The German History Society Constitution

  1. The Society shall be known as the German History Society.
  2. The aims of the Society shall be to further contacts between those engaged in the study of German history; to facilitate international contacts and exchange of information of common interest to members; and to stimulate interest in the study of German history.
  3. Membership of the Society shall be open to those engaged in teaching and research in the field of German history, broadly defined. Membership shall also be open to other persons or institutions, as agreed by the Committee and confirmed by an Annual General Meeting of the members. Institutional subscriptions to ‘GERMAN HISTORY’ do not constitute membership of the Society for members of those institutions.
  4. Membership shall be subject to payment of an annual subscription. A member shall be deemed to have resigned his or her membership if his or her subscription is more than two years overdue, but may be eligible for readmission.
  5. The Society shall have a Committee consisting of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, the Editors of ‘German History’, the Editors of the German History Society book series, and three additionaly Committee Members. With the exception of the editors of ‘German History’ and of the German History book series, who shall serve ex officio, Committee members shall be elected by the AGM for terms not exceeding three years and shall not be eligible for re-election until a further year has elapsed. This restriction shall not apply to Committee members who are elected as officers of the Society.The terms of office of the Secretary and Treasurer shall not normally be coterminous. In such a circumstance, one of them may be elected for a fourth and final year. If more than one nomination has been received for each committee vacancy, the Secretary shall prepare ballot papers for secret elections to the vacant Committee posts and shall act as Returning Officer for the elections to be held at the AGM. Each member returning a ballot paper at the AGM shall have as many votes as there are vacancies.The Journal, ‘GERMAN HISTORY’, shall have two Editors, a Review Editor, and an Editorial Board. The Editors of the Journal shall be appointed for an initial term not exceeding six years. This appointment may be renewed at the discretion of the Committee and subject to the confirmation of the AGM.In the event of a vacancy arising from the expiry of the term of office or earlier resignation of an Editor, the chairperson of the Society will propose candidates for a new appointment to the committee. These candidates shall be considered by the Committee, and the Committee’s recommendation shall be subject to confirmation by the AGM. It shall be within the discretion of the Editors to appoint a Review Editor and an Editorial Board, to be announced to the Membership at the AGM.
  6. The Committee shall meet at least twice each year and shall have the power to co-opt up to three members where circumstances require it.
  7. There shall be an Annual General Meeting of the membership, which shall elect the Committee, and shall have the power to determine the level of subscription. The quorum for the AGM shall be twenty members or one-fifth of the membership, whichever is the lesser. Voting in the AGM shall be simple majority, except as indicated in Article 9.
  8. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society may be convened by the Committee and must be convened on the written request of no fewer than twenty members of the Society.
  9. This constitution shall only be amended by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting at an Annual General Meeting.

Constitution of the German History Society, as revised at the AGM, 2 December 2000