Our constitution

§ 1 Name, registered office and financial year

(1) The association shall bear the name [handwritten addition in scan not clearly legible] in the Bavarian State Hunting Association (Landesjagdverband Bayern e. V.). It shall be entered in the register of associations.

(2) The association is based in Holnstein.

(3) The financial year is the calendar year.

§ 2 Duties and objectives of the association

(1) The association pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the section “tax-privileged purposes” of the German Fiscal Code. The association promotes nature and animal protection, as well as education.

(2) For the purposes of nature conservation, the association shall provide

• a) measures to protect and conserve a diverse and healthy population of free-living animals suited to the landscape and local cultural conditions;
• b) informing the general public
  • about the value and benefits, protection and conservation of species-rich populations of natural flora and fauna and
  • on the causes and effects of harmful environmental influences and how to prevent them;

(3) The Association’s educational activities include:

• a) preserving and promoting hunting as a cultural asset;
• b) the training and further education of hunters in accordance with the principles of German hunting ethics;
• c) the association of all hunters in the district [not completed] / former district [not completed] / association area [not completed], with the aim of safeguarding and representing interests within the scope of the purpose set out in the Articles of Association.

(4) The association operates on a non-profit basis and does not primarily pursue its own commercial interests.

(5) The association’s funds may be used only for the purposes set out in its constitution. Members shall receive no payments from the association’s funds.

(6) No person may benefit from expenditure unrelated to the association’s purpose or from disproportionately high remuneration.

(7) The association is a corporate member of the Landesjagdverband Bayern e. V. The current statutes of the Deutscher Jagdschutz-Verband e. V. and the Landesjagdverband e. V. are binding on the association and its members, provided they do not conflict with the provisions of the section of the German Fiscal Code concerning tax-advantaged purposes.

The disciplinary regulations of the German Hunting Association (Deutscher Jagdschutzverband e. V.) form part of these articles and are appended to them.

§ 3 Acquisition of membership

(1) Anyone who holds an annual hunting licence, is eligible for a hunting licence, or is any other person who supports the association’s aims and activities may become a member of the association.

(2) The association’s honorary membership may be awarded by the general meeting to natural persons for special services to the association’s duties and objectives.

(3) Admission of new members requires a written application for membership. The executive committee decides on the application. If the executive committee rejects the application, the applicant may submit a written appeal to the General Meeting within two weeks of being notified of the committee’s decision.

(4) An application for membership may be rejected only for good cause. Good cause exists in particular if facts are known that would lead to termination of membership or justify exclusion from the association (§ 4).

(5) Members may exercise their voting rights only if they have met their membership fee obligations. Honorary members have voting rights if they are also full members of the association.

§ 4 End of membership

(1) Membership ends:

• a) on death
• b) by revocation of the hunting licence
• c) by resignation
• d) by expulsion
• e) by suspension at the request of the state hunting association (§ 5 para. 4 of the statutes of the Bavarian State Hunting Association)

(2) Honorary membership ends by revocation or death.

(3) Resignation is possible only by registered letter, to take effect at the end of a financial year, giving three months’ notice.

(4) A member may be expelled for a serious breach of the association’s interests or rules, or for other serious reasons, particularly if the member fails to pay their subscription despite receiving two reminders.

(5) Exclusion or suspension is decided by the committee. A person who has been excluded may appeal the committee’s decision to the general meeting within two weeks of being notified of the decision. The appeal must state the reasons. At the request of the district group or association of hunters, the exclusion may be published in the newsletter of the State Hunting Association.

(6) On termination of membership, all claims arising from the membership relationship cease, without prejudice to the association’s claims for outstanding subscription payments. Subscriptions paid, contributions in kind and donations will not be refunded.

§ 5 Members’ duties

Members are required

(1) to uphold the recognised principles of German hunting ethics,

(2) to support the hunting authorities in enforcing these principles,

(3) to promote the interests of the association, the Bavarian State Hunting Association (Landesjagdverband Bayern e. V.) and the German Hunting Protection Association (Deutscher Jagdschutz-Verband e. V.),

(4) to pay the prescribed subscriptions on time.

§ 6 Governing bodies of the association

(1) The association’s governing bodies are

• a) the executive committee
• b) the general meeting.

(2) The Executive Committee may appoint an advisory board for the duration of its term of office. The board should generally comprise no more than [not completed] members. Its role is to advise the Executive Committee on fundamental matters. Advisory board members may be dismissed only for good cause.

