The revision of the statutes serves to incorporate insights gained from recent years of Board practice and to make long-overdue adjustments to current needs. The amendments represent a pragmatic modernization and opening of the DIS – in terms of substantive objectives, organisational structures, the use of digital formats, and a broader membership base. The amendments were developed in close consultation with the Advisory Board.
The principal changes may be summarized as follows:
- Expansion of the Association’s Purpose (§ 1): The purpose of the Association now expressly covers all forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation, expert determination, and adjudication.
- Expansion of Membership (§ 3): While legal entities were already provided for, it is now clarified that partnerships with legal capacity may also become members.
- Standardisation and Simplification of Formal Requirements: Formal requirements have been simplified in almost all situations. Only withdrawal from membership continues to require written form.
- Organs of the Association (§ 6): In addition to the already existing Appointing Committee, a Sports Appointing Committee has now been included.
- Structure of the Board of Directors (§ 7): The “Chairman” becomes “President”; the Deputies become “Vice Presidents.” The Presidium will consist of the President and two Vice Presidents. The maximum number of further Board members will in future be 10.
- General Assembly (§ 11): The Statutes now expressly permit purely virtual formats. In addition, the period of notice for convening a General Assembly has been reduced from three weeks to two weeks in order to increase flexibility.
- Executive Committee (§ 16): The auditors are replaced by certification through external auditors, in line with previous practice and the financial scale of the DIS. The approval requirement linked to an outdated monetary threshold has been removed. Future powers will be reliably governed by Rules of Procedure.