Statutes

General terms
1. Latvian Transatlantic Organisation (hereinafter referred to as “the Organisation”) is a nonpartisan organisation, that has a legal personality status and has its operational objectives and tasks noted below in these statutes.
2. The Organsation’s title in Latvian is “Latvijas Transatlantiskā organizācija’’ and its acronym stands for LATO, but in English it is Latvian Transatlantic Organisation and its acronym also stands for LATO.
3.The Organisation has its own emblem, which is in the first annex of these Statutes.
4. In its objectives, the Organisation is guided by the law “On Associations and Foundations” of The Republic of Latvia, by other laws, by the regulations, that are pushed under those laws, and these Statutes.
5. The Organisation operates in Latvia, but, in order to realize its goals and complete its tasks, it cooperates with foreign legal and natural persons.

II Goals, tasks and methods
7. The Organisation’s goals are promoting Latvia’s acitivities in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (hereinafter referred to as NATO), uniting Latvian society and its economic, political, cultural, scientifical and social forces in Latvia’s participation in NATO, and promoting civic society in Latvia.

8. In order to achieve its goals, the Organisation’s tasks are:
o educating and informing society about NATO’s goals, operation and values, and Latvian – NATO relations;
o promoting civic society in Latvia, which will strengthten Latvia’s security and will promote Latvia’s prosperity;
o promoting international security and democratic development in the neighboring region of NATO and the European Union;
o cooperating with related organizations in Latvia, NATO member states and partner states, whose goals do not condradict the Organisation’s goals;
0 cooperating with NATO institutions, Latvian and other state NATO representations;
0 attracting financial resources for the implementation of the Organisation’s goals.
9. To perform its tasks, the Organisation:
o organizes seminars, conferences and other ecucational events;
o prepares, publishes and spreads information about NATO and Latvia – NATO relations;
o supports and develops scientific and sociological research about questions regarding Latvia’s foreign policy, security policy and defense policy;
o uses other methods of operation that do not contradict the goals of the Organisation

III The term of operation of the Organisation
10. The Organisation is established for an indefinite period of time.
IV. Admission and expulsion of members, associate members, and honorary members, their rights and duties.
11. The Organisation has members, associated members and honorary members. Any person at at least the age of 18 can become a member of the Organisation. A legal person, that supports the Organisation’s goals and its operation, can become an associated member. A legal person or a natural person who has reached the age of 18 may become an honorary member of the Organisation for a special contribution to the implementation of the goals and support of the activities of the Organisation.
12. A natural person shall submit an application to the Board for admission as a member of the Organisation, whereas a legal person shall submit a copy of the decision of the authorized institution and the authorization of the representative of the legal person in the Organisation. In a months time, the Board decides on the admission or the refusal of an admission of a member or an honorary member and informs the applicant about the decision.
13. Honorary members may be appointed by the Board of the Organisation by its decision upon the written proposal of not less than ten members and with the consent of the person to be appointed.
14. A member of the Organisation and an associate member shall be deemed admitted after the decision of the Board has been made and the membership fee has been paid.
16. Members of the Organisation have the rights to:
o elect and be elected to the governing bodies of the Organisation;
o participate and vote in the general meetings of the Board;
o submit proposals regarding the Organisation’s operation.
17. Members and honorary members have the following duties:
o observe and fulfill the provisions and requirements of the Statutes of the Organisation and decisions of the general meeting;
o participate in the completion of the goals and tasks noted in these Statutes;
o the member is obliged to donate voluntarily to achieve the goals of the Organisation each year at his own discretion.
18. Honorary members of the Organisation have the following duties:
0 observe and fulfill the provisions and requirements of the Statutes of the Organisation and decisions of the general meeting;
0 participate in the completion of the goals and tasks noted in these Statutes;
Members, associated members and honorary members can be expelled from the Organisation by a decision of the Board, if they:
o violate the Statutes;
0 express their wish to withdraw;
0 discredit the Organisation;
0 orally or in their actions have acted contrary to the goals of the Organisation;

V. The structure of the Organisation
20. The highest decision-making body of the Organisation is the General Meeting of Members (hereinafter referred to as the “General Meeting”), which is convened at least once a year, possibly on the 4th anniversary of NATO’s founding.
21. The time, place and agenda of the General Meeting shall be determined by the Board by notifying the members, associate members and honorary members of the Organisation, thereof in writing at least 30 days in advance. The notice shall indicate the time, place and agenda of the general meeting, as well as the time and place when the draft resolutions of the general meeting may be inspected.
22. An extraordinary general meeting of the Organisation shall be convened in accordance with the procedure specified in Paragraph 20 of these Statutes, if requested by the Board, the Chairman or not less than one tenth of the members of the Organisation. An extraordinary general meeting shall be convened by the Board in no later than 14 days after the receipt of the relevant request.
23. The General Meeting has the right to decide if the convening of the General Meeting has been announced in accordance with the procedure specified in Paragraph 20.
24. Every member, associate member and honorary member of the Organisation has the right to vote and speak in the General Meeting in accordance with its regulations. Proposals for items to be included in the agenda of the General Meeting must be submitted to the Board in writing not later than 14 days before the general meeting, and proposals for items to be included in the agenda of the extraordinary general meeting – no later than 7 days before the general meeting.
25. The General Meeting makes its decisions in an open vote with the majority of the present members, except in cases where a decision requires 2/3 of the votes.
26. The General Meeting makes decisions with more than 2/3 of the votes of the present members on the following issues:
o Adjusting or supplementing the Statutes of the Organisation;
0 The dismissal of the chairman, deputy chairman and other members of the board of the Organisation;
0 The reorganization or self-disposal of the Organisation;
27. The General Meeting:
o approves, adjusts and supplements the Statutes of the Organisation;
0 approves the Budget of the Organisation;
0 approves the report of the Audit Commission;
o elects the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and other members of the board of the Organisation for one year;
0 elects the audit ommission of the Organisation for one year;
0 may dismiss the Chairman of the Organisation, the Deputy Chairman and other members of the Board, as well as members of the Audit Commission;
0 approves the activity report for the previous year;
0 approves the main directions of activities of the current year;
0 determines the amount of membership fee and entry fee;
0 make a decision regarding the participation of the Organisation in the activities of other organizations, the aims and tasks of which do not contradict the principles specified in these Statutes;
0 decides issues regarding the reorganization and self-disposal of the Organisation.

