HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE
STATUTES
OF PUBLIC CORPORATION
The HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE ('HRC') is an independent public corporation comprising the rectors of Hungarian higher education institutions entitled to represent higher education institutions and to protect their interests. The Hungarian Rectors' Conference was established by the Parliament in connection with the overall transformation of the higher education system in accordance with Section 114 of Act CXXXIX of 2005 on Higher Education ('Act') in harmony with Section 65 (1) of Act IV of 1959 on the Civil Code.
I.
| Name: | Hungarian Rectors' Conference |
| Seat: | 1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rakpart 3. |
| Year of establishment: | 2006. |
| President: | Dr. Éva Sándorné Kriszt, Rector |
| Co-president: | Prof. Dr. Tivadar Tulassay, Rector |
| Honorary president: | Prof. Dr. Szabó Gábor, Rector |
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference is a public corporation with independent legal entity established by the law to perform state tasks. The Hungarian Rectors' Conference is not registered as a public benefit organisation, but exists as a public benefit organisation with special legal status.
II.
OBJECTIVE OF THE HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE
The key objective of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference is to represent and to protect the interests of higher education institutions.
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference provides, in order to achieve such objective, a regular forum for keeping contact with the heads of higher education
institutions to change opinions and to pass decisions and resolutions within the sphere defined by legislative provisions.
a. scientific activities, research,
b. school instruction and education, personal ability development, dissemination of knowledge,
c. cultural activities.
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference does not preclude parties other than its members from benefiting from its public welfare services.In accordance with Act CXXXIX of 2005 on Higher Education the Hungarian Rectors' Conference is a body implementing state powers (Title before Section 109 of the Act). During its non-profit activities, it performs also public duties that, pursuant to legislation or authorization by legislation, should be performed by a governmental body pursuant to the provisions of other legal regulations.
Within that sphere the Hungarian Rectors' Conference is entitled to pursue the following activities, in particular:
- to promote co-operation between the institutions and groups of higher education;
- to promote co-operation between higher education institutions and interest groups;
- to promote co-operation between higher education institutions and the Government or the bodies of the Government;
- to pursue any task which is assigned to the competence of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference by the law, legislative provisions or decisions of the members;
- to conduct research, to compile documentation, to elaborate resolutions and to present proposals in order to achieve the objective described above;
- to establish and maintain international contacts for supporting the objective described above;
- to establish and manage foundations and other financial funds in order to implement the objective described above.
The Public Corporation shall not be entitled to pursue direct political activities; it shall be independent of political parties, and may not provide financial support to or may not be granted support from any political party; furthermore it shall not be entitled to set up or support Members of Parliament or members of local governments.
The Public Corporation may pursue economic, business or investment activities in order to attain its targets and to ensure economic conditions for that purpose, but such activities may not constitute the main activities of the Public Corporation. The Public Corporation may pursue business or investment activities only for attaining its non-profit objectives, and its activities may not endanger such non-profit objectives. It is not entitled to divide its economic result, but has the right to use the same for activities pursued for achieving its objectives.
The Public Corporation may award scholarships and provide one-off grants,
and may employ full-time and part-time employees to effectively attain the targets set by it as
a public corporation.
The HRC shall publish the main data of its activities and management in national daily "Népszabadság"
and on its website.
III.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE
Membership
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference comprises the rectors of Hungarian higher education
institutions who are members until they hold their position as rectors of the relevant
higher education institutions.
Members of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall act to the best of their abilities
during passing their decisions in favour of Hungarian higher education and higher
education institutions.
No statutory declaration of acceptance is required for membership in the
Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
Membership in the Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall terminate:
- upon death of a member;
- upon termination of the position of a member as rector of a higher education institution.
Upon termination of a member's position as rector of a higher
education institution his/her membership and his/her position in the Hungarian Rectors' Conference
shall also terminate.
In that case the new rector of the relevant higher education institution shall replace
his/her predecessor in the Hungarian Rectors' Conference. Nevertheless, a new rector
may become an officer only by election.
No legal statement is required for termination of membership. Upon termination of the position of the Honorary Chairman as rector, he shall remain the honorary member of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and shall fill the position of the Honorary Chairman.
Unless otherwise provided by these Statutes, members of the Public Corporation have equal rights and such rights are exercised through their personal cooperation.
