Articles of Association

The Companies Act 2006

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
World Business Organization Ltd.
Company No. 10763507

Company Limited by Guarantee

(Incorporated on 10 May 2017)

 

PART 1
INTERPRETATION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
DEFINED TERMS
In the articles, unless the context requires otherwise:

“articles” means the company’s articles of association;
“associate member” has the meaning given in article 24;
“bankruptcy” includes individual insolvency proceedings in a jurisdiction other than England and Wales or Northern Ireland which have an effect similar to that of bankruptcy;
“Chair” has the meaning given in article 13;
“chair of the meeting” has the meaning given in article 28;
“Committee” means each of the Finance Committee, Network Committee, Nomination Committee, Policy Committee and any other committee formed from time to time;
“Companies Acts” means the Companies Acts (as defined in section 2 of the Companies Act 2006), in so far as they apply to the company;
“director” means a director of the company, and includes any person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called;
“document” includes, unless otherwise specified, any document sent or supplied in electronic form;
“electronic form” has the meaning given in section 1168 of the Companies Act 2006;
“Finance Committee” has the meaning given in article 6.5.3;
“ICC” means the international headquarters of the International Chamber of Commerce whose head office is at 33-43 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France;
“member” has the meaning given in section 112 of the Companies Act 2006;
“Network Committee” has the meaning given in article 6.5.2;
“Nomination Committee” has the meaning given in article 6.5.4;
“ordinary resolution” has the meaning given in section 282 of the Companies Act 2006;
“participate”, in relation to a directors’ meeting, has the meaning given in article 11;
“Policy Committee” has the meaning given in article 6.5.1;
“proxy notice” has the meaning given in article 34;
“Secretary General” has the meaning given in article 7;
“special resolution” has the meaning given in section 283 of the Companies Act 2006;
“subsidiary” has the meaning given in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006; and
“writing” means the representation or reproduction of words, symbols or other information in a visible form by any method or combination of methods, whether sent or supplied in electronic form or otherwise.

A reference to a “person” shall be construed so as to include any individual, firm, body corporate, joint venture, unincorporated association, partnership, trust, government, governmental body, authority or agency (whether or not having separate legal personality), and a reference to a person includes a reference to that person’s successors and assigns.

Unless the context otherwise requires, other words or expressions contained in these articles bear the same meaning as in the Companies Act 2006 as in force on the date when these articles become binding on the company.

2 LIABILITY OF MEMBERS
The liability of each member is limited to £1, being the amount that each member undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of its being wound up while he is a member or within one year after he ceases to be a member, for:

payment of the company’s debts and liabilities contracted before he ceases to be a member;
payment of the costs, charges and expenses of winding up; and
adjustment of the rights of the contributories among themselves.

PART 2
DIRECTORS
DIRECTORS’ POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
3 DIRECTOR’S GENERAL AUTHORITY
Subject to the articles, the directors are responsible for:

the management of the company’s business, for which purpose they may exercise all the powers of the company;
setting company policy and priorities;
providing oversight on the activities of the company; and
representing the views of the members.

4 MEMBERS’ RESERVE POWER
4.1 The members may, by ordinary resolution, direct the directors to take, or refrain from taking, specified action.

4.2 No such ordinary resolution invalidates anything which the directors have done before the passing of the resolution.

 

5 DIRECTORS MAY DELEGATE
5.1 Subject to the articles, the directors may delegate any of the powers which are conferred on them under the articles:

to such person or Committee;
by such means (including by power of attorney);
to such an extent;
in relation to such matters or territories; and
on such terms and conditions,
as they think fit.

5.2 If the directors so specify, any such delegation may authorise further delegation of the directors’ powers by any person to whom they are delegated.

