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  • Statutes ECBF.
    Statutes adopted by the 11th Congress of the ECBF, convened in Paris UNESCO head office, on the 13th and 14 st of April 2000.
    •  Article 01.
    •  Article 02.
    •  Article 03.
    •  Article 04.
    •  Article 05.
    •  Article 06.
    •  Article 07.
    •  Article 08.
    •  Article 09.
    •  Article 10.
    •  Article 11.
    •  Article 12.
    •  Article 13.
    •  Article 14.
    •  Article 15.
    •  Article 16.
    •  Article 17.
    •  Article 18.
    •  Article 19.
    •  Article 20.
    •  Article 21.
    •  Article 22.
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    •  President.
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Statutes of the European Citizen's Band Federation. E.C.B.F
Index of Articles.



ARTICLE 1 - NAME, DEFINITIONS AND EMBLEM.

1.1. The name of the association is the "European Citizen's Band Federation" with the initials "E.C.B.F." or "ECBF", hereafter known as the "ECBF" or the "Federation". The ECBF is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which was founded in 1976 by national CB federations, officially founded associations and de facto groups from different European countries.

1.2. Citizen's Band (CB) refers to the public radio-frequency spectrum bands on 27 MHz, 930 MHz,430 Mhz and others used for personal radio-communication by citizens who are users of appropriate transceivers, also known as CB radios.

1.3. Users of CB band frequency transceivers are known as CBer's.

1.4. The use of CB radio can be seen as: a leisure, a voluntary service, a method of personal radio-communication with other CBers, an activity of free expression and/or information, a friendship link and/or solidarity for ail citizens. It can also offer Civil Protection services and activities for safety of human life.

1.5. The ECBF is independent of all political, commercial or religious influences.

1.6. The name and the emblem of the ECBF may be used by member organisations together with their own name and emblem.

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ARTICLE 2 - DURATION.

2. 1. The ECBF has been founded for an illimited period of time.

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ARTICLE 3 - HEADQUARTERS.

3.1. The Headquarters of the ECBF is located at the office address of the General Secretary.

3.2. It can be transferred to any other place by a Congress decision.

3.3. In an emergency, any decisions concerning this subject may be made by the Council.

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ARTICLE 4 - MEMBERSHIP.

4.1. Each member of the ECBF is a non-profit making representative, national CB organisation or federation. The member can associate CB clubs and local organisations of his own country. The members must accept the ECBF statutes.

4.2. In the ECBF statutes, the word "country" designates a clearly and officially demarcated geographical territory and which corresponds to:

  • a) either a State recognised by the international community.
  • b) or a territory non-recognised as State, but which is recognised as a nation or nationality by a law of the State to which it belongs.

4.3. All members must have their headquarters established in Europe and must manifest their interest in the development of CB.

4.4. Each member is independent and has the same rights and duties as the other members. Any discrimination is prohibited and the ECBF is not allowed to interfere with internal affairs of the national member, unless on request by the national member itself. The vote inside ECBF and the member fees can be on proportional basis on decision of the Congress.

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ARTICLE 5 - AIMS.

5. 1.The main objectives of the ECBF are as follows:

  • a) To associate in a Federation the European National CB organisations.
  • b) To promote adequate initiatives to liberalise, promote, regulate and control CB in Europe.
  • c) To constitute, on a European level, a representative body of the CB users.
  • d) To work for universal recognition and acceptance of the ECBF as the official representative body within Europe, with the European Parliament, Council of Europe and all other supranational organisations.


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ARTICLE 6 - ADMISSON.

6.1. Organisations wishing to join the Federation should address their application in duplicate to the General Secretary one copy to be forward to the President immediately upon receipt by the General Secretary.

6.2. All membership applications have to be approved by the Council.

6.3. Only one member organisation per country is allowed, using the definition of "country" as given in Article 4.

6.4. In the case of a new application from one country, a copy of the request for admission shall be sent to, the existing member in the same country who will decide to, present the application for decision or to veto.

6.5. Without taking into account the number of organisations within each country, there can only be one single national member organisation within the Federation, with a single vote per country, using the definition of "country" as given in Article 4.

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ARTICLE 7 - MEMBERS OBLIGATIONS.

7.1. All ECBF members are required to respect this statute.

7.2. Any affiliated member must pay an annual contribution, the amount of which is decided by the Congress.

7.3. Member organisations shall to attend at all the Congress unless unable to for justified reason.

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ARTICLE 8 - FINANCES.

