Statutes of Society of Virology e.V.

Amended version dated May 27, 2022.
The masculine term also expressly applies to female persons.

§ 1 Name and Registered Office

1. the association bears the name "Society of Virology", abbreviated GfV; it is registered in the register of associations.
2. The registered office of the society is Erlangen.

§ 2 Purpose of the Association

The purpose of the Society is:
a) the Funding of science and research in all fields of virology through the propagation and exchange of knowledge, especially in German-speaking countries. This shall be achieved, among other things, through scientific meetings, Funding publication and cooperation with other scientific societies.
b) the Funding of professional training within the framework of academic teaching and training as well as specialist further training.
c) the Funding of public health care with regard to the prevention and control of communicable diseases by performing tasks in the field of indirect health care and prophylaxis. The GfV offers advisory services and information to scientific institutions, research-promoting organisations and committees of politics and society, as well as to the public, as far as aspects of virology, academic education and professional training are concerned.

The association exclusively and directly pursues charitable purposes in the sense of the section "tax-privileged purposes" of the tax code. The Association is a non-profit organisation; it shall not primarily pursue its own economic purposes. The Association's funds may only be used for purposes in accordance with the Statutes. Members shall not receive any benefits from the Association's funds. No person may be favoured by expenses that are external to the purpose of the association or by disproportionately high remuneration.

All services of the association are provided voluntarily; there is no legal claim to services of the association.

§ 3 Membership

The Association shall have full members, student members and supporting members. Suitable personalities may be appointed honorary members or corresponding members.

The Executive Committee shall decide on admission. The written application (also in electronic form) shall be addressed to the President. Prerequisite for the admission of a natural person as a full member is a university degree in natural sciences or medicine or comparable academic degrees. Personalities of high international standing may be elected honorary members by the General Assembly upon proposal of the Executive Committee and the Advisory Board. The Executive Board may appoint specialist colleagues as corresponding members.

3. ordinary membership shall be terminated at the end of the financial year by written notice of resignation. Formal expulsion is possible if a member is more than 2 years in arrears with the payment of dues due despite a written reminder. Expulsion by resolution of the Executive Committee is possible if a member acts contrary to the aims and purposes of the Society. The exclusion shall be declared to the member by registered letter to the last address known to the Association. The person concerned shall be given a hearing. An objection to the exclusion may be lodged within one month, on which the Executive Committee and the Advisory Council shall decide by simple majority. The decision to appeal must be justified in writing and communicated by registered letter. No monetary or in-kind benefits shall be refunded upon termination of membership.

4. contributions shall be levied on ordinary members, the amount of which shall be determined by the general meeting. The annual subscription shall be due on 1 January, or within one month if joining during the course of the year. Retired members may, on application, be granted a waiver of the subscription after due consideration by the Treasurer. The Executive Committee may set a reduced fee for student members.

§ 4 Income and expenses

1. the income of the Association shall consist of a) contributions, b) donations, c) other contributions, d) income from the assets of the Association. The assets and income of the Association must be used exclusively and directly for the purposes listed in § 2. Income and expenditure shall be accounted for in accordance with the tax regulations for non-profit status. The Executive Board shall decide on the investment of the Association's assets.

2. a contribution towards expenses may be charged for participation in meetings of the Society, which shall be determined by the Meetings Committee in consultation with the President. A fixed amount may be made available for the organisation of working conferences by decision of the Executive Committee. Symposia and other events may additionally be financially supported according to the financial situation. Members of the organs according to § 5 may be reimbursed for travel expenses and granted daily and overnight allowances according to the rates of the public service upon request.

§ 5 Organs

The bodies of the association are the General Assembly, the Executive Board, the Advisory Board, commissions and Junge GfV. All bodies work on a voluntary basis. The bodies may adopt rules of procedure.

§ 6 General Assembly

The General Assembly shall be convened by the Executive Committee once a year, usually at the time of a meeting. The invitation with the agenda shall be sent by personal email to each member at least 3 weeks before the General Assembly. Each ordinary member may submit written proposals to the President up to two weeks before the date of the meeting, which shall be included in the agenda.

Resolutions of the General Assembly shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes cast by the full members present, unless otherwise provided by the Statutes or by law. Minutes shall be taken of the resolutions and shall be signed by the President and the Secretary.

3. resolutions may also be passed in writing outside a meeting if this is requested by at least 1/3 of the ordinary members or by the entire Board of Directors, stating the reason.

4. the ordinary general meeting decides in particular on:
a) the election regulations.
b) the discharge of the Executive Board, as soon as the business and cash audit of the previous business period has been reported and the accounts have been verified.
c) the election of 2 auditors for the next business period from among the members.
d) Amendments to the Statutes. These are also possible by written procedure with a 2/3 majority of the votes cast. Proposals for amendments to the Statutes may be submitted to the Executive Board by ordinary members.
e) The establishment and abolition of working groups dealing scientifically with special topics of virology.

5. § 7 para. 3 shall apply mutatis mutandis to written resolutions.

§ 7 Board of Directors

1. the Executive Board consists of the President, the two Vice Presidents, the Secretary and the Treasurer, who are elected from among the ordinary members, as well as the spokesperson of "Junge GfV". The Executive Board manages the business of the Association. The President and the two Vice Presidents are each solely authorized to represent the Association within the meaning of Section 26 (2) BGB. Vice Presidents may only make use of their sole power of representation internally if the President is unable to do so.