Rights of the members of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall be as follows:
- the members may attend the Plenary Session and shall have the right to act in advisory capacity and shall also have the right of voting;
- to deliver their opinion and to make remarks or proposals on matters of concern of the Public Corporation;
- to be elected to any position of the Public Corporation;
- to get information from the heads and officers of the bodies of the Public Corporation.
- to observe the provisions of the Statutes of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and the relevant resolutions of the Plenary Session and of the management;
- to perform their voluntary responsibilities in connection with the activity of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference, and to promote the achievement of the targets of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference as may be required of the members;
- to support the activity of the Public Corporation requiring their personal cooperation.
Conflict of interest rules
An executive officer of the HRC may not become member of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee
of Higher Education and of the Higher Education and Scientific Council.
The President, Co-President, member of the Presidency or Secretary General of the
HRC may not become member of the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
The HRC shall pursue its activities in respect of and by observing the conflict of interest
rules provided for in Sections 8 and 9 of Act CLVI of 1997 on Non-Profit Organizations and
in Section 8 of Act II of 1989 on the Freedom of Association.
IV.
ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS OF THE HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE
Bodies of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference comprise the Plenary Session, the Presidency, the President, the Co-President, the Honorary Chairman, the Sections, the Committees and the Secretariat.
Plenary Session
3. § (1) The supreme representation organization of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference
is the Plenary Session, comprising the rectors of the Hungarian higher education institutions.
(2) The Plenary Session shall be convened in writing by the President at least twice
every year. The Plenary Session shall be regarded convened according to the rules if
the members have been notified of the Plenary Session in writing at least eight days
before the date of the Plenary Session, and are informed on the agenda in writing.
It shall be mandatory to convene a Plenary Session if requested by the members representing
at least one-third of the votes. In that case, the proposal to convene the Plenary Session
shall be forwarded electronically or by fax to the Secretariat of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
(3) The following persons may take part at the Plenary Session and have the right to act in advisory
capacity: a representative of the National Union of Students in Hungary, National Union of Ph.D. Students,
Trade Union of Teachers in Higher Education each, and the president of the Hungarian Accreditation
Committee of Higher Education and that of the Higher Education and Scientific Council.
(4) The Plenary Sessions are open meetings. The President may order to hold a closed session
at his own discretion or upon the initiative of one-third of the members present.
a) accept or amend the Statutes and the By-Laws of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference;
b) elect the Co-President, and, if required, the President of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference in case the person of the President cannot be identified based on the Statutes ,
c) delegate members to the Hungarian Accreditation Committee of Higher Education [Section 111 (1) of the Act], to the Supervision Committee of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee of Higher Education [Section 111 (7) of the Act] and to the Higher Education and Scientific Council [Section 113 (1) of the Act];
d) approve the budget of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and set the extent of the membership fee paid by the institutions;
e) exercise control over the bodies of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference;
f) approve the annual work schedule and accept the annual budget of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference;
g) request reports from the President and the Presidency;
h) shall exclusively provide for the termination, dissolution or merger of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference. A two-thirds majority of the votes of all members is required for passing a resolution on such termination, dissolution or Merger;
i) perform all activities which are conferred under the competence of the members' Plenary Session by the laws or these Statutes;
j) approve the annual report of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and the report on the activities of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference as a public benefit organization.
(2) The rights assigned by Section 114 of the Act to the Hungarian Rectors' Conference may be exercised at the Plenary Session, and such rights except for those set forth in Paragraph (3) below may be transferred to its bodies.
- the structure of training [Section 11 (2) of the Act],
- the general rules of credit-based education [Section 57 (5) of the Act],
- the rules of conferring doctorate degrees with honours [Section 65 (1) of the Act],
- the order of multi-cycle training, the qualification framework, the procedure of launching a programme [Section 32 (11) a) and c), Section 145 (7) of the Act].
5. § (1) Voting rights shall be due to members of the Plenary Session in proportion
to the votes described in Appendix No. 1 to these Statutes. If a rector is represented at the Plenary Session
by another person, then such representative shall not have voting right, only shall have the right to act in
advisory capacity.
(2) The Plenary Session has quorum if more than half of all votes are represented.
(3) The Plenary Session shall pass its resolutions by a simple majority of the votes represented. In case of
equality of votes the issue in question shall be re-voted.
