ETS Bylaws

Bylaws of the

“European Thermoelectric Society e.V.

 

§ 1       Name

1.
The name of the Association is
“European Thermoelectric Society”.

2.
It will be registered in the
register of Associations, thereby assuming the designation e.V.
(abbreviation for “eingetragener Verein”, German for
“registered Association”).

3.
Domicile of the Association is
Freiburg, Germany. The European Thermoelectric Society is registered in the
Register of Associations at the District
Court of Freiburg, Germany and since then
bears the suffix “e.V.

4.
The working language is
English.

 

§ 2       Aims

1.
The “European Thermoelectric
Society” is an association of industrial, public and academic
persons with interest in the phenomenon of thermoelectricity and its usage.

2.
The Association answers
exclusively and directly public benefit purposes in accordance with the
paragraph “Steuerbegünstigte Zwecke
(German for “tax-deductible purposes”) of the German Fiscal Law.

The purpose of the European
Thermoelectric Society are the promotion of
Thermoelectricity in science, research, education, public and politics as well
as the promotion of young researchers and engineers in the field of Thermoelectrics.

The statutory purpose will
be fulfilled particularly by

a)
promoting cooperation and the
exchange of information and ideas between individuals and groups with interest
in thermoelectricity;

 

b)
promoting education, research and developments in the field of thermoelectricity for example by

       organizing
conferences and training courses on the subject of thermoelectricity for
members and other interested persons;

       publishing basic
information for education, news regarding scientific or technical developments
upcoming conferences, meetings and events, on the ETS homepage or in newsletters;

       acting as an
independent central contact point for interested persons in order to provide
information e.g. about research topics, research
groups or companies working in the field of thermoelectrics;

       supporting the
setting up of funding programs by EU, national or regional governments as well
as other funding agencies;

       recommending on
research proposals as well as development strategies;

       participating in
funded research and development projects as an independent advisor or stakeholder;

 

c)
promoting young researchers and
engineers in the field of thermoelectrics by

       assisting
graduate and PhD students (e.g. travel grants);

       awarding young
investigators for their excellent work

d)
promoting the awareness of
thermoelectricity in research, industry, public and politics by

       awarding prizes
for outstanding merits or achievements

       awarding
outstanding posters, papers or developments 

       publishing news
and information on the ETS homepage or in newsletters

       publicity work e.g. by participation on trade fairs, conferences, meetings
and events as well as by presence in the internet and other media like Facebook
and Twitter

3.
The Association is a
not-for-profit organization; it does not primarily pursue economic or
commercial interests.

4.
The funds of the Association
may only be used for the statutory purposes. Members do not receive allowances
from the funds of the association.

5.
Excessive payments or spending
not in accordance with the purposes of the Association are prohibited.

 

§ 3       Membership

1.
The Association is open to
individual persons with activities or interests in thermoelectricity from industry or academic institutions.

2.
Admission of new members
requires the agreement of the Executive Committee and begins after payment of the membership fee.

3.
Registration for the European Conference on Thermoelectrics
(ECT) involves an obligatory
membership of the “European Thermoelectric Society”. The membership starts from
the beginning of the annual ECT on which the membership is acquired and lasts
until the beginning of the following ECT. The membership fee will be covered by
the conference registration fee.

4.
The Executive Committee may
appoint a person as a honorary member in recognition
of his achievements.

5.
Resignation takes automatically
effect at the end of the period covered by the
membership fee. The membership
expires
immediately upon resignation, loss of legal capacity, cancellation, or death.
The resignation must be declared in writing to the board. The deletion takes
place by decision of the board, if a member has
grossly violated the statutes or principles of the association.

§ 4       Organs

1.       The organs of the Association are:


The General Assembly.


The Executive Committee.


The Extended Committee.


The Auditors.

 

§ 5       The
General Assembly

1.
The General Assembly consists
of all individual members of the Association.

2.       The General Assembly will meet at least once a year (e.g. opening session of the
ECT).

3.
A General Assembly or other
Assemblies may be held virtually via audio- or video­conferencing as well as in
an internet chat room (e.g. ETS website). If required,
the vote will also be taken via internet (e.g. e-mail).

4.       Regardless of the number of ordinary members present, the member
assembly has a quorum if it is convened in accordance with the stipulations in
the bylaws, especially concerning form and deadlines. Decisions of the General
Assembly will be made with a simple majority.

