Statutes of the Non-Profit Organization Operation Auge e.V
§1 Name, registered office, fiscal year
1. The name of the association is "Operation Auge e.V." (registered association).
2. The registered office shall be in Leipzig, Germany. Any legal case arising against or on behalf of this association shall be heard in Leipzig.
3. The fiscal year corresponds with the calendar year.
§2 Purpose of the association
1. The aim of the association is to support public health care by means of:
a. Prevention: People intending to undergo refractive surgery shall have the opportunity to obtain a well-founded idea of the benefits and risks/complications associated with these operations.
b. Rehabilitation: People with complications after refractive surgery shall be offered a guide to take matters into their own hands. In this connection the association intends to give medical, psychological and legal support.
2. The aim of the association shall be realized particularly by means of an informative and communicative
internet platform including a discussion platform as well as the support of regional self-help groups.
3. The association is a non-party organization and shall follow the principles of religious and ideological tolerance.
§3 Non-profit status
1. The association shall solely and directly pursue charitable purposes as defined by the chapter about tax-privileged purposes of the German Fiscal Code ("Abgabenordnung").
2. The association is a non profit-making organization.
3. The funds of the association shall only be used for purposes in accordance with the Statutes. Members shall not receive money from these funds.
4. The members of the association shall work on an honorary basis. Therefore, no member shall be privileged by disproportionately high compensations or expenses not in accordance with the aim of the association.
5. Staff shall only be employed by the association, if the extent of work to be carried out is going to exceed
the reasonable level for an honorary capacity. The managing committee shall be responsible for the employment of staff.
§ 4 Members
1. The association has full, supporting and honorary members.
2. Full members shall participate in the work of the association on a regular basis.
3. Supporting members shall assist in the work of the association without participating on a regular basis.
They shall support the purposes of the association by providing funds, contribution in kind or personal services.
4. Legal entities shall only be accepted as supporting members.
5. Individuals may be granted the status of "honorary member" for extraordinary efforts in realizing the aims of the association.
§ 5 Obtaining membership
1. Every natural person may obtain the membership of the association. However, the applicant for full membership must have reached majority. The application of membership, including the type of membership, must be submitted in writing to the managing committee.
2. The honorary membership cannot be applied for.
3. The managing committee shall come to a decision regarding the application. The application may be denied without giving any reasons. There shall be no recourse to legal action.
§ 6 Terminating membership
1. The membership expires in case of:
- death (natural persons)
- dissolution (legal entities)
- cancelation of membership
- expulsion
2. The cancelation of membership must be submitted to the managing committee in writing.
The full membership shall be terminated upon three months´ notice; the supporting membership on the day of cancelation.
3. A member may be expelled by the managing committee based on good grounds, in particular if a member acts contrary to the purposes of the association.
4. All claims against the association shall expire with the termination of the membership.
This shall not affect the claims of the association.
§7 Other rights and obligations of members
1. Only full members shall be entitled to participate in the general assembly of members.
Every full member shall have one vote. The right to vote may not be transfered.
2. The members shall be obliged to support the aims of the association by all means.
They must not damage the reputation of the association by their actions. The members must respect the statutes, rules and regulations as well as the decisions of the association.
§8 Executive bodies of the association
The executive bodies are:
༂ general assembly of members
༂ managing committee
§9 General assembly of members
1. The general assembly of members shall be attended by the full members. The Assembly shall be held once a year and called by the managing committee four weeks in advance. The calling shall become effective as soon as the full members receive their notice in writing. A notice via e-mail is possible as well.
2. The managing committee may call special assemblies of members. A special assembly of members must be called upon the request by at least 25% of the full members. The calling procedure is identical with the calling of the general assembly of members.
3. Responsibilities of the general assembly of members:
- election of the members of the managing committee
- acceptance of the annual reports of the managing committee as well as approval of the committee
- approval of the budget
- determination of membership fees
- amendments to the Statutes
- dissolution of the association
Motions by members need to be submitted to the managing committee in writing at least eight weeks in advance. The motion may also be submitted via e-mail.
