Obligations of National Groups
As defined in ELSA's internal regulations, National Groups have various obligations towards the International Board of ELSA as the members of the Association. Most importantly, the National Groups must fulfil certain obligations in order to receive voting rights during the International Council Meeting. Other obligations are not directly related to the voting rights of a National Group yet non-compliance may result in sanctions such as demotion or expulsion.
Receiving Voting Rights at ICMs
In order for Member Groups of ELSA to receive their voting rights at the International Council Meeting, they must comply with Art. 7.3 of the Statutes of ELSA. Namely, all Member National Groups must:
Pay their Membership fee, their EDF contribution, and have no debt towards ELSA;
Please contact the Treasurer of the International Board of ELSA at treasurer@elsa.org immediately should you have any issues with payments.
Fill in the State of the Network Inquiry and submit it at least 14 days prior to the first day of each International Council Meeting;
The State of the Network Inquiry is a survey created by the International Board of ELSA aiming at gathering data to evaluate the current state of the Association. The data is vital to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and to plan for the future. The survey is distributed via the ELSA mailing lists and must be filled in by each National Board. Some of the questions will require the National Board to gather input from any Local Group they may have in their National Network and it is thus important that the National Officers begin to fill in the survey as early as possible to ensure they have sufficient time to contact Local Groups for data.
The State of the Network Inquiry is distributed by the International Board of ELSA 35 days before the first day of each International Council Meeting.
Submit the Local Group Report in time;
The Local Group Report is a survey gathering data about National Groups and the number of Local Groups that exist in each National Group. The Local Group Report is distributed twice per term by the International Board of ELSA. The first call for submissions must be opened before the 1st of August and may remain open until the 31st of August. The second call for submissions must be opened before the 1st of February and may remain open until the end of February. The exact deadline for each call is communicated by the International Board of ELSA when the calls are opened.
Submit the Letter of Authorisation to the Secretary General of the International Board before the opening of the first Plenary of each International Council Meeting.
The Letter of Authorisation is distributed as part of the Working Materials of each ICM and must be filled in and signed by two representatives of each National Board.
If all of these obligations are fulfilled, the respective Member National Group will be able to vote during elections and votings at the respective ICM. If a Member National Group does not fulfil all obligations mentioned above, their voting rights are suspended for the upcoming ICM unless the quorum is at risk in which case the Secretary General of the International Board or their substitute may grant them voting rights.
The quorum for ICMs is defined in Art. 7.4 of the Statutes of ELSA stating that the International Council is only competent to make binding decisions when at least half of all Members of ELSA are represented (physically or by proxy) and voting.
Other Obligations
Beyond the obligations mentioned above, National Groups have a number of additional obligations to fulfil:
National Groups must have their own Decision Book;
A Decision Book forms part of the internal regulations of your National Group and collects decisions made by your National Council that are not to be added to your Statutes or Standing Orders. You may find the International Council Decision Book on the Officers' Portal of ELSA.
National Groups must comply with the regulations of ELSA at all times and ensure that Local Groups are aware of them;
You may find the updated versions of ELSA's regulations on the Officers' Portal of ELSA.
National Groups must provide training to their National and Local Officers;
ELSA's structure of the International Board, National Boards and Local Boards means that the efficient conduct of the Association stands and falls with the proper flow of information. The International Board has a responsibility towards its members (National Groups) to provide them with relevant information and data. At the same time, National Groups have the responsibility to share relevant information and data received from the International Board with their Local Groups. It is thus incredibly important that National Groups have a training strategy in place. You might conduct all your training during a National Council Meeting, or you might introduce additional events focusing on developing the ELSA knowledge and soft skills of National and Local Officers. Additional events might include ELSA Training events, National Officers' Meetings or ELSA Boot Camps. It is in the discretion of each National Group to establish a training system within their National Group. Please note that Transition, i.e. the training of the newly elected National or Local Board members, is covered separately.
National Groups must submit an English version of their statutes by 1st of June each year;
Please make sure to submit your updated Statutes to the Secretary General of the International Board of ELSA at secgen@elsa.org
National Groups must submit a summary of their One Year Operation Plan to the International Board of ELSA before the first International Council Meeting of their term;
The One Year Operational Plan (OYOP) is a document containing the plans and goals of a Board and/or each Board member. You may find examples of OYOP's from the International Board of ELSA on the Officers' Portal of ELSA. Each National Board should distribute their OYOP using all Area mailing lists once the International Board of ELSA has issued a call for OYOPs via said mailing lists.
National Groups must submit an Activity Report to each Area mailing list before the opening of each ICM;
The Activity Report (AR) is a document containing the achievements and activities of each Board member. You may find examples of ARs from the International Board of ELSA in the Working Materials of any ICM on the Officers' Portal of ELSA. Each National Board should distribute their ARs using all Area mailing lists once the International Board of ELSA has issued a call for ARs via said mailing lists.
National Groups must promote the international activities of ELSA on a national level.
This includes sharing social media posts of ELSA about international activities and informing Local Groups about projects, their timelines, and available promotional material.