Officer of government with varying powers
Look up
syndic
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
"
Syndic
" (
Late Latin
:
syndicus
;
Greek
:
σ?νδικο?, syndikos
? one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or powers.
[1]
The meaning which underlies both applications is that of representative or delegate.
Du Cange
, after defining the word as
defensor
,
patronus
,
advocatus
, proceeds:
Syndici maxime appellantur Actores universitatum, collegiorum, societatum et aliorum corporum, per quos, tanquam in republica quod communiter agi fierive oportet, agitur et fit
("Syndics are chiefly called the actors of universities, colleges, societies, and other bodies, through whom, as in a republic, what must be pursued and done in common, is pursued and done"), and gives several examples from the 13th century of the use of the term.
[2]
The most familiar use of
syndic
in the first sense is that of the Italian
sindaco
and the French
syndic
who is the head of the administration of a
comune
, comparable to a
mayor
, and a government official, elected by the residents of the commune.
[1]
Use in public administration and ombudsman bodies
[
edit
]
Use in Italian and French linguistic areas
[
edit
]
As indicated above, in
Italy
and some Italian and French speaking parts of
Switzerland
, the term
sindaco
or
sindaca
, or
syndic
, is equivalent to the English term 'mayor', in this case, the head of the administration of a
comune
.
Use in Catalan or Occitan linguistic areas
[
edit
]
In areas where
Catalan
or
Occitan
are spoken, the term has been used since Medieval times. At present it is used in a variety of cases. The
speaker
of
Andorra's parliament
is known as the
Sindic General
(General Syndic) or
Sindic Primer
(First Syndic). Until the
1993 Constitution
, the
First Syndic
was the effective
head of government of Andorra
.
[3]
[4]
Similarly, the
Sindic d'Aran
(
Aran Syndic
in
Occitan
) is the head of the administration of the
Aran Valley
in
Catalonia
.
[5]
In
Catalonia
, the
Balearic Islands
and the
Valencian Community
, the
Sindic de Greuges
or
Sindica de Greuges
("advocate of grievances") is the
ombudsman
or
ombudswoman
,
[6]
[7]
[8]
while the
Sindic de Comptes
or
Sindica de Comptes
is a board member of the Public Audit Office in each of the three regions.
[9]
[10]
[11]
In the
Valencian Parliament
, the
spokesperson
of a
parliamentary group
is called a
sindic
or
sindica
, and together they form the
Junta de Sindics
(Board of Spokespersons),
[12]
while in the
Horta de Valencia
region (the area around the city of
Valencia
), a
sindic
is also a member of the
Water Tribunal
(
Tribunal de les Aigues
), the body in charge of regulating irrigation matters.
[13]
[14]
In
Alguer
,
Sardinia
, the
sindic
is the equivalent of mayor.
[15]
Use in Mexican politics
[
edit
]
A syndic is a trustee, the member of the
municipal council
responsible for monitoring and defending municipal interests. The syndic is in charge of legally representing the city council, procuring justice and the legality of the municipal administration. The syndic is also responsible for monitoring and managing the municipal finances. They must participate collegially with the mayor and the rest of the municipal council to make decisions on the political management of the municipality.
[16]
Use in labour organisations, associations, guilds and universities
[
edit
]
In Europe in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, nearly all companies, guilds, and the
University of Paris
had representative bodies the members of which were termed
syndici
. Similarly in
England
, the Regent House of the
University of Cambridge
, which is the legislative body, delegates certain functions to special committees of its members, appointed from time to time by Grace (a proposal offered to the Regent House and confirmed by it); these committees are termed "syndicates" and are permanent or occasional, and the members are styled "the syndics" of the particular committee or of the institution which they administer; thus there are the syndics of the
Fitzwilliam Museum
, of the
Cambridge University Press
, of local examinations, etc.
