Like every year, The AEGEEan is giving a platform to candidates for a position in the European Level boards and commissions of our association to answer to some questions in order to present themselves. This year, we established a cooperation with the Golden Times and, together with his Editor Gunnar Erth, former and current journalists of our magazine will interview the candidates for the upcoming Agora in Krakow. Today we present you with the candidature of the three candidates for Juridical Commission Veronika Chmelárová (AEGEE-Berlin), Lisette Kunst (AEGEE-Groningen), Giuseppe Aquilino (AEGEE-Catania), and the candidate for Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe Monika Mojak (AEGEE-Warszawa). 

Veronika Chmelárová is very young, but she has already experienced a lot of thing in the association, such as Local Board and Home-based CD assistant. Among her tasks, she is also a member of the Juridical Commission (JC) for the term 2017-2018. After successfully running in Enschede, the 20-year old AEGEE-Berlin member is ready to run for a second term during Spring Agora Krakow.

Check her interview here.

You can read her full candidature here.

Lisette Kunst is a 24-year old law student from AEGEE-Groningen. She has been a member of the Mediation Commission for the term between Agora Kyïv and Agora Chisinau, and, after a term as subcommissioner of the JC, she is ready to be part of it. We asked her some questions to get to know her and her candidature better right before the Agora.

Check her interview here.

You can read her full candidature here.

In Spring Agora Enschede, he was torn between applying for Juridical Commission and Comité Directeur. Even if he chose to run for CD, Giuseppe Aquilino still had the dream to join the Juridical Commission (JC). In Agora Kraków he will try to make his dream come true, running for a place in the commission.

Check out his interview here.

You can read his full candidature here.

At Spring Agora Kraków, so far there will be only one candidate for the position of Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe for the term 2018/19: Monika Mojak. “I have all needed qualities to serve as mediator of the team, be the ‘mother of the headoffice’ and the ‘good spirit of the house’, says the AEGEE-Warszawa member, who is currently President of the Juridical Commission.

Check her interview here.

You can read her full candidature here.

Jesús Baizán Barnabá has been a member of AEGEE-Oviedo for two years now, and he was a SubCommissioner of the Juridical Commission of AEGEE-Europe for the term 2016-2017. Now he wants to take his passion for law one step further by candidating as full-time member of the JC. We interviewed him about his candidature and his programme. 

The AEGEEan: How would you describe yourself with your initials?

Jesús: If I have to describe myself with my initials I would say “Juridical Beast”. My family is full of lawyers, justice assistants, policemen and guardias civiles [Spanish law enforcement body, ed.], and I do believe in the importance of the rule of law and the paper of the State officers. I participated in three different legal internships related to different types of law and I am totally sure I want to dedicate my professional life to being a functionary.

Why should people vote for you?

Being a person with that background, I do believe I could contribute to the JC and, as I said in my candidature, the next period between July and February I am going to dedicate my time to study English and Dutch, so I will have plenty of time.

What has your experience as JC SubCommissioner taught you until now? How would your routine change if you were elected?

As JC SubCommissioner, I learnt how the JC works: checking statuses, taking over Committee Elections, how to discuss legal issues internally, the operation of the register system and the close relation between the JC and the CD in order to solve problems as soon as possible. If I get elected, my plan is spending my time on language studies, working out at the gym and the rest of my time until February can be used properly in taking care of the JC duties.

What did you learn during your Election Observation Mission? How would you translate that knowledge into the JC work?

During my Election Observer Mission in Macedonia, I acquired different theoretical knowledge like the principles of Transparency, Impartiality, Rule of Law or Respect to the National Sovereignty and practical knowledge like which details you do have to observe to analyse if everything is going correctly. We cannot forget that the principal aim of AEGEE is the personal development of our members, and having a little background related to the OSCE observation method is good.

Could you give us an example of a mistake in the statuses you found (no names, just a real case scenario) and how you would improve that?

The biggest mistake that comes to my mind was ignoring to mention the financial obligations of the local with AEGEE-Europe, or the most typical cases are fails due to the use of automatic translators without a proper check before sending it. Our members have no obligation to know how to redact their statuses, for this reason I think that elaborating a template with all the basic criteria to have acceptable statutes will be helpful for everyone. In this template I would like to add some tips like “check the automatic translation if you used it” or “ask to your sub-commissioner before sending the statutes if you have any doubt”.

How do you envision cooperation and KT with future SubCommissioners?

My will is to continue with the same system followed by the current JC, consulting most of the issues with the SubCommissioners, giving them the opportunity to act directly in the legal work of the Commission, answering their questions… Basically, it consists in giving them voice and the right to explain their opinion. However, there is a new thing I would like to implement in the SubCommissioners programme. It is doing like the Audit Commission or the Network Commission and distributing the Network between the SubCommissioner, in order to get a closer relationship between the JC and the locals. But anyways, I would like to know before what Monika and Veronika (or the other possible candidates) think about that.

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

Monika Mojak from AEGEE-Warszawa and AEGEE- Lublin is at the end of her term as president of the Juridical Commission of AEGEE-Europe, but she is candidating for a second term because she feels she still has much to offer to the JC. We interviewed her about her candidature and her programme. 

The AEGEEan: President of the JC, attorney-in-law trainee, AEGEE enthusiast: what do we still don’t know about you?

Monika: Besides law, I study international relations, that I found very interesting thanks to AEGEE.  When I find some free time (which is not easy) I am trying to write my master’s thesis. Moreover, I am an animal lover and I am engaged in some activities aimed to their protection. Sometimes I test my cooking skills on my family and friends or I play the piano (unfortunately for my neighbours). Like every AEGEEan, I cannot imagine my live without travels, adventures, and great people around me.  I am also a big fan of the 80s, French movies, English literature, Mediterranean cuisine, and everything made of chocolate.

