Statutes of the DOG

The following statutes were adopted by the General Assembly on October 2, 2015 and registered with the Heidelberg Register Court.

Clause 1: Name, seat and financial year
Clause 2: Purpose, realisation of purpose and non-profit status
Clause 3: Membership
Clause 4: Membership fee
Clause 5: Organs of the Society
Clause 6: General Assembly
Clause 7: Resolutions of the General Assembly
Clause 8: Executive Committee
Clause 9: Executive Committee
Clause 10: Board of Directors
Clause 11: Resolutions of the Presidium
Clause 12: Term of office
Clause 13: Sections
Clause 14: Dissolution and accumulation of assets
Clause 15: Clarification, entry into force and transitional arrangements

§ 1 Name, seat and financial year

The name of the Association shall be the Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft e.V. [German Society of Ophthalmology] (DOG).
The Society has its seat in Heidelberg and is registered in the Register of Associations of the Local Court of Heidelberg under VR 105. The Society shall maintain an office for the conduct of its day-to-day business, which may also be maintained at a location other than the legal domicile stipulated in the Articles of Association.
The business year shall be the calendar year.

§ 2 Purpose, realisation of purpose and non-profit status

2.1 The purpose of the Society is the promotion of ophthalmology. The Society is the expert representative of scientific ophthalmology.

2.2 The purpose of the Society shall be realised through the promotion of scientific ophthalmological research and the dissemination of scientific ophthalmological knowledge. To this end, the Society shall, in particular, hold an annual scientific conference as well as symposia and further training events and arrange for the publication of scientific journals and other publications.

2.3 The Society shall exclusively and directly pursue non-profit purposes within the meaning of the section “tax-privileged purposes” of the German Tax Code. It shall act selflessly and shall not primarily pursue its own economic purposes. The funds of the Society may only be used for purposes in accordance with the Statutes. Members shall not receive any benefits from the funds of the Association. No person may be favoured by expenses that are alien to the purpose of the Society or by disproportionately high remuneration.

§ 3 Membership

3.1 The Society has full members and honorary members.

3.2 Anyone who qualifies in ophthalmology by training as an ophthalmologist, by scientific orientation in the field of ophthalmology or by activities equivalent to the latter may become a member of the Society.

3.3 Anyone wishing to become a member of the German Ophthalmological Society shall apply to the Executive Committee via the Head Office, naming two guarantors who are members of the Society. The Executive Committee shall decide on admission by resolution. The Executive Committee is not obliged to announce any reasons for refusal.

3.4 Resignation can only take place at the end of the year by means of a written declaration, which must be received by the office by 30 September. A member shall also be deemed to have resigned if he/she has not paid his/her membership fee for two years and has not paid the outstanding fees within three months despite a written warning.

3.5 A member may be expelled from the Society if he/she acts against the interests or the reputation of the Society. Expulsion shall be effected by a resolution of the General Assembly passed by a two-thirds majority of the members present, after the member to be expelled has been given the opportunity to make a written or oral statement.

3.6 The Society shall appoint Honorary Members. The election shall be made in writing by the Board of Directors; it shall require a four-fifths majority of the members of the Board of Directors. Honorary members shall have the same rights and duties as ordinary members, but shall be exempt from the obligation to pay dues.

§ 4 Membership fee

Each member shall pay a membership fee for each calendar year, the amount of which shall be determined by the General Assembly.

§ 5 Organs of the Society

The organs of the Society are:
1. the General Assembly,
2. the Executive Committee,
3. the Executive Committee
4. the Board of Directors.

§ 6 General Assembly

6.1 The General Assembly shall be convened by the President in writing at least 4 weeks before the date of the meeting, stating the agenda and naming the candidates for the upcoming elections.
6.2 A General Assembly shall be held at least once a year. It shall be responsible in particular for:
6.2.a. the election of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee,
6.2.b. the election of two auditors and two deputies, who may not be members of the Board of Directors,
6.2.c. the adoption of the budget approved by the Executive Committee,
6.2.d the fixing of the annual membership fee,
6.2.e the approval of the annual accounts and the discharge of the Executive Committee and the Executive Committee,
6.2.f the passing of resolutions on amendments to the Statutes,
6.2.g the passing of resolutions on the dissolution of the Association.
Minutes of the General Assembly shall be kept and signed by the President and the Secretary.

