Constitution
of
the South and West Asian Regional Branch of the International Council on
Archive(SWARBICA)
SWARBICA operates under the Constitution of the South and West Asian
Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (SWARBICA) adopted at
the branch's inaugural conference, New Delhi, 1976 (published in SWARBICA
Journal, vol. 1 no. 1, 1978) as below:
WHEREAS
Article 10 of the Constitution of the International Council on Archives provides
that Archivists of the major extra-European geographic area wishing to
strengthen their collaboration may group themselves into international
associations forming regional branches of the International Council on Archives;
and
WHEREAS assembled at the inaugural conference held at New Delhi on the 11
December, 1976, we, whose signatures are affixed at the end, representing the
countries mentioned therein are desirous of forming a regional branch of the
International Council on Archives consisting of the countries in South and West
Asian region with the objects and functions consistent with the constitution and
activities of the International Council on Archives;
NOW
THEREFORE the inaugural conference hereby, adopts the following Constitution:
Name
1.
The name of the Organisation shall be South and West Asian Regional Branch
of the International Council on Archives, hereinafter to be mentioned as
SWARBICA.
Aims
and Objects
2.
The aims and objects of SWARBICA shall generally be:
(a)
to establish, maintain and strengthen
relations between archivists of all countries in the region; and between all
institutions, professional bodies and organisations which are concerned with the
custody, organisation, administration or utilisation of archives, whether in
public or private possession;
(b)
to promote all measures for the
preservation, protection and defence against all manners of hazards of the
archival heritage of the region, and to further the progress of all aspects of
the administration and conservation of these archives;
(c)
to promote and co-ordinate the efforts
by the countries in the region with a view to completing the national archival
heritage by appropriate methods;
(d)
to provide increasing facilities to the
accredited scholars to use the archives of the region;
(e)
to promote, organise and co-ordinate
activities in the maintenance, utilisation and conservation of archives
in the region;
(f)
to sponsor professional training of
archivists in the region;
(g)
to co-operate with other organisations
or institutions concerned with the use of that documentation for the benefit of
mankind;
(h)
to organise seminars, symposia and
other meetings, on specific themes of mutual interest to the member countries in
the region;
(i)
to obtain international assistance for
archival development of the countries in the region; and
(j)
to generally follow the aims and
objectives of the International Council on Archives.
Membership
3.
The membership of SWARBICA shall be confined to the countries in South and West
Asia, and shall be of the following categories:
(I) National Members:
Such national archives directorate or principal archival authorities in the
countries in the region, as are members of the International Council on
Archives, shall be eligible to become National Members of SWARBICA.
(II) Institutional Member:
Such institutions in the region including libraries and universities, as are
concerned with the custody, organisation and administration of archives and
archival material shall be eligible to become members of SWARBICA.
(III) Individual Members:
Any professional archivist or other individuals interested in archives are
eligible to become Individual Members and to attend the meetings of SWARBICA as
Observers. Such members shall not have the right to vote.
(IV) Honorary Members:
Nationals of South and West Asia, who have made outstanding contributions in the
archival field, or who have rendered significant service to the archive
profession, may be elected as Honorary Members of SWARBICA by the General
Conference. The number of such members shall be determined by the General
Conference from time to time. Honorary members shall not have the right to vote.
Membership Fees
4.
Membership dues of each category of members shall be determined by the
General Conference.
No fees shall be paid by the Honorary
Members.
Suspension and Withdrawal of Membership
5.
The National Members of SWARBICA,
suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership of the
International Council on Archives shall, upon the request of the latter, be
similarly suspended from SWARBICA.
6.
Any member may withdraw from SWARBICA
by giving a notice in writing to the Chairman/Secretary-General. Such notice
shall take effect on 31st December of the year during which notice was given. No
such withdrawal shall effect the financial obligations owed to the SWARBICA on
the date the withdrawal takes place.
Implementing Machinery
7.
SWARBICA shall function through a General Conference, an Executive Board
and a Secretariat in the manner prescribed hereinafter.
(A)
General Conference
8.
The General Conference shall comprise
representatives of the National Members, and Institutional Members, and also
Individual Members and the Honorary Members.
9.
The General Conference shall determine
the policies and activities of SWARBICA, and shall take decisions on programmes
submitted to it by the Executive Board.
10. The General Conference may appoint
such Standing Committees or Groups as are considered necessary for achieving any
of the objects laid down in Article 2.
11.
The General Conference shall confirm
the National nominations for membership of the Executive Board and shall elect
the office-bearers, from among the National, Institutional and Individual
Members
12.
The presence of a majority of the
National Members at the General Conference shall constitute a quorum.
13.
Each National Member shall have one
vote and all the Institutional Members of a country collectively shall cast one
vote in the General Conference. The majority of such members present and voting
at a meeting shall decide an issue.
14.
The General Conference may prevent a
National Member from voting if the total amount of contributions due from him
exceeds the total amount of contributions payable by him for the current year
and the immediately preceding calendar year.
15.
The General Conference shall ordinarily
meet biennially. It may, however, meet in extraordinary session, if it considers
it necessary, or if summoned by the Executive Board, or on the demand of at
least two-thirds of the National Members.