8.1. The ECBF financial resources may come from:

  • - Contributions from member organisations
  • - Grants
  • - Gifts and legacies.
  • - Profits from its own possessions.
  • - Amounts received for services supplied by the ECBF and any other legal sources.

8.2. The member organisation of each country must pay his annual contribution in Euros or in US dollars or in any currency accepted by the Treasury.

8.3. Only the General Secretary and the President are entitled to a reimbursement of expenses, upon presentation of invoices, and depending on the funds available. The Council or the Congress may decide on the possibility of accepting other expenses.

8.4. Only the Federation is responsible for its contractual obligations concerning its own possessions. The members and individual persons are not responsible for its social debts, unless they directly assumed the debt.

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ARTICLE 9 - LOSS OF MEMBERSHIP.

9.1. On request of the Council, Member associations of the ECBF can be expelled by Congress, on 3/4 members, after having had the opportunity to express itself before Congress in the following cases:

  • - repeatedly, non respect of the current statutes and of any decisions made by Congress.
  • - Repeatedly, acting against the interests or the aims of the ECBF or to have prevented the execution of anyagreements.


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ARTICLE 10 - GOVERNMENT BODIES.

10.1. The governing bodies of the ECBF are as follows:

  • - The Congress.
  • - The Council.
  • - The Executive Board.


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ARTICLE 11 - GOVERNMENT BODIES.

11.1. The ECBF Congress is the supreme body of the federation. It must be convened every 4 years by the President of the federation. Participation, rules, date, place and the agenda have to be decided upon by the Council and have to be notified at least 90 days before the date of the meeting.

11.2. The Council itself, or at the request of 2/3 of the members who have paid their contributions, may also convene an Extraordinary Congress for important reasons. The decision has to be communicated by the council with the participation rules, the date, the place and the agenda at least 30 days before the date of the meeting.

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ARTICLE 12 - VOTING PROCEDURES AND DECISION MAKING.

12. 1. Federation decisions are taken by a majority vote of those present (half plus 1) unless it is a decision concerning the modification of the statute. In this case, the decision must be adopted by a qualified majority of 2/3 of the members present. Voting can be secret or by handraising, according to the President's decision or at the request of 1 /5 of delegates. In the case of a vote concerning a change of the statutes, the suggestion must be made to the General Secretary in writing in advance and the votes will be secret.

12.2. The member organisation delegates must have been citizens of the respective country for at least 5 years, unless special dispensation is granted by the Council. Voting by proxy will not be allowed.

12.3. Members may eventually send their proposals for the Agenda for the next Congress, in English, to the General Secretary, at least 2 weeks before the Congress date.

12.4. The final Agenda will be adopted by the President before starting the meeting. Other subjects may be discussed at the President's discretion, but no decision may be made concerning subjects that are not on the Agenda sent to members.

12.5. Each ECBF organisation member is represented in Congress by a delegation formed of people belonging to the member organisation, they all have the right to speak, but only one vote per country is allowed using the definition of "country" as given in Article 4. As well as the CBers represented from each country, only the observers authorised by the Council may take part in the Congress meetings.

12.6. Congress may, at the suggestion of the General Secretary, nominate a meeting secretary to keep the meeting minutes.

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ARTICLE 13 - THE COUNCIL.

13. 1. The ECBF council is the executive government body of the Federation.
It is made up of:

  • - The President.
  • - The Vice-President Senior.
  • - Two Vice-Presidents.
  • - The General Secretary.
  • - One or several Assistant Secretaries.
  • - The General Treasurer.
  • - The Co-ordinator for Emergency Radio Services (ERS).

  • - Other posts may be created by Congress at the President's suggestion.

13.2. The people who were part of the first Council or Presidium of the ECBF when it was founded in 1976 are rightful members of the Council.

13.3. Congress can nominate to the Council Honorary Members and Life Members who have the right to speak but who may not have a personal vote.

13.4. The Council shall meet at the request of the President, and if there is no President, at the request of the Vice-President Senior or of the eldest Vice-President.

13.5. The Council must shall meet before each Congress meeting so as to make any last decisions to ensure the smooth running of the Congress meeting.

13.6. The Council may make any decisions by majority, although it must always try to arrive at a consensus of opinion.

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ARTICLE 14 - THE PRESIDENT.

14. 1. The President is the person who publicly represents the ECBF and presides over all the activities and meetings and ensures the order of the meetings, according to the present statute.

