UNION OF NATIONAL EUROPEAN
PAEDIATRIC
SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
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General Assembly of the UNEPSA MEETING in Wroclaw, 18 September 1997
CONSTITUTION OF UNEPSA
Article 1: Name
The name of this union shall be Union of National European Paediatric Societies and Associations (UNEPSA). The union is registered with its office in Munich.
Article 2: Objectives
| A. | To encourage cooperation between national pediatric societies/associations in Europe in their task to promote child health and comprehensive paediatric care. Paediatric care is defined as the medical care of the human being during and up to the completion of growth and development. |
| B. | To obtain information concerning paediatrics at the national level from societies and associations, and to make it available to member countries. |
| C. | To stimulate research in appropriate field of pediatrics by drawing attention to outstanding problems in the European context. |
| D. | To cooperate with the International Paediatric Association (IPA), in the context of its policy with respect to regional societies as well as at the European level with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international agencies in the field of child health. |
| E. | To sponsor European meetings and carry any other policy promoting paediatrics, that may be laid down by the general assembly, such as forming ad hoc expert committees to study and make recommendations on important issues of general pediatrics interest in Europe. |
Article 3: Membership
Member of the union can
be any European national paediatric societylassociation representing a whole nation.
Application for membership shall be addressed to the Secretary-General to be voted on at
the next General Assembly.
The member societies/associations shall pay dues to the amount of which being determined
by the General Assembly.
Membership can be terminated by making a declaration on this matter.
Article 4: General Assembly
The General Assembly is composed of the endorsed representatives of the respective member societies/associations. Each country shall have one vote to be cast by a member of the board of the national society/association. If two or more national societies/associations exists, these must themselves decide which Board Member will cast the single vote on behalf of the country. The functions of the General Assembly are:
| A. | To elect the President and two Vice-Presidents. |
| B. | To elect the Secretary General. |
| C. | To elect two more Members of the Executive Committee without special functions. |
| D. | To elect one or two Auditors. |
| E. | To decide on the admission of new Members. |
| F. | To lay down policies of the UNEPSA in accordance with article 2 D and E. |
| G. | To decide the annual fee of the members of the Union. |
| H. | To delegate to the Executive Committee the authority to deal with any matter to be handled between the meetings of the General Assembly. |
The General Assembly is
convened by the President. It shall take place at least every two years. Convocation shall
be done in writing not less than six weeks before the date of the Generaf Assembly,
calculated from the day of dispatch.
The Secretary-General is responsible for drawing up minutes of proceedings of the General
Assembly. They must be signed by him or by another member of the Executive Committee.
Article 5: Executive Committee
The Executive Committee
shall consist of 6 elected members reflecting the various regions of Europe. It shall
consist of:
The President
Two Vice-Presidents The Secretary-General Two Members
Candidates for each post can be proposed by any country but shall be endorsed by their
national societies/associations.
Voting will be by secret ballot at the General Assembly.
The President shall carry out the policies that are laid down by the General Assembly. He
chairs the General Assembly and the Committees of the Union. In case of his absence, he
appoints one of the Vice-Presidents to replace him as Acting President.
The Secretary General shall be in charge of the administrative and financial affairs of
the Union. He will carry out such functions and authorities that may be delegated to him
by the Executive Committee or the President. The President may - for a special purpose or
in general - delegate to each member of the Executive Committee matters to be handled by
him as the President or by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall elect
the Candidate for the Standing Committee of the International Paediatric Association and
carry out such policies that are laid down by the General Assembly.
All Members of the Executive Committee will serve for 2 years. The President,
Vice-Presidents and the two Members of the Executive Committee will be eligible for
re-election for one period of 2 years only, and thereafter will be ineligible to occupy
the same post. The Secretary-General may be re-elected for two further periods of two
years, each making a total tenure of six years possible. No person may be a member of the
Executive Committee in any capacity for more than six years. The President of the
forthcoming meeting is a member of the Executive Committee ex officio.
Candidates for post as President, Vice-President, Secretary-General, and other Members of
the Executive Committee may be proposed in writing, and handed to the Secretary-General at
least one hour before the scheduled time of the Assembly Meeting.
Article 6: Voting
The quorum for voting of
the General Assembly shall be one third, for the Executive Committee two thirds of the
members.
A simple majority of the members present is valid for voting in the General Assembly and
the Executive Committee. In the event that the vote is tied, the President shall cast the
deciding vote. For amendment of the constitution half of the members shall be present,
and a two third majority is required for changing the Constitution.
Article 7: Amendment of the Constitution
Proposal for changing the constitution shall be sent to the Secretary General, signed by representatives of at least three member societies/associations not tater than three months before the next ordinary General Assembly meeting of the Union.
Article 8: Non-profit Institution of Public Utility (gemeinnutzing)
| A. | The Union exclusively and directly pursues non-profit objective according to the paragraph "Steuerbegunstigte Zwecke" of the tax regulations of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as to corresponding decrees of other European countries. |
| B. | The Union acts unselfishly; it does not, in the first line, pursue economic objects for its own. |
| C. | The means of the Union shall only be used for objectives in accordance with the constitution. The members of the Union shall not receive allowances from the funds of the Union. In case of their withdrawal or at the dissolution or suspension of the Union, the members do not get back the dues paid by them not do they have any claim to the fortune of the Union. No person shall profit from expenses not corresponding to the objectives of the Union nor from disproportionately high reimbursement. |
| D. | All officers of the Union act unpaid. Commercial operations are not allowed on behalf of the Union. |
| E. | In the case of dissolution or of suspension of the Union, or in the case of cessation of its objectives, the fortune of the Union shall devolve upon the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF - represented by Deutsches Kommittee für UNICEF, 50670 KoIn, Steinfelder-Gasse 9, for the direct and exclusive use in non-profit objectives. |
| F. | The responsible revenue office where the Union is registered must be notified of any amendment to the constitution. |
Proposal for
the UNEPSA web site and UNEPSA Newsletters (later v.s. EPA web site) | UNEPSA (EPA) missions and aims | Contacts,
UNEPSA Council |
Constitution of UNEPSA | Draft of EPA
(European Paediatric Association) | National Paediatric Societies
in Europe | Paediatric Subspeciality Societies |
Minutes of the UNEPSA General Assembly, 13th and 14th
August 1988 | Demography of Paediatric Primary Care (PPC) in
Europe