Why should people vote for you?

I am passionate about the JC, I left a big part of my heart here and I can say that I really love working for it. I believe that when you find something interesting, it naturally increases your willingness to perform your tasks better and put 100% of your effort, but at the same time it gives you a lot of satisfaction and energy, especially when you can help other people. I am happy for what I do, and I still feel motivated to contribute to the JC more. I think that the combination of my skills, practice and knowledge can be very useful here and will help in further JC development.

You say being president of the JC was challenging. Could you give us some example?

For me, the greatest challenge of being the president is the fact of how many people rely on you, on your knowledge, skills and you as a person. That is why I wanted to ensure that everybody in the JC felt good and the atmosphere was nice, that our decisions were objective, just and in the best interest for those who were affected by them, and that people were satisfied about how the JC operates in general.  I am trying to do my best not to disappoint people.

How did the past year in the JC help you develop and what do you think can still be improved?

It was a very intense time in my life.  Of course, I learned a lot, I gained many new skills and experience that can be helpful in my future activities. But what I found the most important are all those fantastic people I met, and with whom I had a chance to work and cooperate. They gave me a lot of support, inspiration, and motivation. Sometimes they pushed me to go beyond my own limits that turned into new ideas and plans that I would like to put into practice now. Thanks to them I got new energy and enthusiasm to work harder, to keep on going with what I really like doing, to believe that nothing is impossible and everything depends on us alone. This is priceless.

I found working with the JC team great. Everybody is very motivated and hard-working, we learn from each other, we support each other, exchanging knowledge and opinions. But mostly, we are good friends. Then, our cooperation is working well. But sometimes we should increase the speed of our actions. Some cases demand precise research and time, but I am also aware that in some cases our decisions affect the operating of other bodies and we should think how to divide our work and the tasks we have to become more efficient.  I have some ideas how to improve it, and I really hope I will have an opportunity to put them into practice soon.

You plan to bring the JC closer to the Network. Do you already have some ideas in store?

I have noticed that many AEGEEans have only a general overview about our commission.  But at the same time, I was happy to discover that many, many of them are really interested in how we work, what are our tasks and role within the association and how they could get involved. That is why I would like to take care about the new website, where people could find all the important and updated information about our body. I also believe that nothing could bring the JC closer to the Network than direct contact. I would like to get the JC involved in more activities held during AEGEE events, where we can present ourselves, be more visible, meet with people just to talk with them, answer their questions and dispel the doubts they have relating all legal issues.

The second and very important thing is the fact that many members still don’t know a lot about the CIA. The CIA is extensive and can be incomprehensible for those who do not have legal background, and this is understandable. But this is the essential document that regulates the most important aspects and sets a base for our activities within AEGEE. And our role as JC is showing that the CIA is not as black as it is painted and that the knowledge about the CIA is important and helpful for all of us.  For this reason, I would really like to work on some JC guidelines, where members could find all the basic and most important information regarding the CIA. I am also thinking about workshops that we could have during Agora, NWMs, SUs and any other events, when people learn more about the JC and the CIA, but can also get some useful legal knowledge needed in their daily life.

You mention that you were not able to put all your ideas into practice in the past year. What would you like to implement if you were elected?

I would like to work on all the tools that can help bring the JC closer to all the members. As I mentioned before, this is a new website, an updated Facebook page, JC sessions during events, useful CIA presentations and our activities to help people understand our role in AEGEE.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

Behind the Commissioners of the Juridical Commission and the Network Commission some AEGEE members carry out an unknown but very relevant task: they are the SubCommissioners. The AEGEEan decided to talk with these guys who, perhaps, might be the next Commissioners -although someone has already been elected as a Commissioner at Agora Bergamo-.

In AEGEE you can find the SubCommie Teams in the Juridical Commission and in the Network Commission. The current Subcommissioners of the Juridical Commission (JC) are: Danila Petrovic  (AEGEE-Beograd), Elisa Tabbì (AEGEE-Catania), Lucie Ostrà (AEGEE-Brno), Monika Mojak (AEGEE-Lublin) and Mateusz Szoturma (AEGEE-Kraków). They are Law students from different countries, with different AEGEE backgrounds and different personalities, but all of them are ambitious and the right people in the right place. For this article, Monika and Mateusz were kind enough to answer our questions.
Monika Mojak joined AEGEE in 2013. So far, she has been involved in many projects, first as team member and then as coordinator. The biggest project she helped to organise was the EPM in Lublin in 2014. Then, she became a Board member of AEGEE-Lublin, PR responsible and Vice-President.  Besides this, she has been active on the European level, taking part in some statutory events and other activities organised by AEGEE-Europe: in particular, she was also Subcommissioner of the JC in the previous term (2014-2015).

Mateusz Szoturma

Mateusz Szoturma, probably a future judge but currently a backpacker, addicted to the beauty of the world, was working in AEGEE-Kraków and did many different tasks in many different projects of this antenna. His main field of interest was fundraising and, among other things, he was the coordinator of fundraising for a Summer University in Krakow.

Monika decided to apply as JC Subcommissioner because she wanted to be more involved on the European level, so she thought that the JC would be a perfect place for her. She found it very interesting as she had a chance to develop her skills, to get to know better how the work inside the team looks like and to meet fantastic people. Mateusz thinks the work of the Juridical Commission is the AEGEE area most connected with his “professional” field of interests. He believes it is a very interesting and valuable experience that might bear fruits in the future. Moreover, not only is he able to gain some experience, but he can also do some practical things for AEGEE.

