Rules of the IFAJ

1. The Constitution and Rules shall be maintained in the official languages of English, German and French. The IFAJ Executive Committee may establish working languages for IFAJ events and communications. Working languages must always include at least one of the IFAJ official languages, and may include additional languages other than the official languages.

2. Every application by an agricultural journalist association for membership in the IFAJ shall be made in writing, in one of the official languages, and shall be addressed to the Secretary General.

3. With the application for Member Association membership, all applicants must supply a signed statement that they have read the Statutes of the IFAJ and agree to observe and act in accordance with it. Additionally, an association applying for Member Association membership must provide a copy of its current constitution, together with such information about the association and its activities as the IFAJ may request.

4. The Executive Committee is responsible for prior consideration of every application for Member Association membership. The Executive Committee will refer all applications for Member Association membership to the Membership Subcommittee (Rule 31) for consideration, investigation when necessary, and recommendation to the Executive Committee as to its decision. It shall be duty of the Regional Vice President (Rule 26) for the applicant’s region to gather the required information for membership and to make appropriate recommendations to the Subcommittee, after which the Committee shall expedite its consideration and recommendation, and apply a written report. Copies of this report shall be made known to all Executive Committee members in advance of the Committee's vote. After the Membership Subcommittee’s decision is made, a copy of its report shall be recorded by the Secretary General for future reference and record.

5. All applications for membership must receive approval from at least a two-thirds majority of the Executive Committee members present for the application to be forwarded to the next Delegate Assembly with a recommendation for approval. A majority vote of at least two-thirds of the Delegates present is required to accept an applicant as a Member Association (Constitution Article 7).

6. The Delegate Assembly reserves the right to reject an application or refer the application back to the Executive Committee for further consideration.

7. No appeal against the decision of the Delegate Assembly to reject an application for Member Association membership will be accepted. This does not restrict a non-member association from making a new application for membership after an interval of one year or more.

8. The applicant shall be notified in writing, by the Secretary General, of the Delegate Assembly’s decision following the acceptance or rejection of an association’s application for membership.

9. The Executive Committee shall, when necessary, review the list of all Member Association members, as supplied by the Secretary General, and recommend to the Delegate Assembly any changes considered necessary in the status of any Member Association.

10. The Secretary General shall report to the Executive Committee any Member Association more than six months in arrears in the payment of its annual dues. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to remove from the membership roll any Member Association that is more than twelve months in arrears. The Member Association concerned shall have the right of appeal to the next Delegate Assembly, whose decision shall be final. Any Member Association more than twelve months in arrears shall in no case have voting rights at a Delegate Assembly or a meeting of the Executive Committee.

11. A Member Association also may be dismissed for a serious breach of the Statutes of IFAJ, or for behavior or conduct considered to bring, or liable to bring, discredit on the IFAJ or the profession of agricultural journalism. The Executive Committee is responsible for prior consideration of any such proposal to dismiss a Member Association. A recommendation by the Executive Committee to dismiss a Member Association shall be valid only if approved by at least a two-thirds majority of its members present. If the Executive Committee votes to recommend dismissal of a Member Association, that recommendation shall then be presented to the next Delegate Assembly. A majority-vote of at least two-thirds of the Delegate Assembly present is required for dismissal of a Member Association for serious breach of the Statutes of IFAJ, or for behavior or conduct considered to bring, or liable to bring, discredit on the IFAJ or the profession of agricultural journalism.

12. No appeal against a decision of the Delegate Assembly to dismiss a Member Association can be accepted. No appeal can be made directly to the Executive Committee prior to its presentation of a recommendation to dismiss to the Delegate Assembly. This does not debar a dismissed Member Association from making a new application for membership after one year or more.

