Bylaws (until 06.12.2020)

This version of the Bylaws was approved by the Assembly of Wikimedia Serbia on February 11, 2018

На другим језицима: српски / srpski (sr) Pursuant to Articles 12 and 22 of the Law on Associations (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No. 51/2009 and 99/2011) and Articles 9 of its Bylaws, the Assembly of Wikimedia Serbia, at its session on February 11, 2018 in Belgrade, adopted these amended and restated Bylaws of Wikimedia Serbia Preamble The Association Wikimedia Serbia (hereinafter: the Association) is an independent legal person, internationally formally recognized as a national local chapter, included in the Wikimedia movement. Statement of Purpose Article 1 The Association is a non-governmental, non-party and non-profit association, established for an unlimited period of time in order to develop free knowledge issues. The purpose of the Association is to find the answer to the question how knowledge may become totally free being accessible to all human beings. Goals Article 2 The goal of the Association is to promote and support the creation, development and reproduction of free content free of charge explicitly, and the idea of equal access to knowledge and education. In terms of understanding, the Association deals with free content as a creation licensed to allow free use to all users. In the process of creation, development and reproduction of free content, the software system “wiki” free of charge runs dominantly. The most prominent example of this principle is “Wikpedia” operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Article 3 With the aim to achieve its goals, the Association shall particularly: operate the system for the creation, development and reproduction of free content, and manage its resources for this purpose being focusing on several international Wikimedia's projects; reproduce and support the reproduction of free content in digital or any other formats contributing the development of international Wikimedia's projects; collect, publish and distribute information, and do PR regarding free content; participate in resolving scientific, social, cultural and legal problems related to free content at the national and international level; collect and research scientific and expert literature about information technologies, information society, free content, lexicography, encyclopedism, journalism and other fields included in international Wikimedia's projects; organize and co-organize professional gatherings, advisory meetings, seminars and other forms of professional education in the area of free knowledge; publish pro bono publications on free knowledge issues; co-operate with universities, professional associations and other national and international organizations focusing on free knowledge issues. Name and Headquarters Article 4 The name of the Association in Serbian shall be: Викимедија Србије. The name of the Association in English shall be: Wikimedia Serbia. The Association shall be headquartered in Belgrade. The Association shall carry out its activities within the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Membership Article 5 An individual who accepts the goals and these Bylaws may become a member of the Association. Membership is acquired by signing the membership application form pursuant to Article 6, para. 3 which shall be ratified pursuant to Article 10, para. 1 of these Bylaws. The membership application by a minor who is 14 years of age or above shall be accompanied with a written consent of his/her legal representative ratified pursuant to the law. The membership application for a minor under 14 shall be undertaken by his/her legal representative. Article 6 The Association shall recognize regular members, associate members and honored members. On the proposal of the regular member of the Association, the Assembly shall decide on the admission of an associate to regular membership, with the previously obtained consent of the proposed member. The status of an associate member is acquired by signing the membership application by the person who joined it and by signing and verification from the President of the Association. A decision on a honored membership is taken by the Assembly. Every member may surrender his/her membership by a written consent on the surrender. Regular member may surrender his/her regular membership and become an associate member. A minor may surrender his/her membership without a written consent of his/her legal representative. Membership may be terminated in the event on the member's prolonged inactivity, breach of these Bylaws, violation of the reputation of the Association, or heavy violation of the member's obligations. The decision on termination of membership is taken by the Assembly upon a justified proposal of, at least, three regular members or disciplinary board. Rights and Obligations of the Members Article 7 A regular member is entitled to: participate in the achievement of the goals of the Association on an equal footing with other members; directly take part in the Assembly decision making and take part in the decision making via the Association bodies; vote on the appointment of members in the Association bodies and be appointed to the Association bodies; be timely and fully informed on the work and activities of the Association. An associate member is entitled to: participate in the achievement of the goals of the Association on an equal footing with other members; be timely and fully informed on the work and activities of the Association; elect and be elected to regional and expert sections. A member is duty-bound to: actively contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Association; participate in the activities of the Association according his/her interests; perform other duties entrusted to him/her by the Board; accepts all duties and obligations from the normative acts of the Association Bodies Article 8 Bodies of the Association shall be: Assembly President and Vice President Board Regional Sections Expert Sections Council The Association shall be legally represented by authorized persons that are appointed and dismissed by the Board. Assembly Article 9 The Assembly comprises all regular members of the Association. The Assembly shall meet regularly once a year. An extraordinary Assembly session may be scheduled at the justified proposal of the Board and at the request of at least seven regular members. The request with the draft agenda shall be in writing, justified and addressed to the Board. A session shall be called by the President or any members of the Board in a written form with the place, date and the draft agenda designated. A session shall be moderated by the President, and in case of his absence, the Vice President, the Chairman of the