Adopted by the General Assembly of the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft, the legal predecessor of the current organisation, on 18 May 1951 in Munich and on 2 August 1951 in Cologne, last amended on 3 July 2002 in Bonn.

Recorded in the Register of Associations of the Amtsgericht Bonn (Municipal Court of Bonn) on 27 March 1952, under no. VR 777, transferred to no. VR 2030 on 14 October 1963.

This is the English translation of an original German legal text. In the event of a discrepancy, the German text shall prevail.

Article 1 Purpose of the Association

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) serves all branches of science and the humanities by funding research projects and facilitating cooperation among researchers. It devotes particular attention to the education and advancement of young researchers. It promotes equality between men and women in the scientific and academic communities. It advises parliaments and public authorities on scientific matters and fosters relations with the private sector and between scientists and academics at home and abroad.

Article 2 Name, Seat and Fiscal Year

1. The name of the organisation is "Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft" (German Research Foundation - hereinafter referred to as "the DFG"). The seat of the DFG shall be located in Bonn until decided otherwise. It shall be recorded in the Register of Associations. The fiscal year shall be from January 1 through December 31. This provision shall take effect on 1 January 1961.
   
2. The DFG pursues directly and exclusively public benefit aims as defined by the section "Steuerbegünstigte Zwecke" (tax-privileged purposes) of the Abgabenordnung (German Tax Code). The DFG shall be nonprofit. DFG funds may only be used for purposes set forth in the statutes.
   
3. Members as such shall not receive allocations from DFG funds which would be incompatible with the DFG's tax-privileged objectives. Members leaving the DFG are not entitled to DFG assets.
   
4. No individual may gain personal benefit either through payments which do not conform to the objectives of the DFG or through disproportionately high remuneration.

Article 3 Membership

1. The following institutions are admissible to membership in the DFG:
   
   a) institutions of higher education which are research institutions of general importance,

   b) other research organisations of general importance,

   c) the academies joined in the Union der Akademien der Wissenschaften in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland       (Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities) for their respective scientific and academic       disciplines, and

   d) scientific associations of general importance which actively support the DFG's objectives..
   

2. Membership in the DFG shall be determined by a majority vote of all members of the General Assembly. Applications for membership shall be submitted to the General Assembly with a recommendation from the Senate.
   
3. There shall be no membership dues.
   
4. Withdrawal from the DFG shall be possible only at the end of the fiscal year. The intent to withdraw must be submitted to the Executive Committee in writing at least six weeks prior to the end of the fiscal year.

Article 4 General Assembly (Mitgliederversammlung)

1. The General Assembly shall convene annually. The time and place shall be determined by the General Assembly at its preceding convention, or, in case no decision has been made, by the Executive Committee. The President shall call the General Assembly. The invitation to the General Assembly and the agenda shall be submitted at least three weeks prior to the annual meeting. A special meeting of the General Assembly must be convoked at the request of the Executive Committee, the Joint Committee, or one-third of the members.
   
2. Members of the Executive Committee and the Joint Committee shall be invited to the General Assembly and shall attend in an advisory capacity.
   
3. The President shall preside over the meeting of the General Assembly. A Secretary is to be elected at each meeting to keep the minutes. The minutes shall be signed by the President and the Secretary.
   
4. The General Assembly shall establish the directives for the work of the DFG. Members shall receive and approve the annual report of the Executive Committee and the annual account and approbate the Executive Committee. The annual account shall be reviewed in advance by three auditors commissioned by the General Assembly.
   
5. The General Assembly shall elect the Executive Committee and the Senate according to the following guidelines. Elected officers shall reside in office until the end of the General Assembly in which new officers shall be elected, unless the General Assembly rules otherwise.

Article 5 Executive Committee (Präsidium)

1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President and Vice Presidents, the number of whom shall be determined by the General Assembly. The officers shall be elected for a three-year term. In the event that the President be appointed full-time, the length of his/her tenure in office may exceed three years. The President of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany) shall serve in an advisory capacity.
   
2. The Executive Board as defined by Article 26 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German Civil Code) shall consist of the President and the Secretary General. For certain legal acts the Executive Committee may grant authority to either the President or the Secretary General to individually represent the DFG.
   
3. The President shall represent the DFG both internally and externally. The President shall extend invitations to and preside over the meetings of the statutory bodies; in case of hindrance, the President shall appoint a Vice President to act on his/her behalf.
   
4. The Executive Committee is responsible for the management of the daily affairs of the DFG. The Senate and the Joint Committee may delegate business matters to the Executive Committee for independent action. Decisions by the Executive Committee shall be made by majority vote. A quorum shall consist of the President and an additional member of the Executive Committee. In the event of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote. The President may decide alone after a due assessment of the circumstances but must obtain subsequent approval from the Executive Committee.
   
5. Members of the Executive Committee shall participate in an advisory function in meetings of the Senate and the Joint Committee. They may participate in all committee meetings in an advisory capacity.
   
6. The Executive Committee is served by the Head Office to conduct the daily affairs. The Head Office is led by the Secretary General of the DFG. The Secretary General shall be appointed by the Joint Committee upon nomination of the Executive Committee. The terms of employment shall be determined by the Joint Committee. The Secretary General shall participate in the meetings of the Executive Committee in an advisory capacity and may attend meetings of all other bodies in a consultative function.

