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Founded 29 January 1883 by Paul Chibret, bringing together 42 ophthalmologists from France, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain.
Recognised as State-approved 13 July 1927
Annual meetings:
- Salle de Géographie puis de photographie de la rue de clichy.
- Strasbourg en 1923 à l'occasion du cinquantenaire de Pasteur.
- Palais des Académies de Bruxelles en 1925.
- Centre Marcellin Berthelot.
- Centre parisien des Congrès Internationaux.
- Grand Amphithéâtre de la faculté de Médecine de Paris.
- Institut de Physique.
- Maison de la Chimie.
- Palais des Congrès de Paris depuis 1977.
1890
Decision to draw up an annual report, the first of which was by Terson on " The treatment of lachrymal disorders".
1933 / 1985
Publication of "Bulletins et Mémoires".
1986
Publication of the journal " Ophtalmologie ".
1998
Has become the largest International Francophone Society of Ophthalmology bringing together 6673 Members of whom 4,280 are French and 2,393 are of other nationalities.
C O N S T I T U T I O N
SOCIETE FRANCAISE D’OPHTALMOLOGIE
(FRENCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY)
Founded on 29 January 1883
Recognised as State-approved on 13 July 1927
I.- AIM AND COMPOSITION OF THE ASSOCIATION
Article 1:
The Association, known as " Société Française d'Ophtalmologie ", founded in 1883, has as its aim the study of all matters connected with the organs of sight and diseases of the eye.
The Association is permanent.The Head Office is in Paris.
Art. 2 :
The means of action of the Association are: 1° The meeting of members of the Association at an Annual Conference where solely scientific matters are discussed. This Conference takes place in Paris unless the General Assembly decides to hold it in another town. 2º The publication:
a) of an annual scientific report,
b) of the work of the Conference. 3° In general, all methods of broadcasting (verbally, in picture or written form) the work of the Association or its members, as well as all work and projects relating to the stated aim in Article 1 of the current
Constitution, the disclosure of which the Association considers opportune, using appropriate means such as publications, conferences, courses et demonstrations in hospitals, laboratories and scientific institutions. 4° The Library: The " Centre de documentation Ophtalmologique " (Ophthalmological Documentation Centre).
Art. 3 :
The Association is made up of:
1° Permanent Members,
2° Honorary Members,
3° Ex Officio Members. To belong to the Association, you must be proposed by two members and accepted by the Governing Board.
The annual subscription is set by decision of the General Assembly and applies from year to year unless changed by the aforementioned General Assembly. It can be altered by the Governing Board for exceptional reasons, on condition that this is ratified by the General Assembly. The Board of Directors may award the title of Honorary Member to previous permanent members who have resigned after thirty years membership of the Association and who have given outstanding service to the Association.
The title of Ex Officio Member may be awarded by the Board of Directors to certain medical or scientific figures who have given outstanding service to the Association.
Those who have obtained these titles have the right to take part in the Annual General Meeting without having to pay subscription.
Elective appointments of honorary members and ex officio members may not exceed three a year and the total number of members in each category may not exceed ten.
Art. 4 :
The position of member of the Association is forfeited:
1° By resignation: in particular any member who has not paid his subscription for two consecutive years is considered to have resigned, except in special cases which will be investigated by the Governing Board.
2° By deregistration for non-payment of the subscription or on serious grounds as pronounced by the Governing Board, except where there is recourse to the General Assembly. The member in question is first asked to provide an explanation.
II.- ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION
Art. 5 :
The Association is administered by a Board composed of 21 members elected, for seven years, by a secret ballot of the General Assembly which chooses: 11 of the permanent members living in the provinces,
8 of the permanent members living in the Paris area,
2 foreign permanent members. If there is a vacancy the Board may provisionally replace its members. Their permanent replacement takes place at the next Annual General Meeting. The powers of the members thus elected end at the time when the mandate of the members they replace would have expired.
Changes to the Board take place each year by length of service and periods of seven years served. The outgoing members are not immediately re-eligible.
From amongst its members the Board chooses, by secret ballot, an Executive Committee, composed of a President, a Vice-President, a General Secretary, one or several Assistant Secretaries and a Treasurer.
