Ukrainian Association of Research Biobanks NGO Membership Regulations

Ukrainian Association of Research Biobanks Non-Governmental Organization Membership Regulations were developed according to the Articles of Association of Ukrainian Association of Research Biobanks Non-Governmental Organization. These Regulations establish the procedure for admission, termination of membership, the amount and procedure for payment of admission, annual membership and other fees by the Association members and candidates for membership.

Terms and definitions

Terms, to include those with a capital letter, shall be used in these Regulations as follows:

Association shall mean Ukrainian Association of Research Biobanks Non-Governmental Organization.

Fees shall mean annual membership fees, charitable, targeted and other contributions, the size and payment procedure of which is established by these Regulations.

Applicant shall mean a person who submitted an application for joining the Association in accordance with the Association Membership Regulations.

Association candidate-members shall mean the citizens of Ukraine who do not have a higher education and study in the relevant higher educational institutions, and admitted to the Association in accordance with the procedure established by the Articles of Association of the latter.

Regulations shall mean these Ukrainian Association of Research Biobanks Non-Governmental Organization Membership Regulations.

Association honorary members shall mean any individual who has special achievements in the field of research biobanks and provides significant organizational, material or other support to the activities of the Association and who was awarded the title of honorary member by the decision of the Board.

Association members shall mean legally capable adult individuals admitted to the Association in accordance with the procedure established by the Association Articles of Association and these Regulations.

Article 1. Association Membership

1.1. Members of the Association shall be legally capable adult individuals i.e., the citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons who stay in Ukraine on legal basis, have reached the age of 14 and who share the principles and tasks of the Association, recognize and fulfil the provisions of the Association’s Articles of Association, meet the requirements of the latter and internal documents of the Association, and pay membership fees on time.

1.2. Association members shall have equal rights.

1.3. The membership in the Association is voluntary.

1.4. Association members shall pay annual membership fees.

1.5. Cash receipts from fees paid by the Association members are used to implement the Association statutory purpose and directions of activity, as well as projects and programs thereof, and to support daily operation and maintain the Association executive bodies.

Article 2. Admission procedure

2.1. Admission to Association members is carried out on the basis of a written or electronic application of the applicant addressed to the Chairman of the Board, or by means of appropriate form/chatbot on the Association official website.

2.2. The application is then forwarded to the Association in one of the following ways:

2.2.1. by way of an ordinary letter addressed to the Association;

2.2.2 by presenting the application to the Chairman of the Board personally;

2.2.3. by email to the Association email address;

2.2.4. by means of appropriate form/chatbot on the Association official website.

2.3. The Applicant shall acquire membership in the Association once the membership fee is credited to the Association bank account.

2.4. The Association Board may refuse the applicant to admit the latter to the Association, in which case the paid fee shall be returned to the applicant within a month as from the day such fee was credited to the Association current account.

2.5. The Board’s refusal decision should be reasoned and communicated to the applicant at the addresses for correspondence or e-mail specified in the application.

2.6. The record of the Association members shall be kept by the Board.

Article 3. The size of admission and annual fees

3.1. Association members, Association candidate-members and members shall pay annual membership fees.

3.2. Cash receipts from fees paid by the Association members, Association candidate-members and Association participants are used to implement the Association statutory purpose and directions of activity, as well as projects and programs thereof, and to support daily operation and maintain the Association executive bodies.

3.3. The size of the annual membership fee for the Association members, unless otherwise determined by the Conference of Members of the Association, shall make UAH 1,000. Students (Association candidate-members) shall pay UAH 300. Other persons who wish to participate in the Association activities (participants) shall pay UAH 2,000.

3.4. Annual membership fees are considered to be paid once the funds are credited to the Association current account.

Article 4. Exemption from paying fees, reduction of their size, paying by instalments and deferment

4.1. Members of the Board and Association honorary members shall be exempt from paying the annual membership fee at their will.

4.2. In some cases, the Board may grant members the following benefits:

• payment of annual membership fees by instalments;
• deferment of payment of annual membership fees;
• reduction of annual membership fees;
• exemption from paying annual membership fees.

4.3. The Board’s decision on granting the membership fees payment benefits shall be taken on individual basis and supported by the application submitted by the applicant and is valid during the membership year, the application was submitted in.

4.4. Upon the applicant’s request, the Board may reduce the size of the annual fee to be paid by the applicant, or exempt the applicant from paying the annual fee in case of difficult financial situation of the applicant.

4.5. The time for considering the applications submitted to the Board shall make one month.

4.6. The Board’s decision shall be communicated to the persons in respect of whom the decision was made.

4.7. The Board may decide to grant membership fees payment benefits to persons who have provided significant material assistance to the Association. In this case, the application for benefits is not required.

