Main Rules

ASSOCIATION BY – LAWS

 

Chapter 1. Name, headquarters and activity

1) The Federation bears the name “International Karate Federation” and is the union of all clubs and organizations across the world devoted to Shotokan, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryu. Its business is apolitical, non-profit orientated and solely and directlyfor the common good.2) The Federation has its headquarters in Monchengladbach – Germany, EickenerStrasse 183 D – 41063 and its activities extend all over the world.3) The Federation’s official languages are German, English and French.

Chapter 2. Purpose

1) To create, firmly anchor and maintain a nationally and internationally recognized bodyrepresenting the interests of the karate disciplines.Shotokan, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryu and other traditionally Styles2) The promotion of the karate discipline Shotokan, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryuwhich is the practiced on a strictly amateur basis and its principles and ideals. The main concern is the cultivation of the values handed down in the so-called “traditional Karate do”: honor (meiyo), loyalty (chujitsu), honesty/openness (seijitsu or makoto), courage (yuuki or yuukan), goodness and kindness (shinsetsu), modesty (ken), straightforwardness (tadashi or sei), respect (sonchoo) and self-control (seigyo).

3) The support of the activities and representation of the interests of the Federation’s members and member organizations on a national and international level.

Chapter 3. Activities aimed at realizing the Federation’s purpose

1) The purpose of the Federation shall be achieved by the following activities:

  a) Group training and social get-togethers

  b) Organization of continuing-education events and seminars on competitive sports.

  c) Organization of competitions

  d) Exchange of thoughts and information

  e) Presentation and representation of the Federation and its activities to the public, through the media, the appropriate specialized athletic institution and in the Internet.

2) The necessary financial and material means shall be raised by:

  a) Application fees and membership fees (currency in Euro or US $)

  b) Profits from events

  c) Donations, bequests and other allocations.

Chapter 4. Types of membership

1) The members of the Federation are divided into full, associate and honorary members and an honorary president.

2) Full members are those members who participate fully in the Federation’s work. Full membership is accorded only to organizations that are approved according to the regulations of their respective countries, and only one full member is permitted per country. The members of the organizations will hereafter be referred to as organization members.

International Karate Federation

President SHIHAN Peter Brockers 9th Dan

FOUNDER MEMBER I.K.F.

Eickener Str.183 D – 41063 Mönchengladbach

Tel.: 0049 2161 22469 Fax: 204711Mobil 0049 178 4660317

www.international-karate-federation.com

3) Associate members are natural and legal persons who support the activities of the Federation primarily by paying higher membership fees.

4) Honorary members are natural persons who are awarded this distinction because of special services to the Federation.

Chapter 5. Acquiring of membership

1) The Board makes the final decision regarding the admission of full and associate members. The Board is not obliged to cite grounds for denying admission.

2) The General Meeting at the behest of the Board carries out the appointment of honorary members.

3) Until the Federation is officially established, the initiators carry out the temporary admission of members. This type of membership will become effective when the Federation is constitutionals.

Chapter 5a Fees of I.K.F.

1) The country has paid every year € 150 to the account of the I.K.F.

2) Every club minimum 5 Athletes (for poor countries) have to pay every year 10 € to I.K.F.

3) Those Money must paid to 2nd weeks of January of the year

4) These monies will used to finance int. seminars and Administration of the I.K.F

5) International registration of the Dan grade costs on enquiry

Bank account I.K.F.:

"Deutsche Bank" (Germany),

Bank code no.: 310 700 24, Account no.: 645 20 5600
IBAN: D42 3107 0024 0645 2056 00

BIC SWIFT-CODE: DEUTDEDB310
 
 
6. Chapter Termination of membership

1) Membership is terminated because of death (in the case of legal persons with the loss of their legal personality), by voluntary resignation, by cancellation and by expulsion.

2) Resignation is permitted only at the end of each calendar quarter. The Board must be notified at least one month in advance of the resignation. If the notification is submitted after the deadline, it does not take effect until the next authorized resignation date.

3) The Board may cancel a membership if a member’s fees are more than three months overdue, and if the member has been served with three reminders. This does not absolve the member of his obligation to pay outstanding fees.

4) Cancellation of the membership of a member or organization member can be ordered by the Board on ground of a grievous violation of the membership obligations or dishonorable conduct. The conduct of an organization member is to be identified with the conduct of the organization if the organization does not take appropriate steps to stop this conduct. An appeal of the Board’s decision can be made to the General Meeting. Until a decision on the appeal is made, membership rights are suspended.

5) The annulment for an honorary membership can be decided by the General Meeting, at the behest of the Board, for the reasons mentioned in Article 4.

Chapter 7. Rights and obligations of members

1) Members have the right to participate in the General Meeting and Federation events and are entitled to make use of those Federation facilities intended for members. Only full members, honorary members have the rights to vote in the General Meeting and to vote and stand as candidates in Federation elections.

