Preliminary note: Below is the present ICHTH Constitution. This Constitution is under review. On 22 February 2024, the ICHTH Board decided that the text of a new Constitution will be put on the agenda of the next ICHTH General Assembly for a vote on approval with its unanimous recommendation. The President welcomes comments from ICHTH members on the new text which you can find here.

DEFINITION

Article 1. The International Commission for History and Theory of Historiography (henceforth referred to as ICHTH) is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH). ICHTH aims to bring together scholars engaged in research on theory of history, history of historiography, philosophy of history, historical methodology, and historical culture.

OBJECTIVES

Article 2. ICHTH promotes the study of theory of history, history of historiography, philosophy of history, historical methodology, and historical culture. It encourages debates and exchanges among different approaches to the above subjects of study. It does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of ethnic background, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation, in any of its activities or operations.

MEANS

Article 3. To achieve its objectives, ICHTH intends to create and coordinate an international network of researchers and to work together with international or national organizations and bodies promoting the discussion of theory of history, history of historiography, philosophy of history, historical methodology, and historical culture.
ICHTH aims:
(a) to provide a strategic center for advancing and coordinating efforts to promote interest in all aspects of historiography, theory of history, and various ways of knowing the past among scholars of different cultural backgrounds around the world;
(b) to avoid regional or ethnocentric assumptions in order to ensure that the ICHTH reflects the diversity of theoretical interests in the past and ways of approaching the past;
(c) to encourage and support frequent conferences, workshops and consultancies aimed at promoting the subject in a variety of learning situations;
(d) to establish and maintain close links with learned journals, academic institutions and networks specializing in historiography and theoretical approaches to the study of the past;
(e) to award the ICHTH Doctoral Dissertation Prize and the ICHTH Book Prize for the theory and history of historiography.

RESOURCES

Article 4. The resources of ICHTH consist of subscriptions from its members (cf. art. 6), annual fees and contingency revenues from its scholarly activities, contracts, and donations.

MEMBERS

Article 5. ICHTH is open to scholars worldwide who are concerned with research on theory of history, history of historiography, philosophy of history, historical methodology, and historical culture, who support the organization’s objectives and pay their annual contributions. Applications for membership are approved by the Board of ICHTH.

MEMBERSHIP FEES

Article 6. The members of ICHTH are required to pay an annual membership fee. Its amount is decided by the General Assembly.
Any member who has not paid the annual fee cannot participate in the assembly nor exercise the right to vote; any member who has not paid the membership fee for three consecutive years is considered to have resigned. However, individual cases shall be considered for exemption from membership fees if fully justified.

ORGANS

Article 7. The organs of the Association are:
(a) The General Assembly;
(b) The Board is composed of twelve members, plus ex-president as an ex officio or a non-voting member; it should not include more than two members of the same nationality.
(c) The Board is elected by electronic vote of all the ICHTH members every five years.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Article 8.1. Context. The General Assembly is convened by the board every five years, or when a fifth of the members demand it. Members should be contacted and informed of the agenda no later than two months before the fixed date.

Article 8.2. Competencies. The General Assembly will:
(a) Elect a president of the session as well as a secretary of the session in charge of keeping the minutes of the General Assembly;
(b) Approve the minutes of the preceding General Assembly;
(c) Rule on the admission, the resignation or exclusion of its members after the proposal of the board;
(d) Decide on membership fees after the proposal of the Board;
(e) Adopt the budget, financial report, and annual accounts of ICHTH presented by the board;
(f) Set agenda for ICHTH’s future action.

Article 8.3. Decisions. Decisions of ICHTH are taken by the General Assembly by plurality of the votes of the members who are present and represented. Decisions are valid when a fifth of the members are present or represented. Alternatively, a decision can be taken by plurality through consultation of all members by post or by a secured online procedure. Any member in good standing can be represented by proxy; an attendee at the meeting can be carrier of two written proxy statements at most. The proxy statements must be handed to the chairman at the opening of the General Assembly. In case of the participation of less than a fifth of the members at the General Assembly, proposals should be approved through electronic vote.

Article 8.4. The General Assembly can decide upon points unforeseen by the agenda provided that they are proposed by a member at the opening of the assembly.

BOARD

Article 9.1. The Board undertakes to promote the ICHTH goals, in particular the development of an international network of researchers.

Article 9.2. The Board is elected by direct and secret vote of the members of the ICHTH during the General Assembly. The incumbent board organizes the elections and nominates new candidates to present to General Assembly. The Board is elected for a term of five years. In case of resignation or impediment of the majority of its members, it proceeds to new general elections. In other cases of resignation or impediment, it proceeds to partial elections until the end of the Board’s term.

Article 9.3. The board elects the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Program Chair and the Treasurer from within its members. Once new election is held, the immediate past president will serve as an ex officio, or a non-voting member. The Board executives also delegate further responsibilities to other members of the Board.

Article 9.4. The Board functions collectively. It manages current affairs and takes decisions by plurality after consultation with the total of its seven members.

Article 9.5. The Board prepares the agenda and the work of the General Assembly. It convenes the General Assembly.

Article 9.6. The Board carries out the decisions of the General Assembly. The representation of ICHTH at CISH is consigned to the President and if not possible to the Vice President. The President, the Vice President and the Secretary, handle all the correspondence with CISH and ICHTH members according to the mandate of the Board.

Article 9.7. For specific missions, the Board can appoint a responsible member or a group of members at the assembly.

MODIFICATION OF THE STATUTES

Article 10. The present statutes can be modified at any time by the General Assembly by an absolute majority of members present or represented, provided that the proposal of modification is on the agenda. In other cases, the Board consults all the members as indicated under article 8.3.

DISSOLUTION

Article 11. ICHTH can decide on its dissolution at any time, by a majority of two thirds of members present and represented at a General Assembly convened for the purpose.

[Approved during the Bureau meeting in Athens on 2 December 2017.]