Statutes of the European Paediatric Surgeons’ Association

Article 1: Name of the Association

The Association shall be named the European Paediatric Surgeons’ Association (hereinafter referred to as the EUPSA or Association). The EUPSA is founded as a scientific and non profit-making association for an indeterminate period of time according to the Austrian Civil Code.

Article 2: Location of the Association

The head office of the EUPSA is registered in Austria .

Article 3: Aims and Objectives of the Association

  • To act as an international forum of the European Paediatric Surgeons
  • To promote the highest clinical standards in all fields of paediatric surgery and in all paediatric surgical centres in Europe .
  • To support the discovery of new clinical and research insights which may lead to prevention, treatment and cure of congenital malformations, trauma and all other paediatric surgical diseases or disturbed functions.
  • To support friendship and fraternity between all members of the Association
  • To develop an advocacy role for all fields of paediatric surgery in Europe
  • Not seek any legislative or executive power within European countries
  • These Aims and Objectives shall be achieved by
    • The organisation of the EUROPEAN-CONGRESS, each year or at least each second year
    • The Formulation and publication of good practice standards in the EUPSA-Newsletter
    • Promoting and organizing postgraduate courses, workshops, teaching lectures, and special congresses, etc..
    • Promoting scholarships and international exchange for study purposes of members
    • Promoting European research projects of members
    • Supporting members in public health activities related to prevention, diagnosis and therapeutic measures in paediatric surgery
    • Intensifying the relations of the EUPSA with non-European paediatric surgical Associations

Article 4: Not-For-Profit

The Association shall not engage in business of any kind, which is ordinarily carried on for profit, and nothing in the statutes and By-laws shall authorize the Association to do so. The Association shall not enter into any transaction, carry on any activity or engage inany business solely for pecuniary purposes. Any income received by the Association shall be applied exclusively to the not-for-profit purposes of the Association as set forth herein. No part of any income shall beto the benefit of any private member or individual.

Article 5: Bye-laws

The board shall propose from time to time, for adoption by the members, By-laws, provided that the By-laws shall not be inconsistent with the laws of Austria . Those By-laws must be adopted and may be amended, after due notice, by the affirmative votes of two-thirds of eligible members present and voting at the Association’s General Assembly.

Article 6: Administration of the Association

An Executive Board (EB) shall conduct the business of the Association. The Executive Board shall make proposals to the General Assembly and fulfill the decision of the General Assembly.

All the financial dealings of the Association have to adhere to the principals of appropriate bookkeeping and accounting. Any debts or liabilities must always be fully covered by the assets of the Association, and the Treasurer of the EB has to ensure that the Association has always a positive balance.

Two independent Auditors are elected by the General Assembly. They audit all financial records presented by the treasurer and submit their report of this audit to the EB and the General Assembly.

The EB shall install special Offices. The EB, as well as the General Assembly, may nominate the Officers. The nominations must be approved by a majority of votes of the eligible members voting at the General Assembly.

The EB shall propose to the General Assembly the installation of Committees for subspecialities of paediatric surgery. The Committees are open to all members interested in that subspeciality.

  • Executive Board
    • President (Chairman of the EB)
    • Past President (1.Vice-chairman)
    • President Elect (2. Vice-chairman)
    • Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Congress Chairman
    • Chairmen of the Offices
    • Delegate of the UEMS Executive Board (Observer)

