4. Articles of association

4.1 Chapter I — Name, aims, activitties and registered office

4.1.1 Article 1 – Name

An independent not-for-profit organisation of both international utility and European interest, called "The European Institute for Health Records", alias "The EuroRec Institute", hereafter mentioned as "the Institute", is formed between all associated parties accepting the following articles, according to the law of 1st July 1901, and the Decree of 16th August 1901 of the French Republic.

4.1.2 Article 2 – Scope, objective, and aims

The EuroRec Institute works in the best interest of the collective of European Union Member States and other European states with whom an association agreement has been established, and those who are entering into a process of association with the European Union.
The scope of the Institute encompasses all issues directly or indirectly related with the development, implementation, and use of efficient, interoperable, and secure Health Records in the European context, notwithstanding a wider international perspective, and without prejudice of any predetermined area of knowledge or skills that might be necessary to address these issues. More particularly, though not exclusively, this concerns any Health Records, in whichever format (paper, magnetic, digitalised, electronic, etc.), and applying any technology (the Internet, etc.), that allow the data and information to be processed by computers whenever relevant.

The objectives of the Institute are:

1. To federate the established ProRec centres that comply with a set of explicit criteria.
2. To develop specifically, according to the principle of subsidiarity, and in the view of synergy as well as of economy of scale, those activities that cannot be handled at the level of ProRec centres and/or within their scope. This implies ipso facto that the activities of the Institute will have a multinational or cross-border character.

The above may be translated into the following tentative list of more detailed goals:

• support the existing ProRec centres, and initiate new ones;
• constitute the leading European forum for the promotion of health records by bringing together users and providers, as well as other stakeholders;
• inform the users of the current technical and commercial trends, help them to access the necessary data for well informed choice, and duly express their needs;
• support and strengthen the implementers/suppliers of Health Records systems by providing them with the up-to-date information they may need;
• foster international co operation and dissemination of information about Health Records based on European experience and skills;
• promote high level research, education, and development in Health Records.

4.1.3 Article 3 – Activities and business plan

The achievement of the above objectives and goals of the Institute shall be pursued through the main action lines described hereafter:

• the collection and dissemination of data and information regarding Health Records, by whatever appropriate, licit, and legal means;
• the organisation of a yearly European Working Conference on Health Records ("the EuroRec Conference"), as well as seminars, workshops, expert meetings, training activities, or other similar actions;
• a co-operation on the same ground with other parties whenever felt necessary or useful.

The Institute has two complementary, though distinct, roles.

1. Being the Federation of ProRec centres, the Institute shall offer to its members a limited range of basic services that can be expected from a federation.
2. According to the "principle of subsidiarity", the Board of the Institute, entitled to represent its members the ProRec centres , may decide that other activities are developed that are not currently handled by ProRec Centres, either because they have not to be handled at that level, or simply because —for reasons of synergy or economy of scale— they would be better dealt with at the level of the Institute. Such activities are meant to be inherently self-sustainable. In no way shall the own resources of ProRec centres be used to support activities developed by the Institute within this framework, which is not properly the one of a federation.

By "resources" one means here both financial and human (time) resources. It may occur that persons otherwise involved in ProRec centres decide to get also involved into one or more of these activities that have a broader European scope, which scope is in any case validated and controlled by the Board of the Institute; this personal involvement shall not imply any responsibility of the ProRec centre they are member of. The business plan of the Institute is established for three years. One year ahead of its completion, the preparation of a new business plan is undertaken. This business plan makes a clear distinction between those two ranges of activities. It states a detailed list of activities, together with the foreseen figures for the corresponding investments, return on investment, and revenue. No activity shall be launched without its financial perspectives having previously been made clear.

4.1.4 Article 4 – Registered office

The registered office of the Institute is established in:
c/o IDISS – Croix Rouge Française
route de Platon
Chavanne
F – 42400 Saint Chamond
(France)

It may be transferred by a simple decision of the Board of Directors; the transfer shall be ratified by the General Assembly. The address of the administrative secretariat may differ from the registered office of the Institute, and it may be established in any other European country.

Article 4 bis – Administrative centres

In the pursuit of its defined aims and objectives, the Institute may need to employ salaried staff in a Member State other than that in which the registered offices are located (either a Member State of the European Union or a state associated with the European Union). To this effect, EuroRec may establish an administrative centre as necessary, as per the European Convention ruling of 24 April 1986 « on the recognition of the legal personality of international non-governmental organisations » , in order to conform to the social measures in force in this Member or Associated State.

An administrative centre opened in a member state or associated state is treated as a local branch of the EuroRec Institute and has no autonomous financial aim. The Statutes of the local centre will maintain only the following objectives and aims:

1. to work towards the defined aims of The EuroRec Institute, as outlined in Article 2 of this statute.
2. to engage staff in the aforementioned state --member or associated--, for this aim in conformance to the social measures locally in force.

In no way shall the activities of that administrative centre compete or conflict with those of the national ProRec centre established in the same Member State, or impede the creation of such a national ProRec centre in that Member State. Appropiated liaison shall be maintained between such centre and the national Prorec centre.

1 European Convention on the Recognition of the Legal Personality of International Non-Governmental Organisations
https://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/124.htm