The Rules

The "Rules"

The "Rules" supplement the Articles of Association of the ESCP in the sense of "Rules of Procedure". They do not form part of the Articles of Association and are legally subordinate to them. Alterations and amendments to the "Rule" shall be proposed by the Executive Committee or Council, communicated among members of the ESCP, elaborated and edited by a dedicated working group and shall be adopted by simple majority vote of the members attending the General Assembly.

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Geographic regions

1. Geographic regions shall be:
   • The Western region shall include Belgium, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Spain and The Netherlands.
   • The Central region shall include Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.
   • The Eastern region shall include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
2. The Global region shall include all countries outside the above mentioned geographic regions that fulfill membership criteria and collaborate with ESCP in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding.
3. European countries affiliating with the ESCP at a later date shall be assigned to the corresponding aforementioned geographic region.
4. European Geographic regions shall not be executive regional subdivisions but shall merely define rotational arrangements for the Presidency. In addition, the Chairs and members of all Committees should be chosen with balanced gender and geographic representation.
5. There shall be a review of geographic regions after 5 years.
6. An ESCP country from the Western, Central and Eastern regions shall be removed from the specific geographic region if the country does not have any members.

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Affiliation of National Societies

1. National Societies of Coloproctology, Gastroenterology, Surgery, Pathology, Clinical and Medical Oncology, Radiology and Nursing shall be encouraged to affiliate with the ESCP to foster good relations.
2. National Representatives already in post in the ESCP shall provide names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of Presidents or Chairmen of the various National Societies to the Secretary of the Executive Committee on a yearly basis and at least four weeks prior to the annual meeting.
3. National Societies of related disciplines (see 3.1) shall be approached by the National Representative inviting their paid-up-members to become actively involved with National Chapter matters to communicate committee and fellowship opportunities, courses and conference news.
4. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for informing the Presidents or Chairmen of the aforementioned societies about the aims and objectives of the ESCP.
5. In return for affiliation and support from National Societies, the ESCP shall endeavour to reciprocate goodwill with benefits, such as travel awards, cross-border training opportunities, trials and research programmes, and ESCP involvement in national and international scientific meetings hosted by those nations.

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Membership

1. Criteria for Membership are established in the Articles of Association paragraphs 11-22.
2. Except for the position of the President (see clause 2.4.), nominations for all Committees and positions should be on aspiration of merit and, with the intent of diversity, regular rotation and balanced gender and geographic representation.
3. At least 30% of female or male representation should be pursued in all Committees and positions.
4. Members and Fellows of Global Colorectal Societies shall enjoy reciprocal affiliate privileges which are conditional upon a written and signed agreement between both ESCP and the society in question.
5. Members shall contribute to the financial maintenance of the ESCP through annual membership fees.
6. Membership fees must be sufficient to cover all administrative costs.
7. Projected income from exhibitors and conference registrations at the annual scientific meeting cannot be used to offset losses accruing from a shortfall in membership fees.
8. The Executive Committee shall propose the membership fees for approval by Council and ratified at the AGM.
9. Membership, conference and journal fees shall be reviewed annually.
10. No initiation fees shall be payable.
11. Annual fees shall be payable by individual members to the Administrative Office of ESCP, via the ESCP website at the commencement of their membership and annually thereafter as long as membership continues.
12. Membership shall cease on death, voluntary resignation, failure to pay annual subscription or expulsion.
13. The flagrant violation of the members’ duties and dishonourable behaviour of professional, scientific or social nature are reasons for expulsion from membership. Examples of dishonourable behaviour include but are not limited to: professional or scientific misconduct, threatening or abusive language, degrading or demeaning comments and sexual harassment. The decision to expel a member shall be taken by a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee. An appeal against expulsion to the Trustees shall be permitted but until this takes place the member’s rights and duties are suspended. The appeal shall be in writing and be submitted within six months of expulsion.
14. The Executive shall, from time to time, recommend to Council the award of Honorary Membership to persons of exceptional merit who have contributed greatly to the development of the specialty of coloproctology in Europe or internationally. Honorary memberships are conferred at the Annual General Meeting. Honorary members shall not pay annual membership subscription and shall receive complimentary registration at the Annual Scientific meeting at which their honorary membership is awarded.
15. Revocation of honorary membership for flagrant violation of the members’ duties and dishonourable behaviour can be decided at the general meeting by a simple majority vote at the recommendation of the Executive Committee.
16. Members of ESCP who have successfully passed the EBSQ Coloproctology examination are permitted to use the suffix FESCP (fellow of the ESCP).
17. Honorary Members of the ESCP are permitted to use the Suffix FESCP (Hon).