5.3 The directors may revoke any delegation in whole or part, or alter its terms and conditions.

6 COMMITTEES
6.1 Committees to which the directors delegate any of their powers must follow procedures which are based as far as they are applicable on those provisions of the articles which govern the taking of decisions by directors.
6.2 The directors may make rules of procedure for all or any Committees, which prevail over rules derived from the articles if they are not consistent with them.
6.3 Each Committee shall be made up of representatives of members and associate members. A representative of the directors shall sit on each Committee.
6.4 A chair of each Committee shall be appointed:

by ordinary resolution; or
by a decision of the directors, subject to confirmation of such appointment by the members at the next general meeting.
6.5 Unless the members resolve otherwise by ordinary resolution, the company will form:

a Policy Committee made up of chairs and vice-chairs of UK policy fora and UK chairs and vice-chairs of global policy fora. The Policy Committee will meet a minimum of twice a year and be responsible for policy priorities and overseeing the policy affairs of the company in line with the ‘ICC Executive Board Policy Committee’;
a Network Committee made up of representatives from each member constituency. The Network Committee will meet a minimum of twice a year and be responsible for nominating network priorities and overseeing the network affairs of the company in line with the ‘ICC Executive Board Committee on Global Networks’;
a Finance Committee will meet a minimum of three times a year and be responsible for nominating finance priorities and overseeing the financial affairs of the company; and
a Nomination Committee to assist with nominating directors and senior leadership candidates to the various roles within the company.

7 SECRETARY GENERAL
7.1 The Secretary General will administer and manage the affairs of the company within the framework defined by the directors, implement decisions taken by the directors and manage the company’s finances on a day-to-day basis. The Secretary General will provide support to, and co-ordinate the activities of, the directors and the Committees.

7.2 The Secretary General shall be nominated for election by the directors and appointed:

by ordinary resolution; or
by a decision of the directors, subject to confirmation of such appointment by the members at the next general meeting.

DECISION MAKING BY DIRECTORS
8 DIRECTORS TO TAKE DECISIONS COLLECTIVELY
8.1 The general rule about decision making by directors is that any decision of the directors must be either a majority decision at a meeting or a decision taken in accordance with this article 8.

8.2 If:

the company only has one director; and
no provision of the articles requires it to have more than one director,
the general rule does not apply, and the director may take decisions without regard to any of the provisions of the articles relating to directors’ decision making.

 

9 UNANIMOUS DECISIONS
9.1 A decision of the directors is taken in accordance with this article when all eligible directors indicate to each other by any means that they share a common view on a matter.

9.2 Such a decision may take the form of a resolution in writing, copies of which have been signed by each eligible director or to which each eligible director has otherwise indicated agreement in writing.

9.3 References in this article to eligible directors are to directors who would have been entitled to vote on the matter had it been proposed as a resolution at a directors’ meeting.

9.4 A decision may not be taken in accordance with this article if the eligible directors would not have formed a quorum at such a meeting.

 

10 CALLING A DIRECTORS’ MEETING
10.1 The directors shall meet quarterly or at such intervals as the Chair may decide by giving notice of the meeting to the directors or by authorising the Secretary General to give such notice.

10.2 Notice of any directors’ meeting must indicate:

its proposed date and time;
where it is to take place; and
if it is anticipated that directors participating in the meeting will not be in the same place, how it is proposed that they should communicate with each other during the meeting.
10.3 Notice of a directors’ meeting must be given to each director, but need not be in writing.

10.4 Notice of a directors’ meeting need not be given to directors who waive their entitlement to notice of that meeting, by giving notice to that effect to the company not more than seven days after the date on which the meeting is held. Where such notice is given after the meeting has been held, that does not affect the validity of the meeting, or of any business conducted at it.

 

11 PARTICIPATION IN DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS
11.1 Subject to the articles, directors participate in a directors’ meeting, or part of a directors’ meeting, when:

the meeting has been called and takes place in accordance with the articles; and
they can each communicate to the others any information or opinions they have on any particular item of the business of the meeting.
11.2 In determining whether directors are participating in a directors’ meeting, it is irrelevant where any director is or how they communicate with each other.

11.3 If all the directors participating in a meeting are not in the same place, they may decide that the meeting is to be treated as taking place wherever any of them is.

 

12 QUORUM FOR DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS
12.1 At a directors’ meeting, unless a quorum is participating, no proposal is to be voted on, except a proposal to call another meeting.

12.2 The quorum for directors’ meetings may be fixed from time to time by a decision of the directors, but it must never be less than two, and unless otherwise fixed it is two.

