Constitution of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna Student Initiative
We, the students of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, guided by our common need for a student organization to articulate, voice and defend student interests in the Academy in an open and democratic atmosphere, as well as to uphold the identity, aims and working philosophy stated in the Charter for the Initiative for Diplomatic Academy Student Initiative (DASI), Do hereby jointly establish the Diplomatic Academy Student Initiative and pronounce for it this Constitution:
Article 1
NAMEThe name of the organization shall remain as stated in the Charter for the Initiative:
Diplomatic Academy Student Initiative (DASI).
Article 2
OBJECTIVES
1. The DASI shall be a full-functioning student government; a body with a primary responsibility to guarantee the protection of student rights as well as to promote the following values:
- (a) Establishment and advancement of a community founded on solidarity, tolerance and the extensive use of international dialogue;
- (b) Freedom of expression as a constitutive principle of limitless application, to which there shall be no derogation;
- (c) Spreading of awareness of issues pressing or dormant, current or potential;
- (d) Commitment to include a charitable dimension in its activities.
2. In doing so it will identify, voice and defend legitimate student concerns and interests before other authorities of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and its partner universities as well as promote an institutional framework for the benefit of the students.
Article 3
STRUCTUREThe institutional structure of the DASI shall comprise the following bodies:
- (a) Student Assembly;
- (b) Student Council;
- (c) Presidency;
- (d) Standing Committees.Each body forms an integral part of the DASI.
Article 4
Stuent Assembly
1. The Student Assembly is the highest consultative body of the DASI. The objective of the Assembly is to provide the Student Council and the Presidency with strategic guidance towards the fulfilment of their duties. Any full-time student at the Diplomatic Academy has a right to participate in a meeting of the Assembly.
2. The Assembly shall meet once a month a date and time decided by the Presidency.
3. The Assembly shall adopt decisions, only if it is attendend by more then 30 % of all the studants, with a simple mayority of members present and voting. Members present and voting shall require an attendance of at least.
4. The Assembly may make recommendations to the Student Council on issues relating to the budget and changes in the guidance.
Article 5
STUDENT COUNCIL1. The Student Council shall be the legislative body of the DASI. It shall be responsible for all decisions pertaining to policies of the DASI.
2. The Student Council shall be the only body entitled to approve from the DASI budget within limits to be decided by the Student Assembly.
3. The Student Council shall consist of the following members:
- (a) The Course Speakers;
- (b) The Vice-President;
- (c) The Treasurer.Each Council member shall have one vote.
4. The Council shall meet on a weekly basis during the academic year and be attended by a quorum of at least 7 voting Council members.
5. An extraordinary meeting of the Student Council can be convened under special circumstances at the discretion of the Chair of the Student Council, or following a petition from at least 4 members of the Council. Any extraordinary meeting shall be announced at least 24 hours in advance.
6. Unless otherwise specified, a simple majority of the members present and voting is needed for the Student Council to adopt a decision.
Article 6
CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL1. The Chair of the Council shall preside over the meetings of the Student Council.
2. The Chair shall be responsible for setting and distributing the agenda of every Council meeting.
3. The Chair will inform the student body about the time, place and agenda of each Council meeting.
4. The Chair shall work in cooperation with the President and will represent the Student Council whenever necessary.
Article 7
DASI PRESIDENCYThe Presidency consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer and the Secretary.
Article 8
PRESIDENT1. The President of the DASI shall hold the executive power.
2. The President shall represent the DASI in its dealings with other bodies.
3. The President shall address all student concerns and grievances in the spirit of the present Constitution and shall have at his/her disposal all the powers that are proper and necessary to this end.
4. The President shall take actions to implement decisions taken by the Student Council.
5. The President shall report to the Student Council on his/her activity in office and on the current state of the DASI on a regular basis.
6. The President shall have the power to veto all decisions of the Student Council except those pertaining to the appointment of committee chairs and representatives. In order for a veto to be overruled, a so-called 'student unanimity vote' of the Student Council is required. A Student unanimity vote is achieved when at all the course speakers present voted against the Presidential veto (This includes the votes of all council members, except those of the Vice-President and the Treasurer).
7. The President shall be an ex-officio member of the Student Council.
Article 9
VICE PRESIDENT1. The Vice President of the DASI shall assist the President in carrying out his/her duties and shall assume those duties when the President is temporarily prevented from doing so.
2. The Vice President of the DASI shall monitor the activity of the standing committees and shall report regularly to the Council about their activities.
3. The Vice President shall submit evaluations of committee chairs and student representatives to the various university and faculty committees or to the appropriate bodies upon request.
4. The Vice President of the DASI shall be a member of the Student Council.
Article 10
TREASURER1. The Treasurer shall be the chief executive officer responsible for the financial matters of the DASI.
2. The Treasurer shall prepare the budget framework, present it before the Council and shall regularly report on budget matters.
3. The Treasurer shall assume the duties of the Vice President when he/she is temporarily prevented from doing so.
4. The Treasurer shall be member of the Student Council.
5. The Treasurer shall present proposals related to the budget, but the Council shall have the final decision with a simple majority vote.
Article 11
SECRETARY1. The Secretary of the DASI shall assist the Presidency in conducting its daily activities.
2. The Secretary shall observe the work of the Council and shall prepare the minutes of the meetings of the Council.
3. The Secretary shall assist the Vice-President in motoring the work of various DASI committees.
4. The Secretary shall act as Vice-Chair of the Student Council, and shall chair all Council meetings when the Chair is temporarily prevented from doing so.