Article 6 Senate (Senat)

1. The Senate shall consist of 39 members from the scientific and academic communities. The President of the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (Association of Universities and Other Higher Education Institutions in Germany), the Chairman of the Union der Akademien der Wissenschaften in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities) and the President of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Max-Planck Society) are ex officio members of the Senate. The remaining 36 members shall be voted into a three-year term by the General Assembly; each year one-third of the senators leave the Senate. The composition of elected members should take into account an appropriate distribution of the humanities, natural sciences and the applied sciences, including the technical and agricultural sciences. The composition should also take into consideration members who conduct research in and outside the university. However, in order to assure that a suitable representative is not denied election on the basis of trying to attain a certain balance, no set distribution shall be stipulated.
   
2. The Senate shall submit a slate of nominations, which, as a rule, should comprise three names for each vacant seat. A consecutive term is admissible; however, a second consecutive term is only possible upon the Senate's unanimous vote by secret ballot.
   
3. In the event of a vacancy during the term of office, the Senate may co-opt a replacement member from the previous nomination slate to complete the remainder of the unexpired term.
   
4. Should the number of senators be increased, following election of the additional members, lots shall be drawn by all new members to determine which one-third of the senators shall reside in office for one-year and which one-third of the senators shall reside in office for two-year terms.
   
5. Meetings of the Senate shall be called by the President. Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of votes. Members may also vote by mail, provided that no objections are made by other members. The President shall convoke the Senate at the request of at least one-third of its members.
   
6. The Senate shall attend to common matters of concern in research, promote cooperation in research, advise government offices in scientific and academic questions, and represent the interests of research in Germany in relation to research abroad. The Senate may recommend and initiate research activities and should work towards the coordination of those projects which have begun separately.
   
7. Authority to decide upon the composition and number of Review Boards shall be vested in the Senate. When deciding, the Senate should ensure that all fields of science and the humanities are represented and that their research interests and interdisciplinary relationships be duly taken into account.
   
8. Within the scope of its mandate, the Senate may establish committees whose members need not be members of the Senate.

Article 7 Joint Committee (Hauptausschuss)

1. The Joint Committee shall be composed of the members of the Senate, one or more representatives of the Bund (federal government), with a total of sixteen votes, sixteen representatives of the Länder (states), and two representatives from the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and the Humanities in Germany).
   
2. Members of the Joint Committee vote either during the meetings or by written ballot. Decisions are made on the basis of a simple majority of votes cast. A member who is not able to attend may exercise the power to vote by selecting in writing another member to serve as proxy. Authority to act as a proxy needs to be granted separately for each meeting.
   
3. The Joint Committee shall be responsible for the financial aspects of research support through the DFG. The Joint Committee shall discuss developments in programme planning and programme implementation on the basis of decisions made by the Senate. Acting in complete impartiality, the Joint Committee shall weigh the needs of the different branches of science and the humanities and ensure that the funds are adequately appropriated by standardizing and consolidating measures necessary in the various fields. Recommendations of the Committees are to be taken into account whenever possible.
   
4. The Joint Committee shall adopt the annual budget.
   
5. Within its mandate, the Joint Committee may form committees whose members need not be members of the Joint Committee.

Article 8 Review Process

1. The scientific and academic evaluation of all grant proposals shall be the responsibility of the elected members of the Review Boards.
   
2. They shall be assisted by peer reviewers.
   
3. The review process shall be prepared and coordinated by the Head Office.
   
4. The Review Boards shall determine their own sets of internal rules and procedures, which shall require approval by the Senate.

Article 9 Review Boards (Fachkollegien)

Members of the Review Boards shall be elected for a four-year term by scientific and academic representatives of the member institutions and those research institutions where election offices have been located. A one-time consecutive term is possible. The Senate shall have the power to regulate all further details in its election guidelines.

Article 10

In order to meet their objectives, the Executive Committee, the Senate, and the Joint Committee may consult with leading scientific and academic societies. These societies may address the DFG with matters pertinent to their area of research, with funding issues or in regard to the practical use of research, especially when the results are of importance to the general public.

Article 11

The work of the members and statutory bodies of the DFG is on an honorary basis. By decision of the Joint Committee, members of the Executive Committee may be compensated for their expenses. A President appointed full-time is entitled to a salary the amount of which is to be determined by the Joint Committee.

Article 12 Statutory Amendments and Dissolution of the DFG

1. Amendments to the statutes and dissolution of the DFG require a three-fourths majority vote by members of the General Assembly. Dissolution of the DFG can be decided only when at least three-fourths of the members are in attendance at the General Assembly. If the required number of members are not present, a new General Assembly must be convened, which can then make decisions without regard to the number of members present.
   
2. In the event of dissolution of the DFG or should the DFG pursue objectives which are other than nonprofit, the assets shall be transferred to an institution of public law or to another tax-privileged organisation to use for the promotion of science and research. If several institutions are named, the General Assembly will vote. This decision shall require approval by the sponsoring governmental bodies.
   
3. A decision by the General Assembly to amend or delete Paragraph 2 of Article 12 shall require approval by the sponsoring governmental bodies.

Article 13

The statutes shall take effect on 15 August 1951.