Statutes
Name, location, and radius of action of the society
§1 The society carries the name "Österreichische Geologische Gesellschaft" (= "Austrian Geological Society"). Its residence is Vienna. Its activieties are mainly restricted to the territory of the Austrian Federation.
Aims of the society
§2 The society exclusively and directly pursues objectives of general benefit. It is a scientific association for the care and advancement of geology in its theoretical and applied branches and according to its various orientations.
§3 The means for achieving these goals are: meetings, lectures, excursions, publications, (§26) and society news letters (§27), maintenance of a library, and organization of appropriate events. The society maintains scientific relationsships to related organizations in Austria and other countries. And is represented in the Austrian National Committee for Geology.
§4 The Society is made up of personal and nonpersonal members from Austria and other countries, who are accepted by the board of officers. The personal members include regular, student and sponsoring members.
Rights of Members
§5 Every member has the right to participate in all society events and to use its facilities. All members will receive one copy of the "Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences" (§26a) published in the year of his joining the Society and during membership as well as one copy of the "Vereinsnachrichten" (§27) published during a membership year. Each member has one vote and can be elected to office during the general meeting. Only personal members can be elected to office.
Obligations of Members
§6 Members are obliged to maintain the reputation of the Society and to support the achievement of the aims of the Society (§2 and §3). Furthermore members must pay yearly dues within the first six months of each year. The amount of dues will be determined by the general meeting for the personal, regular members living in Austria (§11b). In Austria, the dues for students is half of regular dues and the dues for nonpersonal member is twice that of regular dues. The Board of Officers grand reductions in dues for social reasons. Sponsoring members are those who pay at least fourfold dues of regular members. The yearly dues for members not living in Austria is that of regular members plus 20%. The Society year is calendar year.
Expiry of Membership
§7 Membership expires with death, by voluntary resignation, removal from the membership list or by exclusion. A written resignation from the Society must be addressed to the Board of Officers and takes effect with the beginning of the next calendar year.
Removal from the membership list is carried out by the Board of Officers when, in spite of two reminders, the yearly dues has not been paid for two years. The claims of the Society for non-paid dues remain intact inspite of removal from the membership list. When non-paid dues has been paid, the removal can be cancelled.
Exclusion is decided by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Officers when a member´s behavior damages the Society of when a member takes action against the aims of the Society. During this process, the member must be given the sufficient chance to justify his actions.
Former members are not entitled to refund of dues paid.
Assets of the Society
§8 The society finances itself through the yearly dues of its members, donations, and other contributions, as well as income from the sale of its publications. The funds are mostly used to publish the scientific publication "Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences".
The funds for the Otto Ampferer Prize (§22d) must come from contributions dedicated to this purpose. The treasurer must book these funds separate from other income.
The Board of Officers has the right to collect a fee for certain events (excursions, meetings, etc.) to cover expeses of the participating members. When non-members participate, the Board of Officers can collect a higher fee from these persons to cover the total costs.
The activities of the society are not designed to achieve a profit. Any profit from events may only be used to achieve the aims of the society (§2 and §3).
§9 The assets of the Society may never be distributed among the members; in case of disbandment of the Society, the assets must be made available to the Verband der wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften Österreichs or its legal successor for the support of its earth science societies´ scientific projects.
Organzization
§10 The activities of the Society are determined
a) by the General Meeting
b) by the Board of Officers
§11 The General Meeting determines
a) The approval of the statement of accounts and the exoneration of the Board of Officers
b) the determination of the yearly membership dues and the authorization of the budget
c) the election of the President by postal vote (§15)
d) the election of further Board members by postal vote (§16)
e) the election of auditors, who may not be a member of the Board
f) the decision on motions from members presented to the members of the Board at least eight days before
g) changes in the statutes
h) the disbandment of the Society.
§12 The General Meeting of the Society is divided to
a) Regular General Meeting
b) Irregular General Meeting.
§13 The Regular General Meeting is called each year by the Board of Officers and should take place during the second half of the calendar year.
An Irregular General Meeting is called with a specific agenda
a) by decision of the Board of Officers
b) by the Board of Officers on petition from at leas 50 members
c) by the Board of Officers on the basis of the decision of the arbitration committee (§30)
All members must be invited in writing to a General Meeting and informed in writing about the agenda and venue at least four weeks before the meeting.
§14 All members have the right to participate in a General Meeting. All duly called General Meetings have a quorum no matter how many members are present.
The president of the Society, and when he is not able to attend the vice president, presides over the General Meeting.
Decision is made by simple majority except in the case described in §11 point h, for which special rules apply (§31). A motion is considered to be not passed the event of a tie.
§15 The Board is composed of personal members of the Society and is elected by postal vote for a period of two Society years (=calendar years).
