I Name
The name of the Society is The European Society for Clinical Investigation. It is established in Utrecht. It was founded on 12th February 1967.
II Objectives
The objectives of the Society are the advancement of medical practice through science; the cultivation of clinical research by the methods of the natural sciences; the correlation of science with the art of medical practice; the fostering of high standards of ethical practice and investigation and the diffusion of a spirit of fraternity and international cooperation among and through its members.
III Membership
| 1. | Categories |
| The membership shall consist of several categories including active, honorary and corporate. | |
| 2. | Active membership |
| Any person who has been actively involved in medical research in Europe, for example by involvement in original investigations in clinical or allied sciences of medicine, may be approved for membership by decision of the Council. | |
| 3. | Junior membership |
| Any young scientist may be approved for junior membership. Junior members enjoy the same benefits as active members and can apply for full membership at any time, but are not allowed to vote during the Annual Business Meeting and are not eligible for any office. Junior membership is terminated three years after obtaining PhD/MD. | |
| 4. | Honorary membership |
| In exceptional, well documented circumstances, honorary members may be proposed by the Council and approved by a simple majority vote of the General Assembly. | |
| 5. | Corporate membership |
| Any company, corporation, organisation, or trust can apply for corporate membership in the Society. Applications shall be approved by the Council. | |
| 6. | Election of members |
| Applications for membership shall be made to the Council. Council decisions to grant membership shall be reviewed in order to expand the footing of the Society and to safeguard the character and the objectives of the Society. In exceptional cases the Council retains the right to decline or withdraw membership. Decisions of the Council concerning membership can be appealed to the Annual Business Meeting and rescinded by simple majority vote. | |
| 7. | Subscriptions |
| Active, junior and corporate members shall pay annual subscriptions in the amounts and within the periods set by the Council. | |
| 8. | Rights and privileges |
| Active members may participate in the business and scientific sessions of the Society, may vote at general meetings and shall be eligible for election to office in the Society. Corporate members are not eligible for the Council, in order to preserve the independence and academic freedom of the European Society for Clinical Investigation. Corporate members are mentioned as such in informations distributed to the membership. By decision of the Council corporate members can be granted the right to sponsor Satellite Symposia to the Annual Scientific Meeting and to sponsor and diffuse information via the Society. | |
| 9. | Cessation of Membership |
| The membership of active members shall cease upon: | |
| (a) Death (b) Written notice by member, in which case membership shall cease as of the following calendar year c.q. subscription period. (c) Notice by the Council, which for this action shall require authorization by a general meeting of the Society. This authorization can be given by a three-quarters vote of the members present. Such voting shall be by secret ballot. Upon this notice, membership shall cease forthwith. (d) Expulsion in accordance with a decision of the Council upon failure to pay the annual subscription fee due, or for actions inconsistent with the laws of the Society as recorded in the status and legal resolutions of the Council or of the general meeting. |
IV Council
| 1. | Officers and Members of the Council |
| The Council consists of 9-10 European councillors, chosen during and by the Annual Business Meeting of the Society, as follows: (a) A President, who will serve for four years. After this period he will serve as past-President for another year. (b) One Vice-President, who shall be elected bi-annually. (c) One officer who will act both as Secretary and Treasurer, who shall serve for four years, the first year as Secretary-Treasurer-elect and three years in full office. The Secretary-Treasurer’s appointment shall be arranged such as to overlap for one or two years with the appointment of the President. (d) Six (maximum seven) other Members of Council, each of whom shall serve for three successive years in such a way that two or three shall retire each year. Ideally, both genders should be equally represented within the Council.The Members of Council mentioned in (a), (b) and (c) are Officers of the Council. |
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| 2. | Eligibility of Members of Council |
| The President, the Vice-President and Councillors must be of different European nationalities. Restriction of nationality shall not apply to the Secretary-Treasurer. No Officer or other member of Council can be re-elected to the same office, but they may be subsequently elected to another office, even if membership of Council expired several years earlier. Members of the Society are eligible to become Member of the Council with no restriction of age. | |
| 3. | Election of the Council |