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National Representatives

1. There shall be provision on the Council for representation of individual countries listed under the Geographic regions of both European and Global National Representatives to enable the ESCP to relate both nationally and to individual members.
2. Only those countries listed under Geographic Regions having a minimum membership of five or more are entitled to be represented in Council by a National Representative.
3. Only those countries listed under Global Geographic Regions who have a signed MOU and have entered into Global Membership are entitled to be represented in Council by a Global Representative. The Global Representative does not have voting rights.
4. National Representatives shall be replaced after a period of three years. It shall be the responsibility of the Regional Representatives to consult with the outgoing National Representative, and through the ESCP Secretariat, invite nominations from paid-up members in the relevant country. In the event of more than one nominee a ballot shall be arranged by the office. Nominations shall be ratified at the AGM.
5. National Representatives shall review members on a regular (quarterly) basis via the website lists or by consulting with the Secretariat and will proactively follow up with those not in membership in order to seek to increase members within their country.
6. National Representatives shall be elected on an individual but not National Society basis.
7. National Representatives shall be eligible for nomination only from within their own countries and after payment of full membership subscriptions.
8. In the absence of a nomination, the Membership Committee shall be empowered to fill the vacancy.
9. National Representatives, elected for three years, shall not normally be eligible for re-election for a further period of three years. The Membership Committee may extend a period of office for a National Representative by one, two or three years, in the absence of a suitable replacement.
10. Nominations shall be proposed and seconded with the written consent of the nominee.
11. All paid up members and National Societies shall be notified of elected National Representatives.
12. Activity of National Representatives shall be closely monitored by the Executive Committee and the Membership Committee, to ensure that paid up members are given equal opportunity to engage in Chapter local activities and particularly elections.

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Council - Vacancies and Meetings

1. The Council shall be formed of members of the Executive Committee, National and Regional Representatives, ESCP representatives at other Societies and the Chair of the Trustees.
2. A notice of vacancies on the Council (other than national representatives) shall be sent to each member at least four months prior to any subsequent Annual General Meeting.
3. Nominations shall be sent to the Secretary not less than 12 weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting.
4. Nominations shall be submitted individually (not by National Societies) with the candidates’ written consent to stand for election and supported by two Full Members of the ESCP.
5. In the event of there being no nomination from the membership, the Council shall be empowered, if appropriate, to fill any vacancy.
6. Council Meetings shall be at least once a year.
7. Any Council member wishing to move a resolution shall give notice to the Secretary in writing not less than one month prior to the meeting.
8. The business at the Council meeting shall be limited to the agenda set by the Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee, and shall include an item to update on the selected venues and dates of each annual scientific meeting at least three years in advance.
9. The standing committees of Council are the Global Reach Committee, Y-ESCP Committee, Programme Committee, the Training and Education Committee, the Research Committee, the Membership Committee, the Communications Committee and the Guidelines Committee.
10. The Council may on the recommendation of the Executive Committee constitute additional committees as deemed appropriate. The constitution, terms of reference and reporting structures of such committees would be formulated by the Executive Committee.