13. The Delegate Assembly is convoked by the Secretary General to the order of the Executive Committee and by letter containing copies of the agenda and resolutions, which shall be dispatched in time to be received by the secretary of each Member Association and each Executive Committee member at least one month prior to the date of the relevant Delegate Assembly. Together with these notices to secretaries shall be sent a request for their Member Associations to notify the Secretary General in writing, or e-mail, at least 14 days prior to the Delegate Assembly, of the names of their intended delegates with the proviso that substitution of any delegate must be notified to the Secretary General by the Member Association at latest one day prior to the meeting, and in writing.

14. Each Member Association shall receive copies of the convocation, agenda and resolutions for the Delegate Assembly equal to the number of delegates to which it is entitled, plus one copy for its own records.

15. The numbers of delegates to which each Member Association is entitled is determined using the scale in the IFAJ Constitution (Article 11).

16. A special Delegate Assembly may be convened to consider any urgent or particular business affecting the interests or activities of the IFAJ, by a decision of the Executive Committee, or on the demand in writing of more than half of the Member Associations (Article 11). Such a special meeting shall be convoked in accordance with Rules 13 and 15.

17. The President of the IFAJ presides over the Delegate Assembly. In the event of the President's absence the Vice President or Immediate Past President, in that order of precedence, shall preside; or in their absence the delegates shall elect another member of the Executive Committee for that purpose.

18. Except for delegates of Member Associations and members of the Executive Committee, no one shall participate in a Delegate Assembly except by invitation of the Presidium. Guests may attend assemblies but shall not speak unless invited by the Presidium. Guests shall not vote on any issue.

19. The first item of business of every Delegate Assembly, shall be a roll-call of the Member Associations and the names of their delegates present, also the Immediate Past President and other members of the Executive Committee present. The roll-call shall be performed by the Secretary General, or in his/her absence a person designated by the President. In response, the persons named shall acknowledge their presence as requested by the Secretary General.

20. Except when voting concerns the acceptance or dismissal of a Member Association, or amendments or alterations of the Constitution, or dissolution of the IFAJ, when a majority vote of at least two-thirds of the delegates present is necessary; all decisions of the Delegate Assembly shall be determined by a simple majority of votes cast by those present, provided there is a quorum (Article 12). Except for the election of the Presidium (Rule 36) and Auditor, voting shall normally be by means of a show of hands but a secret ballot on any resolution can be decided upon by a simple majority of those present. In the event of a tie vote on any resolution,the Chairman of the Assembly shall cast the deciding vote.

21. With the exception of motions to adopt the minutes, activities report, annual accounts and budget, every subject for discussion by the Delegate Assembly shall be presented in the agenda in the form of a resolution together with the name of the proposer, either a Member Association or the Executive Committee, subject to the proviso that the Executive Committee can submit any matter of emergency business arising after the mailing of the agenda for addition to the agenda when the agenda is being presented for the Assembly's approval,.

22. The appointment by a Member Association of its representative on the Executive Committee is for an unlimited period of time subject only to the discretion of the Member Association concerned. In the event that a permanent representative is unable to attend a meeting of the Executive Committee, or for any other good reason, the Member Association concerned may appoint a substitute.

23. The responsibilities of the individual members of the Executive Committee are to:

a) represent the interests of the Member Association that appointed or elected them to the Executive Committee.

b) attend and participate in Executive Committee meetings and provide the Executive Committee and the Presidium with information requested.

c) be responsible for keeping their Member Associations and its leaders informed about the activities of IFAJ, its programs and services, and requests.

d) contribute information or articles, or take action to ensure that such information is provided, for the IFAJ newsletter and other IFAJ member communications.

24. In all Executive Committee meetings the President, Vice President, Secretary General, Treasurer and the Immediate Past President (during one year after leaving office) have full voting and other rights equal to those of a Member Association's representative.

