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EMCI Consortium Statutes

Contents

Article 1: Name, Seat, Duration, and Language of the EMCI Consortium

1.1 The Consortium constitutes a network of institutions of higher education, hereinafter called “Consortium”. The name of the Consortium is European Masters in Conference Interpreting, in abbreviation “EMCI”. The full name and its abbreviation may be used together or separately in identifying the Consortium.
1.2 The seat and therefore presidency of the Consortium is to be held by one of the consortium members within the European Union. The seat of the Consortium may be transferred to another Consortium member within the European Union with a vote by the General Assembly.
1.3 The Consortium is created for an indefinite period of time and may be dissolved at any time by the General Assembly acting in accordance with these Statutes.
1.4 The vehicular language of the Consortium is English.

Article 2: Aims and Objectives of the Consortium

2.1 The Consortium shall advise and assist Members in the following:

(i) Running a European Masters in Conference Interpreting program as a university-level post-graduate course;
(ii) Fostering the exchange of information and experience and the dissemination of best practice in interpreter training;
(iii) Engaging in continuing professional education to develop the pedagogical skills of interpreter trainers;
(iv) Engaging in research relevant to interpreter training and issues that relate to the exercise of the conference interpreting profession, and
(v) Leveraging new technologies in interpreter training with a view to sharing pedagogical resources across the Consortium’s membership, and integrating new technologies in the exercise of the profession.

2.2 Members of the Consortium shall adhere to EMCI Quality Assurance Standards and to the EMCI Core Curriculum as established in accordance with the Consortium’s Statutes.
2.3 The Consortium may participate in the activities of other organizations dedicated directly or indirectly to the work of creating programs for training conference interpreters and interpreter trainers.
2.4 The Consortium may contribute to the design and implementation of research projects in the field of interpreter training or interpreting practice.
2.5 The Consortium may carry out any and all activities that directly or indirectly support its principal aims and objectives.

Article 3: Funding

3. 1 The activities of the Consortium are financed by:
(i) Membership fees established annually by the General Assembly, and which may be in money or in kind. Membership fees shall be non-reimbursable.
(ii) Other contributions of the Members, in money or in kind. No Member shall be obliged to make contributions other than their membership fees.
(iii) Any other contributions, from public or private sources, provided to any or all of the members, to support the activities of the Consortium.
3.2 During the entire lifetime of the Consortium, any profit shall be allocated to the continuation of the Consortium’s activities.