The Executive Committee is elected for one year. Its members remain re-eligible for as long as they belong to the Governing Board.
Art. 6 :
The Governing Board meets at least once every six months and whenever it is convened by its President or at the demand of a quarter of its members.
The presence of two thirds of the members of the Board is necessary to form a quorum and for the deliberations to be legitimate. If this quorum is not achieved the Board is reconvened and can rule legitimately if the number present is at least six.
Minutes of the meeting are taken.
The President and the General Secretary sign the minutes. They are drawn up without blanks or deletions on numbered pages and kept at the headquarters of the Association.
Art. 7 :
The members of the Governing Board may not receive any payment for carrying out the functions of their office.
Only the reimbursement of expenses is possible. These must be agreed by formal decision of the Governing Board who will rule in the absence of the interested parties. Proof must be provided and checks may be made.
Paid officers of the Association may be asked by the President to attend and act as consultants at meetings of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors.
Art. 8 :
The General Assembly of the Association consists of permanent, honorary and ex officio members.
It meets in the first half of each year, whenever it is convened by the Governing Board or at the demand of at least a quarter of its members.
The Governing Board sets its agenda. Its decisions are taken by the majority of the members present.
Its Executive Committee is that of the Governing Board.
It hears the reports on the administration of the Governing Board of, on the financial and corporate position of the Association.
It approves the accounts for the previous financial year, votes the budget for the next financial year, deliberates on the items on the agenda and, if applicable, fills the vacant places on the Governing Board.
The Annual Report and the accounts are sent each year to all the members of the Association.
Except when the arrangements cited in the preceding Article are applied, paid officers of the Association are not allowed to attend the Annual General Meeting.
Art. 9 :
The President, of French nationality, represents the Association in all aspects of civil life. He authorizes expenditure. He may delegate these functions under the conditions laid down in the Rules and Regulations.
In the case of representation before a Court of Law, the President may only be replaced by a proxy acting with a special power of attorney.
The representative of the Association must enjoy full exercise of his civil rights.
Art. 10 :
The deliberations of the Governing Board regarding the acquisition, exchange and disposal of buildings necessary to the aims of the Association, creation of mortgages on the aforementioned buildings, leases exceeding nine years, disposal of property repaying money to allocation and loans, must be approved by the General Assembly.
Art. 11 :
The deliberations of the Governing Board regarding the acceptance of gifts and legacies are only valid after administrative approval has been given under the conditions laid down in Article 910 of the Code civil (Common Law), Article 7 of the Law of 4 February1901 and the Order in Council n° 66 388 of 13 June 1966, modified by the Order in Council° 70 222 of 17 March1970.
The deliberations of the General Assembly regarding the disposal of assets and property dependent on the allocation, the creation of mortgages and loans are only valid after administrative approval.
Art. 12 :
The Association has no office other than its Head Office, but if it were to have, the operation and management would be provided either by the administration of the Governing Board or by a special commission set up for this purpose by the Governing Board.
III.- ALLOCATION, ANNUAL RESOURCES
Art. 13 :
The Allocation comprises
1° The nominal values invested according to Article 14,
2° The buildings necessary to the desired aim of the Association, as well as woods, forests or land for afforestation,
3º Capital arising from gifts, providing that immediate use has not been authorised,
4° The sums paid for the redemption of subscriptions,
5° At least a tenth, annually funded, of the net revenue of the property of the Association,
6° That part of surplus resources which are not necessary for the operation of the Association for the next financial year
Art. 14 :
The movable assets are invested in accordance with the law.
Art. 15 :
The annual revenue of the Association is made up of:
1° Revenue from its property apart from the fraction allowed for in the 5° paragraph of Article 13,
2° Subscriptions and contributions from its members,
3° Subsidies from Government, counties, districts and public corporations,
4° Income from gifts whose use is authorised during the financial year,
5° Resources established on an exceptional basis, and, should this occur, with the agreement of the relevant authority,
6° Income from possible payments received for services rendered.
Art. 16 :
Accounts are kept with an income statement, a balance sheet and notes being published annually.
