Association Structure and Bodies

The CMC International Association structure consists of the following bodies (components):


The Association is governed by the Board of Directors and the Assembly.


Principles and Conduct

The internal regulations of the Association and the conduct of its Members are inspired by principles of mutual respect, democracy and openness. Any Regular Member in good standing may be elected to serve as a Member of the Board of Directors and can join Association Committees, besides participating in the Assembly and the Association activities.

The Association operates in agreement with the Statute and the Association Bylaws.

The conduct of the Association business is assured by the Board of Directors.


Assembly

Founding, Regular and Honorary Members who have paid their annual membership fee compose the Assembly in any given year.

The Assembly meets at least once per year. The Chair must call an Assembly meeting when requested by a majority of the members of the Board of Directors, or when a specific request is submitted by at least one tenth of the Association Members that can participate in the Assembly. Assembly meetings can be held both physically, in any country, or virtually, through e-mails, teleconferences, and electronic forums, in the forms regulated by the Bylaws. The convocation of the Assembly shall be made through written announcement via e-mail to all the (Founding, Regular and Honorary) Members at least ten days beforehand and it shall be published on the Association Website at least fifteen days in advance.

The role of the Ordinary Assembly is:
• to offer guidance regarding the Association’s activities;
• to elect the Board of Directors by voting a list of eight to sixteen Regular Members proposed by a Founding or a Regular Member, among other lists (each Founding or Regular Member can propose only one list, Regular Members can be included in maximum two lists as candidates, and each Assembly Member can vote only one list) – with the procedure as specified in the Bylaws; and
• to examine and approve the annual financial report and the budget.

It is to the role of the Extraordinary Assembly:
• to approve (or not) any proposed Statute changes;
• to approve (or not) any proposed Bylaws changes; and
• to approve (or not) any proposal to dissolve the Association.

At the first call, the Assembly is validly constituted by the presence and participation of half plus one of the set of Founding, Honorary and Regular Members; if such required quorum is not met, then at a second call, the Assembly is validly constituted with any number of Members present and participating. Every Member in the Assembly has the right to vote and can only vote directly, including through the option of reliable electronic procedures, as regulated in the Association Bylaws.

The Ordinary Assembly approves motions with the favorable vote of a simple majority of the Members in attendance.

The Extraordinary Assembly approves motions with the favorable vote of at least three quarters of the Members in attendance.


Board of Directors

The Board of Directors comprises a minimum of twelve and a maximum of twenty-one Members, including four permanent (except for resignation or death) Founding Members, with the others (among Regular members) elected by a Meeting of the Assembly. Once constituted, the Board of Directors elects, among its Members, the Chair, the Vice-Chair and the Associate Chairs, and appoints the Secretary, Management and Organizing Committees, their Chairs/ Coordinators and the Treasurer, as regulated by the Association Bylaws.

Each elected member of the Board of Directors remains in office for a term of four years, starting from the time of his or her election, and can be re-elected. In the case of death or resignation of a Member of the Board of Directors before the end of his or her term, the Board of Directors can appoint a substitute for the period before the next meeting of the Assembly. If, for whatever reason, the majority of Members shall leave the Board of Directors, the Chair, or in his or her absence the oldest by age of the Board of Directors still in duty, must call a meeting of the Assembly for the election of a new Board of Directors.
The position of Member of the Board of Directors is carried out without remuneration.

The Board of Directors retains all powers for the ordinary and extraordinary management of the Association, except for situations reserved to the Assembly by law, the Statute, and the Bylaws.

It is the role of the Board of Directors to:
• elect among its members, the Chair, Vice-Chair and Associate Chairs of the Association, by simple majority, using a secret ballot or by acclamation,
• nominate members of the Advisory Board and the Team of Assistant Managers;
• initiate or promote Management and Organizing Committees, defining their tasks and appointing their chairs/coordinators, and the Treasurer.
• approve (or not) any request for admission as Supporting Member;
• report to the Assembly the expulsion of Members in the cases stated by the Statute and the Bylaws;
• propose and provisionally adopt changes in the Association Bylaws;
• propose a budget and to develop financial reports to be submitted to the Assembly, to take care of ordinary administration, and to determine the annual membership fees for Supporting Members;
• set dates for the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Assembly;
• plan the Association activities, complying with the Assembly directions and the Association’s aims;
• approve (or not) the establishment of branch offices and propose the constitution of new territorial Chapters, and their regulations; and
• ensure that the Association complies with the present Statute and the Association Bylaws.