Article 4: Governance

The Consortium is governed by the General Assembly and the Governing Board. The General Assembly elects the Consortium’s officers: the President of the Consortium and the Vice-President of the Consortium; it endorses the selection the Secretary General. If need be, a Treasurer can also be nominated by the Consortium’s officers and endorsed by the General Assembly.
4.1 General Assembly
4.1.1 Composition
The General Assembly is the ultimate decision-making body of the Consortium. It is composed of all Members of the Consortium.
4.1.2 Functions
The General Assembly shall have exclusive, non-transferable and inalienable jurisdiction to:
With an unanimous vote:
(i) Approve the annual budget presented to it by the Governing Board. In doing so, the General Assembly shall also approve the conclusion of any agreement with third parties, including grant agreements, needed to finance the activities of the Consortium.
With a three-quarters majority vote:
(ii) Admit new Members;
(iii) Exclude or suspend a Member;
(iv) Amend the Statutes and the Core Curriculum;
(v) Approve amendments to the EMCI Quality Assurance Standards;
(vi) Decide upon the dissolution of the Consortium;
With a simple majority vote:
(vii) Adopt the report of the Consortium’s activities as presented by the Governing Board;
(viii) Approve the annual accounts of the Consortium for the previous fiscal year and discharge the Members of the Governing Board;
(ix) Fix the amount of membership fees;
(x) Elect the President and Vice-President of the Consortium
(xi) Elect other members of the Governing Board;
(xii) Endorse the selection of the Secretary General and, if applicable, the Treasurer;
(xiii) Approve the appointment of an auditor;
(xiv) Endorse nominations for Standing Committee membership;
(xv) Decide upon all matters which are not reserved to other governing bodies.
4.1.3 Procedure
(i) The General Assembly of Members shall meet at least once a year within a period of six months following the end of the fiscal year. The General Assembly is chaired by the President of the Consortium.
(ii) The General Assembly may upon notice of thirty days by electronic mail, be convened at any other time at the request of the President or the Vice-President or upon the written request of at least fifty percent of the membership of the Consortium.
(iii) Notices of a General Assembly together with an agenda shall be communicated by the President to the Members not less than thirty days prior to the date of the General Assembly.
4.1.4 Voting
(i) Members shall designate one or more delegates to attend at General Assemblies. Each Member shall be entitled to one vote at General Assemblies.
(ii) Unless otherwise stipulated in these Statutes, resolutions of the General Assembly shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of all the Members. No resolution may be adopted at any meeting of the General Assembly unless at least one half of the membership of the Consortium is present or represented. Proxy voting shall be permitted on condition that no member may hold more than one proxy. If a quorum is not achieved at a meeting that has been convened in accordance with these Statutes, a new meeting may be convened in accordance with Art. 4.1.3. (iii) and Art. 4.1.4. (i) and the draft resolutions set forth in the notice of meeting may be passed by a simple majority of the Members present or represented and voting.
(iii) Voting at General Assemblies shall be by show of hands. Voting by telephone or electronic means may be allowed if requested by three quarters of the Membership. A motion to vote by secret ballot may be requested by a simple majority of Members present or represented. Decisions under Article 5 of the Statutes shall be taken by secret ballot. In case of a tie the President has the casting vote.
(iv) Abstentions do not count towards the final outcome of a vote inasmuch as the said abstentions shall be deducted from the total number of votes cast, whereby the final result shall be determined solely by the total number of yes and no votes originally cast.
4.2 The Governing Board
4.2.1 Composition
(i) The Governing Board shall have no fewer than five members including the President and the Vice-President of the Consortium elected by the General Assembly. Members of the Governing Board each represent different Member institutions. Until such time as the Consortium has reached a membership level exceeding 15 Members, the Governing Board may function with three Members.
(ii) In electing members of the Governing Board, the General Assembly shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that the Board reflects a balanced representation in terms of widely and less-widely used languages covered by EMCI Members. One and the same Member institution shall not occupy more than one seat on the Governing Board.
(iii) Members of the Governing Board shall be physical persons, affiliated as trainers with Members of the Consortium, who are elected for a term of the three years. Members of the Governing Board are eligible for re-election; if elected, their term of office may not exceed two consecutive terms.
(iv) Their mandate ends automatically after three years.
(v) When a member of the Governing Board is no longer affiliated with a Member of the Consortium or in case a mandate is revoked by the General Assembly, the Governing Board may fill the resulting vacancy by co-opting a member by a simple majority vote. The co-opted member of the Governing Board shall serve until the next meeting of the General Assembly.
4.2.2 Functions
The Governing Board ensures that the aims and objectives of the Consortium are fulfilled, in application of General Assembly decisions and in compliance with the Statutes of the Consortium. The Governing Board has notably the following functions which are non-transferable and inalienable:
(i) To propose to the General Assembly a tri-annual strategy, detailed annual work programs, as well as the annual budget;
(ii) To consider applications for membership and submit them to the General Assembly;
(iii) To decide any corrective measures regarding the good management of the Consortium and to put any such proposals to the General Assembly for approval;
(iv) To verify, and agree upon, the annual accounts and the activities report, before their transmission to the Spring General Assembly;
(v) To ensure that the accounts and records are kept in good order and that the resources are put to proper use;
(vi) To propose amendments to the EMCI Quality Assurance Standards;
(vii) To promote the activities of the Consortium.
4.2.3 Procedure
(i) The Governing Board shall be convened by the President at least twice a year. Notices of meeting shall be communicated to Board members by electronic mail, prior to the Board meeting. Other than in exceptional circumstances, thirty days notice should be given to Board members in advance of such meetings. Meetings of the Governing Board may be held by telephone, by video-conference or in any other manner that the Governing Board deems appropriate.
(ii) Unless otherwise provided for in the Statutes, resolutions of the Board require a simple majority of the GB members. Members of the Governing Board shall serve for the benefit of the Consortium. Should a Member of the Governing Board be required to deliberate or vote on a matter in which there would be a clear conflict of interest, said Member shall so inform the Governing Board.
(iii) The President of the Consortium shall preside at Governing Board meetings; in his/her absence the meeting will be chaired by the Vice-President or by the most senior member of the Board in terms of age.
(iv) Proxy voting shall be permitted on condition that no Governing Board member may hold more than one proxy.
(v) Minutes of Governing Board meetings shall be approved by the Governing Board members having participated in such meeting and shall be held in a register available for inspection by the Consortium’s Members.
4.3 The officers of the Consortium
4.3.1 The officers of the Consortium are,
the President of the Consortium
the Vice-President of the Consortium
the Secretary General
the Treasurer (optonal).
The President and the Vice-President of the Consortium shall be elected by the General Assembly for a period of three years, renewable. They must be affiliated with a Consortium Member institution.
4.3.2 The Secretary General
(i) The Secretary General is nominated by the President of the Consortium and endorsed by the General Assembly, for a term of three years. In an effort to maintain efficiency in carrying out the activities of the Consortium, the Secretary General should come from the same Member institution as the President of the Consortium. The Secretary General can participate in GB meetings but s/he has no voting rights.
(ii) Unless otherwise decided by the General Assembly or by the Governing Board, the Secretary General organizes and manages the activities of the Consortium, ensuring their coherence and their coordination in accordance with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Governing Board, and in compliance with these Statutes.
(iii) The Secretary General conducts the administrative and financial affairs of the Consortium (inquiries for information, internal and external dissemination of information, etc).
(iv) The Secretary General manages the resources allocated to the Consortium, in accordance with the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Governing Board, and keeps the Consortium accounts.
(v) The Secretary General prepares the annual budget, the annual accounts and the activity report and submits those documents to the Governing Board.
(vi) The Secretary General ensures the promotion of the Consortium, in collaboration with the Governing Board and in accordance with General Assembly resolutions.
4.3.3 The Treasurer
The Consortium may choose to appoint a Treasurer. S/He shall then prepare the annual budget and the annual accounts and submit those documents to the Governing Board in the Secretary General’s stead.