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Executive Committee

1. Members of the Executive committee shall be of international standing, and comprise: President, Immediate Past President, President Elect, President-in-Waiting, Secretary, Assistant Secretary (1 year prior to election as Secretary), Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer (1 year prior to election as Treasurer), Chair of the Programme Committee, Assistant Chair of the Programme Committee, Representative of the Division of Coloproctology within the Section of Surgery UEMS, Journal Representative, Chair of the Training and Education Committee, Chair of the Research Committee, Chair of the Communications Committee, Chair of the Membership Committee and Chair of the Guidelines Committee, Chair of the Global Reach Committee, Chair of the Y-ESCP Chair and Assistant Chairs to each Committee, when applicable, one year prior to election as Chair. All members have equal voting rights in the Executive Committee, with the exception of the Assistant Chairs, who have the opportunity to participate in the Executive Committee meetings without voting rights.
2. Summary of Committee minutes are to be issued to each committee chair and included in the committee terms of reference.
3. Each year, nominations will be invited from membership by the Executive for the President in Waiting and other vacancies of executive members of Council with the exception of the Representative of the Division of Coloproctology within the Section of Surgery UEMS and the Journal Representative. Invitations will ordinarily be invited by newsletter and notice on the Website.
4. The Executive shall decide the nomination for President-in-Waiting by a simple majority vote in strict rotation from each European region and recommend to Council for election at the AGM.
   A simple majority vote is required from the members for the Executive to decide the nominations for the executive positions of the Secretary, Treasurer and the Journal Representative and recommend to Council for election at the AGM, with the exception of the Representative of the Division of Coloproctology within the Section of Surgery UEMS who will be nominated by the Division of Coloproctology within Section of Surgery UEMS.
5. The term of office of the Secretary, Treasurer and Chair of the Programme Committee will be 3 years, with one office becoming vacant each year to avoid any two of these office holders demitting office in a particular year. The Executive may in exceptional circumstances extend the length of office of any of the above office holders, subject to approval by the members at the AGM. Should any of these office holders demit office in the same year then one of the two shall be asked to extend their term for one extra year. The choice shall be at the discretion of the Executive.
6. During the penultimate years of office of the Secretary, Treasurer, Programme Committee Chair and the Journal Representative, an assistant to each shall be decided upon by the Executive Committee after competitive review of applications and recommended to Council for ratification and election by the membership at the AGM. During the penultimate year of office for all other Committee Chairs, an assistant member of the respective Committee shall be nominated by the respective Committee after a competitive review of applications, approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification and election by the membership at the AGM. Conflicts of Interest must be declared by all Executive Members.
7. The Executive Committee shall meet as often as required, if necessary by video conference, but at least twice yearly.
8. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to co-opt a maximum of two other members as required for a defined period of time; these co-opted members have no voting rights in Executive Committee Meetings.
9. The Executive Committee may form ad-hoc Working Groups as required, reporting to itself or to other committees as it decides. Members of Working Groups may be co-opted as appropriate, however the chair of any such Working Group must be a member of the Executive.

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Membership Committee

1. The Membership Committee shall be responsible to the Executive for coordination of the activities of the National Representatives. The Committee will liaise closely with National Representatives in order to realise ESCP’s objective of increasing membership and awareness of its values.
2. The Membership Committee Chair shall be nominated by the Committee on merit, irrespective of geographic region and be recommended to the Executive for approval and recommended to Council for ratification and election by the membership at the AGM. The Chair will hold office for three years. For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair.
3. The Assistant Chair will ordinarily be elected from within the Committee membership. Members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
4. In addition to the Chair, there shall be seven other members of the Membership Committee, two from each geographic region and one Y-ESCP member. These officers shall serve as Regional Representatives and should ordinarily have had previous experience as a National Representative.
5. Regional Representatives shall usually hold office for a period of three years, with two positions becoming available each year. Membership opportunities on the Committee shall be advertised regularly through the website to current or past National Representatives be advertised regularly through the website to current or past National Representatives. New members shall be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. It is recommended that the committee does not exceed eight members.
6. The Membership Committee shall nominate a representative to the Communications Committee.
7. Communication and dissemination of Membership committee news and updates will take place on a regular basis via e-newsletter.

