IADL Constitution

(As amended at the XIXth Congress at Kathmandu, Nepal, 20 July 2025)

 

ARTICLE 1: NAME

Those who adhere to this constitution constitute a voluntary association of democratic lawyers of all countries under the name of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (“the Association” or “the IADL”).

ARTICLE 2: AIMS

The aims of the Association are:

(a) To facilitate contact and exchanges of views between lawyers and lawyers’ associations of all countries and to foster understanding and goodwill among them.

(b) To work together to achieve the aims set out in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all other instruments of international law consistent with our aims.

(c) To ensure common action by lawyers:

  1. i) to encourage in the realm of law the study and practice of the principles of democracy making for the achievement and maintenance of peace.
  2. ii) to foster cooperation between peoples and nations, including in their efforts to create a multi-polar world.

iii) to oppose militarisation and the new arms race, and to strive for global nuclear disarmament.

  1. iv) to struggle against fascism in all its forms.
  2. v) to defend and advance human and peoples’ rights.
  3. vi) to champion sovereign equality and the right to self-determination.

vii) to restore, defend and develop individual and collective, democratic, civil, political, social, economic, cultural and labour rights and liberties in legislation, and in practice.

viii) to strive for gender equality.

  1. ix) to fight racist and ethnic discrimination.
  2. x) to promote the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment by fighting for climate justice, prosecuting environmental criminals and protecting environmental defenders.
  3. xi) to uphold peoples’ rights to development and for the creation of conditions of economic equality, enjoyment of fruits of scientific progress and natural resources.

xii) to advocate for the integration of international covenants on human rights and humanitarian law into national laws in each country.

xiii) to secure accountability for international crimes and the development and enforcement of universal jurisdiction by empowerment of domestic laws.

xiv) to mobilise for strict adherence to justice, for independence of the judiciary and legal profession, for the protection of lawyers and judges, and against impunity.

ARTICLE 3: HEADQUARTERS

The headquarters of the Association shall be at such place as may be decided by the Bureau.

ARTICLE 4: MEMBERSHIP

(1) Membership of the Association is open to:

(a) Any national or international association of lawyers or those organisations operating in the field of law having aims and activities which are in accordance with the aims of the Association.

(b) Any person who accepts the aims of the Association and by profession or appointment exercises a judicial function or who devotes themselves to the defence of justice or to the study, practice, or teaching of law.

(2) Applications for membership shall be made to the Bureau which can provisionally accept them. Such acceptances are subject to confirmation by decision of the Council.

 

ARTICLE 5: OFFICE BEARERS

(a) The Association shall have the following office bearers to be elected by the General Assembly:

* President

* Secretary General

* Treasurer

(b) The General Assembly may in recognition of the outstanding contribution of the individuals elect such an individual as President Emeritus.

(c) Rules may be framed by the Council to provide the procedure for election of the office bearer.  In the absence of rules, the Council shall be free to determine its procedure for the purpose.

ARTICLE 6(a): THE PRESIDENT

The President shall be the head of the Association and will represent it in all fora. They will preside over the meetings of the General Assembly, the Council and the Bureau. In the absence of the President, any of the Vice-Presidents or the Secretary General may be requested to preside at the meeting.

ARTICLE 6(b): THE SECRETARY GENERAL

The Secretary General shall be the chief executive of the Association. It shall be their responsibility to keep and maintain the records of the Association; periodically convene all meetings; in the absence of the President, to represent themselves or to arrange for the representation of the Association; and to regularly submit reports to the various organs of the Association.

ARTICLE 7: THE ORGANS

The Organs of the Association are:

  1. the General Assembly
  2. the Council and
  3. the Bureau

ARTICLE 8: THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

(a) The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Association and is competent to take all decisions in the name of the Association including the amendments of the Constitution.

(b) The General Assembly shall be called every four years.

(c) Member organizations shall be represented by their duly accredited delegates.

(d) Every member organization will have two votes.  However, in cases where there is more than one national member organisation in one country, these national member organisations shall divide the two votes amongst themselves.  In no case shall one country have more than two votes.

