Statutes of the Society

Article 1

An association is hereby established under the name “Société Tunisienne de Radiologie” (Tunisian Society of Radiology), "STR", governed and declared in accordance with the provisions of the law of 7 November 1959, as amended by Decree No. 88 of 24 September 2011.

Article 2

Its registered office is in Tunis: Maison du Médecin.

Its duration is unlimited.

Article 3

The purposes of this association are:

• To bring together physicians specializing in diagnostic and interventional medical imaging, as well as all physicians with an interest in these disciplines.
• To contribute to the progress of diagnostic and interventional imaging in liaison with the other sectors of Medicine, in the clinical and scientific fields.
• To develop research, teaching and continuing education in these disciplines.
• To cooperate with the relevant services to ensure the best use of medical imaging equipment and the application of the measures necessary to protect persons against the hazards of ionizing radiation.

Article 4

The Société Tunisienne de Radiologie (STR) is a non-profit scientific association with no religious or political activity.

Article 5

The Executive Board of the Société Tunisienne de Radiologie (STR) shall, within 3 months of obtaining the approval (visa), carry out the formalities of legal publication (Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia, local weekly newspapers and periodicals).

Article 6

The approval (visa) is required, and remains required, for any amendment to the Statutes made during the activity of the Society.

Article 7

Any amendment to the Statutes and rules shall be proposed by the elected Executive Board or by at least one third of the full members; it shall be communicated to all full members and discussed at an Extraordinary General Assembly.

The amendment adopted shall be voted on by at least half of the registered full members. If the quorum is not reached, the GA shall be postponed by two weeks or more; a new vote is then held at the following meeting and, to be accepted, the amendment must obtain the majority of the votes of the members present.

Article 8: Membership of the Association

The Société Tunisienne de Radiologie (STR) is composed of full members, junior members, associate members, honorary members and members of honor:

• Any physician practising in the field of medical imaging in Tunisia is admitted as a Full member.
• Any resident in training, or any physician enrolled in a national specialist training diploma in radiology and medical imaging, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy or biophysics, sponsored by two senior members, is admitted as a Junior member. Registration is made by a written application addressed to the Secretary General of the STR, accompanied by supporting documents.
• All Junior members pay an annual membership fee and may attend General Assemblies without voting rights.
• Failure to pay the annual membership fee cancels the member’s membership of the STR as a junior member.
• Junior members cease to be junior members at the end of the calendar year in which they obtain their specialist diploma or pass the assistant competitive examination.
• Doctors of Medicine with a particular interest in medical imaging may be admitted as Associate members. Their membership is granted by the Executive Board of the Society.
• Full members who have rendered service to Tunisian medical imaging, as well as members who have made a significant contribution to the development of the activities of the STR, may be admitted as Honorary members.
• The title of Member of Honor is furthermore conferred, as a tribute and as a special distinction, on national or international figures who have contributed to the progress of Tunisian medical imaging.
• Honorary members and Members of Honor are appointed by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Executive Board.
• The following are admitted to take part in the scientific activities of the Society (in addition to its own members): Tunisian or foreign physicians, residents, hospital interns in Tunisia, medical imaging technicians, as well as engineers and any other professional with an interest in medical imaging.

Article 8 bis

Each member of the STR is required to provide their professional contact details (address, email address, telephone number…) to the Secretary General of the STR.

Article 9

Full and associate members pay a membership fee set at One Hundred Tunisian Dinars, which entitles them to free registration at the STR congress, access to its website and any benefit that may be granted to STR members.

Junior members pay a membership fee set at Fifty Tunisian Dinars and are entitled to the same services as full members.

Membership is lost:

• By resignation;
• By failure to pay the membership fee for two consecutive years, after formal notice by ordinary mail or email.
• By expulsion for serious misconduct. The member concerned shall first have been called upon to provide explanations before the Executive Board, acting as Disciplinary Board.

Article 10

The revenue of the Society consists of:

• membership fees.
• donations and grants.
• income arising from its scientific activities.

If the Society periodically receives grants from the State or from public authorities, it is required to submit its accounts annually to the department of the service granting such grant.

Article 11

The bodies of the Société Tunisienne de Radiologie (STR) are:

• The General Assembly.
• The Executive Board.
• Regional groups: to be defined by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Executive Board.
• organ imaging groups.

Article 12

The General Assembly consists of the full members who are up to date with their membership fees for the current year. Members up to date with their fees shall be convened by ordinary letter or by electronic mail (email) sent at least 15 days before the scheduled date.

An Extraordinary General Assembly may be convened at the request either of one third of the members who have paid their membership fees, or of the majority of the members of the Executive Board. Requests to convene an Extraordinary General Assembly shall be addressed to the Secretary General, who shall forward them to the Executive Board.

