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Statutes of the International Association of Egyptologists

STATUTES, REVISED FEBRUARY 2019

1. Name and Definition

  • 1.1. The name of the Association is “The International Association of Egyptologists” (Association Internationale des Egyptologues, Internationaler Ägyptologen-Verband,).
  • 1.2. The Association is a non-profit making organization which unites the efforts of persons, scholars and supporters, willing to work within its frame for the promotion of Egyptology.

2. Aims of the Association

  • 2.1. The Association shall encourage the study and preservation of the cultural and historic heritage of the ancient inhabitants of the Nile Valley.
  • 2.2. The Association shall promote a wider understanding and appreciation of Egyptology on the part of the general public.
  • 2.3. The Association shall openly discuss problems affecting Egyptological studies, and shall encourage and promote the study of Egyptology in all its aspects on an international basis.
  • 2.4. The Association shall require all members to uphold a Code of Professional and Ethical Standards (see Annex 1).
  • 2.5. The Association shall actively support such projects as are of importance to the scientific development of Egyptology and international collaboration among its professionals, including the Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB).
  • 2.6. The Association shall support the holding of international congresses of Egyptology (see Annex 2).

3. Membership

  • 3.1. There are four categories of membership of the Association:
    • 3.1.1. Professional Membership, open to Egyptologists with an advanced degree (MA, PhD, or the equivalent) based on an Egyptological thesis or dissertation. Scholars with a distinguished record of Egyptological publications in peer-reviewed series or journals may also be considered for Professional Membership.Professional members have a vote in the General Assembly and the right to submit papers for presentation at the International Congresses of Egyptology.
    • 3.1.2. Student Membership, open to students at recognised educational institutions, following a degree programme in Egyptology. Student members have no vote in the General Assembly but PhD students have the right to submit papers for presentation at the International Congresses of Egyptology.
    • 3.1.3. Honorary Membership, for persons who have to an extraordinary extent furthered Egyptology and the aims of the Association. Honorary members have a vote in the General Assembly and the right to submit papers for presentation at the International Congresses of Egyptology.
    • 3.1.4. Associate Membership, open to anyone with a special interest in Egyptology. Associate members have no vote in the General Assembly and no right to submit papers for presentation at the International Congresses of Egyptology.
  • 3.2. An annual subscription is payable the amount of which is to be decided by the General Assembly for each category of Membership, excluding Honorary Membership for which no fee is payable.
  • 3.3. New members to the categories 1, 2 and 4 are admitted to the Association on application to the General Secretariat and on receipt of its written confirmation.
  • 3.4. Honorary Members are elected by the General Assembly on a proposal by the Council.
  • 3.5. A member shall lose his or her membership by failing to pay the yearly subscription or by violating the IAE Code of Professional and Ethical Standards. The dismissal of membership shall be decided upon by the Council, upon the motion of the Presidium.

4. Organization

The organizational bodies of the Association are: the General Assembly, the Council and the Presidium. The duties of the Council and the Presidium are carried out as an unremunerated honorary task.

