The title of the organization may be “Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists” (BAOS).

The Association will be founded and registered in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the form of a scientific, professional, non-political and non-governmental organization for public benefit. The Greek branch of the Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists will carry all the respective legal and registration costs.

The aims of the organization may include:

• promotion of Orthodontics as a specialty in our region
• friendship and collaboration between orthodontists
• organization of regular congresses in order to exchange knowledge and experience
• publication of a scientific journal
• co-ordination of undergraduate and postgraduate education and student exchange
• support with grants or awards the research or educational activities of BAOS members

1. Active Members may only be dentists having a specialization title in Orthodontics recognized by the legal authorities of their countries, being member of at least one affiliated Orthodontic Society that accepts only specialized orthodontists as active members, and residing and practicing in the Balkan countries.
2. Associate Members shall be persons with specialization in orthodontics independently of their residence, who wish to support the idea of Balkan cooperation and to participate in the scientific meetings of the Association.
3. Provisional Members shall be postgraduate students during their training in Orthodontics, in a Balkan University of Institution – which are recognized by the legal authorities of their countries – providing postgraduate studies in Orthodontics.

Only Active Members shall have the right to participate in General Assemblies and to vote.

1. Except as otherwise set forth in these Bylaws and policy statements of the BAOS, all members shall be entitled to all services and privileges applicable to their membership classification.
2. Members have to financially support the activities of the Association by an Annual Membership Fee, which according to paragraph 9.3 will be proposed by the Council and determined by the General Assembly of the Association.
3. The affiliated Orthodontic Societies to the BAOS may pay the Annual Membership Fees for all their members on their behalf.
4. Annual Membership Fees are overdue six months past the due date. Membership in the Federation shall be terminated at that time after a corresponding decision by the Council.

1) Any national orthodontic society from the Balkan region may apply in writing to the Executive Committee for affiliation with the BAOS, which shall be accepted upon receiving a two-thirds (2/3) vote of approval by the Executive Committee, and upon satisfaction of all of the following requirements:

a)The Bylaws of the national orthodontic society shall provide full membership available only for orthodontic specialists. Full members of the national orthodontic society shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership, in that organization, including the right to hold office and vote.

b)Membership in the national orthodontic society must be open to all qualified orthodontists within the geographical jurisdiction of the association or society, without regard to orthodontic technique used or philosophy of orthodontic practice.

c)National orthodontic societies must not be recognized or perceived by the Executive Committee, in its sole and absolute discretion, as a study club or as an organization formed to promote or advance a particular modality of orthodontic treatment.

d)In those countries where an official accrediting agency or commission exists, only the national orthodontic society recognized by the official accrediting agency or commission as the representative organization of the specialty of orthodontics shall be eligible for affiliation.

e)Members of a BAOS-affiliated national association must be educationally qualified and recognized to be orthodontic specialists by governing law, and/or national association bylaws compliant with BAOS bylaws, within said country.

2)The BAOS may immediately terminate the affiliation of any national orthodontic society of previously accepted as an affiliated organization, if the national orthodontic society no longer satisfies any of the requirements of Article 6.1.

3)National orthodontic societies affiliated with the BAOS shall be required to pay an annual affiliation fee in proportion to the number of members of their society that they represent and who are members of the BAOS. The affiliation fee will be proposed by the Council and determined by the General Assembly of the Association according to paragraph 9.3.

4)Each national orthodontic society affiliated with the BAOS shall have the right to nominate one Councilor and one Councilor Elect (to serve as Deputy Councilor), who must be a fellow of the BAOS. The nomination shall be sent to the Secretary-General, along with the term of service for such representative. Subject to the provisions of these Bylaws, any such representative may be changed only upon written notification to the Secretary-General by the national orthodontic society that appointed the representative.

5)In the event that more than one society representing the same country should be elected to affiliation by the Executive Committee, that country shall have only one representative on the Council. Said representative will be mutually determined by the national societies concerned. If the organizations are unable to reach mutual agreement, the Executive Committee may, in its sole discretion, determine which organization shall appoint a representative to the Council.

6)A national orthodontic society can apply for affiliation with the BAOS after

a) completing and signing an application form with the contact details of the society and of its main representatives (i.e., President and Secretary General),

b) providing certified copies of the society bylaws, in both English and the native language of the society, and

c) providing a complete list of their members along with their (electronic and postal) contact information, and their membership status according to the bylaws of this specific Society.

Headquarters Office.

This shall be in Thessaloniki, Greece and shall be directed by a Secretary-General under the responsibility of the President.

Language.

The official language of the Association is English. Documents will be circulated only in English.