Article 5: Membership – Designation of New Members – Withdrawal

5.1 There will be only one class of membership. Members undertake to play an active role in the EMCI, to participate in the meetings of the General Assembly and the Governing Board, if elected to it, and in the various Standing and Ad hoc Committees of the Governing Board.
5.2 To qualify for membership, an applicant will need to:
(i) Be a university-level entity accredited as such by its national jurisdiction and submit appropriate supporting documents;
(ii) Run a university-level post-graduate course for the training of conference interpreters;
(iii) Meet all quality assurance standards as set forth by the EMCI;
(iv) Formally agree to comply with the quality assurance standards as set forth in the Statutes of this Consortium, the EMCI Core Curriculum and the EMCI Quality Assurance Standards;
(v) Meet any other quality requirements set forth by the General Assembly or the Governing Board.
5.3 Applications for membership are submitted to the Governing Board. If receivable, the application is forwarded to the Quality Assurance and Membership Committee (QAMC) to initiate the admission procedure according to the EMCI Quality Assurance Standards. A decision to approve an application for membership shall require a three-quarters majority of the Consortium’s full membership by secret ballot. Should an application for membership not obtain the required majority, the applicant may file a new request for membership in the second calendar year following the date of a negative decision rendered by the General Assembly.
5.4 A Member may resign from the Consortium upon giving notice of not less than three months by registered mail addressed to the President or Vice-President of the Consortium.
5.5 Programme recognition
Non-members may apply for recognition of their post-graduate degree program. To obtain such recognition, they must meet all the EMCI core criteria. Recognition is granted for a period of three academic years. Recognized programs may use the EMCI logo.