12.3 If the total number of directors for the time being is less than the quorum required, the directors must not take any decision other than a decision to call a general meeting so as to enable the members to appoint further directors.

 

13 CHAIRING OF DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS
13. 1 The members shall appoint a director to chair the directors’ meetings (the “Chair”).

13.2 The Chair may appoint a director as a deputy to chair the directors’ meetings.

 

14 CASTING VOTE
14.1 If the numbers of votes for and against a proposal are equal, the Chair or deputy chairing the meeting has a casting vote.

14.2 But this does not apply if, in accordance with the articles, the Chair or deputy chairing the meeting is not to be counted as participating in the decision-making process for quorum or voting purposes.

 

15 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
15.1 If a proposed decision of the directors is concerned with an actual or proposed transaction or arrangement with the company in which a director is interested, that director is not to be counted as participating in the decision-making process for quorum or voting purposes.

15.2 But if article 15.3 applies, a director who is interested in an actual or proposed transaction or arrangement with the company is to be counted as participating in the decision-making process for quorum and voting purposes.

15.3 This article applies when:

the company by ordinary resolution disapplies the provision of the articles which would otherwise prevent a director from being counted as participating in the decision-making process;
the director’s interest cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to give rise to a conflict of interest; or
the director’s conflict of interest arises from a permitted cause.
15.4 For the purposes of this article, the following are permitted causes:
a guarantee given, or to be given, by or to a director in respect of an obligation incurred by or on behalf of the company or any of its subsidiaries; and
arrangements pursuant to which benefits are made available to employees and directors or former employees and directors of the company or any of its subsidiaries which do not provide special benefits for directors or former directors.
15.5 For the purposes of this article, references to proposed decisions and decision-making processes include any directors’ meeting or part of a directors’ meeting.

15.6 Subject to article 15.7, if a question arises at a meeting of directors or of a committee of directors as to the right of a director to participate in the meeting (or part of the meeting) for voting or quorum purposes, the question may, before the conclusion of the meeting, be referred to the Chair whose ruling in relation to any director other than the Chair is to be final and conclusive.

15.7 If any question as to the right to participate in the meeting (or part of the meeting) should arise in respect of the Chair, the question is to be decided by a decision of the directors at that meeting, for which purpose the Chair is not to be counted as participating in the meeting (or that part of the meeting) for voting or quorum purposes.

 

16 RECORDS OF DECISIONS TO BE KEPT
The directors must ensure that the company keeps a record, in writing, for at least 10 years from the date of the decision recorded, of every unanimous or majority decision taken by the directors.

17 DIRECTORS’ DISCRETION TO MAKE FURTHER RULES
Subject to the articles, the directors may make any rule which they think fit about how they take decisions, and about how such rules are to be recorded or communicated to directors.

 

APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS
18 METHODS OF APPOINTING DIRECTORS
18.1 Any representative of a member or an associate member who is willing to act as a director, and is permitted by law to do so, may be appointed to be a director:

by ordinary resolution; or
by decision of the Chair, subject to article 18.2.
18.2 The Chair may only co-opt two directors per annum and each appointment shall be subject to confirmation of the members at the next general meeting.

18.3 In any case where, as a result of death, the company has no members and no directors, the personal representatives of the last member to have died have the right, by notice in writing, to appoint a person to be a director.

18.4 For the purposes of article 18.3, where two or more members die in circumstances rendering it uncertain who was the last to die, a younger member is deemed to have survived an older member.

 

19 TERMINATION OF DIRECTOR’S APPOINTMENT
A person ceases to be a director as soon as:

that person ceases to be a director by virtue of any provision of the Companies Act 2006 or is prohibited from being a director by law;
that person is no longer a representative of a member or associate member of the company;
a bankruptcy order is made against that person;
a composition is made with that person’s creditors generally in satisfaction of that person’s debts;
a registered medical practitioner who is treating that person gives a written opinion to the company stating that that person has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director and may remain so for more than three months;
by reason of that person’s mental health, a court makes an order which wholly or partly prevents that person from personally exercising any powers or rights which that person would otherwise have; and
notification is received by the company from the director that the director is resigning from office, and such resignation has taken effect in accordance with its terms.

