The International Press Syndicate Group is governed by the heads of the Group’s members within the framework of a Code of Ethics and a charter, based on the Articles of Association of International Press Syndicate GGMbH (a non-profit company with limited liability under German law), which is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organisation with a registered office in Berlin, Germany.
Its purpose is to promote international cooperation and understanding among people around the world. This is realized through development and peace-related educational and information activities, intercultural encounters and communication.
This in turn is achieved by:
- Collecting, preparing, and disseminating theme- and target group-oriented information and educational materials,
- Organizing theme and target group-oriented workshops, seminars, and conferences,
- Cooperation with other non-profit institutions pursuing objectives in line with the company’s charter.
The organization acts selflessly; it does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes.
The shareholders do not receive any shares in profits or any other allocations from the company’s funds. In the event of the shareholders’ withdrawal from the organization or its dissolution, they shall not receive back more than their paid-up capital shares and the fair value of their contributions in kind.
No person shall benefit from expenditures that are alien to the purpose of the non-profit company or from disproportionately high remuneration.
The company shall have one or more managing directors. If only one managing director has been appointed, he/she shall represent the company alone. If several managing directors have been appointed, the company shall be represented by two of them or by one of them together with an authorized signatory.
By shareholders’ resolution, all or individual managing directors may be granted sole power of representation and exemption from the restrictions of Section 181 of the German Civil Code (BGB), so that they are authorized to represent the company without restriction in legal transactions with themselves or as representatives of third parties.
All agreements between shareholders or between the company and shareholders concerning the company relationship must be in writing in order to be effective unless they require a shareholders’ resolution or notarial certification. This shall also apply to any waiver of the requirement for the written form.