attendees.
An Ordinary General Assembly adopts resolutions by absolute majority of members present and represented, it shall be convened every calendar year.
The General Assembly is chaired by the President accompanied by the Ecclesiastical Assistant, the Vice Presidents, the Treasurer and the General Secretary in charge of the minutes of the meeting. A working session moderator is always appointed.
All delegate members must understand and speak at least one of the three official languages of OMAEC.
The Executive Board determines the agenda of the Assembly, which should take into account the suggestions of their partner member organizations. All proposals submitted by a third of the member organizations must register obligatorily in the agenda. This agenda must be communicated to those concerned two (2) months before the opening date of the session of the Annual General Assemblies and one month prior to the Extraordinary General Assemblies.
For the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assemblies, member organizations must have paid their dues (contribution to OMAEC), to exercise their right to vote.
The RDRI (Internal Regulations) sets the number of votes per organization. Each year the Executive Board updates the standard rules of procedure to confirm the number of votes of each organization.
An organization must submit the name of its representative at the General Assembly if none of its members can attend. In order to do that, it will send an authorization to another organization that ensures its representation. No member may hold more than one representation.
In this case, the organization will send its representation ballot to the Secretary of OMAEC through a pdf file signed three (3) days before the date of holding the Assembly.
The proxy is only valid for the session or call for which it is issued, any delegation or representation with no mention of a specific date or event will be regarded as null.
The proxy must be written and include the name of the delegate and of the person represented, and it must be signed by both.
One member/person cannot have more than two delegations (his own plus the one of a member he/she represents).
–	Election of the Chairman (Art.15).
–	OMAEC to dissolve (Art. 30).
1)	Study all issues proposed in the agenda.
2)	Sets objectives and guidelines to follow in the next year.
a)	COMMENT on the reports submitted by the duly authorized Executive Council (activities, finance) or the persons responsible.
b)	APPROVE the financial statements.
c)	FIX the annual contribution of member Organizations.
d)	VOTE the provisional budget.
e)	DECIDE on the admission of associate members, made provisionally by the Executive Board.
g)	RATIFY the articles of the Internal Regulations modified or added by the Executive Board since the previous General Assembly.
h)	ELECT the Chairman by name under the conditions laid down in Art. 15.
i)	APPROVAL the composition of the Executive Council: the members proposed by the Chairman.
The modification of the statutes is the decision of an Extraordinary General Assembly, under the conditions provided for in Art. 28.
Each member organization may propose a candidate for election to Chairman of OMAEC, it must submit an information dossier, following the indications given in the RDRI.
The General Secretary of OMAEC will present the official list of candidates who meet the requirements as specified by the RDRI within schedule.
Voting for the election of the Chairman shall be secret, unless a different decision were made by the General Assembly.
To be elected, the Chairman must obtain at least 2/3 of the valid votes cast including blank ballots. Failure to obtain the required 2/3 of the vote, there will be a second ballot at the same percentage. If no candidate gets elected, a third vote will take place, opposing the two candidates who arrived first at the second vote. The most voted candidate at this third vote will be elected Chairman.
Once elected, the Chairman will propose to the General Assembly the persons to form the Executive Council and their respective duties.
The Executive Council is the executive body of the OMAEC; it is responsible for carrying out the directives of the General Assembly and to prepare, in time, the agenda of the next General Assembly.
It consists of the following members: Chairman, Vice Chairmen, General Secretary, General Treasurer, the Ecclesiastical Assistant and President of the Youth Committee.
Other members may possibly be invited as needed by the agenda.
1)	It is responsible for carrying out the directives of the General Assembly.
2)	The Executive Council shall meet at least twice a year, convened by the President or at the request of half of its members. In the latter case, the meeting must take place within three months following the arrival of the last request to the Chairman.
3)	The Executive Board may appoint Honorary Members, Delegates, Committee Chairmen, correspondents and any other services with a defined duration.
4)	The Executive Board decisions are taken by a simple majority vote. Each participant is entitled to one vote, except for special guests. In case of a tie, the Chairman’s vote decides.
5)	The Executive Council decides on the exact address of the legal office of the OMAEC in Paris (France).
The Chairman is elected for a period of three (3) years, taking into account the procedures laid down in Art.15 hereof.
The Chairman conducts the OMAEC and represents it in all areas. He can delegate powers to the Vice Chairmen or to the representative of a member organization he appoints.
In case of death or resignation, the Executive Council elects one of the Vice Chairpersons, as Chairperson until the next General Assembly.
The Chairman may only make a maximum of two terms.
The ecclesiastical advisor is responsible for the spiritual assistance of OMAEC.
He is elected for a period of three (3) years by the Executive Board from a list of candidates proposed by member organizations and its name is sent to the Vatican. He is a full member of the Executive Council.
Vice Chairmen are by right, the Chairmen of the Continental Unions, and some others who are named.
•	SUPPORT the chairman in all activities.
•	ENCOURAGE the working committees.
•	ENSURE the coordination of the OMAEC activities in a region geographically delimited, where there is no Continental Union.
•	ASSUME the responsibilities entrusted to them by the Chairman.
•	REPLACE the Chairman in case of death, resignation or inability, until the next General Assembly.
The General Secretary heads the secretariat and ensures the implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Executive Council.
