I Name, domicile, and purpose

1. The Association’s name is Doctoral Researcher Association of Tampere ry. The association’s unofficial abbreviation is DRAFT.
2. The Association’s domicile is Tampere.
3. The Association’s working language is English.
4. The Association’s purpose is to connect doctoral and post-doctoral researchers at Tampere University, help to integrate better into academic society, to promote their leisure activities, develop and maintain a network in English, represent issues of its members towards the Student Union of Tampere University (TREY), Tampere University and other bodies relevant to the doctoral students. Further, the Association can connect with other PhD associations on national level.
5. To reach the above-mentioned goals the Association can for example: 

• cooperate with the student associations, Student Union, International Mobility Services and Student Services of Tampere University, other Finnish higher education institutes (HEIs), non-profit associations and business life in Finland; 
• arrange study, work-related and recreational excursions, meetings, seminars, evening gatherings, discussion groups and other events;
• advertise association’s events for Tampere university students; and
• publish a magazine.

6. To support its activities the Association can receive financial support and donations, wills and testaments, receive sponsorships, organize volunteering work, practice sales and other activities and arrange entertainment events and lotteries with the necessary licenses, and collect membership fees and participation fees. The Association may own fixed assets and chattel that are necessary for its operations and sell advertisement spaces.

II Membership and fees

7. The Association can have full members, support members, alumni members, and honorary members.
8. A full member can be any doctoral researcher, project researcher or postdoctoral researcher of Tampere University, who is interested in the activities of the Association and accepts its purpose and rules and has paid joining and membership fees. The general meeting decides upon possibility of a sign-up fee and membership fees.
9. A former full member of the Association can become an alumni member by paying the alumni membership fees.
10. Any person or legal entity interested in supporting the activities of the Association can become a support member by paying the support membership fee.
11. The board accepts all full, alumni and support members.
12. The Association can invite persons to become honorary members with a three quarters (3/4) majority of general meeting votes. Honorary members can be people who have contributed to the activities of the Association or otherwise facilitated its aims significantly.
13. The proposal for honorary membership is made by the Association’s executive board or by a group of at least fifteen (15) full members.
14. When an Association member resigns or gives up their Association membership, they must pay their possible debts to the Association, and return to the Association any property they are in custody of. In case of resignation, the membership fee that was paid by the member is not refunded.
15. A member of the Association has the right to resign from the Association by leaving a written notice for the Association’s executive board or its chairperson. The executive board acknowledges the resignation in the next executive board meeting. The person can announce their resignation also in a general meeting to be recorded in the minutes.
16. The full members of the Association are obliged to pay a membership fee to the Association every calendar year (1.1.-31.12.). The membership fee for the full members of the Association is decided in the autumn general meeting of every year.
17. The support members of the Association are obliged to pay a support membership fee to the Association every calendar year. The membership fee for the support members of the Association is decided in the spring general meeting of every year.
18. Honorary members of the Association do not need to pay a membership fee.
19. If a full, alumni or support member of the Association has not paid the membership fee by the end of March, their membership ceases.
20. The board can expel an Association member if: they have not fulfilled the obligations they have committed themselves to when joining the Association; or they do not fulfill anymore the terms of the membership mentioned in the law or the rules of the Association.
21. The general meeting can expel a member if they have considerably damaged the Association with their actions inside or outside the Association. The motion to expel the member must be mentioned in the agenda of the meeting. Before making the decision, the concerned party should get a chance to explain themselves.
22. The executive board can forbid a member from participating in Association events if they have harmed the Association with their behaviour or actions and therefore made the operation of the Association more difficult or as a representative of the Association they have harmed the public image of the Association. Before making a decision, the concerned party should get a chance to explain themselves.
23. The Association maintains a membership register of its members containing each member’s full name, domicile, and academic degree.

III General Meetings

24. Meetings of the Association are called general meetings. They are the spring general meeting, the autumn general meeting, and extraordinary meetings. The general meetings of the Association are called by the executive board of the Association. 
25. The spring general meeting must be held by the end of May, and at least the following matters concerning the next term of office must be discussed:

• the annual report of the previous term of office;
• the executive board presents the financial report for the previous accounting period; 
• the operational auditor’s report is heard; 
• the approval of the annual report and the financial report, and discharging from liability the executive board and other persons from the previous term of office.

26. The autumn general meeting must be held after the spring general meeting but before the end of December, and at least the following matters must be discussed:

• the chairperson and other members of the executive board are elected; 
• the operational auditor and their personal deputy are elected; 
• the membership and sign-up fees for each membership type of the Association are decided; 
• the budget and action plan are approved

27. The Association will assemble for an extraordinary general meeting if the executive board considers it necessary or when one tenth (1/10) or at least ten (10) full members of the Association demand it in written form from the executive board. In the last two cases, the meeting must be held within ten (10) business days after the executive board has received the written demand.
28. The general meetings of the Association must be announced through the Association’s members email list at least five (5) business days before they are scheduled to take place. The agenda and its attachments must be included in the meeting call.
29. The general meeting is legal if it was called according to the rules of the Association. 
30. The full members who have performed their member obligations have the right to vote and are eligible for election. Other members only have the right to attend and the right to speak in the meetings. One cannot vote with a power of attorney.
31. In the general meetings of the Association two (2) examiners of the minutes are chosen. They have to be full members of the Association. The examination of the minutes must be completed within two (2) weeks of the meeting. 

