PREAMBLE

The objective of this following internal manual is to set the functioning rules of the AAC as far as:

• The Congress as defined by the statutes,
• The Council,
• And the Relationships with the national federations are concerned.

ARTICLE 1

There will always be a roll call before the opening session, which is duly signed by the representative of each country with the voting right. A copy of that roll will be attached to the reports of the meetings.

That roll will mention at the most three (3) representatives per country; the first name listed being the representative with the voting right.

When a representative with the voting right leaves the meeting, he will be replaced by one of the delegates from the same country and whose name comes next on the list.

ARTICLE 2 : SOLEMN OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE SESSION

The said working sessions can be preceded by a solemn public opening ceremony and followed by a solemn closing ceremony, at the initiative of the organisers of the host country with the approval of the AAC President.

ARTICLE 3 : WORKING SESSIONS

The working sessions are generally held behind closed doors. However, the President can allow a person, non member, to assist to the debates.

ARTICLE 4 : THE PRESIDENT’S AUTHORITY

The President will declare the opening and the closing of the sessions.

He will chair the meetings, will give the floor, will put to vote the debated questions and will proclaim the results of the votes.

He will see to the strict application of the rule of procedures set by the Statutes and by the present internal manual.

He will take all the necessary measures so that the AAC’s working sessions will take place in good order and dignity.

In the absence of the President, the Congress (or the Council) will designate one of the vice-presidents to chair the debates.

In the absence of both, the President and the vice-presidents, the Congress (or the Council) will designate one of its members to chair the debates.

ARTICLE 5 : THE AGENDA OF THE CONGRESS

The temporary agenda of an ordinary session of the AAC’s Congress will include, in conformity with the Statutes, the following points:

5.1 - roll call and verification of the mandates;

5.2 - approbation of the agenda;

5.3 - the President’s orientation message;

5.4 - the Council activity report presented by the Secretary General;

5.5 - the report of the Representative of Africa to IAAF ;

5.6 - the reports of the Presidents of the Regions;

5.7 - the General Treasurer’s financial report;

5.8 - the auditor’s report;

5.9 - the budget estimates for the next two (2) years;

5.10 - the proposals of the AAC Council;

5.11 - the proposals of the National Federations;

5.12 - the calendar of the Meetings;

5.13 - date and venue of the next AAC Congress.

The elective Congresses, in every four (4) years, will include in their agenda the elections, in conformity with the dispositions of the AAC Statutes.

All requests for an inscription of a point to the agenda of the Congress must be addressed to the Secretary General, at least three (3) months prior to the Congress.

In case of an emergency, a question not mentioned in the agenda in conformity with the dispositions of the Article 5, can nevertheless be submitted to the debates, pending on the AAC President’s approval.

ARTICLE 6 : AGENDA OF THE MEETING

The agenda of the Council meetings will be proposed by the AAC President and must include the agenda of the Congress and the major current problems.

This agenda must be communicated to all the Council members, at the latest one (1) month prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE 7 : APPROBATION OF REPORTS OF THE MEETINGS

The draft reports of the meetings, written in French and in English, must be sent to the member federations within the two (2) months that precede the closing date of the meeting.

A two (2) months delay, equally, from the sending date by the Secretary General, is given to the member federations to express their remarks or critiques on the document.

The Secretary General will include all the relevant observations in the final report. If not, he will mention them to the Congress which will decide of their outcome, when it approves the said report.

Is considered as having approved the first sent Meeting Report, any member federation which does not make known its remarks within the set delays.

ARTICLE 8 : DEBATES AND REGISTRATION OF THE SPEAKERS

During the debates, the delegates are required to ask the floor to the President before they can intervene. The President has registered the speakers in the sequential order they have made their request.

The Chairperson of the meeting will decide with the approval of the Delegates how the debates will be conducted.

ARTICLE 9 : MOTION ORDER

The floor is automatically, given by the President to any member who makes the request for a reminder of the Rules or a motion order.

ARTICLE 10 : RESOLUTIONS AND QUORUM

The decisions of the Congress are taken at the end of the debates. After each discussion, the chairperson puts to vote the different proposals or resolutions, with or without amendment.

