European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

ENTOG

STATUTES

(draft)

Article 1 - Name and Purpose

1.1. The organisation shall be called the “European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology”, hereafter referred to as “ENTOG”.

1.2. ENTOG is a non-governmental, independent and non-profit association.

1.3. ENTOG is formed in accordance with the Belgian Act of 25 October 1919, as amended by the 6 December 1954 Act, and under that legislation the registered offices of ENTOG shall be: The UEMS building, 20 Avenue de la Couronne, B-1050 Brussels.

1.4. The working language of ENTOG shall be English.

1.5. ENTOG shall have the following objectives:

1.5.a. to improve the health of women and their babies by seeking to achieve the highest possible standards of specialist training and care in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology in all European countries;

1.5.b. to recommend the standards required for the training of specialists and the means of maintaining those standards;

1.5.c. to examine the content and quality of training in all countries of Europe;

1.5.d. to recommend criteria to which the specialist training centres should conform;

1.5.e. to make proposals for unifying the training programmes to achieve specialist status;

1.5.f. to promote the development of systems to assess and recognise the quality of training in obstetrics and gynaecology;

1.5.g. to facilitate the exchange of trainees and young specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics between training centres throughout Europe to harmonise and improve the quality of training;

1.5.h. to promote the creation in all European countries of national organisations or committees of trainees and young specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics.

1.6. In the pursuit of these objectives ENTOG shall collaborate closely with other organisations pursuing similar objectives, e.g. the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG).

Article 2 - Membership

2.1. Membership of ENTOG shall be open to a single representative, national, non-governmental organisation or committee of trainees and young specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics in each of the countries of Europe.

2.2. For the purpose of this charter, a trainee is defined as a doctor who has entered but not completed the specialist training programme in obstetrics and gynaecology of his or her country. A young specialist is defined as a doctor who has completed his or her specialist training in gynaecology and obstetrics but has not yet attained a final senior post as an independent medical doctor within the health care system of his or her country.

2.3. If the plenary finds that a member organisation fails to continue to fulfil the qualifications for membership, it shall be excluded in accordance with the voting procedure set forth in Article 4.7.

Article 3 - President and Executive Committee

3.1. The activities of ENTOG are co-ordinated by an Executive Committee composed of the President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer and four members.

3.2. The officers and members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the Council in accordance with the voting procedure set forth in Article 4.10 for an initial term of office of two years, and may thereafter be re-elected for an additional period of one year at a time.

3.3. At the time of election no less than five of the seven officers and members of the Executive Committee shall be trainees. To be eligible for a seat on the Executive Committee, a young gynecologist shall have completed his or her specialist training no more than three years prior to election.

3.4. The duties of the President shall include the following:

3.4.a. to co-ordinate the activities of the Executive Committee;

3.4.b. to maintain effective contact among ENTOG member organisations;

3.4.c. to represent ENTOG in relations with other organisations, including the EBCOG and the European Union as mandated by the Council and the Executive Committee;

3.4.d. to ensure the policy decisions of the Council are carried out.

3.5. The duties of the Secretary General shall include the following:

3.5.a. to keep the minutes of the proceedings of the Council and the Executive Committee;

3.5.b. to supervise the preparation and distribution of documents for meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee;

3.5.c. to maintain the records and archives of ENTOG;

3.5.d. to keep a record of member organisations, address list of delegates etc.

3.6. The duties of the Treasurer shall include the following:

3.6.a. to supervise the finances of ENTOG in accordance with the decisions of the Council;

3.6.b. to present an annual financial report and budget for approval by the Council.

3.7. The Executive Committee shall convene at regular intervals and no less than four times a year.

3.8. The ENTOG secretariat will be provided by the national member association of the President unless the national member association or the President requests otherwise and the Council so approves.

3.9. To carry out his/her function, the President may arrange for such assistance and staff as he/she deems fit in keeping with the budget for the administration of ENTOG.

3.10. In the event that a President does not satisfactorily fulfil his/her duties, the Council may decide to remove him/her from office in accordance with the voting procedure set out in Article 4.7.

3.11. In the event of the President relinquishing his/her post before completing the term of office, the affairs of ENTOG will be managed by the Secretary General until the next Council meeting at which time an election will be held in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 4.10.

Article 4 - Council

4.1. The Council shall be the highest authority of the ENTOG, and shall consist of no more than one national delegation from each European country.

4.2. Where a member organisation as described in Article 2.1 exists, that body shall nominate the national delegation to the Council. Elsewhere, a delegation with full voting rights shall be nominated by the national EBCOG member organisation providing that body adheres to the objectives of ENTOG, including Article 1.5.h of this Charter. National delegations of trainees and young specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics not fulfilling these requirements may attend the Council in an observer capacity.

4.3. Each delegation is entitled to one vote only, and shall designate its head who shall vote for the delegation. A national delegation will not normally consist of more than three or four representatives.

