The Statute

Chapter One

General Provisions

§ 1

This statute defines the aims, organization, and rules of the Polish Society of Human and Evolution Studies, hereinafter referred to as the Society.

§ 2

  1. The area of the Society’s activity is the Republic of Poland, and its headquarters is located in the city of Wroclaw.

  2. The Society’s headquarters may be moved to another city on the legal validity of the General Assembly’s resolution.

§ 3

The Society is set up for an indefinite time, has a legal entity, and operates on the basis of the law signed on 7th April 1989, Law on Associations (consolidated text: Journal of Laws No. 79 pos. 855 with changes of 2001) and this statute.

§ 4

The Society has the right to form territorial branches that will operate under the name specified in § 1.

§ 5

The Society may be a member of national and international associations of identical or similar action profiles on the legal validity of the General Assembly’s resolution.

§ 6

The Society’s activity is based on the voluntary work of its members.

§ 7

The Society has the right to use the seal, logo, or badges in accordance with binding regulations.

§ 8

The Society can conduct business activity. The means gained will be allocated for accomplishing the statute’s objectives.

Chapter Two

Objectives and means of action

§ 9

The objectives of the Society are the following:

  1. Organization and support of activities promoting the development of human evolution studies in Poland.

  2. Propagation of scientific achievements in the fields of human evolution, human biology, human behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology, as well as humanistic and social sciences interested in humans or other primates from the evolutionary perspective.

  3. Propagation of high-quality human evolution education.

  4. Promotion of Polish scientific achievements in the abovementioned fields on the international level.

  5. Financial support for research (e.g. through scholarships and grants).

  6. Integration of scientific community interested in evolution and representation of this community before other legal entities.

  7. Acquisition of funds necessary for the accomplishment of all of the Society’s objectives.

§ 10

The objectives stipulated in § 9 are accomplished through:

  1. Organization of meetings, workshops, symposiums, conventions, and scientific congresses.

  2. Organization of lectures, talks, exhibitions, and other forms of propagating human evolution studies.

  3. Cooperation with scientific institutions interested in humans from the evolutionary perspective.

  4. Cooperation with national and international organizations with a similar action profile.

  5. Publication of works in the field of human and evolution studies.

  6. Social counseling and consulting regarding biology, ecology, and human evolutionary psychology.

Chapter Three

Members. Their rights and duties

§ 11

  1. Both a natural person and a legal person may become the Society’s member; however, a legal person may only become a supporting member.

  2. Citizens of Poland and foreigners (regardless of whether they are residents of the Republic of Poland) can become members of the Society.

§ 12

Members of the Society are divided into:

  1. Common

  2. Supporting

  3. Honorary

§ 13

  1. A person who has filled a membership declaration, accepts this statute’s provisions, and is interested in the evolutionary research on humans may become a common member.

  2. A decision to accept common members is taken by the Executive Board. They have to present an application form, supported by two recommending members, and appended with information concerning their education as well as their degrees and academic titles if they hold such.

  3. The Executive Board decides on the potential acceptance of an applicant by a simple majority vote.

  4. The founders of the Society become members on the registration of the Society.

§ 14

A natural person or a legal person – interested in the Society’s activity, declaring financial, material, organizational, or technical support for the Society, and accepted on the basis of a written declaration by the Executive Board’s resolution – can become a supporting member.

§ 15

  1. The title of an honorary member is bestowed by the General Assembly, at the request of the Executive Board. To become an honorary member a person must have rendered outstanding services to the Society or have distinguished achievements in the field of human studies (in Poland or other countries).

  2. An honorary member has the rights of a common member, except for active and passive suffrage. An honorary member is exempted from paying membership contributions.

  3. Honorary membership is revoked by the General Assembly at the request of the Executive Board.

  4. A longstanding Chairman of the Executive Board who has rendered outstanding services to the Society may become an Honorary Chairman of the Society. This title is bestowed by the General Assembly by a simple majority vote (taken at the request of the Executive Board).

§ 16

Every member of the Society is obliged to:

  1. Support the objectives of the Society, and adhere to the statute as well as regulations and resolutions of the Society’s Authorities.

  2. Actively participate in the accomplishment of the Society’s objectives.

  3. Adhere to professional ethics and norms of social coexistence.

  4. Regularly pay the membership contribution (including the amount specified in separate regulations).

§ 17

The right to elect and be elected member of the Society’s authorities is reserved to common members.

§ 18

All members have the right to:

  1. Participate in events organized by the Society on preferential rules.

  2. Benefit from the Society’s help and devices owned by it.

  3. Take part in meetings of the Society’s Branches and the Society’s General Assembly.

  4. Receive the Society’s publications at a reduced price defined by the Executive Board.

  5. Wear the organization’s badge.

§ 19

The Society’s membership may be lost in consequence of:

  1. Submission of a written withdrawal from the Society addressed to the Executive Board or delivered through a Branch’s Administration.