The Executive Board is responsible for convening and chairing the meetings of the Advisory Council and the General Assemblies. It shall be responsible for the content of the scientific congresses in consultation with a local conference committee. The Executive Board shall report to the General Assembly on its activities.

3. the President, the two Vice Presidents, the Secretary and the Treasurer are elected for 3 years by the ordinary members. The details of the elections are determined by the election regulations. The election regulations are decided by the General Assembly. The election committee is responsible for the correct conduct of the election and records the voting results in an election protocol. This must be communicated to all members. One re-election in immediate succession for the office of President is permitted; unlimited re-election is possible for all other Board members. The candidate who receives the most votes is elected.

4. after the expiry of the term of office, members of the Executive Board shall remain in office until a new Executive Board is elected. If the President retires during the election period, the first or second Vice-President shall take his place. If other members of the Executive Board resign during the election period, the Advisory Council may appoint temporary members of the Executive Board for the remainder of the election period.

§ 8 Advisory Board

The advisory board consists of 10 persons elected by the ordinary members and the chairpersons of Committees. The Advisory Board shall be elected for a period of 3 years, whereby the election shall generally take place electronically in accordance with § 7 para. 3. Unlimited re-election shall be possible for the office of an Advisory Board member.
Upon proposal of the Executive Board, the Advisory Board can be elected en bloc. The most recently retired President shall participate in the joint meetings of the Executive Board and the Advisory Council with voting rights. All other former Presidents may attend the meetings of the Executive Board and the Advisory Council in an advisory capacity.

2. the acting President shall, by virtue of his office, be the Chairman of the Advisory Board and shall have the power to delegate tasks to the members of the Advisory Board. Joint meetings of the Executive Board and the Advisory Board shall be held twice a year. They shall be convened by the Executive Board, announcing the agenda and the place of the meeting. The Board has a quorum when half of its members are present. Decisions shall be taken by a simple majority of the votes cast.

(3) Matters which are not clearly assigned to other bodies by the Statutes or by law shall be decided by the Board and the Advisory Council.

§ 9 Committees

1. permanent Committees are formed for special tasks. Typical areas of responsibility are, for example: a) research and young scientists, b) teaching, further education and training, c) diagnostics and epidemiology, d) immunisation, e) virus safety, f) chemotherapy, g) genetic engineering and biological safety, h) plant virology.

As a rule, a commission consists of a chairperson and other members. The chairpersons of Committees are elected at a general meeting on the proposal of the Executive Committee. Colleagues who do not belong to the GfV may be appointed as members of Committees . The permanent Committees cooperate with other specialist societies and with corresponding committees of the German Association for the Control of Viral Diseases (DVV). Joint Committees may also be formed with other scientific specialist societies. The members of Committees are appointed by the Executive Board and Advisory Board.

§ 10 Young gfv

1. the young GfV is an association of young and junior scientists as well as junior group leaders within the GfV and offers a network for scientific support as well as career planning for young virologists. The young GfV is a superordinate organization of the GfV working groups.
2. the young GfV Board consists of the main responsible leaders of each working group, as well as two representatives of the young virologists (up to 3 years after doctorate or up to 5 years after licensure). Other leaders of the working groups can be admitted to the young GfV Board for active participation upon application, whereby the Board decides on these applications. The heads of the working groups are generally elected for three years within the GfV working groups. The two representatives of the young virologists are elected annually by the young virologists who are GfV members. The young GfV Board elects a spokesperson from the members of the Board, who performs this task until they leave the Board. If there is a legitimate interest for jGfV (e.g. to ensure continuity in the event of a simultaneous change in the GfV Executive Committee), the spokesperson may remain active for a transitional period of up to one year by resolution of the young GfV Board.
3. The young GfV Board is responsible for performing tasks in the interests of the young GfV and representing it on the GfV Board. The Board consults at joint meetings, which are usually held virtually and to which the spokesperson issues invitations at least one week in advance. Resolutions are passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by the Board members present.

§ 11 Financial year

The financial year shall be the calendar year.

§ 12 Dissolution

Proceedings for the dissolution of the Society may only be initiated if supported by 1/3 of the ordinary members of the Society. A request to initiate the procedure for dissolution must be made in writing to the Executive Committee. All members must be informed immediately by personal email of such a request. At the same time, members shall be invited to vote yes or no to the motion within the following 4 weeks. If 1/3 of the full members agree, this motion will be put to a vote by the Executive Committee at the next General Assembly (§6,1). A resolution of 2/3 of the votes cast by the members present is required for dissolution. The resolution on dissolution must also contain to whom the existing assets of the Association are to be allocated after liquidation. In the event of the dissolution of the Association or in the event of the discontinuation of tax-privileged purposes, the assets of the Association shall fall to a legal entity under public law or another tax-privileged corporation for the purpose of using them for the Funding of science and research.

§ 13 Final provisions

Unless otherwise stipulated in the Articles of Association, the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB) apply.
Adopted in Nuremberg on July 9, 1990,
amended and adopted by the members' vote on May 27, 2022.

Prof. Dr. Sandra Ciesek, Secretary

Prof. Dr. Ralf Bartenschlager, President