BPA - Bulgarian Psychiatric Association

Article 1. The Bulgarian Psychiatric Association (the BPA) is an independent, non-political not for profit corporation of societies of psychiatrists and other professionals who are involved in medical treatment, training, research and other professional activity in the field of mental health and psychiatry, who accept this Constitution, who meet the requirements for membership and who have declared their free will to participate in the organization.

Article 2. BPA is a confederal corporation. BPA comprises independent organizations with at least 75% of psychiatrists among the members.

Article 3. BPA has a juridical status and its Headquarters are in Sofia, 15 Dimitar Nestorov Str.

Article 4. The objectives of the BPA are the following:

1. to achieve the common goals in preserving the differences in the name of the dignity and the morality of the psychiatric profession, the well-being of the members and the society as a whole;

2. to promote mental health of Bulgarian citizens and to improve the mental health care;

Article 5. In order to achieve its objectives the BPA:

1. guarantees the free discussion of all problems concerning the mental health and the psychiatric profession in a sense of tolerance, fellowship and respect for the opinions and the conceptions of each of its members;

2. assumes, requires and advances high standards of the medical treatment, training, research and other professional activity in the field of mental health and psychiatry, conform to the European and universal standards in this field;

3. requires from its members constant improvement of their professional knowledge and skills;

4. accepts the ethical bases of the psychiatric profession as stated in the Medical Ethical Code of the Bulgarian Medical Association and controls observing of these bases;

5. stimulates and promotes the professional education of the members, the research work in the field of mental health and psychiatry, and the exchange of information;

6. assists the circulation of psychiatric information and knowledge and makes it available to other professionals of medicine, and to the public;

7. speaks out on behalf of the psychiatric union whenever the state policy, planning or legislation deal with problems concerning the mental health or the psychiatric practice;

8. supports and conveys in the country the principles, declared by the United Nations Organization and its specialized bodies, the World Medical Association, and the World Psychiatric Association concerning human rights, medical ethics and standards of the psychiatric profession;

9. represents the psychiatric union in the country and abroad and promotes the cooperation with corresponding national and international professional and scientific organizations on the basis of mutual interest;

10. fosters cooperation and mutual assistance with institutions and organizations in Bulgaria, and provides permanent coordination and interaction with the Bulgarian Medical Association, the Bulgarian Psychological Association and other professional and humanitarian organizations.

Article 6. (1) There are six categories of membership in the BPA: Full Members, Life Members, Honorary Members, Candidate-Members, Associated Members, and Corresponding Members.

(2) Full Members are physicians who have at least 3 years of experience in psychiatry, have completed training in accordance with the standards of the BPA, who have either a valid license to practice or hold an academic, research, or governmental position that does not require licensure, and who are practicing the profession.

(3) Candidate-Members are physicians in training, who have not yet fulfilled the requirements for Full Members.

(4) Associated Members are persons who through their professional activities are related to mental health and psychiatry.

(5) Corresponding Members are physicians who are qualified for Full Members but are practicing outside the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

(6) Life Members are those qualified for Full Membership but who are no longer practicing the profession.

(7) Honorary Members are physicians or other persons who have rendered signal service in the promotion of mental health and psychiatry or have distinguished contribution in furtherance of the objectives of the BPA.

Article 7. (1) An applicant for membership in the BPA shall submit to an organization (society) of his choice, incorporated in the Association a written request and a recommendation from two Full, Life or Honorary Members. The members of the corresponding organization vote admission to membership.

(2) Corresponding or other members who do not wish to be members of a separate organization incorporated in the BPA shall apply for direct (individual) membership in the Association. The Membership and Constitution Committee submit their applications and their admission is voted by the Board of Trustees.

(3) Honorary Members may be elected by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees.

(4) An applicant for membership in an organization incorporated in the BPA may be refused election or promotion to more advanced membership by this organization. The refusals together with the grounds for the decision have to be declared in written form to the applicant.

(5) Applicants dissatisfied with a refusal under the previous item can appeal against it in written form to the Control Commission of the BPA in the span of 14 days from the receipt of the refusal.

(6) Applications for promotion to another category of membership are presented once per year under the regulations in the previous articles.

1. upon declaration of the member before the organization, incorporated in the BPA, which has registered the membership or before the Board of Trustees;

(8) Exclusion of a member of the BPA is made upon decision of the organization that has registered the membership, the Board of Trustees, or the Ethics Committee.

Article 8. (1) Membership in an incorporated in the BPA organization does not automatically imply membership in the BPA. In the incorporated organizations can apply for membership persons who do not meet the requirements of the BPA, but only those of the statutes of these organizations.

(2) When one of the incorporated organizations ceases to exist its members can preserve their membership in the BPA by being admitted as members into another of the incorporated organizations or through individual membership in compliance with Article 7, para.2.