Monika Mojak

About the activities as a JC Subcommissioner, Monika tells us that the Commissioners are trying to involve the Subcommie team in a wide range of activities. This is why she can feel as a real part of the team. The Subcommissioners were organising and supervising the elections of  the Working Groups and Committees, assisting Commissioners during the Agora, checking status of the locals and participating in Skype meetings. As a Subcommissioner, she could share her legal knowledge, experience and passion, and she dedicated time to prepare herself to continue her involvement in the JC as a Commissioner now. According to Mateusz, the main task of the Subcommie Team is to reduce the workload and improve the efficiency of the Juridical Commission. Many different tasks have to be done by the JC, but not all of them demand the kind of mandate that commissioners get by being chosen at the Agoras. In situations like these, the JC can always count on the Subcommissioners. As a SubCommie, for instance, Mateusz had to be responsible to oversee the election procedure for the Editor-in-Chief of The AEGEEan.

Monika achieved a good experience that would help her to work very well as a JC Commissioner, also considering that she improved not only her legal competences, but also some interpersonal skills and her ability to teamwork. Mateusz  has improved his ability to work in an international team and the art of coping with loads of e-mails arriving at the JC mailing list. Monika and Mateusz both think legal knowledge is necessary to get involved in the JC, so, it is no surprise that this Commission is  especially attractive for Law students. Monika is currently a Commissioner of the JC, after the elections at Agora Bergamo, and she thinks about a re-election if she will do well as Commissioner and the Network will be satisfied by her work.

To be continued in our next instalment.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

Elisa has been a member of AEGEE-Catania for three years now. The experience that she gained from her antenna and the European bodies that she has been involved with so far, motivated her to take the next step and become a member of the Juridical Commission (JC) for the upcoming term. Here are all the questions the AEGEEan and its readers had for the current JC SubCommissioner: 

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a few things about yourself?

Elisa: I’m in my last year, studying Law, at the University of Catania and I hope I will be getting my degree this summer, right before the beginning of the term. I’m a very enthusiastic person and, since I like what I study, I want to put my knowledge into practice!  

What is your relevant experience for this position?

As I explained in my candidature I’ve been helping the Juridical Commission as SubCommissioner this year (term 2015/2016). My collaboration with the current members gave me a lot of valuable experience for this position.

Why did you choose to become a candidate for the Juridical Commission?

During this year I came to the conclusion, that I gained the right knowledge to continue and improve the job of the current commissioners, therefore at the moment, I have the right motivation to carry out this mission!

What is the thing that makes the Juridical Commission important according to you?

The thing that makes the JC important, is that AEGEE, beyond an association, is a real community of people, in this case European students. As every community, it needs regulations (in this case, the ones mentioned in the Corpus Iudiricum Aeegense (CIA)), which will always be evolving and be shaped along with the people. So, to me, this European body is supposed to connect students with rules, help them apply them in the right way and take care of their adaptation during the evolution of this big community!

How would you raise awareness about the CIA among the members?

Raising awareness about regulations is hard in every community. Maybe people could be bored in reading all the articles, but the fact that at every Agora there are many members who submit proposals is a proof that not all members ignore the importance of the process. In any case,  it is a reality that many members have not read it once. Maybe, the word could be spread through a brief workshop about the CIA, during a Local Training Course (LTC) or an Regional Training Course (RTC) for example, just to make people aware of the main rules of the association!

Is there something that you would like to improve in the current version (v.26.1)?

I think that CIA is constantly evolving together with the association and the changing of its needs, so yes, there’s always room for improvement.

Do you think that there’s somehow room for collaboration between other European bodies and the Juridical Commission?

Yes of course, and I think that there must be and it has to be reinforced: the JC is always open to give support and advice to every member, local and European body.

If you were elected tomorrow, what would be the first thing that you would do?

Maybe I’ll make the most recent version of the CIA more accessible: some people said that they have not read the CIA once, because they don’t really know where to find it.

What is the thing that makes you the most excited as a candidate?

Probably the challenge of answering all the questions people will ask me. I think this process is really important in order to understand what people want to see from the JC, but I also consider this as a personal feedback for my future job.

Questions from our readers:

Have you read the whole CIA? If so, what is its role in the network?

Yes, I did. The CIA is the Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense, it contains the structure of the association, all the working formats of all bodies, the Agora and all the rules to make the entire association work,  i.e. it’s the main pillar of AEGEE, because without regulations, no community can exist!

In your program, you’re mostly referring to continuing the work of the current Juridical Commission, what are some of your own ideas that could to improve the work of this European body?

Improving the work of the current Commissioners will be hard, but everything can be improved in terms of efficiency on solving issues and so on.  

How do you place yourself towards the proposals about removing the current Comité Directeur from the work of the Commission?

I think that as European bodies, we can continue with the model of “check and balances”, but sometimes more neutrality in the decisions of the Commission is needed, which in my opinion, was the aim of the proposal.

Would you continue with the idea of presenting proposals only during the Autumn Agora?

The proposal was submitted with the intention of avoiding using a lot of the time of both Agorae just for discussion on proposals. But it’s just a proposal, and it has to be voted, so it’s up to the Agora to decide!

Why do you think you’re the most eligible candidate for this position?

Because I know the work, I’m motivated, I’m enthusiastic and I can give all my time to improve and preserve the CIA, as well as, to help whoever is seeking advice. In other words: I’m ready!

You can read the full candidature here. 