25. In fulfilling the requirements of Article 14, the duties of the Executive Committee are:

a) accomplishing the current business of the IFAJ;

b) establishing the agenda and convoking the Delegate Assembly;

c) presenting to the annual Delegate Assembly an Activities Report on the year's work of the Executive Committee and activities in general of the IFAJ, also an audited statement of the Annual Accounts as a December 31st of the previous year and the draft Budget for the ensuing 12 months;

d) submitting to the annual Delegate Assembly any applications for membership or proposal to dismiss any Member Association with, in all cases, a recommendation for the Delegate Assembly's decision;

e) reviewing annually, at its first meeting of the new calendar year, the list of Association Members submitted by the Secretary General and deciding on any recommendations to the next annual Delegate Assembly for a change in the status of any Member Associations;

f) recommending to the annual Delegate Assembly any change or changes it considers necessary in the annual membership fees;

g) carrying out decisions of the Delegate Assembly made in conformity with the Constitution;

h) maintaining a listing of contacts for the Member Associations and making them available to members in hard copy and/or online (Constitution Article 21);

i) producing and issuing the IFAJ Press Cards (Constitution Article 22);

j) establishing and guiding Special Interest Groups of agricultural journalists (Constitution Article 23);

k) maintaining a Web site and preparing, publishing and circulating periodic newsletters, bulletins, leaflets and other information concerning the interests and activities of the IFAJ and its members (Constitution Article 8) as may be determined by the Executive Committee;

l) appointing a Membership Subcommittee (Rule 31)

m) selecting the host associations for the annual Congresses (Constitution Article 17);

n) planning, in conjunction with the host member association, the annual Congress and especially that part concerned with arrangenents of the Executive Committee and Delegate Assembly;

o) establishing rules and appointing managers for the professional improvement contests;

p) ensuring the fulfillment of the requirements of the IFAJ's Constitution and Rules in all respects additional to those previously specified;

q) undertaking any other duties not specified in this Rule but which are considered necessary to the interests of and on behalf of the IFAJ.

26. The Executive Committee shall elect Regional Vice Presidents from among the representatives of Member Associations on the Executive Committee (Constitution Article 14). The election shall take place at the first Executive Committee meeting following the Delegate Assembly meeting where an election for President is conducted. Regional Vice Presidents serve at the pleasure of the Executive Committee. A Regional Vice President’s duties are to:

a) encourage individual agricultural journalists that do not have an organized association in their region to organize and join IFAJ as Member Associations;

b) serve on the Membership Subcommittee (Rule 31) when an association from his/her region is being considered for membership, and assist the Sub-Committee as described in Rule 31.

c) encourage professional and personal contacts among agricultural journalists in the region.

27. The Executive Committee shall be convoked by the President at least once and preferably twice or more frequently every calendar year. The Executive Committee may be convoked on demand in writing signed by at least five of its members specifying the business to be submitted, when the Presidium shall decide on the date, place and time of the meeting and convoke it. With every convocation of a meeting of the Executive Committee, a copy of the agenda shall be supplied to each member of the said Committee.

28. The President of IFAJ presides at all the meetings of the Executive Committee. If the President is unable to act, the chair shall be taken by the Vice President or Immediate Past President in that order; or if necessary, otherwise by another member of the Executive Committee whom the meeting shall elect for the purpose.

29. Every item of business considered by the Executive Committee must be put to vote and the number of votes for and against, and abstentions, shall in each case be recorded in the minutes.

30. The Executive Committee is empowered to make decisions when it has a quorum. A quorum is reached when at least half the possible Executive Committee members are present. Normally, the mode of voting should be by show of hands, but a secret ballot may be agreed upon for voting on any item of business. In making all decisions, with the exception of voting on acceptance or dimissal of a Member Association, a simple majority of votes in favor shall be required. In the event of a tie vote on any item of business, the chairman of the meeting shall exercise the deciding vote.

31. The Executive Committee shall appoint from among its members, other than the President and Secretary General, a permanent Membership Subcommittee comprised of four persons. The Subcommittee shall include the Vice President, two members of the Executive Committee and the appropriate Regional Vice President for the region of the world from which each application originates. The Vice President shall chair the Subcommittee.