The decisions are taken to the simple majority votes expressed by the present delegates, to the exception of those that could violate the statutory dispositions.

In case of a tie, after a second turn, the vote of the President is prevalent.

The decisions taken and the resolutions adopted, should be respected by the national member federations, and will enter into effect within the next two (2) months after the Congress.

In case of an emergency, the Congress can fix the date from which the decisions taken and the resolutions adopted can come into effect.

The author of a resolution or a motion can always make a request to withdraw them before the deliberation.

ARTICLE 11 : SECRETARY / COMMISSIONS

The Secretary of the meetings is held by the AAC Secretary General.

All the written documents, whether temporarily or final, of the meetings, and destined to the members, are in French or in English.

The Congress members can constitute themselves as Commissions or temporary working groups, anytime they deem it necessary

ARTICLE 12 :

The Council members cannot have a representative to the Council meetings and therefore cannot vote by proxy.

ARTICLE 13 :  SECRET OF THE DELIBERATIONS

The Council members and all those who assist to a Council meeting are expected to keep secret the deliberations.

Unless there is a prior authorisation of the President of the Council, these same persons must refrain from any declaration or publication.

Pending that reserve, the Council members and generally speaking, all those who assist to the sessions of the Council, are allowed to make to the instances they represent the comments and the usual reports.

ARTICLE 14 : MISSIONS AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES

The Council can entrust one of its members or a member of the AAC Congress with some temporary missions.

In this case, the AAC will take in charge the airfare in economy class, except for the President who travels in first class, the vice-presidents, the Honorary Treasurer, the African Representative to IAAF, the Secretary General, the Presidents of the Regions will travel in economy class.

As for the Presidents of the Regions, their airfare expenses are deducted from their functioning budget.

The AAC will pay to the missionary a per-diem of $100 for his or her mission expenses to cover the room and board expenses.

However, when the room and board expenses are taken in charge by the host country or any other organisation, the missionary will receive half of the mission expense rate which is $50.

ARTICLE 15 : CONSULTING VIA MAIL

The President can, in between sessions, consult with the Council members through mail, when an urgent decision which requires the Council’s opinion, must be taken.

ARTICLE 16 : 

With a view to elect the President, the Vice-presidents and the Council members by the Congress, a polling station is set and will consist of a President and two assistants.

The President of the polling station can either be the Oldest member, or any other person designated by the Congress and selected preferably amid the members or a VIP with no voting right.

All the elections are in the secret ballot.

The distribution and the counting of votes are executed by the polling station and the Secretary General.

The number of ballot-paper is declared by the President before the counting.

If the number of castled votes is less or equal to the number of delivered ballot-paper, the vote is valid.

If the number of registered votes exceeds the number of delivered votes, the poll is declared null and immediately resumed.

The majority is declared on the number of registered valid votes. The blank votes and the null ballot-paper do not count in the tally.

If one or several votes are given to the same candidate on the same ballot-paper, only one is taken into account.

The castled votes are kept until after a verification of the last polling and destroyed right after its proclamation.

ARTICLE 17 : REVISION AND MODIFICATION OF THE MANUAL

Upon the proposals or recommendations made by member federations or the Council and submitted to the Secretary General, three (3) months prior to the Congress, the present Internal Manual could be amended to the majority of the 2/3 of the voting members.

ARTICLE 18

In addition to documents sent to the national federations, in conformity with the statutory dispositions, the AAC Secretary must inform them of all relevant matters on a regular basis.

In return, the national federations must keep the AAC Secretary inform of all matters pertaining to the evolution of athletics in their country; more particularly they must send as soon as possible their calendars, their programs of activities and technical results.

These documents will be sent in two (2) copies.

Furthermore, in order to have a good follow up and a good co-ordination of the activities at Regions level, the Presidents of the Regions must receive from the national federations, all the useful information.

The national federations must address to their respective President of the Region, each semester, a complete report of their activities.

The President of the Region must, in his turn, keep the AAC Secretary informed of the activities of the Region. He must each semester, on May 30 and on November 30, at the latest submit a complete report on their regional activities.