Statutes of the Czech-German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

All professional, functional, and personal terms used in the Articles of Association refer to persons of either gender (male, female, diverse), irrespective of the form used, exclusively for reasons of better readability.

Article 1: Name, Seat, Fiscal Year

1. The Association bears the name „Czech-German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery“. It is an unregistered association.
2. The Association has two seats in the place of each of the incumbent coordinators. Currently these are:   
   • a) Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, 1^st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, University Hospital Motol,                   V Úvalu 84, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic.
   • b) Supraregional ENT group practice Hamm-Ahlen-Oelde-Kamen-Werne, Heessener, Markt 2, 590 73 Hamm, Germany.

3. The fiscal year is the calendar year.

Article 2: Purpose and tasks of the Association

1. The Association serves exclusively to promote science and research in Otorhinolaryngology.
2. The purpose of the Association is realized by means of conducting scientific events, research specifications, exchange of experience, enabling mutual job shadowing and participation in courses.
3. The Association exclusively and directly pursues charitable purposes within the meaning of the section „Tax-privileged purposes“ of the German Tax Code. The Association is selflessly active. Funds of the Association may only be used for the statutory purposes. Members shall not receive any benefits from the funds of the Association. No person may benefit from expenditures that are alien to the purpose of the Association or from disproportionately high remuneration or expense allowances.       
4. In the event of dissolution of the Association or discontinuation of its previous purpose, the assets of the Association shall be transferred to a public corporation or another tax-privileged corporation pursuing the purpose according to paragraph 2 in the Czech Republic or Germany.

Article 3: Members

1. Any physician and scientists associated with Otorhinolaryngology from the Czech Republic and Germany can become a member of the Association.
2. The Board decides on the admission as a member upon written application at its own discretion. A refusal of admission by the Board can be appealed to the General Assembly, which decides with a simple majority at its own discretion. The application for admission as a member can also be made by registration in the list of participants or electronic registration for the meeting. The application is granted if the Board does not explicitly reject it.
3. The membership automatically ends 1 year after its beginning. This does not apply to the members of the Board. New acquisition of membership according to the above paragraph 2 is possible without limitation. The membership ends by death, resignation, or exclusion from the Association.
4. The exclusion takes place:
   a) In case of gross or repeated violation of the statutes or interests of the Association; b) For dishonorable conduct within or outside the life of the Association; c) For other serious reasons that lie in the person of the member. The General Assembly shall decide on the exclusion, which shall take place with immediate effect, by a simple majority of votes of the members present. Prior to the decision of the General Assembly, the member shall be given the opportunity to comment on the accusations made, setting a deadline of at least two weeks. The decision to exclude a member shall be communicated to the member by registered letter, stating the reasons in detail.
5. Personalities who have rendered outstanding services to the objectives of the Association, in particular to the medical-scientific development of issues in Otorhinolaryngology, may be appointed honorary members of the Association. The appointment of an honorary member requires a resolution of the Board with a 2/3 majority of the Board members present. Every member of the Association is entitled to propose for the nomination of honorary members.

Article 4: Rights and duties of members

1. All members of the Association shall actively participate in the scientific work, in the meetings and thus promote the clinical exchange of experience and scientific research in the field of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery.

Article 5: Membership fees

1. The Association does not collect dues from its members.

Article 6: The Board

1. The Board consists of the Chair, the Vice-Chair and the two Coordinators on the Czech and German sides. The Board members are elected by the General Assembly with a simple majority of votes of the members present.
2. The Chair shall be elected for a term of one year. The Vice-Chair is also elected for this office for one year; at the end of his year in office, the Vice-Chair automatically becomes Chair for one year. Coordinators are elected for 5 years.
3. The Association is represented judicially and extrajudicially by the Board.
4. In the event of a tie, the Chair shall have the casting vote in the adoption of resolutions by the Association.

Article 7: Duties of the Board

1. The Board is responsible for the management of the Association. It is responsible for all matters that have not been assigned to another body of the Association by the articles of Association. It shall meet several times a year for a Board meeting or hold online conferences.
2. The following matters in particular fall within its scope of activity: a) The implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly; b) The preparation of the Annual Report; c) The preparation of the General Assembly; d) The convening and chairing of the ordinary and extraordinary General Assemblies; e) The proper administration and use of the Association’s assets, the latter with the exception of the end of the Association (dissolution); f) The acceptance of proposals for honorary membership and the appointment or dismissal of honorary members; g) the appointment of experts, scientific advisory boards and committees at any time.

Article 8: Management and representation of the Board

1. All executive members of the Board constitute the Board within the meaning of § 26 (2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) or the corresponding jurisdiction of the Czech Republic. They perform their duties on an honorary basis. The Board is responsible for the management of the Association. It represents the Association judicially and extrajudicially in all Association matters, as far as necessary, in accordance with the resolutions of the General Assembly.
2. The Chair or the Vice-Chair, together with another member of the Board, are authorized to represent the Association.
3. The Chair shall chair the Board. If the Chair is unable to attend, he shall be represented by the Vice-Chair.

Article 9: The General Assembly

1. At least once a year, the ordinary General Assembly shall take place on the occasion of the annual scientific meeting. For this purpose, the Board shall convene the meeting in writing with a notice period of two weeks, stating the agenda.
2. The General Assembly is responsible in particular for the following tasks:         a) Receipt of the Annual Report of the Board and discharge of the Board; b) Election of the members of the Board; c) Adoption of resolutions on amendments to the Articles of the Association and on the dissolution of the Association.
3. The General Assembly has a quorum regardless of the number of members present. It decides with the simple majority of votes of the members present.
4. Minutes are taken of the resolutions at the General Assembly, which are to be signed by the respective Chair.