German Pacific Society  -  Statutes

Statutes
§ 1       Name and Organization
1) The name of the society shall be "Deutsch Pazifische Gesellschaft"
      (DPG), or German Pacific Society (GPS)
2) The residence of the society shall be Munich, Germany.
2) The society is registered in Munich.
4) The fiscal year is the calendar year.
5) The establishment of auxiliary branches shall be possible by decision
     of the general assembly of members.
   
§ 2       Aims
1) The society shall retain, through its efforts towards mutual understanding, a supranational , non-partisan, interconfessional and interdisciplinary character.
2) The society shall pursue only and directly those aims which benefit the common good in accordance with the article "tax favoured aims" of the ordinance of taxes.
3) The society shall have as its aims, the promotion of partnership relations between the inhabitants of the German-speaking and the Pacific cultural domains.
4) It is the aim of the society to promote the understanding of peoples and benefit scientific, educational and cultural activities.
5) This aim shall be realized by publications of informative nature, exhibitions, study-tours, personal meetings, scientific and cultural events and international contacts.
6. The society has to work unselfishly. It is not a primary aim to gain profit.
7) Any eventual income may be used only for aims which are in accordance with the statutes. The members shall, in their capacity as members, receive no profits or donations from the resources of the society.
8) No person may be favoured through expenditures that are foreign to the aims of the society or through disproportionately high compensations.
9) The establishment of goals shall consist in particular of:
a) the promotion of personal contact between the people of the areas in question.
b) the cultivation of cultural relations between German-speaking Europeans and residents of the Pacific (mainly Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia)
c) exchange of experience and mutual counsel on the cultural, scientific, economic, social, political and religious level.
e) the establishment of relay centre for interdisciplinary research, the distribution of an information bulletin and the exchange of cultural values from the concerned cultural domains.
f) the meditation of assistance in the humanities sector, according to the existing resources and needs
g) the establishment of a suitable contact office for the compilation and recording of material and projects and for the promotion of initiatives and activities which are in the spirits of the statutes.
   
§ 3       Membership
1) Any natural and juristic persons who acknowledges the goals of the society  may become a member of the society.
2) Ordinary membership shall be acquired through written application, over those whose acceptance the executive committee, or a appointed for this purpose, shall decide.
3) The society shall consist or regular members, honorary members, sponsoring members and donors.
a) Persons who have greatly furthered the goals of the society and who have been proposed by the executive committee may be designated as honorary members through decision of the general assembly of members. They shall retain the same rights as regular members.
b) Sponsoring members shall be natural or juristic persons who pledge an annual fee in the amount of ten times the regular annual fee. They shall retain the same rights as regular members.
c) Donors shall be members who contribute a sum at least fifty times as great as the regular annual fee. They shall retain the same rights as regular members.
4) In certain cases, the executive committee may, in the interest of the society, award a special membership not requiring the payment of fees.
5) Membership shall be terminated through:
a) death or dissolution of the society
b) written notification of resignation at the end of a fiscal year, after a one- month period of notice.
c) expulsion after a hearing and decision of the executive committee when a member endangers the goals and aim of the society or compromises the reputation of the society.
d) There shall be no legal claim for restitution of previously deposited financial or material donations.
   
§ 4       Fees
1) The executive committee shall determine the amount of the membership fees.
2) The fees are to be paid in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
3) Honorary members shall not be required to pay fees.
   
§ 5      Bodies of the Society
The bodies of the societies are:
1) The executive committee
2) The general assembly of members
3) The creation of additional bodies may be decided by the general assembly of members.
   
§ 6      The Executive Committee
1) The executive committee shall be made up of at least five members (the president, the vice-president, the second vice-president, the secretary and the treasurer).
2) The resolutions of the executive committee shall be passed with a simple majority. In the event when at least are three members of the executive are present.
3) The president, or the vice-president together with an additional executive member,  shall represent the society both in and out of court.
4) The executive committee shall be elected for a period of three years by a general assembly of members.
a) Re-elections is permissible.
b) Written balloting shall permissible. The election must be announced three weeks in advance, and a two-week period of decision must be allowed.
c) If a new election does not take place within the designated time, the former executive committee retain its office unit until the new election.
5) The executive committee may appoint working committees for certain tasks and may establish and maintain a managing office to manage the activities of the society.
   
§ 7      The General Assembly of Members
1) The general assembly of members shall have the following tasks:
a) the election of the executive committee.
b) the acceptance of the activities report and the annual accounting, as well as the discharge of the executive committee.
c) the passing of resolutions concerning changes in the statutes.
d) the awarding of honorary membership.
e) the passing of resolutions concerning the dissolution of the society.
2) The regular general assembly of members shall be convened by the executive committee. This should take place at lest once a year. The agenda should accompany  the written invitation and be made known at least two weeks before the meeting of the general assembly of members.
3) A non-regular meeting of the general assembly of members may be convened at any time by the executive committee when urgent matters arise. Such a meeting is to be convened when one-tenth of the members request it with a written statement of reason
4) Every member shall have one vote in the assembly.
5) The resolutions of the general assembly of members shall be passed with a simple majority of the members who are present.
6) In the event of a tie vote, the president, or in case of his absence, the vice-president, shall cast the determining vote
7) Minutes of the resolutions of the general assembly of members shall be drawn up and signed the president and an additional executive committee member.
   
§ 8      Alteration of the Statutes
A majority of three-fourth of the members present shall be necessary for a resolution to alter the statutes.
   
§ 9      Dissolution
1) A majority of three-fourth of the members present shall be necessary for
    a resolution to dissolve the society.
2) In the case of the dissolution of the society, or the loss of its hitherto existing
    aims, the resources of the society shall revert to the German Red Cross, 
    which shall utilize them directly and exclusively for purposes which benefit 
    the common good.
   
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