(3) There is no difference among the members of the BPA on the grounds of the differences among the incorporated organizations whose members they are.

(4) Adoption of these Statutes does not change the membership status of the members of the incorporated organizations. Future modifications of these Statutes will not affect the status of present members at the time of adoption.

Article 9. All categories of members in the BPA have the following rights:

1. to express their views concerning the activities of the BPA and all problems connected with mental health and psychiatry, to submit modifications of the Statutes and all documents of the BPA;

2. to participate in the process of nomination of candidates for all electable positions in the BPA;

3. to take part in the standing committees and the interim commissions, councils and expert groups if elected or appointed, with the exception of instances of limitation for some categories of members expressly provided for;

4. to attend the sessions of the central bodies and the standing committees, except of the Ethics Committee;

5. to have priority of access to the information, the research work and the professional educational programmes of the BPA;

8. not to participate and not to support those activities of the BPA, which are voted by the majority but contradict their personal convictions.

Article 10. Full members and Life members of the BPA have the right to elect and be elected to all electable position with the exception of limitation expressly provided for Life members.

Article 11. All categories of members in the BPA have the following obligations:

2. to participate in the activities of the BPA directed towards the achievement of its objectives;

3. to abide by the established by the BPA ethical standards of the psychiatric profession and all approved standards;

4. to pay regularly their membership dues in amount and under the regulations determined by the General Assembly

(2) Life members of the BPA as well as unemployed members pay 50% of the amount of the opening and annual dues.

(3) The annual membership fee of the BPA is included in the annual fee of the incorporated organization and is determined by this organization.

Article 12. (1) BPA is constituted of autonomous organizations (societies) that can be legal entities or individual members.

(2) The autonomous organizations (societies) incorporated in the BPA are established on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and settle their activities according to own statutes conform to these Statutes.

(3) Organizations present their application for membership in the BPA to the Board of Trustees together with their constitution documents.

(4) Resolution for admission of an organization is taken by the General Assembly on the basis of a proposal from the Board of Trustees and an assessment from the Membership and Constitution Committee

Article 13. (1) The General Assembly is the supreme body of the BPA.

(2) The General Assembly is summoned by the Board of Trustees every year and is composed of representatives elected on a proportional principle from all categories of members of the BPA from the members of the organization incorporated in the Association. Members of the Central bodies of the BPA also participate in the General Assembly and have equal delegate rights.

(3) The date and the agenda of the General Assembly are announced in writing at least two months before its opening to all organizations and individual members of the BPA.

(4) An Extraordinary General Assembly is summoned by the Board of Trustees upon request of at least one tenth of all Full and Life members of the Association who state the proposed agenda.

(5) The terms of the previous paragraph observed, the Board of Trustees summons an Extraordinary General Assembly within a two-week period, otherwise it is summoned by the District Court corresponding to the registered office of the BPA.

(6) The General Assembly is considered legitimate if more than two thirds of all delegates are present.

(7) If the required quorum is not present, the session of the General Assembly is postponed by one hour after which it is considered legitimate if half of the delegates plus one are present. If not it is postponed by 15 to 30 days and considered legitimate regardless of the number of delegates present.

Article 14. (1) Each delegate of the General Assembly has right to one vote. No voting by proxy is admitted. Individual members (Article 7, p.2) have the right to take part in the General Assembly but have no voting right.

(2) Decisions of the General Assembly are adopted by a simple majority of votes except in cases of modifications of the Statutes, of dissolution or amalgamation of the organization with another organization when a two-third majority of present delegates is required.

(3) Voting for the elected officers of the BPA (the Executive Board) and for the Chairmen of the Control Commission and the Ethics Committee is direct and secret. If a candidate does not receive half of the votes plus one vote, a second round is carried out. The two candidates who have obtained the greatest number of votes participate in this second round and elected is the candidate who has obtained more votes than the other.

(4) When members of the Board of Trustees and the Control Commission are being elected, there is one round of voting and elected are considered those candidates who have obtained more votes until the vacancies are filled up.

Article 15. The General Assembly has the following powers:

2. to take resolution for the dissolution of the BPA or its amalgamation with another organization;

3. to elect the officers in the Central bodies of the BPA and the Ethics Committee;

5. to approve the budget of the BPA and to determines the registration and the annual membership dues and the mode of their collection;

6. to approve the reports of the Central bodies and the standing committees and to take decision on them;

7. to determine the printed issues of the BPA and to appoint the Editorial Board;

8. to decide which positions of elected officers will be paid and to establish the salaries;

10. to settle disputes among the Central bodies of the BPA and the standing committees, and other disputes within its competence;

Article 16. (1) The Central bodies of the BPA are: the Board of Trustees, the Executive Board (elected officers) and the Control Commission. They are elected by the General Assembly.

