EAA STATUTES

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Statutes were composed by the EAA Statutes Committee and approved by the Inaugural Meeting, 22 September 1994; last revision at the 2022 Annual Membership Business Meeting, September 2022.

Article I: Name and Location

1.       The name of the association shall be the European Association of Archaeologists (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Association’).

2.       The registered office and seat of the Secretariat of the Association (as defined in Art. III.5) shall be located where the Executive Board decides. Since January 2005 the registered office and seat of the Secretariat are located at Archeologický ústav AV CR, Letenská 4, 118 01 Praha 1, Czech Republic.

3.       The Association has the Czech identification number 75043289.


Article II: Aims

The aims of the Association shall be:

1.       To promote the development of archaeological research and the exchange of archaeological information in Europe.

2.       To promote the management and interpretation of the European archaeological heritage.

3.       To promote proper ethical and scientific standards for archaeological work.

4.       To promote the interests of professional archaeologists in Europe.

5.       To promote archaeology to the public, and to raise awareness of archaeology in Europe.

6.       To promote cooperation with other organisations with similar aims.

7.       To promote interest in archaeological remains as evidence of the human past and contributing to our knowledge of human culture and to discourage a focus upon any commercial value that may attach to such material.

  8.    To work for the protection of archaeological remains and cultural heritage, including the prevention of related illegal activities.

  9. To promote friendship and peaceful cooperation of archaeologists.


Article III: Activities and functions

In order to promote the above aims the Association may:

1.       Publish a journal to be called The European Journal of Archaeology and other periodic and non-periodic publications.

2.       Maintain an information service for its Members.

3.       Organise an Annual Membership Business Meeting and Annual Meeting as well as European Archaeology Fair, as well as other conferences and seminars relevant to the aims of the Association.

4.       Function as a monitoring and advisory body on issues relating to European and global archaeology.

5.       Encourage Members to form and to join thematic Communities.

6.       Establish a Secretariat to carry out the activities of the Association and provide services to Members.

7.       Cooperate in technical and administrative terms with the Annual Meeting Host.


Article IV: Language

The official working language of the Association at the Annual Membership Business Meeting and the meetings of the Executive Board shall be English.


Article V: Membership

1.       There shall be the following categories of Full Membership:

a)   Regular (annual)
b)   Family (annual)
c)   Student (annual)
d)   Retired (annual)
e)   Volunteer (annual)

f)    Life

g)   Life family
h)   Corporate individual (annual; Regular, Student or Retired)

i)   Corporate (annual)

j)   Observer (annual)

 

Categories 1 a) to 1 h) are Full Individual Members.

2.       Family Membership is available to two Full Individual Members who assert a relationship. Volunteer Membership is granted to persons who were accepted to serve as a volunteer at an Annual Meeting. Complimentary Observer status is bestowed to individuals who for technical reasons attend to EAA matters but are not subject to membership rights and obligations.

3.       Only Full Individual Members shall have voting rights in the affairs of the Association.

4.       By signing up for membership, a Member agrees to adhere to Association’s Statutes and Codes.

5.       Subscription to The European Journal of Archaeology is included in EAA membership and is regulated in the Handbook.

6.      All changes to membership rates shall be approved by the Annual Membership Business Meeting.

7.       Subscriptions are due before the end of January of each year. A Member who is in arrears with the payment of the Annual Subscription Rate will lose her/his active membership status and voting rights; active membership will be reinstated upon payment of the amount due.

8.       Students and retired individuals shall be eligible to pay reduced membership rates. Reduced rates may also be applied in certain countries.

9.    Membership rights and obligations:

9.1.         Membership rights for all Members:

a) participate in cultural and social activities of the Association,

b) being informed about the Association’s activities,

c) participate in activities, training and seminars in the terms determined for individual events,

d) freely declare their opinion on any matter of legitimate concern to the Association and to submit proposals for Association activities as provided in these Statutes,

e) participate in meetings of the Association bodies, in the terms determined by the Statutes,

f) change the type of their membership, provided that conditions for such change as provided in the Statutes are satisfied,

g) terminate their membership anytime,

e) propose the formation of thematic Communities and participate in existing ones.

9.2 Membership rights belonging to Full Individual Members only:

a) participate in the Annual Membership Business Meeting, Special Meetings and referenda and vote on its decisions,

b) elect and get elected into all elected Association bodies on the terms and conditions hereof.

