CONSTITUTION OF KELI
ARTICLE 1: NAME
| 1.1 | The name of the Organization shall be “KELI” – (an Indo-Swiss Socio - Cultural Organization in Switzerland), in accordance with the “Article 60ff. ZGB” with the registered office in Schlieren. |
| 1.2 | The address of the registered office of KELI shall be KELI, Postfach 20, 8952 Schlieren |
ARTICLE 2: LANGUAGES
| 2.1 | The Official Languages of KELI are Malayalam, Hindi, English and German |
ARTICLE 3: OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives:
| 3.1 | KELI shall strive to promote social, cultural and literary activities of Indians and other communities in Switzerland. KELI holds only cultural and social interests. |
Activities:
For achieving its objectives, KELI
| 3.2 | shall organize various cultural and social events like traditional Indian festivals, Indian dance, music, drama, Indian language schools, etc. and sponsor/participate in such other programmes as may be of general interest to its members. KELI shall organize at least one major cultural event annually. |
| 3.3 | shall represent the community and make recommendations to the appropriate authorities concerning problems of general interests, social welfare and educational needs. |
| 3.4 | shall co-operate with and assist other agencies/organizations with similar objectives to develop understanding among Indian and other communities in Switzerland. |
| 3.5 | shall create a platform to foster socio-cultural Integration in Switzerland. |
| 3.6 | shall set up a fund to render financial aid to deserving people in the fields of education, medical care, community development, etc. |
| 3.7 | shall maintain a Library of books and other reading materials. |
ARTICLE 4: MEMBERSHIP
| 4.1 | Membership is classified into two categories (hereinafter called “Member”) (i) Single: Any individual above 18 years of age (Lifetime membership fee of 150 CHF), which can be upgraded to family membership after marriage by paying 100 CHF. (ii) Family: A family may consist of husband and wife and their unmarried children and parents living together in the same household (Lifetime membership fee of 250 CHF). |
| 4.2 | Married children of Keli members shall be granted membership of Keli as a welcome gift. They may become a member by accepting the gift within a year after marriage by making a request for membership. Thereafter a normal membership procedure shall be applied. |
| 4.3 | Membership shall be open to any person living in Switzerland who is 18 years of age and over, and subscribes to the objectives of KELI. However, three families of KELI should involve in the introduction of a new family. One member shall introduce a new family or a new Individual and two members shall support this proposal. The membership proposals shall be submitted to the executive committee any time during the year. The executive committee may scrutinize the proposal and is at liberty to accept or reject the proposal. To accept or reject, the executive committee should convene with a two third quorum and the decision should be made by two third majority. If accepted, the executive Committee shall notify its decision to the general body per email within 7 days .The General body in turn has the right to accept or reject the decision of the executive committee. To reject the decision in this regard, at least 10% of the Keli member families should register their objection, in writing, to the executive committee within 14 days from the date of notification. If accepted by the GB, the family becomes the member of KELI after paying the membership fee within 3 months. |
| 4.4 | The membership fee is non-refundable under any circumstances. |
The Organization shall consist of:
1. The General body 2. The Executive Committee (Hereinafter called “Committee”) 3. The Auditor
ARTICLE 6: GENERAL BODY
| 6.1 | The General body enjoys the supreme power of the Organization. |
| 6.2 | The AGM (Annual General body Meeting) shall be held before the end of the calendar year. The committee convenes the meeting. All members shall be notified at least six weeks in advance. Invitation shall contain the date, time and place of the meeting. |
| 6.3 | In the AGM, the report of the previous financial year, an audited balance sheet, the income and expenditure account of the previous financial year and the budget for the next financial year must be presented, discussed and approved by the General body. As the last item of the agenda, the General body elects the new committee for the next tenure. Immediately after the election, the newly elected committee assumes office. |
| 6.4 | Extraordinary General body meeting may be convened at any time as is deemed necessary for the conduct of affairs. The Committee must convene it if requested by at least one-third of the members of KELI or when requested by majority of the members of the committee. Notice shall be issued to all members two weeks in advance (except for dissolution) stating the reasons, date, time, venue and agenda for the meeting. |
