Approval of changes to the Institut Pasteur's articles of association

The decree of January 12, 2021 approving changes to the Institut Pasteur's articles of association has been published in the French Official Journal.
 
This publication marks the end of the process of development of our articles of association that was initiated by the Board of Governors in February 2020. The changes adopted by the Board of Governors were presented to Institut Pasteur staff at a meeting held on June 3 by the Chairman of the Board, Christian Vigouroux, and the two Vice-Chairmen, Artur Scherf and Hubert du Mesnil. The draft text was then approved by an overwhelming majority of the Institut Pasteur's General Meeting on June 22, 2020.
 
Following a series of discussions with the Institut Pasteur and the various ministries concerned – leading to some technical adjustments to the draft text, which the Chairman was instructed to make by the Board and the General Meeting –, the French Council of State delivered a favorable opinion on December 15.
 
As already explained in previous messages to staff, these changes mainly concern three points: the term of the President, the composition of the Scientific Council, and the modernization of financial provisions:
 

• in line with the recommendations made by the Search Committee at its latest meeting, the length of the President's term has been increased from 4 to 6 years, renewable once for a maximum of 4 years, to give the President time to adjust to his/her role and to develop and implement a Strategic Plan. The age limit for appointment/reappointment to this role has been increased from 65 to 67;

• to enable the Scientific Council to access a wider range of experience from a variety of horizons, especially members from different countries, and to prevent conflicts of interest, the new articles of association provide for the appointment of 10 (instead of 8) external members and 6 (instead of 8) internal members to this body. Of the 6 internal members, the number of 4 members elected by senior scientific staff remains the same;

• in a move towards financial modernization, the new provisions expressly introduce a non-consumable endowment of €700 million in the articles of association, composed of both campus real estate and securities/equivalent non-cash collateral. This endowment, which includes a mechanism guaranteeing its stability, is intended to guarantee the Institut Pasteur's financial strength and long-term development. The new version of the articles of association also removes some provisions that had become obsolete or irrelevant and brings the texts in line with accounting and financial regulations.

 
This process of development, which kept to the guidelines and schedule set by the Board of Governors, was an opportunity for all the Institut Pasteur's statutory bodies to reaffirm their commitment to the Foundation's institutional architecture. The specific roles of the Board of Governors, the President and the General Meeting were confirmed by the authorities and the Council of State.
 
Notwithstanding the successive changes to our articles of association, the groundwork underpinning the institutional architecture and internal balance of power was laid by Louis Pasteur when he founded the Institut Pasteur.
 
The unique legal status of our Foundation also echoes its unique scientific nature. It is a guarantee of the Institut Pasteur's long-term development and holds the promise of future innovation.