His appointment is regulated by Art. 15 hereof.
He is responsible for the internal and external communications of OMAEC.
He prepares the meetings of the Executive Council and the General Assembly. In all these meetings he presents activity reports and takes minutes.
He may be assisted by a Deputy General Secretary.
He works in coordination with the Chairman of OMAEC.
He is responsible for the financial management of OMAEC. All financial transactions must be made on a bank account opened in the name of OMAEC.
His appointment is regulated by Art. 15 of these statutes. It may be assisted by a Deputy Treasurer.
The General Treasurer will report about his work to the Executive Board at least once a year and submit to the General Assembly, the annual report, the estimated/provisional budget and the state of finances of OMAEC as well as bank accounts and movements. He is responsible for the Finance Commission which may be set up by the Executive Council.
He coordinates his work with the President of OMAEC.
Applications must be submitted by the member organizations at the opening of the General Assembly which has to proceed to their election by simple majority in a single round.
Accounts Supervisors have the task of monitoring the accounts, deeds, justifications and all economic factors affecting the movement of funds presented by the General Treasurer and to report on that to the General Assembly.
The Executive Board may require the assistance of external consultants specialized in specific issues.
These advisers only have an advisory role.
The OMAEC wants to form Continental Unions on all continents.
Depending on the specialization of certain geographical areas, it will be possible to form regional unions in major regions within the 5 continents. Hereinafter, the term “Continental Unions” will define the continental and regional Unions.
The Continental Unions include some national federations of alumni of Catholic education, and continental organizations of former students of religious congregations.
–	Coordinate the actions of its members within the continent.
–	Ensure the representation of alumni of Catholic Education within continental organizations.
–	Support the creation of National Federations of Alumni of Catholic Education in the countries of the continent where such federations do not exist.
–	Keep on the continent the same purposes as those of the OMAEC, as mentioned in Art. 5.
To create a Continental Union one needs at least five members.
The Continental Unions are members of OMAEC.
Existing national bodies in a continent are necessarily members of the OMAEC and the Continental Union.
The Continental Union may appoint correspondents in countries of the continent who do not yet have national bodies in order to prepare for the establishment of such bodies. If necessary the OMAEC will appoint correspondents.
The Continental Union is an association legally registered in one of the countries of the continent and must also have a bank account in their name.
The name of the Continental Union should be “Union” followed by the continent in question and “Alumni of Catholic Education” and its acronym: UNAEC followed by the name of the continent. Example: African Union of Alumni of Catholic Education, with the initials UNAEC-Africa.
The statutes of the Continental Union should have the same objectives as those of OMAEC, to which specific purposes could be added related to the continental context. These statutes must define a truly democratic functioning of the Union, in particular an annual general meeting and the election of the executive bodies, including a president and a treasurer.
The statutes of each Continental Union, its internal regulations and possible subsequent amendments, must be approved by the Executive Council of OMAEC.
Report of its activities and its financial statements.
The OMAEC leaders and the Continental Unions establish, by common agreement, the dues owed by the members to their respective structures.
–	The fixed annual contributions paid by member organizations, established by the General Assembly (Art. 14 c).
–	Any other financial resource allowed by law.
The OMAEC funds will be deposited in a bank account. Responsible for the account are either the Chairman or the General Treasurer interchangeably.
Any member organization that has resigned or been excluded has no right over OMAEC funds and cannot claim back their contributions or donations.
OMAEC operational expenses are financed within the forecasted budget approved by the General Assembly.
Payments will be ordered and authorized in conformity with the budget or extraordinary decisions approved by the President or the General Treasurer.
The financial year will cover the calendar year from 1 January to 31 December of the same year.
Any amendment to the articles may be presented by the Executive Council or a member organization. In this second case, the member organization refers the matter to the Executive Council that will decide by a majority of votes present or represented, if it is necessary to introduce this change at an Extraordinary General Assembly.
In both cases, it is for the Executive Council to convene an Extraordinary General Assembly as provided by Articles 12 and 13 of these statutes.
The Executive Board drafts Internal Regulations to be approved by the General Assembly, in which the procedures for implementing these Statutes are developed.
To be taken into consideration, a proposal of dissolution of the OMAEC, must come from more than half the member organizations.
The Executive Council shall be convened for this purpose within one month, from the date of receipt of the indicated quorum backed with paper, and shall be bound to convene an Extraordinary General Assembly to discuss and decide the dissolution of OMAEC.
This Extraordinary General Assembly shall have only this point on its agenda and be convened under the provisions of the present statutes.
The dissolution shall be decided only if a majority of two thirds of the votes allocated to the member organizations is reached.
The vote of the dissolution gives legal power to the Executive Board to proceed to the liquidation of all active and passive OMAEC funds and to decide on the use of the remaining funds and assets for the benefit of a Catholic organization which pursues a similar purpose.
All terms used in these Bylaws such as “Former Student” “Chairman”, “Student”, etc., should be interpreted either as feminine or masculine.
For the interpretation of the statutes the French text will be taken as a reference.
An English and a Spanish version will be made available to all the member organizations and to the Executive Council.

References: Art.11
 Art. 15
 Art. 28
 Art.15
 Art. 15
 Art. 15
 Art. 5