(4) If at least half of the votes are not represented at a Plenary Session convened - and as a consequence
the Plenary Session fails to have quorum -, the chairman shall adjourn the Plenary Session, and shall set
a new deadline for holding the Plenary Session which may not be later than within 15 days, with the
issues of the original agenda. Members shall be notified of the opportunity of a repeated Plenary Session
already in the invitation to the Plenary Session. The repeated Plenary Session shall have quorum irrespective
of the number of those present and the proportion of the votes represented by the members.
A repeated Plenary Session may not be convened within 1 (one) hour from the starting date of the original
Plenary Session.
The Secretariat shall inform those concerned on the decisions passed by the Plenary Session,
and such decisions shall be published on the website of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
The Secretariat shall keep records on the decisions of the Plenary Session suitable for the
identification of the content, date, effect of the decisions as well as the numerical proportion
(and the person if possible) of those voting for and against the decisions.
Anyone may inspect the documents in connection with the operation of the organization at
the seat of the organization at a time agreed in advance.
(5) The President may, if required, order that the Plenary Session makes its decision on certain
issues electronically or by fax. In that case, the votes shall electronically or by fax be
forwarded to the Secretariat of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference. It shall be mandatory to
convene a Plenary Session in issues described in Sub-Clauses (1) (a) to (h) and (j) of Clause 4,
and no voting is allowed electronically or by way of fax.
6. § (1) The Hungarian Rectors' Conference is represented by the President.
(2) The President shall exercise all rights which are not assigned by these Statutes to the Plenary Session or the Presidency; in particular:
a) the President shall make proposal to appoint or remove the Secretary General, and shall control the activity of the Secretary General, and shall exercise employer's rights.
b) On behalf of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference the President shall exercise:
ba) the right of issuance of official copies,
bb) transfer authorities,
bc) employer's rights, and
bd) rights of representation.
c) The President shall convene the sessions of the Presidency.
(3) The President shall be replaced by the Co-President or the Honorary Chairman.(4) The mandate of the President, the Co-President and the Honorary Chairman shall be valid for one year. The position of the President and the Co-President shall be rotated among the university rectors and college rectors. The position of the President and the Co-President shall concurrently be filled by a university rector and a college rector. The President, after expiration of his mandate, shall fill the position of the Honorary Chairman, and the Co-President, after expiration of his mandate, shall fill the position of the President automatically for an additional year without new election. If the mandate of the President terminates before expiration for other reasons, then the Co-President shall fill the position of the President from the date of termination of the mandate of the President. In that case, a new Co-President shall be elected within 60 days. If the mandate of the Co-President terminates before expiration for other reasons, then a new Co-President shall be elected within 60 days for a period equal to the original mandate of the former Co-President.
7. § (1) The Presidency of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall comprise eight members, in addition to the President and the Co-President. Four members of the Presidency shall be delegated by the Sections from university rectors, and four members from college rectors. The chairman of the Supervisory Board may attend the sessions of the Presidency and shall have the right to act in advisory capacity.
(2) The activity of the Presidency shall be controlled by the President. Those set forth above in relation to the Plenary Session shall apply to the operation of the Presidency as follows.
a) it shall hold its meetings at least six times every year;
b) its meeting shall have quorum if at least six members are present;
c) every member shall have one vote with the derogation that the Honorary Chairman shall have only right of consultation but not voting right ;
d) it shall pass resolutions by a simple majority of votes;
e) it shall pass resolutions on personal issues by secret voting, and on other issues in an open vote.
(3) The assent of the Presidency shall be necessary for any governance issue belonging to the competence of the Minister of Education and Culture [Section 153 (4) of the Act], in particular for issues concerning- the programme and exit requirements in undergraduate and graduate education,
- the general rules on the organisation of postgraduate specialist training courses.
(4) The Presidency shall:a) approve commitments exceeding HUF 1 million undertaken by the President;
b) co-ordinate the activities of the Sections and Committees;
c) invite the representatives of the Committees to its meetings as necessary,
d) delegate representatives to the meetings of the National Union of Students in Hungary, National Union of Ph.D. Students, National Accreditation Board and the Higher Education and Scientific Council, and shall appoint the person taking part in the work of the Reconciliation Council of Higher Education;
e) approve the appointment and remuneration of the Secretary General;
f) establishes the order and date of the payment of membership fees.