The members receive a list of candidates for President and the Board with the invitation to the General Meeting and should send it to the Board as a ballot or deliver it personally during the General Meeting. Deletions and changes are possible.
§16 The auditors are elected each year during the regular General Meeting.
§17 The Board elects from its members the officers, in addition to the president, needed to carry out its business: vice President, Secretary, Editor, Treasurer, Library Administrator.
The Board may also coopt additional Board members for the period until the end of the current functional period. Ther should be no more than 25 members of the Board.
§18 The quorum necessary for decisions is at least one-third of its members. Decisions are made with a simple majority, except those for which a different majority is defined in these statutes or in the rules of procedure.
§19 The Board is responsible to the General Meeting for the carrying out of all Society business.
§20 The position of Member of the Board is a non-payed honorary office for two years, whereby reelection is possible. Board members without office cannot be nominated for more than three consecutive elections.
§21 The Rules of Procedure are determined by a two-thirds majority of the Board.
§22 The Board can bestow the following honors in the name of the Society:
a) The awarding of the Eduard Suess Memorial Medal.
The criteria for this award are found in the guidelines passed by the Geological Society in Vienna on may 15, 1914 (Mitt. Geol. Ges. Wien, 10, S. 160), whose Point 6 is ammemded as follows: The Medal is awarded by the decision of the Board with two-thirds majority.
Honorary membership in the Österreichen Geologischen Gesellschaft is awarded with the Medal.
b) The awarding of Honorary Membership.
Members who have given meritorious service to the geological sciences or in the Society can be awarded Hornorary Membership.
c) The naming of Corresponding Members.
Persons who have given meritorious service in geology or in the deepening of international relations of the Society.
Honorary and Corresponding Members pay no dues. The decision for honors is made by the Board with two-thirds majority.
d) Awarding of the Otto Amperer Prize
In memoriam of the merits of the member of honour Otto Ampferer, the Board of the Austrian Geological Society awards the Otto Ampferer prize to membres of the Society, who should not be older than 35 years for outstanding scientific work in the field of geosciences, especially in geology, paleontology and petrology. The works for which the prize is awarded must be published in scientific journals or publishing houses. The award is carried out after application to the Board, together with a detailed explanation. The Board may collect additional expertises. The decision about the award is made after a detailed written explanation by two referees. A majority of two thirds of the votes of the Board is needed. The Otto Ampferer prize should be given every second year. It should consist of a certificate and a certain amount of money.
Workgroups
§23 Members of the Society can, with the approval of the Board, form workgroups under the auspices of the Society. These groups do not have their own legal identity.
§24 Workgroups must present the Board with their Rules of Procedure which have to agree with the statutes of the Austrian Geological Society.
§25 Each Workgroup names a responsible representative to the Board for the current functional period. The Board can coopt this representative into the Board according to §17. Representatives of workgroups who do not belong to the board have the right to observe Board meetings.
Publications
§26 The Society publishes:
a) The Journal of the Society, which is named "Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences" (formerly "Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geologischen Gesellschaft"). This should be published annually, if possible. The Journal should contain:
1. Original scientific papers in the all fields of the geosciences, whose authors should be members of the Society.
2. Reports of all scientific sessions of all meetings, The General Meetings as well as other events held by the Society.
3. Business communications.
4. Reviews of works in all fields of the geosciences.
5. Obituaries.
The Editorial Staff is responsible for editing this Journal. The Editorial Staff consists of one or more Editors who belong to the Board (§17). If the Board of Officers or the Editorial Staff wishes, they can be assisted by an Advisory Board, whose members are, however, not members of the Board of Officers.
b) Field guides and other publications. This are published irregularly.
§27 Society News. These are published at least two times in a calendar year. They announce Society events and contain other information important for members. The Society News are produced by the Editorial Staff.
Library
§28 The Society owns a Library, which contains books mainly obtained by exchange and as gifts. It is managed by a Member of the Board. The Library is available to all memebers of the Society at no cost.
Representation of the Society
§29 The President (in case he is not able one of the Vice-presidents) represents the Society in all outside contacts and in governmental business. Also, all of the Society´s official papers and announcements require the signature of one of these officers and the counter-signature of another officer to be valid. (see §17).
Arbitration
§30 Controversies about Society business are finally resolved by a three member Board of Arbitration composed of three members of the Society. Each of the two parties to the controversy chooses one member of this Board and these two Members of the Board of Arbitration choose a third as chairman. If no agreemant can be reached, a decision is made by the two first named Members of the Board drawing lots. The Board of Arbitration makes decisions with a simple majority.
Disbandment of the Society
§31 The Society can be disbanded only by a resolution of an Irregular General Meeting called explicitly for this purpose. The resolution must be passed by a two-thirds majority of the members present.
© Österreichische Geologische Gesellschaft
