The Statute
The Peace Prize is awarded on behalf of the members of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, the umbrella organisation of publishers and booksellers in Germany.
As the competent body, the Executive Board has the task of establishing the guidelines for the Foundation for the award of the prize. To this end, it has adopted a statute that regulates, among other things, the tasks of the Board of Trustees and how the prizewinner is elected.
At its 340th meeting on 6 November 2007, the executive committee amended the statute of the foundation for the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade based on changes adopted at the 180th general meeting on 15 June 2007. The amended statute is hereby disclosed.
Executive Committee of the Publihers and Booksellers Association
Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder
President
FOUNDATION FOR THE PEACE PRIZE OF THE GERMAN BOOK TRADE
STATUTE
The Foundation for the ‘Peace Prize of the German Book Trade’ was established in 1952 by the Börsenverein Deutscher Verleger- und Buchhändler-Verbände, today’s German Publishers and Booksellers Association, together with its constitutive members, i.e. the regional bookseller associations.
The Peace Prize is given out annually during the Frankfurt Book Fair. The prize has become a major component of the German Booksellers and Publishers Association’s commitment to cultural life.
In 1965, in cooperation with the regional associations and the foundation’s board of trustees, the foundation came under the direct administration of the German Booksellers and Publishers Association. The executive committee of that association hereby confers the following statute to the foundation:
I. The foundation is committed to peace, humanity and understanding among all peoples and nations of the world. The Peace Prize promotes international tolerance by acknowledging individuals who have contributed to these ideals through their exceptional activities, especially in the fields of literature, science and art. Prize winners are chosen without any reference to their national or religious background. The Peace Prize is generally awarded on an annual basis and can also be granted posthumously.
Under the same conditions, the Peace Prize can also be awarded to an institution or organisation. In special cases it is also possible for the prize to be awarded as a form of commission and/or stipend designed to promote peace and understanding.
II. The Peace Prize consists of a certificate and a sum of money donated by the foundation.
III. The prize winner is chosen by the foundation’s board of trustees. A simple majority of votes is required to render their choice valid.
The board of trustees accepts nominations from the general public. Nominations require a comprehensive written explanatory statement including a description of accomplishments and publications justifying an individual’s candidature for the Peace Prize. Own proposals are not permitted.
The executive committee of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association and the foundation’s board of trustees together determine the date and location of the award ceremony as well as the prize sum.
IV. The foundation’s board of trustees is chosen by the executive committee of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association from among its members. It consists of
a. the director and two members of the current executive committee of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association
b. six further members chosen by the executive committee of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (Paragraph 42, Par. 1 of its statute) for a period of three years. The members of the foundation’s board of trustees need not be members of the Publishers and Booksellers Association.
Each members’ term of office begins on the 1 January following the year in which their appointment has taken place. Should the book fair not take place as usual in September or October, the term of office shall begin on 1 October of the year in question. If a member decides to leave their post during their term of office, the foundation’s board of trustees is obliged to call another member, who will then step in for the remaining term of office.
Re-election is permitted only once directly following the completed term of office.
The foundation’s board of trustees has a quorum when at least six members are present – one of whom must be the chairman or his/her deputy. Likewise, at least six members must take part in the election of prize winner.
V. The chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees is the director of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
The foundation’s board of trustees elects the chairman’s deputy.
The German Publishers and Booksellers Association has appointed an office in order to carry out the tasks associated with the choosing of a prize winner and the awarding him/her the prize at an official ceremony. The office members cannot be members of the foundation’s board of trustees.
The work performed by the members and secretary of the foundation’s board of trustees is unsalaried.
VI. The foundation’s financial assets are collected through donations from members of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association and managed as special assets according to the guidelines set by the foundation’s executive committee.
VII. The foundation can be dissolved only in agreement with the delegates meeting and the general meeting of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.
The decision to dissolve the foundation must be guided by the rules and terms that apply in the case of a change in the articles of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
If the foundation is dissolved, then the existing financial assets are to be given to the German Book Trade’s Social Fund (Sozialwerk des Deutschen Buchhandels).
VIII. This version takes the place of the statute agreed upon at the 221st executive committee meeting on 19 November 1981 and announced in the »Börsenblatt« Nr. 1 on 3 January 2008.
Passed at the 340th executive meeting on 6 November 2007.