MANDATORY PROVISIONS OF THE STATUTES OF APPROVED SPORTS FEDERATIONS
1. Provisions relating to the purpose and composition of the federation
1.1. Purpose of the federation
The statutes include:
1.1.1. The federation’s object, and in particular the discipline or disciplines which the federation organises and promotes;
1.1.2. The date of its creation;
1.1.3. The address of its registered office, and the procedure to be followed for transferring the registered office.
They also specify:
1.1.4. That its duration is unlimited;
1.1.5. That it shall ensure compliance with the charter of sporting ethics drawn up by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee.
1.2. Composition of the federation
The statutes provide:
1.2.1. That the federation is made up of sports associations formed under the conditions laid down in Chapter I of Title III of Book I of the Code du sport;
1.2.2. (Where applicable), the conditions under which the federation also groups one or more of the following categories of members:
1.2.2.1. Natural persons to whom it issues licences directly;
1.2.2.2. Profit-making organisations whose object is the practice of one or more of its disciplines and which it authorises to issue licences;
1.2.2.3. Bodies which, without having as their object the practice of one or more of its disciplines, contribute to the development of one or more of these;
1.2.3. The conditions under which membership of the federation may be refused and the conditions under which it is lost.
1.3. National, regional or departmental bodies
The articles of association shall provide:
1.3.1. (Where applicable), that the federation may set up, in the form of associations under the law of 1901 where they have legal personality, one or more national bodies responsible for managing in particular one or more related disciplines;
1.3.2. (Where applicable), that the federation may set up, in the form of associations under the law of 1901 or registered under local law in the departments of Haut-Rhin and Moselle, if they have legal personality, regional or departmental bodies responsible for representing it in their respective territorial jurisdictions and ensuring the execution of part of its missions there, and whose territorial jurisdiction may be no other than that of the decentralised departments of the ministry responsible for sports only subject to justification and in the absence of reasoned opposition from the minister responsible for sports;
The regional, departmental or local bodies constituted by the federation in the overseas departments, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon or Mayotte may also, where appropriate, conduct cooperative actions with the sports organisations of the States in the geographical area in which they are located and, with the agreement of the federation, organise international sports competitions or events of a regional nature or constitute teams with a view to participating in such competitions or events;
1.3.3. In the cases provided for in 1.3.1 and 1.3.2, and where the national, regional or departmental bodies are constituted in the form of associations, the method of voting for the appointment of their governing bodies as well as the principle of the compatibility of the statutes of these bodies with the statutes of the federation;
1.3.4. (Where applicable), that the federation constitutes a professional league under the conditions provided for in Chapter II of Title III of Book I of the Code du sport.
1.4. Licence holders
1.4.1. The articles of association specify:
1.4.1.1. The conditions under which licence-holders participate in the activities and operation of the federation, in particular the conditions under which they may be candidates for election as members of the governing bodies of the federation or of the bodies constituted pursuant to 1.3 above;
1.4.1.2. The substantive and formal conditions for issuing licences;
1.4.1.3. The substantive and formal conditions for the withdrawal of the licence, with due respect for the rights of the defence;
1.4.2. (Where applicable), they specify:
1.4.2.1. Whether adhering members of affiliated associations must hold a licence; if so, they state that the federation may, in the event of failure by an affiliated association to comply with this obligation, impose a sanction under the conditions laid down in its disciplinary regulations;
1.4.2.2. If activities, to be defined by the internal regulations, are open to persons who do not hold a licence; in this event, they shall provide that the issue of the title allowing the participation of non-licensed persons in these activities may give rise to the collection of a fee and may be subject to compliance by the persons concerned with conditions intended to guarantee their health as well as their safety and that of third parties.