Article 6: Suspension and Exclusion of a Member

6.1 A Member may, on proposal of the Governing Board, be excluded from membership by a decision of the General Assembly if it is determined that:
6.1.1 The Member no longer satisfies the EMCI Quality Assurance Standards and/or the principles set forth in these Statutes
6.1.2 The Member has failed to comply with its obligations as provided in these Statutes including, but not limited to, failure to pay the annual membership fee;
6.2 A decision to exclude a Member shall require the affirmative vote of three quarters of the full membership of the Consortium not including the Member that is the subject of the exclusion.
6.3 The General Assembly is sovereign in determining whether in certain cases the reasons for exclusion as contained in 6.1. may justify a suspension for a period of 12 months, during which time the Member that is the subject of the exclusion will have to provide proof that the causes of the suspension have been rectified. Such a decision shall require the affirmative vote of three quarters of the full membership of the Consortium not including the Member that is the subject of the suspension.

Article 7: Standing and Ad hoc Committees

7.1 Standing and ad hoc comiittees shall be set up in order to further the aims and objectives of the Consortium as identified in Article 2 of these statutes.
A non-exhaustive list of such committees follows:
• Communications and Outreach Committee (COC)
• Liaison Committee (LC)
• Project Steering Committee (PSC)
• Quality Assurance and Membership Committee (QAMC)
• Research and Innovation Committee (RIC)
• Students Meeting Committee (SMC)
• Training of Trainers Committee (ToT)
7.2 The Governing Board may establish such other standing and ad hoc Committees as may be necessary or useful in order to implement the Consortium’s annual work programme and/or to ensure the proper functioning of the Consortium.
7.3 Nominations for Standing Committee membership shall be submitted to the Governing Board who shall forward a list of nominees to the General Assembly for endorsement. Committee membership may be open to persons who are not associated with Members of the Consortium and who have specialized skills or knowledge that would be useful to the work of the Committee. Such members shall not have the right to vote (cf. Art. 5.5).
7.4 Members of ad hoc Committees shall be proposed by the Governing Board and approved by the General Assembly.
7.5 Standing and ad hoc Committees shall determine their own procedures that will be subject to the approval of the Governing Board, prior to adoption by the General Assembly. Chairs of Standing Committees shall be members of the Governing Board. Convenors of Standing Committees shall report twice a year to the Governing Board.
7.5.1 Communications and Outreach Committee (COC)
No fewer than three members shall serve on the Communications and Outreach Committee whose mandate is to enhance the visibility of the Consortium and its members vis-à-vis prospective students and member institutions, the conference interpreting profession and the public at large.
7.5.2 Liaison Committee (LC)
No fewer than two members shall serve on the Liaison Committee whose mandate is to liaise with the European Institutions and thus facilitating a close two-way collaboration.
7.5.3 Projects Steering Committee (PSC)
(i) No fewer than three members shall serve on the Projects Steering Committee whose mandate is to contribute to the development of ad hoc projects, the drafting of related parts of the grants applications, as well as the implementation of said projects according to plan and budget.
(ii) The composition of this ad-hoc Committee will vary with the focus and length of the projects.
7.5.4 Quality Assurance and Membership Committee (QAMC)
(i) No fewer than three persons shall serve on the Quality Assurance and Membership Committee (QAMC). Nominees may be chosen from among the Members of the Consortium. Additional nominees may be chosen from third parties including, but not limited to, officials of international institutions. They act in a consultative capacity (cf. Art. 7.3.).
(ii) The QAMC may propose amendments to the EMCI Quality Assurance Standards and related documents. Any such amendments shall be submitted for approval to the Governing Board and adopted by the General Assembly.
(iii) The QAMC shall review periodically the quality assurance procedures (EMCI Quality Assurance Standards) and shall monitor compliance with those procedures by Members of the Consortium as well as entities applying for or subject to EMCI recognition.
(iv) Should a Member be found to be non-compliant with respect to quality assurance by the QAMC, the latter will formulate recommendations to the Governing Board (cf. Art. 6.1. to 6.3).
(v) The QAMC will prepare an annual report to be submitted to the President of the Governing Board at least 30 days prior to the General Assembly of Members. This report will be submitted to the Members as part of the documentation accompanying the notice of meeting of the General Assembly.
(vi) (a) The QAMC shall evaluate applications for membership to the Consortium and for program recognition. In doing so, it may enter into discussions with applicants wishing to join the Consortium or wishing to have their degree in conference interpreting formally recognized by the Consortium.
(b) The QAMC shall communicate its findings with respect to applications for membership and/or program recognition to the President of the Governing Board.
(vii) The QAMC will be consulted on issues regarding alleged violations by Members of the Statutes and other rules of the Consortium.
7.5.5 Research and Innovation Committee (RIC)
(i) No fewer than three members shall work on the committee. The goal of the committee is to ensure that EMCI engage in research relevant to interpreter training and issues that relate to the exercise of the conference interpreting profession.
(ii) This goal can be understood as promoting research collaborations, support contacts between researchers and institutions as well as disseminating research in the EMCI network and promoting research stemming from the EMCI member institutions. It contributes to the development of projects, the drafting of projects-related funding applications as well as the implementation of said projects according to plan and budget.
(iii) The committee can also work to identify new types of innovation for conference interpreting and spreading information about them in the EMCI network.
(iv) The committee can collaborate both with the internal committees in the EMCI as well as with external bodies.
7.5.6 Training of Trainers Committee (ToT)
No fewer than three members shall serve on the Training of Trainers Committee whose mandate is to organise every year both in-person and online workshops, seminars and lectures to develop the pedagogical skills of interpreter trainers.