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Programme Committee

1. The Programme Committee shall be responsible to the Executive Committee and the Council for organising the scientific programme of the Society’s annual meeting, selecting topics, chairs and speakers for Keynote Lectures, Symposia and Core Subject Updates. The Programme Committee, in close collaboration with the Education, Guidelines and the Research Committee, shall be responsible for organising their sessions. Permission to hold satellite symposia falls under the responsibility of the Programme Committee; content and speakers remain the responsibility of Industry.
2. The Programme Committee shall also be responsible to Council for organising invited ESCP symposia at other scientific meetings.
3. The Programme Committee Chair shall be elected on merit by the Executive, irrespective of geographic region and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The Chair would ordinarily hold office for three years. The Programme Chair should not have a conflict of interest.
4. For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Executive Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair. Should there not be a suitable candidate for the position of Assistant Chair then the Executive will decide to either extend the position of the current Chair or re-appoint for a further three-years.
5. The National Representative of the host country (where applicable) will act as a local organiser, co-opted onto the Programme Committee for one-year from August the year before the congress and shall be responsible to liaise and support officers and the conference organisers as necessary. Should the host country not have a national representative then the Secretariat will issue a call to action for a full ESCP member to join the committee.
6. The membership of the Programme Committee should include the Chair, Assistant Chair (when applicable), the Secretary (ex officio), the local organiser, a Y-ESCP Committee member and up to 15 members. Membership opportunities on the Committee shall be advertised regularly through the website. New members shall be nominated by the Committee, approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. It is recommended that the committee does not exceed 20 members.
7. Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of five members demitting in any one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee on an individual basis; however, the tenure of the member must not exceed 9 years or 3 terms.
8. The chairs of the Guidelines, Training and Education, Research and Y-ESCP Committees are ex officio members.
9. Others shall be co-opted as necessary in an advisory capacity without voting rights.
10. The Programme Committee shall nominate a representative to the Communications Committee.

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Training and Education Committee

1. The Training and Education Committee shall be responsible to Council for all matters relating to training and education in Coloproctology in Europe.
2. The Training and Education Committee shall promote subspecialty training within each country in Europe and encourage development of common standards.
3. The Training and Education Committee will promote and support the EBSQ examination in Coloproctology.
4. The Chair of the Training and Education Committee shall be nominated by the Committee on merit, irrespective of geographic region and be recommended to and approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The Chair would hold office for three years.
   For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair.
5. The Assistant Chair would ordinarily be elected from within the Committee membership. Members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
6. In addition to the Chair, the membership of the Training and Education Committee shall consist of the Assistant Chair (when applicable), the Secretary of the EBSQ examination in Coloproctology (ex officio), the Secretary (ex officio), the treasurer (ex officio), the Chair or a representative of the ESC (ex officio), one member from the Global Committee (ex officio), one member from Guidelines (ex officio), one member from Research (ex officio), one member from Y-ESCP (ex officio) and up to 12 members. Membership opportunities on the Committee shall be advertised regularly through the website. New members shall be nominated by the Committee, approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. It is recommended that the committee does not exceed 20 members.
7. Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of three members demitting in any one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee on an individual basis; however, the tenure of the member must not exceed 9 years or 3 terms.
8. The Training and Education Committee shall nominate a representative to the Communications, Guidelines and Research Committees.
9. The Education Committee Chair will sit ex officio on the Programme Committee.
10. The European School of Coloproctology (ESC) shall nominate a representative to the Training and Education Committee, Communications Committee and Research Committee.
11. Communication and dissemination of Education committee news and updates will take place on a regular basis via e-newsletter.
12. The European School of Coloproctology (ESC) functions under the auspices of the ESCP in close collaboration with the Training and Education Committee and functions with a Term of Reference.

