To fulfil the aims of Societas Europaea Herpetologica, as defined in paragraph 2 of the German edition of the Statutes of May 20, 1980, and to achieve its objectives and functions, the Council and General Meeting of the association have passed the following by-laws:

In legal and other matters, as well as for any financial transactions, the only regulations binding the General Meeting and the Council are the statutory provisions and tax regulations of the Federal Republic of Germany (as long as the registered office remains in the Federal Republic of Germany).

2.1. The association consists of ordinary members, affiliated members, corporate members, sponsoring members and honorary members.

2.2. Affiliated members are those members that do not receive the journal "Amphibia-Reptilia"; they only receive the association's pages as a separate and pay a reduced fee, the membership dues minus the sum paid by SEH to the publisher.

2.3. Corporate members pay the subscription price decided upon by the Publisher, augmented by the amount of the membership fee coming to the association which is decided by the General Meeting and will be equal to the amount paid by affiliated members.

2.4. A sponsoring member may be any ordinary member who supports the objectives and activities of the association by an annual payment of not less than 20 times the amount of the annual membership fee for the year concerned.

2.5. Members who have rendered special services to the association and to herpetology may, upon recommendation of the Council, be made honorary members by the General Meeting.

3.1. All members will have equal rights and obligations.

3.2. Members will be entitled to:
3.2.1. participate in the General Meetings and at Congresses and Symposia;
3.2.2. receive the publications of the association covered by the membership fee;
3.2.3. fully explore all possibilities defined in § 2.1 of the Statutes;
3.2.4. attend and vote at all General Meetings; 3.2.5. submit written proposals and applications to the Council, addressed to the General Secretary.

3.3. The members shall:
3.3.1. further the objectives of the association and observe the Statutes;
3.3.2. behave in a responsible way towards wildlife, and especially to refrain from collecting amphibians and/or reptiles in large quantities, or in such a way as to endanger populations, or for commercial purposes, since such activities are incompatible with the aims of the association;
3.3.3. pay the annual membership fee by December before the year to be covered; only honorary members will be exempt from this obligatory payment.

3.4. Only members who have paid the annual membership fee (except honorary members) receive the association's journal, and are entitled to vote at General Meetings (see § 4.1 of the Statutes). In the case of incomplete payments members receive the journal if the payment covers at least 85% of the membership fee. The balance is to be paid together with and in addition to the subsequent annual membership fee.

4.1. The General Meeting represents the legislative authority of the association.

4.2. For voting on important matters by the association, the Ordinary General Meeting must be brought to the notice of all members by the Council, announcing them at least three months before the meeting takes place, observing the stipulations made in § 4.1 of the Statutes.

4.3. Extraordinary General Meetings can be convened by the Council, when a majority of the Council or 50 or at least 1/4 of the members ask for it in writing. Such an Extraordinary General Meeting has to be convened within four months from the date of receipt of such a request by the General Secretary.

4.4. The responsibility of the General Meeting will include the following:
4.4.1. passing resolutions on the Statutes and Bye-laws;
4.4.2. passing resolutions on amendments to the Statutes and By-laws; 4.4.3. passing resolutions on all motions put to the vote;
4.4.4. election of a Chairperson of the meeting;
4.4.5. election of Council Members;
4.4.6. decisions about establishing Committees and election of Chairpersons of those various Committees;
4.4.7. election of Auditors;
4.4.8. passing the progress report of the Council;
4.4.9. passing the Auditor's report and approving the accounts;
4.4.10. passing the progress reports of the Chairpersons of the various Committees;
4.4.11. deciding upon the amount of the annual membership fee, and late fees;
4.4.12. proposing next meeting venues and deciding upon them;
4.4.13. nominating honorary members;
4.4.14. passing resolutions on the dissolution of the association according to Statutes § 9.1;
4.4.15. passing resolutions concerning threatened habitats or endangered European reptiles and/or amphibians.

4.5. The resolutions of the General Meeting will be recorded, and the minutes signed by the Chairperson of the meeting and the person taking minutes.

4.6. Members attending Congresses and Symposia will be charged an appropriate fee, and non-members a higher fee, contributing to the costs of the Congress or Symposium. The level of the fee will be determined by the Council. Honoraria cannot be paid.

5.1. The Council receives its authority from the General Meeting, and will be bound by its resolutions, thus being the executive body of the association.

