By-Laws

Article 4

Membership

There shall be five classes of membership:

  • Founding Members
  • Fellows
  • Associate Members
  • Honorary Fellows and Honorary associate Members
  • Senior Fellows and Senior associate Members

Article 5

Acquisition of Membership

  1. Founding Members: the aforementioned eleven specialists
  2. Fellows: All Founding Members. Laryngologists and Phoniatricians, nominated by one or more Fellows and elected by a two- thirds majority of the fellowship (characterized as two-thirds of the Fellows who respond within the set time limit). Sponsors must affirm in writing that the candidates meet the requirements of actual specialization in the defined field of medicine of artistic voice
  3. Associate Members: Physicians, scientists, voice coaches, and voice pathologists with special qualifications and interest in the vocal problems of singers and actors. Candidates for associate membership must be proposed in writing by two or more Fellows and elected by a two- thirds majority of the fellowship (characterized as two-thirds of the Fellows who respond within the set time limit).
  4. The Collegium may have honorary Fellows or associate Members.
  5. Senior Fellows and Senior associate Members: Fellows and associate Members who declare that they have stopped any profitable professional activity may become a Senior Fellow or a Senior Associate member upon written request to the President. Senior Fellows and Senior associate Members shall not be required to pay the annual fee but have the right to vote.
  6. Nominated Fellows and Associate Members shall be asked to send their relevant publications and curricula vitae to the President.

 

The President is authorized to appoint a separate membership Committee for each applicant. Members of this Committee are to advise the President immediately if they cannot review and, in that case, to return the material within 30 days, so that other Committee members can be appointed. The Committee shall evaluate the applicant’s scientific and professional eligibility for membership and send their report back to the president within 60 days.

 

Members must attend one out of every three successive annual meetings to maintain active status. Failure to comply with this regulation will result in their automatic relegation to inactive status, i.e. loss of the right to vote (unless excused by ill health).

All members have equal duties and rights except that new members are nominated by Fellows only and that inactive members have no right to vote.

Article 6

Termination of membership

(1)The membership expires by death, by voluntary resignation and by exclusion.

(2)The withdrawal can only be made on the 31st of December and sent in writing to the board at least 3 months in advance. If the announcement is delayed, it is only effective on the next withdrawal date. For the timeliness the date of the posting is decisive.

(3) In order not to lose membership, payments of contributions must not be open for more than two years, including the current year.

Ex-members who want to renew their membership shall be accepted after payment of 3 membership fees.

(4)The exclusion of a member from the association can also be ordered by the executive committee for gross violation of other member obligations and dishonorable behaviour.

(5) Withdrawal of honorary membership may be decided by the General Assembly on application of the Executive Board for the reasons stated before.

Article 7

Rights and obligations of the members

(1) The Fellows, associate   Members , honorary Fellows / associate Members and senior Fellows/ associate Members are entitled to participate in all events of the association. The right to vote in the General Assembly as well as the right to vote and to stand for election are only available to Fellows, senior and honorary Fellows.

(2) Each member and fellow shall be entitled to demand from the Executive Board the compliance of the By-Laws.

(3) At least one tenth of the members and fellows may request the convening of a general assembly by the board.

(4) In each General Assembly , the members are to be informed by the board about the activity and financial management of the association. If at least one tenth of the members and fellows request this, stating the reasons, the board has to give the members and fellows concerned such information within four weeks.

(5) The members and fellows are to be informed by the Management Board about the audited financial statements (accounting). If this happens in the General Assembly, the auditors are to be involved.

(6)  The members and fellows are obliged to promote the interests of the association as much as possible and to refrain from anything whereby the reputation and the purpose of the association could be damaged. They have to observe the statutes of the association and the decisions of the association organs. Fellows and Members are obliged to pay in due time the membership fee and fees in the amount decided by the General Assembly