AGA-Society for Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery

Articles of Association of the AGA

AGA-Society for Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery was founded in 1983.

Articles of Association of the AGA

1. Duties and responsibilities of the AGA

AGA is a scientific society according to article 60 of the German Civil Code and is registered in Zurich, Switzerland. The AGA sets out to foster close contact among physicians practising arthroscopy and provide a forum for mutual exchange of ideas. Moreover, it aims to establish contacts with other societies whose interests coincide or overlap with its own. Special foci of the AGA are the scientific and practical aspects of the practice of arthroscopy and the recruitment and training of interested physicians. The AGA can enter into official agreements of cooperation with professional societies from the countries represented by its membership.

2. Membership

The AGA comprises full members, corresponding members, honorary members, and supporting members.

Full membership: Only physicians who have already practiced arthroscopy or intend to practice arthroscopy may receive full membership of the AGA. Only full members are eligible to become officers of the Association.

Junior membership (up to 28 years of age): Junior members are entitled to free admission to congresses of the AGA (on production of certificate of matriculation). They receive no printed literature nor online version.

Senior membership (from 65 years of age): Senior members are entitled to free admission to congresses of the AGA and receive the print edition of the journal Arthroskopie.

Corresponding membership: Corresponding members are appointed at the suggestion of one or more full members and must be approved unanimously by the Executive Committee. Corresponding membership is intended to honour persons, particularly non-German speakers, who have contact with the AGA and have rendered special services to arthroscopy. Corresponding members are not entitled to vote and are exempt from membership fees.

Honorary membership: Honorary members are appointed in recognition of their special services to arthroscopy. They are selected and approved in the same way as described above for corresponding members. Honorary members are entitled to vote but are exempt from membership fees.

Supporting membership: Any person or corporation with an interest in arthroscopy can become a supporting member. Supporting members pay membership fees but have no entitlement to vote.

3. Resignation and exclusion

Membership lapses:

(a) By written notice of resignation to the Executive Committee after payment of the membership fee and at least 3 months before the end of the calendar year
(b) By deletion from the membership registry, in the event of failure to fulfil financial obligations to the Association
(c) By exclusion, which requires a three-quarters majority in a ballot of the voting members present at a General Meeting

4. General Meeting

The General Meeting is the supreme organ of the Association and generally takes place on the occasion of the AGA Annual Congress. The Executive Committee announces the agenda and sends invitations to the General Meeting at least 10 days in advance. A General Meeting can also be called if one-third of the voting members so request in writing. Resolutions at the General Meeting are passed by a simple majority of the voting members present. Voting is by show of hands. Membership of the Executive Committee may be decided by ballot.

5. Executive Committee

The business affairs of the Association are conducted by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and no more than 10 further committee members.
The officers -- President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer -- prepare the Association’s business affairs for discussion by the Executive Committee.
Competence of the Executive Committee requires the presence of at least half its members. Members of the Executive Committee are elected by a simple majority of the voting members present for a period of 2 years. The Executive Committee shold include members from all of the German-speaking countries.
The President may be re-elected for only one further period of 2 years. At the end of his term of office he automatically becomes an ordinary member of the Executive Committee for the next 2-year period.The Vice-President is the President-Elect for the next period of office but one. He deputizes for the President in all functions.
The period of office of an ordinary member of the Executive Committee should not exceed 6 years. The Executive Committee may entrust AGA members with special tasks. Such members are co-opted onto the Executive Committee and invited to its meetings as required. They have an advisory function without voting rights.
The Executive Committee may decide to form subcommittees.

6. Finances

a) The fiscal year of the Association runs from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.
b) The annual accounts are inspected by auditors elected from among the membership of the Association for a period of 2 years by the General Meeting. Alternatively professional auditors or other competent persons may be chosen; these individuals do not have to be AGA members.

7. Membership fees

The membership fees are determined by a simple majority at the General Meeting. Fees are paid per calendar year (1 January to 31 December).

8.Amendment of Articles of Association

Suggestions for amendments to the Articles of Association must be submitted to the President 6 weeks before the General Meeting and be sent to all members with the agenda for the meeting. Amendments require a two-thirds majority at the General Meeting.

9.Dissolution of the Association

AGA can be dissolved only with the agreement of three-quarters of all members present. The agenda distributed to the members must include the corresponding resolution and suggestions for disposal of the Association’s assets. These assets should accrue to scientific or charitable institutions. Reimbursement to the members is excluded.

These Articles of Association were accepted on 23 September 2011 by the General Meeting in Regenburg, Germany. They replace the version of 10 September 2010.
Dr. Hermann Mayr Prof. Philipp Lobenhoffer Dr. Christoph Lampert
President Secretary Teasurer

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