Each of the Association's institutions must keep separate accounts, which form a special section in the accounts for the Association as a whole.
The use of the funds from all the subsidies given during the last financial year is justified each year to the Prefect of Paris, the Minster of the Interior (Home Secretary), the Department of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Education.
IV.- MODIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION AND DISSOLUTION
Art. 17 :
The Constitution may be modified by the General Assembly at the proposal of the Governing Board (or a tenth of the members making up the General Assembly), submitted to the Executive Committee at least a month before the meeting.
In either case propositions for modification are included in the agenda for the next General Assembly meeting, which must be sent to all the members of the General Assembly at least a fortnight in advance.
The meeting of the General Assembly must have at least a quarter of the current members attending. If this proportion is not achieved, the General Assembly must be reconvened, with an interval of at least a fortnight, and, this time, it may deliberate, however many members are present. In all cases the Constitution cannot be modified without a majority from two thirds of the members present.
Art. 18 :
The General Assembly, called to reach a decision on the dissolution of the Association and specially convened for this reason, under the conditions laid down in the previous Article, must have at least half the current members present.
If this proportion is not achieved, the Assembly is reconvened, after an interval of at least a fortnight, and this time it can deliberate legitimately however many members are present.
In all cases a majority of two thirds of the members present is required for dissolution to be adopted.
Art. 19 :
In the case of dissolution, the General Assembly designates one or several auditors, who are charged with the liquidation of the Association's property. It allocates the net assets to one or several similar institutions, either public or recognised as state-approved, or to institutions certified by the modified Article 6 of the Law of 1st July 1901.
Art. 20 :
The deliberations of the General Assembly, as laid down in Articles 17, 18 and 19, are sent without delay to the Minster of the Interior, Department of Health and Social Security, and to the Ministry of Education. They are not valid until approved by the Government.
V.- SUPERVISION AND REGULATION
Art. 21 :
The President must make known, within three months, to the Préfecture of Paris all changes that have taken place in the administration or management of the Association.
The registers of the Association and its accounting records are submitted, but not in person, whenever required by the Minister of the Interior or the Prefect, to them, their delegate or any official accredited by them.
The Annual Report and the accounts, including those of local committees, are sent each year to the Prefect of Paris, the Minister of the Interior, the Department of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Education.
Art. 22 :
The Minister of the Interior, the Department of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Education have the right to have their delegates inspect the institutions founded by the Association and to have reports made on their operation.
Art. 23 :
The rules and regulations prepared by the Governing Board and adopted by the General Assembly are sent to the Préfecture of Paris. They cannot be brought into force until approved by the Minister of the Interior.
Rules And regulations
SOCIETE FRANCAISE D’OPHTALMOLOGIE
(FRENCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY)
Founded 29 January 1883
Recognised as State-approved 13 July 1927
Article 1.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS' FUNCTIONS
1° The President administers the Association and represents it.
2° The Vice-President replaces the President in unavoidable circumstances, and on the authority of the President in all other circumstances, particularly for authorisation of expenditure.
3° The General Secretary is charged with the organisation of the Conference, publications and in general the sending out of all notices. He coordinates all communications and presents a corporate report to the General Assembly. The President can delegate certain of his powers to him for a specified time.
4° The deputy General Secretary is responsible for relations with foreign societies and for coordinating international scientific meetings with which the SFO is associated.
5º The Treasurer manages the money, keeps the Association's accounts up to date and presents to the Annual General Meeting, which meets within a maximum of six months after the end of the financial year, a financial report and a budget established according to Article 16 of the Constitution, which he submits at least a fortnight before the aforementioned Annual General Meeting to the Governing Body acting as an Accounts Commission. Within the limits of his functions, he can sign on the bank account and the CCP (Compte Chèque Postal - Post Office account). He reinvests redeemed assets but, where the sale of stocks and shares is concerned, he executes the decisions of the Board and with the certified signature of another member of the Executive Committee specially appointed by the Board to verify the proper execution of its directives. The investment of funds is made in registered stocks and shares coming into the categories laid down in Article 14 of the Constitution. Finally, he keeps up to date the file of paid subscriptions: he is responsible for the distribution of publications to members of the Association and their sale to purchasers.