  2. Erasure from the list of members at the request of the Executive Board (or at the request of a Branch’s Administration, if such should exist) by a resolution expelling a member from the Society. The reasons for erasure include: committing a dishonourable deed, acting to the detriment of the Society, and having one’s membership contributions in arrears for more than one year (despite being reminded three times).

  3. Member’s death.

§ 20

  1. Taking a resolution expelling a member from the Society requires the presence of the Executive Board’s Chairman or his deputy and at least 2/3 of the Executive Board’s full roster. The resolution is made with the majority of 2/3 of the members present. A vote is secret.

  2. A member expelled from the Society, for the reasons described in § 19 pt. 2, has the right to appeal to the Arbitration by Fellow Members. The appeal has to be made within a month of the resolution being received, according to the rules determined in separate regulations. The Arbitration by Fellow Members’s verdict is definitive.

Chapter Four

The Society’s Authorities

§ 21

The organization of the Society consists of:

  1. Chief authorities

  2. Branch authorities

§ 22

The chief authorities of the Society are the following:

  1. The General Assembly

  2. Executive Board

  3. Audit Committee

  4. Arbitration by Fellow Members

§ 23

Branch authorities are the following:

  1. A Branch’s General Assembly

  2. A Branch’s Executive Board

  3. A Branch’s Audit Committee

§ 24

  1. The term of office for the Executive Board, the Audit Committee, and the Arbitration by Fellow Members is four years. The members are chosen in a secret vote.

  2. Authorities perform their function honorably.

§ 25

  1. The General Assembly is the highest authority in the Society.

  2. The General Assembly has either the form of an ordinary or emergency meeting.

§ 26

The Ordinary General Assembly is summoned by the Executive Board once every four years. Every member receives a notice with the date, place and agenda, 10 days before the meeting at the latest The delivery of both registered letters and parcels sent via a courier service is considered effective. The notice may be sent via email at the address given in a membership declaration instead of a registered letter or a parcel sent via a courier service. Such a notice is considered effective.

§ 27

The General Assembly is attended by:

  1. Common and honorary members of the Society.

  2. Representatives of supporting members and parties invited by the Executive Board in the capacity of advisors.

§ 28

The General Assembly resolves matters with a simple majority in the presence of at least 1/2 of all members with voting rights. If the quorum is not reached, the Executive Board orders another vote (after 15 minutes) when matters are resolved regardless of the number of participants.

§ 29

In the General Assembly’s scope of authority is to:

  1. Chart the main directions of the Society’s activity.

  2. Accept reports on activities of the Executive Board, Audit Committee, and Arbitration by Fellow Members.

  3. Grant a vote of approval for a retiring Executive Board at the request of the Audit Committee.

  4. Elect the President of PTNCE.

  5. Elect the other Executive Board members, elect the Chief Audit Committee and Arbitration by Fellow Members, as well as deputies for the Chief Audit Committee and Arbitration by Fellow Members.

  6. Bestow the title of Honourable Chairman and Honourable Member of the Society.

  7. Determine the membership contribution rate.

  8. Adopt a resolution for a change of the statute.

  9. Adopt a resolution for the Society’s dissolution.

§ 30

The Emergency General Assembly is called upon the Executive Board’s suggestion, at the request of the Chief Audit Committee, or upon the request of at least 2/3 of all common members of the Society.

§ 31

  1. The Executive Board consists of 9-13 members. At the outset of each term of office, the General Assembly determines the number of Executive Board members.

  2. The Executive Board chooses two Deputies of the President, Secretary, and Treasurer from among its members.

§ 32

The Executive Board’s scope of activity includes:

  1. Representation of the Society and acting on its behalf.

  2. Execution of the General Assembly’s resolutions and submission of reports on their fulfilment.

  3. Management of the Society’s activity stipulated in the statute.

  4. Constitution and dissolution of the Society’s Branches, control over their activity, and setting rules of their activity.

  5. Constitution, dissolution, and control over the Society’s specialized sections, and setting rules of their activity.

  6. Census of the Society’s Members, recruitment of new members stipulated in § 13, exclusion of members stipulated in § 19 and 20, and suspension of members stipulated in § 38.

  7. Submission of applications for awards and distinctions for exceptional scientific achievements and for activity within the Society.

  8. Management of the Society’s assets.

  9. Summoning General Assemblies and determining their agenda.

  10. Submission of applications for the title of Honorary Chairman and Honorary Executive Board Member.

§ 33

  1. The Executive Board’s assembly takes place at least once a year and is summoned by the Society’s Chairman.

  2. On-demand of 2/3 of the Executive Board’s or the Chief Audit Committee’s members, the Chairman or his Deputy should summon the Board’s assembly.