(5) The Presidency may act relating to any issue that is not assigned to the competence of other body by the Statutes or the Plenary Session.(6) The members of the Presidency shall be elected for two years, and may be re-elected however many times.
Sections
8. § (1) A University Section and a College Section shall function within the
Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
(2) Each Section shall be headed by its president.
(3) Each Section shall delegate three persons and the presidents of the
Sections to the Presidency.
(4) A Section shall establish its own regulation of operation, and shall
elect its president.
(5) The rules defined for the Plenary Session shall appropriately apply
to the Sections (quorum, passing of resolutions).
(6) The Sections shall consult the competent committees on professional issues.
(7) The mandate of the President of a Section shall be valid for two years.
Committees
9. § (1) Committees comprising the rectors or representatives of rectors of higher
education institutions (e.g. institutions of agriculture, medicine and health science,
arts, teacher training) may function within the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
(2) Committees may be established in accordance with other principles as well.
(3) A committee shall establish its own regulation of operation, and shall elect its president.
(4) The president of a committee shall ask the competent committee's opinion on professional
issues and on exercising the rights of assent in accordance with Clause 4 (3) and Clause 7 (3).
(5) The committees shall be set up by the Plenary Session.
(6) The committees shall, through the Secretariat, regularly inform the Presidency on their activity.
Secretariat
10. § (1) The Secretariat shall be responsible for proceeding in the issues of the
Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
(2.) The regulation of operation of the Secretariat shall be approved by the Presidency.
(3) The Secretariat shall be headed by the Secretary General.
Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board shall oversee the operations and financial management of the Hungarian
Rectors' Conference in accordance with Section 11 of Act CLVI of 1997 on Non-Profit Organizations.
In this function, it may request reports from the executive officers and information from the employees
of the organization, furthermore it may review and audit the non-profit organization's books and records.
A member of the Supervisory Board may with the right of consultation participate
in the meetings of the Plenary Session.
The Supervisory Board shall comprise three members, and shall elect its chairman
from among its members. The members of the Supervisory Board shall be elected
by the Plenary Session for a period of two years. The Supervisory Board shall
hold its meetings at least two times every year. Those set forth in relation
to the Presidency shall also apply to the operation of the Supervisory Board
on condition that the Supervisory Board is allowed to establish its own rules
of procedures according to the statutory provisions and the rules of the Statutes.
V.
ASSETS OF THE HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE
Pursuant to Act CXXXIX of 2005 on Higher Education the
economic and management conditions of the operation of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference
shall be ensured, to the extent set forth in Appendix No. 2 to these Statutes, by
higher education institutions whose heads are members of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
The joint signature of the President (or, if the President is not available, of the
Co-President) and of a member of the Presidency shall be required for disposal over
the bank account of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
The joint signature of the President (or, if the President is not available, of the Co-President) and of a member of the Presidency shall be required for disposal over the bank account of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
Financial, management and accounting tasks and economic administration of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall be performed by the Secretariat of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference under the direction of the Secretary General.
- sources ensured by the institutions headed by the members,
- supports obtained through tenders,
- other supports from the central budget,
- donations.
In the event that an institution headed by any member might owe debt to the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and such debt might not be settled in spite of a call repeated twice, then the representative (rector) of the institution owing debts in arrears may not exercise his/her membership rights in the period when the debt is due.
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall be liable for its debts with its own assets, and the members shall not be responsible for such debts.
VI.
TERMINATION OF THE HUNGARIAN RECTORS' CONFERENCE
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall cease to exist if it is dissolved or declared terminated by a duly authorized agency.
The Hungarian Rectors' Conference shall cease to exist by the relevant final decision of the Court.
VII.
CLOSING PROVISIONS
The Presidency shall (through the Secretariat) provide for the establishment of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and for the publication of its operation and the method of the use of its services by announcing the relevant rules and information in the premises of the seat of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference within easy reach to anybody, and on the website of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
To any issue not regulated by these Statutes the provisions of the current Civil Code on public corporations and societies and the provisions of Act II of 1989 shall apply.
Budapest, 1st July, 2009
President of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference
Prof. Dr. Gábor Szabó, Rector
Sponsors