20 DIRECTORS’ EXPENSES
The company may pay any reasonable expenses which the directors properly incur in connection with their attendance at:

meetings of directors or committees of directors;
general meetings; or
separate meetings of the holders of debentures of the company,
or otherwise in connection with the exercise of their powers and the discharge of their responsibilities in relation to the company.

 

PART 3
MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
BECOMING AND CEASING TO BE A MEMBER OR ASSOCIATE MEMBER
21 APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
No person shall become a member or an associate member of the company unless:

that person has completed an approved application form; and
the Secretary General or the directors have approved the application.

22 SUBSCRIPTIONS
22.1 Subscription fees payable by members and associate members shall be at rates determined by the company from time to time.

22.2 Subscription fees shall become due and payable on 1 January of each year in respect of the ensuing period of 12 calendar months.

 

23 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
23.1 A member or associate member may withdraw from membership or associate membership, as applicable, of the company by giving notice to the company in writing but shall remain liable for any unpaid subscription fees including that for the year in which the notice is given.

23.2 Membership and associate membership is not transferable.

23.3 The company may terminate the membership or associate membership by notice if such member or associate member, as applicable, fails to pay the relevant subscription fees and that member or associate member, as applicable, shall remain liable for any unpaid subscription fees including that for the year in which the notice is given.

23.4 A person’s membership or associate membership terminates when that person dies or ceases to exist.

 

24 ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
24.1 The directors may permit persons to become “associate members”.

24.2 Associate members shall not be members for the purposes of section 112 of the Companies Act 2006 or the articles.

24.3 Associate members may attend and speak at general meetings but shall not be entitled to vote at such meetings or count for the purposes of quorum at such meetings.

24.4 Associate members shall have such other rights as are set out in the articles or as the directors may determine from time to time provided that associate members shall not have any rights that are not afforded to members.

 

ORGANISATION OF GENERAL MEETINGS
25 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
25.1 An annual general meeting of the members of the company shall be held once in each calendar year.

 

26 ATTENDANCE AND SPEAKING AT GENERAL MEETINGS
26.1 A person is able to exercise the right to speak at a general meeting when that person is in a position to communicate to all those attending the meeting, during the meeting, any information or opinions which that person has on the business of the meeting.

26. 2 A person is able to exercise the right to vote at a general meeting when:

that person is able to vote, during the meeting, on resolutions put to the vote at the meeting; and
that person’s vote can be taken into account in determining whether or not such resolutions are passed at the same time as the votes of all the other persons attending the meeting.
26.3 The directors may make whatever arrangements they consider appropriate to enable those attending a general meeting to exercise their rights to speak or vote at it.

26.4 In determining attendance at a general meeting, it is immaterial whether any two or more members attending it are in the same place as each other.

26.5 Two or more persons who are not in the same place as each other attend a general meeting if their circumstances are such that if they have (or were to have) rights to speak and vote at that meeting, they are (or would be) able to exercise them.

 

27 QUORUM FOR GENERAL MEETINGS
27.1 No business other than the appointment of the chair of the meeting is to be transacted at a general meeting if the persons attending it do not constitute a quorum.

27.2 The quorum for a general meeting shall be 15 members.

28 CHARING GENERAL MEETINGS
28.1 The Chair shall chair general meetings if present and willing to do so.

28.2 If the Chair is unwilling to chair the meeting or is not present within 10 minutes of the time at which a meeting was due to start, the deputy chair (if any) shall chair the meeting.

28.3 If both the Chair and the deputy chair are unwilling to chair the meeting or are not present within 10 minutes of the time at which a meeting was due to start:

the directors present; or
(if no directors are present), the meeting,
must appoint a director or member to chair the meeting, and the appointment of the chair of the meeting must be the first business of the meeting.

28.4 The person chairing a meeting in accordance with this article is referred to as “the chair of the meeting”.

 

29 ATTENDANCE AND SPEAKING BY DIRECTORS AND NON-MEMBERS
29.1 Directors may attend and speak at general meetings, whether or not they are members.