  3. The Executive Board’s resolutions are passed in the presence of ½ of the Board’s members, including the Chairman or his Deputy. In case of an equal number of votes (draw) the Chairman’s vote is the casting vote; if the Chairman is absent, the vote of his Deputy who leads the assembly is the casting vote.

  4. When signing agreements and contracting non-property liabilities, the Society is represented by at least 3 members of the Executive Board, including the Chairman.

§ 34

  1. If the Executive Board decreases while in the term, members remaining in the decreased Executive Board may co-opt new Executive Board members. Not more than half of the organ’s members may be appointed in this way.

  2. Co-optation is made by a secret ballot. New members are chosen out of candidates proposed by the Executive Board during the Executive Board’s Assembly in the presence of at least ½ of the Executive Board’s members, including the Chairman.

  3. The person who receives the highest number of votes becomes a new member of the Executive Board. If the co-optation of more than one member of the Executive Board is made in such a manner, candidates who receive the highest number of votes become new members. In case of the same number of votes, an additional ballot is convened (and another one, if needed).

§ 35

  1. The Chief Audit Committee is convened by the General Assembly of Members.

  2. The Chief Audit Committee consists of 3 members.

  3. The General Assembly also chooses the first Deputy of the Chief Audit Committee’s member and the second Deputy of the Chief Audit Committee’s member. Both the first and the second Deputy assume their function (in the order given) in case of resignation or inability to perform the responsibilities of a member of the Committee. Co-optation of a member to the Chief Audit Committee is made with a simple majority vote by the Executive Board.

  4. The Chief Audit Committee’s members choose from among themselves the Chairman and Secretary.

  5. The Chief Audit Committee’s resolutions are passed by a simple majority in the presence of at least 2 of its members, including the Chairman. In case of the same number of votes, the deciding one is the vote of the Chairman.

  6. The Chief Audit Committee’s members shall not be members of other authorities of the Society at the same time.

  7. The Chief Audit Committee’s members have the right to take part, in an advisory capacity, in sessions of the Executive Board.

  8. The Chief Audit Committee’s term ends after a discharge is granted to the retreating Executive Board.

§ 36

Activities of the Chief Audit Committee include:

  1. Reviewing, at least once a year, the Society’s overall activity, with a special focus on the management of finances.

  2. Reporting on its own activity and submitting motions for granting a discharge to the retreating Executive Board during the General Assembly.

  3. Presentating to the Executive Board applications stemming from settlements based on the carried out inspections, and demanding relevant explanation.

§ 37

  1. The Arbitration by Fellow Members cooperates with the Executive Board and is selected by the General Assembly.

  2. The Arbitration by Fellow Members consists of three members.

  3. The General Assembly chooses two Deputies (“the first” and “the second”) as well. “The first” and “the second” Deputies take (following the order given) the member function in case of resignation or impossibility of performing the function by any member of the Chief Arbitration by Fellow Members. In case of the impossibility to complement the Chief Arbitration by Fellow Members membership, co-optation of a member is made by simple majority by the Executive Board.

  4. The Arbitration by Fellow Members Members elect a Chairman from among themselves.

  5. The Arbitration by Fellow Members resolutions are made by a simple majority in the presence of at least two of its members, including the Chairman.

  6. The Arbitration by Fellow Members term expires with the end of the Executive Board’s term.

§ 38

The Arbitration by Fellow Members’s prerogatives include:

  1. Settling disputes that have arisen among the Society’s members as well as members and the authorities of the Society.

  2. Determining the duty and manner of remuneration for the damage made.

  3. Considering appeals stipulated in § 20 section 2.

  4. Administering penalties in the form:

  5. admonition,

  6. reprimand,

  7. Appealing to the Executive Board for suspension of membership for 2 years.

  8. Chapter Five

  9. Branches of the Society

§ 39

  1. Under the Executive Board’s consent, the Society’s Branches may be established in districts where at least 10 members of the Society either reside or work.

  2. A Branch may also incorporate members residing outside a Branch’s operating area. A Branch is governed by a Branch’s Executive Board, chosen for a term of four years by a Branch’s General Assembly.

  3. A Branch’s operating area is defined in accordance with the administrative division of the country via a resolution passed by the Executive Board. Under the resolution of the Executive Board, members residing in regions that lack statutory conditions for establishing a Branch may be incorporated into an established Branch.

§ 40

The authorities of a Branch comprise of:

  1. A Branch’s General Assembly.

  2. A Branch’s Executive Board.

  3. A Branch’s Chief Audit Committee.

§ 41

A Branch’s General Assembly constitutes a Branch’s highest authority and it is to be summoned by a Branch’s Executive Board at least once a year.

