Key legislation governing the work of Associations in Lebanon & ISOC Lebanon Specifically
- Article 13 of the Lebanese Constitution.
- The 1909 Law of Associations.
- The 1911 Law of Public Assemblies.
- Decision of the Council of State (Shoura) No.135/2003
- ISOC Lebanon Statutes (“NIZAM ASSASI” Arabic official document attached below)
- ISOC Lebanon Bylaws (“NIZAM DAKHILI” Arabic official document attached below)
- Documents required annually from associations.
ISOC Lebanon General Assembly
The general assembly, as defined in the Lebanese Law of Associations, is formed by the members who are in good standing as of the preceding 31st of December – ISOC Lebanon members who have paid their membership dues as of the preceding 31st of December. The bylaws refer to members who are in good standing as “effective members” or “voting individual members”. “Organization members” are also voting members.
The Ordinary General Assembly is the periodic meeting of the general assembly as defined in the statutes and is held annually. The ordinary general assembly discusses the association’s activities, the work of the administrative board, and ratifies the budget. The tasks of the general assembly are as follows: • Evaluating and discussing the work of the association, the administrative report, and the financial report of the administrative board. • Adopting the audited accounts of the previous year and the outstanding debts. • Approving the budget for the coming year. • Electing the members of the administrative board.
ISOC Lebanon Administrative Board
The administrative board enjoys many duties in governing the association independently from the general assembly, even if it is under the latter’s supervision and accountability. The members of the administrative board, notably its chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer undertake the executive functions and have fiduciary responsibilities.
Permanent Committees
ISOC by laws of associations define four permanent committees: • Programs Committee; • Memberships Committee; • Fundraising Committee; and • Communications Committee.
The heads of the permanent committees are appointed by the administrative board to cooperate with it in managing the association’s affairs, projects, and activities.
The term of office of the heads of the committees is two years and shall commence at the adjournment of the next regularly scheduled Board meeting following their appointment. The term of office for departing heads of committees shall end at the adjournment of the same meeting.
Members at Large
The term of office of the members at large is two years and shall commence at the adjournment of the next regularly scheduled Board meeting following their appointment. The term of office for departing members at large shall end at the adjournment of the same meeting.
Documents To Be Submitted Annually by the Association
By virtue of Decree No. 10830 dated 9/10/1966, each association must submit the following documents to the Ministry of Interior – Department of Administrative and Political Affairs, before the end of January of each year:
- An income statement of the preceding year.
- A list of the names of the association’s members who have settled their annual subscription fees as of the preceding December 31 (3 copies signed by the president and the secretary general of the association, and stamped with its seal).
- The current year’s draft budget (3 copies signed by the president and the secretary general of the association, and stamped with its seal).
In case of administrative board elections:
The minutes of the election of the new administrative board, which must include:
- The date on which the call for elections took place.
- The date of the elections.
- A list of the names of the members who have settled their subscription fees and who are eligible to vote.
- A list of the names of members participating in the electoral session, signed by the voters (quorum must be at least half plus one).
- The number and names of individuals running for administrative board elections.
- The elections’ results and names of winners.
- Minutes of the distribution of positions of new administrative board members.
ISOC Administrative Board Indicators
ISOC Lebanon identified the following indicators to assess the performance of an association’s administrative board to achieve its objectives:
- The Strategic Plan: Does the administrative board have a clear plan of the objectives it means to achieve? Is this plan related to a relevant agenda? Does it take a certain priority into account? Does it balance the projects with the human, financial, and funding capabilities of the association? Does it complete the strategic plans set by the preceding administrative boards, or does it merely review their content?
- The Working Tools: Is the administrative board aware of the qualifications, competencies, and expertise of its members? Does it use these capabilities? Has the administrative board established truly active specialized committees? Are all members being included in the activities and are all the roles justly distributed and rotated? Are responsibilities being delegated in a way to ensure participation?
- The Effectiveness of Meetings: Are the meetings of the administrative board prepared thoroughly? Are there discussions on setting the agenda? Is the agenda sent to all board members in due and sufficient time for them to review it? Are the necessary documents attached to the sent agenda to allow the members to form a clear idea of its items? Do the sessions start at the defined times and are there times set for ending the meetings? Is there a session procedure (taking the floor, duration of each intervention, and so on)? Is the agenda respected? Are the items clearly and conclusively adopted (ratified, rejected, postponed, followed-up…)? Are minutes taken? Are the minutes certified?
- Follow-up: Do the administrative board’s chairperson, secretary, and project head follow-up the project closely? Are the deadlines met? Are the periodic reports on projects and activities reviewed? Do administrative board meetings discuss issues raised in previous meetings?
- Accountability: Do the members of the administrative board hold their chairperson, secretary, treasurer, and members entrusted with specific tasks accountable, and are their performances assessed? Do they submit periodic reports on their achievements?
- Periodic Assessment: Does the administrative board conduct a periodic internal assessment of its performance? Does it look into its work mechanism, priorities, strategic and periodic plans? If not, does the general assembly do so at least once a year? Is the work of the administrative board discussed or is endorsing the accounts and outstanding debts of the administration just a formality?
Controls
The work of an association undergoes three kinds of controls:
- Internal control: conducted periodically and when needed, by the administrative board to control its own work, and by the general assembly to monitor the work of the administrative board.
- Administrative control conducted by the relevant authority:
The 1909 Law and the Law enforced by Decree No. 10830 dated 9/10/1962 set obligations on associations towards the relevant authority and imposed the authority’s control.