§1 Name
On 15 February 2001, the founding importers of lighters listed in the attached Annex, decided to form an association of European lighter importers.
This association shall take the name of: European Lighter Importers‘ Association (E.L.I.A.S.)
and shall be referred to hereafter as the Association.
§2 Purpose of the Association
The main purpose of the Association shall be to represent and defend the interests of European importers of lighters originating in third countries in all trade and customs matters affecting their business activities, whether at national or European Community level and to assist them in any conflict against EuropeanManufacturers.
The Association shall also seek to control the interests of its members against importers who engage in illegal or inappropriate activities in all areas including, but not limited to, copyright, illegal trade and customs fraud.
The Association shall represent the interests of its members before the EC institutions.
§3 Composition admission
The Association is composed of the founding importers listed in the attached Annex. New members can be admitted subject to the following conditions which apply to founding members also:
they must be importers of lighters in Europe and do business in compliance with ISO 9994
they must seek not to violate or deviate from EU legislation
they must accept the Statues of the Association and all decisions made in proper form by the Association
they must observe the spirit and morality of the Association and contribute to maintain the honour and credibility of the Association
Every new application for admission shall be addressed in writing to the President of the Association. He will discuss the merits of the application with the Board of Directors. He will also inform the members of the application and the opinion of the Board of Directors.
The new applicant might be requested to present evidence of the existence of a factory with sufficient production capacity in the country from which his imports are declared to be originating.
Unless a serious reason to reject the application has been given by the Board of Directors or any member to the President, the applicant will automatically join the Association.
lf the Board of Directors or any member have a good reason to reject an application, the Association can exclude an applicant by a majority of four fifths of all members.
§4 Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall be composed of the President, the Vice President and the Secretary.
The members of the Board of Directors are elected by the Association for one year period, renewable, at the yearly meeting of the Association.
The Board of Directors has the power to take decisions and, if necessary, call an emergency meeting of the Association whenever capital matters affecting the importers have to be treated urgently.
The Board of Directors shall lay down the directives for the Association to be agreed upon by the majority of the members of the association.
The Secretary, under the supervision of the President is responsible for the establishment of a good information network and must ensure that all information as well as all decisions and results of the meetings with all corresponding annexes are transmitted to all the members.
§5 Duration and location
The Association shall be established for an unlimited duration.
The office of the Association shall be registered at the following address:
E.L.I.A.S.
c/o Van Bael & Bellis
Glaverbel Building
Chaussée de La Hulpe • 166 • Terhulpsesteenweg
1170 Brussels
Belgium
The operating office of the Association shall be located in a place to be chosen by the Board of Directors unanimously. Any changes must be approved by a majority of the members of the Association.
§6 Withdrawal and exclusion
Any member may withdraw from membership upon compliance with such uniform terms and conditions as the Board may prescribe.
The Board of Directors can exclude from the Association any member who does not conform with the statutory obligations and the decisions of the Association or ceases to fulfil the conditions required for membership. Exclusion shall be pronounced by majority vote, no account being taken of the vote of the member concerned.
Members which have withdrawn or have been excluded may not demand restitution, even partial, of any subscriptions paid to the Association.
§7 Budget – Subscriptions and Accounts
The resources of the Association shall be derived from the subscriptions of its members .
The budget and subscriptions shall be laid each year by the Associations on the basis of a proposal by the Board of Directors
The subscription fee is due to be paid in full at the beginning of each year. In special cases the Board of Directors may accept payment in quarterly instalments.
The approval of the accounts of the previous year by the Association will discharge the Treasurer and the other members of the Board of Directors of any liability in this respect.
§8 Revision of the Statutes and Dissolution
A majority of the members shall decide on the amendment of the Statutes or the dissolution of the Association. In case of a tie vote, the President’s vote will prevail.
§9 Liability
The members of the Association are not liable for the activities of the Board of Directors. In order to cover the risk which may arise as a result of any undertaken activity, the Association will sign a D & O liability insurance.
§10 Confidentiality
The Association shall not reveal any information of a confidential nature. Information flow within the network of members is strictly confidential and only to be used by members of the Association.
§11 Meetings
The Association will hold an annual meeting to discuss pending matters, future strategy, propositions for new statutory regulations from the members, budget, new membership, exclusions of members, election of the Board of Directors and any other issue raised at the request of a member.
Emergency meetings of the Association can be convoked by the President at the request of any member of the Board of Directors or at least five members of the Association when immediate action is urgently required.
The members who cannot attend the meetings of the Association can empower any one of the participants to represent them and vote for them.
The results of the meetings shall be recorded and signed by the President and the secretary and sent to all the members of E.L.I.A.S.
§12 Language
The language to be used by the Association shall be English. In particular, reports of meetings shall be in English.