By-Laws
The By-Laws were approved by the ISI Executive Committee in September 2025.
Membership (Statutes – Article 3)
1. Individual Members
Individual Membership of the ISI may entitle members to discounted rates for conference attendance, as agreed by the Executive Committee.
Individual members are only entitled to exercise the rights of membership (including discount for conference attendance) if all relevant fees have been paid by the due date.
Every individual member is responsible for keeping their individual information up to date in the ISI membership system.
2. Regular Membership
Information on procedures for applying for regular membership shall be published on the ISI website.
Information on the values of ISI can be found on the ISI website and can be updated regularly.
Fees for individual members are set by the Executive Committee and take account of a range of matters, including country/region of residence, and whether the applicant is employed by an ISI organisational member who have paid their membership fees by the agreed date.
Information on procedures and fees for applying for regular membership as an employee of an organisational member shall be published on the ISI website.
3. Elected Membership
Elected Membership involves an election conducted by the ISI Elections Committee. Candidates for Elected Membership may be nominated, invited or propose themselves
The information on the application for elected membership and relevant deadlines shall be made available and published on the ISI website
A candidate for elected membership must be sponsored by three elected members of the ISI.
The candidate or one of the sponsors shall complete the Candidacy Form and submit it to the Permanent Office. The candidate and sponsors shall be notified of the outcome of the membership election.
The names of those who are elected shall be published via the website or other appropriate means
4. Organisational Membership
Organisational membership has three categories: institutional, corporate and affiliate. The information on procedures and benefits for applying for organisational membership shall be published on the ISI website.
The Executive Committee will oversee all applications for organisational membership, and their decision will be final.
The fees for organisational members shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
Organisational members are only entitled to exercise the rights of membership if all relevant fees have been paid by the due date.
The organisation’s ex-office member is responsible for keeping the organisation’s information up to date in the ISI membership system.
Every organisational member should promptly advise the Permanent Office for any substantial changes that cannot be accommodated by the ISI membership system.
5. Association Membership
Individuals and Organisations can be ISI members, ISI and Association Members, or Association members only.
Individuals can at any time become a member of one or more of the Associations according to the relevant fee and membership structure for the ISI and particular Association.
Organisations can at any time apply to become a member of one or more of the Associations according to the relevant fee and membership structure for the ISI and particular Association.
6. General Assembly (Statutes – Article 6)
Meeting Procedures
The final agenda will be decided by the President in consultation with the Executive Committee.
The meetings of the General Assembly shall be held at such times and places as the Executive Committee may decide.
Notification specifying the place and date of a General Assembly shall be provided to all members by email and placed on the ISI website, not less than four months before the date of the meeting.
The information for the General Assembly will be placed on the secured member website and the link will be sent by email.
Each individual member, including ex-officio members, shall have one vote. Proxy voting is only allowed in the procedure for changing the statutes as described in Article 17 of the Statutes.
7. ISI Associations (Statutes – Article 9)
The Associations shall provide an annual report of its activities and finances to the ISI Executive Committee.
In addition to having their own programmes and conferences, the Associations shall participate in the scientific work of the ISI. In particular, the Associations shall assign a representative to take part in the Scientific Programme Committee of the ISI World Statistics Congress.
The Associations shall be supported as much as practically possible by the ISI Permanent Office.
8. Executive Committee (Statutes – Article 7)
The Executive Committee shall meet on the call of the President or at least three of its members.
The Executive Committee may reach its decisions by a simple majority. Decision making can be done in person or by electronic means. The participation of three members, including either the President or President-Elect, constitutes a quorum.
The Executive Committee shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly, in accordance with the Dutch Guidelines for Annual Reporting RJ640.
The Executive Committee shall appoint the Director of the ISI. The remunerations of the Director shall be determined by the President and President-elect.
The Executive Committee shall appoint the chair of the Scientific Programme Committee and the chair of the Short Courses Committee for each World Statistics Congress and oversees the committees composition.
The ISI President representing the Executive Committee together with the Scientific Programme and Short Courses Committees, the National Advisory Committee in the host country, and the Permanent Office shall be responsible for all the arrangements for the World Statistics Congress.
The Executive Committee oversees the arrangements for the World Statistics Programme, including the approval of the budget.
