Preamble
Considering:
- the general importance of taxation;
- the need for sound curricula in the teaching of taxation at European Universities; and
- the need to study common tax problems with the aim of arriving at solutions;
Recognizing:
- the progressive development of European integration;
- the effects of that integration on national tax systems;
- the harmonization of taxes within the European Union; and
- the increase in cross border movements in Europe;
we, the professors of tax law at European Universities gathered at the Stockholm School of Economics on 10 June 1999, hereby founded the European Association of Tax Law Professors.
Name, legal personality
Article 1
1. The Association shall bear the name European Association of Tax Law Professors. The Association shall possess legal personality under Dutch law.
2. The Association shall have its registered office in Amsterdam.
Objects
Article 2
1. The objects of the Association shall be to contribute to the development of European tax law and to the development of academic teaching and research programmes on European, international, domestic and comparative taxation.
2. The Association shall pursue its objects through cooperation not only with academic institutions but also with other non-profit organizations with similar objects, in particular with the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation in Amsterdam.
Article 3
The Association shall pursue its objects by:
a) supporting the organization of the Annual Congress and other scientific meetings;
b) supporting scientific research projects;
c) assisting members in developing undergraduate and postgraduate tax curricula at Universities throughout Europe;
d) presenting the opinion of the Association to institutions of the European Union and parliaments, governments and tax authorities of European countries.
e) supporting exchange programmes for professors and students of tax law; and
f) all other means conducive to its objects.
Organs of the association
Article 4
The Association shall have the following Organs:
a. the General Assembly;
b. the Executive Board; and
c. the Academic Committee of European Taxation ("Academic Committee").
Membership
Article 5
1. Membership of the Association shall be open to individuals who bear the title of ordinary, extra-ordinary, associate, honorary or retired professor of tax law, and other individuals who have achieved distinction in the field of tax law and fulfil an equivalent academic function in teaching and supervising doctoral candidates at a University in a European country. In the case of a researcher of a high international reputation the Executive Board with the consult of the Academic Committee may in the latter case make exceptions.
2. Associate membership of the Association shall be open to individuals who bear the title of ordinary, extra-ordinary, associate, honorary or retired professor of tax law, and other individuals who have achieved distinction in the field of tax law and fulfil an equivalent academic function in teaching and supervising doctoral candidates at a University in a non-European country. In the case of a researcher of a high international reputation the Executive Board with the consult of the Academic Committee may in the latter case make exceptions.
Article 6
1. Membership and associate membership shall be by invitation of the Executive Board or by application.
2. Application for membership or associate membership shall be addressed to the Executive Board and contain such information about the candidate as the Executive Board shall determine, including recommendation letters from two EATLP (associate) members. The application shall be decided on by the Executive Board and ratified by the General Assembly. If the application is not accepted by the Executive Board the individual concerned may appeal to the General Assembly. The individual shall be admitted as a member or associate member if at least two-thirds of the members present in the General Assembly vote for admission.
Article 7
1. Membership and associate membership shall terminate upon:
a) the member or associate member ceasing to fulfil an academic function, other than because of retirement, with effect from the end of the year concerned;
b) written notice of resignation given by a member or associate member to the Executive Board prior to the year for which the resignation is to be effective; or
c) written notice of termination given by the Association to a member or associate member who fails to pay his or her membership fee.
2. Any member or associate member of the Association who may be guilty of any conduct which in the opinion of the Executive Board renders his or her membership detrimental to the interests of the Association may be requested by the Executing Board to resign and if he or she refuses to do so, may be expelled by a decision of the General Assembly, subject to an opportunity being given to the individual to explain his or her conduct. Such a decision shall require a majority of not less than two thirds of the members present in the General Assembly.
General assembly
Article 8
1. A General Assembly, to which all members and associate members shall be invited, shall be held at least once in every year. All members present at the General Assembly shall have the right to vote.