  • 4.1. The General Assembly.
    • 4.1.1. The General Assembly consists of all members present at its meeting. It shall convene as a rule every fourth year, preferably in connection with the International Congresses of Egyptology.
    • 4.1.2. The General Assembly is convoked by the President with the consent of the Council or at the request of a third of all members. The convocation, accompanied by a list of agenda and written proposals, shall be dispatched to all members at least 60 days in advance.
    • 4.1.3. The General Assembly shall receive the report of the Presidium on the Association’s activities and finances since the last meeting, the announcement of the results of voting on the composition of the Presidium and on the location of the next Congress, and proposals for future activities.
    • 4.1.4. The General Assembly provides a forum for discussion of matters arising. In order to ensure that all members have the opportunity to participate in decision-making, voting on matters such as changes to the Statutes, the composition of the Presidium, or location of future Congresses shall be done electronically outside the General Assembly.
    • 4.1.5. The General Assembly fixes the amounts of the annual subscriptions.
    • 4.1.6. The General Assembly takes its decisions by a simple majority of votes.
  • 4.2. The Council.
    • 4.2.1. To assist the work of the Presidium on an international basis there shall be a Council to which each country or group of countries with a minimum of 10 Professional Members may nominate a representative. Egypt may nominate 3 members of the Council.
    • 4.2.2. Each new Council’s term of office shall begin at a meeting of the General Assembly and ends with the beginning of the next meeting. No Council member shall ordinarily serve more than two terms and there shall preferably be a proxy.
    • 4.2.3 The foreign Egyptological institutes in Cairo may elect 3 additional members who are permanent residents in Egypt; Council members of this group may serve for an indefinite period.
    • 4.2.4. The Presidents of the Egyptian and the Sudanese antiquities organizations as well as the President, Vice President and Secretary General of the International Association of Egyptologists are ex officio members of the Council.
    • 4.2.5. The nomination of new Council members for each country and their proxies shall be organized by the incumbent national representative.
    • 4.2.6. Council meetings can be convened whenever the Presidium or at least eight Council members deem fit. The President or his or her proxy shall act as chairperson. The Council may consider and discuss proposals and make decisions electronically.
    • 4.2.7. For special purposes the Council shall appoint committees. The chairpersons of these committees shall act in close cooperation with the Presidium.
  • 4.3. The Presidium.
    • 4.3.1. The Presidium consists of the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary General.
    • 4.3.2. The President is the official representative of the Association and shall further the implementation of the aims of the Association as set out in 2.
    • 4.3.3. The Vice President shall assist the President in his or her duties and act as his or her proxy.
    • 4.3.4. The Secretary General shall be responsible for the central administration of the Association. He or she is authorized to receive funds and contributions, and to defray expenditure on behalf of the Association. He or she is responsible to the Council for all financial matters.
    • 4.3.5. The Presidium shall be elected by all voting members of the Association for the period commencing at the General Assembly and ending with the appointment of the next Presidium at the following General Assembly. No member of the Presidium should serve more than two terms (or eight years at maximum).
    • 4.3.6. In case of a vacancy in the Presidium, the remaining members designate a member of the Council to fill the vacant position until the time for the regular elections.

5. Amendments and Dissolution

  • 5.1. Any amendments of the above statutes or a dissolution of the Association shall require a two-third majority of all members who express their opinion in a vote by mail or electronically up to a fixed date.
  • 5.2. The procedure to be followed is regulated in Annex

