STATUTES

Chapter I

Denomination, object, duration and headquarters

  • Article 1
    This association is called APECOM-Portuguese Association of Advisory Companies in Communication and Public Relations and will have an unlimited duration.
  • Article 2
    The purpose of the Association is to defend and promote the interests of its members, as companies that dedicate their activity to advising on public relations, image and communication, multidisciplinary and multichannel.
  • Article 3
    In order to pursue its objective, the Association, namely:
    1. Promotes the prestige and dignification of its members and their activity, in the country and abroad;
    2.  Promotes the professional training of associates and their workers, namely by organizing research courses and actions, setting up libraries and documentation centres, carrying out studies and surveys;
    3. Represents associates before public or private entities or institutions and national or foreign business organizations;
    4. Collaborates with official bodies and other public or private entities to solve any economic, social and fiscal problems in the sector;
    5. Fosters and disseminates among its members the exchange of new knowledge and information, within the scope of the sector's activities, and may, for this purpose, promote the publication of publications;
    6. Promotes the regulation of the sector's activities and its protection against unfair competition practices;
    7. Prepare the necessary studies and promote collective solutions on issues of general interest to the sector;
    8. Creates services of common interest for members, namely consultancy and legal assistance on issues exclusively linked to the activity of its members;
    9. Organize and keep the file and registration of members up-to-date;
    10. It integrates with other associations that pursue similar purposes, if it is deemed useful for the achievement of such purposes;
    11. Informs associates and the general public about the activities of the Association, being able to promote the publication of publications;
    12. Promotes meetings and conferences to debate issues related to its object.
  • Article 4
    1. The Association has its headquarters at R. Hermano Neves 18, piso 3, E 7, 1600-477 Lisbon, parish of Lumiar.
    2. By decision of the Management, branches, delegations or any other legal forms of representation may be created or closed in any part of the national territory.
    3. The Association cannot be a party to the negotiation or conclusion of collective labor agreements.
    4.  The Association is non-profit and its activity extends to the entire national territory.

Chapter II

Associates

  • Article 5
    1. All legal persons, national or foreign, with headquarters, delegations or any other legal forms of representation within the scope of Portuguese territory and exercising their activity for more than one year may be members of APECOM, which must consist of the advice on public relations, image, multidisciplinary and/or multichannel communication, marketing, events, design, publishing or digital communication, without prejudice to the provisions of the following number.
    2. The main activity of APECOM members may include one, or several, of the following services:
      1. Communication advice;
      2. Institutional Communication and reputation management of organizations and people;
      3. Financial Communication;
      4. Public Affairs
      5. Crisis and litigation management;
      6.  Press office;
      7. Internal communication of organizations;
      8. Training and coaching in the area of ​​public relations and communication;
      9. Product and brand and consumer engagement strategies and communication;
      10. Content development;
      11. Organization and promotion of patronage and sponsorship;
      12. Organization and management of events;
      13. Digital Communication and social networks;
      14. Production of communication, paper, video and digital media and infrastructure;
      15. Brand strategy and communication;
      16. Graphic design;
      17. Development and analysis of public and published information, evaluation, monitoring and metrics;
      18. Public communication;
      19.  Political communication.
  • Article 6
    1. Associates are admitted by decision of the Board of Directors under a proposal signed by the candidate and two associates.
    2. The rejection by the Board of the admission of the member can be appealed to the General Assembly filed by a proponent.
  • Article 7
    Members' rights are:
    1. To have privileged access to documentation and publications edited by APECOM;
    2.  Use the consultancy, legal assistance and documentation services, under the terms established by the Management;
    3. Participate in General Assemblies, with the right to one vote for each member;
    4. Examine the accounts and all documentation relating to the life of the Association;
    5. Call, under the terms of these Statutes, the Extraordinary General Meeting.
  • Article 8
    The duties of the associates are:
    1.  To comply with statutory and regulatory obligations and the deliberations of the governing bodies;
    2. Timely pay the fixed quotas;
    3. Contribute, through its action, to the pursuit of the Association's objectives;
    4. Act jointly in defense of the interests of the Association;
    5. To perform the positions for which they are elected;
    6. Appoint their representatives to the General Assembly.
  • Article 9
    1. The following lose their membership status:
      1. Those who so request, in a letter addressed to the Board at least 90 days in advance;
      2. Those that are dissolved or for which insolvency is decreed;
      3.  Those whose behavior is considered, in the General Assembly, on a proposal from the Board preceded by a disciplinary procedure, harmful to the interests of the Association.
    2. Loss of membership does not give rise to the restitution of any assets that, through him, have been transferred to the Association.
  • Article 10
    1. It is incumbent upon the Board of Directors to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the associates, under the terms to be established in the regulation, and the application of the respective penalties to the General Assembly.
    2. Disciplinary penalties are:
      1. Suspension of rights and benefits;
      2.  The expulsion.

Chapter III

Association Bodies
Section I
General Principles

  • Article 11
    1. The Association's bodies are the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board.
    2. The exercise of the mandate is free of charge.
    3. The members of the governing bodies shall exercise their mandate for two consecutive years, remaining in the exercise of their functions until the swearing-in of whoever should replace them.
    4. The mandate is renewable whenever such renewal is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the Association, the renewal being decided by deliberation of the General Assembly taken by a simple majority of the votes of the associates present or represented.
    5. The members of the governing bodies may only be removed before the respective term of office by decision of the General Meeting specially convened for this purpose.
    6. If there is any vacancy in the corporate positions, the General Meeting must fill it, appointing, for the respective exercise, a new member, which will only complete the term of office of the member to be replaced.
    7. Each member may only have one attorney-in-fact appointed in the representative structure of each of the governing bodies.

