Organisation

Organization chart

President: Marc TERTRAIS
Founding President: Jean-Paul BOUQUIN
Honorary President: Florian COLAS, Director General of Customs and Excise

OFFICE
President : Marc TERTRAIS
Vice-President : Sophie DUMON KAPPE
Vice-President : Benoit DESCAMP
General Secretary: Fabien FOUCAULT
Treasurer: Alexandre CELSE

BOARD MEMBERS BY RIGHT:
Jean-Paul BOUQUIN, Francis DELEMOTTE, Hélène MICHARD, Jean-Marie SALVA, Maurice SANCIAUME, Marc TERTRAIS, Jean THOMASSET.

ELECTED MEMBERS:
Clément BASCOUL, Marc BROCARDI, Alexandre CELSE, Odile COURJON, Evguenia DEREVIANKINE, Benoit DESCAMP, Sophie DUMON KAPPE, Juan ESTREYER, Fabien FOUCAULT, Alain GRONIER, François MION, Karen POUJADE.

Rules of procedure

ART. 1 – Membership

  1. Membership applications may be submitted directly by candidates or by their sponsor(s).
  2. They are examined first by the founding members and then by the Executive Committee, which submits them at the appropriate time to the Board of Directors, which makes the final decision.
  3. If an application for membership is vetoed by one or more founding members, the Executive Committee shall, if it considers it appropriate, inform the Board of Directors, which is not required to take a decision in this case as it is not empowered to take a decision to the contrary.
  4. In all cases, applicants are informed by letter of the outcome of their applications.
  5. The Association is not obliged to give the reasons why an application has been rejected.
  6. The founding members do not have to report on the reasons why they considered it necessary to exclude a candidate, nor do they have to specify whether such a decision follows a veto by one or more of them.

ART. 2 – Membership applications

  1. When applying for membership, applicants should state the reasons why they wish to join the Association Collin de Sussy, the benefits they expect to derive from participating in the Association’s activities, and the nature, value and interest of their contribution to its work.
  2. A detailed CV is attached to the application.
  3. They solemnly and unreservedly undertake to comply with the Association’s Articles of Association and internal rules.

ART. 3 – Members

The members of the Association Collin de Sussy are divided into several groups:
A) Active members (article 5 of the Articles of Association):

  1. The founders: Eight members who are former students of L’END: they are the only ones to have a right of veto over all decisions taken by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, and to be able to object without justification to a new candidate.
  2. Former customs officials (cadre A) other than founders and customs officials on secondment or availability.
  3. Lawyers and other specialists in customs and tax law, including solicitors, consultants and academics.
  4. Professionals specialising in customs regulations and international trade operations, whether or not in active employment with private or public companies.
    B) Honorary members (Article 8 of the Articles of Association).
    C) French or foreign correspondents. These are professionals, civil servants or executives from the private sector who, although not eligible to apply under Articles 6 and 8 of the Articles of Association, do not fall into any of the above categories but who are interested in the Association and wish to participate in its work and may be of use to it. The Articles of Association do not provide for the possibility of admitting members in this capacity.

ART. 4 – Obligations of Association members

  1. The Association, which is essentially a grouping of former customs officials and former students of the END, aims to play an active role in relations between the DGDDI and companies that have contacts with this administration for professional reasons and because of their activity.
  2. In order to fulfil its mission, the Association Collin de Sussy conducts or encourages reflection, research and studies on customs law and customs and tax regulations, at both national and Community level.
  3. The Association’s work is carried out in the interests of all its members and all companies involved in foreign trade, as well as the authorities concerned.
  4. All members of the Association are members in a personal capacity and intuitu personae.
    Membership of legal entities is excluded (article 2 -1 of the Articles of Association). No member may claim to be the representative within the Association of the company or organisation of which he or she is a member, which employs him or her or which he or she manages.
  5. Upon admission to the Association, each member undertakes not to seek to benefit from the work of the Association Collin de Sussy for his personal advantage or that of the company or professional body to which he belongs. Under no circumstances may they use under their name or allow anyone else to use the work, research and studies carried out by the Association Collin de Sussy or the information gathered within the Association (unless it is in the public domain) without the agreement of the governing bodies of the Association Collin de Sussy, who may then demand that reference be made to the Association, particularly in the case of press articles or any other publications intended for public or private distribution.
  6. In the event of a dispute, the Executive Committee and the founding members shall set up a Disciplinary Board to take the necessary measures and, in particular, to summon a member whose behaviour is deemed incompatible with the Articles of Association.
  7. A member who is found to have committed serious breaches may be expelled after being heard by the Disciplinary Board, unless he or she tenders his or her resignation, which is accepted by the Board.
  8. The Disciplinary Board’s decision to exclude a member is notified by registered letter to the member to whom it applies. This letter refers to the meeting of the Disciplinary Board during which the member was heard, had the opportunity to present his defence and hear the reasons why the Association considers that he can no longer be counted among its members, but no minutes of this meeting are issued.

ART. 5 – Operation of the association

  1. The Founders’ College meets at least once a year to define the broad outlines of the Association’s activities for the coming months and, if necessary, to give its opinion on certain guidelines or decisions presented by the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, as well as on membership applications. Any amendments to the Articles of Association and by-laws are also formalised at this meeting, before being submitted to the General Meeting.
  2. The Executive Committee meets as often as necessary and at least once during the 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters of each year, before each Board meeting and before the annual General Meeting.
  3. The Executive Committee meets on the initiative of one of its members, with the agreement of the Chairman (or Vice-Chairman), who sets the agenda. The Secretary is responsible for convening the meeting.
  4. The Board of Directors meets under the conditions set out in Article 14 of the Articles of Association.

ART. 6 – Membership fees

Members must send their membership fees to the secretariat at the beginning of the year. In principle, the membership fee remains fixed from year to year. In the event of a change, members will be notified immediately after the Annual General Meeting at which the change was decided. Any member who has not paid their membership fee by 1st March of the year will be considered to have resigned if, after a reminder by ordinary mail, they do not immediately pay their membership fee. Notification of their exclusion will then be sent to them by registered letter before 31 March.

ART. 7 – Miscellaneous expenses and costs

Any member of the Association who incurs expenses on behalf of the Association Collin de Sussy may claim full reimbursement on production of supporting documents. Before any expenditure is incurred, except for very small sums and in cases of force majeure, the Vice-President and Treasurer must be informed and give their explicit agreement, if possible in writing, possibly on the basis of an estimate.