Statutes
1. Mission
1.1. JESPHIL is the name of a group of European Jesuit Philosophers who meet once every two years.
1.2. The main aims of JESPHIL are:
a) to make a philosophical contribution to the study of problems of current importance, and to support the role of philosophy within Jesuit formation;
b) to consolidate friendship across borders;
c) to keep Jesuit philosophers updated on the academic situation in the various regions of Europe, to share ideas on methods and research, and to encourage networking and cooperation between the various institutions in Europe where Jesuits teach philosophy or engage in other kinds of philosophical work;
d) to identify and study the philosophical aspects of important questions related to the mission of Jesuits in Europe, in collaboration with the President of the European Jesuit Provincials.
2. Membership
2.1. Members of JESPHIL are Jesuits who are either teachers of philosophy in a European institution of higher studies or destined to teach philosophy in a European institution of higher studies.
2.2. JESPHIL meetings can also include
2.2.1. Jesuits destined to teach philosophy in a non-European institution of higher studies;
2.2.2. Jesuits whose work is not in philosophy but in related areas;
2.2.3. Non-Jesuit academics whose work is in philosophy or in related areas.
3. Procedures
3.1. JESPHIL functions through a Coordinating Committee consisting of three members: the JESPHIL Coordinator and two Assisting Members. The post of JESPHIL Coordinator is for six years; the post of Assisting Member is for two years.
3.2. The coordinator
3.2.1. The coordinator is from the category mentioned in 2.1, and is nominated during the JESPHIL meeting at the end of the previous coordinator’s term of office.
3.2.2. The selection of a new JESPHIL Coordinator is carried out in one of the following ways, whichever is preferable in the circumstances:
-- Either Method 1: By a secret ballot involving those described in 2.1 attending the JESPHIL meeting. Two or three rounds may be held until a simple majority is reached in a vote between two names.
-- Or Method 2: The previous coordinator informally convokes a small council consisting of the three most long-standing JESPHIL members in attendance. The new coordinator is nominated by this council and approved by those described in 2.1 attending the JESPHIL meeting. Approval is by secret ballot and first-round simple majority.
3.2.3. In very exceptional circumstances, a JESPHIL meeting can appoint a new coordinator who is not attending that meeting. In such cases, a second candidate, who is attending, must be nominated also, so that, if the first candidate does not confirm his acceptance within a week, the outgoing coordinator will inform JESPHIL members that the new coordinator will be the second candidate.
3.2.4. The task of the JESPHIL Coordinator consists in
3.2.4.1. organizing the JESPHIL conferences;
3.2.4.2. publishing the main papers of each conference, if possible;
3.2.4.3. sending the JESPHIL Conference Report to the President of the Conference of European Provincials and to all European Jesuit Philosophers;
3.2.4.4. keeping the records, which consist of an updated list of contact details of European Jesuit philosophers, and other documents that express the continuity of the work of JESPHIL through its history (this material is passed on from one coordinator to the next);
3.2.4.5. keeping contact, if possible, with the work of Jesuit philosophers on other continents.
3.3. The Assisting Members of the Coordinating Committee
3.3.1. The Assisting Members are nominated by the JESPHIL Coordinator during a JESPHIL conference and then approved by those described in 2.1.
3.3.2. During each JESPHIL conference, the Assisting Member from the Institution that had hosted the previous JESPHIL meeting will be replaced by a new Assisting Member, one from the Institution hosting the following JESPHIL meeting.
3.3.3. The main duty of Assisting Members is to be available to help the JESPHIL Coordinator accomplish his tasks.
4. Amendments
4.1. These statutes can be amended during a JESPHIL meeting by simple majority vote involving those described in 2.1.