The following text on the purpose and status of the legal review of UArctic was shared with UArctic members for the 2018 Council meeting. Assessment and Review of the University of the Arctic’s Legal Status Task Force At the meeting in Québec City in December 2017, the members of UArctic’s Board of Governors agreed that for the purpose of contractual capacity, fundraising and liability, an evaluation of our legal basis was warranted. Thus, the Board agreed to create a Task Force to coordinate the evaluation. The members of the Task Force are Board members Frederik Paulsen (Task Force Chair), Jouko Niinimäki and Brian Rogers (Board Chair), and UArctic President Lars Kullerud. The Task Force, through its Chair, is to report on their findings in time for the Board meeting in December 2018 in Hanover, USA where the board may decide to recommend some changes to our legal status to the Council of UArctic. Aim & Limitations The aim of this work is to identify solutions that can help UArctic have a stronger position when it comes to contractual capacity, fundraising and liability. Any solutions finally recommended must ensure that UArctic as a membership organization shall remain as we know it today. This includes maintaining our mission, vision and values, types of membership, governance structure, etc. The tradition of keeping the majority of UArctic operations hosted by our members shall also be maintained. We hope to find a solution that enables UArctic to become a trusted, worthy recipient for donations, and that is, or has, a legal entity with the ability to deal with liabilities that do not alter any important aspect of the network. The aim is that the transition from the present to a future solution can be regarded primarily as a technical matter, but it may require actions by our membership, Council as well as the Board. Expert Support The Task Force has been seeking input from experts from their own organizations and other UArctic members to identify, discuss and clarify outstanding questions. Expert support has been provided by Margaret Wynne (Corporate Secretary & Special Projects) and Arnold Chase (Attorney) from Ferring Pharmaceuticals; Essi Kiuru (Administrative Director, University of Oulu), Markus Aarto (Administrative Director, University of Lapland) and Outi Snellman (Vice-President Organization, UArctic). We have also sought external legal advice from Minister Lauri Tarasti, Finland’s key expert on Association Law, and Liv Monica Stubholt from the law firm Selmer, also former Deputy Minister in Foreign Affairs of Norway with special responsibility for the Arctic. UArctic International Secretariat, Box 122, University of Lapland, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland [email protected] | www.uarctic.org Current Status on the Assessment of UArctic Legal Status The Task Force has developed a draft working document that provides an overview of the following issues: • UArctic Status, including o History of UArctic to present day o UArctic’s lack of legal status at present o Overview of how UArctic handles responsibilities, reporting, contracting and finances at present • Comparable organizational structures in the Arctic as well as globally • Preliminary analysis of strengths and weaknesses associated with the current structure Developing a Recommendation The Task Force is currently studying possible structural changes to be considered by UArctic. On a preliminary basis, the recommendation will be to consider some changes to the current framework. The principal alternatives identified thus far include: The “Whole Group” Path To bring the entire UArctic structure under one legal entity, with possible future establishment of additional legal entities in other countries. The country of establishment of this legal entity could be Finland, which is natural in light of the history of the UArctic, or it may be another country (for example Iceland, Denmark or another northern country). The “Hybrid” Path Another alternative being considered is to keep UArctic generally as is and to build a legal entity “in support of” UArctic, bringing certain UArctic functions such as contracting under the legal entity. Several comparable organizations use this approach with varying degrees of success. Two Independent Feasibility Studies of a UArctic Legal Entity To see if it is possible to create an improved legal status for UArctic, legal experts have been consulted on how UArctic could be organized under Finnish and Norwegian law. The two countries have different legal systems and are representative of Nordic solutions. If deemed necessary, similar studies can be done for other countries as well. The basic assumption shared with the legal experts is that it is important to: • Safeguard UArctic as a membership organization, with roots in the Arctic Council • Preserve our present values, mission and goals • Preserve present membership types (Arctic, non-Arctic) • Keep all main aspects of the present bylaws • Keep most of our ways to operate • Protect or limit members, Board and leadership from liabilities • Make it easy for UArctic to receive and manage funds and donations p.2 UArctic International Secretariat, Box 122 University of Lapland, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland [email protected] - www.uarctic.org In short, the outcome of the two studies is that UArctic could keep most of its present qualities, and at the same time have the benefit of being a “legal person” under both legal systems. Finnish law has a specific Association Act that is a good fit for a membership organization like UArctic. It appears to be quite straightforward to transform UArctic into a membership association under Finnish Law. The transition would take the essence of present bylaws into the bylaws of a new UArctic Association while maintaining the current voting procedures in an operational document. Both documents would be under the control of the Council. Norway (like most Nordic countries) also has associations as legal entities. An alternative would be a Norwegian foundation (a non-profit organization with a specific purpose). Many organizations like UArctic operate as foundations in Norway. There are, however, limitations associated with the Norwegian alternatives which in the end are not as straightforward as the Finnish solution when it comes to ensuring membership’s full control over the organization. Background The Finnish assessment was prepared by Minister Lauri Tarasti, the key expert on Association Law in Finland and also the author of the textbook on Finnish Association Law for law studies in Finland. A copy of this assessment is provided as Annex 3. The Norwegian case study has been made by Liv Monica Stubholt from the law firm Selmer. Stubholt, beyond being a lawyer, is the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway with special responsibility for the Arctic, and she knows UArctic very well. This company has also assisted with the legal status of the Arctic Economic Council. A copy of this case study is provided as Annex 2. A draft copy of the comprehensive “Assessment and Review of the University of the Arctic’s legal status” is provided as Annex 1. p.3 UArctic International Secretariat, Box 122 University of Lapland, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland [email protected] - www.uarctic.org ANNEX 1 This is a living document and shall eventually become an overview report from the UArctic Board of Governors Task Force on UArctic Legal Status to the UArctic Board of Governors. This DRAFT from August 2018 is shared with the Council of UArctic for information to ensure that UArctic members are fully updated on the process. The document is “all encompassing” with references to relevant information included. The text is made to inform external experts and others about UArctic and will therefore include information that is redundant to the Council members. DRAFT Assessment and Review of the University of the Arctic’s legal status Task Force In their meeting in Québec City in December 2017, UArctic’s Board of Governors agreed that for the purpose of contractual capacity, fundraising and liability, an evaluation of UArctic’s legal basis was warranted. Thus, the Board agreed to create a Task Force to coordinate the evaluation. The members of the Task Force are Board members Fredrik Paulsen (Task Force Chair), Jouko Niinimäki and Brian Rogers (Board Chair), and UArctic President Lars Kullerud. The Task Force, through its Chair, is to report on their findings in time for the Board meeting in December 2018 in Hanover, USA. Aim & limitations The aim of this work is to identify solutions that can help UArctic have a stronger position when it comes to contractual capacity, fundraising and liability. Any solutions finally recommended must ensure that UArctic as a membership organization shall remain as we know it today. This includes maintaining UArctic’s mission, vision and values, types of membership, governance structure, etc. The tradition of keeping the majority of UArctic operations hosted by the members shall also be maintained. The ideal solution would enable UArctic to become a trusted and worthy recipient of donations that is, or has, a legal entity with the ability to deal with liabilities, without altering any important aspect of the present- day UArctic. The aim is that the transition from the present to a future solution can be regarded primarily as a technical matter, but it may require actions from the UArctic membership, Council as well as the Board. Expert support The Task Force has been seeking input from experts from their own organizations and