5.2. The rules for the election of the Council members are as follows:
5.2.1. the members will be elected by secret ballot, the ballot will be made separately for all vacant positions;
5.2.2. any member of the acting Council who is no longer prepared to remain in office must inform the President and the General Secretary of his/her intention to resign in writing or by e-mail, and must ascertain that these have received the message; this can be achieved by sending the message by registered mail, or by receiving a confirmation of receipt by the General Secretary in writing or by e-mail;
5.2.3. members may be candidates themselves or nominate eligible candidates for the various vacant offices in the Council;
5.2.4. each nomination must be accompanied by the written approval of the nominee and his/her curriculum vitae;
5.2.5. a list of candidates should preferably be announced together with the agenda and will be accompanied by a very short curriculum vitae of the candidates;
5.2.6. the Council will consist of persons of different nationalities, with no more than two persons from the same country, especially the three co-editors must not be from the same country;
5.2.7. at every election the total number of candidates with the same nationality eligible to the Council is 0, 1 or 2, according to whether the numbers of members of the same nationality remaining in the Council is respectively 2, 1 or 0;
5.2.8. the Council can be asked to resign in a written resolution to this effect, signed by not less than 20% of the members. Such a resolution must be sent by registered mail to the General Secretary at least nine months before the General Meeting and must be accompanied by a list of eligible candidates to fill the vacant offices. The resolution must then be voted-upon by the General Meeting.

5.3. During the General Meeting the Council will appoint a person in charge of the elections.

5.4. The arrangement of General Meetings, Congresses Symposia and the issuing of the serial publications will be the responsibility of the Council.

5.5. The Council will inform all members of important matters so that they may play an active part in the activities of the association.

5.6. Every two years the Council must give an account of its activities during its term of office to the General Meeting

5.7. The President or Vice-President must convene a Council Meeting if so requested by a majority of the Council members and give the reasons for calling such a meeting in writing. The Council will meet at least once a year in order to discuss all matters at hand. The General Secretary must record all resolutions of the Council in an adequate way and record them in the minutes of the meeting.

6.1. The President convenes and presides at the Council Meetings as well as at the General Meetings unless otherwise provided for by the Statutes and/or the By-laws. In consultation with the General Secretary he/she fixes the Agenda of the Council Meetings and General Meetings.

6.2. The Vice-President will act for the President in his/her absence and will have all his/her rights and duties.

6.3. The General Secretary, or through another member of Council of German citizenship, will maintain official contact with the legal authorities at the place of registration of the association, as long as this is in Bonn. He/she will be obliged to notify the authorities immediately of any changes in the Executive Committee (= Council). He/she will attend to the official correspondence of the association, except when it falls within the direct jurisdiction of other Council members. Together with the President he/she will prepare the Council Meetings and General Meetings, fix the Agenda and send out the letters of invitation for Council Meetings. He/she will convene and preside at Council Meetings if both the President and the Vice-President are prevented from doing so. He/she will keep the records and take down the minutes during Council Meetings. He/she will give Council's report to the General Meeting. He/she will normally confirm new memberships in the name of the Council.

6.4. The Vice-Secretary will act for the General Secretary in his/her absence and will have all his/her rights and duties. He/she will be in charge of advertising campaigns for and give information about the association, except where this falls within the responsibility of other Council members. He/she will be the co-ordinator for the scientific program during General Meetings

6.5. The Treasurer will open suitable petty cash and bank accounts in the name of the association. He/she will be obliged to maintain proper books and keep all vouchers for income and expenditure. He/she will be authorised to sign solely for all normal expenses up to EUR 2000, or for greater sums resulting exclusively from members' subscription prepayments to the journal of the association; greater amounts require the additional signature of another member of the Council.

6.6. The Vice-Treasurer will act for the Treasurer in his/her absence and will have all his/her rights and duties. He/she will receive applications for membership. He/she will regularly send a list of membership applicants to the members of the Council. When he/she does not receive objections within two weeks after mailing, the persons on the lists will be accepted as members. He/she shall keep the list and files of the members in consultation with the Treasurer and co-operate with the Co-Editors in preparing the membership list and additions to it, for publication.

6.7. The Co-Editors are responsible for issuing the publications of the association. The three Co-Editors act independently to a certain degree in order to save time, energy and costs. They receive manuscripts from the authors or from the advisory editorial board members and care for the reviewing process. They inform each other regularly of manuscripts presented and consult the respective other Co-Editor, if they feel it necessary before taking a final decision on a really doubtful paper. The First Co-Editor manages the co-operation with the publisher and provides the composition of "Amphibia-Reptilia" issues. The second and third Co-Editors act in his/her place if the former is prevented from this task. Upon agreement of the Council the Co-Editors can decide to transfer further tasks to the first Co-Editor who then becomes the Managing Editor for all manuscripts submitted to the publications of the association. The Council can further nominate Associate Editors for a period of four years, with the possibility of renomination. These will manage manuscripts in their field of expertise. The Co-Editors further get support from the members of the advisory editorial board whose nomination by the Council is based on their experience and speciality for a period of four years; re-nomination is possible. Associate Editors and Advisory Board members are not part of the Council and have no vote at Council Meetings.

