1           Name, Head Office, Financial Year

1.1       The association carries the name of "Federal Association of Families of People with Mental Illness", "BApK" for short.

1.2       It has its Head Office in Bonn.

1.3       The financial year is the calendar year.

1.4       The Association is registered in the Register of Associations at the District Court of Bonn.

2           Purpose and objectives

As a member of one of the recognised welfare associations, the association pursues solely and directly the following objectives:

·             promotion of the public health system and public healthcare,

·             promotion of the welfare system,

·             benevolent purposes

·             promotion of help for civilian casualties and the disabled

as defined by the section on "tax-privileged purposes" in the latest version of the 1977 Tax Code.

The Association is a self-help federation and acts as the umbrella association for the State Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness united under it. It supports the member associations in their endeavour to empower their members:

·             to better understand their mentally ill relatives, support them and help them to lead a dignified and as self-determined a life as possible,

·             to master their own problems and difficulties arising from the illness of the family member concerned in mutual solidarity,

·             as part of this intended purpose, to undertake the work that can be better performed at the level of the Federal Republic of Germany, Europe or internationally.

The essential aims of the association are therefore:

·             to represent the interests of relatives of the mentally ill in parliamentary bodies, government offices, authorities and other social institutions at a national and international level. Party political work is excluded.

·             to support its member associations in their own representation of interests towards authorities, public and social bodies in Germany, Europe and international institutions.

·             to collaborate with national and international associations (insofar as they pursue the same goals as the BApK) in order to improve the social and legal situation of the mentally ill and their family members and to strengthen their self-help.

·             to establish parity in national legislation between mental illness and other chronic conditions and disabilities, taking special account of the unique nature of mental illnesses.

·             to interact with the public in order to share knowledge of the appearance and consequences of mental illness as well as the situation of the patient and their family, and awaken understanding and a readiness to show solidarity.

·             to create and disseminate informational material and to stage or support events at which subjects relevant to the mentally ill and their families are discussed or through which their concerns are to be communicated to other social circles.

·             to advise member associations and their members and supply them with information, papers and other publications.

The Association also achieves its objectives by:

·             supporting and advising members of the Association and other people affected and their families in all relevant areas from the perspective of consumer protection and patient consultation, if and insofar as this is allowed in law.

·             working with and participating in charitable organizations and companies whose objective is to support the concerns of people with mental illnesses and to improve their situation in society.

·             The BApK is a member of Deutscher Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband and BAG Selbsthilfe for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses and their families.

The Association can exercise the right of associations to take legal action in accordance with statutory provisions without its own rights being violated.

3           Charitable status

3.1       The Association's funds may only be used for the purposes defined in its statutes. Members of member associations will not receive any grants from the Association's funds. No person may be advantaged by expenditure that does not comply with the purpose of the Association or by disproportionate grants.

3.2       The Association is a charitable organisation and does not primarily pursue its own financial purposes.

4           Membership

4.1       Membership is made up of State Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness. State associations can merge. The prerequisite of membership is recognition as a charitable or benevolent organisation as defined by the Tax Code.

4.2       Supporting members can be natural persons or legal entities who/which wish to support the Association in its work intellectually or financially. Supporting members can participate in opinion-making in an advisory capacity.

4.3       Membership must be applied for in writing. The Committee decides whether to accept applications.

4.4       Membership ends when the member association leaves, is excluded or dissolved or when the member dies.

4.5       Members may only leave at the end of the financial year. Membership is terminated by means of a written statement to the Committee, observing a notice period of 3 months.

4.6       A member can be expelled if they commit a serious breach of the Association's objectives and interests, are more than 2 years in arrears with their subscription fees in spite of a warning or have not provided evidence of their recognition as a charitable or benevolent organisation for more than 1 year. Before expulsion, the member must be given the opportunity to make a statement. The Committee decides on the expulsion.

5           Finance

The Association acquires its funds to fulfil its assignments through:

·            Membership subscription fees

·            Grants

·            Donations

6           Subscription fees

6.1       The general assembly decides the level of the annual total subscription fee to be paid by member associations to the national Association by a ¾ majority.

6.2       The share of this total fee to be paid by the individual member associations is calculated according to the ratio of the population of the State represented by the association to the population of the Federal Republic.

6.3       The Committee is authorised to grant a deferment of the fee and/or to waive it in exceptional, justified circumstances. It must take this into consideration when setting the overall fee the level of which it must propose to the general assembly.

7           General assembly

7.1       The general assembly is responsible in particular for

·         defining the duties of the Association,

·         electing the Committee,

·         electing two cash auditors,

·         receiving the annual report of the Committee,

·         approving the budget prepared by the Committee,

·         setting the total subscription fee for the member associations,

·         receiving the report of the cash auditors,

·         approving the actions of the Committee,

·         making changes to the statutes and dissolving the Association.

