Statutes of the European Resuscitation Council

ARTICLE 1 - Name and location of the Association

1.1. The name of the Association is "European Resuscitation Council. An Interdisciplinary Council for Resuscitation Medicine and Emergency Medical Care". The abbreviated name of the Association is "ERC".

1.2. The Association is a non-profit making organization. It may not favour anyone with expenses who is not serving the purpose of the Association nor may it dispense disproportionately high compensation. Members leaving the Association have no claim to any part of the Association's assets.

1.3. The Association shall be governed by its statutes, which are subject to Swiss Law, in particular to articles 60 - 75 of the Swiss Civil Code. The legal domicile of the Association is Basel, Switzerland. The domicile of the administrative office of the Association is Antwerp, Belgium

ARTICLE 2 - Objectives of the Association  (back to top)

2.1. The Association shall have the following objectives
a) To preserve life by improving standards of resuscitation in Europe and
b) To co-ordinate the activities of European organizations with a major interest in resuscitation medicine and emergency medical care.

2.2. The Association shall pursue its objectives by, in particular:
a) Producing guidelines and recommendations appropriate to Europe for the practice of Cardiopulmonary and Cerebral Resuscitation.
b) Updating these guidelines in the light of critical review of CPR practice.
c) Promoting audit of resuscitation practice including standardization of records of resuscitation attempts.
d) Designing standardized teaching programmes suitable for all trainees in Europe ranging from the lay public to the qualified physician.
e) Promoting and co-ordinating appropriate research.
f) Organizing relevant congresses and other scientific meetings in Europe.
g) Promoting political and public awareness of resuscitation requirements and practice in Europe.
h) Promoting exchanges among different disciplines
i) Advising relevant European and other national and international bodies on all matters and problems related to CPR.

ARTICLE 3 - Members of the Association  (back to top)

3.1. The Association shall be composed of full members, associate members, corresponding members, honorary members and patron members.

3.2. Full members:
a) National Representatives: Representatives of European and national organizations with an interest in or active in the field of CPR, for example Anaesthetic, Cardiac, Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Resuscitation Societies, and relevant academic bodies.
b) Individual members: Medically qualified individuals.

3.3. Associate members: Medical non-European and non-medical individuals willing to participate in the activities of the Association.

3.4. Corresponding members: Individuals wishing to be informed of the activities of the Association.

3.5. Honorary members: May be appointed by the Executive Committee. They will be individuals who have displayed outstanding merit in promoting the objectives of the Association.

3.6. Patron members: May be nominated by the Executive Committee from among the principal and major sponsors of the Association.

3.7. Full, Associate, Corresponding and Patron members shall pay annual fees of the amount set by the Executive Committee.

3.8. Cessation of membership. Membership shall cease in case of:
- resignation,
- death,
- persistent non-payment of subscriptions,
- conduct prejudicial to the welfare or reputation of the Association, the member concerned having first been invited by registered letter to appear before the Executive Committee to explain his actions.

ARTICLE 4 - General Assembly  (back to top)

Composition:

4.1. The General Assembly shall be composed of all members of the Association. The representative and individual members of the Association are entitled to vote.

4.2. Each Represented Body shall be entitled to be represented by one voting person only appointed by their own Association or Society, though other representatives may attend.

4.3. The General Assembly shall be presided over by the Chairman of the ERC, or in his place by the Vice-Chairman of the ERC.

Powers

4.4. Only the General Assembly shall have the power to adopt and amend the Statutes of the Association and to decide of the dissolution of the Association.

4.5. The decisions of the General Assembly shall be taken by a simple majority of active members present.

Convocations

4.6. The General Assembly will generally meets biannually. It shall in addition meet when the Executive Committee or at least one fifth of the members of the Association formally request a convocation.

4.7. Notice of the General Assembly shall be given at least one month before it is to be convened. All members of the Association are entitled to attend the meeting.

4.8. The agenda of the General Assembly shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Agenda items can be proposed, but must be submitted to the Executive, in writing, prior to the meeting. The Executive Committee is entitled to add to the agenda any item of urgency.

4.9. The agenda shall be sent to the members at least two weeks before the meeting.

ARTICLE 5 - The Executive Committee  (back to top)

Powers

5.1. The Executive Committee elects the Officers and Board of the Association. Nominations for these posts must be submitted to the Nominations committee from full members of the ERC two months prior to submission to the Executive Committee and include a letter of agreement by the nominated individual.

5.2. The Executive Committee elects the Nomination Committee of the Association. Nominations for these posts must be submitted to the Executive Committee by full members of the ERC and include a letter of agreement by the nominated individual. No individual can be reelected to the Nominations committee.

5.3. The Executive Committee appoints the auditor(s) of the Association after nomination from the Board.

5.4. The Executive Committee approves the strategy and budget of the Association as presented by the Board.

5.5. The Executive Committee adopts resolutions and recommendations in the name of the Association as presented by the Board.