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Research Committee

1. The Research Committee shall be responsible to Council for facilitating and improving international multicentre investigator-initiated trials in Europe.
2. The Chair of the Research Committee shall be nominated by the Committee, on merit, irrespective of geographic region and be recommended to and approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM.
3. The Chair will hold office for three years. For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair.
   The Assistant Chair would ordinarily be elected from within the Committee membership. Members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
4. In addition to the Chair, the membership of the Research Committee will consist of the Assistant Chair (when applicable), the Secretary (ex officio), the Research Manager, one member from the Education and Training Committee (ex-officio), Global Reach Committee (ex officio), Guidelines Committee (ex officio) and Y-ESCP Committee (ex officio) and up to 13 members. Membership opportunities on the Committee will be advertised regularly through the website. New members shall be nominated by the Committee, be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. It is recommended that the committee does not exceed 20 members.
5. Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of three members demitting in any one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee on an individual basis; however, the tenure of the member must not exceed 9 years or 3 terms.
6. Members of the Committee will be active in research and be willing to assist ESCP investigators with design, delivery and the promotion of trials.
7. The Committee shall organise two trial sessions with presentation and discussion of planned or on-going trials at the annual meeting.
8. The Research Committee shall nominate a representative to the Communications, Training and Education Committee and Guidelines Committees.
9. The Research Committee Chair will sit ex officio on the Programme Committee.
10. Communication and dissemination of Research committee news and updates will take place on a regular basis via e-newsletter.

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Communications Committee

1. The Communications Committee shall be responsible to Council for representing ESCP to the outside world and to its members, handling all aspects of internal and external communication through the various channels available, including newsletters, website, social media and media relations. In order to improve geographical participation, every effort shall be undertaken to allow for translation where possible.
2. The Communications Committee shall be responsible for delivery of ESCP official comment/communication with any external body (patient bodies, members of the public, other professional societies) related to Coloproctology for matters of public concern, ethical practice and medico-legal issues in Coloproctology in consultation with and approved by the Executive, Trustees and Risk Committees as appropriate.
3. The Communications Committee shall be responsible for the maintenance and development of relevant affiliated societies in order to further ESCP’s aims ensuring that ESCP is competently represented at significant events/committees within them and that collaborative ventures are appropriately organised to reflect ESCP’s contribution and standing.
4. The Communications Committee shall be responsible for the formation and maintenance of ad-hoc working groups for the purpose of delegating responsibility for specific projects.
5. The Communications Committee shall be responsible for core communications across all available media platforms, ensuring that these are current, relevant and informative at all times. The Communications Committee shall delegate responsibility for the upkeep, further development and relevance of the ESCP website to the Social Media Working Group. The Social Media Working Group shall comprise as many members as necessary, under the leadership of the Social Media Chair who will sit on the Communications Committee.
6. The Chair of the Communications Committee shall be nominated by the members of the Committee on merit, irrespective of geographic region, and be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The Chair shall hold office for three years and shall specifically assume responsibility for relations with affiliated societies. The Chair shall have served on the committee as a committee representative and, on appointment as Chair, a replacement will be sought from the relevant committee.
7. For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair. The Assistant Chair would ordinarily be elected from within the Committee membership. Members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
8. The positions of Journal Representative and Secretary shall be ex officio and therefore will not be eligible for the Chair position.
9. In addition to the Chair, the membership of the Communications Committee will consist of the Assistant Chair (when applicable) ESCP Secretary (ex officio), the Journal Representative, a Social Media Chair, together with one representative from each of the committees (Education, Research, Membership, Programme, Guidelines and Global Reach), and two young ESCP representatives. Each committee will also identify a deputy for the main representative. Working Groups’ representation on the Communications Committee shall be initiated at the discretion of the Chair (such as Regional Events). It is recommended that the committee does not exceed 15 members.
10. Co-opted positions shall be appointed on a project basis, or for a maximum term of two years, whichever is the greater. Co-opted members shall have no voting rights.
11. The committee is responsible for the commercial appointment and ongoing management of either a Communications Editor or organization to assist in the proactive and reactive coordination and dissemination of internal/external communications including the writing of news articles and features, for approval by the Committee. All commercial appointments are subject to Executive approval.
12. Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of three members demitting in any one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee on an individual basis; however, the tenure of the member must not exceed 9 years or 3 terms.