4.8. Military servicemen and veterans-members of the Association are exempted from the obligation to pay annual membership fees during martial law. To confirm the right to exemption, it is necessary to provide the Association’s Board with the relevant documents confirming the status of a military serviceman or veteran. The obligation to pay membership fees shall be resumed following one year after the end of the martial law.

Article 5. Membership fees payment procedure

5.1. The first annual membership fee is paid by the applicant before the Board decides to admit the applicant to the Association. A copy of the payment order for the transfer of the annual membership fee with the mark of the bank institution or a copy of the receipt shall be attached to the application for admission to the Association.

5.2. If the applicant is refused to be admitted to the Association, the amount of the membership fee paid is returned in full within a month.

5.3. The annual membership fee based on applications for admission to the Association, submitted to the Association by September 1 of the current year, is recorded as the annual membership fee for the current year.

5.4. Annual membership fees shall be paid by March 1 of the year, they are due for.

5.5. If the membership fee for the next year is paid by December 1 of the current year, the Association member, a candidate-member and its participant are granted 10% discount on the amount of the membership fee.

5.6. 1 (one) month before the end of the membership year, the Association Management Board sends notices to the members, candidate-members and participants on the need to pay annual membership fees.

5.7. To confirm the payment of the annual membership fee, Association members, candidate-members and participants shall, at the request of the Board (stated in a letter and/or an e-mail, and/or expressed during a telephone conversation), send a copy of the payment order for the transfer of the fee with the mark of the bank institution or a copy of the receipt, or confirm it in another way by agreement with the Board.

5.8. The annual membership fee is considered to be paid once the funds are credited to the Association current account.

5.9. Association members, candidate-members and participants are obliged to pay the annual membership fee by March 1 of the current year.

5.10. If annual membership fees are not paid for more than 1 (one) year, membership is automatically terminated.

5.11. Membership in the Association can be renewed under the conditions stipulated in the Association Membership Regulations, by re-joining the Association, and subject to payment of the annual membership fee.

5.12. The Board shall control the correctness and timeliness of payment of annual membership fees.

5.13. The legality of the use of funds received by the Association from its members is checked by the Audit Commission within the terms established by the Article of Association.

Article 6. Charitable and targeted contributions

6.1. Association members, candidate-members and participants have the right to transfer to the Association in any reporting period and in any amount charitable contributions (above the established amount of membership fees) for the implementation of the statutory purpose and tasks of the Association and to make targeted contributions for the implementation of projects and programs covered by the Association statutory activities.

6.2. When paying annual membership fees, charitable or targeted contributions, Association members, candidate-members and participants are obliged to clearly indicate the type of payment in the payment documents, namely:

• annual membership fee;
• charitable contribution;
• targeted contribution to [name of event, project, program].

Article 7. Association membership termination procedure

7.1. Association membership shall be terminated in the following cases:

7.1.1. withdrawal from the Association at one’s own will;

7.1.2. expel from the Association by decision of the Board;

7.1.3. automatic termination of membership in the Association.

7.2. Voluntary withdrawal from the Association is carried out upon a written application of a member addressed to the Chairman of the Board. Membership in the Association is terminated from the date of submission of such an application and does not require an additional decision, the paid annual membership fee is not returned.

7.3. Grounds to expel the member from the Association:

7.3.1. failure to fulfil statutory duties, to include violation of the Articles of Association, as well as failure to obey by the decisions of the Board and the Conference that are binding upon all the Association members;

7.3.2. dissemination of information that does not correspond to reality or is presented falsely and harms the interests and business reputation of the Association;

7.3.3. becoming aware of non-compliance with the requirements of paragraph 3.2 of the Association Articles of Association at the time of admission;

7.3.4. non-participation in the activities of the Association for at least 12 months;

7.3.5. non-payment of membership fees during a year.

7.4. The issue on expel is decided by the Association Board, namely the majority of votes of its members present at the meeting. To resolve this issue, the Board has the right to send requests to the Association members in order to obtain the necessary information, documents and materials to draw the conclusions on the possibility of their expel from the Association.

7.5. Termination of membership occurs automatically and does not require any other additional decisions in the following cases:

7.5.1. failure to pay annual membership fees for more than 12 (twelve) months as from the end of the membership year;

7.5.2. recognition of a member of the Association as an incapacitated person or limitation of the legal capacity thereof in accordance with the procedure established by the law;

7.5.3. Association member death.

7.6. The Board’s decision on the Association member expel can be appealed to the Association Conference. The Conference decision shall be final.

7.7. The expelled Association member has no right to rejoin the Association for 3 (three) years.

7.8. In case of termination of membership in the Association, property and funds (to include membership fees and contributions) transferred by such a member to the are not subject to return.

Article 8. Amendments procedure

8.1. These Regulations shall be approved by the Association Board.

8.2. Any additions and amendments to these Regulations shall be introduced on the basis of the Board’s decision.