7.2       The cash auditors must not be members of the Committee. They are elected by the general assembly for a period of 3 years. Re-election following directly on an election period is not permitted.

7.3       The general assembly will give itself rules of procedure.

7.4       The general assembly must be convened by the Committee at least once a year. The general assembly will be convened in writing by the Chairman or if they are indisposed, by the deputy Chairman with a notice period of at least four weeks with the agenda enclosed.

7.5       An extraordinary general assembly must be convened if the Committee regards it as necessary or if this is applied for in writing by 1/4 of the total number of weighted votes of member associations, with reasons given.

7.6       Every general assembly convened in accordance with the statutes is quorate regardless of the number of member associations present.

7.7       Every member association has a vote which is weighted as follows when votes are held: For States with a population of up to 6 million, the vote of the relevant member association is weighted as 1, for populations from 6 to 12 million as 2 and for populations over 12 million as 3.

7.8       It is not possible to transfer votes to a different member association.

7.9       Member associations can despatch further representatives to the general assembly in an advisory capacity.

7.10    The general assembly passes its resolutions by a simple majority. If the votes are tied, the motion is deemed to have been rejected.

7.11    Minutes will be taken of the results and resolutions adopted by the general assembly; they must be signed by the chairman of the meeting and the minute-taker and made available to all members.

7.12    The general assembly can only adopt changes to the statutes if they have been announced in the invitation to the relevant general assembly. Resolutions on changes to the statutes require a ¾ majority.

8           Committee

8.1       The Committee consists of:

·         the Chairman,

·         the deputy Chairman,

·         the Treasurer,

·         the Secretary,

·         and up to three observers with a corresponding resolution to be passed by the general assembly.

8.2       Members of the Committee must be members of one of the member associations.

8.3       The Chairman, deputy chairman, Treasurer and Secretary constitute the Committee as defined by § 26 BGB (Civil Code).

8.4       The Association is represented in and out of court by the Chairman, or if they are indisposed, by the deputy Chairman, together with the Treasurer or the Secretary.

8.5       The Committee is elected by the general assembly for a period of 3 years. Re-election is permitted. Committee members in office remain in office after their period of office has expired until their successors have been elected. If Committee members leave before their period of office has ended, the Committee can appoint other persons to the Committee until the next general assembly in accordance with Paragraph 8.2. This only applies as long as the Committee members elected in the general assembly are in the majority on the Committee.

8.6       If the electoral procedure for the Committee is changed by means of a change to the statutes, the previous Committee members remain in office until their period of office expires.

8.7       Committee members can be deselected by any general assembly with a ¾ majority as long as this has been announced in the invitation to the general assembly concerned.

9           Duties and working method of the Committee

9.1       The Committee runs the ongoing business of the Association and executes the resolutions passed by the general assembly. In particular, it decides on the use of Association funds in accordance with the purpose of the Association, and must report to the general assembly on the use of these funds.

9.2       The Committee is quorate if at least three out of four to five or four out of six to seven Committee members are present after a proper invitation. The written form of the invitation can be waived if all the Committee members are agreed.

9.3       The Committee is responsible for

·         procuring the funds required for the work of the Association;

·         appointing and dismissing employees.

9.4       The Committee will give itself rules of procedure.

9.5       The Committee can adopt changes to the statutes demanded for formal reasons by supervisory, judicial or financial authorities. Such changes to the statutes must be communicated in writing to all member associations, and take effect if no objections are raised within 14 days.

9.6       The Committee can appoint a Board of Trustees and an Advisory Board for the period of office of the Committee in order to support the objectives of the Association.

9.7       The Committee can appoint authorised representatives and working committees for the Committee's period of office for professional advice or to accomplish special assignments; non-members can also participate in this process.

10        Dissolution of the Association

10.1    A 3/4 majority of the members present and represented in the general assembly is required for any resolution to dissolve the Association. Dissolution can only be decided if the agenda item "Dissolution of the Association" has been announced in the invitation to the general assembly concerned.

10.2    If the Association is dissolved or terminated or if its tax-privileged purpose no longer applies, the assets of the Association will be assigned to the tax-privileged member associations. The shares will be based on the shares on the basis of which the member associations have paid their last subscription fee. Assets accruing to the member associations must be used exclusively and directly for the tax-privileged purposes contained in their statutes.

(References to persons denote people as a general rule. No distinction by gender is made in the text of the statutes.)

These statutes were adopted unanimously at the meeting of delegates of the BApK in Jena on 14 May 2000. Amendments/additions

·             Change to § 7.4 by the general assembly on 25.11.2001 in Potsdam

·             Addition to § 2 Para. 3 and Para. 4 by the general assembly on 06.11.2005 in Berlin

·             Changes by the general assembly on 18.04.2010 in Cologne

·             Changes at the instigation of the Bonn Tax Office passed by the general assembly on 20.09.2015 in Mainz