Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum

COLLEGIUM OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICUM AMICITIAE SACRUM

The Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum was established on the 8th of October, 1926 in Groningen, the Netherlands. The founders were Charles Emile Benjamins and Adriaan De Kleyn, two eminent otologists and scientists, who, after the horrors of the First World War, felt the need for a free exchange of scientific research in their professional field of Otorhinolaryngology within Europe. This could only develop within a limited group of scientists who, through their work, had shown their concern for the purely scientific aspects of the subject. The mutual respect that they derived from their work would also serve as an important basis for international understanding and friendship among the members.

With this objective of the founding in mind, the Collegium has developed into the most authoritative international association of otorhinolaryngologists with more than 600 members in more than 50 countries. Supported by the never-ceasing spirit of its members, the Collegium has survived economic and political crises without losing its original character. Despite the ever-growing number of international congresses and symposia, there still exists a need for a free exchange of ideas within a limited international circle of devoted researchers. The scientific meetings of the Collegium are living proof of this. The Rules, first drawn up in 1927 and modified in 1954, 1961, 1986, 2000, 2011 and now in 2026, serve only as guidelines. The true spirit of the Collegium cannot be set down in rules and only exists thanks to the members for whom the Amicitiae Sacrum forms an integral part of their scientific aspirations.

In 2022, the members of the Collegium which, to that date, worked on an informal basis, decided that it was in the interest of further development of the Collegium to become a legal body in the legal sense. The Czech Republic was chosen for the establishment of this legal body, and the legal form of an association was chosen as this corresponded best to the nature of the Collegium.

RULES OF THE COLLEGIUM OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICUM AMICITIAE SACRUM

Article I: Name and Registered Office

The name of this international association is Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum (thereafter also referred to just as “Collegium”, “CORLAS” or the “Association”). CORLAS is a registered as an association in the Czech Republic since 2022.

Article II: Objectives

The principal objectives of CORLAS are to create a forum for the discussion of scientific problems related to the whole field of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. These discussions may be theoretical, experimental, translational or clinical providing that the scientific aspects of the problems are predominant. These discussions should serve to create a spirit of friendship among members.

Article III: General Considerations

The purpose of CORLAS will be attained by means of international cooperation and meetings that will be held in one of the countries of domicile of the members. The number of national members will be limited, and membership can only be obtained by invitation. The official language is English, and the Rules are translated into French and German.

Article IV: Membership

IV 1. CORLAS recognizes regular, senior and honorary members. Regular members are those who have been elected by the General Assembly according to the rules of membership.

Senior members are those members who have reached the age of 60. Senior members are not counted for the purpose of national quotas, but they have the same privileges and duties as regular members.

Honorary members are members who have reached the age of 70. Honorary members can attend all of the meetings of CORLAS, but they are exempt from the annual membership fee.

IV 2. Membership Quotas

IV 2a. Members can be elected from any country where Otorhinolaryngology is a recognized specialty. The official quota for each country will be limited to 13 (10 clinical and 3 non-clinical) regular members with the exception of the United States of America that will be allowed a maximum of 26 (20 clinical and 6 non-clinical) members.

IV 2b. The members will be recommended by their national group according to the rules for election. All decisions regarding the use of these quotas will be made by the Board and confirmed by the General Assembly at the Business Meeting.

IV 3. Election for Membership

Membership of CORLAS is open to otorhinolaryngologists who have contributed to research in the scientific aspects of the specialty. Clinical and nonclinical scientists working in the field are eligible for membership. Candidates for membership must be proposed by a majority of the regular and senior members from the respective national group. The upper age limit for regular members is 50 years at the time the candidate is proposed.

Each national group shall have a chairperson who is a regular or senior member elected from the country.

Nominations for membership are limited to the members of the respective national group as long as the national group has four or more regular and senior members. If a national group has three or fewer members, the Board is allowed to nominate candidates to the national group. The national group is obliged to vote upon these nominations and, if rejected, provide the General Secretary with the reasons for the rejection. Countries without regular or senior members may have candidates supported by three members of the Collegium or the Board.

The chairperson of the representative national group must inform the General Secretary in writing of the new candidature. The General Secretary will ask the candidate for his or her curriculum vitae together with a complete list of his or her scientific publications and five reprints from the past five years. The candidate will send these to the General Secretary and to the members of the Credentials Committee. After approval by the Credentials Committee and the Board, candidates will be proposed to the General Assembly for membership. All members are elected at the Business Meeting by simple majority at the annual General Assembly.

IV 4. Termination of Membership

Membership of regular and senior members will be terminated

a) when a member indicates that he or she no longer wishes to be a member,

b) when a member does not attend four consecutive meetings of the Collegium, not including the year of the World Congress of Otorhinolaryngology without notifying the General Secretary of his or her desire to remain a member,

c) when a member has not paid the annual dues after two official admonitions by the Treasurer and/or the administrative office,

d) by death.

Article V: Board of the Collegium ORLAS

CORLAS is governed by the Board, consisting of the President, Vice-President, Past-President, President elect, Vice-President elect, General Secretary, Treasurer, three Councilors, Editorial Secretary and Second Secretary. The Executive Board consists of the General Secretary, Treasurer and President.

V 1. Board Members are proposed according to the rules under Sections V1 a and V1 b and are elected at the annual Business Meeting by the General Assembly by a simple majority.

V 1a. The President and Vice-President are proposed by a majority of the group of all members of the country in which the Scientific Meeting will take place. The Presidency elect and Vice-Presidency elect will start the year before the meeting and end at the end of the meeting. The President remains in the Board as Past-President for another year. If no Scientific Meeting is held in the following year, because of a World Congress of Otorhinolaryngology, the presidency will be extended until the next Scientific Meeting.

V 1b. The other Board members are proposed by the Board or by ten individual members from at least two countries. Not more than one member from any country will be allowed as a member of the Board at the same time, except for the President, Past-President and Vice-President.

Board members are elected by the General Assembly for a period of four years and are eligible for a maximum of two more periods of four years. Board members may be removed from office by the General Assembly at the annual Business Meeting by a simple majority.

The Editorial Secretary will be re-elected for further terms as long as he or she has affiliation with the Acta Oto-Laryngologica.

V 2. Duties of the Board

The Board of CORLAS meets at least once a year during the Scientific Meeting. In between meetings, the Executive Board carries the primary responsibility for all decisions.

V 2a.The General Secretary and the Treasurer are legal representative of CORLAS and act externally on behalf of the Association, each of them on an independent basis. The General Secretary and the Treasurer are elected by the General Assembly for a period of four years and are eligible for a maximum of two more periods of four years. Both the Secretary-General and the Treasurer may resign from their positions by submitting a written resignation; their terms of office shall end upon delivery of the resignation to the Association’s seat.

The duties of the General Secretary are:

• to prepare the Scientific Meetings, along with the President and the Vice-President,
• to submit the annual report of activities to Collegium members,
• to organize the annual meeting of the Board,
• to keep up-to-date the list of the members in cooperation with the administrative office,
• to fulfill all administrative duties in cooperation with the administrative office,
• to answer correspondence with Collegium members in cooperation with the administrative office

V 2b. The Treasurer is responsible for the finances of CORLAS. The Treasurer is responsible for the bank account and presents a yearly written financial report. The Treasurer is responsible in cooperation with the administrative office to collect the membership fees.

V 2c. The Editorial Secretary is responsible for relations with the publisher of the proceedings and collects the papers presented at the meetings for publication.

Article VI: Subscription

The annual membership fee for the coming year is proposed by the Board and voted on at the Business Meeting.

Article VII: General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the association. The General Assembly is composed of all members attending the Scientific Meeting. The General Assembly votes on all matters concerning CORLAS during the Business Meeting.

Article VIII: Credentials Committee

The Credentials Committee serves as an advisory committee to the Board of CORLAS on all matters concerning the admission of new members.

The Credentials Committee is composed of three members appointed for four years on staggered terms of service, and these terms can be renewed to obtain continuity. They are appointed by the Board with the approval of the General Assembly. The Credentials Committee will receive the curricula vitae, lists of publications and reprints from the candidates proposed for membership. The Credentials Committee will send its advice to the General Secretary before the next Board meeting. The final decision regarding the proposal of a candidate to the General Assembly for membership is the responsibility of the Board.

Article IX: Meetings

CORLAS has Scientific Meetings and Business Meetings.

Article X: Scientific Meetings

X 1. Scientific Meetings will be held at least once a year, except in the year that the World Congress of Otorhinolaryngology takes place. The place of the Scientific Meeting is decided by the General Assembly at least two years ahead; the Scientific Meetings will be held in Europe at least every second year. Members from all participating countries can offer proposals for the site of the meeting. Their proposals should be supported by a majority of the national group. At least six months before each meeting, the invitations shall be sent out to the members; and, at least four weeks before the meetings, the program together with the abstracts shall be forwarded to each member.

X 2. An ad hoc Scientific Advisory Board consisting of the President, the Vice President and the General Secretary will carry out the planning of the scientific program. The program of the Scientific Meeting will, if possible, include one or two panels or round tables on a specific topic proposed by the Scientific Advisory Board. Non-member speakers can be invited for these plenary sessions. The remaining program will be composed of free communications of scientific work not previously presented or published. Each member is entitled to a maximum of one paper whether author or co-author.

X 3. A non-member may be invited to present a paper under the patronage of a member with the approval of the Scientific Advisory Board. Non-members are subject to the same regulations for presenting a paper as regular or senior members. The number of papers by non-members should not exceed ten.

Article XI: Business Meetings

A Business Meeting will be held during each Scientific Meeting. The time and program for the Business Meeting is announced by the Board together with the announcement of the program of the Scientific Meeting. At the Business Meeting decisions are made on all important issues concerning the Collegium. Voting is by simple majority. Votes concerning members and proposed members will be carried out secretly if requested by three members. Members not attending the meeting cannot vote.

Article XII: Shambaugh Prize

The Shambaugh Memorial Trust provides the Shambaugh Prize in Otology that is awarded every two years for outstanding research in otology. Selection of the candidate for this award is made by the Board. The laureate for the prize is announced during the meeting of the Collegium and, if possible, will receive the award at the same time.

Article XIII: Revision of the Rules

These Rules may be revised by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly at any Business Meeting.