Changes of the
bylaws and dissolution of the Association require a two-thirds majority of the
members present at the assembly.

5.       The General Assembly will elect the members for the Extended Committee
for a term of three years. The Board
(Executive and the Extended Committee) will elect the Executive Committee for a
term of three years. Among the most
important tasks of the general meeting is the resolution on changes to the
statutes and dissolution, unless otherwise stipulated under §10.

6.       The general meeting is convened by the executive board (see § 6
point 4). The general meeting including the agenda will be announced at least
two weeks in advance on the homepage of the European Thermoelectric Society.

7.       The general meeting must also be convened, if so

a)    at least one third of the regular members of the ETS in writing and
stating the reasons

 or

b)    at least half of the members of the extended committee

call for.

8.       Minutes of the General Assembly including at least the resolutions
must be made by the Secretary, and has to be signed by
the Secretary and the President. The minutes of the assembly has to be notified
to members in a suitable form within eight weeks, e.g.
on the homepage of the European Thermoelectric Society. Objections to the
minutes can only be raised within one month of that date.

 

§ 6       The Executive Committee

1.       The Executive Committee consists of a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

2.
The Executive Committee manages
and represents the Association. The Executive Committee implements the
decisions of the General Assembly and decides on all questions not covered by
the General Assembly. In addition, it is responsible of accounting.
Each member of the Executive Committee has a judicial and an
extra-judicial right of representation (sole power of representation “Einzelvertretungsbefugnis”). An exemption from the
restrictive provisions of § 181 BGB (German Civil Code) is NOT given which
means that Self-dealing is not allowed.

3.
Decisions of the Executive
Committee will be made with a simple majority and communicated to the members e.g. on
the ETS-homepage.

4.
Once a year, the Executive
Committee summons the General Assembly in writing two weeks in advance. The announcement of the ECT (European Conference on Thermoelectrics)
published on the internet is deemed to be the
invitation.

5.
Voluntary work: The members of
the Executive Committee work in a voluntary capacity and are not eligible for refund.

6.
Assemblies of the Executive
Committee also may be held virtually via audio- or video­conferencing as well
as by using new media (internet chat room, e.g. ETS
website). If required, the vote will also be taken via internet or other media
(e.g. e-mail).

 

§ 7       The Extended Committee

1.
The Extended Committee acts in
an advisory capacity and comprises a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 11 persons.
It consists of

a.       Elected Members

b.
Born Members: The chairperson
of the last, this and next year’s European
Conference on Thermoelectrics
(ECT).

2.       Together the Executive Committee and the Extended Committee form the “ETS-Board”. It consists of at least 10
to a maximum of 15 people.

3.       The ETS-Board meets at least once a year. The meeting will be
summoned by the president combined with the announcement of the agenda. Assemblies of the ETS-Board may
be held also virtually via audio- or videoconferencing as well as by using new
media e.g.  internet chat room or
web-meetings. If required, the vote will also be taken via internet or other
media (e.g. e-mail).

4.
The business plan and invoices
of the previous year as well as budget and membership fees for the following
year will be resolved by the ETS-Board.
The responsibilities of the ETS Board Assembly include the discharge of the
Executive Committee and the decision on fundamental issues.

 

§ 8       The Auditors

The Auditors are annually elected by the
Extended Committee from within its ranks and are responsible for auditing last
year’s financial report. They present the audit to the Board.

 

§ 9       Financing

The aims of the Association will be financed
through membership fees, sponsoring by companies, and donations. Only the
Association assets are liable.

 

§10      Enabling
Clause

The members of the executive board are
authorized, contrary to the previous provisions, to make changes to the
statutes of the association, which are ordered or were initiated by the
registry court or the tax office. Any changes must be notified to the members
at the next ordinary general meeting.

 

§ 11     Dissolution
of the Association

Should the Association be disbanded or
abolished, or its tax-privileged status revoked, all Association assets will be
transferred to a corporate body under public law or a tax-privileged
foundation. Said assets will be used for the purpose of advancing science and
research.

Distribution to the members
is excluded.

 

§ 12     Entry
into force

These statutes were adopted during the
Assembly on January 15, 2020 and come into force on the same day.