Na podlagi druge alinee prvega odstavka 107. člena in prvega odstavka 91. člena Ustave Republike Slovenije izdajam
o razglasitvi Zakona o ratifikaciji Konzorcijskega sporazuma Elixir o ustanovitvi Evropske infrastrukture za vede o življenju in biološke informacije (ELIXIR) (MSŽBI)
Razglašam Zakon o ratifikaciji Konzorcijskega sporazuma Elixir o ustanovitvi Evropske infrastrukture za vede o življenju in biološke informacije (ELIXIR) (MSŽBI), ki ga je sprejel Državni zbor Republike Slovenije na seji dne 26. januarja 2016.
Št. 003-02-1/2016-6
Ljubljana, dne 3. februarja 2016
Borut Pahor l.r.
O RATIFIKACIJI KONZORCIJSKEGA SPORAZUMA ELIXIR O USTANOVITVI EVROPSKE INFRASTRUKTURE ZA VEDE O ŽIVLJENJU IN BIOLOŠKE INFORMACIJE (ELIXIR) (MSŽBI)
1. člen
Ratificira se Konzorcijski sporazum Elixir o ustanovitvi Evropske infrastrukture za vede o življenju in biološke informacije (ELIXIR), sklenjen v Heidelbergu 26. junija 2013.
Sporazum se v izvirniku v angleškem jeziku in prevodu v slovenskem jeziku glasi:
ELIXIR CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT
THE EUROPEAN LIFE-SCIENCE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION (ELIXIR)
The ELIXIR Members hereby agree to establish the “European Life-Science Infrastructure for Biological Information” (ELIXIR), a research infrastructure organized in the form of a central hub and distributed nodes, which shall operate and manage, in the widest sense of these terms, an interlinked collection of biological data resources, tools and literature. ELIXIR is a research infrastructure of global significance, open to scientists of all disciplines. ELIXIR aims to be an inclusive research infrastructure that encourages the accession of new members.
The ELIXIR Members,
– acknowledging that the demand from life science researchers for data resources is constantly increasing;
– acknowledging the current data deluge and the fact that ELIXIR provides an opportunity to ensure that Europe's life sciences data is managed effectively using scalable solutions;
– acknowledging that significant coordination activities in specific areas can be shared between the ELIXIR Hub and the ELIXIR Nodes;
– acknowledging that ELIXIR Nodes will be located in ELIXIR Member States;
– acknowledging that ELIXIR Nodes will be selected institutes based on criteria of excellence and upon approval by the ELIXIR Board;
– acknowledging that ELIXIR Nodes receive all possible support through the ELIXIR Hub to the extent that it falls within the limits of its mission;
– recognising that a co-ordinated international effort in the form of ELIXIR is needed to upgrade and maintain existing data resources and to establish new resources as necessary;
– recognising the importance of supporting the various national bioinformatics scientific communities and in particular existing and potential ELIXIR Nodes, where that support is in the best interests of the ELIXIR Members in the light of ELIXIR’s mission;
– recognising the importance of ensuring that the ELIXIR Nodes have the means to provide pan-European ELIXIR services as requested through the ELIXIR Members;
– recognising the national investment in establishing ELIXIR, the Hub aims to provide appropriate and proportionate support to ensure maximum coordination and integration of the respective Node within ELIXIR to achieve maximum scientific impact;
– recognising that data and knowledge provided by ELIXIR will be freely accessible, although controlled access shall be implemented where necessary;
– recognising that ELIXIR’s challenges can best be addressed by combining European and national operations;
– recognising the importance of ELIXIR’s management based on criteria of scientific and service provision excellence; and
– recognising the need for extensive training in general areas of data resources and bioinformatics infrastructures,
have decided as follows:
1. Definitions and Interpretation
For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms and expressions shall have the following meaning:
Agreement | This ELIXIR Consortium Agreement, including all annexes thereto. |
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Node Applicant | Research institute that applies to become an ELIXIR Node. |
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Collaboration Agreement | Agreement concluded for a specified period between the EMBL on behalf of the ELIXIR Board and a Node Applicant, which confers it the status of ELIXIR Node. |
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Commissioned Services | Technical and administrative services that fall under the responsibility of the ELIXIR Hub and are funded through the ELIXIR Budget; they may be carried out by one of the ELIXIR Nodes pursuant to a Collaboration Agreement or by the EMBL pursuant to a Work Programme. |
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Core Responsibilities | Shall have the meaning set forth in Article 5.4.1. |
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Defaulting ELIXIR Member or | An ELIXIR Member or Member State identified by |
Member State | the ELIXIR Board as being in breach of this Agreement as specified in Articles 4.4.1 and 6.2.7 of this Agreement. |
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ELIXIR | Has the meaning set out in the Preamble and as specified under Article 3.1. |
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ELIXIR Board | The principal decision-making body, which is composed of representatives of the ELIXIR Members. |
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ELIXIR Budget | This comprises all planned revenues and expenditures which shall be prepared annually by the ELIXIR Director, taking into account the Financial Plan and its activities as defined in Article 7.2 of this Agreement. |