6.8. The Council is entitled, in exceptional cases, to distribute the duties of Council members different from what is laid out in §6.1-6.7 of the By-Laws. This can only take place upon unanimous agreement of all Council members, and under all circumstances without hindering a proper bookkeeping or hindering transfer of all necessary documents to new Council members. In any case, legal responsibilities of all Council members remain as laid out in the Statutes and By-Laws.

7.1. The association will, in co-operation with a publisher, publish a scientific journal with the title "Amphibia-Reptilia". The subtitle of the journal will be "Publication of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica". The details concerning this journal are laid down in a contract between the association and the publisher.

7.2. The journal is intended for the publication of original scientific articles on herpetology, short notes and book reviews. The editors will refuse papers from those fields that use amphibians and reptiles only as a material for research, but which are not focused on these groups as such and which are not of general interest for specialists of these groups. In addition to these original articles, a limited number of pages are reserved for news of the association.

7.3. "Amphibia-Reptilia" publishes papers in English. Each paper will be accompanied by an English abstract and by abstracts in one or two other languages appropriate to the subject matter of the paper. It is possible that in the future additional publications may be issued, e.g. monographs.

7.4. Next to "Amphibia-Reptilia", the Society publishes an online bulletin for short notes on distribution, ecology, behaviour and conservation of amphibians and reptiles". This bulletin is of open-access and available from the SEH website. It is managed by two Co-Editors which have the status of Committee Chairs and thereby the right to vote at Council Meetings"

The Council is authorised to set up Committees for special purposes

9.1. The association will derive its funds from membership fees and donations.

9.2. No person will receive expenses, except when made for the proper functioning of the association. Such expenses will be limited to the amount actually spent. Payment of expenses by the Treasurer will be made on the basis of proper receipts.

10.1. The General Meeting will elect two auditors. The auditors will not be re-elected immediately after a four years' term of office. They must be appointed to the office in such a way that the term of office of one of them overlaps with that of the other by two years, so that only one new auditor needs be elected at each General Meeting.

10.2. It will be the task of the auditors to examine all receipts and payments by the association and to check whether or not any monies have been spent in excess of the limits set by a General Meeting or by the Council. The auditors are authorised to inspect all relevant files and minutes that the General Secretary has in his/her possession. They also have the right to inspect all relevant papers in the possession of the Treasurer and the Vice-Treasurer.

10.3. The auditors will be obliged to present their report to the General Meeting and subsequently to attach a written copy of it to the minutes of the General Meeting.

In law and in any case of dispute, the only definitive version of the Statutes shall be the German version as deposited in the County Court of Bonn, unless and until the association is registered in another country.

As accepted by the General Meeting in Vienna on 16 September, 1981. Updated and modified at the 11th Ordinary General Business Meeting of SEH at Zalec (Slovenia) on 15 July 2001, the 13th Ordinary General Meeting of SEH at Bonn (Germany) on 1 October 2005, and the 14th Ordinary General Meeting of SEH at Porto, 22 September 2007.

1.1. The name of the association will be the "Societas Europaea Herpetologica" and it is registered with the register of associations ("Vereinsregister").

1.2. The financial year will be the calendar year.

1.3. The official languages of the association will be German, English and French.

2.1. The association will exclusively be concerned with aims of public utility in the sense of the section ‘Steuerbegünstigte Zwecke‘ of the German ‘Abgabenordnung‘. The aims and duties of the association are to support scientific research and nature conservation in the field of herpetology, and the close collaboration among herpetologists, especially those of Europe. This co-operation shall be furthered by Congresses and General Meetings, by Symposia and by the editing of publications, and by supporting efforts directed towards the conservation of amphibians and reptiles and of their habitats.

2.2. The association will act on a non-profit basis; any benefits can only be used for the aims as set out in these Statutes. Members shall not receive personal financial benefits from the association. No person shall receive funds from the association for goals different from those of the association, or at extraordinarily high levels.

3.1. Membership is open to individuals and incorporated organisations.

3.2. Membership may be obtained by application in writing or by email to the Council. Membership only becomes effective after approval by the Council and upon receipt of the membership fee. If the Council refuses the application for membership, then the members of the next General Meeting will have to agree by 2/3 majority.