Written by Theodora Giakoumelou, AEGEE-Athina

As we did for the previous Agorae, we want to present to you some of the proposals which will be discussed at Agora Bergamo. Don’t forget that for a complete picture you can (and should) check the entire proposal on our OMS. In this article we will be explaining four proposals, namely: “New DPPS Implementation Timeline”, “Making the life standards of members of the Comité Directeur and assistants a little bit better”, “Simplify the CIA: Resources of the Association” and “Improving the agenda setting and keeping”.

New DPPS Implementation Timeline
First, what is Data Privacy Policy Statement about? Since Agora Alicante 2011 there has been a huge debate in AEGEE regarding the lack of protection for potential sensitive data. Since Agora Patra 2014 these data have been classified in three categories: “external data” – accessible to everybody even outside AEGEE, “internal data” – accessible only to AEGEE members and “confidential data” – accessible to small groups of people and certain members who hold a position of responsibility (Netcommies, Audit Commissioners etc.). Confidential data are probably the most important one, it would be unfair if everybody could have access to private data. The DPPS was therefore ratified at Agora Patra. Among the new ideas the former MedCom worked on, a transition period was specified during which AEGEE should have implemented the DDPS. The deadline was Spring Agora Bergamo 2016, but the reform has not succeed yet. That’s why the proposer wants to propose a concrete timeline in order to have clear implementation steps in the next two years with the last stage scheduled for Autumn Agora 2017. As mentioned, the part of our statutes which will be modified is “Data Privacy Statement” – article 11, where deadline and specific steps of implementation will be changed. The proposer is Damien Latacz on behalf of the Mediation Commission, meaning that the proposers are the same people who will be implementing it.

You can check out the proposal here, get more information about the Data Privacy Police in this article or check out this presentation the MedCom prepared about it some time ago.

Making the life standards of members of the Comité Directeur and assistants a little bit better
Each member of the Comité Directeur and their assistants who are living at the AEGEE House is entitled to receive a subsistence reimbursement of ten euro per day spent in the house. Ander Guerrero Ruiz, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, submitted this proposal on behalf of the Comité Directeur. He states that the cost of living in Bruxelles has increased in the last three years, the last time the amount of money for our CD members was changed from eight euro per day to ten. If approved, this proposal is going to increase the amount up to 12,50 euro and would modify this number on our CIA, specifically in “GENERAL FINANCIAL RULES, Article 24: Subsistence Costs”.

Fun fact: if you check the entire proposal on our OMS you can see a long discussion about the cost of eggs and milk in Brussels, since the proposer used these two items as example of high cost of living.

Improving the agenda setting and keeping
Have you ever been at an Agora whose agenda gets modified the last minute? What kind of problems does it cause? According to Svenja van der Tol, who submitted the proposal on behalf of the Comité Directeur (and on behalf of the Agora reform task force, that cannot present proposals since they are not a body), last-minute changes can cause difficulties for the Chair Team to fix the agenda, create delays in the timing and problems for local organisers because of lack of rooms or materials needed. The proposed solution is to modify the CIA, specifically here: WORKING FORMAT OF THE AGORA, Article 2: Meeting and Convocation, sub. 3. Currently the agenda of the Agora has to be published at least two weeks before the event starts, but amendments to the agenda can be proposed at any time during the very same Agora. If approved, this proposal will regulate the submission of eventual amendments to the Chair team by admitting them not later than one week before the Agora, then the delegates would decide if they ratify these amendments at the beginning of the event. Once at the Agora, its members will still have the possibility to make amendments to the Agenda but, even if ratified, the Chair Team can decide based on the time and facilities. Still “the Agora may incorporate additional subjects that could not have been known one week before the Agora” in case something urgent must be discussed.

Download a copy of the CIA and read it!

Simplify the CIA: Resources of the Association
While the title of this proposal can make it sound as a minor one, the amendments proposed are a lot and a bit of pacience is is required to read them all. Let’s start off by saying that the CIA parts which would be modified are two: STATUTES OF AEGEE-EUROPE, art. 33 – Budget and GENERAL FINANCIAL RULES (with more than 12 articles modified, for a total of about 50 sub.). In fact, the proposers are the most expert people in budgeting and financial matters: Ander Guerrero Ruiz as Financial Director on behalf of the Comité Directeur and Deborah Pistori on behalf of the Audit Commission took care of the content changes. The last proposer is Claudio Gennaro, president of the Juridical Commission who took care of the legal part of this proposal.

Taking into account the most evident changes, if approved this proposal will provide these modifications:

– The introduction of a detailed explanation of which are the general resources of AEGEE-Europe.

– The outgoing Financial Director preparing and presenting the Financial Report at the Autumn Agora.

– The budget won’t need to be published two weeks before the Agora anymore.

– The dates of the financial year are clearly stated: from the 1st of January to the 31st of December and they are split up in two parts, with the first one starting on the 1st of January and ending on the 30th of June.

– The exchange rate is set twice a year and not every three months anymore.

– Reimbursements should be submitted no later than 21 days after the event/travel took place, not within one month as it happens now.

– CD and Commissions’ members can receive a reimbursement even if they are not active.

– The payment will not be made in the applicant’s currency anymore, but in Euro, moreover the Financial Director doesn’t have to present a list of currencies conversion rate into Euro before the Agora anymore.

– AEGEE-Europe does not have to reserve anymore an amount for the Training Course Fund, only if an open call for this is issued.

– There will not be anymore deficit guarantees by AEGEE-Europe for locals organising Statutory Events in case of unexpected loss after the event budget is approved by the Financial Director of AEGEE Europe.

As you can see the proposal is very articulated and on the OMS there is not much explained about the motivations and the changes this proposal will give bring. So, as always, it is recommended to study it and be ready to get the needed clarifications at the relative Prytanium.  You can check the complete proposal here to form your own opinion.