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Guidelines Committee

1. The Guidelines Committee shall be responsible to Council for considering which Guidelines in Coloproctology to endorse, collaborate on, commission or produce.
2. The Chair of the Guidelines Committee shall be nominated by the Committee on merit, irrespective of geographic region and be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The Chair shall hold office for three years. For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair.
3. The Assistant Chair would ordinarily be elected from within the Committee membership. Members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
4. In addition to the Chair, the membership of the Guidelines Committee shall also consist of the Assistant Chair (when applicable), Secretary (ex officio), one member from the Training and Education Committee (ex officio), Research Committee (ex officio), one member from Y-ESCP and members of the ESCP with the relevant expertise as selected by the Chair depending on current project requirements. Membership opportunities on the Committee will be advertised regularly through the website. New Members shall be nominated by the members of the Committee, be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. It is recommended that the committee does not exceed 15 members.
5. Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of three members demitting in any one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee on an individual basis; however, the tenure of the member must not exceed 9 years or 3 terms.
   The Guidelines Committee Chair will sit ex officio on the Programme Committee.
6. The Committee may form ad-hoc Working Groups as required and depending on specific topics. Members at large may be co-opted as appropriate, Co-opted members shall have no voting rights. However, the chair of any such Working Group must be an appointed member of the Guidelines committee.
7. Communication and dissemination of Guidelines committee news and updates will take place on a regular basis via e-newsletter.

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Global Reach Committee

1. The Global Reach Committee shall be responsible to the Executive Committee for matters relating to collaboration with Societies outside Europe for education, training and research in Coloproctology.
2. The Chair of the Global Committee shall be a European member, nominated by the Committee, be approved by the Executive, recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The Chair would hold office for two years.
3. For the sake of Global representation, the position of Co-Chair shall be a non-European member nominated by the members of the Global Reach Committee, will be approved by the Executive, recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The term of the Co-Chair shall be one year. Rotation shall be amongst non-European members of the Committee, with balanced representation amongst countries and Societies.
4. For the sake of continuity, an Assistant Chair (European member) shall be nominated by the Committee members one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair. Members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
5. In addition to the Chair, the Co-Chair and the Assistant Chair (when applicable), the membership of the Global Reach Committee shall consist of the Secretary (ex officio), the Chair of the Training and Education Committee (ex officio), the Chair of The European School of Coloproctology (ESC) (ex officio), the Chair of the Research Committee (ex officio), the Chair of the Communications Committee (ex officio), the Chair of the Membership Committee (ex officio), one Y-ESCP member and two representatives from each affiliated Society outside Europe and affiliated Societies outside Europe.
6. Membership opportunities on the Committee from ESCP will be advertised regularly through the website of ESCP. Nominations from ESCP members and those from non-European Societies shall be nominated by the Committee, be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM.
7. Members from Societies outside Europe are nominated/appointed by their Societies and approved by the Committee.
8.  Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of three members demitting in any one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee.
9. Communication and dissemination of Global Reach committee news and updates will take place on a regular basis via e-newsletter.

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Young ESCP Committee

1. Young ESCP Committee is established to facilitate ESCP members younger than 40 years of age to further develop their interests in colorectal surgery by building upon the structure of the Society, in terms of their increased presence in the Committees and the development of a solid international network of young colorectal surgeons as part of ESCP.
2. Young ESCP Committee is responsible to the Executive and the Council for promoting issues related to the enhancement of young members presence in the activities of the ESCP in terms of education and training and research. In addition, the Committee shall host a specific session at the annual meeting for young members.
3. The Chair of the Young ESCP Committee shall be nominated by the members of the Committee, be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. The Chair shall hold office for three years, with no right for re-election for an additional term. The chairperson should not be older than 37 years age at the moment of nomination, allowing a full term until the age of 40.
4. The Assistant Chair shall be nominated by the Committee one year before the Chair is due to demit office and would ordinarily succeed the Chair. The Assistant Chair would be elected from within the Committee membership but members of the Committee may seek nomination or be nominated by other Committee members.
5. New members shall be nominated by the Committee, be approved by the Executive and recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM. Members will ordinarily be appointed for three years, with a maximum of four members demitting in one year. The Committee may extend the period of office of individual members according to the needs of the Committee, provided they demit office no later than the age of 40 years. Should a member turn 40 during their term, they will demit office the following year.
6. The Committee shall nominate one representative to the Communications, Training and Education, Research, Guidelines, Membership, Global Reach, ESC, and Programme Committees, therefore being constituted of at least 10 members. Any increase in the number of the members is optional depending on the needs and shall be decided by the committee. It is recommended that the committee does not exceed 10 members.

