§
1
Name and Principal Office of the Association
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The
Association shall have the name
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XENOPHON
Society for the Preservation and Promotion of Classical Riding
Culture
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After
its official incorporation, the acronym "e.V." shall be
added to the name "XENOPHON".
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The
Association's principal office is in Warendorf. |
§ 2
Purpose of the Association
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The
Association's purposes are exclusively and directly non-profit,
in the sense of the Section entitled "tax exempt purposes"
of the Tax Code. These statutory objectives are generally achieved
through the promotion of science, education, culture, sports and
animal husbandry, and more specifically through |
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a) |
the preservation
and promotion of riding culture in accordance with traditional,
classical principles; |
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b) |
the education
about the dangers of violating the principles of the classical doctrine
for the sport of riding; |
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c) |
the application
of the "Ethical Principles of Horse Lovers" to the practice
of riding, in accordance with § 15 of the present Bylaws; |
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d) |
the raising
of awareness about the classical riding culture; |
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e) |
the promotion
of training of riders and horses, and |
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f) |
the promotion
of a good reputation of equestrianism in the public eye, as well
as in general; |
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the promotion
of the principles of protection of animals when keeping, handling
and training horses; |
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h) |
the promotion
of science, research, literature, and applications in all fields
of horse-related activities, as well as |
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i) |
the observance
of the Association's purposes in the framework of its non-profit
activities vis-à-vis other equestrian organizations. |
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| 2. |
The goals
of the Association shall be pursued internationally. |
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| 3. |
The
Association's activities shall be pursued unselfishly, without primary
economic purposes. The Association's funds shall be used exclusively
for the pursuance of the statutory purposes. Members shall not receive
any contributions from the assets of the Association. No person
shall be favored through expenses for activities which are not in
conformity with the Association's purposes, or through excessively
high compensations.
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| 4. |
All
positions of the Association shall be assumed on a voluntary basis. |
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Upon
the dissolution of the Association or in the event of the cessation
of its present purpose, its assets may only be used for tax-exempt
purposes (see § 14, paragraph 2). |
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§
3
Obligations toward the Horse |
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Members
shall be obligated to always respect the principles of the protection
of animals with respect to the horses in their care, and, more specifically,
shall undertake |
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a) |
to feed, care
for and house their horses in accordance with their needs, as determined
by their inherent behavior and in accordance with the laws on the
protection of animals; |
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b) |
to provide
the horses with sufficient possibilities to move; |
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c) |
to respect
the principals of training based on the horses' natural behavior
and the laws of the protection of animals, i.e. to refrain from
treating horses in a manner unbecoming to a rider, for instance
by torturing, abusing or transporting horses in inadequate conditions. |
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| 2. |
Offenses
against the wellbeing of the horse may lead to the expulsion from
the Association. |
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§
4
Membership |
| 1. |
Any
individuals, corporations and associations of persons who are willing
to promote the objectives and purposes of the Association may become
members. |
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| 2. |
Applications
for membership must be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors
of the Association, who shall take a decision on the admission.
Children and adolescents must obtain the written permission of their
legal representative. |
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| 3. |
The
Honorary Council may be consulted in matters pertaining to admission
and shall submit its recommendation to the Board of Directors. |
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§
5
Cessation of Membership |
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Membership
in the Association shall end by |
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a)
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resignation, |
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b) |
expulsion and/or
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c) |
dissolution
of a member corporation or association of individuals or the loss
of legal status. |
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| 2. |
Resignations
shall be submitted to the Board in writing at least three months
before the end of the fiscal year. |
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| 3. |
A
member can be expelled from the Association, if s/he |
- violates
the Bylaws or statutory decisions:
- harms or
seriously endangers the Association's purposes and objectives;
- violates,
in particular, § 3 (obligations toward the horse);
- is in arrears
with membership fees for more than six months, in spite of reminders.
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A
member's resignation or expulsion shall end all rights and entitlements
reserved for members of the Association. There shall be no restitution
of donations, membership fees or any other contributions. Members
shall remain liable for all arrears as well as for membership fees
due at the time of their resignation or expulsion. |
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| 5. |
Any
expulsion shall be decided by the Board of Directors. Expelled members
may contest their expulsion in writing, within one month after the
publication of the decision to expel. The Honorary Council shall
review the case and take a decision. The membership shall remain
dormant during this time. The final decision shall be taken by the
General Membership Meeting. |
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§
6
Honorary Members - Honorary President
The
General Membership Meeting, acting upon a proposal from the Board
of Directors, may appoint as Honorary Members and/or Honorary
Presidents any individuals, in recognition of their outstanding
merits in fulfilling the objectives and purposes of the Association,
or whose position in society can be extremely useful to the Association.