Written by Mattia Abis, AEGEE-Cagliari

Just like we did for the last Agorae, for Spring Agora Bergamo we want to provide you with a short and easy summary of the proposals submitted for the Agora again. In this first round, we will be explaining you four proposals that are aimed at changing the elections and the work of Juridical Commission, namely “Requiring support of two bodies besides the submitting body to discuss a proposal at the Agora”, “A new procedure for elections and polls, part I (public ballots)”, “Appointing instead of electing the Secretary of the Agora” and “Giving the Juridical Commission the power to fix small mistakes”. 

Now you may wonder: “What is this CIA you are talking about? Is AEGEE-Europe secretly American?” Simply said, the CIA (Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense) is a document with over a hundred pages containing all the rules which govern AEGEE-Europe. It is therefore considered as the legal framework of the association, and all members are obliged to follow its provisions. Although no secret agents are involved in it, it is one of the most important documents. In the CIA, which you can read here, you can find, for example, the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe and all kind of rules (like the antennae criteria and financial rules), and, in another document, the Working Formats of the different bodies.

Requiring support of two bodies besides the submitting body to discuss a proposal at the Agora

This proposal was submitted by Lucas Zoetmulder on behalf of AEGEE-Delft and by Wietske Jousma on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede, but it was conceived by the Agora Reform Task Force, which has been working since Autumn Agora Kyïv on improving our Agorae. The proposers want to reform how a proposal is submitted to the Agora. Currently, every member and organ of AEGEE-Europe can present a proposal by themselves on behalf of their body, resulting sometimes in easy withdrawing of proposals. This proposal therefore aims to have two additional bodies or locals to support the proposers. The principal submitter is still the one defending the proposal in front of the Agora, but they can be assisted by the supporting members or organs.

Appointing instead of electing the Secretary of the Agora

This proposal will be presented by Svenja van der Tol, the Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe, on behalf of the Agora Reform Task Force. This proposal starts from the assumption that the elections of the Secretary of the Agora cost time not needed, since normally there is only one candidate for the position and often even less, forcing the Chair Team to appoint anyway an interim Secretary. With this proposal, the Autumn Agora only elects the Chair Person and the Vice-Chair person and the Secretary is appointed following the same procedure of the IT assistant for a period of one Agora. S/he can extend his/her term for more Agorae if the Chair and Vice-Chairperson appoint her/him to. These proposals won’t change the accountability of the Secretary who is still required to send minutes two months after the Agora – not receiving any reimbursement if s/he is not in time with the delivering – and remains in charge of all the changes until the Agora approves them.

A new procedure for elections and polls, part I (public ballots)

Eveline Joore, Evelien Kroon and Wietske Jousma on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede are the proposers of the proposal that aims to change how the votings are conducted. The suggestion of the proposers is to replace the current run-off voting system with the Schulze method. This method allows voters to order candidates according to a preference order, resulting in having as a winner the candidate, who is preferred by a majority over every other candidate in pairwise comparisons. According to the proposers “AEGEE should move beyond the traditional practises of democratic decision-making that have proven to be unsatisfactory”, without any specific reference on when the system we have now proved not to be up to expectations. Proposers specify that they want to apply it, in the beginning, to public ballots, such as EPM topics. There, with a list of topics, delegates would rank the topics according to their preferences, instead of voting for only one topic. According to the Schulze method, the k top-ranked topic will be the winner.

Giving the Juridical Commission the power to fix small mistakes

This proposal will be presented by the Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe, Svenja van der Tol, on behalf of the Agora Reform Task force and it was developed by Lucas Zoetmulder of AEGEE-Delft. The aim of this proposal is to give the Juridical Commission the possibility to intervene directly in the CIA for changes, as it happens now, but without having to prepare a proposal to be voted on. Instead, the Juridical Commission will present the changes to the Agora in order to be ratified by our General assembly. All the changes must be notified to the Network one month prior to the Agora. The system will be the same as the one already used with the minutes of the Agora, and, in case the changes are not ratified, the non-ratified version of the CIA is still the one to be considered valid. According to the proposers, this can ease the work of the JC and remove long-lasting discussion during prytania, making them more accessible to new members. Of course, the JC will have the power to fix minor mistakes and inconsistencies and they can not altered the text by any means.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Matteo Lai has been a journalist in the AEGEEan magazine since October 2015, but he is also active locally by serving his antenna, AEGEE-Cagliary, as its IT Responsible. His experience and passion for Law, though, motivated him to run as a member of the Juridical Commission for the upcoming term. Here are all the questions, that the AEGEEan and the Network had regarding his candidature.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a few things about yourself?

Matteo: I have been an AEGEE member since April 2015, when I decided to spend a vacation outside of Sardinia, because I wanted to try new experiences. Then I saw a Facebook the advertisement about Summer Universities, so after getting information from different websites, I went to the Faculty of Economy in Cagliari and joined AEGEE-Cagliari. Becoming an AEGEE member has been one of the choices, which have revolutionised my life. I am a 27-year-old Sardinian guy, who obtained a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Cagliari back in October 2012. I love speaking foreign languages because I think they represent a way to open your mind and to meet new people. I also like football very much. In Italy, like in many European countries, it is the most followed sport and also a good conversation subject among young people. When I was 14 years old, I played in a local football team as a midfielder, and after two years the President of that team proposed me to sign a contract. Unfortunately for the President, I chose to stay focused exclusively on the school studies and left the team. During the following years I practiced many other sports, such as volleyball, basketball and karate. At the age of 22, I discovered my passion for dance and, in particular, for Salsa. Then I met a Brazilian girl, Alessandra, who helped me to learn that dance. I like to hang out with my friends during every weekend and have a lot of fun, as most of the guys at my age. Another hobby I cultivate is informatics, even if I am not an hacker, but not for case I am the IT Responsible in my Antenna.

