Article 1: Name and legal form
Article 2: Object
Article 3: Head office
Article 4: Members
Article 5: Registration and dismissal
Article 6: Resources
Article 7: Membership dues
Article 8 - Congreso "Metropolis"
Article 9: Structure of the Association
Article 10: General Assembly
Article 11: Extraordinary General Assembly
Article 12: Board of Directors
Article 13: The Chairman of the Board of Directors
Article 14: Permanent General Secretariat
Article 15: Internal by-law
Article 16: Amendment of the statutes
Article 17: Dissolution

Article 1 - Name and legal form
The association is founded between the signatories to the present statutes, governed by the French law of July 1, 1901 and the decree of August 16, 1901, the title of the association being: "Association mondiale des grandes métropoles, Metropolis". "World Association of the Major Metropolises, Metropolis". "Asociación mundial de las grandes metrópolis, Metropolis".

This non-profit Association is an international, non ?governmental organization free of political and religious ties.

Article 2 - Object
The main object of the Association is to foster international cooperation and exchanges between political authorities, administrations and public and private agencies of major metropolises for the purpose of:

• promoting and disseminating knowledge acquired in areas which contribute to the management, planning and development of major metropolises
• disseminating information about the experiments and policies carried out by those responsible for major metropolises to meet the essential needs and aspirations of their inhabitants
• encouraging and promoting studies or research designed to contribute to the better organization of urban space, the improvement of the environment and living conditions of populations of major metropolises and their economic well-being
• strenghening the bonds of solidarity forged among the major metropolises at the "Metropolis 84" congress and extending them to other metropolises in order to foster understanding among peoples and a dialogue among metropolises in different countries.

To achieve these objectives, the Association will offer opportunities for contact and will facilitate or encourage the exchange of information and ideas among organizations or persons directly or indirectly interested in the problems of major metropolises and their future.

Because of the extremely wide variety of institutional and demographic situations, the term "metropolis", in the present statutes, mainly means a geographic entity consisting of a continuous urban zone, which plays a leading role in the country in which it is located.

Article 3 - Head office
The headquarters of the Association are located in Paris: 33, rue Barbet de Jouy ? 75007 Paris. They may be transferred by majority decision of the Board of Directors; ratification by the General Assembly will be required.

Article 4 - Members
The Association is made up of active members and associate members. Active members are those who endorse the objectives of the Association defined in Article 2 and who fall within the categories below.

All public institutions having territorial jurisdiction, organizations or bodies that represent "metropolises", whatever the diversity of local administration systems, may be active members of the Association.

Among the active members, "metropolises" having participated in Metropolis?84, which were present at the meeting to establish the Association held in Montreal, Canada, on April 18 and 19, 1985 are considered to be founding members. The list of theses "metropolises" is attached to the present statutes (Appendix 1).

All the institutions, organizations or bodies in the Association are represented by their executive officials or by a representative appointed for this purpose. The Association accepts associate members: institutions, legal entities or persons. The role of associate members is specified in Article 10. Admission of active and associate members is subject to the approval of the Board of Directors which rules by a two-thirds majority of its present or represented members.

Article 5 - Resignation and dismissal
Member status is lost through:

a) resignation
b) Dismissal, which may be proposed by the Board of Directors by a competent, three-quarters majority of members present or represented, for non-compliance with the rules laid down by the statutes. It is decided by the General Assembly.

Article 6 - Resources
The resources of the Association consist essentially of membership dues. They may be complemented by agreements, grants, contributions and various resources to enable the Association to carry out activities in keeping with its objectives.

Article 7 - Membership dues
Active and associate members pay membership dues based on a scale set by the Board of Directors.

Article 8 - "Metropolis" Congress
In keeping with is objectives defined in Article 2 above, the Association will periodically hold a Metropolis congress on the basis of topics proposed by the Board of Directors.

Congresses will deal with topics based on the wishes expressed by the General Assembly. The Association may act as a patron to meetings of some of its members on specific themes. Such meetings are open to all the members of the Association who wish to attend and members are advised of the conclusions of such meetings.

Article 9 - Structure of the Association
The agencies of the Association are: the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and its Executive Committee.