8.1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of

• the President,
• the President Elect,
• the Vice President,
• the Past President,
• the Honorary Secretary General, and
• the Honorary Treasurer.

8.2. The Council shall consist of the following officers:

• the President.
• the President Elect
• the Vice President
• the Past President
• the Honorary Secretary-General
• the Honorary Treasurer, and
• one Councilor (with one Councilor Elect serving as Deputy Councilor) from each of the participating countries.

8.3. The councilors

1. The councilors represent their countries as they are recognized by the United Nations.
2. Only the Councilors have the right to vote. Councilors Elect participate in the Council Meetings but they do not have the right to vote.
3. Councilors shall be responsible for transmitting to the Council any request from members of their country through the Secretary-General.
4. After completion of each term, three elected auditors from the active members, who are not council members, will have the duty to examine the Association’s financial balance after receiving the corresponding report from the Honorary Treasurer, and inform the General Assembly accordingly.
5. All appointments on the Council will be in an honorary (unpaid) capacity.

8.4. The President Elect, President and Past President

1. The President Elect shall be nominated by the Executive Committee from among its then-existing members.
2. The President Elect shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by a simple majority of the Executive Committee.
3. The following year after his/her election the President Elect will serve as President and the year after that as Past President.
4. No President elected pursuant to this provision shall be eligible for re-election to that office.
5. The President will preside over the next Annual Congress, meetings of the Executive Committee, meetings of the Council and meetings of the General Assembly that may be held during his/her term.
6. The office of the President Elect, President and Past President shall be held without a stipend.

8.5. The Vice-President

1. A Vice-President shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by a simple majority of the Executive Committee.
2. The Vice-President shall not automatically succeed the President, but shall be eligible for election to that or any other office.
3. The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President either at the President’s request or in the President’s temporary absence.
4. The office of Vice-President shall be held without a stipend.

8.6. The Honorary Secretary General

1. The Honorary Secretary General shall be nominated by the Greek Councilor and appointed by a simple majority of the Executive Committee for a term of three (3) years.
2. The Honorary Secretary General shall serve as the chief executive officer and shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the WFO, the General Assembly, the Council, the Executive Committee, and the administrative operation of the Annual Congress.
3. The Honorary Secretary General shall report to the Executive Committee.
4. The Honorary Secretary General shall be responsible for the Secretariat and shall have the power to employ such secretarial assistance as he/she considers necessary, the salaries of such staff being borne by the BOS.
5. Any expenses incurred by the Honorary Secretary General, or by any member of the Secretariat on his/her behalf, in connection with the business of the BAOS shall be paid by the BAOS after approval of the Executive Committee.
6. The office of Honorary Secretary General shall be held without a stipend.

8.7. The Honorary Treasurer

1. The Honorary Treasurer shall be nominated by the Greek Councilor and appointed by a simple majority of the Executive Committee for a term of three (3) years.
2. The Honorary Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection, supervision and allocation of all WFO funds.
3. The Honorary Treasurer shall be required to submit statements of income and expenditure and budgets annually to the Executive Committee.
4. The office of Honorary Treasurer shall be held without a stipend.

The governance of the BAOS shall be composed of the General Assembly, the Council and the Executive Committee.

 

9.1. Administrative authority shall reside in the Council. The administrative work, as required, shall be carried out by the Secretary General.

9.1. Legislative and governing authority shall reside in the General Assembly, which will consist of all the active members under the presidency of the Officers of the Association.

9.3. The General Assembly

The General Assembly shall be the supreme legislative and governing body of the Association and is responsible, in particular, for the following duties:

• Election of Officers of the Association;
• Amendment of the Articles or Regulations;
• Approval of the acceptance and termination of membership as recommended by the Council;
• Approval of application of orthodontists from Balkan countries – not represented in the council – and simultaneously establishment of their representative councilor;
• Approval of the Reports of the Secretary-General, Treasurer, Editor-in-Chief and other Officers;
• Approval of the Accounts;
• Determination of the Annual Membership fees and of the Affiliation Fees proposed by the Council.

1. The General Assembly takes place annually during the Annual Congress of BAOS.
2. The General Assembly is legal, if more than fifty per cent of Active Members participating in the Congress are present.
3. The decisions of a General Assembly are taken by majority.
4. In case that less than fifty per cent of the Active Members are present at the General Assembly, a break of thirty (30) minutes should be applied, after which the General Assembly is legal with all Active Members present at that time.