VI Executive body
28. The permanent executive body of the Organisation is the Board. The Board of the Organisation is elected by the General Meeting of the Organisation, consisting of 9 members. The General Meeting elects the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Organisation from among the members of the Board.
29. The Board manages the activities of the Organisation between the general meetings and reports to the General Meeting on its activities. The Board makes decisions on the establishment of a branch of the Organisation or termination of work. The Board is entitled to make decisions on the acquisition and disposal of movable and immovable property. The Board approves the project framework of the Organisation, as well as decisions on the recruitment or dismissal of staff members. The Board decides on the admission of members and associate members to the Organisation and on the appointment of honorary members. The Board decides on the exclusion of members, associate members and honorary members from the Organisation.
32. Meetings of the Board of the Organisation are convened by the Chairman of the Organisation as necessary, but not less than four times a year, notifying the members of the Board in writing about the time, place and agenda not later than 14 days in advance.
33. The General Secretary of the Organisation is appointed by the Board. The General Secretary of the Organisation is responsible for the preparation of all necessary materials and draft decisions for the meetings of the Board, as well as for the execution and announcement of the decisions of the Board.
34. Meetings of the Board shall have a quorum if the members of the Board have been notified in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 31 and if more than half of the members of the Board, including the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman, are present.
35. If a meeting of the Board does not have a the right to decide due to lack of quorum, the Chairman shall convene a repeated meeting of the Board within 14 days, notifying the members of the Board in writing of the time, place and agenda not later than 7 days in advance.
36. The Board makes decisions by a simple majority of the number of members of the Board present, but if the votes are divided in half, then the decision voted by the Chairman of the Board or in his absence – the Deputy Chairman is adopted.
37. The General Secretary shall send the protocol of the meeting of the Board to all the members of the Board in no later than 7 days after the meeting.
38. All the members of the Board have the right of representation. The Chairman of the Board represents the Organisation separately. A member of the Board has the right to represent the Organisation together with 7 (seven) other members of the Board.
39. The Chairman of the Board leads the general meeting and the meetings of the Board, organizes the work of the Board of the Organisation and signs documents in the name of the Organisation.
40. The Deputy Chairman of the Board replaces the Chairman and performs the duties of the Chairman of the Board in his absence.
41. The General Secretary reports directly to the Chairman of the Board and performs the following duties:

• manages the administrative activities of the Organisation, including correspondence and record keeping and maintains the register of members;
• manages the accounting of the Organisation, receives and makes payments;
• manages the daily work of the Organisation;
• organizes the general meeting with the Board;
• regularly reports on its work and reports to the Board of the Organisation.

VII Auditor
43. The activities of the Organisation are inspected once a year and its accounting is audited by an audit firm or a sworn auditor invited by the Board. The Chairman of the Board shall report to the Annual General Meeting on the results of the inspection.

46. The General Meeting approves the annual report of the Organisation only after receiving the auditor’s opinion.
47. An auditor of the Organisation cannot be a member of the Board of the Organisation.
48. The duty of the Board is to provide the auditor with free access to all documents of the Organisation.

VIII The branches of the Organisation
50. The Organisation can create its branches. The Board makes the decisions on the creation or termination of the operation of the branch. A head approved by the Board manages the work of the branch. The branch operates within the framework of the Statutes of the Organisation and in its activities complies with the decisions of the Board, the laws and regulations in force in the Republic of Latvia. The branch shall submit a written report on its work to the Board at least once a year.

IX The finances, property and employees of the Organisation
51. The Organisation operates in accordance with the annual budget approved by the General Meeting. The Board shall report to the General Meeting on the implementation of the budget.
52. The income of the Organisation consists of membership fees, membership fees, donations, and other income that is not prohibited by laws or other regulatory enactments. Budget funds are used to achieve the goals and objectives of the Organisation.
53. The financial resources of the Organisation shall be managed by the Chairman of the Organisation or, in his absence, by the Deputy Chairman and the Secretary General of the Organisation in accordance with the procedures specified in these Statutes.
54. The association has its own property, seal, bank account and can have its own staff.

X Procedures of self-disposal and reorganization
55. The Organisation terminates its activities if the general meeting makes a decision on self-disposal or reorganization of the Organisation.
56. In case of self-disposal or reorganization of the Organisation, the procedure for the use and distribution of property and financial resources shall be determined by the general meeting by a separate decision, which may not be in conflict with the laws of the Republic of Latvia and these Statutes of the Organisation.
57. Members of the Organisation who have resigned or been expelled will not receive a refund of their membership fees or other financial or material investments.
58. The Organisation terminates its activity from the moment it is excluded from the Latvian Register of Enterprises.
59. The Statutes of the Organisation were approved at the founding meeting of LATO in Riga, March 21, 2000. The Statutes of the Organisation were amended at the General Meeting of the Organisation in Riga, April 5, 2017.