5. The Secretary shall aid in the maintenance and implementation of the agenda of the Student Council.
Article 12
ACADEMY ADVISOR1. The Academy Advisor of the Student Government shall support the DASI in its activities.
2. The Advisor shall counsel the DASI on issues pertaining to DASI policies and university policies, rules and procedures.
3. The Advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the Student Council.
Article 13
GOOD FAITHAll members of the DASI shall perform their duties with an effort of close cooperation. They will interact in good faith for the purpose of facilitating common action for the sake of expediency and efficiency in addressing student concerns, with due regard to the stated objectives of the DASI.
Article 14
ELECTIONS1. All students enrolled in the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna shall be eligible to run for an office. Each student enrolled at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna shall have the right to vote in elections,
- (a) from the Master of Advanced International Studies (MAIS) Programme two first year Course Speakers and two second year Course Speakers;
- (b) from the Diploma (DLG) Programme two Course Speakers;
- (c) from the Environmental Technology and International Affairs (ETIA) Programme two first year Course Speakers;
- (d) from second year of the ETIA Programme two representatives, who are not Course Speakers before the Diplomatic Academy but shall act only in their capacity as Council members. For the purposes of this Constitution, any references to 'Course Speakers' as members of the Student Council, shall be understood to include the two ETIA second year representatives.
2. The Elections of Course Speakers shall be announced by the President of the DASI no later than the second week of classes. Elections should be held no later than 10 days after the announcement.
3. The candidates with most votes from each class shall be elected as Course Speakers.
4. Elections of the Presidency shall be held toward the end of each academic year, no later than 2 weeks before the end of classes. The President in office shall announce the elections.
5. Each student enrolled in the Diplomatic Academy, and intending to continue being enrolled in the following academic year is eligible to run for one of the following offices:
- (a) President
- (b) Vice-President,
- (c) Treasurer,
- (d) SecretaryEach of these officials shall be elected with 50%+1 from total votes. If no one has 50%+1 vote, than the two candidates with most votes will participate in run-offs no later than three days after elections.
6. One Course Speaker shall be appointed as Chair of the Student Council by simple majority by the Council.
1. A recall of an official may be filed by any student supported by 30 other students. The decission is taken by the Council with 2/3 majority.
2. During the Student Assembly meeting that has the quorum of at least 30% of the student body, anyone can move to recall any officer. The proposal needs at least 60% of votes of present students.
Article 15
RECALL OF OFFICIALS AND ATTENDANCE POLICY1. A recall of an official may be filed by any student supported by 30 other students. The decission is taken by the Council with 2/3 majority.
2. During the Student Assembly meeting that has the quorum of at least 30% of the student body, anyone can move to recall any officer. The proposal needs at least 60% of votes of present students.
3. The Chair is responsible for the attendance of officials during Student Council meetings and shall record any absentees. Absence on reasonable grounds may be excused at the discretion of the Chair. If any voting or ex-officio member of the Student Council has more than three unexcused absences recorded during a single term, he/she shall be expelled from the Student Council and DASI, at the discretion of the Chair. The Chair has the duty to notify a Council member at risk of being expelled.
Article 16
VACANCIES1. Any vacancies in the Student Council shall be filled through elections among the corresponding group of students enrolled at the Academy:
- (a) Vacancies in the Presidency shall be filled according to the election procedure set out under this Constitution;
- (b) Vacancies in the positions of Course Speakers shall be filled through elections among the students enrolled in the respective programme.
2. Any elections held for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the Student Council shall be conducted according to the election procedure set out in this Constitution.
Draft Article 17
STANDING COMMITTEES1. The Standing Committees are the Ball Committee, the Bar Committee, the Conference Committee, the Debating Society, Polemics Magazine and the Sports Committee.
2. Students that wish to register a new Standing Committee must introduce their proposals to the Student Council. The Student Council shall then vote on the application, which shall only be approved if over 50% of members of the Student Council present vote in favour of the application.
Draft Article 18
CHAIRS OF STANDING COMMITTEES1. The Chairs of Standing Committees are appointed unanimously by the outgoing and incoming Presidencies. Outgoing Chairs of Standing Committees may recommend suitable candidates to both Presidencies. If the incoming Presidency has not yet been formed, the outgoing Chairs of Standing Committees may, should they deem it necessary, still make early recommendations to the outgoing Presidency whose members shall appoint, after a unanimous vote in the Student Council, the new Chairs of the Committees. Following a unanimity vote, the Student Council has the right to remove Chairs of Standing Committees. The Presidency shall then announce new Chairs of Standing Committees after a unanimity vote amongst its members.
2. All Chairs of the Standing Committees are obliged to present progress reports to the Council at least once every month. The Vice-President shall evaluate their work and make reconmendations to the Presidency.
Article 20
BUDGETThe DASI budget is adopted unanimously by the incoming and outgoing Presidencies.
Article 21
WORK REPORTSAll the outgoing officials shall prepare a work report for the incoming officials.
Article 22
BYLAWSAny issues left unresolved by the rules set out under this Constitution may be dealt with in the form of a bylaw issued by the Student Council. The Student Council may adopt bylaws through simple majority voting.
Article 23
AMENDMENTSAny student enrolled at the Diplomatic Academy can propose amendment to the Constitution. An amendment to the Constitution may only be adopted if it complies with one of the following two procedures:
- (a) Upon proposal of a student, the Student Council with unanimity vote and consent of the President may adopt amendment; or
- (b) any student supported by at least 20 other students can put the amendment on referendum vote. A referendum is valid only after 60% of the total votes cast are in favor. At least of 20% of the students have to vote on the referendum in order for the results be considered valid.