Annex 1: Code of Professional and Ethical Standards

  • 1. The trade in antiquities
    • 1.1. The Association condemns the looting and destruction of archaeological property and supports the adoption of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Members are asked to acquaint themselves with this Convention and also with Egyptian law governing archaeology and the antiquities trade, and to abide by these laws, especially Law no. 215 (31st October 1951) on the Protection of Antiquities, revised by laws no. 529 of 1953, no. 24 of 1965 and no. 117 of 1983.
    • 1.2. All members of the Association must refrain from participating in the trade in antiquities for their own commercial gain. However, the Association recognises the important role played by Egyptologists in raising awareness of issues of provenance and in advising those involved in dealing or collecting antiquities against the purchase or sale of stolen or looted artefacts (‘vetting’), as a means of assisting in the prevention of the smuggling and illicit trafficking of the ancient Egyptian cultural objects. Members of the Association are encouraged to refer to the additional guidance on ethical practice with regard to the trade in antiquities provided by CIPEG and ICOM, and to familiarize themselves with the The Emergency Red List of Egyptian Cultural Objects at Risk.
    • 1.3. Members of the Association must undertake to report any dishonest or unethical behaviour, including any breach of the UNESCO Convention or Egyptian laws mentioned above, to the proper legal authorities.
    • 1.4. Members of the Association must not engage in any illegal or unethical conduct involving ancient artefacts or knowingly permit the use of their name in support of any illegal or unethical activity involving archaeological matters, including theft, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
  • 2. Responsibilities to Colleagues
    • 2.1. The Association is an equal opportunities organisation. Members must not practice discrimination or harassment based on age, sex, religion, colour, national origin, disability or sexual preference.
    • 2.2. All members must adhere to the highest standards of ethical and responsible behaviour in their Egyptological activities, and shall conduct themselves in a manner that will not bring Egyptology into disrepute.
    • 2.3. Members should strive to make public the record and results of their scientific research in a timely manner, through publication in recognised academic journals and monograph series and/or via reputable publishing houses. Dissemination online is encouraged provided the appropriate scientific standards with regard to editing, references etc. are maintained. Those involved in archaeological field research in Egypt should refer to Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities (MoA) Regulations for Foreign Archaeological Missions for additional guidance.
    • 2.4. Members are responsible for the analysis and publication of any new primary data deriving from their research and should communicate and cooperate with colleagues with similar interests, and share information about ancient sites and monuments data where there is a shared field of concern, be it active or potential. In case of delayed publication the data should be made available to other researchers upon request for analysis. Requests from colleagues or students for information on the results of research or projects should be honoured by the Member if it is consistent with his or her prior rights to publication and other scientific responsibilities.
    • 2.5. Members must give the appropriate credit for research and any other related work undertaken by others. Members must not commit infringement of copyright or plagiarism in electronic, written (hard copy) or oral communication.
    • 2.6. Members shall not reveal confidential information unless required by law, nor use any confidential or privileged information to his or her own advantage or that of a third party.

Annex 2: International Congresses of Egyptology

  • 1. International Congresses of Egyptology, to be held as a rule with four years’ intervals, shall be organized by the inviting institution(s) with the support of, and in close cooperation with, the Presidium and the Council.
  • 2. The choice of the site for the Congresses shall be made by voting members on the basis of proposals by inviting institutions.
  • 3. Papers may only be read by members of categories 1, 2 (only PhD students) and 3 or by speakers specifically invited by the Congress organization; all such papers will be submitted to peer review before acceptance.
  • 4. It is generally to be understood that the Congress should be held in Egypt on a regular basis, at intervals of not longer than 12 years.

Annex 3: Election of the Presidium

  • 1. One year prior to the General Assembly, voting members of the Association shall be invited to submit proposals to serve on the Presidium (as President or Secretary General), in the following term of office.
  • 2. The proposal should have the support of at least 10 Professional or Honorary members who shall provide their endorsement by mail or electronically.  No member shall be permitted to support more than one candidate for any office.
  • 3. The proposal and endorsments should reach the Secretary General 6 months before the scheduled meeting of the General Assembly; if no nominations are received on time, the Presidium and Council are responsible for proposing nominations themselves.
  • 4. Proposals for the Presidency should include a four year plan for the activity and development of the Association along with a short statement of the candidates’ affiliations and career history.
  • 5. Not later than 90 days before the date of the General Assembly, the Secretary General shall circulate all complete proposals validly received to all members of categories 1 and 3 of the Association who will be invited to vote electronically within two months.
  • 6. The nominee for Presidency with the greatest number of votes gets the function, the second highest becomes Vice President. The nominee for Secretary General with the greatest number of votes gets the function.
  • 7. The results of the votes will be announced at the General Assembly.

Annex 4: Procedure of votes outside the General Assembly

  • 1. Proposals concerning changes in the articles or the dissolution of the Association shall be addressed to the Presidium.
  • 2. Such proposals shall be discussed by the Council and announced to all voting members of the Association.
  • 3. The General Assembly shall freely discuss such proposals and shall be entitled to propose amendments.
  • 4. The proposal in the form accepted by the General Assembly shall be communicated by the Secretary General to voting members as soon as possible.
  • 5. The changes in the articles or the dissolution of the Association shall be considered as validly established if it is accepted by a two-third majority of the votes of voting members returned to the Secretary General within 45 days after the dispatch of the proposal. The vote shall be controlled by a delegated member of the Council.