Preamble

The European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) considers itself a pioneer in the field of neuroendocrine tumors (NET).

International research, collaboration, and education in the field of NEN are all major concerns of ENETS.

Through our collaborative and multidisciplinary approach, we strive to raise awareness of these rare diseases, improve all aspects of treatment and quality of life for patients with NET, and promote the best standards of care for NET patients worldwide.

Article 1: Name, Seat, Fiscal Year

(1) The Society shall bear the name “European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society e.V. (ENETS)”.

(2) The Society shall have its seat in Berlin.

(3) The Society shall be entered in the Register of Societies.

(4) The fiscal year of the Society shall correspond with the calendar year.

Article 2: Purpose of the Society

The purpose of the Society is to promote science and research as well as continuing education in the field of neuroendocrine tumor diseases. The Society’s activities shall be purely scientific.

The primary purpose of the Society with respect to the promotion of science and research will be accomplished through:

  • carrying out independent European and international research projects involving European experts as well as accompanying research projects of other institutions
  • developing high-quality specifications for the ENETS Centers of Excellence (CoE)
  • support of scientists and researchers by awarding grants and by accompanying research projects
  • the promotion of research through the raising of funds and the establishment of endowed professorships,
  • recruiting and establishing endowed professorships
  • scientific evaluation of pseudonymised data from the ENETS Database
  • publishing research results
  • transferring research results into European consensus guidelines
  • creating and expanding a clinician and research network
  • organising and hosting conferences, symposia, colloquia, courses, and seminars.

The Society’s primary purpose with respect to the continuing education will be accomplished through:

  • Continuing education and training, and general information activities in the field of neuroendocrine tumour diseases,
  • soliciting public international funding as well as funding from German and foreign commercial enterprises,
  • providing physical, hybrid and/or virtual learning and training content,
  • disseminating validated scientific advances in postgraduate courses for clinicians working in health care,
  • disseminating new research findings to the public and patient organisations,
  • promoting networking opportunities for European NET experts in Europe and beyond,
  • cooperation/collaboration with national and international patient organisations,
  • promoting a uniform and qualified NEN expert training in Europe and beyond.

Article 3: Non-profit Status

(1) The Society shall solely and directly pursue charitable purposes as defined by the chapter about tax-privileged purposes of the German Fiscal Code.

(2) The Society’s activities are not self-seeking. It does not pursue its own profit as a primary object. The Society’s funds shall only be used for purposes in accordance with these Bylaws.

(3) The members of the Society shall receive no remuneration from the Society’s financial assets. No member shall be privileged by disproportionately high compensation or expenses not in accordance with the purposes of the Society.

(4) In the event of dissolution of the Society or revocation of the non-profit status, the assets of the Society shall be transferred to Deutsche Krebshilfe e.V., which shall use these assets directly and exclusively for non-profitable purposes in accordance with the German Fiscal Code.

Article 4: Membership

(1) Any natural or legal person under private or public law, regardless of their nationality or domicile, as well as other associations of individuals (Institutional Members) may become members of the Society. Members who are natural persons shall show an interest in clinical research in the field of neuroendocrine tumor diseases.

(2) Membership admission follows the decision of the Extended Executive Committee and is based on a written application accompanied by a letter of recommendation from a member or an Institutional Member of the Society.

(3) The membership terminates after the death (natural person) or dissolution (legal entity) of a member as well as following the cancelation of membership or exclusion from the Society.

(4) Members may cancel their membership with four months’ notice to the end of a calendar year; all cancelation requests must be submitted in writing to the Society.

(5) A member who grossly damages the interests of the Society, or who, despite repeated requests for payment, is one year in arrears in the payment of their membership fee, may be expelled from the Society following a decision by the Extended Executive Committee; prior to this the respective member must be given an opportunity to respond and object to the decision before the exclusion becomes effective. The Extended Executive Committee shall be obliged to substantiate in writing its decision and submit it to the respective member. The expelled member shall have the right to appeal at the next Ordinary General Assembly. The appeal shall be made in writing to the Executive Committee within 30 days after receipt of the decision. The member’s rights shall be suspended until the General Assembly has reached its final decision.

Article 5: Membership Fees and other Funding

(1) Members shall pay an annual membership fee which becomes due at the beginning of each calendar year.

(2) The amount of the annual membership fee shall be established by the General Assembly.

(3) In justified individual cases or groups of cases, especially with regard to members who still undergo training or who are not fully employed, the Extended Executive Committee may decide to release those members, either partially or fully, from their liability to pay contributions.