  • Quorum at the Executive Board Meeting
    EB decisions shall, when possible, be made by consensus. When this is not possible every issue may be determined by simple majority of the votes cast by the officers of the Association present at the EB meeting. In the case of equality of the votes the President shall have a second or casting vote. The quorum exists when 4 (four) members of the EB are present.
  • Election of the EB
    • Only Active Members are eligible to be candidates for President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Congress Chairman.
    • At least 4 (four) months before the Annual Meeting of the General Assembly all members – except Trainees and Overseas Members – shall be asked to nominate candidates for the election to the Executive Board. The Secretary informs the members via Homepage about all received nominations. Unless there exists a specified Nomination Office, the EB proposes the candidates for election to the General Assembly. The General Assembly has the right to propose further candidates. Only candidates present during the General Assembly are eligible for election.
    • Before the General Assembly meeting ballot sheets for an election shall be distributed. Members unable to attend the General Assembly shall be entitled to send their ballot papers to the secretary by post to arrive at least 7 (seven) days before the meeting. The anonymous ballots are opened during the election process at the General Assembly.
    • The President Elect will be automatically the next President and the President the next Past President. Therefore, the President Elect will be elected by a secret ballot at the time of the General Assembly two years before his/her term as President.
    • The Congress Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer will be elected by a secret ballot at the time of the Annual Meeting of the General Assembly an appropriate time before their office begins.
    • The nominated Delegates for the EUPSA-Offices must be approved by a majority of votes of the eligible members voting at the General Assembly.

  • Terms of Office
    • The term for the President is two years. Thus, he/she serves the Association two years as President Elect and two years as Past President. No re-election is possible.
    • The term for the Secretary and the Treasurer is three years. One reelection is possible.
    • The term for Delegates to the Offices is three years – except otherwise regulated. One re-election is possible.
    • The term for the Congress Chairman is one (1) year or two (2) years, whether there is an annual or biannual EUROPEAN-CONGRESS.

Article 7: Membership

The EUPSA has the following membership categories:

  • Active Membership
    • Active Membership is open to all paediatric surgeons from Europe registered by their National Association
    • Active Members have the right to vote at the General Assembly
    • Active Members can be elected as office bearers and can be appointed as Delegates or chairman of Offices
  • Trainee Membership
    • Trainee Membership is open to paediatric surgeons-in-training from Europe registered by their National Association
    • Trainee Members have no rights to vote at the General Assembly
    • Trainees Members can be appointed as members but not as chairmen of Offices. Preferably one or two Trainees should be appointed additionally as members of the Education Office and the Media Office.

  • Corresponding Membership
    • Corresponding Membership is open to all scientists or non paediatric surgery specialists who have major interests in the specialty of paediatric surgery
    • Corresponding Members have the right to vote at the General Assembly
    • Corresponding Members can be appointed as members but not as chairmen of Offices

  • Honorary Membership
    • Honorary Membership may be awarded to paediatric surgeons, to scientists and others who have made outstanding contributions and exerted an important influence on European paediatric surgery
    • Honorary Members have no right to vote at the General Assembly
    • Honorary Members can be appointed as members but not as chairmen of Offices

  • Senior Membership
    • Senior membership is open to active members and overseas members after their retirement (at their own request)
    • Senior members have not the right to vote at the General Assembly
    • Senior Members can be appointed as members but not as charimen of Offices

  • Overseas Membership
    • Overseas Membership is open to non-European Paediatric surgeons registered by their National Association
    • Overseas Members have the right to vote at the General Assembly.
    • Overseas Members shall serve in the Overseas Member Office and elect a chairman for this office
    • Overseas Members can be appointed as Members but not as chairmen of other Offices
Article 8: Membership Fee
All members except Senior and Honorary Members shall be charged membership fees in an amount proposed by the EB and approved by the General Assembly.

Article 9: General Assembly

  • Meeting
    The General Assembly shall be held at least annually and shall always be held on the same occasion as the EUROPEAN CONGRESS of Paediatric Surgery. All members are entitled to attend. The Secretary shall, not less that 4 (four) months prior to the date, notify all members of the Association of the venue and date of the General Assembly and invite all members to submit comments, suggestions and/or recommendations to the President or to the Secretary, or nominations for elections if appropriate. All comments or requests received not less than 6 weeks prior to the General Assembly shall be included in the Agenda, unless the EB directs otherwise.