10.       Membership obligations that shall be complied with by all Members:

a) follow the Association Statutes and Codes,

b) perform resolutions and other decisions of the Association bodies,

c) save, protect and magnify assets serving for the Association to safeguard its activities as well as strive for the Association’s good reputation.

11.       Membership obligations that shall be complied with by Full Members only:

a) pay the respective membership fees as well as other fees related to proper Membership and activities in the Association as decided upon by the respective Association body under the Statutes properly and in time,

b) properly perform the positions and tasks they were elected into, or charged with, or accepted responsibility for.

12.       Corporate membership shall be open to organisations and institutions that undertake to make annual financial contributions to the work of the Association. A Corporate member can nominate up to eleven of its members/employees as Corporate Individual Members (Regular, Student or Retired) for the year of subscription.

13.       Affiliation to EAA shall be open to organisations and institutions with a minimum of 5 Full Individual Members and defined by specific agreement.

14.       The Association will not disclose personal data of Members and affiliates without the consent of the Member or unless required to do so by law.


Article VI: Organisation

1.       The Association constituents are:
a) The Members and the Annual Membership Business Meeting. It decides on the business activity and direction of the development of the Association.

b) The governing body of the Association shall be the Executive Board (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Board’). The Board shall supervise, control, and direct the affairs of the Association, its committees, and publications.

c) The President shall be the statutory body of the Association.

d) Statutory Committees include: Nomination Committee, Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee, Statutes Committee.

2.       Only Full Individual Members of the Association shall be eligible for election to the Board.

3.       The Board shall consist of three or four Officers (President, Incoming President, Treasurer, and Secretary) and six Ordinary Members. The Board shall elect a Vice-President from its voting membership. The Vice-President will serve as an Officer and will remain in the position until the end of his/her elected mandate, and can be re-elected to a second term.

4.       Officers and Ordinary Members shall be elected to the Board for a period of three years. One Officer and two Ordinary Members shall retire from the Board each year at the Annual Membership Business Meeting. The President shall be elected in the year before taking office, and serve as Incoming President for one year. No individual shall serve on the Board for more than two consecutive three-year periods. They shall become eligible for re-election after an interval of three years.

5.       The Board shall be empowered to make co-options to fill the places of elected members, including Officers, who do not complete their full three-year terms of office, where there was no candidate for election or for other reasons that will assist the work of the Board. Such co-options which shall not exceed three in any year shall be effective until the following Annual Membership Business Meeting, at which point the vacancy will be filled by election as described in Article VII.

6.      An Executive Board Member or Officer’s term of office automatically terminates if:

a) their term of office ends;
b) they resign;
c) they cease to be a Full Individual Member;
d) they die.

7.   The Board shall hold at least two meetings each year. Dates, locations and formats of meetings - including digitally assisted remote meetings - shall be proposed by the President and approved by the Board or a majority of the Board. If the President fails to convene the Board, after 9 months have elapsed since the last Board Meeting, it may be convened by joint initiative of three Board members.

8.       Meetings of the Executive Board shall normally be chaired by the President. In the President's absence, the Incoming President (if applicable) shall take the chair. If the President and Incoming President are both absent, the Secretary shall take the chair. If the President, Incoming President and Secretary are all absent, the Treasurer shall take the chair. The quorum for a Meeting of the Executive Board shall be half of its Members plus one, including at least one Officer. Decisions shall be made by simple majority vote. Board Members shall declare any potential conflict of interest and shall be barred from taking part in the discussion and voting on any matter in which they have conflicting interests. In the event of a tied vote, the chair of the meeting shall have the casting vote. The Board may delegate the conduct of the Association's business to the President and other Officers and the Secretariat between meetings, who will act with all due diligence; in any case no commitments to expenditure of more than 50 times the cost of an annual subscription of a Full Regular Member (Category A) may be undertaken without a vote of the Executive Board. Where an urgent business matter arising calls for a decision between Meetings of the Executive Board, voting may take place by electronic means. The Minutes of the Board Meetings will be accessible to Members on the digital platform of the Association.

9.       The Secretary shall be responsible for the preparation of meetings of the Board and the Annual Membership Business Meeting, together with the President, shall oversee the proper recording of the proceedings of meetings, shall ensure that accurate membership records are maintained, and shall ensure that decisions of the Annual Membership Business Meeting, the Board, and the President are implemented.

10.       The business of the Association is regulated by the present Statutes, and detailed in a Handbook. The Handbook's content is approved by the Executive Board and updated regularly by the Secretariat.