(4) Institutional members may be allowed to make donations in kind following a unanimous decision by the Extended Executive Committee.

(5) In addition to membership fees the Society may raise public and private funds and donations within the scope of its networking purposes.

Article 6: Organs

The organs of the Society are:

  • the Executive Committee and the Extended Executive Committee,
  • the General Assembly,
  • the Advisory Board.

Article 7: Executive Committee and Extended Executive Committee

(1) The Executive Committee comprises the Chair, the Vice Chair, and the Treasurer. The Vice Chair also acts as Recording Clerk in every meeting of the Committee. The Society shall be represented, in court and out of court, by at least two members of the Executive Committee acting jointly.

(2) The Extended Committee consists of ten members. In addition to the Executive Committee pursuant to Art. 7, para. 1 of the Bylaws, it includes seven additional members.

(3) Due both the Society’s international sphere of influence and international membership, the Executive Committee and the Extended Executive Committee may consist exclusively of non-German members. Eligibility for election to the Executive Committee and Extended Executive Committee is contingent upon a previous membership in the Advisory Board or an ENETS working group for at least two years.

(4) The individual members of the Executive Committee and the Extended Executive Committee shall be elected by the General Assembly for a period of two years. Re-election of the Treasurer is permitted for up to two terms of office. Membership in the Extended Executive Committee shall be limited to two terms of office. The limitations on terms of office outlined above shall not apply to the designated Chair-elect.

A member of the Executive Committee and/or the Extended Executive Committee shall remain in office after expiry of his term of office until he is removed from office or his successor is appointed. The Chair shall become Vice Chair after the end of the term of office. Upon termination of the term of office as Vice Chair, the latter shall stand down to the Advisory Board in order to enable the election of a new member of the Executive Committee. Notwithstanding sentences 6 and 8, no re-election or confirmation by the General Assembly shall take place during the term of office of Chair and Vice Chair.

(5) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the correct accounting and sound financial operation of the Society. He or she shall prepare the Annual Treasurer’s Report.

(6) With regard to special tasks, in particular the supervision of special research projects and other Society-related tasks, the Extended Executive Committee may appoint project and research representatives from among the Society’s members. The Extended Executive Committee may appoint a Managing Director and other personnel, if necessary, with a view to assisting the Extended Executive Committee in the fulfilment of its tasks. The Managing Director shall attend the Executive Committee meetings without voting rights. The Board of Directors may grant him/her a power of attorney which entitles him/her to represent the Society together with another member of the Executive Committee in accordance with § 26 of the German Civil Code (BGB).

(7) A minimum of six members of the Extended Executive Committee constitutes a quorum. Resolutions require a simple majority of the votes cast.

(8) The Bylaws of the Society may be amended by resolution of the Extended Executive Committee, in as much as the amendments are relevant for the entry in the Register of Societies and the establishment of non-profit status.

(9) The Extended Executive Committee shall convene a meeting at least once a year. Such meetings can also be held by video or telephone conference. If required or if demanded by at least two members of the Extended Executive Committee, the Chair shall convene a meeting specifying its agenda. The Chair shall conduct the meetings. The meetings shall be recorded in written minutes by a Recording Clerk and be co-signed by the Chair.

(10) The Extended Executive Committee may also pass resolutions by circulation in so far as all members of the Extended Executive Committee agree to this procedure.

(11) The Extended Executive Committee may establish Rules of Procedure.

Article 8: Advisory Board

(1) An Advisory Board shall advise and assist the Extended Executive Committee. Due to the need for a multidisciplinary approach for the diagnosis and management of neuroendocrine tumors, appointments to the Advisory Board must reflect a balanced representation of all disciplines working in the field of neuroendocrine tumors and include clinicians, basic researchers, and early-career scientists; in addition, two nurses nominated by the ENETS Nurse and Dietician Group and up to two patient representatives may serve on the Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board consists of 40 European members (including Israel), with no more than five members from one country.

Members of the Advisory Board (who must have been members of the Society for two years at the time of their appointment) shall be appointed by the Executive Committee for a period of two years at a time; they may be re-appointed once for a further two years. Depending on the needs of the Society, the Executive Committee may decide to reduce or increase the number of Advisory Board members.

(2) Members of the Executive Committee may not concurrently serve as members of the Advisory Board. Employees of pharmaceutical companies are not eligible to actively participate in ENETS Steering Committees or Working Groups and/or apply for such positions.