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ELIXIR Director | An individual appointed by the ELIXIR Board to act as the executive body of ELIXIR. He/she shall represent ELIXIR externally and execute the decisions of the ELIXIR Board as further detailed in Article 6.3 of this Agreement. |
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ELIXIR Headquarters | The location of the ELIXIR Hub which shall be at the EMBL’s outstation, the European Bioinformatics Institute on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus in Hinxton, Cambridge, UK. |
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ELIXIR Hub | ELIXIR is based on a “Hub and Nodes”-model. The ELIXIR Hub shall bethe central organization coordinating ELIXIR, acting through and under the supervision of the ELIXIR Board and the leadership of the ELIXIR Director. It shall provide administrative and technical services for ELIXIR as set out in Article 3.3. Legally it shall form part of the EMBL and therefore use EMBL's legal personality. |
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ELIXIR Member | A Signatory of this Agreement. |
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ELIXIR Member State | Any Member State that is a signatory to this Agreement. |
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ELIXIR Node | A national or international research institute that enters into a Collaboration Agreement with the EMBL to provide services with a European dimension and that have an added value for ELIXIR. |
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ELIXIR Staff | Staff employed by the EMBL pursuant to the EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations and funded through the ELIXIR budget. |
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EMBL | The European Molecular Biology Laboratory. |
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EMBL-EBI | The European Bioinformatics Institute, an outstation of the EMBL. |
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EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations | EMBL’s internal labour law established by its Member States and amended by the EMBL Council from time to time, which deals with the legal relationship between the EMBL and each person working for it. |
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EMBL Financial Rules and Regulations | Those rules and regulations that cover financial accounting, management and internal control as prescribed in Article VI 3(e) of the Agreement establishing the EMBL and supplemented by approved policies and procedures. |
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Financial Plan | A five year estimate of the value and timing of financial resources required to realize the Programme. |
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Financial Year | Has the meaning set out in Article 7.3.1. |
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Heads of Nodes Committee | Has the meaning set out in Article 6.5.1. |
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Observer | A State, legal entity or individual that attends the ELIXIR Board meetings as an observer without voting rights and normally for a limited period of time. |
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Programme | Five year scientific programme adopted by the ELIXIR Board to fulfil the purpose and goals of ELIXIR. |
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Qualified majority | This means a two-thirds majority of all ELIXIR Members provided that: |
| (i) the contributions to the ELIXIR Budget of the ELIXIR Members present and voting constitute not less than two-thirds of the total contributions to the ELIXIR Budget; or |
| (ii) affirmative votes are cast by all but one of the ELIXIR Members present and voting. |
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Research Infrastructure | The term research infrastructure refers to central or distributed research facilities, databases or large-scale computing, analysis and modelling resources. |
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Research Institute | Publicly or privately funded national or international research performing entity. |
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Rules of Procedure | The rules governing the organization and operation in the widest sense of the ELIXIR Board, adopted by it in accordance with Article 6.2.4.v of this Agreement. |
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Scientific Advisory Board | A body composed of independent scientists that oversee the quality of the ELIXIR activities as supervised by the ELIXIR Board and ELIXIR Director, and carried out by the ELIXIR Nodes and the ELIXIR Hub. This involves advising the ELIXIR Board and the ELIXIR Director where necessary. |
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Simple majority | A vote carrying more than fifty per cent (50%) of the votes cast. |
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Unanimous voting | The voting by consensus of all delegates present and voting. |
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Work Programme | Services carried out by the EMBL as outlined under Article 5.4.3 of this Agreement. |
1.2.1 Words denoting the singular shall include the plural and vice versa. Words denoting one gender shall include another gender.
1.2.2 The words “include”, “included” or “including” shall mean that the matters are listed without limitation.
2. Description of the Organisational structure
This Agreement is the legal basis for ELIXIR. It establishes an organizational structure and defines the relationship between the ELIXIR Hub and the ELIXIR Nodes. For the avoidance of doubt, this Agreement does not establish a legal entity. The ELIXIR Hub shall be hosted by EMBL as mandated by the ELIXIR Consortium. This agreement specifies the EMBL’s role as a host for ELIXIR as defined under Article 2.3 and Article 5.4.1 and sets out the ELIXIR Members’ rights and obligations.
