Our statutes

In accordance with the provisions of Articles L2131-1 et seq. of the French Labor Code, a trade association is formed between the persons or companies that adhere to the present Articles of Association, which takes the title of Trade Union Chamber of Laboratory Equipments and Equipment Manufacturers, whose acronym is FABRILABO and hereinafter referred to as the union.

The union has its head office in Courbevoie, 45 rue Louis Blanc, France.
This location may be transferred to any other location by decision of the Board of Directors.

The duration of the union is unlimited.

The purpose of the union is to promote and defend the collective and individual interests of its members in order to foster their development.
Without this list being exhaustive, it is within the remit of the union:

• To promote and defend the collective and individual interests of its members;
• To offer information and services to members, enabling them to develop on French and world markets;
• To represent the professional interests of its members before the public authorities, all administrations, assemblies, commissions and jurisdictions for facts that are directly or indirectly prejudicial to the collective interest of the profession and the Commercial Code, article L.470-7 for facts that undermine fair competition, as well as before any other professional organization (trade unions or associations);
• To represent its members before private bodies or groups, and before all official, European and international administrations, more particularly in the professional, technical or economic fields;
• To study all questions of an economic, legal, fiscal, commercial, technical, social, societal and environmental nature which are of common interest to its members;
• To organize and participate, through communication and promotional activities, in the development of markets and the reputation of its members both in France and abroad;
• To carry out for its members all actions which would be considered useful in the common interest of aforementioned industries;
• To organize the arbitration of disputes or contentious questions raised between its members in the exercise of their professional activity, and which they would bring or have referred to it;
• To develop and consolidate, among all its members, feelings of solidarity and good fellowship;
• To exercise all the rights and faculties provided for in Book 4, Title 1 of the Labor Code relating to professional trade associations.

The union is composed of:
active members,
associate members
honorary members.

Active members
The active members are:
– On the one hand, companies incorporated under French law and carrying on an activity exclusively meeting one or more of the following definitions: Designers, builders, installers, dealers in materials, apparatus, equipment and accessories intended for laboratories; Industrialists specializing in service activities related to laboratories.
– On the other hand, any natural person whose competence is recognized in the laboratory field.

Associate members
Associate members are companies and/or natural persons who do not meet the criteria set as active members or associations or groupings whose activities are related to those of the profession and who, as such, may participate in some of the union’s actions by invitation.

Honorary members
Honorary members are natural persons who have rendered or are likely to render eminent services to the profession. Honorary members are appointed by the Board of Directors.

Any application for admission must be made by a duly motivated application addressed to the Board of Directors, hereinafter referred to as the Board of Directors. A notification of this application must be sent by the Board of Directors to all its active members who then have 15 days to present any information, opinions, objections etc. which will be examined by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has sovereign power of decision and is not required to justify the reasons for its decision.
The application for admission must be sponsored by at least one active member who has been a member for at least three years.

Active members
Rights:
Active members may attend meetings on which they depend and all other union events (committees, working groups, general meetings, etc.), with the right to vote.

Obligations:
Active members must respect the present statutes, the general rules of procedure, the professional charters and pay their membership fees at the end of their term. They are obliged to respect the rules ethics of the profession.

Associate Members
Rights:
Associate members attend union events to which they are invited.

Obligations:
Associate members must respect the present statutes, the general rules of procedure, the professional charters and pay their dues when due. They undertake to respect the ethical rules of the profession.

Honorary members
Honorary members attend the meetings of sections or commissions or boards of directors to which they are invited, in an advisory capacity. They shall not be bound by any contribution. They may be entrusted with certain tasks, either by the sections or commissions or by the Board of Directors.

Any member may withdraw from the union at any time. It is sufficient for him or her to inform the president by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
In this case, all sums in arrears, due for whatever reason, shall become immediately payable, and the union dues shall be due for a period of six months from the date of the letter of resignation, in accordance with Article L 2131-3 of the Labor Code.

Members may be excluded if they:

• Refuse to comply with the Statutes, the Internal Regulations and the Professional Charters;
• Refuse to comply with the decisions of the Board of Directors or the General Assembly;
• Have not paid their membership fees after two complaints, the last by letter. registered with acknowledgement of receipt, without giving any valid reason for their delay;
• Are in a state of judicial liquidation;
• Have been convicted of an offence prejudicial to their good repute.