(3) The Executive Committee shall propose potential new Advisory Board candidates for the Advisory Board election to the General Assembly; after the election, the Executive Committee shall appoint the new members of the Advisory Board, taking into account both the votes received and the national and disciplinary balance of the Advisory Board.

(4) The members of the Advisory Board shall elect a Chair (Speaker of the Advisory Board) from among their ranks. The Advisory Board Chair shall be entitled to attend all Executive Committee meetings without voting rights.

(5) The Advisory Board shall convene at least once a year either physically, virtually or in a hybrid setting prior to the General Assembly. The Chair of the Society may participate in these meetings. The Chair is not eligible to vote on decisions made by the Advisory Board. The Speaker of the Advisory Board may convey the results of the Advisory Board’s meeting at the General Assembly.

(6) The Executive Committee may, in consultation with the Advisory Board Chair, establish rules of procedure for the Advisory Board.

Article 9: General Assembly

(1) The General Assembly is responsible for all tasks assigned to it by law, in particular for:

a) the election and the dismissal of all members of the Executive Committee and the Extended Executive Committee,

b) the election of two Auditors,

c) the amendment of the Bylaws,

d) the receipt of the Annual Report of the Executive Committee and receipt of the Audit Report,

e) the discharge of the Executive Committee,

f) the definition of membership fees,

g) decisions on appeals against exclusion resolutions by the Executive Committee,

h) dissolution of the Society.

(2) The General Assembly shall take place once a year, if possible during the first quarter of each year. It shall be convened in writing, either electronically or by mail, by the Extended Executive Committee in compliance with a time limit of 21 days stating the agenda. The letter of invitation is presumed to have been received by the member on the day following the transmission of the electronic invitation or by the third day following the delivery of the invitation by mail, on the condition that it has been sent to the Society member’s last known mailing or electronic address. Motions for supplementing the agenda put forward at the General Assembly shall be decided by the Assembly. The Chair or the Vice Chair shall preside over the Assembly. The proceedings of the General Assembly shall be recorded in written minutes. These minutes shall be signed by both the Recording Clerk and the Chair of the Assembly.

(3) The Extended Executive Committee may convene an Extraordinary General Assembly at any time. An Extraordinary General Assembly must be convened on the written and motivated request of at least one tenth of the members. The provisions and forms of election pertaining to the Ordinary General Assembly shall also apply to the Extraordinary General Assembly.

(4) At the General Assembly each attending member not in arrears with the payment of his or her membership fee shall have one vote. Votes by proxy are limited to physical General Assemblies. The presence of one tenth of the members at the General Assembly shall constitute a quorum. Members represented by proxy are considered as members present.

(5) Should the General Assembly not constitute a quorum, the Chair or Vice-Chair presiding over the General Assembly may convene a further General Assembly 15 minutes following the determination of a lack of a quorum. Such further General Assembly shall have a quorum regardless of the number of members present, pending a reference to the conventions of such further General Assembly has been made in the invitation to the General Assembly (Art. 9, Sect. 2) or for the extraordinary General Assembly (Art. 9, Sect. 3).

(6) Amendments to these Bylaws shall be passed by a simple majority of the members participating in the General Assembly setting (physical, virtual, hybrid).

(7) Resolutions require a simple majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy, unless stipulated otherwise by law or in these Bylaws.

Article 9a: Online or Hybrid General Assembly

The General Assembly can, by decision of the Executive Committee, also be held in virtual form as an Online or Hybrid General Assembly. A hybrid format allows a physical meeting with virtual remote participation (via a closed system) for those members who cannot attend the physical meeting.

The Hybrid as well as the Online General Assemblies can be carried out according to the principles of a closed user group in a chat room or another closed system to which only members have access by entering their legitimation data and an access word that is only valid for the General Assembly. For the invitation to the Hybrid or Online General Meeting, § 9 No. 2 sentences 2 and 3 of the Bylaws shall apply. Further details shall be specified in rules of assembly to be issued by the Executive Board.

Article 10: Dissolution of the Society

(1) The dissolution of the Society may only be determined by the General Assembly.

(2) In so far as the General Assembly shall not decide otherwise, the Chair and the other members of the Executive Committee shall each have the sole power of representation to act as liquidator.

Article 11: Additional Regulations

Any matters which are not covered by the aforementioned Bylaws shall be subject to the provisions laid out in Articles 21 et seq. of the German Civil Code and the German Code of Societies.