memberships – Terms and Conditions

Memberships General and Overview

Types of membership

The members of the association are divided in ordinary members, extra-ordinary members and members of honour. Ordinary members fully participate in the work of the association. Extra-ordinary members support the activities of the association mainly by the means of payment of a fixed membership fee. Members of honour are nominated as such for special merits with regards to the association.

Obtainment of membership

All physical persons, who have filled in the membership application form, as well as legal persons can become members of the association
The board can decide about the reception of ordinary and extra-ordinary members. The reception can be denied without specific reasons.
Until the establishment of the association, the founders of the association can provisionally receive ordinary and extra-ordinary members. In case the board is appointed already, the board provisionally receives ordinary and extra-ordinary members. The membership is only validated with the establishment of the association. In case, the board is appointed after the establishment of the association, also the definitive reception of ordinary and extra-ordinary members is conducted by the founders of the association until the appointment of the board.
A member of honour is nominated by the General Assembly upon application of the board.

End of membership

The membership ends by the means of death, for legal persons by the loss of the legal personality, by voluntary resignation or by exclusion.
Resignation is only possible on the last day of the month. It has to be announced to the board at least 3 months in advance in a written manner. In case, the resignation is announced belatedly, it will be effective on the next possible withdrawal date. The relevant indicator for the timeliness of the notification is the date of postmarking.
The Board can expel a member if, despite two written notices with an announcement of a suitably extended deadline, the member is more than six months behind in paying the membership fees. The obligation to pay the due membership fees remains unaffected.
A member may be excluded by the Board as a consequence of serious breaches of the responsibilities of members or disreputable and ethically incorrect behaviour.
Honorary membership can be revoked by the General Assembly upon the request of the Board for special merits with regards to the association.

Rights and duties of the members

The members are entitled to participate in all of the Association’s events and take advantage of the Association’s facilities. Only ordinary members may vote in the General Assembly, elect others and be elected, extra-ordinary members do not.
Every member has the right to request the delivery of the statutes from the Board.
At least one tenth of the members can request from the Board to call in a General Assembly
Members shall be informed by the Board about the activities and financing of the association at each General Assembly. When at least one tenth of the members by stating reasons requires the respective information, the Board must otherwise provide it to the concerned members within 4 weeks.
Members shall be informed by the Board about the audited balance of accounts = Rechnungsabschluss (financial statement = Rechnungslegung). If this information is provided in the General Assembly, the Auditors (=Rechnungsprüfer) shall be involved in the information provision.
The members are bound to promote the interests of the Association to the best of their ability and to refrain from everything and that would impair the reputation and purpose of the Association. The members must observe the statutes of the Association and resolutions of the bodies of the Association. Ordinary and extra-ordinary members must pay membership fees in a timely manner at the level written in their submitted membership form.

Extra-ordinary Membership -Terms and Conditions

1. Subject Matter of the Contract
By completing the extra-ordinary membership form and confirming the registration, the participant becomes an extra-ordinary member of the Civil Action Network and undertakes to make a regular contribution. The contribution can be paid monthly or annually and serves to support the aims of the Civil Action Network. Extra-ordinary members support the organisation financially, they have no voting rights in the General Assembly.

2. Purpose of the Membership fees
Members’ sponsorship contributions are used exclusively to finance the Civil Action Network’s charitable projects and activities. There is no legal entitlement to a specific use of the funds, as these are used within the framework of the organisation’s general budget.

3. Supporting Contributions
Extra-ordinary members undertake to pay a regular support contribution in the chosen amount written in their submitted membership form. Payment is made either monthly or annually, depending on the option selected on the form.

Monthly payments: The membership fee is transferred monthly as a standing order.
Annual payments: The membership fee is transferred once a year as a standing order.

4. Method of Payment
The membership fee is transferred by standing order. The extra-ordinary member undertakes to ensure that the specified account has sufficient funds. If fees are incurred for chargebacks or payment defaults, these are to be borne by the extra-ordinary member.

5. Term of the extra-ordinary Membership
Extra-ordinary membership begins with the confirmation of registration and is for an indefinite period, but can be terminated at any time subject to the cancellation period (see point 6).

6. Cancellation of the extra-ordinary Membership
Resignation is only possible on the last day of the month. It has to be announced to the board at least 3 months in advance in a written manner. In case, the resignation is announced belatedly, it will be effective on the next possible withdrawal date. The relevant indicator for the timeliness of the notification is the date of postmarking.

If no cancellation is received, the extra-ordinary membership is automatically renewed and the corresponding payments must continue to be transferred.

7. Liability
The Civil Action Network is only liable for intent and gross negligence. For damages caused by simple negligence, the NGO is only liable if an essential contractual obligation has been violated. In this case, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract.

8. Data Protection
The data of extra-ordinary members are processed in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations. The data will be used exclusively for the administration of the extra-ordinary membership and will not be passed on to third parties. Further information can be found in our Data Protection Policy.

9. Final Provisions
Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid provision. Austrian law shall apply. The place of jurisdiction is Vienna.

Data Protection Policy of Civil Action Network

Civil Action Network is responsible for the data processing activities outlined here. By signing, I acknowledge that the personal data I have provided will be processed electronically and manually by the association based on the contractual basis (membership). The purposes of processing include: organizational and professional administration, financial management, member administration, sending association information, notifications about association-related events, sending the association’s magazine, and potentially storing documents that may contain personal data in the association’s archives. Personal data will only be used by the association for the stated purposes. The data will be retained for as long as necessary or as legally required.
My rights regarding data protection regulations include the right to information, correction, deletion, restriction, data portability, and, where applicable, objection to the processing. Furthermore, I have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority.