Public Governance Series

The International Institute of Administrative Sciences is an international NGO of Belgian law. Legal changes prompted the IIAS to have new statutes in force by January 1st, 2024.

To prepare this process, an initial meeting of the Governance Taskforce was held in February 2021. The discussions however only started after all 2022 elections took place, in a setting that was enlarged to include most stakeholders. A total of seven meetings were held under the leadership of IIAS President Ra’ed BenShams and with a growing involvement of the team of E&Y law led by Antoine Druetz. The Council of Administration received the final report of the Governance Taskforce, discussed it extensively on its June 14, 2023 meeting, and adopted an amended proposal which was filed to the General Assembly.

Accordingly, the IIAS held an Extraordinary General Assembly on October 4, 2023 in order to adopt the final and translated text on time. 74 individuals participated in it, including 14 members of the Council of Administration, representatives of 62 member organizations and 9 staff members and supporting externals. After several legal and linguistic concerns were raised, discussed, and cleared, the voting took place on the electronic voting platform IVS. 163 votes were expressed: 141 (95,92%) in favor of the proposal, 6 (4,08%) against, and 16 abstentions. The 2/3 majority required by the statutes was thus reached and the text was adopted. Further votes confirmed the immediate entry into force of the text, at the exception of those requiring a royal decree, a formality that the legal support team was mandated to perform.

The new statutes don’t fundamentally alter the governance of the Association, which remains of a unitary nature while encompassing two internal associations, the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration and the European Group of Public Administration. Such more fundamental changes, if any, were postponed to a further stage by the Council of Administration. Non-unsignificant reforms were nevertheless adopted, including:

· All the missions currently performed by the association in its entirety are listed in the statutes, and the legal possibility for its extension, is foreseen;

· The organization of hybrid meetings and votes of the decision bodies is explicitly foreseen;

· The residual competences move from the General Assembly to the Council of Administration, extensive powers are reserved for the General Assembly including the admission of members;

· The power to nominate the Host Country Vice-President shifts from the national section to the member state;

· At the exception of the President who can be reelected only once, the members of the Council of Administration can now perform three terms in the same position, and all can occupy other positions after;

· The existing specialized entities and regional groups (IASIA, EGPA, LAGPA and AGPA) and their mission of organizing conferences are protected in the statutes, granting them protection;

· The appointment, evaluation, resignation, and responsibilities of the Director General are explicitly listed. The incumbent obtains legal representation rights for its daily management jurisdiction;

· The functions of Treasurer and Delegation of the Council of Administration, which had been left vacant for more than a decade at least, are deleted;

· The technical quality of the text has been significantly improved.

Besides, the Extraordinary General Assembly confirmed the replacement, at the Council of Administration, of the Middle-East Vice-President Abdulrahman Al-Arifi by Saud Alotaibi, both from the Institute of Public Administration of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al-Arifi is thanked for his contribution to the association.

Last but not least, the General Assembly voted on the membership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Kosovo as national section member. An earlier application as a member state had been rejected by the Council of Administration, which voted in favor of this qualification in its June 14, 2023 meeting, filing the application to the General Assembly for final decision. 133 votes were expressed: 85 (73,91%) in favor of the application, 30 (26,09%) against, and 18 abstentions. The IIAS welcomes its new national section member.