CONSTITUTION
OF THE
EUROPEAN COLLEGE FOR THE STUDY OF VULVAL DISEASE

Article 1 - Name, Seat, Duration, Fiscal Year

1.1 The name of the ECSVD is "European College for the Study of Vulval Disease" (ECSVD).

1.2 The ECSVD will have seat in Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Créteil, service de gynécologie-obstétrique, 40, avenue de Verdun, 94010 Créteil Cedex. (Date of the declaration 16 March, 1998)

1.3 The ECSVD is formed for an undefined period of time.

1.4  The ECSVD's fiscal year will begin on the first day of January and end on the last day of December, except for the first fiscal year, which will begin on the date of formation of the ECSVD and will end on the last day of December of that year.

1.5 The ECSVD shall be non profit making.

Article 2 - Language

2.1 The official language of the ECSVD is English. The language of the International European Meetings of the ECSVD will be English.

Article 3 - Purpose

3.1 The ECSVD is formed for the following purposes:

(a) to promote communication among medical doctors managing patients with vulval disease;
(b) to promote postgraduate education in the field of vulval disease;
(c) to promote research in the field of vulval disease.

Article 4 - Membership

4.1 The membership shall be unlimited; however, it cannot be less that three.

4.2 The ECSVD consists of fellows, members and sponsor members.

4.3 Fellow
Any medical doctor who is currently a fellow of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) may become a fellow of the ECSVD.
Any medical doctor demonstrating experience in vulval disease may become a fellow, provided that:

(a) this candidate must be nominated by a fellow of this ECSVD
(b) the candidate must present a paper or a poster (in person) at a regular meeting of the ECSVD
(c) the abstract or the poster of the candidate must be accepted by the Executive Council of the ECSVD.

4.4 Member
Any medical doctor, psycologist, health worker, and graduate in non-medical sciences may become a member of the College demonstrating interest and experience in the field of vulval problems, provided that:

(a) the candidate must be presented by a fellow of this ECSVD
(d) the candidate must present a curriculum demonstrating his or her interest in the field of vulval problems candidate must be accepted by the Executive Council of the ECSVD.

4.5 Sponsor Members
Public or private ECSVDs or any industrial company or firm, particularly active in the field of vulval disease, may become a sponsor member.
Sponsor members will be admitted to the ECSVD by a majority decision of the Executive Council of the ECSVD, but they will have no voting rights.

4.6 Anyone wishing to be admitted as a fellow, a member, or a sponsor member must apply in writing to the Executive Council of the ECSVD which will have sole discretion on the admittion of new members.

4.7 The membership shall expire by death, cancellation, resignation, exclusion or non payment of the annual subscription.

4.8 The resignation has to be declared in writing by registered mail to the Executive Council of the ECSVD and can be operated at any time. In case a member does not pay his subscription, after expiry of a period of six months he is deemed to have resigned from the ECSVD.

4.9 Membership will cease if a member loses his license to practice. A member can be excluded in a case of unprofessional behaviour. The exclusion of a member shall be decided by unanimous decision of the Executive Council.

4.10 The annual subscription to the ECSVD fixed by the General Meeting of the ECSVD shall be paid at the beginning of each calendar year in a single sum. Reduction of the amount of contribution can be granted by the Executive Council of the ECSVD in justified cases.

4.11 Only members and sponsor members who have paid the annual subscription to the ECSVD are entitled to participate in the General Meeting, as well as to participate in other activities of the ECSVD. They however do not have the right to vote.

4.12 Only fellows who have paid the annual subscription to the ECSVD are entitled to participate and to vote in the General Meeting, as well as to participate in other activities of the ECSVD.

4.13 Only fellows who have paid the annual subscription to the ECSVD are entitled to nominate and vote for the proposed members of the Executive Council of the ECSVD.

4.14 Only fellows who have paid the annual subscription to the ECSVD may be elected as members of the Executive Council of the ECSVD.