Article VII: Rules of Election

1.       A Nomination Committee of four Members shall be elected through a ballot in the normal election process. Nomination Committee Members shall serve for periods of four years, one retiring in rotation each year. No serving member of the Executive Board may be appointed to membership of the Nomination Committee. One position on the Nomination Committee shall be reserved for an early career professional.

2.       Names of candidates for election to the Nomination Committee, supported by at least ten Full Individual Members, must be submitted to the Secretariat at least 150 days before the Annual Membership Business Meeting. Names of the candidates for election to the Board, supported by at least ten Full Individual Members, must be submitted to the Secretariat at least 150 days before the Annual Membership Business Meeting, for consideration by the Nomination Committee.

3.       The Executive Board may propose candidates for election to the Nomination Committee. The names of any candidates proposed by the Executive Board must be submitted to the Secretariat at least 150 days before the Annual Membership Business Meeting.

4.       The Nomination Committee shall check that Executive Board candidates comply with the regulations of the Association and shall reject candidates who do not comply with them. Written reasons for its decisions will be immediately delivered by the Nomination Committee to the Secretariat, at least 120 days before the Annual Membership Business Meeting. The Secretariat will inform the Executive Board and the Candidates. Rejected Candidates may appeal to the Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee. The decision of the Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee shall be final.

5.       The Nomination Committee shall nominate a candidate or candidates for election to each vacant position on the Board. The Nomination Committee will ensure a broad geographical representation with respect to age, institutional affiliation, and gender and editorial expertise where relevant.

6.       Each Full Individual Member shall be entitled to vote for one candidate for each vacant position on the Executive Board and on the Nomination Committee. Voting shall be by secret ballot. Ballot papers shall be mailed to Full Members in good standing by the Secretariat under supervision of the Secretary at least thirty days before the Annual Membership Business Meeting. The Secretary will be responsible for the counting of votes received and shall certify the vote to the Annual Membership Business Meeting.

7.       The method or methods of voting and the method or methods by which ballot papers and information about candidates and voting are communicated to Members will be determined by the Executive Board and may include any or all of the following: ordinary mail, fax, electronic mail, web-sites or using other technical means.


Article VIII: Rules of Exclusion              

1.       Members may be removed from the Association or their membership suspended for:

a)  Activities in violation of the Association’s aims as set out in Article II.

b)  Violations of the Association’s Statutes and Codes.

2.       Decisions regarding removal from or suspension of Membership shall be made by the Board.

3.       Appeals against removal from or suspension of Membership shall be considered by three members of the Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee. The Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee shall consist of at least six Full Members of the Association appointed by the Nomination Committee for terms of three years, renewable without limit. The decision of the Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee shall be final.


Article IX: Meetings and Voting                                      

1.       The Annual Membership Business Meeting of the Association shall be held at such time and place as the Board shall determine.

2.       Special Meetings of the Association may be called by the Board at any time, or shall be called by the President upon receipt of a written request by ten per cent of the paid voting Membership, specifying the purpose of such a Meeting. At such a Meeting, no business shall be transacted except as specified in a notice to Members.

3.       Notice of any Meeting of the Association shall be given to all Full Individual Members not less than sixty days prior to the date thereof. The notice shall be sent to the Members electronically. All documents for any Meeting of the Association will be sent to Full Individual Members electronically at least fifteen days before the Meeting. The Board will decide whether the Meeting will be held with the personal participation of all Members or with the use of technical means. The format of any Meeting shall be stated in the written notice at latest.

  1. At any Meeting of the Association, only Full Individual Members shall have the right to vote. At any Meeting of the Association, voting will be performed per rollam. Voting by proxy is not possible.

5.       Upon the convening of any Meeting of the Association, a quorum for voting shall consist of five per cent of Full Individual Members. A simple majority of votes received shall constitute the deciding vote.


Article X: Publications

1.       The European Journal of Archaeology (EJA) and other periodic and non-periodic publications published by the Association seek to promote open debate amongst archaeologists.

2.       The EJA and other periodic and non-periodic publications shall be produced by an Editorial Board, where relevant.

3.       The Editorial Board shall consist of the Editor and the Ordinary Editorial Board Members. The Editor and the Ordinary Editorial Board Members shall be Full Individual Members of the Association. There shall be not fewer than six and not more than twelve Ordinary Editorial Board Members. The Editor of an EAA publication shall be chairperson of the Editorial Board. The role of the Editor in relation with the Publisher will be determined in the specific Publishing Agreement, approved by the Executive Board and signed by the President.

