with Remarks by Karl Marx

587

Statutes of the Communist League

with Remarks by Karl Marx

I Statutes of the Communist League.

1.) The purpose of the Communist League is, through all means of propaganda and political struggle, to effect the destruction of the old society—the overthrow of the bourgeoisie—the intellectual, political and economic emancipation of the proletariat, the communist revolution. In the various stages of development which the struggle of the proletariat has to pass through, the League always represents the interest of the movement as a whole, just as it always seeks to unite and organise within itself all the revolutionary forces of the proletariat; it is secret and indissoluble as long as the proletarian revolution has not reached its final goal.

2.) Only those who combine the following conditions can become members:

a.) Freedom from all religion, practical renunciation of all church affiliations and of all ceremonies not required by civil laws.

b.) Insight into the conditions, the course of development and the final goal of the proletarian movement.

c.) Abstention from all associations and partial endeavours which are hostile or obstructive to the purpose of the League.

d.) Ability and zeal for propaganda, unshakable loyalty to conviction, revolutionary energy.

e.) The strictest secrecy in all League affairs.

3.) The decision as to the qualification for admission is made by the unanimity of the commune. Admission usually takes place before the assembled commune through the chairman. The members pledge themselves unconditionally to submit to the decisions of the League. |  
I 4.) Whoever violates the conditions of membership is excluded. The exclusion of individuals is decided by the majority vote of the communes. The central authority may exclude entire communes if a circle commune has applied for it. Those excluded are reported to the whole League and, like all suspicious subjects, are watched over by the League.

5.) The League is organised in communes, circles, a central authority and a congress.

6.) The communes consist of at least three members of the same locality. Each elects a chairman, who conducts the sittings, and a deputy, who keeps the cash.

588

Statutes of the Communist League with Remarks by Karl Marx

7) The communes of a country or a province stand under a principal commune, the circle, which is appointed by the central authority. The communes are in direct contact only with their circle, the circles with the central authority.

8.) The communes meet regularly at least once a fortnight; they are in at least monthly correspondence with their circles; the circle communes in at least bimonthly correspondence with the central authority; the central authority reports every three months on the state of the League.

9.) The chairmen and deputies of the communes and circles are elected for one year and can be recalled at any time by their electors; the members of the central authority can be recalled only by the congress.

10.) Every League member has a monthly contribution to pay, the minimum of which is fixed by the congress. || These contributions go half to the circles, half to the central authority, and are used to cover the costs of administration, to distribute propagandist writings and to send out emissaries. The circles bear the costs of correspondence with their communes. The contributions are sent every 3 months to the circles, which send half of the total receipts to the central authority and at the same time account for the expenditure and income of their communes. The central authority renders an account to the congress of the monies it has received. Extraordinary costs are defrayed by extraordinary contributions.

11.) The central authority is the executive organ of the whole League. It consists of at least 3 members, is elected and supplemented by the circle to which the congress transfers its seat, and is accountable only to the congress.

12.) The congress is the legislative organ of the whole League. It consists of the delegates of the circle assemblies, which elect one deputy for every five communes.

13.) The circle assembly is the representation of the circle, which assembles regularly every quarter in the circle locality under the leadership of the committee of the principal commune for the deliberation of circle affairs. Each commune sends a deputy to it. The circle assembly for the election of the League delegates takes place annually in July of each year.

Art. rh  
Central Authority  
Art. 8. of expulsion from the League  
Art. 10. Expulsion from the League/financial relations.

14.) Fourteen days after the close of the circle electoral assemblies, the congress meets as of right at the seat of the Central Authority, unless the latter has designated another place.

15.) The congress receives from the Central Authority, which has a seat in it but no vote, the report on its entire activity and on the state of the League; it proclaims the principles of the policy to be pursued by the League,

589

Statutes of the Communist League with Remarks by Karl Marx

decides on amendments to the statutes and determines the seat of the Central Authority for the coming year.

16.) The Central Authority may convene an extraordinary congress in urgent cases, which then consists of the delegates last elected by the circles.

17.) Disputes between individual members of the same commune are finally decided by the commune; of the same circle by the circle commune, of different circles by the Central Authority; personal complaints about members of the Central Authority come before the congress. Disputes between communes of the same circle are decided by the circle commune; between communes and their circle or between different circles by the Central Authority; but in the first case there is an appeal to the circle assemblies, in the second to the congress. The congress also decides all conflicts between the Central Authority and the subordinate authorities of the League. I