During the World Statistics Congress, the President will convene a joint meeting of the outgoing and incoming members of the Executive Committee. This joint meeting shall be deemed to be a meeting of the Executive Committee.
The term of office for the President and President-elect shall run from the end of the World Statistics Congress at which they are declared elected to the end of the following World Statistics Congress. The terms of office for the Vice-Presidents and Council members shall run from the end of the World Statistics Congress at which they are declared elected till the end of the second World Statistics Congress after their election (four years).
If the President-elect is unable to fulfil the required responsibilities for any reason, the President shall appoint one of the Vice-Presidents as Acting President-Elect.
If a Vice-President is unable to fulfil the required responsibilities for any reason, the Council shall select one of its elected members to serve for the remainder of the term.
9. President (Statutes – Article 7 Executive Committee)
The President presides over meetings of the General Assembly, the Executive Committee and the Council.
In the event that the President-elect has to assume the responsibilities of the President for a prolonged period of time, this will be advised to the Executive Committee, Council and ISI members as quickly as practical.
The President has the authority to exercise any responsibilities prescribed for the Executive Committee if immediate action is necessary without time to consult the Executive Committee. In such exceptional cases, the President shall promptly notify the Executive Committee of the action taken and the circumstances that necessitated it.
10. Council (Statutes – Article 8)
The President may request Council members to serve on bodies to address initiatives or to support critical activities in the ISI.
During the World Statistics Congress, the President will convene a joint meeting of the outgoing and incoming members of the Council. This joint meeting shall be deemed to be a meeting of the Council.
Where an Officer of the Council has a personal or financial interest in a topic for discussion, he/she must make a Conflict-of-Interest statement. He/she may give a presentation at the General Assembly meeting or electronically but will refrain from participating in discussion and from voting. The conflict-of-interest statement(s) will be recorded in the minutes. The minutes will also record the names of any members not eligible to participate in the discussion and voting.
11. Standing Committees (Statutes – Article 10)
Nominations Committee for Election of the Executive Committee and Council members
The Executive Committee appoints the chair and the members of the Nomination Committee from the individual ISI members.
The Nominations Committee shall be composed of at least seven appointed members, one of whom shall serve as Chair.
The Chair of the previous Nominations Committee and the Director of the ISI shall serve as ex officio members without voting rights.
The Nominations Committee shall be installed in advance of the next World Statistics Congress.
The Nominations Committee shall develop a slate of candidates and submit this along with a report to the President within six months following the World Statistics Congress.
The slate of candidates shall be made available to individual members eight months following the World Statistics Congress
The slate shall include:
one candidate for President-Elect
four candidates for two Vice-Presidents
at least eight candidates for the elected members of Council
Individual members of the ISI can propose additional candidates within two months after the slate is presented. These nominations require the support of at least 20 individual members, coming from at least 3 different countries.
At least four months before the year of the next World Statistics Congress the final slate of candidates shall be presented to the individual members for a vote.
The voting will be done by electronic means.
The voting period shall be at least 6 weeks.
The results of the voting shall be announced 6 months before the start date of the next World Statistics Congress.
The Director shall deliver a report on the outcome of the voting to the General Assembly.
Two Vice-Presidents, out of the total of four available positions, shall be elected during each election.
Half of the total number of positions for elected Council members shall be elected during each election.
For each office, the candidate or candidates having received the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie, the candidate who has been member of the ISI the longest shall be declared elected. If the number of candidates for an office does not exceed the number of vacancies, the candidates in question shall be declared nominated without vote.
Elected members of the Council and Executive Committee must be elected or regular ISI members.
No person shall be elected to the offices of President, President-elect or Vice-President for more than one term.
Elected members of the Council are not eligible for immediate re-election.
Membership Elections Committee
The Membership Elections Committee for elected membership is appointed before the end of March every second year by the Executive Committee and shall be composed of at least seven elected members, two of whom shall be elected Council members.
The Executive Committee appoints the chair and the members of the Membership Elections Committee from the individual ISI members.
The committee shall review all applications and make a recommendation for election of members at least twice a year.
