Constitution

This constitution has been adopted by the General Assembly in Prague, September 4, 1992 and modified by the General Assembly in Sydney, July 3, 2005, and the General Assembly in Tokyo, October 27, 2024.

Download the constitution as a PDF

Art. 1. Purpose of the Committee.

The «Comité International des Sciences Historiques – International Committee of Historical Sciences» (CISH), organized in Geneva on May 14, 1926, in accordance with a resolution of the 5^th Congress of Historical Sciences meeting in Brussels on April 15, 1923, is a non-governmental, non-profit organization established as an association within the meaning of articles 60 and following of the Civil Code of Switzerland, created to promote the historical sciences through international co-operation. It organizes, in collaboration with the National Committee of the historians of the host country, the World Congress of Historical Sciences. It sets the date of the congress and determines its program. It may handle, patronize or support financially the publication of reference works of general interest and the organization of scientific symposia or of other projects encouraging the spread of historical thought and knowledge. It may entrust such tasks to its members or to Internal Commissions created for the purpose. It shall defend freedom of thought and expression in the field of historical research and teaching and is opposed to the misuse of history. It shall also use every means at its disposal to ensure the ethical professional conduct of its members.

Art. 2. Composition of the Committee.

The Committee shall be composed of:

a) National Committees that are representative of the institutions of historical research in each member country;

b) International Affiliated Organizations which are devoted to research and to scholarly publication in particular areas of historical study.

The Committee may set up Internal Commissions and assign to them the execution of scholarly projects or the organization of specific scholarly gatherings. It may also admit in the form of an Internal Commission—for a period not exceeding ten years and in view of a future admission as an Affiliated International Organization–international associations that pursue the same objectives as an Affiliated International Organization.

Admission to the International Committee of Historical Sciences within either category shall be decided by the General Assembly, responding to a proposal from the Board, in accordance with the procedures indicated in article 4 below. Requests for membership must be received by the Board six months before the date of its annual meeting.

Art. 3. Meetings of the Committee.

The Committee shall hold a General Assembly at least every two years. Each Congress shall be immediately preceded and followed by a General Assembly. The Board at its discretion may in given circumstances summon an extraordinary General Assembly or decide that the General Assembly should take place online.

Art. 4. Voting in the Committee.

Each National Committee and each International Affiliated Organization shall be represented at the General Assembly of the CISH by a delegate, who may be accompanied by a substitute but is allowed only one vote. National Committees and International Affiliated Organizations have equal standing in all votes. A quorum of the Assembly shall consist of the delegates — or their substitutes — from at least one third of the members of the CISH.

Votes on the admission of new members, on the exclusion of members of the CISH, and on constitutional amendments shall require a two-thirds majority. Any other matter before the General Assembly shall require only a simple majority vote.

Except in the three cases specified in the preceding paragraph, at the request of the Board, a vote may (in urgent matters) take place outside of the meeting of a General Assembly, that is, by correspondence. In this case the president of each National Committee and of each International Affiliated Organization shall vote in the name of his body. In case of presidential incapacity, any other duly authorized officer may act in his place. Only a simple majority of the votes shall be required to pass a measure.

Art. 5. The Board of the Committee.

The Board of the Committee shall consist of a President, a first Vice-President, a second Vice-President, a Secretary-General, a Treasurer, and six Assessor members.

The election of the Board shall be prepared by a Nominating Committee of seven members, three of them belonging to the Board. Membership of the Committee is proposed by the Board at the first meeting of the General Assembly convened between Congresses. Other candidates may be presented at the second meeting by the delegates of the National Committees or of the International Affiliated Organizations. The General Assembly will then proceed with the election of the Nominating Committee. 

If this procedure cannot be followed, the election will take place by correspondence as established in paragraph 3 of article 4 of the present Constitution. Candidates for election to the Board may be proposed by National Committees, International Affiliated Organizations, and the Board during the twelve months following the constitution of the Nominating Committee which shall present its proposals at the first of the two General Assemblies which take place at each Congress. 

Counterproposals may be submitted to the Board between the first and the second Assembly. To be admissible, a counterproposal must be signed by the representatives of five National Committees of International Affiliated Organizations. 