    Not less that 4 weeks prior to the General Assembly the formal invitation to all members of the Association to attend the General Assembly shall be send out by the Secretary. The invitation shall include the Agenda.

    Members may raise for the purpose of discussion, a matter or matters not referred to on the Agenda. These will be discussed under the item “Other Business”. The General Assembly can defer these items also to the following meeting.
  • Presidency
    The General Assembly will be convened and presided over by the President, and in his absence by the Past President, and in his absence by the President Elect, and in his absence by the oldest Active Member of the EB.
  • The Agenda
    The President signs the Agenda and is responsible for the items. All comments of members received in time and approved by the EB, as well as all items suggested by EB-members shall be included in the Agenda. The following items are obligatory in the Agenda:
    • The minutes of the previous General Assembly
    • The report of the President
    • The Report of the Congress Chairman
    • The report of the Treasurer and the Internal Auditors
    • The report of the Secretary
    • The report of the European Council
    • Other Business

  • Voting
    • Only Active Members, Corresponding Members and Overseas Members shall be entitled to vote at the General Assembly on any matter arising out of the Agenda.
      In all meetings the decisions are made by a simple majority of votes by the eligible members present and voting. In the case of equality of votes the President or other presiding officer of the Association shall have a second or casting vote. All items discussed under “Other Business” cannot be voted on.
    • Election of Officers for the EB:
      a) Two candidates: the candidate is elected who has 50% + 1 votes of the eligible members present at the General Assembly including the ballot paper votes received by the secretary at least 7 ( seven) days before the General Assembly.

  • Extraordinary General Assembly
    An extraordinary General Assembly may be called at the request of 3 (three) members of the EB or at the request of not less than 10 (ten) percent of the Active Members indicating the reasons therefore.
  • Discharge
    Before the President Elect takes over the office as an actual President, the former President has to present a report of his term and, if appropriate, it has to be approved by a simple majority of votes of eligible members present and voting at the General Assembly.

    Before the election of a new Treasurer the report of the former Treasurer covering the whole time spans of his office has to be presented, and if appropriate, approved by a simple majority of votes of eligible members present and voting at the General Assembly.
Article 10: The European Paediatric Surgeons’ Associations Council
The European Council shall consist of one delegate elected by each National Association of Paediatric Surgeons from European countries. The chairman of the European Council is the President, the Vice-chairman is the President Elect.

The European Council collects and discusses suggestions of the National Associations in regard to the actual work and to future strategies of the EUPSA. The conclusions of the European Council shall be presented to the General Assembly for discussion and, if appropriate, for voting.

Article 11: Offices and Delegates
Within the Association special Offices shall be installed and Delegates shall be nominated by the EB or the General Assembly in accordance with the Mission and Goals of the Association. The delegates of the Offices elect a chairman, unless it is differently specified by the Bye-laws. Only Active Members can be elected as a chairman of Offices – with the exception of the Overseas Members Office. The Chairmen of the Offices are members of the EB and shall present a written report of the activites of the past year and the prospective plans for the next two (2) years to the EB and to the General Assembly two months before the European Congress.

Article 12: Amendments
These Statutes, the Mission and the Goals of the Association as well as the Association’s Bye-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the eligible members present and voting at the General Assembly. The proposed amendment(s) shall be printed on the notice of the General Assembly and shall be submitted to the eligible members at least 30 (thirty) days in advance of the General Assembly.

Article 13: Dissolution of the EUPSA
The EUPSA is constituted in perpetuity but may at any time be dissolved by a resolution passed at a General Assembly by not less than two-thirds of the Active Members of the Association. The EB shall ensure that all temporary debts and liabilities of the Association shall be paid and discharged in full. Any remaining assets of the Association shall be transferred to the Caritas and must only be used by this institution for public health activities. If the Caritas does not exist any more at the time of dissolution of the EUPSA, the remaining assets shall be transferred to an equivalent institution involved in public health activities.