2.2 Role of the ELIXIR Board
The ELIXIR Board is composed of representatives of all ELIXIR Members. It is the ultimate decision-making body that takes all strategic decisions and that supervises activities carried out by the ELIXIR Hub and its relations with the ELIXIR Nodes on behalf of the ELIXIR Members.
2.3 The EMBL’s role within ELIXIR
As defined in Article 5.4.1 ELIXIR is hosted by and, as such, forms part of the EMBL which agrees to provide ELIXIR-specific services through the ELIXIR Hub to support the creation and operation of ELIXIR that are defined in this Agreement or will be defined by the ELIXIR Board. ELIXIR benefits from the EMBL’s existing legal personality and its privileges and immunities as an intergovernmental institution. Tasks carried out by the EMBL for ELIXIR are subject to EMBL internal rules and regulations and policies, as applicable, including for the avoidance of doubt the EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations as well as the EMBL Financial Rules and Regulations. Staff working for the ELIXIR Hub (including the ELIXIR Director) located at the ELIXIR Headquarters shall be employed by the EMBL on the basis of the EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations. EMBL provides technical services to ELIXIR (Commissioned Services and international bioinformatics services if funding is available) as approved by the ELIXIR Board.
2.4 Distributed Infrastructure
ELIXIR has a distributed structure in which the ELIXIR Hub is connected through Collaboration Agreements to a distributed set of ELIXIR Nodes.
The ELIXIR Hub is located at the ELIXIR Headquarters. The ELIXIR Hub is the central coordinating organization which provides administrative coordination services and technical support under the supervision of the ELIXIR Board and the leadership of the ELIXIR Director.
2.6 Integration of the ELIXIR Nodes into the ELIXIR infrastructure
The ELIXIR Nodes operate as integral parts of existing research institutes in ELIXIR Member States. In order to be accepted as an ELIXIR Node, a Research Institute has to successfully pass a selection process. ELIXIR Nodes shall provide technical and administrative support which shall be financed either by the ELIXIR Budget as Commissioned Services or by other funding sources. As provided in Article 8.5, ELIXIR Nodes shall enter into Collaboration Agreements with the ELIXIR Hub.
3. Objectives and Tasks of ELIXIR, the ELIXIR Hub, the EMBL and the ELIXIR Nodes
3.1.1. The Purpose of ELIXIR
ELIXIR is a distributed research infrastructure with the purpose to coordinate, curate, store, archive, integrate and disseminate the life-science data produced by life science researchers in Europe and elsewhere, within an appropriate secure framework, which provides open access to the data, whilst safeguarding data ownership.
3.1.2. Provision of life-science data resources
In a coordinated manner between the ELIXIR Members, ELIXIR implements measures to carry out those tasks as listed in Article 3.2. New biological data resources, identified as desirable by the scientific community, shall be further developed within ELIXIR, with the appropriate funding being raised as required.
3.1.3. The mission of the ELIXIR Hub
The ELIXIR Hub carries out scientific, technical and administrative tasks. ELIXIR’s ultimate decision making body is the ELIXIR Board, which decides scientific, technical and administrative matters. The ELIXIR Board is assisted by the ELIXIR Director, the Scientific Advisory Board and the Heads of Nodes Committee. ELIXIR Nodes, located in the ELIXIR Member States, contribute to the tasks of ELIXIR.
ELIXIR shall:
a. provide data resources;
b. provide services, training and assistance to establish a fully integrated and sustainable network of resources and tools that will facilitate data dissemination and international collaboration;
c. promote standards;
d. provide appropriate computer infrastructure for processing, archiving and analysing the data;
e. provide infrastructure for tools;
f. support applications for funding of ELIXIR related activities; and
g. provide other services as decided by the ELIXIR Board.
3.3 Tasks of the ELIXIR Hub
Without prejudice to the tasks listed under Article 3.2, the ELIXIR Hub shall:
a. manage and administer ELIXIR activities;
b. coordinate services (e.g. data delivery, technical and user training activities or others if required);
c. provide services and support to the ELIXIR Nodes and the user community;
d. establish links with other life science infrastructures;
e. support applications for funding of the ELIXIR activities; and
f. coordinate applications for pan-European funding to support ELIXIR.
3.4 Tasks of the ELIXIR Nodes and EMBL
Without prejudice to the tasks as listed under Article 3.2, EMBL and the ELIXIR Nodes shall provide services to the ELIXIR Hub as defined under Article 5.4.1, Article 5.4.2 and Article 8.5.2.
4. Membership and Observers
The following entities are eligible to become members in ELIXIR:
a. Member states of the Council of Europe.
b. Other states may be declared eligible by decision of the ELIXIR Board.
c. Intergovernmental organisations with legal personality established under international or EU law (including, for the avoidance of doubt, European Research Infrastructure Consortia – “ERIC”).
d. The EMBL.