2. Provisions relating to federal bodies
2.1. The General Assembly
2.1.1. Composition
2.1.1.1. The Articles of Association provide:
2.1.1.1.1.1. That the general assembly of the federation is composed of representatives of affiliated sports associations appointed, for those elected by the general assemblies of regional and departmental bodies, according to the same voting method at all levels, departmental and regional;
2.1.1.1.2. That the number of votes held by the representatives of affiliated associations is determined in particular according to the number of licences issued, in accordance with a scale to be laid down;
2.1.1.2. (Where applicable), the statutes provide:
2.1.1.2.1. Where the federation includes members in the categories referred to in 1.2.2.1 or 1.2.2.2, the method of voting for the appointment of representatives of such members to the general meeting, which must be the same as the method of voting adopted for the appointment of representatives of affiliated associations;
2.1.1.2.2. Where the federation includes members in the category referred to in 1.2.2.3, that such members have one vote.
2.1.2. Operation.
2.1.2.1. The Articles of Association provide:
2.1.2.1.1. The conditions for convening the General Meeting, in particular at the initiative of a certain number of its members, a minimum number of meetings per year and the procedures for holding the General Meeting;
2.1.2.1.2. That each year the General Meeting hears reports on the management of the governing body or bodies and on the federation’s moral and financial situation;
2.1.2.1.3. That it votes the budget and approves the accounts for the year ended;
2.1.2.1.4. That it sets the subscriptions payable by its members;
2.1.2.1.5. That it adopts, on the proposal of the competent governing body, the internal regulations and the financial regulations;
2.1.2.1.6. That it alone has the power to decide on acquisitions, exchanges and disposals of real estate, on the creation of mortgages and on leases of more than nine years;
2.1.2.1.7. That it alone decides on loans exceeding day-to-day management.
2.2. Governing bodies
2.2.1. Distribution of powers.
The Articles of Association determine the body or bodies responsible for managing and administering the federation and, in this capacity, provide for the distribution of powers between them subject to the powers mandatorily assigned to the General Meeting.
The Articles of Association may designate a collegiate governing body, other than the General Meeting to adopt federation regulations.
2.2.2. Composition, operation and powers.
2.2.2.1. The statutes provide for the composition and operation of the federation’s governing body or bodies, in particular the number of their members.
2.2.2.2. They specify:
2.2.2.2.1. (repealed)
2.2.2.2.2. That a doctor sits on one of the governing bodies;
2.2.2.2.3. That the members of the governing body or bodies are elected by secret ballot, for a term of four years;
2.2.2.2.4. The method of voting by which the elections are held;
2.2.2.2.5. That the term of office of the governing body or bodies expires at the latest on 31 December of the year in which the Summer Olympic Games are held or on 30 June for federations which are responsible for a discipline entered in the Winter Olympic Games;
2.2.2.2.6. That the following may not be elected as members of a governing body:
1° Persons of French nationality sentenced to a penalty that is an obstacle to their registration on the electoral roll;
2° Persons of foreign nationality sentenced to a penalty which, when pronounced against a French citizen, is an obstacle to his registration on the electoral roll;
3° Persons against whom a penalty of ineligibility for a period of time has been pronounced, in particular for serious breach of the technical rules of the game constituting an offence against sportsmanship.
2.2.2.3. The Articles of Association also provide:
2.2.2.3.1. The conditions for replacing a member of a governing body in the event of a vacancy;
2.2.2.3.2. The conditions for convening the governing body or bodies, in particular at the initiative of a certain number of its members, a minimum number of meetings per year and the procedures for conducting meetings;
2.2.2.3.3. The conditions under which the term of office of members of the governing body or bodies may be terminated;
2.2.2.4. They provide that the national technical director attends meetings of the governing bodies in an advisory capacity.
2.3. The president
2.3.1. The articles of association specify the conditions under which the president of the federation is elected.
2.3.2. They provide:
2.3.2.1. That the president authorises expenditure;
2.3.2.2. That he represents the federation in all acts of civil life and before the courts;
2.3.2.3. That it may delegate some of its powers under the conditions laid down by the internal regulations; that, however, the representation of the federation in legal proceedings may only be ensured, in the absence of the President, by an agent acting by virtue of a special power of attorney.
2.3.3. The Articles of Association provide that the office of president of the federation is incompatible with the office of head of a company, chairman of a board of directors, chairman and member of a management board, chairman of a supervisory board, managing director, managing director, deputy managing director or manager exercised in companies, firms or establishments, the activity of which consists principally in the execution of works, the provision of supplies or services on behalf of or under the control of the federation, its internal bodies or the associations affiliated to it.
