§ 1. Name, Seat, Venue
§ 1.1. The name of this organisation is European Federation for Experimental Morphology, abbreviated EFEM
§ 1.2. Seat of EFEM
The legal seat of EFEM is Fribourg, Switzerland. The seat of EFEM for routine business is in the office of the Secretary General of EFEM.
§ 1.3. Venue is Fribourg, Switzerland.
§ 2. Objectives
§ 2.1. EFEM is an international, non-governmental scientific organisation.
§ 2.2. The purpose of EFEM shall be the advancement of science and education related to experimental morphology. This purpose is to be realized especially by:
§ 2.2.1 promoting the exchange and diffusion of information relating to morphological sciences between morphologists and between the national/regional societies of morphology,
§ 2.2.2 facilitating the dissemination of information about the activities of Constituent Societies,
§ 2.2.3 encouraging the holding of joint meetings of two or more Constituent Societies,
§ 2.2.4 facilitating the participation of scientists in meetings of Constituent Societies other than their own,
§ 2.2.5 advancing knowledge in the experimental morphological disciplines by supporting and providing suitable mechanisms for scientific training,
§ 2.2.6 supporting and stimulating international scientific research projects,
§ 2.2.7 advancing the exchange of graduate students and scientists,
§ 2.2.8 promoting and facilitating information exchange between Constituent Societies on issues and policies relating to morphological education,
§ 2.2.9 supporting the activities and the efforts of TEPARG to improve the quality of teaching and to increase the professionalism of teachers in the domain of morphological sciences,
§ 2.2.10 promoting and facilitating training programmes in morphological education,
§ 2.2.11 fostering the harmonisation of views between Constituent Societies in relation to European policies on morphological education,
§ 2.2.12 expressing the position of its Constituent Members in ethical debates taking place at the level of supranational authorities, and pertaining to morphology,
§ 2.2.13 supporting an EFEM Lecture, given biannually by a scientist of high international standing,
§ 2.2.14 promoting the publication of material relevant to the objectives of EFEM.
§ 2.3. In pursuing these objectives, EFEM shall observe the basic policy of non-discrimination and affirm the rights of scientists throughout the world to adhere to or to associate with international scientific activities without regard to race, religion, political philosophy, ethnic origin, citizenship, language or sex. EFEM shall recognize and respect the independence of the internal planning of its Constituent Societies.
§ 2.4. EFEM and its Constituent Societies adhere to the principles of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and to the resolution regarding the free circulation of scientists of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).
§ 2.5. EFEM works altruistically; its aims are entirely non-profit making.
§ 3. Membership and Administration
§ 3.1. Membership
EFEM shall consist of the following classes of membership
§ 3.1.1. Member Societies of two types, i.e.
a. Constituent Societies, i.e. societies with legal seats in the European region which are concerned with the morphological sciences, and
b. Associated Societies, i.e. societies and groups in the European region with interests that include aspects of experimental morphology or deal with related fields of science.
§ 3.1.2. Corporate Members
§ 3.2. A Constituent Society comprises a (national or regional) society which appropriately represents those concerned with scientific studies in the realm of experimental morphology. Any Constituent Society shall have a general assembly which is its deliberating body of the society.
§ 3.3. Individual members of the Constituent Societies of EFEM have ipso facto access to the business of EFEM.
§ 3.4. A responsible officer of each Constituent Society will biannually send a list of the individual members to the Secretary General of EFEM.
§ 3.5. New admissions on written application of societies or corporations to membership of EFEM are to be decided by its Council, provided that the society or corporation making the application has lodged full details and documentation of its activities with the Secretary General at least three months before the Council meeting. A challenged applicant for membership has the right to appeal to the Council within one month after notification of the rejection; at the next Council Meeting the final decision is made.
§ 3.6. Corporate Membership may be extended to any corporation, partnership, foundation, society or other organisation that contribute to EFEM annually a sum fixed by the Executive Board. Corporate Members will receive all material distributed by EFEM to its Constituent Societies. Corporate Membership shall be recognized in the publications of EFEM.
§ 3.7. An elected Constituent Society or an elected Corporate Member of EFEM will only be entitled to membership of the Federation on notification by the Treasurer to the Secretary General that the appropriate first (subscription) dues have been received.
§ 4. Termination of membership
§ 4.1. The membership terminates due to the dissolution of a Constituent Society.
§ 4.2. The membership terminates by withdrawal.
Any Constituent Society and Corporate Member is free to withdraw from EFEM at a meeting of the Council, provided notice of such withdrawal has been communicated to the Secretary General at least three months before that meeting.
§ 4.3. The membership terminates by exclusion of the Constituent Society.
