House Rules

House Rules

Article 1
Status of the House Rules

  1. I. All regulations set forth in the Urios Statutes will be upheld
    II. The House Rules functions as the by-laws of the statutes based on Article 15 of the Statutes
    III. Should the House Rules conflict with the Statutes, then the latter will be upheld
    IV. All members should be familiar with the contents of the House Rules and the Statutes
    V. Proposed changes to the House Rules will be voted upon at a General Assembly. The consent of a two-third majority is needed to pass changes
    VI. In case of divergences between the Dutch and English version of the House Rules, the Dutch version will prevail

Article 2
Language

  1. I. English will be the official language of the association
    II. All internal communication, that is communication between board and members, official documents and so forth will be in English unless no English-speaking party is involved
    III. External communication will be held in the language the parties find appropriate

Article 3
General Assembly

  1. I. The General Assembly is chaired by the chair of the Urios board
    II. English is the official language at the General Assembly
    III. Policy proposals made by the board necessitate a simple majority for approval
    IV. Amendments to policy proposals can be made by all members present at the General Assembly but necessitate a simple majority vote
    V. The Agenda is set after the opening of the General Assembly but only after all members that are present have had the chance to put an item on the agenda that was supported by a simple majority
    VI. A General Assembly shall be announced at least six weeks prior to the date at which it will be held
    VII. The agenda, the half yearly and the yearly report shall be sent to all members at least two weeks prior to the date at which the General Assembly will be held
    VIII. Proposed changes to the House Rules shall be sent to all members at least a week prior to the date at which the General Assembly will be held
    IX. Policy proposals shall be sent to all members at least three days prior to the date at which the General Assembly will be held

Article 4
Tasks of board members

  1. I. The Urios board shall consist of a Chair, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Activities Commissioner, a Commissioner of External Affairs, a Model United Nations Commissioner and a Symposium Commissioner
    II. The Urios Board may only temporarily deviate from the Board member’s task description if good reasons require so. This deviation will have to be validated at the next General Assembly in accordance with the House Rules voting procedure
  2. III. The Chair of the board is responsible for:
  3. a. Chairing Urios board meetings
  4. b. Supporting the Urios board and the Committees
  5. c. Maintaining good relations with Utrecht University
  6. d. Representing the Association at public events and maintaining all external contacts
  7. e. Ensuring that the Statutes and the House Rules are upheld
  8. f. Revising and if necessary updating the Statutes and the House Rules in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations
  9. g. Overseeing Utrecht Journal of International and European Law
  10. h. Organizing Alumni Events
  1. IV. The Secretary of the board is responsible for:
  1. a. Providing structure to the organization
  2. b. Taking minutes at the Urios board meetings and the General Assemblies and providing them as soon as possible
  3. c. The non-financial administration of Urios
  4. d. The maintenance of the website
  5. e. Handling general mail
  6. f. Overseeing Curious Blog
  7. g. the monthly members’ drink
  8. h. Dispersing the newsletter
  9. i. Acting as a contact person between Urios and certain third parties
  10. j. Acting as the Deputy Chair
  11. k. Promoting Urios through general promotion
  12. l. Gathering new members
  1. V. The Treasurer of the board is responsible for:
  1. a. Handling the financial administration of Urios
  2. b. Drafting an annual budget
  3. c. Keeping track of all receipts and expenditure
  4. d. Supporting committees from a financial perspective and ensuring they spend within their means
  5. e. Maintaining the contact with Utrecht Journal of International and European Law regarding their finances
  6. f. Collecting member contributions at least once every academic year
  7. g. Having meetings with the Auditing Committee to keep them updated about the finances of Urios
  1. VI. The Activities Commissioner is responsible for:

 

  1. a. Chairing the Activities Committee
  2. b. Organizing study related activities except for lectures and UN related activities
  3. c. Organizing the European and international study trips
  4. d. Collaborating with other associations in organizing activities
  5. e. Organizing the legal English training and study related visits

VII. The Externals Commissioner is responsible for:

  1. a. Chairing the Externals Committee
  2. b. Gathering sponsorships and partnerships
  3. c. Promoting Urios through general promotion
  4. d. Gathering new members
  5. e. Maintaining contacts with former sponsors and partners
  6. f. Organizing the Career Event
  7. g. Maintaining a close relationship with other External Commissioners from other boards

VIII. The Model United Nations Commissioner is responsible for:

  1. a. Chairing the Model United Nations Committee and Society
  2. b. Organizing a number of trips to different Model United Nations
  3. c. Providing Model United Nations sessions
  4. d. Realizing Urios Utrecht Model United Nations
  5. e. Presiding the Urios Utrecht Model United Nations Board
  6. f. Organizing other United Nations related activities
  1. IX. The Symposium Commissioner is responsible for:

 

  1. a. Chairing the Symposium Committee
  2. b. Organizing a number of symposia and lectures during the academic year
  3. c. Stimulating and creating relationships with faculty staff and other Associations