| The Council shall have the right to nominate active members to serve as Officers and other members of Council. In addition, active members of the Society may propose other active members of the Society to serve on Council by notifying the Secretary of their proposals in writing not less than nine months before the Annual Meeting. Such proposals must be accompanied by a signed consent from the nominee and three copies of the curriculum vitae. The full active membership shall be notified by the Secretary about all nominations not less than 4 weeks before the Annual Meeting in the form of a voting paper. Completed voting papers will be returned to the Secretary either by post before the Annual Meeting or may be delivered by hand during the Annual Meeting. Two scrutineers shall be appointed each year by the President. A simple majority vote shall be decisive. Those elected as Officers and other Members of Council will assume office only at the closing session of the Annual Meeting in each year. Members of Council shall continue in office until their respective successors are elected and installed. | |
| 4. | Death or resignation of Officers and Members of Council |
| If any Officer or other Member of Council should die or be compelled by any reason to resign during his term of office, the President is authorized to appoint a successor to serve until the next Annual Meeting. At this meeting, the vacancy shall be open to election. The member who is appointed to fill the vacancy arising from death or resignation may be elected to the same office. The member who fills a vacancy shall continue that function until the time at which its predecessor would have completed his/her tenure. If the President him/herself dies or is obliged to resign, his/her place shall be taken until the next Annual Meeting by the Vice-President. At this meeting he/she may be elected President. | |
| 5. | Duties and activity of Council |
| The Council shall direct and conduct the general activities of the Society. The Council is authorized to carry out all tasks not allocated to the general meeting. In legal actions the Society shall be represented by the Council. In addition, the President and Secretary together are also authorized to represent the Society. The Council shall make decisions by majority vote. Valid Council decisions can only be taken in a meeting in which at least five councillors, of which at least one officer, have participated. | |
| 6. | Committees |
| The Council may authorize the formation of such committees as may be required. Members of such committees will be appointed by the President and will include an active member of the Society. |
V Meetings
| 1. | Annual Business Meeting |
| The Society shall hold one general meeting of the membership annually at the place and time previously set by the Council, the place normally being fixed two or three years in advance and the time of the meeting to be in the spring. Attendance will be limited to active members, contributors introduced by members and those guests whose name will be submitted to the Secretary in advance and admitted at his or her entire discretion. | |
| 2. | Duties of Annual Business Meeting |
| At the Annual Business Meeting the Council shall give a report of the affairs of the Society in the past year. At this meeting the Secretary-Treasurer shall render an account of the financial management of the Society. The financial year shall correspond to the calendar year. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be relieved of personal responsibility by the approval of the financial report by a majority of members at the meeting. At the same meeting all nominations for membership as stated in Article II shall be voted on. | |
| 3. | Extraordinary General Meeting |
| An extraordinary General Meeting may be held at such a time as the Council may decide, or when requested in writing by at least one fifth of the active members. In the latter case the Council shall be obliged to call such a meeting within one month. If the Council does not do so within this period, the applicants are authorized to call this meeting themselves. Depending on technical and economic considerations, extraordinary meetings might be also arranged also by using e-mail, Skype, tele-conferences, etc. | |
| 4. | The passing of resolutions |
| In annual business meetings, resolutions shall require for their adoption an affirmative vote of the majority of those present and voting, if not stated otherwise in the statutes. |
VI Amendments to the statutes
Amendments to the statutes must be proposed in writing to the Council by five or more members not less than three months before an Annual Meeting and must be acted upon at the succeeding Annual Meeting, notice of which shall contain the text of the proposed amendment. Such an amendment shall require for its adoption an affirmative vote of three-quarters of those present and voting.
VII Dissolution of the Society
| 1. | The Society can be dissolved by a decision of the Annual Business Meeting. The stipulations of the previous article are applicable here in the same way. |
| 2. | Unless the Annual Business Meeting decides otherwise, the settlement will be done by the Council. |
| 3. | The credit balance after settlement will become payable to those who are member at the time of the decision of dissolution. Each one of them will receive an equal part. However, when the decision of dissolution is taken, another destination may be given to the credit balance as well. |
| 4. | The Society ceases to exist at the time when there are no assets left, nor according to the knowledge of the Society, nor of the settlers. |
VIII By-Laws
| 1. | The Annual Business Meeting can draw up By-Laws. |
| 2. | The By-Laws may not be in conflict with the law, nor with the statutes. |