(e) Individual members of the Association may participate in the General Assembly without any right to vote.

(f) Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, all decisions of the General Assembly shall be taken by a majority of those participating with the right to vote.

(g) A General Assembly may exceptionally be held online by decision of the Council.

ARTICLE 9: THE COUNCIL

(a) Between the meetings of the General Assembly, all its powers except that of amendment of the Constitution, shall vest in the Council.

(b) The Council shall be comprised of all the members of the Bureau, all other office bearers and one representative of each member association duly appointed by it to the Council.

(c) The Council shall be held at least once every year, online or in person.

(d) Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, all decisions of the Council shall be taken by a majority of those participating with the right to vote.

ARTICLE 10: THE BUREAU

(a) The Bureau shall be the executive organ of the Association to be elected by the General Assembly out of which the President, Secretary General, the Treasurer and the immediate past President shall be ex-officio and the rest shall be elected by the General Assembly ensuring balanced geographical and gender representation.

(b) The representatives of the Association accredited to international organizations and the editors of its publications shall be permanent invitees to the Bureau.

(c) The Bureau shall meet at least once in every three months, either online or in person.

(d) The Bureau shall be responsible for directing the work of the Association in accordance with this Constitution and shall carry out the decisions of the General Assembly and the Council.

(e) The Bureau shall assign specific responsibilities to the members of the Bureau and may elect Vice-Presidents, Deputy Secretary Generals and Assistant Treasurers from among its members, bearing in mind the geographical and gender representation of the Office Bearers.

(f) The Bureau may constitute a secretariat, standing committees or special committees and working groups not necessarily of its members with specific responsibilities. All such committees shall report to the Bureau and work according to its directions.

(g) Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, all decisions of the Bureau shall be taken by a majority of the Bureau members participating with the right to vote.

(h) Any vacancy on the Bureau may be filled by the Bureau itself subject to ratification by the Council. The Bureau may invite representatives of any member association to attend and participate in its meeting(s).

ARTICLE 11: HONORARY ADVISORS

The General Assembly/Bureau may constitute a Board of Advisors and elect as Honorary Advisors eminent persons in the field of law for their contribution to the Association, a national association or to jurisprudence.

ARTICLE 12: FINANCE

(a) The funds of the Association shall be derived from:

(i) The annual subscriptions of member associations and individual members.

(ii) Grants; donations and contributions; sale of publications; savings and investments; and such other sources as may be authorized by the Bureau, not inconsistent with the objects of the member associations.

(b) The financial instruments of the Association shall be operated by two persons who are specifically authorized by the Bureau.

(c) The responsibility for fundraising belongs collectively to all of the Association’s members.

(d) The Treasurer or in their absence another individual designated by the Bureau shall be responsible for keeping the accounts of the Association.

ARTICLE 13: AUDIT

(a) The accounts of the Association shall be audited every year by an Audit Committee.

(b) After every General Assembly, the Council shall elect an Audit Committee comprising of not less than three members.

(c) the Audit Committee shall continue to hold office until a new Audit Committee is elected after a General Assembly.

(d) Vacancies in the Audit Committee may be filled by the Bureau subject to its ratification at the next meeting of the Council.

(e) The Audit Committee may audit the accounts itself and if considered necessary, it may associate or authorize any other member(s) or professional auditor(s) for the purpose.

ARTICLE 14: EXPULSION

(a) Any member association or individual may be expelled from the membership of the Association by a resolution of the Council adopted by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting if its activities are in conflict with those of the Association.

(b) Whenever a proposal for expulsion is received, the member concerned shall be given an opportunity to explain or of being heard before taking a decision.

(c) The Council shall state the reasons for expulsion and its decision shall be effective immediately.

(d) Any member aggrieved may appeal to the General Assembly against the decision of the Council and the decision of the General Assembly shall be final.

ARTICLE 15: AMENDMENTS

The Constitution may be amended by the General Assembly with a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.

ARTICLE 16: DISSOLUTION

The Association may be dissolved or merged with any other organization having similar objects by a resolution of the General Assembly or the Council approved by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. In the event of dissolution the resolution will also indicate the manner of disposal of the assets of the Association.