III GENERAL ASSEMBLY
9. The General Assembly is the highest authority of ECU and is competent in all affairs that have not been delegated to another body of the ECU.
10. The General Assembly is comprised of all Members and Associate Members (who have the right to attend and speak but not to vote.) The sessions of the General Assembly are held in public, unless it is decided otherwise by simple majority vote of those present and voting.
11. Members and Associate Members shall appoint one Permanent Delegate each for the purposes of representation at the ECU. Any such Member or Associate Member may revoke at any time the appointment of its Permanent Delegate and may substitute another representative in his stead. All appointments and revocations shall be made in writing.
12. If a Member or Associate Member has not named a Permanent Delegate or given a proxy for the General Assembly then that Member’s President may represent the Member.
13. (a) Every Member or Associate Member may be represented at the General Assembly by the representative (Permanent Delegate or proxy) of another Member.
(b) A proxy can be assigned by a Member or Associate Member to another Member or Associate Member only by written authorisation (email, fax or letter) bearing signature of the President or the Permanent Delegate or the Secretary General authorised by that Member or Associated Member as last registered with the ECU.
(c) All proxies must be registered at the ECU Secretariat at least one hour before the opening session of the General Assembly. After this deadline further proxies will not be accepted.
(d) All proxies for the electoral Assembly (art. 34 (a) ), must be registered at the ECU Secretariat till 17.00 h the latest two days before the opening day of the General Assembly. After this deadline further proxies will not be accepted. The ECU Secretariat shall publish the complete list of those entitled to vote on the ECU website by 17.00 h one day before the opening day of the General Assembly.
(e) Where two or more proxies are received and there is a conflict, the order of precedence shall be as follows:
(i) Proxies received from the President of the Member or Associate Member
(ii) Proxies received from the Permanent Delegate of the Member or Associate Member.
(III) Proxies received from the Secretary General of the Member or Associate Member
Where the order of precedence is established but there is still a conflict, the latest e-mail, fax or letter shall be decisive.
14. (a) A representative of a Member or Associate Member may represent only one additional Member or Associate Member besides his own.
(b) If (and only if) a delegate has been assigned two or more valid proxies, the delegate can reassign the valid proxies over the one he is allowed, under the condition that these proxies provide such power for reassignment to the delegate. A proxy can be re-assigned only to the delegate of another federation in accordance with the art. 13 (c) and 13 (d).
15. Each Member has one vote.
16. The General Assembly is competent to pass resolutions, if it has been convened according to these Articles and if there is, for election, a quorum as required by Article 17.
17. (a) A quorum of 50 % of the Members with the right to vote (including valid proxies) is required for votes on elections or change of Statutes.
(b) If a quorum is not present at the appointed time the President shall postpone the meeting for no more than three hours, following which those Members present will be considered a quorum, provided that no less than 30% entitled to vote shall then be present.
(c) If the quorum in Article 17(b) is still not fulfilled, an extraordinary General Assembly correctly convened after this General Assembly, may decide on the relevant elections and set out in the previous agenda regardless of the number of Members present.
18. Votes (other than those for elections which are by secret ballot) are made by show of hands unless a roll call is demanded by any Member or unless five Members present demand a secret ballot. For secret ballots the Board will select two scrutineers (who are not candidates for election if the relevant vote is for an election) from amongst the Members to act to check eligibility to vote and count the votes.
19. Unless indicated to the contrary in these Articles, all decisions at the General Assembly shall be passed by a simple majority of votes of those present and voting.
20. Resolutions passed in the form of a recommendation, are not binding on Members
21. The invitation to the annual General Assembly must be issued to Members and Associate Members by the President four months before the beginning of the General Assembly and this may be done by publication on the ECU website.
22. The place and date of the annual General Assembly is decided by the previous General Assembly or in default or emergency by the Board.
23. Proposals from Members to be included in the agenda for the General Assembly must reach the Secretary General not later than three months before the beginning of the General Assembly.
24. The proceedings of the Annual General Assembly shall include: Reports by the President and General Secretary; approval of the previous year’s minutes; the presentation, discussion and approval of the ECU’s accounts for the preceding financial year by the Treasurer.
25. Any Member shall have the right to raise any question or to move for discussion only any motion having reference to any of the Objects of the ECU as defined in the Memorandum of Association.
26. The agenda, together with the relevant documents, shall be sent out to Members and Associate Members, six weeks before the beginning of the General Assembly.
27. If the General Assembly is scheduled to be held in the same period as the FIDE Congress, the agenda, together with the relevant documents, shall be sent according the article 26.
28. (a) An Extraordinary General Assembly shall be convened by the President upon the request of one third of the Members or majority of the Board. Such request, which shall be in writing, shall state the object for the convening of the meeting.
(b) The Extraordinary General Assembly shall convene within one month of such request. The agenda shall be sent out within two weeks of such request.
(c) The Extraordinary General Assembly is able to modify the Memorandum and Articles of Association, decide on dissolution of the ECU as well dealing with items of which due notice has been given.
(d) At an Extraordinary General Assembly, all Members have the right to take part in votes irrespective of any financial obligations outstanding.
29. The President, or in his absence, the Deputy President, presides over the General Assembly.
30. The General Assembly has the following duties that cannot be delegated to another body:
(a) Election of the Board and of the Auditor(s);
(b) Vote on the annual accounts and discharge of the Board;
(c) Annual budget;
(d) Introduction of new regulations or amendments to existing Financial, Tournament and other Regulations;
(e) Award of ECU tournaments and events;
(f) Acceptance of new Members and Associate Members;
(g) Termination of membership pursuant to Article 7; and
(h) Termination of Board membership pursuant to Article 37 or 38.