IV Decision-making and Elections

32. If not mentioned otherwise in the rules, the opinion supported by more than half of the voters carries. In the case of a tie, the motion supported by the chair of the meeting carries. In an election, however, if the votes are even, the decision is made by drawing lots.
33. An open voting is used unless at least two (2) actual members attending the meeting demand a closed ballot.
34. If there are several motions to the same point, the chair of the meeting will decide on the voting order and instruct the general meeting before the vote.
35. In an election, when there is only one position to be filled, a candidate must receive at least half (1/2) of the cast votes. If no candidate has obtained an absolute majority of the votes in the first round, a new election is carried out with only the two (2) candidates who have obtained the most votes in the first ballot.
36. In an election, when there is more than one position to be filled, the following procedure has to be followed: each voter is given one ballot on which the voter writes up to as many names as there are positions to be filled; the candidates with the most votes are elected.
37. When counting the number of the cast votes, the following types of ballots are not taken into consideration: 

• ballots of actual members who were not present in the meeting at the time of voting; 
• ballots of people who do not have a right to vote;
• rejected ballots.

V Board and officers

38. The elected executive board is responsible for the operation of the Association for the term of office, the calendar year. The executive board consists of the chairperson and two to seven (2-7) other executive board members. The members of the executive board have to be actual members of the Association at the time they are elected.
39. The executive board chooses a vice-chairperson, a secretary and a treasurer from amongst them and appoints the tasks of the other members of the executive board.
40. The tasks of the executive board are: 

• to operate the Association and manage its finances and property; 
• to prepare the matters that emerge at the general meetings and to carry out the decisions that have been made in them; 
• to write propositions for the annual report, financial report, action plan, and budget; 
• to call the general meetings of the Association; 
• to make decisions on other matters that have not been defined as having to be decided in a general meeting of the Association and 
• accept new members.

41. The meetings of the executive board are called by the chairperson of the executive board, or when the chairperson is unable to do so, by the vice-chairperson. The executive board decides the way these meetings are called. An executive board meeting must be called when at least two members of the executive board demand it.
42. A meeting of the executive board is legal when it has been called in the way decided by the executive board and when at least half of the executive board members are present, including the chairperson, or if the chairperson is unavailable, the vice-chairperson.
43. The name of the Association is written by the chairperson of the executive board together with a member of the executive board, or when the chairperson is unable to do so, by the vice-chairperson together with a member of the executive board. 
44. For a special purpose the executive board can authorize a full member of the Association to write the name of the Association.
45. For various tasks, the executive board of the Association can appoint fixed-term committees or officers, however only until the end of their term of office. It is possible to appoint a person from outside the Association to these positions. The executive board of the Association can set rules and regulations regarding the operation of committees and officers.
46. For a justifiable reason, a general meeting can relieve a member of the executive board and the board can relieve a committee or officer of their duties during the term in which case the matter must be mentioned in the notice of the meeting. If necessary, a new person can be chosen to replace the person who was relieved of the duty for the remaining term of office.

VI Administration and Finances

47. The term of office and accounting period of the Association is the calendar year. The administration and finances of the Association are audited by an operational auditor. The auditor has the right of presence and speech in the Association’s and Executive Board’s meetings that include issues connected to their work.  
48. The bookkeeping documents of the Association must be delivered to the operational auditor at the latest four (4) weeks before the spring general meeting, or at the request of the operational auditor. The operational auditor must return the documents and their report to the executive board of the Association at the latest two (2) weeks before the spring general meeting.

VII Special Provisions

49. The logos and signs of the Association are approved by a general meeting.
50. Changes to these rules can be made if the amendment has been accepted with the majority of at least three quarters (3/4) of the votes at two (2) consecutive general meetings held at an interval of at least two (2) weeks. The amendment to the rules must be mentioned in the notice of a meeting. The amendment can be proposed by the executive board or ten (10) full members of the Association in written form. The proposal made by the full members must be processed in the subsequent general meeting.
51. The Association is considered dissolved if there have not been general meetings in five (5) years even if the conditions for holding them have existed. Likewise, the Association will be dissolved if the Association makes a decision to do so with the majority votes of five sixths (5/6) at two (2) consecutive meetings held at an interval of at least one (1) month. The proposition concerning the dissolution must be mentioned in the meeting notice.
52. If the Association has been dissolved, its funds shall be donated to the Student Union of Tampere University (Tampereen yliopisto) to be used in accordance with the purpose mentioned in 4 §. If Student Union of Tampere University is no more, the second general meeting on dissolvement shall decide what entity should get the funds to use in accordance with the purpose mentioned in 4 §.
53. The rules and dissolvement come into effect when they are marked with the patents and register office.
54. These rules come into effect when they are marked with the patents and register office.