What is your relevant experience to this position? 

I don’t have any relevant AEGEE experience to the position as a member of the JC, but I have studied Law since I was 19, I have done a traineeship in a Law firm and, currently, I am preparing for a competition to become a judge, so you could say that I have quite an experience in the field, especially considering that you need a very deep juridical knowledge to be successful in that completion. The written rules quite often can not regulate every actual case, making it hard for the jurist to understand which rule is better to be applied in each specific case. Previously, I have been a scrutineer in the European Parliament elections in 2014. Lastly, in collaboration with the law firm where I made the traineeship, I have been the first legal advisor in Cagliari to have managed to sign a divorce contract without the homologation of a civil judge.

Why did you choose to become a candidate for the Juridical Commission?

I chose to become a candidate for the Juridical Commission, because I love my association and I would like to contribute by putting together my passions for Law and AEGEE. A friend of mine, who was a helper for the last Summer University in Cagliari, suggested that I should present my candidature for the JC, because I have a doctorate in Law so I, probably, wouldn’t find any difficulties in solving some juridical problems. I think an eventual experience as a member of the JC (maybe also a President) would increase my knowledge of legal English and it would also allow me to do the job I normally do every day, but this time, for thousands of people from a lot of different European countries. Don’t you think it’s amazing?

In your opinion, what is the most crucial thing in the work of the Juridical Commission and why?

In my opinion, it is not very easy to transmit the importance of a set of rules for a very big students association like AEGEE, mostly because within the association you can find not only Law students, but also young people from various academic backgrounds. Law is often considered as a very boring subject, but as you can imagine, an association, other than people, also needs a set of rules. An example of rules is represented by our Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense. These rules are not unrelated to us, because they deal with our volunteering activity inside the association. Without a set of rules, we could not do anything because the CIA tells us, in the articles 2 and 3, the purposes of the same association.

Have you actually read the whole CIA? If so, what does it mean to you?

I have read the whole CIA and I think that it sets a good example of democracy, simply because it is voted upon by the antennae representatives. The CIA has got the same value as the rules of a town, a city, a region or a country. The association cannot work without rules. Without rules, we would be in a state of nature and in that state, each person would have the freedom to do anything in the world, which would lead to a “war of all against all”.

How would you make it more friendly to the members?

To make the CIA more friendly to the members I have thought about a collaboration between the JC, antennae, Working and Interest Groups (such as the Language Interest Group), mostly for the translation of the CIA into other European languages. I think it would be a great way to involve the entire network in the work of the JC. To begin with, we could try with French, Spanish and Italian.

Is there something that you would like to improve in the current version (v.26.1)?

Yes, as always things can be improved. Once I will start my term, I will discuss it with my team and, of course, with inputs from the Network.

Do you think that there’s somehow room for collaboration between other European Bodies and the Juridical Commission?

I think the JC should not work by itself, but it can enjoy the knowledge and experience of all European Bodies. I think, that one of our aims is to promote the collaboration with every European Body, which wants to make a contribution into our awesome association. We are open to all collaborations which can support the growth of AEGEE.

If you were elected tomorrow, what would be the first thing that you would do?

I would start with the preliminary activities in order to bring my program to life.

Questions from our readers:

In your program you’re saying that you want to translate the CIA into 3 other languages, one of them being French, which is already used since 1992. According to which criteria you want to translate it into the other two, Spanish and Italian? What about the other languages?

We will begin the translation of the CIA into Italian, French and Spanish. If the plan goes well, we can think about the translation into other languages, such as German or Russian. To make the procedure clear, I came up with an example: if I have to translate the CIA into Spanish, the JC sends a different number of articles to all the spanish antennae. To verify the authenticity, after each antenna (or the Spanish Subcommissioners) has sent its translation to the JC, the commission will be sending the already translated parts to different antennae, in order to make the comparison. In every case, we are ready to receive any suggestions from the Network.

In your opinion, what makes you the best candidate for this position?

Up until now, I have spent eight years studying Law, so I think I can execute the tasks of the JC, because I know the Law in theory and in practice. In addition to that, I am also used to a huge amount of work.

What is the thing that makes you the most excited as a candidate?

Becoming a member of the JC would allow me to be in contact with many people from different European countries, whom I would not have a chance to meet otherwise.

You can read his full candidature here

Written by Theodora Giakoumelou, AEGEE-Athina

Monika Mojak, a Subcommissioner of the Juridical Commission, is ready to become a fullfledged member of the JC at this Spring Agora in Bergamo. She states that she is hard working, and possesses a very keen and nuanced interpretation of the law. To find out more, read the following article in our ongoing coverage of the various candicates for elected positions at the Agora.

The AEGEEan: Could you introduce yourself a bit?

Monika: Despite the fact that this should be the simplest question, it always brings me some difficulties but I will try to manage. So, starting from the beginning, I am 24 years old and I have been a member of AEGEE-Lublin since October 2013. Currently, I am a student of International Relations on the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. I have now successfully graduated a couple of months ago.

I am full of energy, an open-minded person who is always on the move, I hate being bored, that is why I do a wide range of things in my life; looking for new ideas, experiences and friendships. I am an AEGEE addict, who loves travelling, art and chocolate. In the future I would like to work in the field of human rights and protection of animal rights.  One day I will set up a foundation whose main goal will be supporting those, who seek the helpless – especially children or animals, who cannot speak for themselves – , as I believe that we live not only for ourselves, but primarily for others.

