CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

(more relevant parts)

CHAPTER I

Name and Purpose

Article I

A Portuguese scientific and technical Association is hereby constituted as a non-profit body and for indeterminate time, designated Portuguese Water Resources Association, and hereinafter referred as APRH.

Article II

The objectives of APRH are:

  1. to further progress of knowledge on the national level, as well as studies and discussion of water resources problems, namely in the fields of water management, planning, development, administration, science, technology, research and education;
  2. to promote and give support to activities in order to obtain co-operation from the interested individuals and entities in creating the suitable institutional framework and means for solving national water resources problems;
  3. to support and participate in actions intended for the dissemination of the basic concepts of a suitable policy for water resources management in Portugal; .
  4. to collaborate with similar foreign organizations and to promote Portuguese participation in international water resources programmes that may be of interest for Portugal.

Article III

In the furtherance of its objectives the APRH has the following activities:

  1. to organize meetings, colloquia, study visits and other similar activities, both on the national and on the international levels;
  2. to encourage launching of programmes of education and training as well as of scientific and technological up-dating;
  3. to promote interdisciplinary and intersectorial activities for the dissemination and knowledge, namely firough the publication of a news-letter;
  4. to promote preparation and publication of works, namely by editing a journal;
  5. to be represented at advisory or decision-making committees formed on the initiative of public or private entities of public utility at the request of these entities;
  6. to set up specialized committees to analyse basic questions within the scope of its activity;
  7. to set up work groups to study specific problems about which APRH has been consulted or on which it should pronounce itself;
  8. to assist the work of the Portuguese Committees of international associations whose objectives are similar to those of APRH, namely the National Committee of IWRA — International Water Resources Association.

CHAPTER II

Membership

Article VII

  1. APRH shall be composed of individual members and collective members.
  2. Scientists, professionals, students and other people concerned with the fields of water resources as indicated in Article II a) may be individual members.
  3. Similar associations as well as the different public or private entities of public utility concerned with national water resources management may be collective members.

CHAPTER III

Organization

Article XIII

APRH shall be organized into the following bodies:

  1. Associative bodies;
  2. Regional Commissions;
  3. Specialized Committees.

Article XV

  1. Only individual members shall be elected as officers of the General Assembly, as for the Executive Board, the Finance Council and the Regional Commissions; only individual members may be chosen as chairmen of Specialized Committees.
  2. Members shall be elected or appointed for a term of two years, this ceasing when the succeeding members take office.
  3. Terms of office can be renewed but one member shall not be elected or nominated for the same office for more than three successive terms.
  4. Not more of two thirds of the outgoing members of each of the associative bodies may be reelected.
  5. Members shall not be obliged to accept election for any statutory office for two successive terms.

Article XVI

  1. A Regional Commission shall be constituted on the iniciative of a group of members who reside in the same geographical region.
  2. For the purpose of the preceding number the following regions shall be considered:
  3. North Region, comprising the catchment basins of Minho, Lima, Cavado, Ave, Douro and Vouga;
  4. Central Region, comprising the catchment basins of Mondego, Liz and Tagus, and of the small rivers that empty into the Atlantic Ocean between the Mondego and Sado mouths;
  5. South Region, comprising the catchment basins of Sado, Mira and Guadiana, and of the remaining rivers that empty south of the Sado mouth and at the littoral of Algarve;
  6. Madeira archipelago;
  7. Azores archipelago.

Article XVII

The Regional Commissions shall have an Executive Board consisting at least of a President and a Secretary-Treasurer, and at the maximum of five members elected from an assembly of the members of the region concerned.

Article XVIIl

The Regional Commissions shall:

  1. dynamize and develop APRH activities in the corresponding regions;
  2. make known APRH and put it in Contact with the regional and local entities concerned with the domain of its activity;
  3. hear opinions and detect specific water resources problems in the region, and inform APRH associative bodies on them.

Article XIX

  1. The Specialized Committees shall be set up, as a rule, on a permanent and interdisciplinary basis.
  2. The activities of the Specialized Committees shall be coordinated by the Executive Board.