Exclusions are pronounced by the Board of Directors. A member subject to an exclusion measure shall no longer have the
right, therefore, to claim the status of member. The membership fee is due for a period of six months from the date of exclusion. Exclusion
does not extinguish the member’s other debts to the union, which retains the right to sue for them.
possibly the recovery by any means it deems useful.

The union’s social fund, which is managed under the control of the president, is made up of:

• Annual subscriptions paid by active and associate members;
• Income of all kinds, grants and voluntary contributions without earmarking, which the union may collect and accept, in whatever form;
• Reserves built up from available funds and their proceeds
• Property which it is authorized to acquire and manage in accordance with the law, and income from such property.
  

Each member must pay an annual membership fee, the scale and collection procedures are set by the general meeting, on the proposal of the Board of Directors.

The financial year and the accounting year begin on 1 January and end on 31 December. December each year.

The union is administered by the following bodies:
The General Assembly which brings together all the members of the union
The Board of Directors composed in accordance with Article 17
The Bureau composed in accordance with Article 18

The AGM of the active members of the union meets at least once a year, in the course of the first meeting. Semester of the year upon convocation by the President. Notices of meeting, together with the agenda, must be sent by circular letter to the following address individually or by e-mail, at least one month before the date of the meeting.

THE AGO:

• Statutes on the approval of the accounts for the past financial year presented by the treasurer;
• Examines the moral report presented by the President;
• Elects the administrators;
• Determines the method of calculation and collection of membership fees;
• Determines the general action of the union.
• The ballot may be secret when requested by at least five members. Only active members vote.
• The election of the directors elected intuitu personae shall be carried out under the quorum and majority conditions provided for in Article 16 and by secret ballot; only active members shall participate in the election of directors.
• Each year, and in order to allow candidacies to emerge, a circular shall be sent to the active members at least two months before the general meeting; it shall also include the names of the active members. of outgoing directors and the number of seats to be filled. Candidates have 15 days in which to submit their application, accompanied by a letter of motivation. The list of candidates is decided by the Board of Directors and sent to all active members together with the invitation to the general meeting.

Active members not participating in the AGM may be represented by giving a written power of attorney to another active member, with no more than five powers of attorney being granted to the same active member.

EGMs can be held at the call of the president or can be called by a written request from at least a quarter of the active members of the union.
Convening notices must be sent out at least fifteen days before the date set for the extraordinary general meeting and be accompanied by the agenda drawn up by the president with the text of draft resolutions.

OGMs and EGMs can only validly deliberate on issues on the agenda established by the President.
If an Extraordinary General Meeting is convened by a written request from at least one quarter of the members of the union as provided for in Article 15, the request made by the draft related resolutions must be expressly included on the agenda.

The necessary quorums are:

• Half of the members registered for OGMs and EGMs
• Three-quarters for the EGMs called to decide on the dissolution and liquidation of the union.
• If these quorums are not reached, a second general meeting shall be convened in the same manner at an interval of fifteen days, which may validly deliberate on the matter. regardless of the number of members present.
• Each active member has only one vote regardless of its size.

The following majorities will be required for the adoption of resolutions:

• Majority of those present or represented at ordinary and extraordinary general meetings.
• Three-quarters majority of those present or represented for extraordinary general meetings called to amend the constitution or to decide on the dissolution of the union.

Director
A director is a personally elected natural person, representing an active member of the union, he is elected for three years and is eligible for re-election for a maximum of three successive terms. The term of office runs from the annual AGM at which it was elected.

Composition
The administration of the trade union and the organization of its work is entrusted to a Board of Directors made up of the
minimum of 5 directors and a maximum of 12 directors elected at the AGM.
At the end of the ordinary general meeting, the Board elects the president, the two vice-presidents, the treasurer and the secretary of the union. They are elected for 3 years. They may be re-elected for a maximum of 3 years.
successive mandates.
The Board of Directors may not include more than one natural person representing the same legal entity.
In the event of a director’s departure (resignation, exclusion, death, etc.), the Board of Directors may be supplemented by co-opting a new member, whose appointment must be submitted for approval at the AGM.
next.
The functions of directors are entirely voluntary, they are bound by professional secrecy.
The Board of Directors meets, upon convocation by the Chairman, whenever the latter deems it useful and at least four times a year.
It is validly constituted when at least one third of the voting rights are present. Representation and postal voting are not allowed. Meetings may be opened
to any invited member.
The minutes of the Board of Directors are signed by the Chairman and the Secretary and communicated to all the directors.
Any director who is absent from the Board of Directors (over the 12-month period between two AG0) will be deemed to have resigned, except in the event of illness. A vacancy will automatically be filled declared open.