Which tasks have you done, or which positions have you fulfilled that have sufficiently prepared you to become an excellent member of the Juridical Commission?

So far I have been a Subcomissioner of the Juridical Commission for two terms and now I am a Legal Assistant for Poland, where my main task is to support Polish locals with legal advice, help them with resolving their problems, revising contracts and drafting legal documents. I also have quite a wide experience in AEGEE that can be very useful for the work in the JC.

Could you tell us a bit more about your tasks, duties and experiences as a Subcommissioner for the Juridical Commission?

Getting involved in JC  was the best decision I could ever have made. When I started my work as a Subcommissioner, I was still a newbie in AEGEE, and I didn’t know a lot about the organisation, its structure, aim, and vision. However, during the last two years, my knowledge about the JC and the whole Network rose from a low to a super high level, of which I am very proud. Nevertheless, coming back to my duties, in the JC, I was helping to check the status of the locals, I was organising and supervising the elections of the Working Groups and  Committees, I was taking part in Skype meetings with the Commissioners, working with them through the mailing, and I was assisting the JC during the Agora with their tasks.

Could you name some of your best qualities, especially those that are relevant for a member of the Juridical Commission?

I am ambitious, hardworking and a conscientious person. I have highly developed interpersonal skills, ability for teamwork, as well as making independent decisions. I carry out all my duties in a responsible and efficient manner. When I decide to get involved, I am engaged for 200 percent, and dedicate all my time and heart to this. I am also a perfectionist- everything I am working on has to be refined in every detail.

What would excite you most about being a member of the Juridical Commission?
Being a member of the Juridical Commission is very challenging, as the JC is a relevant body in AEGEE and carries a huge responsibility on its shoulders. I love facing challenges and difficulties, learning how to deal with them, resolving problems, coming up with good solutions and breaking ideas. Moreover, the tasks of the JC are very interesting and developing, so you do not have any time to get bored. Also, it is a fabulous feeling when you have the awareness that you are a part of something very important, that you can contribute to the improvement of the whole Network, your hard work can have visible effects, and you can help other people. Share your knowledge, passion and experience, co-operate with the other awesome, experienced people, who have a huge knowledge and motivation, and thanks to whom I have been able to learn more about AEGEE and that together we could make a lot of profitable and valuable things.

What specifically sets you apart from the other candidates who are running for Member of the Juridical Commission?

I do not like to compare myself with others. I believe that every candidate has qualities that make him or her special and eligible to run for this position and thanks to that that we are all different, have various experiences, views and ideas.  Together we could develop an efficient cooperation and learn a lot from each other. This is what I like the most in the AEGEE. I personally think that, after getting familiar with our programs and motivations, people will be able to evaluate on their own. What makes each of us a valuable and an appropriate candidate to take up the position in the JC.

One of the larger tasks of being a member of the Juridical Commission is to verify the conformity and application of the Statutes of each local with the model defined by AEGEE-Europe. How are you going to tackle this herculean responsibility?

I am not afraid of verifying the conformity and application of the Statutes as I have an experience in working with legal documents and dealing with complicated legal cases. This does not change the fact that this is very crucial and a responsible task that demands a lot of effort, knowledge and good communication – not only with the JC, but also with the interested bodies. I can assure you that I will do everything to carry out this duty the best of my abilities.

Questions from our readers: 

Have you ever read the whole CIA? If so, how many times?

I suppose that this is the rhetorical question [she smiles, ed.]. I could not imagine my work in the JC without knowing the content of the whole CIA. The first time I read the CIA, was before I decided to apply as a Subcommissioner. I wanted to be familiar with all the rules and the way AEGEE is operating. I have to admit that it was very fascinating for me as I mentioned above; I was a fresh member during that time and it was a moment when I could explore the knowledge about the network. During my term as a Subcommssioner I have read the whole text several times, for example after the new versions of the CIA were released or when I just wanted to refresh my knowledge.  It is really important to be up to date with all the changes when you are involved in the JC, and we work with the CIA all the time, so I often look into it quite frequently. I posess two copies of the CIA; one on my computer and a printed one, to have it with me: always handy.

I personally think that every AEGEEan should read the CIA at least once in his life to understand our organisation better. How could I be an aware citizen without knowing the constitution of my state? It also applies to AEGEE.

In your program you stated that you want to continue the work done by the previous Juridical Commission. How do you place yourself regarding the proposals about removing the Comité Directeur from the work of the commission? And would you continue with the idea of presenting proposals only during Autumn Agora?

Yes, that is right. The current JC is doing a marvellous job that I admire a lot, and I cannot imagine a situation, in which the next JC would not like to continue the position and tradition that is worked out by the current and previous generations of the JC members. This does not mean that I agree with all the statements of the current Commissioners.
In my opinion, we can discuss the proposal about “Removing the appointed Comité Directeur member as an observer and advisor of the Juridical Commission” from two different points of view. On the one hand, we would all like to consider the JC as an independent and impartial body, but, in the situation presented in the proposal, it is impossible to maintain that position, which would create a confusing situation for the JC. I understand and support it, but, on the other hand, the JC and the CD have to maintain a very close communication with each other and the presence of a CD member seems to be relevant in many cases. The situation is far from ideal, but and I am strongly in favour to find a good solution, and to regulate it in the way that would satisfy both the JC and the Network. Nonetheless, removing the CD member from the JC is not the best option, in my opinion.