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Innovation Committee

1. The Innovation Committee functions ad-hoc when an application for approval of an “Innovation-Project” is submitted by an ESCP member.
2. Ex officio members of the Committee include the ESCP President, the Chair of the Research Committee, the Chair of the Training and Education Committee, the Chair of The European School of Coloproctology (ESC), the Treasurer and the Secretary. The Committee is led by the Chair of the European School of Coloproctology (ESC).
3. The Committee shall assess the potential exploitation of the “innovation” for the educational, functional, economical and any other benefit of the ESCP, the applicant member and any third party (i.e. Industry), that contributes to the materialization of the Project. Where a proposal is approved, a legal agreement detailing the arrangements shall be signed by all relevant parties and be recommended to the Executive Committee for approval. Following legal advice and guidance, and where applicable, all “Intellectual Property” shall be registered with all relevant authorities.
4. Should the Chair of the committee have a personal interest in the innovation then the Chair should declare their interest and the Chair should change temporarily to one of the other two members of the committee.

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Trustees

1. Trustees shall hold the position of Directors to the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP)
2. The number of Trustees shall not be more than nine.
3. Trustees should represent the three European regions equally.
4. All Trustees shall be elected on merit. One third of the Trustees shall be elected annually by the existing Trustees based on proven relevant experience and ratified by members at the AGM.
5. Each Trustee shall normally serve for three years
6. Trustees may be re-elected
7. The Trustees shall be responsible for the management of the ESCP and shall act in accordance with the Articles of Association and Rules of the Society, ensuring that the charitable objectives of the ESCP are preserved.
8. The Trustees shall delegate the day to day running of ESCP business including all matters in connection with membership admissions to the Executive Committee on behalf of the Council.
9. The Trustees shall elect a Trustee to be Chair of the Board of Trustees.
10. The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall be elected by a simple majority vote of the Trustees and shall hold office for a period of three years, irrespective of the period of service as a Trustee.
11. The position of Chair of the Board of Trustees shall rotate region by region i.e. west, central or east, on a three yearly basis.
12. The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall attend Council meetings solely for the purposes of reporting matters arising from meetings of the Board.
13. The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall prepare a report for the Annual General Meeting.
14. The Trustees shall form a working sub-group with responsibility for ongoing risk assessment for the Society and shall report to and advise the Executive regarding outcomes.
15. Trustees shall confer at least twice a year including one meeting at the Annual Scientific Meeting.