They specify that these provisions apply to any person who, directly or through an intermediary, actually exercises the management of one of the establishments, companies or enterprises mentioned above.
2.4. Other bodies of the federation
The Articles of Association institute:
2.4.1. A commission to supervise electoral operations responsible for ensuring, during voting operations relating to the election of the president and the governing bodies, compliance with the provisions set out in the Articles of Association and the internal regulations; the following are specified:
2.4.1.1. The number of members making up the commission, a majority of whom shall be qualified persons, and the fact that these members may not be candidates in elections for the appointment of the governing bodies of the federation or its devolved bodies;
2.4.1.2. The procedures for referral to this commission;
2.4.1.3. The possibility for the commission to carry out any useful checks and inspections;
2.4.1.4. The competence of the commission to:
a) Rule on the admissibility of candidacies by a decision taken in the first and last instance;
b) Have access at all times to polling stations, address to them any advice and make to them any observations likely to remind them of compliance with the statutory provisions;
c) To be presented with any document necessary for the performance of its duties;
d) In the event of an irregularity being found, to require observations to be entered in the minutes, either before or after the results are announced.
2.4.2. A medical committee, the composition and operation of which are specified in the internal regulations.
2.4.3. A judges and referees commission, whose task is to propose the conditions under which the training and further training of referees and judges in the disciplines practised by the federation are provided.
3. Endowments and annual resources
The articles of association provide:
3.1. Where applicable, the amount of the endowment;
3.2. That the federation’s annual resources comprise:
a) Income from its assets;
b) Subscriptions and subscriptions from its members;
c) Proceeds from licences and events;
d) Subsidies from the State, local authorities and public establishments;
e) Resources created on an exceptional basis, where appropriate with the approval of the competent authority;
f) Proceeds from payments received for services rendered.
3.3. In financial and accounting terms:
3.3.1. That the Federation’s accounts are kept in accordance with the laws and regulations in force;
3.3.2. Whether separate accounts, forming a chapter of the federation’s accounts, are kept for certain establishments;
3.3.3. That the use of subsidies received by the federation during the past financial year is justified each year to the minister responsible for sport.
4. Amendments to the Articles of Association and dissolution
The Articles of Association specify the conditions under which they may be amended and the conditions under which the federation may be dissolved, in particular:
4.1. That the General Meeting to amend the Articles of Association shall be convened, on an agenda including the proposed amendments, on the proposal of a governing body or a minimum number of members representing a minimum number of votes, and the appropriate quorum and majority rules;
4.2. That the general meeting may only pronounce the dissolution of the federation if it is specially convened for this purpose and under the conditions laid down for the amendment of the articles of association; that in the event of dissolution, the general meeting shall appoint one or more commissioners to be responsible for the liquidation of its assets and shall allocate the net assets to one or more similar establishments, public or recognised as being of public utility, or to establishments mentioned in the last paragraph of article 6 of the law of 1st July 1901;
4.3. That the deliberations of the general meeting concerning the amendment of the articles of association, the dissolution of the federation and the liquidation of its assets are sent without delay to the ministry responsible for sports.
5. Supervision and publicity
The articles of association provide:
5.1. That the president of the federation or his delegate shall make known within three months to the prefecture of the département or the sub-prefecture of the arrondissement in which it has its registered office all changes in the management of the federation;
5.2. That the minutes of the general meeting and the financial and management reports are communicated each year to the member associations of the federation and, where applicable, to the members mentioned in 1.2.2.2 and 1.2.2.3 as well as to the minister responsible for sport;
5.3. That the administrative documents of the federation and its accounting records, including a financial regulation, are presented without displacement, at any requisition of the minister responsible for sports or his delegate, to any official accredited by one of them, and that the moral report and the financial and management report are sent each year to the minister responsible for sports;
5.4. That the minister responsible for sport has the right to have his delegates visit the establishments founded by the federation and to be informed of the conditions of their operation;
5.5. That the federation’s regulations are published in electronic form under conditions that guarantee their reliability and that the public has access to them free of charge.
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