29.2 The chair of the meeting may permit other persons who are not members of the company to attend and speak at a general meeting.

 

30 ADJOURNMENT
30.1 If the persons attending a general meeting within half an hour of the time at which the meeting was due to start do not constitute a quorum, or if during a meeting a quorum ceases to be present, the chair of the meeting must adjourn it.

30.2 The chair of the meeting may adjourn a general meeting at which a quorum is present if:

the meeting consents to an adjournment; or
it appears to the chair of the meeting that an adjournment is necessary to protect the safety of any person attending the meeting or ensure that the business of the meeting is conducted in an orderly manner.
30.3 The chair of the meeting must adjourn a general meeting if directed to do so by the meeting.
30.4 When adjourning a general meeting, the chair of the meeting must:

either specify the time and place to which it is adjourned or state that it is to continue at a time and place to be fixed by the directors; and
have regard to any directions as to the time and place of any adjournment which have been given by the meeting.
30.5 If the continuation of an adjourned meeting is to take place more than 14 days after it was adjourned, the company must give at least seven clear days’ notice of it (that is, excluding the day of the adjourned meeting and the day on which the notice is given):
to the same persons to whom notice of the company’s general meetings is required to be given; and
containing the same information which such notice is required to contain.
30.6 No business may be transacted at an adjourned general meeting which could not properly have been transacted at the meeting if the adjournment had not taken place.

 

VOTING AT GENERAL MEETINGS
31 VOTING: GENERAL
31.1 A resolution put to the vote of a general meeting must be decided on a show of hands unless a poll is duly demanded in accordance with the articles.

 

32 ERRORS AND DISPUTES
32.1 No objection may be raised to the qualification of any person voting at a general meeting except at the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the vote objected to is tendered, and every vote not disallowed at the meeting is valid.

32.2 Any such objection must be referred to the chair of the meeting whose decision is final.

 

33 POLL VOTES
33.1 A poll on a resolution may be demanded:

in advance of the general meeting where it is to be put to the vote; or
at a general meeting, either before a show of hands on that resolution or immediately after the result of a show of hands on that resolution is declared.
33.2 A poll may be demanded by:
the chair of the meeting;
the directors; or
two or more members having the right to vote on the resolution.
33.3 A demand for a poll may be withdrawn if:
the poll has not yet been taken; and
the chair of the meeting consents to the withdrawal.
33.4 Polls must be taken immediately and in such manner as the chair of the meeting directs.

 

34 CONTENT OF PROXY NOTICES
34.1 Proxies may only validly be appointed by a notice in writing (a “proxy notice”) which:

states the name and address of the member appointing the proxy;
identifies the person appointed to be that member’s proxy and the general meeting in relation to which that person is appointed;
is signed by or on behalf of the member appointing the proxy, or is authenticated in such manner as the directors may determine; and
is delivered to the company in accordance with the articles and any instructions contained in the notice of the general meeting to which they relate.
34.2 The company may require proxy notices to be delivered in a particular form, and may specify different forms for different purposes.

34.3 Proxy notices may specify how the proxy appointed under them is to vote (or that the proxy is to abstain from voting) on one or more resolutions.

34.4 Unless a proxy notice indicates otherwise, it must be treated as:

allowing the person appointed under it as a proxy discretion as to how to vote on any ancillary or procedural resolutions put to the meeting; and
appointing that person as a proxy in relation to any adjournment of the general meeting to which it relates as well as the meeting itself.

35 DELIVERY OF PROXY NOTICES
35.1 A person who is entitled to attend, speak or vote (either on a show of hands or on a poll) at a general meeting remains so entitled in respect of that meeting or any adjournment of it, even though a valid proxy notice has been delivered to the company by or on behalf of that person.

35.2 An appointment under a proxy notice may be revoked by delivering to the company a notice in writing given by or on behalf of the person by whom or on whose behalf the proxy notice was given.

35.3 A notice revoking a proxy appointment only takes effect if it is delivered before the start of the meeting or adjourned meeting to which it relates.