Article 8: Budget

8.1 The Governing Board shall, at least 30 days prior to the General Assembly of Members, submit to the membership a proposed budget. The budget shall include:
(i) An annual work program;
(ii) A summary of sources of revenue needed for the implementation of the work programme, including annual membership fees, grants of funds from international institutions and other third parties, and fees for services provided by the Consortium to its Members and other parties;
(iii) An estimate of costs and disbursements to be incurred by the Consortium.
8.2 Approval of the budget requires the unanimous vote of the Consortium’s full membership.

Article 9: Accounting and Auditing

The Consortium shall maintain its accounts on a financial year basis commencing on October 1st and terminating on September 30th of the following year in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards. The accounts shall be made available at the General Assembly following the end of the fiscal year. The Consortium may decide to appoint an auditor from among its members to audit the accounts and report at said General Assembly.

Article 10: Representation and Agreements with Third Parties

10.1 The President of the Consortium is the Consortium’s designated spokesperson.
10.2 The Consortium may also be represented by its Vice-President or the Secretary General, or by any other person designated by the Governing Board with respect to external communications.
10.3 No contract may be concluded on behalf of the Consortium, or mention the Consortium, without the prior and express approval of the General Assembly.

Article 11: Liability

11.1 Members are equally, jointly and severally liable for obligations to third parties contracted jointly or through representatives, under this Consortium and in its name.
Members are liable to each other for any loss or damage caused through the Consortium’s fault or negligence.

Article 12: Amendments to the Statutes and Dissolution

12.1 Proposals to amend these Statutes or to dissolve the Consortium shall require an affirmative vote of three quarters of the Consortium’s full membership.
12.2 In the event of dissolution, the balance of the Consortium’s assets, after the payment of all liabilities, shall be returned to the Membership or to any other organization having a goal that is compatible with the objectives of the Consortium.

Article 13: Dispute Resolution

The Governing Board shall designate an ombuds whose role will be to mediate disputes between Members of the Consortium and between Members and the Consortium itself. The qualifications and terms of engagement of the ombuds shall be determined by the Governing Board and follow Standards of Practice laid down by the International Ombudsman Association (IOA).

Appendices

ANNEX 1: EMCI members
ANNEX 2EMCI Quality Assurance Standards
ANNEX 3EMCI Core Curriculum
ANNEX 4EMCI Membership fees

(September 28, 2012; Last updated November 17, 2022)