The Council may, with the agreement of a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of the Council, expel any Constituent Society or Corporate Member which has failed to fulfil its obligations. The member is to be reminded twice in writing; in the second reminder it has to be pointed out that exclusion is imminent. The excluded member has got the right to appeal to the Council within one month after notification of the exclusion (undeliverable mail is effective as notified if the decision has been sent to the last known address); at the next Council meeting the final decision will be made. Up to this decision the rights of the member remain out of force.
The excluded member cannot raise any claims against the property of EFEM.
§ 5. Council
§ 5.1. The Council of EFEM shall be the governing body and the legal trustee of all property of EFEM.
§ 5.2. The duty of the Council is to set the policy and to supervise the affairs of EFEM. The Council shall have all judicial and executive functions.
§ 5.3. Each Constituent Society shall nominate one Delegate to the Council. The term of a Delegate shall be four years, she/he may be renominated for one more term. Each Delegate to the Council has one vote provided that the Constituent Society to which the Delegate belongs is in good standing with respect to the payment of dues (and other payments) to the EFEM.
§ 5.4. Each Associated Society shall nominate one Observer to the Council.
§ 5.5. The members of the Executive Board of EFEM shall be, ex officio, full members of the Council with the right to vote.
§ 5.6. Among the specific duties of the Council shall be:
§ 5.6.1. to elect Constituent Societies and Corporate Members of EFEM
§ 5.6.2. to elect the members of the Executive Board of EFEM
§ 5.6.3. to elect the Nominating Committee
§ 5.6.4. to ratify the action of the Executive Board
§ 5.6.5. to vote on changes in the statutes and regulations as recommended by the Executive Board
§ 5.7. The Council may appoint committees for specific purposes, e.g. meetings, publications, exchange and educational programs.
§ 5.8. There shall be one Regular Meeting of the Council annually. Additional meetings, called Special Meetings, may be held at the recommendation of the majority of the Executive Board or of at least five Constituent Societies.
§ 5.9. The Regular Meetings of the Council shall rotate venues across Europe to ensure, wherever practical, that they occur coincident with a scientific meeting of one of the Constituent member Societies of the EFEM.
§ 5.10. If the Regular Meeting is not held in any one calendar year, then a Special Meeting is to be held at the recommendation of a majority of the Executive Board or the Delegates of at least five Constituent Societies in the first four months of the following year. In this delayed Meeting, the cause that prevented the holding in time of the Regular Meeting should be considered and resolved.
§ 5.11. Except where explicitly stated otherwise in these Statutes, any matter to be decided by the Council shall be decided by a simple majority vote of those present and voting at a meeting of the Council. An official mail or e-mail ballot shall be circulated only upon approval by the majority of the Executive Board and shall be binding only if two-thirds of the Council Members respond and two-thirds of the respondents register approval of the ballot in question.
§ 5.12. Upon the recommendation of the President at the start of his period of office, the Council may co-opt not more than three former Officers/Delegates to serve in the Council for a period not exceeding two years. Such co-opted members of Council are without voting rights in Council.
§ 6. Executive Board
§ 6.1. The Executive Board includes eight ordinary members and two extra-ordinary members without voting rights. The ordinary members are the Officers of the Federation - the President, the immediate Past-President, the President-Elect, the Secretary-General, the Treasurer and the three Secretaries. The two extra-ordinary members are the President of the TEPARG and the member of the Committee of Swiss Society of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology designated to attend the meetings of the Executive Board.
§ 6.2. During their term, none of these Officers shall be the Delegate of the Constituent Society of which she/he is a member.
§ 6.3. The Executive Board shall meet following the call of the Secretary-General on behalf of the President, the President-Elect, or the immediate Past-President, in that order.
§ 6.4. Four members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum.
§ 6.5. The Executive Board shall make decisions by majority vote.Where there is a tied vote, the President of the EFEM has the casting vote to enable a decision to be made.
§ 6.6. The Executive Board may act on behalf of the Council in intervals between Regular Meetings of the Council. All actions by the Executive Board must be ratified by the next Regular or Special Meeting of the Council.
§ 6.7. In case of war or other emergencies preventing action by the Council, the Executive Board may take over the function of the Council and shall continue in office until the emergency is over and until a meeting of the Council can be held.
§ 6.8. The Executive Board may propose to the Council the dismissal of one of its members in case of grave misbehavior or in case of inactivity paralyzing the action of EFEM.
§ 6.9. Term of Office
The term of the President shall be two years. The term of the other Officers shall be four years. Only the Secretary-General and the Treasurer may be re-elected for one additional term in the same position. The President shall not be re-elected. No one may be elected the Officer (President-Elect, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and Secretary) who has not previously served as a member of the Council. The Secretary-General of the Federation shall not serve also as its Treasurer during his/her term of office as Secretary-General. If he/she is unable to perform his/her duties, the President will be replaced by the immediate Past-President (see §6.8 above).