Article 5
Vacancies

Any Urios board vacancy arising during the academic year shall be dealt with by either:

  1. I. Redistributing the tasks over the remaining board members
    II. Having the board appoint a new board member that will be validated at the next General Assembly in accordance with the appointment procedure

Article 6
Transition

  1. I. The transition period is the period between the announcement of the candidates for the new board by the current board, and the appointment of the new board at the General Assembly
    II. The general duties of the current board towards the new board are:

 

  1. a. Every board member is to instruct his/her successor as thoroughly as possible
  2. b. Every board member will make a booklet for his/her successor with all the relevant information in it
  3. c. Every board member will be available for questions by the new board members during the transition period

III. The new board will function as the board from July 1st onwards, under supervision and responsibility of the outbound board until the new board is appointed at the General Assembly

Article 7
General Financial rules

  1. I. Every member is obliged to pay the members’ contribution with exception of honorary members and first-year bachelor students
    II. The Treasurer is mainly responsible for all matters concerning the finances of Urios
    III. The Treasurer must give his/her approval before an expenditure is made by Urios
    IV. Before every publication of a journal by Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, a budget will be presented for approval to the Treasurer
  2. V. The Treasurer is allowed to make expenses by Urios. In a situation as described in article 8 paragraph 1, the Treasurer is obliged to initiate the procedure as stated in that article

Article 8
Special Financial rules

  1. I. Should the Treasurer intend to make an expenditure, or multiple expenditures amounting to more than 500 (five-hundred) Euros and which belongs to the same cost item, , he or she is to abide by the following. The treasurer is in the abovementioned event obliged to inform the Auditory Committee, as mentioned in article 10, within a period of two weeks of the expenditure. The Auditory Committee then must provide the Treasurer with advice regarding this expenditure within this two week period. If the Treasurer due to circumstances cannot reasonably meet the abovementioned two weeks period, he or she is obliged to immediately inform the Auditory Committee by phone.
  2. The Auditory Committee should then provide the Treasurer with:
  3. a. Positive advice
  4. b. Negative advice, the Treasurer is free to proceed but is obliged to explicitly justify the expense at the next General Assembly
  5. c. Strong negative advice, The Treasurer must postpone the expenditure, article 8 paragraph III is applicable

III. If the situation as described in article 8 paragraph II sub c arises, the Treasurer may call for a meeting with the Auditory Committee within a reasonable term. Here, both parties, on one side the Treasurer, on the other side the Auditory Committee, have the opportunity to express their views..

The Auditory Committee should then provide the Treasurer with:

a. Positive advice

  1. b. Negative advice, the Treasurer is free to proceed but is obliged to explicitly justify the expense at the next General Assembly
  2. c. Strong negative advice, The Treasurer must postpone the expenditure, article 8 paragraph IV is applicable
  1. IV. If the situation as described in article 8 paragraph III sub c arises, the Chair can initiate the arbitration procedure, as described in article 8 paragraph V, to the Advisory Committee. The convocation of the Treasurer, the Auditory Committee and the Advisory Committee is made within a reasonable term.
  2. V. The Advisory Committee will act as Arbitration Committee. Here, both parties, on one side the board, represented by the Treasurer and Chair, on the other side the Auditory Committee, have the opportunity to express their views to the Arbitration Committee.

The Arbitration Committee should then provide the Treasurer and Chair with:

  1. a. Positive advice
  2. b. Negative advice, the Treasurer is free to proceed but is obliged to explicitly justify the expenditure at the next General Assembly
  3. c. Binding negative advice, the Treasurer cannot proceed with the expenditure

 

  1. VI. All decisions mentioned in this article are motivated

Article 9
Advisory Committee

  1. I. The Advisory Committee consists of seven members, including a Chair
    II. Members are elected for the period of at least one year
    III. At the half-yearly GA, one or two members leave the Advisory Committee in order to make place for new members, which are nominated by the board. The members are appointed by the General Assembly.
    IV. The Advisory Committee provides the board with solicited and unsolicited advice
    V. Prior to the General Assembly, the Advisory Committee is invited to provide the board with advice concerning the policy pursued and suggestions for the upcoming half-year
    VI. The Advisory Committee meets at least once a year

VII. Members cannot also be member of the Auditory Committee as mentioned in article 10

Article 10
Auditory Committee

  1. I. The Auditory Committee consists of at least two members, including a Chair
    II. Members are elected for the period of one year
    III. Members of the Auditory Committee are nominated at the General Assembly by the board and appointed by the General Assembly. Members cannot be members of the present board or the board of the year under investigation
  2. IV. Membership is terminated by:
  3. a. member’s voluntary resignation
  4. b. By dismissal of a member by the Advisory Committee upon recommendation by the board
  1. V. The Auditory Committee provides the Treasurer with solicited and unsolicited advice
    VI. The Auditory Committee meets at least once a year

VII. Members cannot also be member of the Advisory Committee as stated in article 9