5.6. The Executive Committee shall decide the venue of congresses and scientific sessions.

Composition

5.7. The Executive Committee shall be composed of:
a) seven officers, namely
- the Chairman
- the Vice-Chairman
- the Executive Director
- the Hon. Secretary
- the Hon. Treasurer
- the Editor of the Journal of the Council
- the ILCOR Liaison Officer
b) the chairmen of the Working Groups of the ERC.
c) the nominated representatives of the European Federation of Anaesthesiology, the European Society for Cardiology, the European Society for Intensive Care, the European Society for Emergency Medicine, the Red Cross of the European Union countries.
d) one ERC member appointed by each of the national resuscitation organizations that have signed a contract of cooperation with the ERC. Such national organisations with >75 ERC members can appoint two members to the Executive Committee. In countries which do not yet have such a national organisation, but have >25 ERC members, these individual ERC members appoint a representative by a mail vote organized by the ERC administration.

Terms of Office

5.8. The period of office of the members mentioned under 5.7.c+d shall normally be for four years from their election.

Decisions

5.9. In the event of voting, decisions by the Executive Committee shall be taken by a majority of its members.

ARTICLE 6. The Board  (back to top)

6.1. The Board consists of the Officers and the Chairmen of the Working Groups.

6.2. The Board is responsible for developing the strategies and budgets of the ERC. These are to be presented for approval by the Executive Committee once a year.

6.3. The Board is responsible for the relations of the ERC with other organisations.

ARTICLE 7. The Officers  (back to top)

7.1. The Officers are: The Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the Executive Director, the Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer, the Journal Editor, the ILCOR Liaison Officer.

7.2. The Chairman shall be elected for a term of 2 years. The Chairman-Elect serves as Vice-Chairman for one year after which he/she becomes Chairman. After his term, the Chairman will serve for one year as Vice-Chairman.

7.3. The Hon. Treasurer, the Hon. Secretary and the ILCOR Liaison Officer shall be elected for a term of 4 years, and may be re-elected for one further term of office.

7.4. The Editor-in-Chief of the journal of the Council shall be an Officer during the term of his office.

7.5. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the administration of the ERC, and answers to the Board.

7.6. The Hon. Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of the Association.

7.8. The Board can second other persons to the Board for specific tasks when necessary.

ARTICLE 8. The Working Groups and Task Forces  (back to top)

8.1. Working groups and Task Forces can be established or dissolved by the Executive Committee.

8.1.1. Permanent Working Groups are presently:
- BLS working group
- ALS working group
- PLS working group
- Research working group

8.1.2. Ad hoc Task Forces:
They will be established if there is a need for solving a special problem. Ad hoc Task Forces are dissolved when their duties are completed.

8.2. Any member of the ERC is eligible to become a member of a working group, subject to approval by the Board.

8.3. Working groups are chaired by a chairman and a vice-chairman who will be nominated by the Board and elected by the Executive Committee. The term of office is 2 years, reappointable by the board for one further term of office.

8.4. Any reimbursement of travel- hotel- or other expenses made in conjunction with work for the ERC, needs a prior decision of the Executive Director, in accordance with the reimbursement policy.

8.5. Statements of the working groups need a final decision of the Executive Committee to become official documents of the ERC.

8.6 The Board may, when there is a need for urgency, make a provisional agreement of a working group statement for implementation by the ERC

ARTICLE 9. Nomination Committee(back to top)

9.1. The Nomination Committee consists of three persons. The members serve a term of office of four years with an election every two years immediately after the election of the ERC officers. No more than two members can be elected each time, except for the first election when one of the members is elected for only two years.

9.2. In addition to actively seeking suitable candidates for office, the Nomination Committee will seek advice from the members of the Executive Committee for nominations. See 5.1. and 5.2.

9.3. In addition to actively seeking suitable candidates for office, the Nomination Committee will canvas the members of the Executive Committee for nominations. See 5.1 and 5.2

ARTICLE 10- Financial responsibility  (back to top)

10.1. The funds of the association consist of
- Congress entrance fees, subscriptions,
- Subsidies from governments, local authorities, industry, etc.
- Income from activities of the ERC, like meetings, publications, educational materials, research etc.

10.2. The Association assumes financial responsibility for commitments entered into by a member of the Executive Committee within the scope of his duties.

ARTICLE 11- Audits  (back to top)

11.1. The accounting period shall be the calendar year.

11.2. All financial operations of the Association shall be audited by one or more auditors elected by the Executive Committee.

11.3. The auditor(s) shall present to the Executive Committee an auditing report for each accounting period.

ARTICLE 12- Fees and Payments (back to top)

12.1. The amount of the fees to the Association shall be determined by the Executive Committee.

12.2. The members shall pay their fees to the Association before the end of January of each year.

12.3. The Honorable Treasurer shall specify the bank account into which the fees shall be paid, and in what currency, free of costs and taxes.

12.4. The Executive Office shall reimburse Officers for travelling and hotel expenses advanced by them in performance of their duty.

12.5. The Executive Committee is entitled to decide that travelling and hotel expenses incurred by other members of the Executive Committee in performance of their duty, shall be reimbursed.

These Statutes were adopted by the Constitutive General Assembly in Amsterdam on June 6, 1990, and came into force the same day.
The statutes were amended and approved by the General Assembly on 10/4/97, and by the General Assembly on 4/10/2002.