The recommendation of the Committee shall be decided as follows:
five or more votes in favour: the candidate should be recommended for election;
five or more votes against: the candidate should not be recommended for election;
fewer than five votes in favour and fewer than five votes against or at least five votes in favour and at least five votes against: the decision is to be made by the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee shall consider the recommendations of the Membership Elections Committee for elected membership and make final decisions.
12. Operational Committees (Statutes – Article 11)
Operational Committees may be established to focus on the overall functioning of the ISI and its long-term concerns as an international body representing the statistical profession and community.
The Chair of the Operational Committee is appointed by the Executive Committee. The members of the Committee are appointed by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Chair. In addition, the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Chair, may appoint a vice-chair.
The objectives and terms of reference for Operational Committees are published on the ISI website.
13. Special Interest Groups (Statutes – Article 11)
Special Interest Groups may be established to focus on matters of statistical interest that reach across areas of statistics and/or link statistics with other disciplines.
Some of these groups are of relevance across all of the ISI and its Associations. Other Special Interest Groups link particular interests across the ISI and its Associations, or link with other disciplines and/or professional interests and/or bodies and/or current developments.
Each Special Interest Group will follow the Guidelines for Special Interest Groups established by the ISI Executive Committee when drafting their terms of reference.
The objectives and terms of reference for Special Interest Groups are published on the ISI website.
14. Outreach Committees (Statutes – Article 11)
ISI Outreach Committees may be established to develop activities, networks, and promote the ISI and its Associations in different regions.
The Chair of the Outreach committee is appointed by the Executive Committee. The members of the Outreach Committee are appointed by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Chair. In addition, the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Chair, may appoint a vice-chair.
Each Outreach Committee will follow the Guidelines for Outreach Committees established by the ISI Executive Committee when drafting their terms of reference.
15. Permanent Office (Statutes – Article 12)
The Permanent Office shall be located at or in the close vicinity of the seat of the Institute.
The Director shall be responsible to the Executive Committee for the management of the Permanent Office and its implementation of ISI’s activities.
The Director shall take the minutes of the meetings of the General Assembly, Council and the Executive Committee and distribute the reports appropriately.
16. Partnership (Statutes – Article 13)
A partnership is a relationship based on mutual interests.
A Memorandum of Understanding may be drafted for a partnership, and will be reviewed by the Executive Committee every four years.
A joint policy or process document may be drafted with one or more partners, and will be reviewed by the Executive Committee every four years.
17. Fees (Statutes – Article 15)
The annual fees of regular and elected members are set by the Executive Committee and are determined by the member’s country/region of permanent residence and if the member is employed by an ISI organizational member. Countries/regions may be placed into different categories by the Executive Committee based on WorldBank classifications.
Members may have the option of paying multi-year or lifetime membership fees.
Membership fees shall be based on the Euro as the currency.
The Executive Committee may temporarily waive or reduce the fees of a regular or elected member if it considers that the payment of such fees is unduly burdensome.
The Executive Committee may temporarily waive or reduce the fees for an organisational member if it considers that such action is in the interest of the ISI.
18. Reporting (Statutes – Article 16)
The Executive Committee shall submit an annual report to the members within six months of the end of each fiscal year, unless the General Assembly extends this period.
The annual report must have been audited by a professionally qualified accountant.
The annual report must be prepared in accordance with the Guideline for annual reporting 640 "Not for profit organisations" as stated in the Dutch Law.
In addition to the annual report an annual overview is published. The annual overview includes all activities, but not financial information.
19. Languages
The working language of the ISI shall be English.
The conference languages for the World Statistics Congress shall be the ISI working language and any other languages for which adequate interpretation facilities can be made available at the expense of the World Statistics Congress host country outside of the World Statistics Congress budget as agreed to with ISI.
The National Advisory Committee of any World Statistics Congress may designate its national language(s) as additional conference language(s) after approval by the Executive Committee.
The working language shall be translated into the conference languages at the General Assembly meeting at the expense of the host country outside of the World Statistics Congress budget as agreed to with ISI.
20. Dissolution (Statutes – Article 18)
If a decision is made to dissolve the association (International Statistical Institute), based on the article in the Statutes (Article 18), the General Assembly will appoint a Liquidator
The Liquidator will dissolve the association (International Statistical Institute) in accordance with the decision made by the General Assembly, and preform all the necessary actions as stated in article 2:23-24 of the Dutch civil code