Honorary Presidents and Honorary Members enjoy all privileges
of regular members and are subject to the obligations toward horses
as outlined in § 3 of the Bylaws. |
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§
7
Fiscal Year and Membership Fees |
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| 1. |
The
Association's fiscal year shall be the calendar year. |
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Membership
fees, admission fees and other dues shall be determined by the General
Membership Meeting upon proposal of the Board of Directors |
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| 3. |
Membership
fees are due at the beginning of each year. In the absence of any
decision by the General Membership Meeting, the Board of Directors
shall determine the payment method for admission fees and other
dues. |
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§ 8
Bodies of the Association
The
decision making bodies of the Association are:
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The
General Membership Meeting (GMM),
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The
Board of Directors (BoD),
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The
Honorary Council (HC)
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§
9
The General Membership Meeting |
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| 1. |
A
regular General Membership Meeting shall be held during the first
semester of each year. The Board of Directors may call an extraordinary
General Membership Meeting at any time. It is obligated to do so
upon a duly motivated written request of at least one third of the
membership. |
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The
General Membership Meeting shall be convened by the President or
his/her representative. The date, place and time, as well as the
Agenda shall be communicated in writing to all members. A period
of four weeks must elapse between the date when the General Membership
Meeting is convened and the actual meeting date. The days when the
invitations are sent (postal stamp) and the actual meeting day are
not to be included in this four week period. |
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| 3. |
The General Membership Meeting shall be deemed to have a quorum
on the sole basis of members present, regardless of their number. |
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Motions
pertaining to items on the agenda shall be submitted in writing
to the Board of Directors at least one week before the meeting date.
Any motions submitted at a later date shall only be discussed after
a relevant decision by three fourth of members present. |
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The General Membership Meeting shall be chaired by the President
or, in his/her absence, by his/her representative. In the absence
of both the President and his/her representative, the General Membership
Meeting shall elect a Chair. |
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All
votes shall be taken by show of hands. Unless otherwise stated in
the Bylaws, decisions shall be taken by simple majority of the votes
cast. In the event of a tie vote, the President shall break the
tie. |
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Organizations
or associations of individuals shall confer their voting rights
at the General Membership Meetings by proxy to an individual. The
proxy shall remain with the Association. |
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| 8. |
Elections
are decided by show of hands, unless one third of members present
call for a secret ballot. The candidate receiving the simple majority
of votes cast shall be elected. Should none of the candidates receive
a majority, there shall be a run-off vote between the two candidates
having received the highest number of votes. In the event of a tie,
the President shall decide by draw of lot. |
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Adolescents
and children do not have a right to vote. |
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| 10. |
Modifications
of the Bylaws require a tow-third majority of members present. Any
such modifications can only be voted on if they are listed as an
item on the Agenda and sent out within the statutory deadline, together
with the invitation to the General Membership Meeting |
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| 11. |
A
written record shall be kept of the General Membership Meetings.
This record shall include the wording of all decisions as well as
the election results. The record must be signed by the President
or his/her representative, and by the Secretary. |
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§
10
Tasks of the General Membership Meeting
The General
Membership Meeting shall take decisions relating to
- The election
of the Board of Directors
- The election
of members to the Honorary Council
- The election
of two Auditors
- The annual
budget
- The approval
of the actions of the Board of Directors
- The determination
of membership fees, admission fees and other dues
- The modification
of the Bylaws and the dissolution of the Association
- The motions
outlined in § 6 and § 9, paragraph 4 of the present
Bylaws
- The type
and amount of reimbursements to members of the Board of Directors
for expenses related to their work for the Association.
Decisions
relating to modifications of the Bylaws and to the dissolution
of the Association require a two-third majority of members present |
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§
11
Board of Directors |
| 1. |
The
Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of two and a maximum
of seven individuals. It shall include the following
- The President
- The Vice
President
- The Secretary
- Up to four
directors
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The
Bureau, as defined by § 26 of the BGB , is composed of the
President and the Vice president. Both can act alone in representing
the Association. Internally, however, the Vice president shall only
represent the Association in the event of the President being unable
to do so. |
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Board
of Directors members, as defined by § 26 of the BGB shall represent
the Association in courts of law as well as in non-legal matters.
If a Secretary is elected, s/he shall conduct the current administrative
affairs of the Association and see to the implementation of all
decisions taken by the Board of Directors and the General Membership
Meeting. |
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Members
of the Board of Directors are elected for a three-year term of office
and can be re-elected. Should a member leave his position before
the end of the full term of office, the following General Membership
Meeting shall elect a new member. In the interim, the Board of Directors
shall designate, by a simple majority of votes present, an individual
to fill the vacancy until the next General Membership Meeting. |
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The
Board of Directors shall normally take its decisions during meetings.