§ 6.10. Interim vacancies occurring on the Executive Board and the Nominating Committee may be filled by the President in consultation with the Executive Board. The individual so appointed shall serve for the unexpired term of the individual whose position she/he is filling.
§ 6.11. In the event of interim vacancies occurring in both the Presidency and the Elected-Presidency, the Executive Board shall call a Special Meeting of the Council, at which a nominating Committee is elected, if such is not already in existence, the duties of which are set out in § 7.1. To this, § 5.8 and § 6.3 of these Statutes shall be enforced.
§ 6.12. Secretary-General
The Secretary-General shall
§ 6.12.1. keep a record of all classes of membership of EFEM,
§ 6.12.2. keep a minute book of the transactions and meetings of the EFEM,
§ 6.12.3. keep the records of all meetings of the Council, the Executive Board and the Nominating Committee,
§ 6.12.4. distribute the agenda for the meeting of the Council and the Executive Board including the list of candidates of officers, as submitted by the Nominating Committee, at least one month prior to the meeting, and shall distribute the minutes of the meetings not later than three months after the meeting.
§ 6.12.5. collect and distribute information in accordance with the Objectives of EFEM from and to the Constituent Societies and the Corporate Members.
§ 6.12.6. be the keeper of the Statutes of the EFEM and be responsible for updating the Statutes following decisions of the Council of the EFEM
§ 6.13. Treasurer
The Treasurer shall
§ 6.13.1. receive all dues and other funds,
§ 6.13.2. pay all obligations and debts,
§ 6.13.3. render annually a complete financial account and submit a proposed budget to the Council at least one month prior to the Meeting of the Council. Any deviation from this budget of an amount to be determined by the Council shall receive the approval of the Executive Board before the expenditure is made. The account of the Treasurer shall be audited annually by a legally authorized auditor from the country in which the Treasurer resides. The approval of the financial account by the Council will relieve the President, Treasurer and auditor from all subsequent financial responsibilities.
§ 7. Nominating Committee
§ 7.1. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for providing Council with the names of Officers of the Federation for election and shall consist of three members: the Immediate Past-President (who shall act as Chair of the Nominating Committee) and two other members of the Council. The Nominating Committee shall be approved by Council.
§ 7.2. The members of the Nominating Committee shall be elected by the Council at the commencement of each Presidency. Current members of the Nominating Committee are not eligible for nomination as members of the Executive Board.
§ 7.3. To aid their deliberations, the Nominating Committee shall send requests to the constituent member societies for the names of suitable candidates in the fields of experimental morphology who might be suitable as Officers of the EFEM.
§ 7.4. The Nominating Committee shall present a single list of nominees to the Secretary-General at least three months in advance of the Council meeting taking place at the mid-term of the Presidency. At the Council meeting taking place at the end of the Presidency, the previous President will become Past-President and the previous President-Elect will become President, and other new members of the Executive Board will be elected.
§.7.5. The Nominating Committee, in its deliberations, should take into account the geographical distribution of EFEM and its various disciplines.
§ 7.6. The Nominating Committee reaches its decisions by majority vote. It is expected that the chairperson of the Nominating Committee convenes a meeting of this committee in conjunction with the Council meeting at the end of the first year of the President’s 2-year term of office.
§ 8. Duties of the Constituent Societies
§ 8.1 The Constituent Societies shall
§ 8.1.1. support the Objectives of EFEM within their own societies,
§ 8.1.2. submit to the Secretary General regularly the same relevant information they distribute among their own members.
§ 8.1.3. publicize a list of activities of EFEM and of its Constituent Societies as received by the Secretary General
§ 8.2. Any individual member of a Constituent Society of EFEM may, on making proper application, be admitted to a scientific Meeting of a Constituent Society other than its own, following the conditions of that Society. The same applies to joint Meetings of the Constituent Societies.
§ 9. Finances, Business Year
§ 9.l. The funds of EFEM are obtained from:
§ 9.1.1. the dues of its Constituent Societies
§ 9.1.2. the dues of its Corporate Members (§ 3.6)
§ 9.1.3. subventions, donations, levies and legacies accepted by the Executive board on behalf of EFEM.
§ 9.1.4. revenues from capital investments
§ 9.2. Each Constituent Society of EFEM shall pay annual dues per capita of its membership. The amount of this per capita contribution shall be determined by the Council. Each Associated Society shall pay an annual lump sum. Its amount is to be decided by the Council. Payments shall be made in Euros or the equivalent of local currency.