2) Members are obligated to act on behalf of the interest of the Federation and to refrain from any activity that could harm the standing of the federation or undermine its purpose. They shall observe the Federation’s By-laws and the resolution of the Federation’s administrative bodies in their activities. Full and the associate members are obligated to punctually pay the application fee and the membership fees, which are determined annually in the General Meeting. Otherwise (regardless of further consequences), their membership standing fees have been paid. In addition, full members are  obligated to provide the Federation with truthful information about their organization and organization members if the Federation deems it necessary or

beneficial for its activities.

Chapter 8. Administrative bodies of the Federation

The administrative bodies of the Federation are the General Meeting (Chapter 9 and 10), the Board (Chapter 11 to 13), the Auditors (Chapter 14), the Technical Commission

(Chapter 15) and the Federation’s Arbitration Panel (Chapter 16). Membership in the administrative bodies of the Federation is open only to natural persons who are members of the Federation or are members of one of the Federation’s member organizations.

Chapter 9. The General Meeting

1) The regular General Meeting takes places once each calendar year.

2) A special General Meeting must take place within eight weeks of being called for by means of a resolution by the Board or the normal General Meeting, or through a motion, with the grounds for the motion submitted in writing, by at least 50% of the members, or at the behest of the Auditor.

3) All members shall be invited, in writing, to both normal and special General Meetings at least six weeks prior to the date of the respective General Meeting. The agenda for the General Meeting must be provided at the time the date is set. The Board carries out the convening of the meeting.

4) Motions for the General Meeting are to be submitted in writing to the Board at least 14 days prior to the date of the General Meeting.

5) Valid resolutions – except those concerning a motion to call for a special General Meeting – may be passed only on items on the agenda.

6) All members are entitled to participate in the General Meeting. Only full members, honorary members and the honorary president have voting rights. Each member has one vote. A person with power of attorney represents legal persons. The transfer of voting rights to another member through written authorization (power and attorney) is permitted.

7) The General Meeting requires the attendance of at least one-half of all members with voting rights – or they’re representative (see Article 6) – for a quorum. If the General Meeting does not have a quorum at the appointed time, the General Meeting shall convene twenty minutes later with the same agenda and has a quorum regardless of the number of members present.

8) Elections and the passing of resolutions at the General Meeting are carried out, as a rule, on the basis of a simple majority of votes. Resolutions with which the Federation’s By-laws would be amended or the Federation dissolved, however, require a two-thirds majority of the valid votes submitted.

9) The President assumes the chair of the General Meeting. If he is unable to fullfils this duty, the oldest member of the Board present assumes the chair.

Chapter 10. Tasks of the General Meeting

The following tasks are reserved for the General Meeting:

1) Receiving and approving the Annual Report and the Annual Financial Report and officially approving the actions of the Board and the Treasurer.

2) Passing resolutions on budget estimates.

3) Appointing and dismissing members of the Board, the Auditors and the Federation’s Arbitration Panel.

4) Determining the amount of the application fee and membership fees for full and associate members.

5) Conferring and rescinding honorary memberships at the behest of the Board.

6) Making decisions on appeals regarding the expulsion of members.

7) Passing resolutions pertaining to amendments to the by-laws and the voluntary

dissolution of the Federation.

Chapter 11. The Board

1) The Board consists of five members: the President, the General Secretary, the Treasurer and the technical director and Referee Referent.

2) In the case of the departure from the Board of an elected member, the Board, which is elected by the General appointment, must be applied for at the next General Meeting.

3) The Board is elected for a period of four years. In all events the term of office continues until a new Board is meeting.

4) Meetings of the Board are convened verbally or in writing by the President

5) Meetings of the Board have a quorum if all members have been invited and at least half are present.

6) The Board passes its resolutions by means of a simple majority, in the case of a tie, the outcome is determined by the vote of the chairperson.

7) The Board is chaired by the President or, if he is unable to fulfill this duty, the Vice-President or, if he is also unable, the oldest member of the Board assumes the chair.

8) Except in the case of death and the conclusion of a term of office, the term (Article 3)

of Board members is terminated either by dismissal (Article 10) or resignation (Article 11).

9) The General Meeting may at any time relieve the entire Board or individual Board members of their functions.

10) Board members may at any time submit their resignation in writing. In the case of the resignation of the entire Board, the written resignation is to be directed to the General Meeting. The resignation becomes effective only with the election or co-option (Article 2) of a successor.

Chapter 12. Tasks of the Board

The Board is responsible for the direction of the Federation. The Board assumes responsibility for all tasks not assigned to another administrative body of the Federation by the By-laws. The Board’s sphere of activity encompasses, above all, the following tasks:

1) Drafting the annual budget estimates and drawing up the Annual Report and the Annual Financial Report.

2) Preparing the General Meeting.

3) Convening the normal and special General Meeting.

4) Informing the Federation members of the Board’s activities and the management of the Federation’s finances at the General Meetings.

