The Latin Union is an international organization of Latin countries. Latin and Latin influenzed cultural heritage is protected and projected by the organization. It also aims to protect their unifying identities. Since its creation in 1954 in Madrid, Spain, it has existed as a functional institution and its member states have risen from 12 to 37.
Membership in Latin Union is open to any nation that meets the following criteria:
- Linguistic criteria: The official language of the member nations should be a language derived from Latin. Such language should also be commonly used in the mass media or in daily life and as a medium for imparting education.
- Cultural criteria: A member should directly or indirectly inherit the legacy of ancient Rome and the state remains faithful and which it perpetuates mainly through the education of Latin
The main functions of the congress of the member states are:
- to adopt the budget,
- to define the general directions of the Union,
- to receive the new member states formally, and
- to elect and appoint different member states to be the Presidents, Vice-Presidents and members of the sub organizations of the Union.
There are also two auxiliary bodies of the Congress, namely, the Commission of adhesions and the commission of candidacies for promoting the adhesion of all the member states and the validity of the candidates . Geographic, linguistic and cultural background of the candidates are taken into account for qualifying candidates.