[1]
The term
sindicat
in
Catalan
is used in a broad sense to mean an association for the defence of the economic or social interests of its members, and therefore is often used generically to refer to
labour organizations
, as well as in the titles of certain
labour organizations
or federations (for instance, the Confederacio Sindical de Treballadors de Catalunya, the Unio Sindical Obrera de Catalunya, the Coordinadora Obrera Sindical, etc.), student organizations (
Sindicat d'Estudiants dels Paisos Catalans
, Sindicat d'Estudiants del Pais Valencia, Sindicat Democratic d'Estudiants de la Universitat de Barcelona, etc.) and journalist organizations (Sindicat de Periodistes de Catalunya / Sindicat de Professionals de la Comunicacio, etc.), among others. The members or leaders of these organisations, however, are not called
sindics
.
Use in property management
[
edit
]
In some countries, notably France and Belgium, a
syndic de copropriete
(Dutch
syndicus
) is an important figure in millions of lives, elected by owners of condominiums to represent property owners in the management of the co-owned building or property. While the profession is regulated, fees are not, and complaints of overcharging are frequent. The
Association des responsables de copropriete
(ARC) reported that fees rose by 4% in 2016, though the rate of inflation was only 0.2%, and since 2014 three of the largest
syndics
in Paris have raised their fees by amounts ranging from 26% to 37%.
[17]
Use in religious bodies
[
edit
]
One special use of the term applies to the Franciscan order of priests and brothers. The
Order of Friars Minor
(OFM), as opposed to the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv.), is forbidden by its constitutions from owning property, as part of its commitment to communal poverty. Various arrangements therefore exist whereby churches and houses of the order are owned by the Holy See itself, or the local diocese or, sometimes, by a "syndic," an independent layman who is the actual owner of the land but who loans it to the friars.
Use in anarchist politics
[
edit
]
Within
Syndicalist
and
Anarcho-syndicalist
organizations, a syndic is a member of an autonomous union, also called a Syndicate, which make up the basic organizational unit of society. As these models are organized along principles of non-hierarchy and direct democracy, the title syndic is applied to all in the syndicate and does not imply a position of power over any other member, unlike older usages of the title.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911). "
Syndic
".
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 293.
- ^
Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange:
Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae Latinitatis
(Glossary of writers in medieval and late Latin, Paris, 1678, s.v.
Syndicus
.
- ^
"El Consell General del Principat d'Andorra"
[The General Council of the Principality of Andorra].
Parliament of Andorra
(in Catalan)
. Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"El Consell General en la historia"
[History of the General Council].
Parliament of Andorra
(in Catalan)
. Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Eth Conselh Generau d'Aran"
[The General Council of Aran] (in
Aranese
, Occitan, Catalan, and Spanish). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Sindic de Greuges de la Comunitat Valenciana"
[Ombudsman of the Valencian Region] (in Catalan). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Sindic de Greuges de Catalunya"
[Ombudsman of Catalonia] (in Catalan, Spanish,
Aranese
/ Occitan, English, and French). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Sindic de Greuges de les Illes Balears"
[Ombudsman of the Balearic Islands].
Archived
2013-06-11 at the
Wayback Machine
. Balearic Islands Parliament (in Catalan and Spanish). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Els Sindics"
[The Board Members]. Sindicatura de Comptes de Catalunya [Public Audit Office of Catalonia] (in Catalan, Spanish,
Aranese
/ Occitan, and English).
Archived
2022-04-20 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana"
[Audit Office of the Valencian Community]. Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"La Sindicatura"
. Sindicatura de Comptes de les Illes Balears [Public Audit Office of the Balearic Islands] (in Catalan and Spanish). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Junta de Sindics"
[Board of Spokespersons].
Valencian Parliament
(in Catalan, Spanish, and English). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Tribunal de les Aguas de la Vega de Valencia"
(in Spanish and Catalan). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Tribunal de les Aigues de Valencia"
. Gran Enciclopedia Catalana (in Catalan). Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
"Lo Govern de la Ciutat: Lo Sindic"
. City of Alguer (in Catalan and Italian).
Archived
2018-11-19 at the
Wayback Machine
. Accessed 19 August 2023.
- ^
Ruiz, Nicolas (2021-06-02).
"¿Cual es la funcion de los sindicos y regidores?"
.
N+
(in Mexican Spanish)
. Retrieved
2022-08-03
.
- ^
Le Canard enchaine
(Paris), June 28, 2017, p. 8.