5) Administering the Federation’s assets.

6) Admitting, suspending and expelling Federation members.

7) Hiring and dismissing Federation employees.

8) Appointing and dismissing the Federation physician.

9) Making decisions on the purchase and sale of athletic equipment of objects for organizing competitions (i.e. timekeeping devices, scoring slates), as well as the purchase of objects that serve the development and standing of the Federation.

10) Presenting and representing the Federation and its activities in the media, the appropriate athletic institutions and in the Internet.

11) Keeping consecutively numbered minutes of the Board meetings. The voting results of all individual resolutions are to be included. The minutes are to be sent to all Federation members within three months of the convened Board meeting.

Chapter 13. Special responsibilities of individual Board members

1) The President occupies the Federation’s highest leadership position. He is responsible for the representation of the Federation – in particular to the general public and in dealings with government offices and third persons. He is the chairperson of the both the General Meeting and the Board. In the case of imminent danger he is authorized to independently make and carry out decisions – while taking full responsibility for them – on matters that fall within the Board’s area of activity. These actions require the approval, after the fact, of the responsible administrative body.

2) The General Secretary shall support the President in managing the Federation’s business activities. He is responsible for keeping the minutes of the General Meeting and Board meetings.

3) The Treasurer is responsible for conducting the Federation’s financial affairs in an orderly and proper manner.

4) The Federation’s written documents and announcements, especially documents binding for the Federation, are to be signed jointly by the President and General Secretary, unless they pertain to financial maters, in which case they are to be signed jointly by the President and Treasurer.

5) If the President is unable to fulfill his duties, the General Secretary or the Treasurer is unable to fulfill their duties, the respective deputy shall assume them.

Chapter 14. The Auditors

1) The General Meeting elects the auditors for a period of five years. Re-election is permitted.

2) The Auditors are responsible for the regular inspection of business activities and auditing the Annual Financial Report. The Auditors are to be report on the results of the audit at the General Meeting.

3) Otherwise, the regulations cited in Section 11, Articles 3, 8, 9 and 10 also apply analogously to the Auditors.

Chapter 15. The Technical Commission

1) The Technical Commission (abbreviated hereafter as TC) is composed of the Technical Director (appointed by the Honorary President), one representative from each of the full member organizations (national representatives) and the Federation physician, who is appointed by the Board. The Technical Director can be, but is not required to be, a member of the Board. The TC meets once a year and its members are to be notified four weeks in advance, in writing, of the time and date of the meeting by the Technical Director. The TC has a quorum if at least half of its members are present, and its resolutions are passed with a simple majority of votes.

2) The TC passes resolutions and makes decisions in all matters specifically related to the area of athletics. These specifically athletic matters include, in particular: training rules, examination rules, definition of the Kata and their Bunkai (applications), competition rules, judging rules, medical regulations, education programmers for trainers and selection of participants for special athletic activities. The TC is the highest authority in questions specifically related to athletics and makes its decisions in these matters in an autonomous manner.

3) The TC is required to issue rules of procedure in which the following areas are regulated: tournament rules, medical rules, and competition rules, judging rules and training rules. The rules of procedure are to be made available to all members.

4) The TC is required to keep consecutively numbered minutes of its meetings. The voting results of all individual resolutions are to be included. The minutes are to be sent to all members within three months of the convened meeting.

Chapter 16. The Federation Arbitration Panel

1) The Federation Arbitration Panel rules on all disputes arising in connection with the Federation, except in those matters in which the TC has jurisdiction.

2) In the case of a dispute, the request for a settlement of the dispute is to be addressed to the Board. At the Board’s behest, which must be issued no later than at the next scheduled Board meeting, each party involved in the dispute must within 14 days name an arbitrator, who must be objective, impartial and independent. The arbitrators then have 14 days to agree on a chairperson, who is to have legal training. In the case of a tied vote, the chairperson has the right to cast the deciding vote.

3) The Arbitration Panel makes it’s ruling in the presence of all its members with a simple majority of votes. It makes its decision to the best of its knowledge and belief. The Panel’s ruling is final.

4) The cost of the arbitration proceedings shall be borne by the loser of the dispute proceedings.

Chapter 17. Dissolution of the Federation

1) The voluntary dissolution of the Federation can be decided only in a special General Meeting convened for this purpose and only with a three-quarters majority of the votes.

2) The last Federation Board has the task of notifying, in writing, the government office responsible for federations of the voluntary dissolution. The Board is also obligated to publish a notice of the voluntary dissolution in an official periodical.

3) In any Federation assets exist; this General Meeting also has the task of making decisions about liquidation. In particular it must appoint a liquidator and decide to who the remaining assets are to be transferred after covering all the liabilities. In any event the assets are to be used for a non-profit athletic purposes. This is also applies if the common-good aims of the Federation are not followed.

 

President

Shihan

Peter Brockers

Karate Hanshi 10th Dan Shotokan