Statute of the International Board of Charles University in Prague

Date of effect: 1 September, 2014

Article 1 Initial provisions

1. The Statute of the International Board of Charles University in Prague (hereinafter referred to as “the Board” and “CU”) defines the activities, composition and meetings of the Board.

2. The Board is to act as an advisory body of the Rector in considering the principal directions of scientific and academic activity of CU, its research programmes, their evaluation, and the system of funding CU.

Article 2 Activities of the Board

The Board, in particular,

Article 3 Composition of the Board

1. The Board is composed of outstanding and internationally recognised scholars and scientists of high scholarly reputation and moral integrity who have been, for a long time, professionally affiliated with, and engaged in activities with, institutions outside the Czech Republic.

2. The Board is composed of a minimum of nine, and a maximum of 15, members.

3. The Chair, Deputy Chair and other members of the Board are appointed and removed by the Rector; the list of candidates for Board membership is submitted to the Research Board of CU for its opinion.

4. The term of office of Board members is four years; reappointments of Board members are unrestricted.

5. The Chair is responsible for the work of the Board and its communication with the Rector and Vice-Rectors of CU. The Deputy Chair assumes the role of chairing the Board in the absence of the Chair.

6. Members of the Board participate in Board meetings and actively share its tasks and work.

7. Membership in the Board is an office of honour. Members, upon their request, have their expenditures relating to their performance of Board activities, and participation in Board meetings, reimbursed by CU. 

Article 4 Board meetings

1. The Board assembles regularly and at least once a year.

2. A meeting of the Board is convened by the Chair of his or her own initiative or upon proposal of the Rector.

3. The written invitation includes a draft of agenda along with supporting documents.  Members of the Board may propose modifications to the agenda of Board meetings.

4. The Chair presides over meetings of the Board.

5. The Board has a quorum if a majority of its members are present. The Board decides by a majority of votes of members present at the meeting.

6. Meetings of the Board are closed to the public. Meetings may be attended by the Rector, a respective Vice-Rector and invited experts and guests.

7. Minutes are taken from the meeting which the Board subsequently approves by a remote vote. The approved minutes are sent to the Board members and to the Rector.

8. The working language of the Board is English; all documents and materials of the Board are drafted in English.

Article 5 Invited experts and guests

1. The Chair of the Board may, of his or her own initiative or upon proposal of the Rector, invite external experts and guests if the Board so approves.

2. Invited experts and guests may cast an advisory vote on a respective issue at a Board meeting.

Article 6 Remote meetings of the Board

1. The Chair may upon proposal of the Rector convene a remote (per rollam) meeting of the Board should an urgent issue emerge and should convening a Board meeting with personal presence of its members turn to be impracticable or ineffective.

2. If a remote meeting has been convened the Chair submits a respective proposal along with supporting materials to all Board members and requests them to present their position within a specified period of time.

Article 7 The Board Secretariat

1. The Board Secretariat is in charge of administrative and organisational support of Board activities.

2. The functioning of the Secretariat is within the responsibilities of the Department of Science and Research of the CU Rectorate.

Article 8 Publishing information on Board activities

Resolutions, opinions and recommendations of the Board, as well as other information relating to relevant issues on the Board agenda are posted on the web pages of CU after the documents to be posted have been approved by the Board Chair and the Rector.

Article 9 Final provisions

1. Amendments of the Statute of the Board are to be made by the Rector in the form of a Rector´s directive and after their consideration by the Board.

2. The outline of this Directive was considered by the Academic Senate of CU on 6 June 2014, and by the Research Board of CU on 19 June 2014.

3. This Statute takes effect on 1 September 2014.

Prague, 25 August 2014

Professor MUDr. Tomáš Zima, DrSc., MBA

Rector