Home > About the ISfTeH > Statutes	2010/09/09

Statutes

(rev. 04/06/2005)

I.
Name, Headquarters, Purpose
 
Article 1

 
A society in the sense of Article 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code shall exist under the name International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth ISfTeH (hereafter “ISfTeH”). ISfTeH shall be an independent body operating on a not-for-profit basis and not aligned with any particular political party or religion.
 
ISfTeH shall be headquartered in Zurich.

Article 2

 
ISfTeH’s purpose shall be to promote international health telematics – particularly telemedicine and associated fields – including research, development, practical applications and initial and supplementary training.

Article 3

 
To achieve its purpose, ISfTeH may in particular

• support cooperation between non-governmental organizations on the one hand and governmental and non-governmental institutions on the other
• support national telemedicine and eHealth organizations
• promote the cause of telemedicine and eHealth within the World Health Organization and other international institutions or organizations
• contribute to the dissemination and exchange of knowledge, information and technologies relating to telematic applications
• promote initial and supplementary theoretical and practical training in the field of telemedicine and eHealth, including its applications throughout the health sector regardless of professional or geographical limits
• support journalistic activities relating to telemedicine / eHealth research and development and its application
• bring together telemedicine / eHealth users, scientists and researchers and sponsors, advisers and manufacturers and distributors and their scientific personnel
• promote the formulation and publication of rules for good practice and also guidelines and information on how to act
• support activities relating to the establishment of appropriate legal outline conditions for telemedicine and eHealth applications.

II.
Membership
 
Article 4

 
The society shall consist of natural persons as individual members and legal persons as collective members. The members shall be classified as national members (nationals), affiliated members (affiliates), associated members (associates), institutional members (institutionals), corporate members (corporates), individual members (individuals) and student members (students).
 
National members shall be organizations representing telemedicine / eHealth in their particular countries. The board of directors shall decide whether an organization shall be considered its country’s representative.
 
Affiliated members shall be the natural persons belonging to a national member who have requested membership in the IsfTeH. Affiliated members shall be non-voting members represented by the national member registering the affiliate.
 
Associated members shall be organizations not belonging to the national members.
 
Institutional members shall be governmental and non-governmental academic institutions such as universities, clinics, research institutes and their sponsoring organizations.
 
Corporate members shall be commercial organizations such as manufacturers, distributors and service providers in the field of telemedicine / eHealth.
 
Individual members shall be natural persons concerned with telemedicine / eHealth whose country is not represented by a national member.
 
Student members are non-voting members who shall be natural persons undergoing academic training.
 
The board of directors shall accept and classify members in accordance with its own fair judgment.
 
The general assembly shall rule on the exclusion of a member. In case of good cause for an exclusion relating to the behavior or character of a member, the board of directors shall rule on the exclusion.

III.
Organs
 
Article 5

 
The organs of the association shall be:
a)   the general assembly
b)   the board of directors
 

Article 6

 
The ordinary general assembly shall be held once a year. Extraordinary general assemblies may be convened by the board of directors or if a fifth of the members request this whilst specifying their purposes for doing so. The board of directors shall issue written invitations to attend the general assembly with at least 60 days’ notice and indicating the general assembly’s agenda.
 
The board of directors shall be notified in writing at least 30 days prior to a general assembly of motions submitted by members on which the general assembly is to vote.
 
Members unable to attend may also vote on motions by means of a suitable form of telecommunication. They may cast their votes by telephone, facsimile, email or other suitable means. The meeting’s chairperson must take into account all votes for which there is no reasonable doubt as to the identity of the sender.
 
At least two-thirds of the valid submitted votes shall be required in order to amend the statutes of the society.

  
Article 7

 
The general assembly shall be responsible for carrying out the following tasks:

• electing the board of directors
• amending the statutes of the society

Article 8

 
Election of directors: The board of directors shall consist of nine elected directors. Five directors shall be drawn from the group of national members. The other four directors are drawn from the associates, the institutionals, the corporates and the individuals. Each group shall appoint one director. Each member within a category shall have one vote. A director shall have a three-year term of office. Directors may be reappointed an unlimited number of times.
 
Board Structure: Each member of the board of directors shall have one vote. The board of directors shall appoint from amongst its members a president, a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer and further officers if it considers these necessary. The board of directors shall indicate competences and responsibilities whilst making these appointments. The board of directors shall formulate rules of procedure for itself. The board of directors shall take key decisions as a collegiate organ.
 
The board of directors may invite individuals as co-opt board members because of their skills and expertise in the field of Telemedicine / eHealth.

Co-opted members have no voting right in the board of directors meetings.

 
Article 9

 
The board of directors shall be responsible for conducting all such business of the society as is not assigned to another organ in accordance with these statutes. In particular, it shall be responsible for implementing the society’s purpose and associated financial and strategic decisions and activities. It shall notify the members of these in an appropriate manner and carry out appropriate public relations activities. The board of directors may establish working parties to support it.
 
The board of directors shall as a rule organize an international scientific conference once a year. The conference shall take place on a rotating basis in the various countries of the national members.
 
ISfTeH engages itself to organize or co-organize once a year an event specifically directed to the practical applications in the field of telemedicine/eHealth. The board of directors shall be responsible for conducting this activity.
 
The board of directors shall also establish a list of ISfTeH supported events during a working year, which will be promoted as such on its website and through its newsletters.

IV.
Finances, Liability, Liquidation

 
Article 10

 
ISfTeH shall finance its activities through members’ dues, donations, and other gifts and from the proceeds of events. The board of directors shall decide with a simple majority on the amount of the members’ dues.

  
Article 11

 
ISfTeH’s financial commitments shall be covered by the society’s assets alone. The members’ liability shall be excluded.

  
Article 12

 
In the event of ISfTeH being wound up, following its liquidation its assets shall be transferred to a charitable organization whose purpose is as close as possible to that of ISfTeH.

V.
Concluding Provision

 
Article 13

 
These revised statutes replace the ones that were approved at the general assembly held on 14th of September 2003 in Tromsoe, Norway.

 
List of founding members:

Prof. Dr. med. Michael Nerlich
Fichtenstrasse 15
D- 93080 Pentling, Germany
Membership status: national (representative of Germany)

Dr. Steinar Pedersen
Kveldrovn 66
N- 9007 Tomsø, Norway
Membership status: national (representative of Norway)

Dr. André Petitet
287 Chemin des Estourans
F-84250 –Le Thor, France
Membership status: associate (representative of European Society of Telemedicine)

Prof. Robert Rudowski
Glogera 3/18
02-051 Warsaw, Poland
Membership status: national (representative of Poland)
 

Revision: ISfT webmaster - 2009/12/31, 08:54