3.3. Membership expires on notice of resignation, deletion, exclusion or death.
3.3.1 Notice of resignation, which would take affect from the end of the calendar year, must be submitted to the Council in writing three months in advance.
3.3.2 The Council can terminate the membership of any member who is more than one year in arrears with the payment of membership dues. He will be advised by letter in the middle of the year.
3.3.3 The Council can terminate, by majority vote, the membership of any member who repeatedly acts contrary to the aims of the association. Any such member has the right of appeal to the next General Meeting, provided such an appeal is made in writing to the Council within three months of the Council's decision. The previously announced decision of the General Meeting will have to be taken with 2/3 majority and will take effect thirty days after the date of posting of the written notification to the member. Until this time the membership is suspended. A member excluded in this way will have no right to a refund of the membership dues.

3.4. Membership dues will be fixed by the General Meeting.

4.1. An Ordinary General Meeting must be convened by the Council every two years in an European country. The agenda and the financial report of the Treasurer will be published at least three months before the meeting. Only members who have paid their annual dues can participate. An Extraordinary General Meeting will be convened if requested by a majority of the Council or, in writing, by 50, or at least one quarter of the members. The reasons for such a request must be stated. Depending on the urgency, every General Meeting will be convened by Letter or by announcement in the association's own scientific periodical "Amphibia-Reptilia". If an Extraordinary General Meeting has been held, the following Ordinary General Meeting can be postponed by the Council to until two years after.

4.2. Amendments to the agenda must be decided upon by the General Meeting at short notice.

4.3. The General Meeting will be empowered to take decisions, irrespective on the number of members present. Unless the Statutes state otherwise (§3.2; §3, 3.3; §8; §9.1) the General Meeting decides by simple majority. An equal number of votes will mean rejection.

4.4. The General Meeting will be presided over by the President or his substitute. The meeting may also elect another chairperson.

4.5. At every General Meeting minutes, will be taken and signed by the chairperson of the meeting and the person taking the minutes. The minutes will be distributed to all members.

5.1. The Council consists of: President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Vice-Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-Treasurer, First Co-Editor, Second Co-Editor, Third Co-Editor.

5.2. The members of the Council will be elected for a period of four years, or re-elected for a period of no more than a further four years for the same council position, with exceptions only as stated in §5.6. Election will be by secret ballot, in writing, and separately for each office, and will be carried by a simple majority of the members present at a General Meeting. Members of the Council will be elected for staggered terms, viz., Vice-President, General Secretary, Vice-Treasurer and First and Third Co-Editor during one meeting, President, Vice-Secretary, Treasurer and Second Co-Editor during the next.

5.3. In the sense of Article 26 of the BGB of the Federal Republic of Germany the Executive Committee is formed by all members of the Council. Two members of the Council can, together, always legally and extrajudicially, represent the association.

5.4. The Council will manage the affairs of the association. It will be bound by the decisions of the General Meeting. Council decisions will be voted on by a simple majority of votes, which include those of the Committee Chairs. An equal number of votes will mean rejection of the proposal. A quorum is represented by half of the elected members of Council. The Council can also take decisions inbetween Council Meetings if the absolute majority of all Council members and Commitee Chairs agree to the decision in writing or by email.

5.5. Minutes will be taken at all Council meetings and signed by the President of that meeting and the person taking minutes.

5.6. In extraordinary cases, the General Meeting can decide upon a prolongation of the office period of Council members by no more than one year, to a maximum of five years, or upon an earlier termination of the office period. This has no consequences on the duration of a possible second office period after re-election. After a period of at least 4 years upon end of the second office period, previous council members can be re-elected into council positions different from those they have occupied before.

The Council will establish by-laws regulating the affairs of the association. These by-laws require approval of a General Meeting.

The General Meeting will elect two Auditors for a period of two years. They will examine the accounts and balance sheet of the association. They may not be members of the Council and will have to present a report at every General Meeting, to be read-out verbally at the meeting and included with the minutes.

Changes of the Statutes will have to be agreed upon by at least a two-thirds majority of the members present at a General Meeting, provided that the proposed changes have been notified to the members at least three months in advance.

9.1. The association can only be dissolved after a decision taken at a General Meeting called for this specific purpose, by a majority of three-quarters of the members present.

9.2. Upon a correct decision of dissolution, the Council is obliged to carry out the dissolution of the association according to article 48 of the BGB of the Federal Republic of Germany, and to settle any outstanding matters. The General Meeting will be entitled to appoint alternative liquidators.

9.3. In case of dissolution, or loss of tax exemption under German laws ("steuerbegünstigte Zwecke"), the property of the association is to be used for aims qualifying for such tax exemption ("steuerbegünstigte Zwecke"). In such a case, decisions of the use of the property of the association can only be taken upon written agreement of German tax authorities ("Finanzamt").