Meetings of the Board of Directors may be held both physically, in Italy or abroad, or virtually, through e-mails, teleconferences, and electronic forums, in the forms regulated by the Bylaws. In case of meetings via electronic means, the location of the meeting is considered to be the place where the Chair is physically located at the start of the meeting.

The convocation of the Meeting of the Board of Directors shall be made by the Chair through written announcement via e-mail to all the Members of the Board, at least ten days beforehand.

At the first call, the Meeting of the Board of Directors is validly constituted by the presence and participation of half plus one of the Board Members; if such required quorum is not met, then at a second call, the Meeting of the Board of Directors is validly constituted with any number of Members present.


Chair and Vice-Chair

The Chair is the legal representative of the Association towards third-party and in cases of court involvement. He or she has the legal authority of the Association to delegate tasks to the Vice-Chair, Associate Chairs and other Regular, Founding and Honorary Members, and Management and Organizing Committees to perform specific activities and projects. If the Chair is unable to serve at any time, the Vice-Chair may assume the responsibilities of the Chair during that period.

Both the Chair and the Vice-Chair are elected by and within the Board of Directors. The terms of the Chair and the Vice-Chair last four years. The term of the Chair can be renewed only once.

The Chair calls and presides over ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Assembly and the Board of Directors.


Associate Chairs

Associate Chairs can be nominated by and within the Board of Directors, as regulated by the Association Bylaws. A possible form of such nomination may be based upon proposal by the Chair to the Board of Directors.


Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for carrying out the administrative tasks related to the decisions of the Assembly and Board of Directors’ meetings as resolved. The Secretary prepares, in consultation with the Chair, all meeting agendas. He or she is required to attend every meeting of the Association and take notes of the discussions in order to produce a set of Minutes for subsequent distribution to members and for receipt, possible amendment and adoption at the following meeting. In the absence of the Secretary the meeting should elect a person to take the Minutes; this person should be identified in the Minutes. The Secretary is appointed from the Regular Members, within or without the Board of Directors, by the Board of Directors.


Honorary Chairs

Honorary Chairs take part in the Assembly and can join the meetings of the Board of Directors as observers or advisors.

Honorary Chairs have the highest priority in joining events and activities of the Association, may provide valuable advice to the Chair and the Board of Directors, and can propose Members for the Advisory Board of the Association to the Board of Directors.

The position of Honorary Chair is based upon invitation by the Board of Directors, with a requested unanimity of motion within this Board for such invitation to take place.


Advisory Board

The Advisory Board of the Association is composed of Regular Members with complementary expertise and experiences, from different countries.

To be eligible for membership on the Advisory Board, a person has to be centrally involved in areas and activities of interest to the Association, either in the form of research and academic work, or of teaching in time-honored contemplative traditions (or in recognized lay forms within such traditions), or of performing outstanding clinical work as related to the Association’ aims and interests.

Besides joining the Assembly, Members of the Advisory Board may take part with priority in activities and projects of the Association, may provide useful and timely advice, suggestions and feedback to the Board of Directors, may take part centrally in forums and exchanges of relevance to the Association, and join Management and Organizing Committees of the Association for the fulfillment of specific activity or task, based on their expertise and interests.


Team of Managing Assistants

The Team of Managing Assistants support the organization and implementation of activities and tasks of relevance to the Association, of both ordinary and extraordinary forms, also within Management and Organizing Committees.

Besides joining the Assembly, Managing Assistants can take the position of Secretary and contribute to the activities and projects of the Association.


Management and Organizing Committees

The Board of Directors can appoint Management and Organizing Committees composed of dedicated members of the Board of Directors, Managing Assistants, Advisory Board members and, if needed, collaborating external members, for the fulfillment of a specific activity or task.

The Chairs or Coordinators of the Management and Organizing Committees are appointed by the Board of Directors.

The Committee for Strategic Planning and Financial Support, coordinated by a Committee Chair, closely monitors the conservation and use of the finances of the Association. This Committee leads the development of strategies and plans for fund raising and generating income to support the activities of the Association. The Committee for Strategic Planning and Financial Support also supervises the preparation of the accounting documents, budgets and financial reports, and submits them to the Board of Directors. The Treasurer can be proposed by the Chair of the Management and Organizing Committee and appointed by the Board of Directors to operate within such committee. The Treasurer can also be a professional external to the Association.

The forms and modalities of participation in the Management and Organizing Committees are regulated in detail in the Association Bylaws.

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