4.       The Editor of an EAA publication shall be appointed by the Executive Board after advertisement of the position and prior evaluation of the candidates by the Nomination Committee. Ordinary Editorial Board Members shall be appointed by the Executive Board in agreement with the Editor. The Editor shall be appointed for a term of three years, renewable without limit. The Ordinary Editorial Board Members shall rotate on a regular basis, according to a schedule to be determined by the Executive Board.           


Article XI: Prizes and Honours

1.       The Association shall encourage the creation of prizes, awards, and honours relevant to the aims set out in Article II.

2.       The Association shall institute the European Archaeological Heritage Prize, to be awarded periodically to an individual, institution, or local and regional government for an outstanding contribution to the protection and presentation of the European archaeological heritage.

3.       Institutions, organisations, and individuals who give substantial support to the Association may be awarded Honorary Membership.


Article XII: Fiscal and Legal Procedures

1.       The fiscal year of the Association shall be set by the Executive Board.

2.       The Executive Board may receive by devise, bequest, donation, or otherwise either real or personal property, or both, and hold the same absolutely or in trust, and invest, reinvest, and manage the same, and apply the said property and the income arising therefrom to the purposes of the Association, except where restricted by these Statutes.

3.       The income from annual subscriptions and from investment and other sources shall constitute the Working Fund, available for operating, publications, and other current expenses consistent with the objectives of the Association as the Board may direct.

4.       The Board shall adopt a budget each fiscal year.

5.       No Officer or Ordinary Member of the Board acting in that capacity shall receive compensation for services rendered to the Association exceeding the equivalent to half of the cost of the annual subscription of a Full Regular Member (Category A), per year. Insurance costs (if required) and travel expenses personally incurred by Board Members attending to the business of the Association shall be paid by the Association in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted by the Board.

6.       The Treasurer shall provide to the Board bi-annually a report of the finances of the Association. An annual financial report shall subsequently be published by the Board and approved by the Annual Membership Business Meeting as the supreme body in accordance with act. no. 89/2012 Coll.

7.       The Board shall appoint an independent certified public accountant to audit the financial records of the Association and submit an annual audit report.

8.       No financial obligation in excess of funds available shall be assumed by the Board or by any Officer on behalf of the Association except when approved by a two-thirds majority of the Board.  For this purpose, estimated receipts from annual subscriptions and other accounts receivable in the current year may be considered as available funds.

9.       The Board may appoint legal counsel to act as general legal counsel and to advise in the legal affairs of the Association.

10.    The Board may appoint a member or an employee of the Association to act on behalf of the Association for any prescribed purpose, including to act on behalf of the entire Association, for such limited periods as it shall determine, but in no case for longer than a calendar year.

11.    Every Officer, Ordinary Member of the Board, employee of the Association, and such others as may be specified from time to time by the Board shall be indemnified by the Association against all expenses and liabilities, including legal fees, reasonably incurred or imposed upon them in connection with any proceedings to which they may be made a party or in which they may become involved, by reason of being or having been an Officer, Ordinary Board Member, or employee of the Association, or any settlement thereof, whether the individual is an Officer, Ordinary Board Member, or employee at the time such expenses are incurred, except in such cases where the individual is adjudged guilty of wilful misfeasance of malfeasance in the performance of duties. The foregoing right of indemnification shall be in addition to, and not exclusive of, all other rights to which the indemnified may be entitled.


Article XIII: Dissolution

1.       In the event of the dissolution of the Association, any funds or property remaining after the satisfaction of all outstanding debts and liabilities shall not be distributed to Members of the Association but shall be given or transferred to some other body or bodies having aims similar to those of the Association and which prohibit the distribution of income or property among its members. Such body or bodies shall be determined by the Members of the Association at or before the time of dissolution.

 


Article XIV: Amendments

1.       Amendments to these Statutes may be proposed by the Board on its own initiative or upon petition by any fifty Full Individual Members of the Association. Such amendments shall be submitted to the Secretary and reviewed by a Statutes Committee of three Full Individual Members of the Association appointed by the Nomination Committee for eventual submission of the amendments to the Membership at an Annual Membership Business Meeting. The term of office of members of the Statutes Committee shall be three years, consecutively renewable without limit. In case of retirement, or relinquishment for any reason of a member, the post will be re-appointed only for the remaining time of the term.

2.       Amendments to these Statutes shall be approved by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the five per cent quorum of Full Individual Members voting at any Annual Membership Business Meeting or Special Meeting or referendum of the Association duly called, provided written notice of proposed changes have been sent to the Members thirty days before such a Meeting or referendum.