Fjord Horse International

1.1	National and subnational Fjord Horse organisations. Any organisation which promote the aims and objectives of the FHI.
1.2	Individual members. Any individual dedicated to promote the aims and objectives of the FHI.
1.3	Institutions, companies and other supporters to the FHI. Any institution, company or others who support the Fjord Horse and promotes the aim and objectives of the FHI.
1.4	Honorary members Distinguished persons who are granted membership. Nomination for such membership shall be made by a national delegation to the Board who shall decide on submission to the GA for approval.
1.5.	Application for membership shall be made on special form supplied by the Secretariat. An entrance fee of NOK 10 000 has to be paid. New members have to be approved by the Board.
1.6	Membership of the FHI shall terminate - by voluntary resignation - by not abiding the Constitution and Bylaws - by failing to pay the subscription, unless a special reason for the non payment is given. The Board can propose to terminate a membership. The decision has to be taken by the GA with two third of the votes cast.

2 - VOTING

2.1	In the GA the each member shall have one vote.
2.2	In matters concerning breeding rules, testing rules and competition rules only national Fjord Horse organisations can vote. Each of the organisations has only one vote. Any decision has to be confirmed by Norges Fjordhestlag before it is authorised.
2.3	The Secretariat / Board shall advice the GA about the total votes and the distribution of the votes.
2.4	New members can vote on the first setting after entrance.
2.5	Decisions regarding amendments of the Constitution and Bylaws or dissolution of the FHI require two thirds of the votes cast.
2.6	In all other cases, decision may be taken with simple majority of the votes cast.
2.7	Voting shall take place by show of hands. Secret votes will be taken if so is wished by any delegate.
2.8	No decision of the GA may be made unless there is available a quorum of one third of the number of the total votes.
2.9	The names of the voting delegates and the situation for the proxy voting should be notified to the Secretariat in advance of the meeting.
2.10	The president does not vote, except in case a vote is equally divided. In that case the president shall have a casting vote.

3 - FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANS AND SITE OF THE SECRETARIAT

3.1	The GA shall meet at least once every year to: - consider the progress made towards the goals of the FHI - consider new goals - discuss the annual and financial report, the future budget and other general matters of the FHI - elect the President, the Vice-President and the Board members of the FHI in accordance with chapter 4 - determine the site and dates of future international Fjord Horse events arranged by FHI.
3.2	Extraordinary meetings may be held if requested by one third of the members or at request of the Board.
3.3	The Board is the executive organ of the FHI. Among its functions are: - To advice the GA on any matter submitted to it. - To make recommendations regarding items to be discussed by the GA. - To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of the Board. - To recommend to the GA to approve action meant to accomplish the objectives of the FHI mentioned in the Constitution.
3.4	The Board shall meet immediately before and immediately after each GA meeting, and as often as required throughout the period.
3.5	The secretariat shall have a postal address at Nordfjordeid in Norway or at the postal address of one of the Norwegian Board members.
3.6	The Nominating Committee consists of 3 members from the FHI.

4 - NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS

4.1.	The president, the vice- president and the board members can be nominated and elected from among the persons that can meet at the GA. The president shall have postal address in Norway.The vice president shall have postal address in a foreign country. The Nominating Committee shall send written nominations of board members and their substitutes to the Secretariat / Board and the members at least one month ahead of the meeting in the GA.
4.2	All elections shall take place at the meetings of the GA by secret ballot. For the election of a candidate, an absolute majority is required. In case no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, the two nominees who have received the highest number of votes shall be retained and new ballot take place.
4.3	The president, the vice- president and the board members shall be elected for a period of two years. They can be re-elected for one period. At the first election, the vice- president and one of the board members shall be elected for one year.
4.4	Replacement of the president If the president is unable to act or is removed from office, the GA shall elect, at its next meeting, a new president. Until a new president is elected, the vice- president shall act as interim president.
4.5	The members of the Nominating Committee shall be elected for 2 years in cycles which replace at least one of the three members every year.

5- DUTIES OF THE BOARD, THE SECRETARIAT AND THE MEMBERS

5.1	The duties to the president are: - To promote the activities of the FHI - To represent the FHI - To preside over meetings of the GA and the Board.
5.2	The duties to the vice- president and the board members are: - To represent the FHI in their region. - To promote the FHI in their region. - To maintain regular contact with the members of the FHI in their region. - To carry out any special tasks which the president may assign to them.
5.3	The duties to the secretariat are: - To forward documents to the members in order to keep them informed about the activities of the FHI and to hold the Internet web site updated. - To prepare the annual report concerning the activities during the preceding period, and send it to the members at least one month ahead of the meeting of the GA. - To prepare the financial report and send it to the members at least one month ahead of the meeting of the GA
5.4	The duties to the members are: - To promote the activities of the FHI in their country or district and to take part in the working groups established by the Board. - To provide information about the national activities. - To ensure that the subscription are promptly paid. - To make efforts to encourage organisations to join the FHI.

6 - FINANCE

6.1	The Fund of the FHI is constituted from the entrance contribution, the annual subscription of members, income from the FHI capital, service performance and from conferences and donations.
6.2	Members shall pay the annual subscription to the FHI within the 1st of January each year, or at latest prior to the GA. In the case of members joining during the year, they shall pay from the date of joining. There is only a yearly subscription fee.
6.3	The rates of the subscription shall be determined every year by the GA, based on recommendations from the Board.
6.4	The Fund of the FHI meets the expenses approved by the GA.
6.5	The President has the power to sign for the FHI alone. In addition, one elected Agent within the Board can sign for the FHI alone.

7 - AMENDMENTS The Bylaws can be amended by the GA provided
- written notice of the amendments is circulated to the members at least one month prior to the meeting at which they are to be considered
- two thirds of the votes cast by the delegates are in favour of the amendments.

8 - FINAL REGULATIONThese bylaws were adopted by the GA of the FHI 7th of May 2004.

Author: Oda Münch-Bronk