Article 5 – General Meeting

5.1 There shall be held at least once every two years a General Meeting (the “Ordinary General Meeting”). These meetings will alternate with the General Meetings of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD)

5.2 The General Meeting constitutes the supreme authority of the ECSVD. It is empowered to amend the statutes, to appoint and to dismiss the members of the Executive Council, to approve the annual accounts and the budget, and, in general, to take any decision and measures exceeding the authority of the Executive Council as fixed by statutes or by law.

5.3 The President of the Executive Council shall take the chair of the General Meeting.

5.4 At the General Meeting an absent fellow vote can be given by another fellow of the ECSVD but written permission must be provided. No fellow can represent more than two fellows by proxy. Each fellow shall have one vote.

5.5 The resolutions of the General Meeting shall be taken with a simple majority of the votes of those present or represented fellows, unless otherwise provided by the present statutes of the law.

5.6 Minutes shall be kept of any meeting of the General Meeting and shall be signed by the President and the Secretary of the Executive Council. The resolutions of the General Meeting shall be notified at the end of the General Meeting.

5.7 The Executive Council shall determine the time, the place and the agenda of the General Meeting.

5.8 The announcement of the forthcoming meeting is to be sent to each member at least two months prior to the date of meeting. This announcement will contain the agenda.

5.9 An Extraordinary General Meeting can be called if decided by the Executive Council or if one/fifth of the ordinary fellows or non-officers of the ECSVD requests it in writing to the Executive Council

Article 6 – Executive Council

6.1 The ECSVD shall be administered by an Executive Council all the member of which must be fellows of the ECSVD.

6.2 Officers
Officers of the Executive Council shall include a President, a President elect, the Immediate Past President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and six Councillors. At least six countries must be represented in the Executive Council.

6.3 Duration of the Office
The President and the other members of the Executive Council shall be separately elected by the fellows attending the General Meeting upon nomination by the existing Executive Council. In order to be elected, new member of the Executive Council  nominated by the existing Executive Council require a minimum of 50% of the votes cast by those fellows voting at the General Meeting.
Executive Council members are elected for a period of two years. The President may not be reelected as a president. Other Executive Council members may be elected two times except the Secretary and the Treasurer who can be elected for a maximum of three times consecutively in that position.

6.4 The Executive Council is responsible for the management of the ECSVD. In that respect shall be invested with the broadest powers to perform any actions and activities which are not restricted by the present statutes or by law to the General Meeting. The President alone or two members of the Executive Council acting jointly shall represent the ECSVD in a judical or extrajudical proceeding.

6.5 The Executive Council shall be convened by the President and it shall meet as often as the interest of the ECSVD so require. The Executive Council has to be convened each time a majority of the members of the Executive Council so require. Each member of the Executive Council may be represented by another member of the Executive Council; however one member of the Executive Council can only represent each time one another member of the Executive Council. The Executive Council can deliberate and act validly only if more than half of all the members of the Executive Council are present or represented. The resolutions shall be passed with a majority of the vote cast. If the votes are equal, the President shall have the casting vote. The discussion shall be minuted and entered into a register which shall be signed by the President and one member of the Executive Council.

6.6 The Executive Council shall designate national delegates, who will promote the purposes of the ECSVD.

6.7 Past Presidents of the ECSVD or European Past President of the ISSVD may attend Council Meetings but they have no voting rights, with the exception of the immediate Past President of the ECSVD who is enclosed in the Executive Council.

Article 7 – General provisions

7.1 The amount of the annual subscription to the ECSVD to be paid by the members (fellows, members and sponsor members) of the ECSVD shall be determined every two years by the General Meeting.

7.2 Each year after the end of the fiscal year, the Executive Council shall draw up the annual accounts for the expiring year and shall draw up the budget for the following year. The accounts and the budget as well as the management report of the Executive Council and the notice convening the General Meeting shall be sent to all members of the Executive Council.

7.3 This statutes may be amended by a vote of two thirds of all fellows attending the General Meeting, provided notice of proposed amendments has been giving in writing sixty days prior to the meeting. In any issue relating to the International Society of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) only fellows of the International Society of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) will be entitled to vote.