Section II
General Meeting

  • Article 12
    The General Assembly is the sovereign body of the Association, being composed of all associates, in the person of their representatives, provided that they are in full enjoyment of their rights, under the terms of these statutes and complementary regulations.
  • Article 13
    1. The General Assembly is headed by a table, composed of a President and two Secretaries.
    2. It is incumbent upon the President to convene the General Assembly and direct its work.
  • Article 14
    1. The General Meeting ordinarily meets until the 31st of March of each year.
    2. The General Assembly must be convened by the administration and whenever required, with a legitimate purpose, by a group of associates not less than a fifth of its totality.
  • Article 15
    1. The general meeting is convened by means of a postal notice, sent to each member at least twenty days in advance; the notice will indicate the day, time and place of the meeting and the respective agenda.
    2. The general meeting may resolve on matters not included in the agenda if all associates attend the meeting and if all agree with the amendment.
  • Article 16
    1. The General Assembly functions when two thirds of the associates are present in full enjoyment of their rights, and representatives may delegate their powers of representation to representatives of other associates.
    2. In the absence of the quorum referred to in the previous number, the General Assembly meets and deliberates, half an hour after the one mentioned in the respective notice, with the associates then present.
    3. The deliberations of the General Assembly are taken by the absolute majority of votes of the associates present and represented. The deliberations of the Statutes, dissolution of the Association and the amount of dues and fees, however, require a qualified majority of three quarters of the votes of the associates present and represented.
  • Article 17
    It is incumbent upon the General Meeting to:
    1. Give its opinion on the annual report of accounts represented, as well as on the budget for the following year and any investment plan to be carried out, when ordinarily convened;
    2. Elect and dismiss the holders of the Board of the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board;
    3. To pronounce and decide on the application of disciplinary penalties;
    4. Change the Association's Statutes;
    5. Decide on the dissolution of the Association;
    6. Set the amount of fees and fees to be paid by members;
    7. Approve the Association's internal regulations;
    8. Decide on all matters of interest to the Association and not included in the previous paragraphs.

Section III
Direction

  • Article 18
    1. APECOM's Board of Directors is composed of a President and four (4), six (6) or 8 (eight) Vice-Presidents.
  • Article 19
    The Board is responsible for:
    1. Administering the Association's assets and directing, organizing and coordinating its activity;
    2. Represent the Association in all acts and bodies where it must intervene or be present;
    3. Request the extraordinary convening of the General Meeting, whenever it deems it convenient;
    4. Admit associates and propose to the General Assembly the loss of that quality, the Management being able to declare such loss in the circumstances provided for in paragraphs a) and b) of paragraph 1 of article 8 of these Statutes;
    5. Propose to the General Assembly the amounts of fees and fees to be paid by members;
    6. Propose to the General Assembly the creation of Delegations or any other legal forms of representation;
    7. To prepare and present, annually, to the General Assembly the budget, the Report and Accounts for the previous year and the Investment Plans;
    8. Prepare and present to the General Assembly the draft APECOM Internal Regulations and the respective amendments;
    9. Acquire and dispose of assets to and from APECOM, and the disposal must always be subject to a favorable opinion from the General Assembly;
    10. Propose to the General Meeting the application of any sanctions, under the terms of these Statutes and the respective Regulation;
    11. Implement the resolutions of the General Assembly, as well as enforce compliance with APECOM's regulatory and statutory provisions;
    12. In general, do whatever is necessary or useful for the pursuit of the Association's purposes and does not fall within the functions of the other bodies.
  • Article 20
    It is incumbent upon the Chairman of the Board to:
    1. Represent the Association in and out of court, by himself or by an agent appointed by him, with the necessary powers;
    2. Convene and direct Board meetings.
  • Article 21
    The Association is bound by the signature of the Chairman of the Board or, in the absence or impediment, by the joint signatures of two Vice-Presidents.
  • Article 22
    The Board of Directors meets ordinarily once a month and extraordinarily whenever the President convokes it.

Section IV
Fiscal Council

  • Article 23
    The Supervisory Board is made up of a Chairman and two Members.
  • Article 24
    It is incumbent upon the Supervisory Board to:
    1. Periodically analyze the accounts of the Association;
    2. Give an opinion on the Annual Report and Accounts presented by the Board.
  • Article 25
    The Fiscal Council will ordinarily meet at least once a quarter.

Chapter IV
Financial Regime

  • Article 26
    The social year corresponds to the calendar year.
  • Article 27
    The Association's income includes:
    1. Fees and fees paid by members;
    2. Interest and income from own assets and services rendered;
    3. Subsidies awarded to it;
    4. Financing of any public or private entities, national or foreign, for the promotion of specific actions compatible with the purposes of the Association;
    5. Any other benefits, legacies, donations and contributions received by the Association, in compliance with the Law.

Chapter V
General and transitional provisions

  • Article 28
    1. The dissolution of the Association must be resolved at the General Assembly, operating in accordance with the legal provisions applicable at the time.
    2. In the event of dissolution, the General Assembly will immediately appoint a liquidation committee.
  • Article 29
    The General Internal Regulations of APECOM must be approved at the first General Assembly that meets after electing the Board.
  • Article 30
    These Statutes may only be amended by the General Meeting specially convened for this purpose.
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