On Thu, 11 Apr 2002, Milton Bloch wrote:

++++++ [CLIP] ++++++

> 1.  An IC produces a publication which costs far more money than it has.  Perhaps a promised grant falls through and they are left $10,000 short.  The printer sues.  Who is actually being sued and who would be liable?
>
> 2. It is discovered (perhaps by an IC executive committee member) that $5,000 is missing from that IC's bank account.  The treasurer is suspect.  Who has the legal authority to press for the return of the missing money and through what legal channel?

=========================

+++++++ [COMMENTS] +++++++

I think that these are precisely the sort of problems that have been
causing very serious concern for some considerable time, and I believe
that the International Committees Task Force should obtain legal advice on
the question of such liabilities.

On point (1): my understanding throughout the time I was on the Executive
Council was that as the International committees have no independent
legal existence outside ICOM's legal status as a registered
"Association" under French law, those owed money in these circumstances
would almost certainly seek to take legal action against ICOM centrally,
and perhaps also against the International Committee officer or Coard
member who had ordered the work.

On point (2): again the view was that ICOM's Officers and Executive
Council and its internal and external auditors would be responsible -
though in practical terms there is no control over the activities of the
International Committees (beyond the power to suspend or close down
committee if it fails to submit triennial accounts to the Executive
Council).

Fortunately, the majority of International Committees seem to come to some
arrangement with an official body, such as a public museum or similar
body, for the handling of moneys for events such as annual meetings (where
many tens of thousands of dollars could perhaps be involved in the case of
major conferences of the largest committees). Most committees these days
also have their own bank accounts which are at least regulated to some
extent  according to the national banking laws of the country
concerned,  However, this is not a requirement, on at least one
occasion I remember the Executive having to intervene urgently when it
was reported that an extremely large project grant offered to an
International Committee was going to paid into the personal bank account
of one of its Board members as the committee did not have a bank
account in the country from which the project was to be managed.

I hasten to add that the account was that of a most reputable person and
the proposal was simply for the sake of convenience.  But we felt that
this was totally unacceptable as a matter of principle - to say nothing
of the problems that could arise in unforseen circumstances, such as the
serious illness or sudden death of the person holding the funds in a
private bank account.



Patrick Boylan

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