32. In the calendar year of an election for President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary General, the Executive Committee may nominate a person for each office and these nominations shall be included, along with those submitted by Member Associations, in the agenda for the elective Delegate Assembly.

33. At least annually a list of names, mailing addresses, telephone and telefax numbers, and e-mail addresses of all members of the Executive Committee shall be prepared, amended as may be necessary and circulated to all members of the Executive Committee.

34. The President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary General make up the Presidium. The Presidium is entrusted with ensuring the fulfillment of the direction and decisions of the Executive Committee.

35. The duties of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary General are as follows:

a) The President shall preside at all Delegate Assembly, Executive Committee and Presidium meetings. He/she shall be responsible for administering the affairs of the IFAJ as directed or authorized by the Executive Committee. And, he/she shall appoint special committees required to carry out the activities of IFAJ.

b) The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or at the direction of the President. The Vice President shall chair the Membership Subcommittee (Rule 31). The Vice President also shall assist in such work of the Executive Committee as the Executive Committee may determine.

c) The Treasurer is responsible for:

1) receipt, disbursement and accounting of all funds and other items of value belonging to IFAJ;

2) preparation and presentation of a financial statement at each IFAJ official business meeting;

3) submitting an annual statement of the accounts (Rule 41) to the Auditor; and

4) drafting and presenting (Rule 41) an annual budget to the Executive Committee for consideration and approval.

d) The Secretary General shall:

(1) notify delegates and Executive Committee members in writing of the time and place of all meetings and the agenda for these meetings in advance of all meetings;

(2) make accurate recordings and distribution of proceedings of all Delegate Assembly, Executive Committee and Executive Group meetings;

(3) organize the elections of the Presidium’s officers;

(4) organize the elections of the Regional Vice Presidents (Rule 26);

(5) maintain an up-to-date list of Executive Committee members, and contact information of Member Associations; maintain all IFAJ files including minutes, correspondence and archives;

(6) be the primary contact for applications for membership (Constitution Article 7), coordinate the membership application process to include notifying applicants of the approval or rejection of their applications; and

(7) notify Member Associations of dues payment deadlines, oversee collection of dues, and maintain accurate records of dues payments.

36. Notice of the dates of opening and closing of nominations for the office of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary General shall be given by letter to the secretariats of all active Member Associations by the Secretary General at least one month prior to the opening of nominations.

37. Nominations for President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary General can only be made by Member Associations and the Executive Committee. Nominations from the associations must be delivered in writing to the Secretary General at least two months prior to the convocation of the elective Delegate Assembly, in the agenda for which notice of each nomination and the nominators shall be given. Every nomination for the Office of President, Vice President, Treasurer and/or Secretary General must include a brief biographical reference of the person nominated, to include name, professional status and present employment, age, activities in a national association and the IFAJ, and any other activities and responsibilities likely to be of relevant value. The nominees for President and Vice President must be engaged full-time in, or earn most of their income, from the practice of agricultural journalism as defined in Constitution Article 1. Their biographies must be included in the notice of the nominations distributed with the agenda for the Delegate Assembly.

38. If only one candidate is nominated for any of the elective offices, the election can be effected by a show of hands of the electors present. Otherwise, the election must take place by secret ballot and can be effected only by an absolute majority of valid votes. Should a second ballot be necessary, it shall be confined to the two candidates securing the highest number of valid votes in the first ballot and shall be decided by simple majority. In the event of a tie vote, the chairman of the meeting shall cast the deciding vote.