14.2. The President convenes Congress and Council meetings and he decides the proceeding of the meetings. In order to ensure the order of the Congress meetings the President will take all the decisions necessary for the ongoing of the Congress.

14.3. The President is the legal representative of the Federation. He has the power, with the agreement of the Council, to compromise the legal responsibility of the Federation, to carry out any legally recognised financial and banking operations and transactions, to undertake any judicial actions, to give and remove power of any legal order, and to represent the Federation in any official or private national and international organisations.

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ARTICLE 15 - THE VICE-PRESIDENT SENIOR.

15.1. The Vice-President Senior helps the President in his functions and carries out the tasks given to him by the President.

15.2. In the case of sickness or absence of the President, the Vice-President Senior takes on his functions, tasks and responsibilities and the power that these statutes confer on the President.

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ARTICLE 16 - THE GENERAL SECRETARY AND THE GENERAL TREASURER.

16. 1. The General Secretary co-ordinates the activities of the Federation and treats all subjects and problems concerning the organisation.

16.2. The General Secretary must present for adoption the minutes of all Council and Congress meetings.
The minutes, once accepted, will be sent to each correspondent member.

16.3. The General Treasurer is in charge of the funds and possessions of the Federation. He must present an annual report on the resources and expenses for the previous year and propose a budget for the coming year.

16.4. The financial reports must be approved by the Council and by Congress, after having been examined by the auditors, if Congress has elected any.
The Council or Congress will decide, on the suggestion of the General Treasurer, the rules concerning the correct management of the Federation funds.

16.5. If the General Secretary or the General Treasurer leave their posts before a Congress meeting, one of the Vice-Presidents will be chosen by the Council to replace that person until the next Congress meeting. All members will be informed of the Council's decision.

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ARTICLE 17 - THE EUROPEAN COORDINATOR.

17. 1. The European Co-ordinator for Emergency Radio Service (ERS) co-ordinates the emergency activities on a European level.

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ARTICLE 18 - PROCEDURE FOR THE COUNCIL ELECTION.

18.1. The Council is elected exclusively by Congress for 4 years and any candidate must be clearly and publicly announced before Congress.

18.2. A Chairman will be chosen to supervise the Congress meeting during a Council election, up until the moment that the election results are known and that each person effected is informed of the post he has been elected to.

18.3. Among those present, two people will be chosen, who are not candidates, to check and count the votes.

18.4. The vote will be secret and each delegation must mark 5 names only on the vote card from the candidates presented. The candidates that receive the largest number of votes will be elected to cover as many vacant posts as exist. If the votes are equal concerning two or more people, the person who represents the oldest national organisation within the Federation must be elected. If the result is still equal, then the oidest person must be elected.

18.5. The candidates elected must, before the end of the Congress meeting, designate or elect between them a person for each post of the Council. After this election, the elected President will announce the name of each person assigned to each post within the Council.

18.6. The General Secretary may propose a Vice-Secretary or Assistant and this must be ratified by Congress. This person does not necessarily have to be a member of the Council.

18.7. Congress can also elect one to three auditors.

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ARTICLE 19 - THE EXECUTIVE BOARD.

19.1. The Executive Board is made up of three or four people chosen by the Council from its members. These people are given the job of following current affairs; and of intervening in emergencies in all areas within the outlines established by Congress or the Council and with the approval of the President or the Vice-President Senior.
It meets when it wants as it wants and may invite experts to join them.

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ARTICLE 20 - COMPLAINTS.

20.1. Ail complaints concerning decisions made by Congress or Council decisions must appear in the Minutes.
The complaint will appear on the agenda of the following Congress meeting at the request of the person concerned and will not be taken into account at a later date.

20.2. In an emergency, the person concerned may send ail the details by registered post to the General Secretary who will inform all members. Eventually, a Council meeting or Extraordinary Congress meeting will be convened to decide on the matter. The right to convene such a meeting belongs exclusively to the Council.

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ARTICLE 21 - MODIFICATION OF THE STATUTE.

21.1. Only Congress, with a qualified majority of 2/3 of the national representative votes presented during Congress can make a decision concerning the modification of the Federation Statute.

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ARTICLE 22 - DISSOLUTION OF THE FEDERATION.

22.1. Dissolution of the Federation can only be decided by a majority of 3/4 of the members present at a Congress meeting, especially convened for this reason, as shown on the agenda.

22.2 Unless Congress makes a decision to the contrary, once the dissolution has been decided, the President will take on with the General Secretary and the Treasurer, the job of liquidator and represents the Federation in the ensuing events.

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