§ 7 Resolutions of the General Assembly

7.1 All members present at the General Assembly shall be entitled to vote. Invalid votes and abstentions do not count in votes and elections. In the event of an equal number of votes, the Chairman of the meeting shall draw lots to decide.

7.2 Elections shall be by secret ballot. Only members of the DOG may be elected.
For the election of the Board of Directors according to § 10 paragraph 2 a and b as well as for the election of the Auditors and their deputies, the Board of Directors shall propose one candidate to the General Assembly for each position standing for election. Any member present may propose other candidates, provided it is proved that they have given their consent. Only one member of the Board of Directors may be proposed as First Vice-President.
For the elections to the Board of Directors according to § 10 para. 2c, the Deutschsprachige Gesellschaft für Intraokularlinsen-Implantation und refraktive Chirurgie, [German Society for Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (GSCRS)], the Retinologische Gesellschaft [Retinological Society] and the Bielschowsky Gesellschaft [Bielschowsky Society] shall each propose one elected candidate.
For the elections to the Board of Directors according to § 10 para. 2d, the Sections may each propose one elected candidate.
Candidates according to § 10 Para. 2e shall be proposed by the Berufsverband der Augenärzte Deutschlands [Professional Association of Ophthalmologists of Germany].
The candidate who receives the majority of the valid votes cast shall be elected. If this majority is not achieved in the first ballot, a run-off election shall decide between the two candidates who received the most votes.

7.3 Other resolutions shall be adopted by a simple majority of the valid votes cast.

7.4 Amendments to the Statutes shall require a three-quarters majority of the valid votes cast. Proposals for amendments to the Statutes shall be submitted to the Secretary six months before the General Assembly with reasons. The invitation to the General Assembly shall announce the wording of the proposed amendment to the Statutes.

§ 8 Executive Board

The Executive Board within the meaning of the law shall be the members of the Executive Committee, each of whom shall be authorised to represent the Association alone in and out of court.

§ 9. Executive Committee

9.1 The Executive Committee shall manage the day-to-day business of the Association, draw up the provisional budget and inform the Board of Directors of its work and of issues which, in its view, require the advice and decision of the Board of Directors. In order to carry out these tasks, the Executive Committee may employ a Managing Director responsible to it as head of the office as well as other staff. The scope of the power of representation in the area of business assigned to him/her shall be regulated by the contract of employment.

9.2 The Executive Committee consists of:
a) the President,
b) the First and Second Vice-Presidents,
c) the Secretary General,
d) the Secretary,
e) the Treasurer.

9.3 The President, or in his absence one of the Vice-Presidents, shall convene and chair the General Assembly and the meetings of the Presidiums, indicating the agenda. The President shall preside over the Society. He shall preside over the annual scientific meeting of the Society, unless in individual cases the Board of Directors has appointed a meeting President.

9.4 The First Vice-President shall become President of the Society after his term of office. The President shall become Second Vice-President after his term of office and shall assist the President in the preparation and conduct of the Annual Scientific Meeting.

9.5 The Secretary General shall be responsible for maintaining the continuity of the work of the Society in matters of principle. He shall be responsible for maintaining contacts with other associations and societies, the chambers and the public administration. The Secretary General shall also be in charge of the Secretariat.

9.6 The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings and take care of the Society’s publications. He shall coordinate the work of the Sections, the Commissions and the Working Groups and their publications.

9.7 The Treasurer shall administer the total assets of the Society in compliance with all legal and statutory provisions and the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Presidia. He shall be obliged to report on the financial situation at each General Assembly and to provide information to the Executive Committee at any time. The Treasurer may, with the consent of the Executive Committee, employ the services of a tax advisor or business consultant to carry out the bookkeeping and prepare the annual financial statements.

§ 10 Board of Directors

10.1 The Board of Directors is the decision-making body of the Society for all matters which are not reserved for other bodies in these Statutes. It shall be responsible for commenting on scientific and professional policy issues of fundamental importance. The Board of Directors shall organise the annual scientific meeting.