§ 9.3. Constituent societies which cannot make currency transfers may be allowed by the Council to deposit their dues in nominated bank accounts which may be located in the region from which the dues originate, such accounts to be under the control of the EFEM.
These funds shall be available for the support of activities of EFEM in the respective region and to cover travel expenses for members of the Executive Board, nominating Committee and other committees of EFEM from these regions wishing to attend business meetings of EFEM held outside these regions.
§ 9.4. The expenses of Delegates and Observers for attending Council meetings shall normally be reimbursed by their own Constituent Societies.
§ 9.5. Funds collected by EFEM shall be spent exclusively according to the Objectives of EFEM. The members do not receive any bestowment from the funds of EFEM.
§ 9.6. In exceptional circumstances, EFEM may reimburse the expenses factually incurred of members of the Executive Board, Nominating Committee and other committees of EFEM for attendance at its meetings and when discharging official duties. No natural person is to be aided or abetted by a disproportionably high remuneration or by reimbursement for expenses extraneous to EFEM.
§ 9.7. A donation shall not be accepted if this could interfere with the independence of EFEM.
§ 9.8. In the event of resignation or cancellation of membership, the Constituent Society or the Corporate Member concerned is liable to pay any dues owed, including those for the current calendar year.
§ 9.9. The Council of EFEM will be responsible, on the recommendation of the Treasurer, for electing the Federation’s auditors/accountants and for ratifying appropriate mandates to conduct business from its bankers.
§ 9.10. The business year corresponds to the calendar year.
§ 10. Dissolution of EFEM
§ 10.1.EFEM may be dissolved at any time at a meeting of the Council at which two-thirds of the delegates are present following a first call, or any number of delegates following a second call. In any of these calls, a two-thirds affirmative majority of votes in favour of the proposal is necessary. The calls shall occur with an interval of at least half an hour.
§ 10.2.The proposal must be delivered in writing to the Secretary General at least four months before a meeting of the Council. The Secretary General shall in turn notify all Constituent Societies at least three months before the meeting of the Council.
§ 10.3.In the event of dissolution of EFEM, or if its purposes cease to apply, its assets shall be ceded to the "International Federation of Associations of Anatomists", to be exclusively utilised for non-profit purposes in accordance with § 2 of the Statutes.
§ 11.1. The President, or the immediate Past President and the President-Elect are the legal representatives of EFEM, independent from each other. Internally it is determined that the President-Elect is authorized to represent EFEM only when the President is impeded. The President or, if she/he is not available, the President-Elect may authorize the Secretary General or Treasurer to represent the President in dealings of EFEM with other organisations.
§ 11.2.In the event of repeated unavailability of the President, the President-Elect or the immediate Past President, in that order, is authorised to call a Council meeting in order to discuss and, if required, approve the dismissal of the President and to initiate procedures (§ 7) for the election of a new President.
§ 12. Modification of the Statutes of the EFEM
§ 12.1.The Statutes of EFEM may be modified at a meeting of the Council at which two-thirds of the delegates are present following a first call, or any number of delegates following a second call. In any of these calls, a two-thirds affirmative majority of votes in favor of the proposal is necessary. The calls shall occur with an interval of at least half an hour.
§ 12.2.Notification of proposed changes must be submitted in writing to the Secretary General at least four months before a meeting of the Council. The Secretary General shall in turn notify all Constituent Societies of such proposals, at least three months before the meeting of the Council. No change shall be made that could extend the objectives of EFEM beyond the main objectives of advancing research and education relating to the science of morphology.
§ 13. Liability
§ 13.1. The liability of each Constituent Society of EFEM is limited to the amount of that Constituent Society’s dues currently in force.
§ 13.2. EFEM may not incur expenditure in excess of the funds at its disposal.
Rolduc (Netherlands), 18th April, 1998
The President of EFEM
Prof. Georges Grignon
Statutes reviewed and provisionally approved by the EFEM Council held in Belgrade (Serbia & Montenegro) on June 7th, 2005
The President of EFEM
Prof. Pierre Sprumont
Statutes reviewed by the EFEM Council held in Edinburgh (UK) on July 11th, 2012, to be formally approved by the next EFEM Council (Paris, France - March 2nd, 2013.
The President of EFEM
Prof. John Fraher
Statutes reviewed and approved by the EFEM Councils held in Paris (France) on March 7, 2015
The President of EFEM
Prof. Diogo Pais
Statutes reviewed by the EFEM Council held in Paris (France) on March 5th, 2016, to be formally approved by the next EFEM Council held in Paris (France) on March 4th, 2017.
The President of EFEM
Prof. Jose Luis Bueno Lopez