6° The Executive Committee meets, as often as possible, every month.
Article 2.
CHANGES IN MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BOARD, CANDIDATURES
Changes to the Governing Board take place at the majority of polls of members present.
The outgoing members can only be re-elected after an interval of a year from the expiry of their term of office.
No-one can be a candidate for the Governing Board unless he has belonged to the Association for a minimum of five years and is up to date with his subscriptions.
Article 3.
FOREIGN DELEGATES
The Governing Board is authorised to choose from amongst the permanent foreign members, whose subscriptions are in date, who will serve as a link between the Association, their nationals and foreign scientific societies. Their term of office expires when they reach the age of 65.
Article 4.
REPORT
The Governing Board submits reports on several subjects to the Annual General Meeting. The report chosen by the majority of votes will be the subject for the Conference in five years time. The choice of reporter is left to the Governing Board.
Article 5.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The meeting of General Assembly takes place during the Conference. Its Executive Committee is that of the Governing Board (art. 8 of the Constitution).
All questions concerning the interests of the Association are discussed at this meeting, having heard the corporate report from the General Secretary and the Financial Report from the Treasurer.
Only propositions pertinent to the operation of the Association can be made: they must be submitted to the President three months before the meeting so that they can be studied by the Governing Board and included in the agenda.
Only motions presented and signed by ten permanent members, whose subscriptions are in date, and which have been submitted within the statutory time frame can be discussed. They cannot be made permanent except by a vote of the General Assembly and an absolute majority of those voting. Only those propositions put to the vote are will be reported in the minutes.
Article 6.
PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTIONS, DISPATCH OF PUBLICATIONS
Members of the Association must pay their subscriptions before the 1st March each year. At their request the Treasurer will send them a receipt. The Treasurer is authorised to recover the subscriptions with interest from late payers.
The journal, published within the scope of Articles 1 and 2 of the Association's Constitution, will not be sent to members of the Association unless their have paid their subscriptions to the Association and to the journal.
Article 7.
THE SFO ETHICS COMMITTEE
- Comes together at least once a year at the request of the President or the General Secretary to issue opinions on ethical issues.
- Is made up of former Chairmen and General Secretaries as well as serving committee members.
- Sessions are chaired by the most senior President in the session.
- Its members are bound over to maintain the confidential nature of the debates, and opinions are passed on to the Board of Directors.
- Inordinate promotion of a place of work and cryptosurgery are deemed serious grounds for deregistration. Members who are thus called into question will be heard by the Board of Directors, which may announce the Member's deregistration and which will then be ratified by the General Assembly.
Article 8.
PERMANENT CONFERENCE ENTRY CARD
This is issued to a list foreign ophthalmologists who are not members of the SFO and who have provided outstanding service to the association. Those included on this list have the chance to gain free access to the SFO annual conference without receiving the publications (however, they may receive the report if they wish).
The ophthalmologists on the list are approved by a vote by the Board of Directors after being put forward by a member of the SFO.
Article 9.
ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE SFO
Associate members who are not ophthalmologists receive benefits limited to attendance at the conference, receipt of SFO publications and access to the Ophthalmological Documentation Centre database.
They do not have voting rights at the Conference General Assembly. The title of associate member is granted following nomination by two permanent members and approval by the Board of Directors. Associate members pay the same subscription fee as permanent members.
Article 10.
FOREIGN VISITORS
Any ophthalmologist originating from outside the European Union who is not a member of the Association may be admitted to the Conference upon payment of a temporary subscription fee equal to the annual subscription fee. This payment does not confer the right to receive SFO publications (report and journal).
Article 11.
NON-OPHTHALOMOLOGIST RESEARCHERS
Researchers who are not ophthalmologists may receive a free invitation to the research open-day by sending a prior, written request.
Article 12.
NON-OPHTHALMOLOGIST DOCTORS
Any doctor who is not an ophthalmologist may attend the conference and present a paper upon payment of a temporary admission fee equal to either half the annual subscription fee, which does not make them eligible to receive SFO publications, or the full annual subscription fee, which makes them eligible to receive SFO publications. |