10.2 The Board of Directors shall consist of:

10.2.a. the President, the First and Second Vice-Presidents, who must also belong to one of the groups listed under b – e, as well as the Treasurer, the Secretary and the Secretary General,
10.2.b. – 5 university teachers who are ophthalmological directors of clinics or independent departments at universities or colleges,
– 2 habilitated ophthalmological university teachers who do not belong to the first group,
– 1 habilitated ophthalmological university lecturer who is not active in patient care but exclusively in the field of experimental ophthalmology.
– 2 full-time ophthalmological chief physicians who do not belong to the first group,
– 2 ophthalmologists in independent practice,
– 1 habilitated university lecturer who is not active in patient care but exclusively in the field of experimental ophthalmology,
10.2.c. one member each of the Deutschsprachige Gesellschaft für Intraokularlinsen-Implantation und refraktive Chirurgie, [German Society for Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (GSCRS)], the Retinologische Gesellschaft [Retinological Society] and the Bielschowsky Gesellschaft [Bielschowsky Society],
10.2.d. one member of each of the Sections according to §13 Para. 1,
10.2.e. 2 members of the Berufsverband der Augenärzte Deutschlands [Professional Association of Ophthalmologists of Germany].

§ 11 Resolutions of the Presidiums

11.1 The Presidiums shall adopt resolutions by oral vote or, on request, by written vote at a meeting to be convened by the President, stating the agenda, or by written vote by means of a letter circulated to all members of the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors. In both cases, a simple majority of the valid votes cast is necessary and sufficient to pass a resolution. Abstentions and invalid votes do not count. In the event of a tie, the President shall have the casting vote.

11.2 Minutes shall be kept of the resolutions of a meeting and shall be signed by the President and the Secretary.

§ 12 Term of office

12.1 The term of office of the members of the Executive Board according to § 8 shall be 1 year. It shall begin with the election of the First Vice-President and end with the election of his successor.
If the election is held by a General Assembly within the framework of an Annual Scientific Meeting, the term of office shall begin at the end of this meeting and last until the end of the following Annual Scientific Meeting, provided that a new election is held within the framework of this meeting. Otherwise, sentence 2 shall apply.

12.2 The term of office of the other members of the Executive Committee and the members of the Board of Directors as well as the Auditors and their deputies shall be 4 years. It begins with their election and ends with the election of a successor. The term of office of members of the Board of Directors elected as President or as Vice-Presidents shall end at the earliest with the end of the term of office as Second Vice-President.

12.3 Re-election is possible.

§ 13 Sections

13.1 The Board of Directors may establish Sections as legally dependent sub-organisations for sub-areas of ophthalmology to support the fulfilment of the tasks of the Society in accordance with the Statutes, without these Sections representing the DOG externally. The dissolution of a Section is reserved for the entire Presidium.

13.2 All members of the DOG shall be entitled to participate in the Sections.

13.3 The members of the Sections shall elect a Section Executive Committee from among their number. The Section leadership shall consist of at least one Section Spokesperson. Staff members are free to appoint up to two deputies. The term of office of the section spokespersons and their deputies shall not exceed 4 years. Re-election is possible.

13.4 The Section Executive Committee coordinates the work of the Section, is the contact person for the bodies of the DOG and reports annually to the General Presidium. The Section Leadership shall keep a list of the Section’s staff, which shall be disclosed to the members of the DOG.

§ 14 Dissolution and Appropriation of Assets

14.1 Only a General Meeting at which at least one quarter of the members are present may decide on the dissolution of the Association by a three-quarters majority. If there is no quorum, another General Meeting shall be held within four weeks at which a three-quarters majority of the members present may resolve to dissolve the Society.

14.2 Unless the General Meeting decides otherwise, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall jointly be the liquidators authorised to represent the Association.

14.3 In the event of the dissolution or annulment of the Society or in the event of the discontinuation of its previous purpose, the assets of the Society shall be transferred to the Medical Faculty of the University of Heidelberg, which shall use them directly and exclusively for charitable purposes.

§ 15 Clarification, Entry into Force and Transitional Provisions

15.1 Insofar as this Constitution refers to President, Secretary General, Secretary etc., the wording refers to both male and female persons.

15.2 These Statutes were adopted by the General Assembly on 2 October 2015. They shall enter into force upon registration in the Register of Associations.

15.3 § 12 paragraph 3 shall also apply to persons who were already office holders before the new version of the Statutes came into force.

The Executive Committee of the DOG

Berlin, September 2015

Statutes