Article 10 - General Assembly
The General Assembly is held by active members. They alone have voting rights. Associate members are invited to participate in discussions at the General Assembly and its commissions. They are kept informed of the whole of the work of the Assembly; they may be made responsible for preparing technical reports on specific subjects. The General Assembly is convened by the President of the Board of Directors at each "Metropolis" congress held by the Association or approximately every three years.

At least 15 days before the date set, the members of the Association receive invitations to attend along with the agenda. The President, accompanied by members of the Board, presides over the Assembly and reports on the current state of the Association. The Treasurer presents a management report and submits the balance sheet for approval by the Assembly. UOn conclusion of all items on the agenda, out-going members of the Board are replaced by secret ballot.

The General Assembly deliberates over questions proposed in the agenda by the Board of Directors and various questions approved by the General Assembly. The latter proposes topics for thought at subsequent meetings to the Board of Directors. LThe General Assembly may validly deliberate only if half of the active members of the Association are present or represented. Decisions are taken by simple majority of active members present or represented. Failing a quorum, a new Assembly is convened and may then deliberate without the quorum requirement.

Article 11 - Extraordinary General Assembly
On his own initiative or upon the request of a simple majority of the active members, the President may call an Extraordinary General Assembly according to the formalities provided for under Article 10.

The Extraordinary General Assembly may validly deliberate only if two-thirds of the active members of the Association are present or represented. If there is no quorum, a second Assembly is convened according to the same formalities two months later. The decisions of this Extraordinary General Assembly are then taken by absolute majority of active members present or represented.

Article 12 - Board of Directors
The Association is directed by a Board of Directors consisting of 12 to 22 members representing the metropolises of various continents and elected by the General Assembly. The members may be reelected.

The founding Assembly decides beforehand on the formation of the initial Board of Directors from among founding members. The Board of Directors meets at least once a year, as notified by the President or at the request of one-quarter of its members.

At the first notice, the Board of Directors can make legally valid agreements only when a minimum of half its members are present or represented. If there is no quorum, a new meeting of the Board of Directors will be called, at which no quorum is required to make legally valid agreements.

Decisions are taken by majority vote; in the event of a tied vote, the President casts the deciding vote. Any member of the Board of Directors who, without excuse, misses three consecutive meetings may be considered to have resigned. The Board of Directors approves the budget of the Association. All the members of the Association are made aware of the budget. At the Metropolis convention, the mandate of the Board of Directors expires at each General Assembly immediately following the election of the new Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors appoints::
1) a President
2) a minimun of five Vice-Presidents, representatives from the geographic regions into which the Association?s decentralised administration is divided.
3) a Secretary General
4) a Treasurer
The above may meet as an Executive Committee.

During the period when a Metropolis Congress is being prepared, the metropolis organizing the congress may be associated with the work of the Executive of the Board of Directors.

Article 13 - The President of the Board of Directors
The President of the Board of Directors is personnally elected by the Board of Directors for the period equal to the mandate of the Board of Directors. He may be re-elected. In the event of a vacancy or change during a mandate, the Board appoints a new President. The President represents the Association in all acts of civil life and is invested with all powers of such purpose.

Article 14 - Permanent Secretariat General and Regional Secretariats
A permanent Secretariat General is instituted and provided with an administrative department. The Secretariat General is responsible for developing and co-ordinating relations among members and applying the decisions of the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Executive. The Secretary General is appointed by the Board of Directors.

The Metropolis Regional Secretariats are instituted, one for each geographic zone into which the Association?s decentralised administration is divided. The mission of the Regional Secretariats is to promote and develop the Association?s activities within its geographic zone of influence. The Regional Secretaries are designated by the Board of Directors.

Article 15 - Reglamento interno
The modalities of application of the present statutes are set forth in an internal regulations established by the Board of Directors.

Article 16 - Amendment of the statutes
Any member of the Association may propose amendments to the statutes to the Board of Directors. The statutes may be amended by the Extraordinary General Assembly provided such amendments are proposed to its members three months beforehand and that they are in accordance with the objectives defined in Article 2. The new statutes come into force immediately after the vote by the General Assembly.

Article 17 - Dissolution
In the event of dissolution approved by at least two-thirds of the active members present or represented at the General Assembly, one or more liquidators shall be appointed by the General Assembly and the assets, if any, shall be devolved in accordance with Article 9 of the law of July 1, 1901 and the decree of August 16, 1901.

November 2000