4.4. The Council shall normally meet once a year. Meetings of the Council are usually held in conjunction with the annual meeting and exchange programme of trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology in Europe.

4.5. The quorum of the Council shall be two thirds of the member delegations.

4.6. The agenda of each Council meeting shall be sent to all national delegations no later than four weeks before the date of the meeting, and shall include the following items:

4.6.a. election of Chairman of the meeting;

4.6.b. adoption of the Minutes of the previous Council meeting;

4.6.c. report of the President;

4.6.d. reports of subcommittees and working groups;

4.6.e. discussion on topics proposed in advance by the Executive Committee or national delegations;

4.6.f. a report of the ENTOG accounts for the previous financial year with a balance sheet and auditor's report submitted for approval by the Treasurer;

4.6.g. a proposed budget for the next financial year;

4.6.h. elections of officers and members of the Executive Committee;

4.6.i. proposal for time and venue of the next Council meeting.

4.7. Policy decisions at Council meetings shall normally be taken only on matters which have been included on the circulated agenda of the meeting; however, with the consent of the Council, decisions may also be taken on other matters of a pressing nature. Policy decisions are decided by a simple majority.

4.8. Candidates to the Executive Committee must be nominated by at least one national delegation with full voting rights.

4.9. Elections for the offices of President, Secretary General and Treasurer are held separately and in that order. Subsequently, elections for a number of young specialist members of the Executive Committee as determined by Article 3.3 are held. Finally, the remaining trainee members of the Executive Committee are elected.

4.10. Elections will be decided by a simple majority vote of delegations present and voting (cf. Article 4.5). In cases where there are more than two candidates, if no candidate receives a majority vote on the first ballot, the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated and a new ballot held. This procedure will be repeated until one candidate has received a simple majority of votes.

4.11. All decisions other than elections and those covered by Article 4.7 require agreement by a vote in Council of three-fourths of those member organisations present and voting with a quorum as stipulated in Article 4.5.

4.12. A decision to amend the Statutes shall be in accordance with Article 7 - .

4.13. A delegation not able to be present at a Council meeting may provide a written proxy to another delegation with a copy to the President concerning a specific item or items. No delegation may exercise more than one proxy.

4.14. Votes shall be by secret ballot if so requested by one or more national delegations.

4.15. The officers and members of the Executive Committee are expected to speak but shall not have the power to vote in Council meetings. In case of a tied vote in Council the outgoing President may cast a decisive vote.

4.16. Guests may be invited officially by the President at his/her discretion and/or on the proposal of a national delegation. Guests will be allowed to speak at the discretion of the President and/or meeting chairman and/or by Council decision cf. Article 4.7.

4.17. The minutes of the Council meeting shall be prepared by the outgoing Secretary General and shall be distributed to the members no later than eight weeks from the date of the meeting.

4.18. An extraordinary meeting may be called by the President or on the request of a least one-third of the national member delegations with a minimum notice of four weeks.

Article 5 - Subcommittees and Working Groups

5.1. The Council shall establish such subcommittees and working groups as it sees fit, and shall decide their terms of reference, their chairmen, and their membership. Such subcommittees and working parties shall be subject to annual re-appointment and election.

5.2. The chairmen of all subcommittees and working parties shall be responsible to the Executive Committee and to the Council for the activities of their respective bodies and may act as spokesmen for ENTOG within their terms of reference and in agreement with the Executive Committee and Council, as relevant.

Article 6 - Finances

6.1. Pending approval of the Council, the funds of ENTOG may arise from donations or subsidies from public institutions, private companies and foundations or collaborating organisations (i.e. EBCOG).

6.2. The Council can decide, that each member organisation shall make an annual contribution to the funds of the ENTOG, based on a minimum amount and on the number of doctors which it represents.

6.3. Each member organisation shall be responsible for the expenses of its delegation to Council meetings of the ENTOG.

6.4. The expenses of the President and other members of the Executive Committee shall be borne by ENTOG funds.

6.5. The Council shall decide the period of the financial year of the ENTOG and shall take into account the normal practice in the country of the ENTOG Treasurer.

6.6. The ENTOG accounts shall be submitted to the annual meeting of the Council, after they have been independently audited by a certified public accountant.

Article 7 - Amendment of Statutes

7.1. These Statutes shall be binding from the date of ratification. They can only be amended in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 4.11. Notice of proposed amendment must be given four months in advance of the meeting at which said amendment is to be voted upon and the written amendment for debate and decision must be circulated at least two months in advance.

Article 8 - Dissolution

8.1. Dissolution of ENTOG can only be done by the Council in accordance with Article 4.11 and with notice of the proposal to do so at least four months in advance. In the case of such decision, the Council shall decide on the method of liquidating ENTOG, and the assets of ENTOG shall be transferred to EBCOG.

8.2. Everything not explicitly foreseen in the present statutes is subject to Belgian law.

Ratified 24 June 2000 by the ENTOG Council convened in Basel.