International Council of Archives

On 24 August, the Annual General Meeting in Brisbane voted a new constitution into existence. This represented the culmination of a year’s work and several months’ intensive consultation. In a session lasting about ninety minutes, members moved several amendments and asked many questions, but the essence of the new constitution remained intact. The discussion was handled in a masterly way by George Mackenzie, outgoing Director of the National Records of Scotland and ICA’s constitutional authority. He was for the most part able to reassure members about the legitimate concerns which they raised.

The main features of the new constitution are as follows:

• The right to vote is no longer confined to category A (national archives) and category B (professional associations) but is now extended to all institutional members in category C

• Individual members in category D have the right to speak at the General Assembly

• The votes of each member category do not have the same value but will be weighted in Internal Regulations, which will be approved by the Executive Board and ratified by the General Assembly

• The powers of the President, elected Vice-Presidents and Secretary General are more precisely defined

• The powers of the Executive Board are strengthened and the Management Commission (MCOM) is abolished, in order to simplify ICA governance

• The Audit Commission (ACOM) makes way for an Evaluation Commission, which remains independent and has an even wider remit

• PCOM now has increased responsibilities for the professional content of the Annual Conference and for coordinating the programme more generally

• The role of the branches and sections, and their reporting obligations, are clarified

A full version of the new constitution, in English and French, will be published as soon as possible.