Article XX

  1. The Specialized Committees shall be set up following decision of the General Assembly or of the General Council. The latter shall appoint the members of each specialized committee who shall among themselves elect a chairman.
  2. Constitution of a Specialized Committee by the General Council and choice of its members and president shall be submitted to the next General Assembly for approval.
  3. Cultural and editorial activities of the APRH will be carried out by Specialized Committee, as well as the study of basic questions within its scope.

Article XXI

The Executive Board shall be able to set up work groups on a temporary basis, for studying specific problems within the scope of APRH activities, by appointing its members and President.

Article XXII

  1. APRH shall try to coordinate its activity with that of similar international organizations, by giving support to the work of the corresponding national committees.
  2. The National Committees of IWPA may, among its individual members who simultaneously are members of APRH, appoint a representative who shall be a full member of the General Council, the same being possible for other international associations provided that the General Assembly so decides.

CHAPTER IV

Associative Bodies 

Section I — General Assembly

Article XXIII

  1. The General Assembly of members is the sovereign body of APRH, and it shall englobe the members of YWRA fully exercising their rights, convened and meeting in this capacity.

Article XXlV

  1. The General Assembly shall?

    1. elect its chairman and two secretaries, the Executive Board and the Finance Council;
    2. decide upon amendments to these by-laws;
    3. discuss on the acts of the Executive Board, General Council, Regional Commissions and Specialized Committees, and decide upon them;
    4. examine the report and accounts of the past year, which shall be ac-companied by the advice of the Finance Council;
    5. approve or emend rules as to the working of the associative bodies, the election procedure and the admission of new members;
    6. fix the amount of entrance fees and membership dues following proposal of the Executive Board;
    7. ratify the constitution of Regional Commissions;
    8. decide upon or ratify the constitution and composition of Specialized Committees;
    9. decide upon the presence of representatives of the Portuguese Commissions of similar international associations in the General Council;
    10. cancel membership in the ease envisaged in article XX lc);
    11. decide as to the dissolution of the APRH.

 

Section II — General Council

Article XXX

The General Council consists of:

  1. the chairman and secretaries of the General Assembly;
  2. the members forming the Executive Board;
  3. the presidents of the existing Regional Commissions;
  4. the chairmen of the existing Specialized Committees; ‘
  5. representatives of the IWRA National Committee and of any other Portuguese Commission accepted by the APRH General Assembly.

Article XXXI

  1. The General Council shall act as a decision-making and advisory body.
  2. The General Council shall
  1. decide upon the constitution of Specialized Committees;
  2. approve or amend rules of procedure, excepting for those referred to in article XXIV e);
  3. decide upon the allocation of funds to the Regional Commissions and Specialized Committees, following proposal of the Executive Board;
  4. resolve omissions or doubts in these by—laws, and submit their decisions to the next General Assembly;
  5. decide upon the provisional filling of vacancies in the General Assembly officers, Executive Board and Finance Council;
  6. authorize spending of the reserve fund;
  7. advise upon the programme of activities and the budget estimate for the following year, submitted by the Executive Board;
  8. recommend appropriate actions to the Executive Board, and give advice on all affairs put to the General Council by the other associative bodies.

 

Section III – Executive Board

Article XXXIV

The Executive Board consists of a president, two vice-presidents and two vowels.

Article XXXV

The Executive Board shall

  1. represent the APRH;
  2. take all suitable steps to achieve APRH’s aims;
  3. conduct the business of APRH complying with and implementing its by—laws, rules of procedure and the resolutions of the General Assembly and General Council, and administrate assets and funds entrusted to them;
  4. work out or promote the preparation of rules of procedure or amends to them;
  5. prepare the report and accounts for the past year;
  6. prepare the programme of activities and the budget estimate for the next year, and implement them following advice of the General Council;
  7. admit to, suspend, and separate from membership, and propose cancelling of membership;
  8. establish work groups, and coordinate their activities as well as thoseof the Specialized Committees;

Article XXXVI

The Executive Board shall be able to delegate some of their powers to Regional Commissions or Specialized Committees.

Section IV — Finance Council

Article XXXVI

The Finance Council consists of a President, a reporter and a secretary

Article XXXVIII

The Finance Council shall

  1. examine the financial and economic management of APRH by the Executive Board, at least each six months;
  2. give advice on the report and accounts presented by the Executive Board for approval by the General Assembly. 
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