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Annual Scientific Meetings

1. At least one scientific meeting of the ESCP must be held in Europe or in a neighbouring non-European Mediterranean country each year. This could be part of, or independent from, other European meetings.
2. The Programme Committee shall organise the Scientific Programme on behalf of the Council comprising broader meetings with workshops and specialist in-depth thematic components, courses, poster sessions and free papers.
3. The Education Committee shall organise the Educational sessions of the Annual Meeting.
4. The Guidelines Committee shall organise the Guidelines sessions of the Annual Meeting.
5. The research Committee shall organise the Research sessions of the Annual Meeting.
6. The Y-ESCP Committee shall organise the Y-ESCP session of the Annual Meeting.
7. State of the art lectures shall be plenary.
8. The best submitted relevant abstracts shall be incorporated into plenary symposia.
9. Free paper sessions shall be parallel.
10. In case of an unforeseen event that does not allow members to confer in person at the Annual Meeting a virtual meeting shall be organised in its place.
11. Conference management of the Annual Scientific Meeting shall be centralised and coordinated by a Conference Manager, with whom ESCP has an agreement.
12. Members shall have the right to appoint an alternative conference management organisation by way of submitting an ordinary resolution on that effect to the Secretary and which must be carried by a two-thirds Majority at an Annual General Meeting.
13. All revenue and payments shall be made centrally via the conference manager.
14. Any financial transaction relating to conference organisation shall be sanctioned by the Treasurer, who shall be required to authorise/sign all financial transactions (cheques or electronic bank transfers). All payments over €1000 shall also require the authorisation of the Secretary.
15. Accounts of the annual scientific meeting shall be submitted by the Treasurer to the Executive Committee and Council.
16. All profits from its business must be used in pursuit of its charitable objectives.
17. In order to satisfy the Trustees, who have fiduciary duties to the Company to preserve its objectives, the ESCP must receive all profits from its Annual Scientific Meeting and shall also be responsible for any losses.
18. Under normal circumstances, the Conference Manager shall not receive profits and shall not be liable for losses. In case of “force majeure”, any potential losses shall be determined by the agreement between ESCP and the Manager.
19. Expenses incurred by the Conference Manager of the Annual Scientific Meeting shall be scrutinized and then reimbursed by the ESCP on the recommendation of the Treasurer.
20. Retention of profits by the Conference Manager of the Annual Scientific Meeting would prejudice its charitable status and is therefore not permitted.

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Conference Registration rates

1. Rates shall be defined by the Executive Committee and set according to budget predictions.
2. Preferential rates shall apply to members.
3. The differential between members and non-members must be an inducement for non-members, who wish to register, also to sign up for membership.
4. There shall be subsidized conference registration rates for delegates from countries with lower per capita income as determined by OECD or similar reports, subject to annual review by the Executive Committee.
5. The subsidized registration rate shall also be available to Honorary and Retired members.
6. The Executive Committee shall decide at some point when it is appropriate to restore registration rate equity.
7. Medical students shall have free registration.
8. Members and Fellows of Global Colorectal Societies will pay preferential membership registration rates.

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Journal

1. The ESCP shall adopt a scientific journal.
2. The ESCP shall invite proposals from editors and publishers.

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Administration

1. The ESCP shall be administrated professionally and proposals shall be invited from interested parties.
2. The administrator shall be selected by the Executive Committee on merit and cost, irrespective of nationality.
3. It is the responsibility of the Secretary and the Treasurer to appoint legal advisors.
4. Accountants shall be appointed.
5. Auditors shall be appointed and reappointed annually.

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Financial Year

1. The financial year of the ESCP shall end on the 31st day of December each year, to which day the accounts of the ESCP shall be balanced.
2. A quorum for a Meeting of the Council shall be ten.
3. All decisions requiring a vote shall be by a simple majority of those present, with a casting vote by the President or his/her deputy.
4. Voting by proxy shall not permitted.
5. A special Council meeting shall be called by the Secretary within one month of a request signed by at least seven Council Members stating the purpose for which the meeting is to be summoned.

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Expenses

1. Cheques may be signed by any two of the following: Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Secretary.
2. The Treasurer shall be permitted to sign cheques/authorise bank transfers without a co-signatory to the value of €1000. Payments over €1,000 shall be authorised by the Treasurer and the Secretary.
3. Members of the Executive, Council and Trustees will have reasonable travel and accommodation expenses reimbursed for participation in ESCP business held outside of the annual Scientific Meeting. Expenses must be vouched and are subject to a predetermined maximum determined by the Treasurer.

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Amendment to the Rules

1. The Rules may be addended, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual General Meeting provided that no such resolution shall deem to have been passed unless carried by at least two thirds of the members in attendance at that Annual General Meeting voting thereon. The process of new Amendment to the Rules shall not be initiated earlier than three years from the preceding revision.
2. The process of amending the Rules shall include the formation of an ad-hoc Working Group comprising Executive members. The primary aim is to collect proposed amendments from each Committee and its Members via the ESCP website before formulating the final draft for review. The Executive need to approve the changes no later than two months prior to the Annual Scientific Meeting. They must be recommended to Council for ratification by the membership at the AGM.

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Official Language

1. The official language will be English.

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