§ 7 Executive Committee

(1) The board (executive board) consists of the 1st Chairman and the 2nd Chairman, the Secretary, the Treasurer and [not completed] committee members.

(2) The board within the meaning of § 26 BGB (representative body) comprises the 1st and 2nd chairpersons. Each chairperson is authorised to represent the association individually. In internal dealings, the 2nd chairperson may act only when the 1st chairperson is unable to do so; this need not be demonstrated.

(3) Where these articles of association refer to the board without further explanation, this means the executive board (§ 7 para. 1).

(4) The board’s term of office is four years.

(5) The board organises the local hunting groups. Once their geographical areas of responsibility have been defined, it convenes the hunting ground owners in each defined area to form a local hunting group, and arranges for the group leader and deputy to be elected. It also arranges new elections if the group leader leaves office or their term expires.

(6) The board should invite the chairpersons of the hunting management associations within the club’s area of operation to advise on all hunting matters. It advises and supports the associations in carrying out their duties, works with them in a spirit of trust and attends their meetings where possible.

(7) The board supports the involvement of the Bavarian Hunting Association as an association recognised under § 29 BNatSchG. For this purpose, it may appoint a conservation officer.

§ 8 General meeting

(1) The following matters are the responsibility of the general meeting:

• a) Election of the committee
• b) Receipt of the accountability report and discharge of the Executive Committee
• c) Approval of the budget
• d) Setting membership fees
• e) Decisions on other matters, in particular complaints under § 3(3), sentence 3, and applications, insofar as these are not the responsibility of the committee.
• f) Resolutions on amendments to the articles of association

Motions from members for the general meeting to decide on must be submitted to the board at least one week before the meeting.

(2) The association’s chair must convene an ordinary general meeting at least once a year.

(3) The committee may convene an extraordinary general meeting on its own initiative; it must convene one if one tenth of the members request this in writing, stating the purpose and reasons.

(4) All invitations to general meetings must be announced at least two weeks before the meeting, stating the venue, time and agenda, by personal written invitation or publication in the local newspapers. The Landesjagdverband and the chairpersons of the hunting communities must be invited in writing.

(5) The meeting of members is chaired by the 1st or 2nd Chairman or, if neither is available, by the oldest member of the Executive Committee present within the meaning of § 7(1) of the Articles of Association. Each member has one vote. Unless the law or the Articles of Association provide otherwise, all resolutions are passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by the members present who are entitled to vote. Abstentions are not counted when calculating the majority.

(6) All resolutions must be recorded in minutes of the meeting, which must be signed by the chair and the secretary. A resolution to amend the constitution requires a majority of 3/4 of the voting members present.

(7) The association may undertake the necessary administrative tasks of the wildlife management group.

§ 9 Dissolution of the association

(1) The association may be dissolved only by resolution at an extraordinary general meeting convened in writing at least one month in advance solely for this purpose. A resolution to dissolve the association requires a majority of 3/4 of the voting members present.

(2) If the association is dissolved, the general meeting shall appoint a liquidator.

(3) After the liquidation has been completed, any remaining association assets shall pass to the Landesjagdverband Bayern e. V. or, alternatively, to a public-law body or another tax-exempt body, to be used for the protection and preservation of a diverse and healthy population of wild animals living freely in conditions appropriate to the landscape and local culture, and for measures to protect the environment, landscape and animals.

(4) Before the resolution is adopted, a legally binding statement from the competent tax office regarding the tax privileges of the intended beneficiary organisation must be obtained.

§ 10 Final provisions

(1) The place of performance and jurisdiction for all matters is the association's registered office.

(2) The committee is authorised, following registration of the amendment to the articles in the register of associations, to publish the revised articles and the date on which they come into force, stating the date of registration.

Note on the sample template

(1) The following special provisions apply to unincorporated associations:

• a) Section 1(1), sentence 2, is repealed.
• b) § 7 is amended by adding the following paragraph 7: Liability under § 54 BGB is excluded.
• c) § 10(2) is amended to read as follows: The Executive Committee is authorised to publish the revised version of the Articles and the date on which they come into force.

(2) The constitutions of the district groups and hunters’ associations, and any amendments to them, must be submitted to the State Hunting Association for confirmation that they comply with its constitution.