(2) During their mandate, members of the Central bodies cannot be nominated to another electable position in the BPA.

Article 17. (1) The Board of Trustees consists of:

1. seven Full or Life members of the BPA elected at large (no matter which of the incorporated organizations they are members of). They are voting members and can be elected for two successive terms of two years each, and again - only after a three year period;

2. the elected officers of the BPA (members of the Executive board) while in their mandate. They have only consultative vote.

(2) The Board of Trustees holds at least one regular session between two Ordinary General Assemblies, but it can be summoned at any time upon decision of the Chairman of the BPA or by request of one third of its members.

(3) At its first session the Board of Trustees elects its Chairman and the Vice-Chairman who organise the activities of the Board and preside at its meetings.

(4) The Board of Trustees takes decision by a simple majority when at least half of its voting members are present at the session.

Article 18. (1) The powers of the Board of Trusties are:

1. to determine and to guide the activities of the BPA in accordance with the decisions of the General Assembly;

3. to control the property and the finances of the BPA and to direct its expenditures in conformity with its aims and objectives;

4. to submit to the General Assembly the structure and the members of the Editorial Boards of all printed issues of the BPA and to supervise their activity;

5. to supervise the selection of the administrative staff and other employees and experts, appointed by the Executive Board and to confirm their remuneration;

7. to perform all other acts consistent with the Statutes that may be needed to carry out the purposes and resolves of the BPA.

Article 19. (1) In some circumstances the Board of Trustees may have recourse to consultation or voting by mail. The results are considered legitimate when if at least 50% plus one member from all Full, Life, and Honorary members of the BPA have responded. The vote is considered positive if at least two thirds of the votes are supportive.

(2) Consultation or voting by mail is organized by the Board of Trustees upon written request from at least 50 Full, Life, or Honorary members of the BPA. In such a case if a decision or an act of the Executive Board or the Board of Trustees is being contested and the vote is confirmative (the terms of the previous paragraph observed), the Board of Trustees submits the problem for discussion at the next General Assembly.

Article 20. (1) The Board of Trustees of the BPA summons every year an Annual Conference with a scientific and educational programme. Within the framework of the Conference a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees is being hold as well as the annual session of the General Assembly.

Article 21. Elected officers of the BPA are: the President, the President-Elect, the Past President, the Secretary and the Treasurer.

Article 22. (1) The President handles all current issues of the BPA in pursuance of the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board of Trustees. The President represents the BPA in all official matters in the country and abroad.

(2) The President appoints the Chairmen and the members of the standing committees after their approval by the Board of Trustees, with the exception of the Ethics Committee elected by the General Assembly. The President appoints all administrative employees of the BPA.

(3) The President may appoint interim commissions, councils, working groups on various problems with the participation of the members of the BPA or other experts.

(4) The President holds his office until the next Ordinary General Assembly when he takes the office of Past President,

(5) The President-Elect elected by the General Assembly after one year period assumes automatically the office of President with a one-year mandate.

(6) The Past President and the President-Elect assist the President in the execution of his duties.

(7) A Full member of the BPA may be re-elected for the post of President-Elect only after a three-year period after the expiration of his mandate as Past President.

(8) In cases of withdrawal, death or incapacity to function, the President-Elect replaces the President.

(9) In cases of withdrawal, death or incapacity of the President-Elect to fulfill the duties of the President, the Board of Trustees appoints another Full member of the BPA to carry out the functions until the next session of the General Assembly when the same person or another candidate is elected for President.

Article 23. (1) The Secretary and the Treasurer are elected for a three year period and may be re-elected to the same office for another three year mandate. After this, the same persons may be nominated and elected to the same office only after a three-year period after the expiration of their last mandate.

(2) The Secretary organises the current activities of the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees and is also responsible for all papers and records of the BPA, the correspondence and the liaison with individuals and institutions.

(3) The Treasurer administers the financial activities and the property of the BPA in conformity with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer is responsible for the safekeeping, spending, accounting and other operations with funds and the property of the BPA. The Treasurer prepares the financial report and the draft-budget of the BPA for each General Assembly.

Article 24. (1) The Control Commission includes a Chairman and members whose number is decided by the General Assembly. Members of the Control Commission are elected among the Full and Life members of the BPA for a period of three years and may be re-elected to the same mandate. A subsequent election of the same persons for the same post is possible after a three-year interval.

1. to monitor the observance of the Statutes and other documents of the BPA by the Board of Trustees, the Elected officers (the Executive Board), the incorporated organizations and the members of the BPA;

2. to control the finances and the property of the BPA and the actions which may concern these.

Article 25. (1) The standing committees of the BPA are: the Ethics Committee, the Finances and Budget Committee, the Statutes and Membership Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Committee on publications, the Committee on standards, and the Programme Committee.