9.4. Council and Executive Committee

1. The Association will be governed by the Council gathered at least once a year and the decisions are taken by consensus.
2. The General Assembly will elect the members of the Council among the applicant active members, after the proposals of the National Associations and of the Council.
3. The Council will be responsible towards the General Assembly. The Council will submit an Activity Report to the General Assembly.
4. The Executive Committee submits various subjects and recommendations to the Council.

9.5. Mail Ballot. The Council and the Executive Committee can decree a mail ballot on matters of their choice. Members must receive the ballot papers at least thirty days prior to the voting date.

 

Special Responsibilities

9.6. The President shall preside over the General Assembly, the meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee.

9.7. The President Elect shall preside in the absence of the President.

9.8. The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President and the President Elect.

9.9. The Past President shall preside in the absence of the President, President Elect and Vice President.

9.10. The Secretary General shall be responsible for the administrative office and the direction of all administrative duties.

9.11. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial business of the Association and shall submit a report to the General Assembly at each Congress, together with the report of the auditors. The income of the Association will be deposited in a Bank in Thessaloniki, Greece. It will be kept in accounts in EUR or USD.

The tenure of the Council shall be two (2) years

1. The Association will hold an Annual Congress every year under the auspices of the National or Local Orthodontic Society where this is possible.
2. The name of the congress will be “# Congress of the Balkan Association of Orthodontists”, where # the number of the meeting.
3. President of the Congress is the President of BAOS.
4. The time and place of the congress are decided at least one year before according to the proposal of the President and acceptance by the Executive Committee.
5. Α congress shall consist of a Scientific Meeting and of a General Assembly.
6. Extraordinary Meetings may be convened, either at the discretion of the Council or upon receipt by the Secretary General of a written request signed by not less than one third of Active Members.
7. The financial issues and management related to the organization of the Annual Congresses will determined by the Council.

1. The Association shall publish its own Journal in English.
2. Direction and Editorship. The Editor-in-Chief is appointed by the Council and will be responsible to the Council for the overall policy of the Journal. An Editorial Board shall be formed to assist the Editor with at least one member from each country.
3. The Association shall maintain its own website in English.
4. The webmaster is appointed by the Council and will be responsible to the Council. The Greek branch of the Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists will carry all the respective creation costs.

1. Until the first Executive Committee and the first Council is formed according to Article 8, an Interim Executive Committee will govern the BAOS with the following aims:
2. To elect the President, Vice President, Honorary Secretary-General, and the Honorary Treasurer.
3. The President will organize the first Annual Congress of the BAOS, the first Council Meeting, and the first General Assembly during the Annual Congress.
4. The Position of Past President will be empty for the first year.
5. The President will serve at the subsequent year as Past President as described in Article 8.
6. The Interim Executive Committee will consist of one representative of each Founding Member Societies of BAOS that singed this document.
7. The Interim Executive Committee can convene and take decisions physically or electronically.
8. All the national societies participated with representatives in the Forums in Thessaloniki on May 23, 2015, and on December 6, 2015, that prepare the constitution and sign this document underneath, can be Affiliate Members to BAOS after sending to the Interim Executive Committee the appropriate documentation as described in Article 6.6.

Any other matter that is not included in the articles can be clarified by regulations of the Association, after the decision of the General Assembly.

The present articles may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of all the Active members of the Association provided that the Council has been informed to the motion at least three months prior to the meeting.

An amendment may be made to the Articles without prior notice, provided that it is presented at the first General Assembly and passed by a three-quarters majority of the active members of the Association at the second General Assembly of the same Congress or by mail ballot.

The Association may be dissolved either by a mail ballot with a three quarters majority, or in accordance with the provisions detailed in Article 13. In such a case the fortune of the Association will be transferred to the UNICEF.

The above mentioned articles of the Bylaws Proposal of the Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists” (BAOS) were conducted and agreed during meetings in Thessaloniki on May 23, 2015, and on December 6, 2015, as well as after electronic correspondence with the Presidents of Orthodontic Societies (or their representatives) of Balkan Countries, which are considered as Founding Member Societies of the Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists.

The Founding Member Societies of BAOS

(in alphabetical order of the country names)

Albanian Association of Orthodontics

President: Celiana Toti

Orthodontic Society of Dental Association of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina President: Enita Nakas

Bulgarian Orthodontic Society

President: Laura Andreeva

Croatian Orthodontic Society

President: Tomislav Lauc

Cyprus Orthodontic Society

President: Stathis Efstathiou

Macedonian Orthodontic Society

President: Gabriela Kjurchieva Chuchkova

Orthodontic Society of Northern Greece

President: Moschos A. Papadopoulos

Romanian Association of Excellence in Orthodontics

President: Irina Zetu