The Constitution

1.1  The undersigned African aviation training organizations are the founding full members, as referred to in Article 3, hereby establish the Association of African Aviation Training Organizations (AATO), hereinafter referred to as the Association.

1.2  The Association, a non-governmental international organization, shall be incorporated as a nonprofit association, according to the jurisdiction, in which it has its headquarters.

1.3  The Association shall have its headquarters at a location approved by the Assembly. It may have other offices throughout Africa and representations around the world.

1.4  The official languages of the Association are Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese. The working language of the Association for communications, meetings, and publications shall be English.

1.5  Internally, the Articles of Association shall take effect upon the signature referred to above in paragraph 1.1; externally, the Articles shall take effect upon the incorporation referred to above in paragraph 1.2.

2.1  The objectives of the Association are as follows:

a.  Promote cooperation among its members.
b.  Promote the interests of its members and aviation training in Africa.
c.  Promote the harmonization and standardization of aviation training in Africa.
d.  Encourage the sharing of expertise among its members and other aviation organizations.
e.  Encourage and facilitate the adoption of new technology through research and development.

2.2  To achieve its objectives the Association shall in particular:

a.  Develop policy guidelines for aviation training organizations in Africa in order to facilitate their compliance with international and national standards and best practices in aviation training. 
b.  Develop and advocate positions on issues of interest for its members and aviation training in Africa.
c.  Develop and implement a system of designation of Centres of Excellence.  
d.  Support the accreditation of training organizations across borders.
e.  Ensure the development and implementation of standards, harmonized procedures and guidelines for aviation training.

2.3  In order to achieve its objectives, the Association, acting through its Assembly, may adopt Rules and Regulations in each of the areas mentioned in 2.1 and 2.2 above.

3.2  Associate Membership

a.  Associate membership is open to:

i.    All African aviation training organizations that have not yet obtained approval by an appropriate certification authority;
ii.   Aviation professionals; and
iii.  Non-profit aviation related organizations. 

b.  Associate members can participate in Assembly discussions and deliberations but have no right to elect or be elected to the council or any other bodies that may be established by the Assembly; and
c.  Associate members do not have the right to vote.   

3.3  Corporate Membership

a.  Corporate membership is open to corporate entities in aviation related organizations that have a commercial, for profit objective and are willing to support the Association and its objectives;
b.  Corporate members can participate in Assembly discussions and deliberations but have no right to elect or be elected to the Council or any other bodies that may be established by the Assembly; and
c.  Corporate members do not have the right to vote.

3.4  Application for membership shall be received by the Council for review and submission to the Assembly with a recommendation for their acceptance or rejection.

3.5  Applicants refused membership have the right to re-apply in accordance to the procedures that shall be established by the Assembly.

3.6  Members from any of the categories can withdraw their membership by giving an advance notice of at least three months to the Council.

3.7  The Council shall report to the Assembly the status of membership on each session.

3.8  The Assembly may suspend or terminate membership rights on the recommendation of the Council, except where the member’s status as an approved ATO changes, in which case suspension is immediate.

3.8.1  Recommendation for suspension or termination of membership by the Council shall be taken by two third majority vote of the Council members.
3.8.2  Such recommendations shall be based on the failure of a member to fully practice the principles and values of the Association.

5.7  A draft agenda for the Assembly shall be approved by the Council. All members from all membership categories may submit working papers.

5.8  Before or during the Assembly session, members from any membership category may make proposals for the agenda and submit information papers.

5.9  Each Assembly session elects a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson for such sessions from amongst the full members. They are assisted by the Secretariat.

5.10  The Assembly may create or dissolve Standing Committees, Committees, Sub-Committees or Working Groups of its members as it deems desirable.

5.11  The Assembly shall elect full members to the Council for a term of three years.

5.12  The Assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.

6.7  The functions of the Council shall be to:

a.  Propose policies and strategic objectives to the Assembly for approval;
b.  Adopt policies and guidelines for the purpose of:

i.    Developing policy and guidelines for aviation training organizations in Africa in order to facilitate their compliance with international and national standards and best practices in aviation training;
ii.   Developing and advocating positions on issues of interests for its members and the aviation training in Africa;
iii.  Developing and implementing a system of designation of Centers of Excellence;
iv.  Supporting the accreditation by States in Africa of training organizations across borders; and
v.   Contributing to the development, adoption and implementation by states in Africa of standards, harmonized procedures and guidelines for aviation training.

c.  Conduct research in all aviation training aspects based on best of International practices; 
d.  Submit to the Assembly applications for membership with a recommendation for their acceptance or rejection; 
e.  Appoint the Secretary General and determine its terms of service; 
f.  Approve the annual work plan submitted by the Secretariat, and oversee its implementation;
g.  Submit an annual report to the Assembly on the activities of the Association, including the status of membership and financial accounts; and
h.  Submit an annual budget to the Assembly for its approval, and oversee the financial affairs of the organization in accordance with the provision of the constitution.

7.3  The functions of the Secretary General shall be to:

a.  Manage the Secretariat;
b.  Implement the decisions of the Council, including policies and guidelines for the purpose of:

i.    Developing policy and for aviation training organizations in Africa in order to facilitate their compliance with international and national standards and best practices in aviation training;
ii.   Developing and advocating positions on issues of interests for its members and the aviation training in Africa;
iii.  Developing and implementing a system of designation of Centres of Excellence;
iv.  Supporting the accreditation by States in Africa of training organizations across borders; and
v.   Contributing to the development, adoption and implementation by states in Africa of standards, harmonized procedures and guidelines for aviation training. 

c.  Prepare an annual budget to be submitted to the Council;
d.  Prepare an annual work plan for submission to the Council;
e.  Carry out the activities of the Association as approved by the Council; and
f.   Perform such other tasks as assigned by the Council.

7.4  The composition of the Secretariat and the terms of service of staff will be determined by the Council, upon a proposal or proposals from the Secretary General. In addition to competence in their respective areas of work, staff shall represent a cross section of geographical and linguistic areas of Africa.

8.3  The revenues of the Association, as contained in the annual budgets, shall consist of:

a.  Startup funds for the establishment and the first year of full operation of the Association, granted by founding members, international, regional, and states aviation-related organizations;
b.  Membership and application fees for the different categories of members. These fees may be adjusted by the assembly to take into consideration the size of the different members involved, according to objective criteria; fees may be revised from time to time by the Assembly;
c.  Fees for specific services rendered by the Association in consultative capacity to individual members or third parties; and
d.  Grants or donations.

9.2  Where negotiation fails:

a.  Disputes may be submitted by the parties to the Council for resolution. In such case, Council members may not vote on a dispute to which they are a party;
b.  Disputes may be submitted by the parties to third party arbitration;
c.  Each party will bear its own arbitration costs;
d.  Arbitration will be governed by the rules and procedures of the International Court of Arbitration; and  
e.  Where Arbitration fails the law of the host state will prevail.