Our Constitution

Name and Affiliation with IUAES
The Commission on Legal Pluralism (formerly known as the Commisson on Legal Pluralism and Folk Law) was founded in December 1978. It is affiliated with the IUAES as a commission thereof.
Purposes
The primary purpose of the Commission is to further knowledge and understanding of legal pluralism, with a focus upon theoretical and practical problems resulting from the interaction of different legal orders. The Commission aims to promote interregional and interdisciplinary communication and to stimulate a dialogue between scholars and those engaged in practice of various sorts.
Membership, Contributions Associate Members
Membership is open to anyone with a serious and substantial scholarly or practical commitment to or involvement in the field of legal pluralism. Membership can be terminated by resignation or by expulsion for good cause. Admission to and expulsion of members is the responsibility of the Executive Body of the Board. An adverse decision can be appealed to the Board. The membership fee shall be fixed by the Board. Account will be taken of the difficult financial position of persons in developing countries. Members who have not paid thier dues are not in good standing and have neither the right to vote nor the right to receive mailings of Commission materials. Persons interested in the Commission's work who do not qualify for membership (e.g. students), can be admitted to Associate Membership by the Executive Body. The terms and conditions of such membership shall be set by the Board.
Election of the Board and President
The President and members of the Board of the Commission shall be elected every three years (as far as possible in conjunction with meetings of the membership) from among the members of the Commission. Except as herein provided, the procedure for election shall be fixed by the Board. Election shall be by written, mail or email ballot. The Board shall circulate a list of nominees a reasonable time prior to an election. Persons nominated by 5 or more members shall be added to this list if they consent on being nominated. In making its nominations, the Board shall strive for the best feasible realization of the principle that the membership of the Board should be well distributed over the disciplines and geographic areas represented in the Commission.
The Board
All powers of the Commission are vested in the Board (the Board constitutes the "commission" in the sense of the rules of the IUAES). The Board consists of the President, other elected members, and the chairpersons of any Standing Committees and recognized Regional Working Groups (ex officio). It shall have a maximum of 30 members. Meetings of the Board shall be called by the President in consultation with the Executive Body. There shall be at least one meeting every two years, preferably in conjunction with a scientific activity of the Commission. A meeting shall also be called upon the written request of at least 5 members. The Board shall report to the membership at least once every year concerning the activities and financial and other affairs of the Commission. The minutes of the Board, the Executive Body and of all committees shall be made available to the members of the Commission.
The Executive Body
The Executive Body consists of the President and a minimum of four Board members, appointed by the Board, of whom one shall be appointed secretary-treasurer with daily responsibility for the secretariat. The Executive Body acts on behalf of the Board. Any act of the Executive Body can be reviewed by the Board at any time. The Executive Body shall keep the Board regularly informed of its activities on behalf of the Board. The Executive Body is responsible for the secretariat of the Commission, including the maintenance of its membership and mailing list, archives, financial records and bank accounts, etc. The mailing list of the Commission will be made available to any member wishing to communicate with the membership on matters of concern to the Commission. The Executive Body can also make it available for other appropriate activities which serve to further the Commission's purposes.
Committees and Regional Working Groups
The Commission may establish Standing Committees whose members shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Executive Body. Replacement due to inactivity shall be done by the President in consultation with the Executive Body; other removals (other than by resignation) shall be effected by the Board. Membership Committee: charged with the recruitment of new members to be proposed to the Executive Body for admission, with special attention to recruitment from underrepresented areas, groups, etc. The Commission has such Regional Working Groups as the Board recognizes. The Board can create other ad hoc committees for particular purposes.
Affiliations
The Board is empowered to enter into cooperative and associative arrangements with other organisations with a view to furthering the purposes of the Commission.
Publications
The Commission uses the website and other electronic means as an internal medium of communication among its members and associate members. The Board is authorized to negotiate a relationship with one or more appropriate scholarly journal(s), with a view to having access to a regular organ for disseminating information concerning its activities and for publishing the result of research and writing carried out under its auspices, and with a view to communicating to the Commission's members the fruits of relevant scholarship and other information relevant to the Commission's purposes.
Amendment
The provisions of this Constitution can be amended by the Board, after due notice to the members. Fundamental changes, including disbanding the Commission or merging it with another organisation, may only be taken after appropriate consultation with the members.
Adoption of this Constitution The Constitution was adopted by the Board at its Vancouver meeting, in August 1983. It was amended by the Executive Body at its Halle meeting, in November 2010, and approved by the Board in March 2011.