Article 13

The Société Tunisienne de Radiologie (STR) is administered by an Executive Board whose members are elected by secret ballot at the GA by a simple majority of the votes.

Article 14: Elections

The electoral General Assembly shall be held during the Congress of the year concerned. On an exceptional basis, the 2012 General Assembly shall be held immediately after the publication of these Statutes.

Eligibility requirements: Members who are up to date with their membership fees for the last four years and who are not subject to any sanction pronounced by the Executive Board of the STR, by the Council of the Order of Physicians or by the courts are eligible. Applications must reach the STR secretariat by registered letter no later than seven days before the date of the General Assembly (the postmark being proof); no other means are accepted. The list of candidates shall be posted at the secretariat and on the STR website.

Voting procedure: At the GA, a polling committee shall be formed, composed of three volunteer members and chaired by the oldest member, candidates for election excepted. Voting by secret ballot is mandatory.

Only full members of the STR who are up to date with their membership fees at the time of the vote and present at the electoral General Assembly are admitted to vote. The 10 members who have obtained the most votes shall be declared elected.

Minutes shall be drawn up and signed by the polling committee. To ensure the continuity of the Executive Board’s operation, half of its members shall be renewed every two years.

On an exceptional basis, for the next Executive Board, 3 members of the current Board shall be reappointed for a term of 2 years, in addition to the current President, who will be Past President. (The 3 aforementioned members shall be designated by consensus at this Extraordinary General Assembly.) Thus, the ballot at the next electoral General Assembly shall concern the election of the 7 other members completing the Executive Board. Outgoing members of the current Executive Board may stand as candidates in the next elections.

Thus, every two years, half of the Executive Board shall be renewed: half of the members of the Executive Board are alternately elected by secret ballot every two years for a term of 4 years, renewable only once.

Article 15

The Executive Board is composed of:

• Past President = Outgoing President
• President = who must be the Vice-President or President-Elect of the outgoing Executive Board.
• Vice-President = President-Elect: will hold the office of President in the next Executive Board, i.e. once the two years have elapsed.
• Secretary General
• Deputy Secretary General
• Treasurer
• Deputy Treasurer
• Members whose responsibilities shall be determined by the elected Executive Board.

Article 16

The outgoing President automatically becomes Past President and is not entitled to stand for the immediate renewal of the members.

Article 17

After each election, the members of the Executive Board meet to allocate the duties among themselves by mutual agreement, or by secret ballot or show of hands by simple majority. In the event of a tie, priority shall be given to the member with the longest service on the Executive Board, failing that to the oldest member, and failing that by drawing lots among the candidates.

The President is appointed for 2 years, non-renewable. He or she must be the President-Elect (or Vice-President) of the outgoing Executive Board.

In the event of incapacity, the newly constituted Executive Board shall elect a new President from among its members.

Article 18

Any member of the Executive Board who fails to attend 3 consecutive meetings shall be deemed to have resigned.

In the event of a vacancy within the Executive Board of the STR, the replacement shall be made automatically by the members declared not elected at the last GA, according to their respective rankings.

In the event of the resignation of more than 6 members, the Executive Board shall be automatically dissolved; the remaining members shall ensure the continuity of the Executive Board’s operation. The President or the Vice-President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer, the Deputy Secretary General or, failing that, in descending order, one of the other remaining members shall convene an electoral GA within a period not exceeding 3 months from the notification of these resignations by the Executive Board.

Article 19

The duties of the President are:

• To lead the discussions.
• To enforce the rules.
• To convene the meetings of the Executive Board and of the General Assembly.
• To represent the Society in all acts of civil life and in legal proceedings.

Article 20

The duties of the Secretary General are:

• To receive all correspondence addressed to the Society and to respond to it.
• To set the agenda of each meeting of the Executive Board in agreement with the President.
• To collect and keep the minutes drawn up by the secretaries of the sessions.

Article 21

The duty of the Treasurer is to ensure the collection of membership fees and to settle the expenses incurred on behalf of the Society. No expense may be incurred unless the Treasurer has acknowledged that it does not cause a budgetary imbalance and the President has acknowledged the appropriateness of the expense. The Treasurer presents an annual report to the Executive Board of the STR and at the General Assembly.

Article 22

Any amendment to the Statutes shall be notified by the President to the competent authorities within the time limits prescribed by law. It may only come into force after a new authorization.

Article 23

The dissolution of the Société Tunisienne de Radiologie may only be pronounced at a General Assembly and by a two-thirds majority of the full members. In this case, a committee of five members, including the President, the Secretary General and the Treasurer, shall be responsible for carrying out the liquidation, which shall take place in accordance with the rules of ordinary law.

Article 24

If the liquidation accounts show assets, these shall be allocated to a Society pursuing purposes similar to those of the dissolved Society. However, funds derived from grants from the State or from public authorities shall be returned to them.