2. The General Assembly shall be competent to:
a) appoint and dismiss the members of the Executive Board;
b) appoint and dismiss the members of the Academic Committee and their deputies;
c) modify the Articles of Association;
d) adopt the management report and annual accounts prepared by the Executive Board;
e) appoint two members for a period of two years to audit the annual accounts of the Association;
f) decide on the amount of membership subscriptions on a proposal of the Executive Board;
g) decide on questions related to membership;
h) vote on resolutions; and
i) decide on all matters not entrusted to another organ.
3. If a number of members representing at least one tenth of the total membership requests the Executive Board to convene a General Assembly, specifying the subjects to be dealt with, the Executive Board shall be obliged to convene a General Assembly for such purpose within three months of the receipt of the request.
Executive board
Article 9
1. The Executive Board shall consist of five elected members and one ex-officio member. Except for a period of not more than one year the five elected members, other than the treasurer, shall be nationals of different states.
2. The appointment to the Executive Board of the five elected members shall be for a term of three years. An individual may be appointed for a maximum of two successive terms.
3. The Executive Board shall appoint from among its members a Chairman, a Treasurer and the Chairman of the Academic Committee.
4. The Academic Chairman of the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation - provided that he or she is a member of the Association - shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Board and the Secretary of the Association.
Article 10
1. The Executive Board shall be entrusted with the management of the Association. It shall also draw up the agenda for the General Assembly and nominate candidates for appointment to the Academic Committee. It decides on invitations/applications to membership according to Article 6.
2. The Executive Board shall meet at least twice in every year. One such meeting shall be held on the same occasion as the General Assembly.
Academic committee
Article 11
1. The Academic Committee shall consist of one EATLP member per country and the Chairman of the Academic Committee.
2. Appointment to the Academic Committee shall be for a term of three years. An individual may be appointed for a maximum of two successive terms.
3. For each member a deputy member shall be appointed who may participate in meetings of the Academic Committee in the absence of the member concerned.
4. A deputy member shall not be from the same university as the member to whom he is deputy unless there are no other eligible EATLP members in the country concerned.
Article 12
1. The Academic Committee is responsible for the preparation of the scientific programme of the Annual Congress, it proposes scientific projects to the Executive Board and shall supervise the scientific work of the Association.
2. The Academic Committee shall meet at least twice in every year. One such meeting shall be held on the same occasion as the General Assembly.
Financial year and resources
Article 13
The financial year of the Association shall run from first January to thirty-first December inclusive.
Article 14
The financial resources of the Association shall consist of
a. subscriptions from the members and associate members;
b. gifts, bequests and legacies made to it;
c. royalties, fees and other remuneration received for publications and research;
d. the returns from capital invested; and
e. all other income derived by lawful means.
Representation
Article 15
The Association shall be represented at law and otherwise by its Executive Board. The Association shall further be represented at law and otherwise by two members of the Executive Board acting jointly.
General provisions
Article 16
Members of the Executive Board and the Academic Committee shall resign from office on the occasion of the first General Assembly held after they reach the age of seventy.
Article 17
1. Resolutions to alter the Articles of Association or to wind up the Association may be adopted only by the General Assembly by a majority of at least two thirds of the votes cast by the members present.
2. In the event of a winding-up, the Executive Board shall dispose of the assets of the Association in accordance with the objects of the Association.
Annex 1 - Founding members
Founding members of the European Association of Tax Law Professors
Prof. Dieter Birk, Westfalen Wilhelms Universität Münster
Prof. Cyrille David, Université Paris I Sorbonne
Prof. Hubert Hamaekers, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen
Prof. Aage Michelsen, Aarhus School of Business
Prof. Jörg-Manfred Mössner, Universität Osnabrück
Prof. Kees van Raad, Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
Prof. Claudio Sacchetto, Università di Torino
Prof. José Luis Saldanha Sanches, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Prof. Maria Teresa Soler Roch, Universidad de Alicante
Prof. Kari S. Tikka, University of Helsinki
Prof. John Tiley, Cambridge University
Prof. Frans Vanistendael, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Prof. Bertil Wiman, Stockholm School of Economics