16.
At each General
Conference the venue of its next meeting shall be decided,
excepting in the case of extraordinary sessions, which shall be decided by the
Executive
Board.
(B)
Executive Board
17.
The Executive
Board shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary-General,
a Treasurer, and as many other members as may be necessary to represent
each
country on the Executive Board.
18.
The tenure of
members of the Executive Board shall be from the close of the
session of the General Conference which elected them until the end of the next
ordinary
session.
19.
In the event of
death or resignation of a member of the Executive Board, the
vacancy
for the unexpired portion of his term shall be filled by the Executive Board.
20.
The Executive
Board shall prepare the agenda for the General Conference and
shall recommend for its consideration programmes of work and corresponding
budget
estimates.
21.
The Executive
Board may appoint ad-hoc groups for professional and organisational
purposes.
22.
The Executive Board shall be
responsible for the execution of the programme adopted by the General
Conference.
23.
The power to
admit new members shall be exercised by the Secretary-General
on behalf
of the Executive Board in accordance with the terms of Article 3.
24.
The Executive
Board shall receive and consider the proposals submitted by any
member.
25.
The Executive Board shall have power to
adopt its own rules of procedure, subject to the approval of the General
Conference.
26.
The Executive
Board shall ordinarily meet at least once a year, and may meet
in special session if convened by the Chairman on his own initiative, or upon
the request
of the
majority of the members of the Executive Board.
27.
The Executive
Board shall send a report on its activities to reach the Executive
Secretary of the International Council of Archives three months before the date
fixed for the meeting of the International Council on Archives Executive
Committee.
28.
The presence of
the majority of the members at a meeting of the Executive
Board
shall form the quorum.
(C)
Secretariat
29.
SWARBICA shall have a Secretariat
consisting of such staff as may be required, which shall function as its
administrative office. Its location shall be decided by the General Conference.
30.
The
Secretary-General shall act as the executive head of the Secretariat, and shall
be responsible to the Chairman and the Executive Board. *
31.
The Secretariat shall administer and be
the custodian of all the properties of SWARBICA.
32.
Custody of the archives created by
SWARBICA, including current files, shall remain with the Secretariat, wherever
located.
Budget
and Finance
33.
The Executive Board shall prepare a
biennial budget of SWARBICA and place it before the General Conference for its
approval.
34.
The Treasurer, with the approval of the
Executive Board, may receive donations, gifts, bequests and subventions
directly from international organisations, governments, public and private
institutions and associations, or from individuals.
35.
The Treasurer shall present to the
Executive Board an annual audited statement of account of SWARBICA, copies of
which shall be furnished to the National and Institutional Members.
Journal
36.
SWARBICA shall publish an archives
journal at least once a year.
37.
The Executive Board shall appoint an
Editorial Committee with an Editor, who may or may not be a member of the
Executive Board.
Relations with the International Council on Archives
38.
SWARBICA shall work in close
collaboration with the International Council on Archives and its organs in the
pursuit of their common aims and objectives.
39.
The Chairman of SWARBXA shall be an
ex-officio member of the Executive Committee of the International Council on
Archives, as provided in Article 11 of the Constitution of ICA.
40.
SWARBICA shall represent the
International Council on Archives in the region.
41.
SWARBICA shall invite the President of
the International Council on Archives,
or his nominee, to attend the meetings of the Executive Board and the General
Conference.
Amendments
42.
Amendments to the Constitution shall
become effective upon receiving the
approval of the General Conference by two-thirds of the members present and
voting.
The draft texts of the proposed amendments shall be circulated by the
Secretary-General
to the National and Institutional Members at least three months in advance for
consideration by the General Conference.
Interpretation
43.
The official language of SWARBICA will
be English. The English text of this Constitution shall be regarded as
authoritative.
Delegates
Observers
Sd/- K.M.
Karim
(
Sd/- S.N. Prasad (India) Sd/- Heinz Boberach Sd/-C.Parham(Iran)
Sd/- Shaphalya Amatya (Nepal)
Sd/- A.
Dewaraja
(Sri Lanka)
Signed in
the presence of Mr. Charles Kecskemeti, Executive Secretary of the International
Council on Archives, representing the President of the ICA.
Sd/- C.
Kecskemeti
Category V was added to SWARBICA
membership, to Article 3 of Constitution.
(In Third Meeting of SWARBICA
Executive Board 22nd January, 1979, Colombo)
(V)
Associate Members: -Any institution or individual not belonging to any country
in South and West Asia, but having genuine interest in the aims and objects of
SWARBICA, shall be eligible to become an Associate Member of SWARBICA. The
number of such members shall be determined by the General Conference from time
to time. The Associate Members shall have neither the right to vote nor a
position in the Executive Board.
Article 17 was changed in Third
Meeting of SWARBICA Executive Board 22nd January, 1979, Colombo
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Existing Clause
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Amendment |
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The Executive Board shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a
Secretary General, a Treasurer, and as many other members as maybe
necessary to represent each country on the Executive Board. |
"The Executive Board shall consist of
a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Secretary General, a Treasurer, and all
National Members not included amongst them"
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