| 6.5 | Each member has one vote and voting rights may not be transferred. Resolutions need to be passed by simple majority. Election shall be held according to the election procedures of KELI. |
| 6.6 | The tasks of the General body are: 1) Approval of the annual report 2) Approval of the annual account and budget 3) Fixation of the membership fee 4) Amendment of the constitution 5) Election of executive committee 6) Appointment of auditors 7) Disqualification of members 8) Discuss and decide the resolutions submitted by executive committee or members 9) Dissolution of Organization 10) Election of social services committee and its subcommittee (Example - Kinderforkinder) |
| 6.7 | The quorum of the General body is one third of the members. If a quorum is not present at the Annual General body meeting or Extraordinary General Body Meeting, it shall stand adjourned to another day within a maximum of three weeks at a suitable place decided by the executive committee. A notice may be served by means of e-mail and the same shall be published in www.keliswiss.org. If at an such adjourned meeting a quorum is not present, the members present shall be deemed to be a quorum and may do all business, which a meeting with quorum might have done. Members who are continually absent for 3 Annual General body meetings shall not be counted for calculating the quorum of that AGM. However, their presence in an AGM after a long absence shall enable them to be counted for the quorum of next AGMs. |
ARTICLE 7: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
| 7.1 | The policy and the general management of the affairs of the Organization shall be directed by the Executive committee. |
| 7.2 | The Committee consists of: 1) President 2) Vice-President 3) Secretary 4) Joint Secretary 5) Treasurer 6) Arts Secretary 7) Programme Organizer 8) PRO (Public Relations Officer) 9) Social Service Coordinator 10) Member 11) Member 12) Member 13) Member 14) Member 15) Member |
| 7.3 | All members of the executive committee shall be elected at the AGM in accordance with the election procedures. General body shall nominate a person who is not running for any post, to supervise elections. |
| 7.4 | 7.4: The Committee shall serve the office during its tenure of two years. A tenure of one year may be approved by the General Body at the time of election, on an exceptional basis. A member of the committee shall not serve the same executive position for more than 4 consecutive years. |
| 7.5 | Members of the Committee shall not be allowed to hold any post in any other associations or organizations at the same time. |
| 7.6 | Any member of the executive committee, who is not attending for more than two consecutive committee meetings without leave of absence, shall be removed from the executive committee for the remaining period of his/her tenure. |
| 7.7 | In the event that any post falls vacant at any time during the committee’s tenure by way of resignation, removal, long term absence etc., the committee nominates another member of the executive to assume that office in addition to his/her portfolio. He/she shall remain in that office until a new member is elected for that office in the next general body meeting. |
| 7.8 | Duties of the Executive Committee: a) General management of the affairs of the Organization b) Represent the Organization externally c) Organize cultural programmes d) Drawing up annual budget drafts e) Summon both the annual and the extraordinary General body meetings f) Preparing proposal for the General body g) Supervising the implementation of resolutions adopted by the General body h) Organize the election of new committee members i) Accept and recommend the new membership j) All affairs that are not explicitly reserved to the General body |
| 7.9 | President shall serve as KELI’s official spokesperson. |
| 7.10 | Fifty percent of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. |
| 7.11 | All resolutions except Article 14.1 shall be passed by simple majority of the members present. In case of parity of votes, the president has the decisive vote |
| 7.12 | The Committee has the power to appoint additional committees as necessary for various events. The additional committee should work closely with executive committee and co-ordinate its budget with the Treasurer. |
| 7.13 | A notice to convene each executive committee meeting shall be given to each member at least two weeks prior to the meeting day. Notice shall be given to each member by telephone or by other electronic media. Accidental omission to give notice to any member shall not invalidate the meeting and/or the decisions taken. |