(2) The President of the BPA after approval by the Board of Trustees appoints the standing committees with the exception of the Ethics Committee. Every year the President appoints Chairman of each of the committees.

(3) The President of the BPA after approval by the Board of Trustees may replace at any time any of the members of the committees to the best of the interest of their functioning and the purposes of the BPA.

Article 26. (1) The Ethics Committee consist of a Chairman and members whose number is decided by the General Assembly.

(2) Members of the Control Commission are elected among the Full and Life members of the BPA who have been members for at least ten years. During their mandate, members of the Ethic Committee cannot be nominated to another electable position in the BPA.

(3) The Chairman and the members of the Ethics Committee are elected for a period of three years and may be re-elected to the same mandate. A subsequent election of the same persons for the same post is possible after a three-year interval. The election is organised in such a way that one third of the members are replaced every year.

(4) The Ethics Committee monitors the observance of the ethics standards of the psychiatric profession and all of the resolutions of the Committee have binding power upon the members of the BPA.

(5) The essential resolutions of the Ethics Committee (those of important consequences on the BPA or on a separate member of the Association) are taken with consensus. Otherwise the Committee declares the impossibility of reaching a decision and submits the problem to the General Assembly.

(6) The essential resolutions of the Ethics Committee on controversial issues are being taken after giving a hearing to all parties concerned and they have right to appeal against the decision.

(7) The activity of the Ethics Committee is regulated by rules established by the General Assembly

Article 27. (1) The President appoints the Nomination and Election Committee immediately after the General Assembly. Each of the incorporated societies nominates at least three candidates and the President appoints the members of the Committee from among those candidates, choosing one Full and one Life - member from every society.

(2) The Nomination and Election Committee immediately starts to compile the nomination lists with at least two candidates for each elective post and presents them to the Board of Trustees at least two months prior to the General Assembly. All members of the BPA should in due time be notified of the list.

(3) The Nomination and Election Committee organises elections during the General Assembly. An interim Committee specially appointed by the General Assembly controls the procedure and returns of elections.

Article 28. The Committee on Statutes and Membership:

1. makes proposals on amendment of the Statutes and other documents of the BPA to be decided by the General Assembly. The Committee presents its proposals to the Board of Trustees at least two months prior to the General Assembly.

2. works out the formulation and monitors applying the criteria and procedures of admission, suspension and exclusion of members of the BPA.

Article 29. The Committee on Standards has authority over working out the standards for prevention, treatment, education, training and other professional activities in the field of mental health and psychiatry as well as the criteria for assessment and the procedures for licensing.

Article 30. The Programme Committee has authority over the arrangement and content of the scientific and educational programmes of the BPA as well as the scientific and educational sessions of the Annual Conference of the BPA

Article 31. The Committee on Finances and Budget controls collecting of membership fees and raising funds, and explores possibilities of most appropriate utilising the finances and the property of the BPA for the achievement of the BPA goals.

Article 32. The Committee on Publication and Information Activities organises the publication activities of the BPA.

Article 33. (1) The property of the BPA may comprise funds, belongings, rights on property and other assets that may be necessary for its activities and are admitted under the provisions of Bulgarian Law.

2. receipts from the printed issues of the BPA, from educational, informational and research programmes of the Association;

3. receipts from donations, testaments, subsidies, grants and other activities of the BPA.

Article 34. The BPA may create funds, mutual aid funds and foundations, and participate in foundations and other organizations that may contribute to the achievement of its goals, the respective decisions being adopted by the General Assembly.

Article 35. The Statutes of the BPA may be amended only by the General Assembly on recommendation by the Board of Trustees or by no less than 50 Full and Life-members of the BPA. Any recommendation for the change of the Statutes has to be submitted at least two months before the General Assembly and to be presented to the delegates at least one month prior to the meeting of the General Assembly.

Till the General Assembly works out and adopts special standards for the psychiatric profession, the only criterion for admission to Full membership is one’s officially authorized license for psychiatry

1. The BPA is established for an unlimited period of time.

2. The seal of the BPA is round shaped with the inscription “Bulgarian Psychiatric Association” in Bulgarian language.

3. The full name of the BPA and the address of its registered office are indicated on all documents and publications of the BPA.

4. The BPA assumes responsibilities with the signature of the President or an authorised by the President member of the Board of Trustees.

5. All issues that are not settled by the present Statutes are decided according to the Bulgarian law in force.

6. The present Statutes are adopted by the Inaugural Assembly of the BPA in the town of Radnevo on 17 May 1992 and are amended with decision of the General Assembly of the BPA on 27 September 1997.

Statutes

STATUTES AND BYLAWS OF THE BULGARIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION

STATUTES AND BYLAWS OF THE
BULGARIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION