Statutes of the association “Wanderfische ohne Grenzen e. V.” NASF Germany
adopted at the general meeting on April 17, 2015,
amended by resolution of the general meeting on September 30, 2015,
amended by resolution of the general meeting on April 8, 2016
§ 1 Name and registered office of the association
The association bears the name “Wanderfische ohne Grenzen e. V.” and is supplemented by the name suffix “NASF Germany”.
The association has its registered office in Winnenden at the following address: “Wanderfische ohne Grenzen e. V.”, c./o. Armin Weinbrenner, Johannes-Giesser-Straße 8, 71364 Winnenden.
The association was founded on April 17, 2015, and registered on June 18, 2015, under the business number VR 721829 at the Stuttgart Local Court – Registry Court.
§ 2 Purpose of the association
The purpose of the association is to promote nature conservation in accordance with the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the nature conservation laws of the federal states, as well as to promote environmental protection.
The primary purpose of the association is the protection, promotion, and reintroduction of all aquatic life, including all migratory fish, in particular the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).
The association pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the section “Tax-privileged purposes” of the German Tax Code. The association is selflessly active; it does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes.
The association is financed by membership fees and donations. The association’s funds may only be used for purposes specified in the statutes.
Members of the association do not receive any payments from the association’s funds. No person may benefit from expenses that are not related to the purpose of the association or from disproportionately high remuneration.
With the approval of the executive committee, members and non-members of the association may be reimbursed for expenses incurred.
§ 3 Financial year
The association’s financial year begins on January 1 of each year and ends on December 31 of each year. The founding year is a shortened financial year.
§ 4 Membership
Full members of the association can be natural persons regardless of their nationality; young people aged 14 and over with the consent of their legal guardians.
Associations, organizations, interest groups, and companies may also be full members.
Supporting members may be natural persons, associations, organizations, interest groups, and companies.
Applications for membership must be submitted in writing to the executive committee. Natural persons must provide their usual personal data. Associations, organizations, interest groups, and companies must provide information on their legal nature and their organizational and/or economic purposes.
The executive committee decides on the admission of an applicant; rejections of an application do not require justification.
Upon admission, the new member accepts the association’s statutes. The new member will be given a copy of the statutes. Membership becomes effective as soon as the first membership fee has been paid.
Honorary memberships take effect immediately. Only natural persons can be appointed as honorary members. A person appointed as an honorary member is automatically a member of the association; however, they must submit a formal application for membership.
Each member is obliged to represent the interests of the association, to refrain from damaging the association in speech and conduct, and to participate regularly in scheduled events.
Ordinary members have the right and the duty to participate in the general assembly and are entitled to submit motions. Ordinary members who are natural persons each have one vote, which they can only cast in person. Ordinary members who are associations, organizations, interest groups, or companies also have one vote each, regardless of their personnel or economic strength, which they can exercise through a legally authorized representative or a representative with special power of attorney.
§ 5 Termination of membership
Ordinary membership shall terminate in the following circumstances:
upon the death of the member;
upon resignation at the member’s own request, which is permissible at the end of the financial year and must be notified to the Executive Board in writing at least three months in advance;
upon expulsion by the Executive Board;
upon deprivation of civil rights;
upon dishonorable acts within the meaning of the law;
in the event of outstanding membership fees or other payment obligations to the association that are more than 12 months overdue and have not been settled within 30 days despite a reminder;
due to conduct detrimental to the association.
Expulsion by the Executive Board must be declared to the regular member by registered letter after a hearing. The person concerned may appeal against the expulsion within 4 weeks, otherwise the expulsion is legally binding. The next General Meeting shall decide on the appeal. Membership shall be suspended until a decision is made.
Supporting members may terminate their membership at their own request at the end of the financial year if this intention has been notified to the Executive Board in writing at least three months in advance. The provisions governing the expulsion of a full member shall apply mutatis mutandis to expulsion by the Executive Board.
Upon leaving the association, all claims of the departing member against the association shall expire.
§ 6 Payment of membership fees
The General Assembly shall decide on the amount and due date of membership fees on the recommendation of the Executive Board in the form of a membership fee regulation.
Annual membership fees are payable in advance by the end of February of each year for the current calendar year.
Ordinary members who are in training or in need may be granted a deferral of payment, partial or full exemption from membership fees.
No refunds shall be made for contributions and payments of any kind.
§ 7 Organs of the Association
The organs of the Association are:
the Executive Board
the General Meeting
The Executive Board consists of six full members with the following titles:
Chairperson
Deputy Chairperson
Treasurer
Secretary
three assessors
An annual general meeting shall be held, to which all ordinary members shall be invited in writing by the executive committee at least 21 days in advance, stating the agenda. Motions for the general meeting must be submitted to the executive committee in writing at least 14 days in advance and must be justified. The postmark shall be used to calculate deadlines, unless proof of compliance with the deadline is provided in another form.
The chairperson or their deputy is responsible for chairing the general meeting. An election officer must be appointed for the election of the board, who will temporarily chair the general meeting. After the election of the new board, the new or re-elected chairperson or their deputy will take over the chairing of the general meeting.
The General Assembly is responsible for:
Receiving the Executive Board’s statement of accounts (annual report);
Receiving the treasurer’s report and approving it, after appointing two cash auditors who are not members of the Executive Board;
Approving the actions of the entire Executive Board under the direction of the election officer;
Electing the chairperson and the Executive Board for three fiscal years.
At the suggestion of the Executive Board, the General Assembly shall adopt regulations for the implementation of the association’s purpose and its internal organization and activities.
The duly convened General Meeting shall constitute a quorum regardless of the number of members present. It shall decide on motions by a simple majority, unless expressly stipulated otherwise.
An extraordinary General Meeting must be convened by the Executive Board if at least one third of the ordinary members request this in writing, stating the purpose and reasons. The Executive Board may decide to convene an extraordinary General Meeting if there is an important reason for doing so.
§ 8 Executive Board
The executive board members within the meaning of § 26 BGB (German Civil Code) are
the chairperson
the deputy chairperson
the treasurer
the secretary
The chairperson manages the association’s affairs alone, has sole signing authority, and represents the association in legal transactions.
All other members of the executive board represent the association only in pairs.
The treasurer also has sole power of representation within the scope of the association’s existing bank accounts.
The chairperson manages the association’s affairs on a voluntary basis. He or she heads the association and is responsible for the proper administration of all offices and, in the event of his or her absence, must ensure that a timely replacement is found from among the executive board members.
The executive board decides on financial matters by vote. In the event of a tie, the chairperson’s vote counts twice.
If an elected member of the executive committee resigns before the end of their term of office, the chairperson shall appoint a temporary member of the executive committee from among the regular members until the next general meeting.
The secretary shall take minutes of all meetings of the association (general meetings and executive committee meetings), which shall be signed by the chairperson and the secretary.
§ 9 Liability
The association’s liability towards its members arising from participation in events is limited to intent and gross negligence.
§ 10 Honors
Honors are awarded on the recommendation and by resolution of the executive committee. Every full member is entitled to make a recommendation.
§ 11 Dissolution of the Association
The dissolution of the Association can only be decided by an extraordinary General Assembly convened specifically for this purpose with a three-quarters majority of the full members present.
The liquidator is the chairperson, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise.
In the event of dissolution of the association or discontinuation of tax-privileged purposes, the association’s assets shall fall to a public corporation or another tax-privileged corporation, which shall use them directly and exclusively for the promotion of nature conservation and environmental protection.
§ 12 Miscellaneous
The above amended Articles of Association were presented to the association’s general meeting at its meeting on April 8, 2016, and adopted by it.