| 7.14 | The Secretary shall record and maintain the executive committee`s minutes in a book/file with the name of members present at the meetings. The person who presides the meeting, and the person who is responsible for minutes shall sign such minutes. The minutes shall be informed to the members within a week. |
| 7.15 | If the situation demands to have spontaneous decisions during an event/Program conducted by KELI, these shall be taken in the presence of The President, The Secretary, The Treasurer, Program Convener for the event and the available Committee members. |
| 7.16 | The Committee should ensure that total membership fee is kept in full as reserve at all times. |
| 7.17 | The committee shall find fresh resources to meet the expenses to run and organize any events during its tenure. However any overheads occurred shall be approved at the General body meeting. Any capital expenditure should be strictly in accordance with the approved budget. |
ARTICLE 8: AUDITOR
| 8.1 | The General body shall elect an Auditor from the members who are not holding any office in the committee. The auditor has to audit the annual account and balance sheet. Result of auditing has to be reported to the committee and then to the General body. The Auditor shall directly submit the Audit report before the General body for approval. If under any circumstances the Auditor is unable to undertake the auditing in time, the Auditor, together with the Committee may appoint any other person who is not a member of the committee to audit the annual account and balance sheet and present it in the General body meeting. |
ARTICLE 9: FINANCE
| 9.1 | The Organization is financed by means of: a) Membership fees b) Contributions from Sponsors c) Conducting various cultural and social events |
| 9.2 | The Fiscal year of the Organization is from 1st November to 31st October |
ARTICLE 10: LIABILITY
| 10.1 | The Organization shall be liable for its commitments only with its Funds |
ARTICLE 11: SIGNATURE
| 11.1 | The following office bearers are collectively (minimum two) authorized to sign for/or on behalf of the Organization - The President, The Secretary, and The Treasurer. |
| 11.2 | The Treasurer may accept bills/vouchers for payment, which are countersigned by the President or the Secretary or the Programme Convener. |
ARTICLE 12: AMENDMENT
| 12.1 | As the objective of KELI is clearly defined and formulated at the time of inception and to keep the objective in its true spirit forever, the article 3.1 should not be amended or revised partly or completely including this clause. |
| 12.2 | Any Amendments to this constitution and by-laws except article 3.1 shall require the approval of the General body convened for that purpose by a two third (2/3) majority of the quorum. |
| 12.3 | Notice shall be given to all members six weeks in advance stating the details of the amendments, date, time and venue for the meeting. |
ARTICLE 13: EXPULSION/EXCLUSION
| 13.1 | The General body is authorized to expel members who are acting contrary to the Organization’s constitution and general interests. Before initiating this process, a show-cause notice is to be served to the member concerned. If he/she fails to submit a satisfactory explanation, he/she may be expelled from the organization with the approval of two third (2/3) majority of General body meeting convened for that purpose. |
| 13.2 | Notice shall be given to all members six weeks in advance stating the reasons with details for the expulsion of the member, date, time and venue for the meeting. |
| 13.3 | Exclusion of membership shall be allowed to any member on written request by him/her to the Committee. The Committee should notify the exclusion to the GB at the next meeting. |
ARTICLE 14: DISSOLUTION
| 14.1 | The resolution to dissolve the Organization can only be passed in an Extraordinary General body meeting which has been explicitly summoned to decide upon this issue with the approval of two third (2/3) majority of total members. |
| 14.2 | Notice shall be given to all members six weeks in advance stating the reasons with details for the dissolution, date, time and venue for the meeting. |
| 14.3 | In case of dissolution, all the assets of the Organization shall be utilized for charitable purposes as per the decision of the general body. |
ARTICLE 15: REVISION
| 15.1 | The first constitution and by-laws of KELI was unanimously approved by the General body meeting held on 24th October 1998 in Zürich. |
| 15.2 | The first revision of the constitution and by-laws of KELI was ratified by the General body meeting held on 18th December 2004 and came into force immediately thereafter. |
| 15.3 | The second revision of the constitution and by-laws of Keli was ratified by the General body meeting held on 12.12.2015 and came into force immediately thereafter. |