39. The procedure for voting by secret ballot shall be (l) to conduct a count of all those present and for the chairman to announce the number of electors present; (2) for the meeting to elect any necessary number of scrutineers to conduct the election; (3) for the scrutineers to distribute a voting slip to each elector present including themselves; (4) for the chairman to announce the names of all candidates nominated; (5) for the electors to vote by printing in capital letters or marking on the voting slip the name of the candidate of their choice; (6) for the scrutineers to collect all the voting slips and carry out the counting of the votes; (7) for the scrutineers to deliver to the chairman of the meeting a list, signed by every scrutineer, of all the candidates and the total number of valid votes cast for each candidate as well as the total of any invalid votes cast; (8) for the chairman, when it is necessary, to add the deciding vote; (9) for the chairman to announce the name of the candidate receiving the highest number of valid votes but not the number of votes cast for any candidate.
(Note: The number of votes cast for all candidates shall be known only to the chairman of the meeting, the Secretary General and the scrutineers, who shall preserve this information as confidental.) After the election, every voting slip and the signed report from the scrutineers shall be filed and retained.

40. In the event of the President being nominated for re-election, he/she shall vacate the chair for the election process. The chair shall then be occupied by a person who has not been nominated for the office, the Vice President, or Immediate Past President in that order of precedence; or another member of the Executive Committee whom the meeting shall elect for the purpose. If it is decided to proceed with any other item/s on the agenda while the votes are being counted, for this business the President shall resume the chair. When counting has been completed, the acting chairman shall preside for the completion of the election procedure.

a) The IFAJ President is eligible to serve in that office for a maximum of two consecutive two-year terms.

b) The IFAJ Vice President is allowed to serve in that office for a maximum of three consecutive two-year terms.

c) If a Vice President assumes the Presidency as a result of the President leaving office before his/her term is completed, the time the Vice President serves to complete the departing President’s term will not count towards the new President’s term limit.

d) The terms of office of the President, Secretary General, Vice President and Treasurer begin immediately after the conclusion of the IFAJ Annual Congress during which they are elected.

The Executive Committee is responsible for selecting the hosts for the annual Congresses and for monitoring that they are following the Annual Congress Guidelines.

41. The IFAJ's financial year corresponds with the calendar year and as soon as possible after the close of each financial year theTreasurer shall submit to the Auditor a statement of the Annual Accounts. The Treasurer also shall prepare a proposed Budget for the ensuing calendar year to be presented to the Executive Committee for its consideration and approval.

42. Any Member Associtation proposing an alteration in the IFAJ Constitution must give the Executive Committee advance notice, in writing, of their intention and stating whether recession, amendment or the introduction of a new article or articles is proposed and, in the case of amendment/s or new article/s, producing the proposed wording of same. The Executive Committee can, but only with the consent of the proposer, alter the wording of any proposed amendment/s or new article/s as it considers fitting and whether or not it alters the proposal/s it must submit it/them to the Delegate Assembly with a recommendation for the Assembly's decision. A proposer may speak in support of any proposed alteration in either or both the Executive Committee and Delegate Assembly.

43. The formulation and alteration of the Rules of the IFAJ are responsibilities of the Executive Committee. When any alteration to the Rules has been effected it shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to inform all IFAJ Member Associations of the particular change or changes as soon as possible. Any alteration of the Rules can be accepted only by a two-thirds vote of those present at the Executive Committee meeting during which the decisive vote is taken.

44. Contacts for each Member Association and the Presidium will be made available to members on the IFAJ Web site.

45. The Executive Committee is responsible (Rule 25) for overseeing the issuing of the IFAJ Press Card to agricultural journalists, defined in Constitution Article 1, who are members of IFAJ Member Associations. The Executive Committee shall determine the Press Card’s format, style/wording, and the period of its validity.

46. Special Interest Groups of IFAJ journalists may be formed by the Executive Committee at its discretion for the purpose of providing the Group's members with opportunities for obtaining information in depth on the journalists' specified particular subjects (i.e. mechanization, livestock breeding, forestry, etc.) named by them at the time of registering. Any IFAJ Member Association is at liberty to propose to the Executive Committee the formation of a Special Interest Group.

47. Each Special Interest Group shall have a Group Leader elected by the members of the Group or appointed by the Executive Committee to assist it by acting in liaison in such matters as arranging on the Executive Committee' s behalf events and terms of participation in them and acting as the Group's leader and spokesman in all other respects.