35.4 If a proxy notice is not executed by the person appointing the proxy, it must be accompanied by written evidence of the authority of the person who executed it to execute it on the appointor’s behalf.

 

36 AMENDMENTS TO RESOLUTIONS
36.1 An ordinary resolution to be proposed at a general meeting may be amended by ordinary resolution if:

notice of the proposed amendment is given to the company in writing by a person entitled to vote at the general meeting at which it is to be proposed not less than 48 hours before the meeting is to take place (or such later time as the chair of the meeting may determine); and
the proposed amendment does not, in the reasonable opinion of the chair of the meeting, materially alter the scope of the resolution.
36.2 A special resolution to be proposed at a general meeting may be amended by ordinary resolution if:
the chair of the meeting proposes the amendment at the general meeting at which the resolution is to be proposed; and
the amendment does not go beyond what is necessary to correct a grammatical or other non-substantive error in the resolution.
36.3 If the chair of the meeting, acting in good faith, wrongly decides that an amendment to a resolution is out of order, the chair’s error does not invalidate the vote on that resolution.

 

PART 4
ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS
37 MEANS OF COMMUNICATION TO BE USED
37.1 Subject to the articles, anything sent or supplied by or to the company under the articles may be sent or supplied in any way in which the Companies Act 2006 provides for documents or information which are authorised or required by any provision of that Act to be sent or supplied by or to the company.

37.2 Subject to the articles, any notice or document to be sent or supplied to a director in connection with the taking of decisions by directors may also be sent or supplied by the means by which that director has asked to be sent or supplied with such notices or documents for the time being.

37.3 A director may agree with the company that notices or documents sent to that director in a particular way are to be deemed to have been received within a specified time of their being sent, and for the specified time to be less than 48 hours.

 

38 COMPANY SEALS
38.1 Any common seal may only be used by the authority of the directors.

38.2 The directors may decide by what means and in what form any common seal is to be used.

38.3 Unless otherwise decided by the directors, if the company has a common seal and it is affixed to a document, the document must also be signed by at least one authorised person in the presence of a witness who attests the signature.

38.4 For the purposes of this article, an authorised person is:

any director of the company;
the Secretary General; or
any person authorised by the directors for the purpose of signing documents to which the common seal is applied.

39 NO RIGHT TO INSPECT ACCOUNTS AND OTHER RECORDS
Except as provided by law or authorised by the directors or an ordinary resolution of the company, no person is entitled to inspect any of the company’s accounting or other records or documents merely by virtue of being a member.

40 PROVISION FOR EMPLOYEES ON CESSATION OF BUSINESS
The directors may decide to make provision for the benefit of persons employed or formerly employed by the company or any of its subsidiaries (other than a director or former director or shadow director) in connection with the cessation or transfer to any person of the whole or part of the undertaking of the company or that subsidiary.

 

DIRECTORS’ INDEMNITY AND INSURANCE
41 INDEMNITY
41.1 Subject to article 41.2, a relevant director of the company or an associated company may be indemnified out of the company’s assets against:
any liability incurred by that director in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the company or an associated company;
any liability incurred by that director in connection with the activities of the company or an associated company in its capacity as a trustee of an occupational pension scheme (as defined in section 235(6) of the Companies Act 2006);
any other liability incurred by that director as an officer of the company or an associated company.
41.2 This article does not authorise any indemnity which would be prohibited or rendered void by any provision of the Companies Acts or by any other provision of law.
41.3 In this article:
companies are “associated” if one is a subsidiary of the other or both are subsidiaries of the same body corporate; and
a “relevant director” means any director or former director of the company or an associated company.

42 INSURANCE
42.1 The directors may decide to purchase and maintain insurance, at the expense of the company, for the benefit of any relevant director in respect of any relevant loss.

42.2 In this article:

a “relevant director” means any director or former director of the company or an associated company;
a “relevant loss” means any loss or liability which has been or may be incurred by a relevant director in connection with that director’s duties or powers in relation to the company, any associated company or any pension fund or employees’ share scheme of the company or associated company; and
companies are associated if one is a subsidiary of the other or both are subsidiaries of the same body corporate.