4. The general assembly of members may be held by deploying modern communication techniques and the corresponding media, e.g. chatrooms, e-mails, discussion platforms, phone conferences and short messages services. A vote submitted in this way is equivalent to a vote in the presence of a member.
5. Resolutions by the general assembly of members may also be passed without a meeting of the assembly but by questioning all full members in writing; the corresponding answers have to be submitted in writing as well, to which § 9 (4) of the Statutes shall be applicable. In this case the managing committee has to set time periods for casting one’s vote regarding all issues to vote on. The set time periods must exceed the period of one week. In the case of members having not cast their votes at the end of the set time period, these members are being treated like not having attended the general assembly of members.
6. In all cases resolutions shall be passed by majority decision.
7. Generally, the assembly of members shall pass resolutions by simple majority, unless stipulated otherwise by the law or statutory regulations. Abstentions and invalid votes shall not be taken into account.
8. The quorum required for a resolution is constituted by at least 50% of the full members. If there are less than 50% of the members present, a further assembly must be called. In this case the members must be informed that the new general assembly of members will be competent to pass a resolution regardless of the number of members attending.
9. The passing of a resolution aiming at the amendment of the
Statutes requires a majority of 75% of the votes cast.
10. The managing committee (with the aid of others) shall prepare
the minutes of the general assembly of the members containing the overall procedure as well as the decisions made during the meeting. The chairman of the committee must record the minutes of the meeting. The minutes need to be sent to the members within a period of one week. The regulations set out in §9 (4) of the Statutes shall be applicable.
§ 10 Managing Committee
1. The managing committee shall specify the details of the activities of the association in accordance with the resolutions passed by the general assembly of members. The Committee is composed of:
- Chairman of the Committee
- Deputy Chairman
- Treasurer
The chairman of the managing committee shall also function as the executive secretary of the association. The latter two positions may also be performed by a single member of the managing committee. According to § 26 BGB (German Civil Code), every committee member may individually represent the association in and out of court.
2. The members of the Committee shall be elected separately by the general assembly of the members for a term of one year. In the case of a candidate not gaining a simple majority of the votes on the first ballot, a second ballot shall be held requiring only a relative majority of the votes.
3. The members of the Committee shall remain in office until a successor is appointed. Individual members of the Committee may be removed from office by the decision of a general or special assembly of members.
4. The chairman of the Committee or the deputy chairman in absence of the former shall call and preside at the meetings of the Committee. The meetings shall be held whenever necessary. Upon request of at least one committee member the chairman of the Committee must call a meeting of the Committee immediately.
5. § 9 (4) of these Statutes shall also be applicable for the meetings of the Committee. A vote on the Committee level shall require a simple majority of the votes. In the event of an equality of votes the chairman shall have the casting vote.
6. In the case of a committee member resigning office early a special assembly of members shall be called within a period of two weeks in order to hold a by-election.
§ 11 Financing of the association
1. Full members shall pay membership fees on a regular basis. The general assembly of members shall decide on the amount and frequency of payable fees.
2. Supporting and honorary members shall not be obliged to pay membership fees. Supporting members shall support the association by providing funds, contribution in kind or personal services.
3. The association shall finance its activities with the fees paid by its full and supporting members, assessments, donations, and other funds as long as they comply with the non-profit regulations of the association.
§ 12 Dissolution of the association
1. Only a special assembly of members which is called solely for this purpose shall decide by resolution about the dissolution of the association. The dissolution order requires a majority of 75% of the votes.
2. In case of dissolution of the association the officiating chairman of the Committee at the time the dissolution order is passed shall function as the liquidator unless the assembly of members appoints another liquidator.
3. In case of dissolution of the association or in the event that the purposes of the association are no longer eligible for tax relief the association’s property shall be passed to a public law entity or another tax-privileged corporation for the specific purpose of supporting public health care. The assembly of members shall decide by resolution on the specific purpose. This resolution shall require the same majority as the amendment of the Statutes.
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