A quorum is present if more than half of its members are present.
Decisions are taken by simple majority. In the event of a tie,
the motion shall be considered rejected.
In an emergency,
Board of Directors' decisions may be taken by correspondence or
by telephone, provided that all members give their approval to
this method by correspondence or telephone. Any Board of Directors'
decisions taken by these methods shall be duly recorded and signed.
All meetings
of the Board of Directors shall be convened in writing, with the
relevant agenda items, no later then 14 (fourteen) days before
the meeting. |
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| 6. |
All
meetings of the Board of Directors shall be recorded in Minutes,
indicating the agenda items and decisions. The Minutes shall be
signed by the President and one other BoD member. |
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| 7. |
The
founding members authorize the BoD to decide any changes to the
Bylaws that are requested by supervisory bodies, the Courts of Law
or any financial authorities, as a matter of course. Any such changes
shall be communicated to the next GMM. |
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§
12
Tasks of the Board of Directors |
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| 1. |
The
BoD shall be responsible for all affairs of the Association, unless
they have been specifically attributed to the GMM by these Bylaws. |
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| 2. |
The
BoD is authorized to entrust the implementation of individual measures
or specific tasks to volunteers or paid third parties. The type
and scope of such tasks and competencies shall be defined in writing. |
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The
BoD may appoint Committees to assume certain tasks, insofar as this
is deemed necessary or useful. It shall determine the type and scope
of these tasks. Committees' terms of office shall be limited to
the duration of the mandate of the BoD. They may be dissolved at
any time by the BoD. |
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§
13
The Honorary Council |
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| 1. |
The
Honorary Council shall be composed of one Chair and two Vice-Chairs,
as well as of two replacement members. Members shall not occupy
any other positions in the Association and shall, if possible, be
at least thirty five years old. They shall be elected for a two-year
period by the GMM. They can be re-elected. |
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| 2. |
In
the event that a member should not serve to the end of his/her mandate,
the following GMM shall hold an election to fill the vacant position.
In the interim, the BoD, by a majority decision of those present,
shall designate a replacement who shall fill the vacated position
until the following GMM. |
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| 3. |
The
Honorary Council shall take internally binding decisions in cases
of disputes or violations of the Bylaws, in as much as the occurrences
are related to membership in the Association. The Honorary Council
shall also decide on the expulsion of members, in accordance with
§ 5 of the Bylaws. Such decisions must be taken unanimously. |
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| 4. |
The
Honorary Council may impose the following sanctions: |
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a) |
Warning |
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b) |
Reprimand |
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c) |
Abjudication
of the right to occupy a position in the Association, with immediate
suspension |
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d) |
Expulsion from
the Association |
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Any
such decision must be communicated in writing to the individual
concerned, with explanation of the reasons. |
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§
14
Dissolution |
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| 1. |
The
dissolution of the Association can only be decided by an extraordinary
session of the GMM, and by a majority of two thirds of members present.
Such a session must be convened for this purpose alone and, in accordance
with § 9, paragraph 2 of these Bylaws, at least one month before
the actual meeting date. |
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| 2. |
In
the event of a dissolution of the Association, its assets shall
go to the City of Warendorf, who shall use them immediately and
exclusively for the purposes stated in § 2 of these Bylaws. |
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§ 15
Ethical Principles of Horse Lovers
Members
shall subscribe to and shall deem themselves beholden to the
following principles:
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| 1. |
Whoever
deals with a horse shall assume the responsibility for the living
creature which has been entrusted to him. |
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| 2. |
Horses shall be kept in conditions that are in keeping with their
natural needs. |
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Regardless
of the purpose of its use, the horse's physical and psychological
health must be regarded as being of the utmost importance. |
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| 4. |
Humans
are to respect all horses equally, regardless of breed, age and
sex, and irrespective of their use in breeding, leisure or sports. |
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All
knowledge of the horse's history, its needs, as well as its treatment
is a historical and cultural treasure, which is to be preserved
and transmitted to future generations. |
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Any
interaction with horses contributes to an important degree to the
development of the personality, especially in young individuals.
This importance should always be recognized and promoted. |
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| 7. |
Any
individual who engages in sports activity in partnership with the
horse shall submit the horse entrusted to him/her to appropriate
training, with the objective of developing the utmost harmony between
human and horse. |
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| 8. |
The
use of the horse in high performance sport or in general riding,
driving and vaulting sports shall be determined according to its
natural talents, performance aptitude and willingness to perform.
Any influence on the horse's performance ability through the use
of drugs or un-horsemanship-like actions on the part of the human
must be rejected and sanctioned. |
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| 9. |
The
responsibility of humans toward the horses with whom they have been
entrusted also covers the end of the horse's life. This responsibility
must always be assumed in the best interest of the horse. |