Attributions
The board is the official representative of the union. In addition to the permanent delegations to the President and Vice-Presidents, it can give special delegations to one of its members. Any delegation
special is renewable every year.
The board has full powers to consider, monitor and resolve issues within the union’s remit.
It shall adopt the budget for each financial year and present the accounts to the General Meeting in accordance with Article 21.
It has full powers to convene, when it deems it useful, the OGA and to refer to it any matter concerning the life of the union.
It may also decide to affiliate to certain groupings, federations or associations that it deems useful to defend the interests of the members. This decision is sovereign when the financial burdens it entails are paid out of the union’s ordinary budget. It must be approved by the general meeting when the decision results in the payment, by some or all of the members of the union, of specific additional subscriptions.
Finally, the Board decides on the broad lines of the organization of the union and the creation of sections or commissions.

The members of the executive committee are elected from among the directors; they assist the Chairman in day-to-day management.

The executive committee is composed of:
the President of the union
the two Vice-Presidents
the Treasurer
the Secretary

The President may request the presence of the Presidents of existing committees and sections.
The Bureau shall meet when convened by the President or, if the President is unable to attend, on the following occasions convening one of the Vice-Presidents as often as necessary and at least 4 times a year.
The President reports on the work of the Bureau to the Board.

The President of the union convenes the General Meetings, the Board of Directors and the Officers. He presides over their meetings and directs the debates and proceedings.
The President represents the union in all circumstances; he or she orders expenditure and, together with the Treasurer, carries out all banking transactions on behalf of the union.
With the authorization of the Board of Directors, he pleads, settles, gives all receipts and releases, institutes and follows up all legal actions.
He may delegate all or part of his powers, in specific areas, to the members of the bureau or the board of directors.

If the Chairman is unavailable for a long period, the Board of Directors appoints one of the Vice-Chairmen to act as interim Chairman.

The Treasurer is responsible for the accounting and collection of monies owed to the union. He or she balances the expenses and carries out with the President all banking transactions on behalf of the union. He presents the account for the financial year which will be submitted to the OGM. It draws up a provisional budget.

The secretary assists the President and collaborates in the drafting of the minutes of the meetings. He is responsible for the archives of the union.

The union may have several sections and committees. They operate according to the rules of procedure.
The sections are representative of a particular industry and deal with specific issues related to the work of the members who form it.
Committees are open to all members of the union. They deal with cross-cutting issues that may be of interest to all members.
Sections and committees may submit to the board any resolutions and suggestions they consider useful for the defense of their profession, as well as for the general direction of the union.

The committees and sections have no resources of their own; all the expenses involved in their operation are met from the union’s budget and follow the rules imposed on the general expenses of the union.
In order to facilitate the study and completion of their work, the committees and sections may hold meetings freely among themselves and with bodies outside the union, but they may not commit the material or moral interests of the union without the agreement of the board.

In addition to the articles of association, the Board of Directors shall draw up and amend, if it deems it useful, general rules of procedure.
These are binding on all members.

Active members of the trade association may mark their communications with the words “member of FABRILABO”. The “FABRILABO” logo is available to active members upon request to the secretary. Under no circumstances may it be modified.
In the event of resignation or exclusion, they undertake not to use the mention anymore.
In the event of an infringement being observed, the union reserves the right to take legal action.

The present articles of association may be modified on the proposal of the Board of Directors. Such amendments must be adopted at an EGM convened for that purpose, one month in advance, the quorum and majority being fixed by Article 16 of these Articles of Association.

The union may be dissolved by an EGM convened for that purpose, fifteen days in advance, the quorum and majority being fixed by Article 16 of this Constitution. In the event of dissolution, the meeting shall decide on the use of the funds and securities constituting the assets of the union, in accordance with the legislation in force.
In addition, the meeting shall appoint one or more liquidators from among the members present. They shall be responsible for the settlement of the assets and liabilities, as well as for the payment of the funds remaining available to the unions or works indicated by the Assembly. These funds may not in any case revert to the members of the union in any form whatsoever.