Board or the oldest present regular member of the Assembly. Assembly shall: adopt Bylaws and any amendments to these Bylaws; adopt other general enactments; appoint and dismiss the President, Vice President and the Board members; establish and abolish the Expert Sections and Regional Sections; review and adopt at least once a year The Board Practices Report, expert sections reports and regional sections reports; review and adopt the financial reports; take decisions on statutory changes and the dissolution of the Association; take decisions on association in national and foreign federations and other associations. An Assembly decision shall be valid if the session at which it is taken is attended by at least seven regular members. The Assembly shall take a decision by a majority of votes of the present members. An Assembly decision on statutory changes and the dissolution of the Association shall be valid if it is taken by two-thirds of votes of the present regular members. The Assembly of the Association, when considering The Board Practices Report, may: adopt The Board Practices Report; requests the completion of The Board Practices Report, in which case an extraordinary session of the Assembly shall be scheduled, which must be held within a month, at which the updated Board Practices Report is considered; does not adopt The Board Practices Report, in which case it votes on the trust of the Board. President and Vice President Article 10 The President shall represent the Association, moderate Assembly sessions and ratify the membership application form, and in the event of his/her absence, these functions shall be undertaken by the Vice President. The President and Vice President shall be appointed to two-year terms in office and he/she may be reappointed. Board Article 11 The Board shall be the executive body of the Association and shall be charged with the implementation of the statutory goals of the Association. The Board shall comprise from four to eleven members. The Board shall appoint the Chairperson of the Board from among its members. The members of the Board shall be appointed to two-year terms in office and may be reappointed. Article 12 The Board shall: co-ordinate the work of the Association between Assembly sessions and adopt decisions for implementing the goals of the Association; organize the daily activities of the Association; appoint and dismiss members of the Council, legal representatives and entrust special duties to individual members; adopt financial decisions; make decisions that are binding for the regional and expert sections; decides on the amount of membership fee; decides on other issues for which other bodies of the Association are not authorized, by law or by the Bylaws. A decision of the Board shall be valid if at least half of its members are present at the session and being taken by a majority of votes of the present members. A session may be held over the internal website of the association or by phone and the voting shall be valid if it is ratified by e-mail. Regional Sections Article 13 A Regional Section may be established ad hoc at the national level to achieve the statutory goals of the Association and shall be obliged at least once a year to prepare the written work report and address it to the Board and the Assembly. The Regional Section shall not be a legal person and shall be presented as the regional section of the Association. The Regional Section members must also be the members of the Association. The Regional Section members elect new ones and dismiss existing members of their section. The Regional Sections from the ranks of their members elect the chairman of the section. The mandate of the president of The Regional Section is two years and may be reappointed. Expert Sections Article 14 An Expert Section may be established following the thematic areas. The Expert Section shall provide recommendations, explanations and interpretations regarding some expert fields to the Board and the Assembly, upon request. The Expert Section members must also be the members of the Association. The Expert Section members elect new ones and dismiss existing members of their section. The Expert Sections from the ranks of their members elect the chairman of the section. The mandate of the president of The Expert Section is two years and may be reappointed. Council Article 15 The Council shall be an advisory body and the members shall be appointed from among scientists, artists, experts and other persons in order to improve achieving the goals of the Association. The members of the Council shall be appointed to two-year terms in office and may be reappointed. Transparency Article 16 The work of the Association shall be transparent. The Board shall be charged with regularity notifying the membership and public about the work and activities of the Association, directly or via e-mail, website of the Association -{R|http://rs.wikimedia.org}-, public statements or any other adequate manner. The financial reports and other reports of the activity of the Association shall be addressed to the Assembly. Article 17 With the aim of fulfilling its statutory goals, the Association shall establish contacts and cooperation with other associations, organizations and individuals in the country and abroad. The Association may become a member of other national and international free content associations. Funding Article 18 The Association shall obtain funds from membership fees, grants, donations and by applying for financial supporting its projects implementation. The Association may transfer its financial resources to other non-profit associations. All the financial resources of the Association shall be used to achieve and promote its statutory goals including coverage of the costs of the everyday work in accordance with the normative acts of the Association. Dissolution of the Association Article 19 The Association shall be dissolute by the Assembly decision and in other instances provided by the law. Assets in the Event of Dissolution Article 20 In the event of dissolution, the assets of the Association shall be transfered to the domestic non-profit legal person directed on the same or similar goals which shall be identified by the Assembly in the decision on dissolution. Seal Article 21 The Association shall have a round seal with the following words inscribed: „Викимедија Србије Београд“ along with the stylized human figure centered. Final Provisions Article 22 These Bylaws shall replace the prior Bylaws of the Association adopted on February 19, 2017. Article 23 The Law on Associations shall directly apply to all issues not regulated by these Bylaws. Article 24 These Bylaws shall take effect on the day they are adopted by the Assembly. President of the Assembly, Filip Maljković