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Regional Branches
The Association has Regional Branches as part of its structure.
The General Assembly or the Regional Chairmen's Committee meeting as a quorum makes decisions about the setting-up and naming, as well as the closing, of Regional Branches.
(Statutes § 3 No. 1 and 2)
Regional Board
The Regional Board is responsible for managing the Regional Branch according to the requirements of the Statutes and for relevant affairs of the Association. These comprise in particular the appropriate use of finances and the execution of decisions of the Members' Assembly and other bodies of the Association.
The finances of the Regional Branches must be employed exclusively for constitutional purposes. Members do not receive allowances from the finances of the Association. Persons shall benefit neither from expenses which do not correspond to the purposes of the Association nor from disproportionately high remuneration.
The Regional Board consists of a Chairman and at least two deputies.
The Regional Board is elected for a period of four years. Only Members are eligible for election. The person who receives the majority of votes of those present and eligible to vote is elected. After his term of office he carries on business and represents the Regional Branch until new Regional Board elections take place. On the retirement of two Regional Board members, an extraordinary Members' Assembly must be convened to hold an election for their replacement.
The Chairman or individual members of the Regional Board can be relieved of office by a three-quarters majority of the Members' Assembly and must be replaced by immediate re-election.
(Statutes § 4 No. 2)
General Assembly
A meeting of the General Assembly must be held every three years. An additional meeting can be convened if at least one fifth of the Members or the Regional Chairmen's Committee or the Main Board meeting as a quorum request such a meeting in writing stating its purpose and reason.
The General Assembly is convened by the Chairman or one of his deputies with at least six weeks' notice and with the announcement of the provisional agenda. This can be done by publication of a notice in a magazine of the Association.
The delegates of the Regional Branches together with the Main Board form the General Assembly at which they are eligible to vote. With the approval of the Main Board, only those delegates present are eligible to vote.
Each Regional Branch appoints as a delegate its Chairman or one of his deputies and at least one full Member.
The total number of delegates is determined as follows:
Number of members of a Regional Branch Number of delegates
up to 300 2
from 301 to 500 3
from 501 to 1000 4
from 1001 to 2000 5
The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Association; it has the final decision on the affairs of the Association.
The General Assembly discusses and decides upon:
- the guidelines of the Association's work,
- the business report and financial statement of the Main Board,
- the report of the Auditors,
- the approval of the Main Board,
- the election of the Auditors,
- the election of the members of the Main Board,
- the financial plan,
- the membership subscriptions,
- changes to the Statutes,
- the liquidation of the Association,
- requests received by the Main Board in writing up to three months in advance of the General Assembly; see in particular § 4(1.1).
The General Assembly is quorate if the number of delegates present exceeds by one the number of Board members present.
The General Assembly chooses one of its elected members to manage the General Assembly in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Standing Orders. Decisions are reached on the basis of a majority of votes cast. In the event of there being several motions for the same item, that item is agreed for which there are the most votes.
Each person eligible to vote is entitled to only one vote; the transfer of votes is not permitted. In the event of a tie, the relevant proposal is rejected.
To change the Statutes a two-thirds majority is required.
A record of the General Assembly is required to be written, including following items:
- venue and date of the General Assembly,
- statement of the convening of the meeting,
- number of those present and eligible to vote,
- decisions made and elections held,
- results of votes, in any elections with an indication of the proportion of votes cast.
The record shall be signed by the member of the Main Board voted as Secretary and countersigned by the person managing the meeting and the Chairman.
(Statutes § 5 No. 1)
Regional Chairmen's Committee
A meeting of the Regional Chairmen's Committee must be held once a year, but an additional meeting must be held if at least one third of the members of the Regional Chairmen's Committee or the Main Board meeting as a quorum requests such a meeting stating its purpose and reason.
The Regional Chairmen's Committee is convened in writing by the Chairman of the Association or one of his deputies at least four weeks in advance with the announcement of the provisional agenda.
The Regional Chairmen's Committee is made up of the Chairmen of the Regional Branches or one of their deputies and the Main Board. It constitutes a quorum if the number of those Regional Chairmen present exceeds by one the number of Main Board members present.
The tasks of the Regional Chairmen's Committee include preparing the General Assembly, advising the Main Board on all matters concerning the Association, and giving advice on the content of the Standing Orders. Between the General Assemblies the Regional Chairmen's Committee decides on the membership subscription by a two-thirds majority.
Members of the Main Board who retire or have retired from the Main Board because of being relieved of office, resignation or for other reasons can be re-elected by the Regional Chairmen's Committee meeting as a quorum. The person who receives the majority of the votes of those present is elected.
(Statutes § 5 No. 2)
Main Board
The Main Board consists of a Chairman and six deputies.
The Chairman and his deputies are elected by the General Assembly. Only Members of the Association are eligible for election. The person who receives the majority of the votes of those present is elected.
The Chairman and his deputies shall come from different Regional Branches and represent different occupational groups.
The Chairman and the deputy Chairmen represent the Association legally and otherwise according to § 26 of the appropriate legal code, whereby two Board members together have the right of representation.
The Main Board is quorate if at least three of its members take part in the voting. The Main Board is responsible for managing the Association according to the requirements of the Statutes and for relevant affairs of the Association. These comprise in particular the appropriate use of finances and the execution of decisions of the Members' Assembly and the Regional Chairmen's Committee.
It is possible to remove the Chairman or his deputies from office by a two-thirds majority decision of those members of the Regional Chairmen's Committee present and eligible to vote or by a General Assembly convened for this purpose. The bodies referred to must vote meeting as a quorum.
(Statutes § 5 No. 3)
General Secretary
The Main Board proposes the General Secretary and his deputy for the general management of the Association. This proposal requires confirmation by the General Assembly.
The Main Board has the right to employ a qualified person to assist the General Secretary with the management and financial administration. The General Secretary can also be an employee by approval of the General Assembly.
The General Secretary and his deputy must be invited as advisers to all meetings of the Association's bodies.
(Statutes § 5 No. 4)
Advisory Board
The Main Board appoints an Advisory Board of professionally qualified persons who are especially supportive of the aims of the Association.
The members of the Advisory Board can be invited to all meetings of the General Assembly and the Regional Chairmen's Committee.
It is possible to remove a member of the Advisory Board from office by a two-thirds majority decision of the Main Board.
(Statutes § 5 No. 5)
Auditors
The General Assembly elects two Auditors. The Auditors are neither members of the Main Board nor members of the General Secretariat and work in an honorary capacity.
The Auditors check the respective annual accounts of the Association. They are also authorised to audit the finances and book-keeping of the Regional Branches.
The Auditors report their results to the General Assembly and on request to the Regional Chairmen's Committee.
(Statutes § 5 No. 6)