If talking about the idea of only presenting proposals during Autumn Agora, I would say that the idea as a whole is good and I like it. Agora spends too much time discussing modifications of the CIA instead of focusing on the topics that are important for the improvement of our organisation. So, as it was suggested, the Autumn Agora would be dealing with the CIA and the Spring Agora should concentrate on the current issues, problems and goals of AEGEE. This makes sense. Nonetheless, we should also consider how it would work in practice. Here I have some doubts, like for example waiting with presenting proposals for a long time, the big amount of proposals gathered during the whole year, and not equally dividing the workload, this may raise some problems and difficulties. That is why I would reconsider it once again, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages that can influence the functioning of the Agora.

How would you make the CIA closer to the Network?

I understand that legal language seems to be black magic and for me ‘making the CIA closer to the Network’ means to make people familiar and more confident about what the CIA exactly is. CIA cannot only be treated in a way of being a legal document, despite that, for many people, it only seems to be a set of the rules. This is the base of AEGEE and it has to be “alive” and visible in practice.  Furthermore, many members still do not know what the JC is or what its tasks are: a liaison between the CIA and the whole Network. That is why, when being in the JC, I would like to be available to every member who seeks help or needs clarification of the CIA and support them in other legal aspects; not only by exchanging emails, but also in online or personal meetings. I want to reduce waiting times for answers, quickly solve the problems and cases submitted to the JC. The interpretation of the CIA should be clear and rules should be applicable. I would like to introduce trainings during Network Meetings and other conferences, where members could gain knowledge about the CIA as whole, and about the most important regulations that everybody should know well. This should be accompanied by some practical cases, to make it more interesting and easier to understand. As I said before, I am thinking about preparing a guide that would help people to better understand the CIA and its regulations. In my opinion, the JC should be more active in social media, sharing some useful information and staying connected with the average members. I am sure that during my term in the JC I will find some other ideas to make the CIA close to the Network, and I will put them into practice.

You can read her full candidatures here. 

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Just like we did for the last Agorae, for Autumn Agora Kyïv again we want to provide you with a short and easy summary of the proposals submitted for the Agora. In this first round, we will be explaining you three proposals that are aimed at improving the CIA and the work of Juridical Commission, namely ‘Improving the CIA one step at the time (8): Fixing mistakes’, ‘Clarifying the role of the Juridical Commission at the elections at the Agora’ and ‘Removing the appointed Comité Directeur member as observer and advisor of the Juridical Commission’.

Now you may wonder: “What is this CIA you are talking about? Is AEGEE-Europe secretly American?” Simply said, the CIA (Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense) is a document with over a hundred pages containing all the rules which govern AEGEE-Europe. It is therefore considered as the legal framework of the Association, and all members are obliged to follow its provisions. Although no secret agents are involved in it, it is one of the most important documents. In the CIA, which you can read here, you can find for example the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe, the Working Formats of the different bodies and all kind of rules (General Rules, Rules of the Network Commission, Antennae Criteria, etc.).

Now that we know what the changes are about, we can continue to see which ones they actually are. ‘Improving the CIA one step at the time (8)’ was submitted by Glòria Llopart on behalf of the Juridical Commission and aims – as the name already suggest – to improve the CIA by correcting small mistakes that can occure during the years. The proposal contains three points.

The first change is to delete the Parisian address of our Headoffice mentioned and add the address in Brussels instead. As you might know, AEGEE-Europe has an house and a office where the Comité Directeur is living and working, located in Brussels at Rue du Noyer/ Notelaarsstraat 55. The second change aims to replace the word ‘dissolution’ with ‘deletion’ in the part dedicated to the Convention d’Adhésion (CdA) signed between Locals and AEGEE-Europe. Right now the CIA states that “Notice of termination from the Convention d’Adhésion by one or the other party will bring about the immediate dissolution of the AEGEE local in question”. This has to be change, because AEGEE-Europe can only attribute or change the status of a locals according to the criteria it has to respect. Only the local Agora can decide to dissolve the organisation, while AEGEE-Europe can only delete the antenna for not having respected the CdA. The third change is made to the General Rules, specifically article 2: Strategic Plan. In this article, the Main Fields of Action are mentioned, which were removed in 2013. This proposal therefore aims to take out the Main Fields of Action.

You can read the full proposal here.

The second poposal is ‘Clarifying the role of the Juridical Commission at the elections at the Agora’ and is submitted by Glòria Llopart on behalf of the Juridical Commission. During elections, the role of the JC right now is ambiguoos, since it is not clear if the Chairperson (who presides over the Agora) is in charge of the elections or just has to announce them, because the word “supervised” left margins in the interpretation. By changing the respective articles in the Working Format of the Agora and the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe, the Juridical Commission will be in charge of the entire process of elections, from preparing the ballots to counting the votes.

You can read the full proposal here.

The third proposal is ‘Removing the appointed Comité Directeur member as observer and advisor of the Juridical Commission’, submitted by Claudio Gennaro, Glòria Llopart and Salvatore Maraventano on behalf of the Juridical Commission. Right now, the JC of composed by three commissioner and an observer from Comité Directeur (which is at the moment Pablo Hernández Rodríguez, External Relation Director of AEGEE-Europe), and eventually JC subcommissioners. The main issue the proposers are pointing out is that there are some trouble in terms of communication. In fact, in case a question concerning legal advice in a case involving CD, the JC can’t use the mailing list freely as an observer from Comité Directeur is there and this could result in an unfair procedure. This forces JC to discuss those kind of matters (like the discussion of this proposal) with their private accounts, where subcommissioners can’t participate in the discussion. According to this proposal, removing the observer could grant the absolute impartiality of the work of JC and ensure that the communications would stay within the mailing list, which is the official communication channel.

You can read the full proposal here.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona