Statutes of the Léon Bernard Foundation
Statutes of the Léon Bernard Foundation
(as amended January 1995)
Regulations
Article 1
A Committee styled the "Léon Bernard Foundation Committee" shall be formed and shall be composed of the following members:
The Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Executive Board as such, and one person serving on the Executive Board elected by the Board for a period not exceeding his term of office on the Board.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization shall act as Administrator of the Foundation and as Secretary of the Committee.
Article 2
The Léon Bernard Foundation Committee shall, in accordance with the deed of Foundation and the present Statutes, propose to the Executive Board the award of the prize to be known as the “Léon Bernard Foundation Prize”, to be given to a person having accomplished outstanding service in the field of social medicine. The prize shall be presented during a meeting of the World Health Assembly to the recipient or, in his absence, to a person representing him.
Article 3
The "Léon Bernard Foundation Prize" shall consist of a bronze medal and a sum of 2500 Swiss francs, which shall be awarded whenever the accumulated interest on the Foundation's capital amounts to a net sum of not less than 2500 Swiss francs, after deducting the total cost of striking the medal. However, the interest will, in the first place, be appropriated to cover expenses incurred by the creation of the Foundation, including the manufacture of steel dies for the medal.
Article 4
The Administrator shall ascertain yearly the total amount of interest accumulated since the last award of the Léon Bernard Prize. When this interest amounts to a sufficient sum for the prize to be awarded in accordance with the provisions of Article 3, the Administrator shall so inform the members of the Foundation Committee.
Article 5
In transmitting notifications under Article 4, the administrator shall invite Member States and Associate Members of the Organization, and the members of the Expert Advisory Panel who have already served on an Expert Committee on Malaria, to put forward, within six months, the name of any person whose candidature is thought worthy of examination with a view to the award of the prize, such nomination to be accompanied by a written statement of the reasons on which it is based. The same candidature, if unsuccessful, may be submitted on several occasions.
The candidature must be in respect of a work published or accomplished not more than ten years before its submission or citation to the Organization.
No conditions are made as to the age, sex, profession, nationality, race or religion of candidates.
Article 6
When informing the members of the Foundation Committee, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, that the accumulated interest on the Foundation's capital enables the Léon Bernard Prize to be awarded, the Administrator shall likewise forward to them a list of the candidates proposed to him since the last award. He shall then be at liberty to regard the list as closed.
Article 7
The Foundation Committee shall sit in private session and make, by a majority of the members present, a recommendation to the Executive Board regarding the choice for the award of the prize. At least three members must be present to make the meeting valid. Should the Executive Board not accept any of the proposals which have been put forward by the Foundation Committee, the matter should be referred back to the Foundation Committee.
Article 8
On the proposal of one of its members, the Foundation Committee may decide to revise the present Statutes. Such a decision, however, shall not be valid unless taken by an absolute majority. Any such revision shall be transmitted for information to the next Health Assembly.
Article 9
The Administrator shall be responsible:
1. For the execution of the decisions taken by the Foundation Committee within the limits of its powers as defined in these Statutes; and
2. For the observance of the present Statutes and generally for the operation of the Foundation as limited by the Deed of Foundation and by these Statutes.