The Board shall be elected at the second of the two General Assemblies held at the Congress. It shall assume office at the end of that same Congress and serve until the end of the following Congress.

Members of the Board may be re-elected, but the President and three other members of the Board must be replaced at each general election.

Persons who have reached the age of seventy are not eligible or for election or re-election.

Should a vacancy occur within the Board during its term of office, the Board shall propose a substitute and organize a by-election at the next General Assembly or by way of correspondence. In the latter case, the procedure provided in paragraph 3 of article 4 shall be applied. However, in the event that the President is unable to serve his/her term to the end, the first Vice-President shall become President and shall complete the term. In case the latter in turn should be incapacitated, he/she shall be replaced in the same way by the second Vice-President.

The past President of the CISH shall also be a member of the Board, as Counsellor-Member without vote, until the next Congress after his or her presidential office, without consideration of age.

The Board shall be responsible for the functioning and co-ordination of CISH activities. It shall prepare the agenda of General Assemblies and distribute it to participants two months in advance. It shall be empowered between meetings to take necessary steps to summon, in case of emergency, extraordinary Assemblies and, if necessary, to solicit votes by correspondence from National Committees and International Affiliated Organizations.

The Board shall supervise management of the Committee’s finances. It shall submit to the General Assembly the Treasurer’s report, the accounts for the term since the previous General Assembly, and the budget proposal for the coming year. The Board itself is responsible for budgets in other years.

The Board, represented by the President or his/her proxy, shall have the right to take legal action on behalf of the Committee. It may accept legacies and gifts and may, in conformity with the constitution, fulfill all necessary legal formalities. For all financial matters, the Treasurer or his proxy, shall have individual signatory power.

The President, the Secretary General, and the Treasurer constitute the Bureau, which oversees the administrative work of the CISH. The Bureau can appoint a Deputy Secretary General who shall be responsible for the administrative work of the CISH.

Art. 6. Dues and contributions.

Every National Committee or International Affiliated Organization shall pay annual dues determined by the General Assembly. The amount shall be the same for all National Committees. Annual dues are also required for all International Affiliated Organizations, but at a lower amount than that paid by the National Committees. By way of exception the Board may concede duly motivated derogations to these rules. Proceeds of the dues shall be assigned in the first place to the internal administration of the CISH, and subsequently to its scholarly activities. These, however, shall be the first to benefit from extraordinary contributions, subventions, gifts and legacies.

Art. 7. Withdrawals and exclusions.

Every National Committee or International Affiliated Organization that has not paid its dues for three years shall lose its right to vote. After five years, that National Committee or International Affiliated Organization shall be deemed to have withdrawn de facto.

In addition, any National Committee or International Affiliated Organization that has seriously violated the principles of international cooperation contrary to articles 1 and 2 of the constitution shall be liable to exclusion by the CISH following the procedure provided in article 4, paragraph 2 above.

Art. 8. Domicile of the Committee.

The domicile of the Committee shall be the Swiss city where the funds of the CISH are deposited.

Art. 9. Amendement of the constitution.

Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the Board or by the delegates of three different National Committees or International Affiliated Organizations. Notice of proposed amendments must be made to National Committees and International Affiliated Organizations two months before a General Assembly for inclusion on the agenda. A two-thirds majority of those voting shall be required for their adoption.

Any disagreement concerning the constitution shall be resolved by a competent judge with jurisdiction in the Committee’s domicile.

Art. 10. By-laws.

All questions concerning the functioning of the CISH not dealt with by the present constitution may be regulated by by-laws which shall be proposed to the General Assembly by the Board and adopted in the Assembly by simple majority.

Art. 11. Dissolution of the Committee.

The Committee shall be dissolved if the number of members falls below five. In this case, the assets and profits of the Committee are transferred to the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences for administration in trust with the mandate to transfer the assets and profits upon the establishment of a new non-profit international organization for the promotion of international cooperation in field of historical sciences that is based in Switzerland and that is exempt from tax liability due to its charitable or public purpose. A fusion can only take place with another association that is exempt from tax liability due to its charitable or public purpose and that is based in Switzerland.

Tokyo, October 25, 2024