§ 42

A Branch’s General Assembly is competent to:

  1. Set the main directions for a Branch’s activity in accordance with the resolutions passed by the Chief Authorities of the Society.

  2. Consider and accept reports on a Branch’s activity provided by its Executive Board.

  3. Grant a discharge to a retreating Executive Board upon the request of a Branch’s Chief Audit Committee.

  4. Elect a Branch’s Executive Board and a Branch’s Chief Audit Committee.

§ 43

The provisions included in § 27 are applicable to all members of a Branch respectively.

§ 44

  1. A Branch’s General Assembly is to be summoned by a Branch’s Executive Board no later than 4 weeks prior to the General Assembly.

  2. The manner of conduct regarding the date, place, and the session’s agenda is analogous to § 26.

  3. A Branch’s General Assembly resolves matters with a simple majority in the presence of at least 1/2[half] of all members with voting rights. If the quorum is not reached, a Branch’s Executive Board sets a second date (after 15 minutes) when matters are to be resolved regardless of the number of participants.

§ 45

A Branch’s Executive Board comprises of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary, Collector, and two members.

§ 46

The scope of activity of a Branch’s Executive Board is as follows:

  1. Managing a Branch’s activity in accordance with resolutions passed by the authorities of the Society and the provisions of the statute.

  2. Representing a Branch outside it by at least 3 members of a Branch’s Executive Board, including the Chairman or Deputy.

  3. Summoning a Branch’s General Assembly.

  4. Presenting to the Society’s Executive Board applications for acceptance or rejection of common, supporting, and honorary members of the Society.

  5. Presenting to the Society’s Executive Board reports on a Branch’s activity.

§ 47

  1. A Branch’s Assemblies are to be summoned by its Chairman as needed, but not fewer than twice a year.

  2. A Branch’s Executive Board Assemblies are headed by its Chairman or Deputy on the Chairman’s behalf.

  3. Resolutions of a Branch’s Executive Board are to be passed by a simple majority in the presence of at least 3 members of a Branch’s Executive Board, including the Chairman or Deputy. In case of an equal number of votes, the casting vote belongs to a Branch’s Chairman.

  4. Complementation of a Branch’s Executive Board during its term can be conducted only by a Branch’s General Assembly.

§ 48

  1. A Branch’s Chief Audit Committee consists of 3 members who elect a Chairman from among themselves.

  2. Resolutions of a Branch’s Chief Audit Committee are to be passed by a simple majority in the presence of at least 2 of its members, including the Chairman. In case of the same number of votes, the casting vote belongs to the Committee’s Chairman.

  3. Complementation of a Branch’s Chief Audit Committee during its term may be conducted only by a Branch’s General Assembly.

§ 49

A Branch’s Chief Audit Committee is competent to:

  1. Conduct an inspection of the overall activity of a Branch at least once a year with a particular focus on its finances.

  2. Present reports on a Branch’s activity and apply for a discharge for the retreating of a Branch’s Executive Board during a Branch’s General Assembly.

  3. Present to a Branch’s Executive Board applications stemming from settlements based on the carried out inspections, and to demand relevant explanation.

Chapter Six

Assets and funds

§ 50

The sources of the Society’s income are as follows:

  1. Membership contributions;

  2. Donations and subsidies granted to the Society by national institutions, municipalities or private subjects;

  3. Income from statutory enterprises;

  4. Bequests and gifts;

  5. Deposit interests.

§ 51

Financial assets of the Society and income from its property may be used only for those causes of the Society that are specified in the hereby statute and must not be shared among the Society’s members. Any potential financial surpluses may be invested only in a way that guarantees safety and profitability.

§ 52

  1. The property of the Society is governed by its Executive Board or Executive Boards of Branches empowered under written consent by the Executive Board, as well as, legal persons within the scope of authorization, issued in each case separately by the Executive Board for a definite period of time.

  2. Upon signing agreements and taking liabilities, the Society is to be represented by at least three members of the Executive Board, including the Chairman and the Collector.

§ 53

The Society’s fiscal year is the calendar year.

Chapter Seven

Changes to the statute and dissolution of the Society

§ 54

  1. Any changes to the statute and the dissolution of the Society require a resolution taken by the General Assembly of its Members passed by a majority of ⅔ of votes in the presence of at least 25% OR at least 40 members of the total number of members who hold the right to vote.

  2. In case of passing the resolution of the Society’s dissolution, the General Assembly passes the resolution on property allocation and to attain this aim it summons the Liquidation Committee. The resolution on the allocation of the property is subject to the ratification of the registering authority.

  3. To all matters not settled in the hereby statute, the provisions of Law on Associations shall apply.