An application to the Chair of the ELIXIR Board shall include a commitment to the mission of ELIXIR as stated in this Agreement as well as recognition of the obligations linked to membership as outlined in Article 5.
Observer status may be granted to
a. States that are willing to contribute to ELIXIR, but are not yet in a position to join as Member States; and
b. Entities that were invited by the ELIXIR Board to attend the ELIXIR Board meetings as observers on a regular basis.
4.2.2 Term of Observer status
Observer status can be granted upon request to the Chair of the ELIXIR Board for a period of up to two years, however, this period must terminate at the end of a Financial Year. It can be renewed by the ELIXIR Board for successive terms of two years subject to the conditions in Article 5.2. The ELIXIR Board establishes the terms of admission of Observers.
4.3 Withdrawal of an ELIXIR Member or Observer
4.3.1 Withdrawal of an ELIXIR Member State
An ELIXIR Member State may withdraw from ELIXIR at the end of a Financial Year by providing one year’s written notice sent to the Chair of the ELIXIR Board. The ELIXIR Board shall formally record the withdrawal.
4.3.2 Legal consequences of withdrawal of an ELIXIR Member State
An ELIXIR Member that withdraws from ELIXIR is not entitled to claim any compensation or goodwill value whatsoever and shall continue to contribute to the ELIXIR Budget until its withdrawal is effective. Any outstanding contributions will be paid and obligations fulfilled before withdrawal of membership is confirmed.
4.3.3 Withdrawal of the EMBL
The EMBL may withdraw with effect at the end of a Financial Year provided that it gives at least 24 months’ notice of its intention to withdraw from this Agreement.
4.3.4. Withdrawal of an Observer
Observers may withdraw at any time during the first two years after their acceptance as Observers. After renewal the Observer may withdraw at the end of a Financial Year by providing one year’s written notice sent to the Chair of the ELIXIR Board.
4.4 Expulsion of a Defaulting ELIXIR Member or Observer
4.4.1 Termination of membership or observership
Without prejudice to the ELIXIR Board’s power to suspend the delegate’s rights of a Defaulting Member State according to Article 6.2.7, the ELIXIR Board shall also have the power to terminate the membership of a Defaulting Member or the observer status of an Observer if the following conditions are met:
a. The ELIXIR Member or Observer is in serious breach of one or more of its obligations under this Agreement or causes, or threatens to cause, a serious disruption to the operations of ELIXIR; and
b. The ELIXIR Member or Observer was provided with the opportunity to present its defence to the ELIXIR Board and any such defence was heard by the ELIXIR Board; and
c. The ELIXIR Member or Observer has failed to rectify such breach within such time as stipulated by the ELIXIR Board (except, for the avoidance of doubt, where such breach concerns a payment default referred to in Article 6.2.7).
4.4.2 Legal consequences of expulsion
An ELIXIR Member or Observer that is expelled from ELIXIR shall not be entitled to claim any compensation or goodwill value, nor reimbursement of any contribution made in respect of the Financial Year during which it is expelled, nor shall be entitled to waive any outstanding contribution owed to the ELIXIR budget, in whole or in part. Any outstanding contributions shall be paid and obligations fulfilled promptly upon confirmation of the expulsion of an ELIXIR Member or Observer.
5. Obligations of ELIXIR Members and Observers
5.1 Financial contributions of the ELIXIR Member States
5.1.1 Financial Contributions
Each ELIXIR Member State shall contribute annually to the ELIXIR Budget in accordance with the Financial Plan as described under Art. 7.1.1. The ELIXIR Member States are jointly responsible for ensuring that the ELIXIR Hub activities are sufficiently funded to maintain positive cash balance.
5.1.2 Calculation of contributions
Financial contributions shall be calculated once at the beginning of the Financial Plan on the average Net National Income at factor cost (NNI) of each ELIXIR Member for the three preceding calendar years for which statistics are available. Annex 1 includes the scale of financial contributions for expected Member States.
The ELIXIR Director shall notify ELIXIR Member States of the amounts of their annual contributions and, in agreement with the ELIXIR Board, of the dates on which payments shall be made and how such payments shall be made.
5.1.4 Accession of new Member
If, after this Agreement has entered into force, a country becomes a Member, the financial contributions of the other ELIXIR Members referred to in Article 5.1.2 remain unchanged. Contributions by the new Member shall be treated as additional contribution until the end of the current Financial Plan.
5.1.5 Special circumstances
The ELIXIR Board may decide to take into account any special circumstances of an ELIXIR Member State and adjust its contribution accordingly for a limited and defined period.
5.1.6 Delayed or early payments
If an ELIXIR Member State fails to make any payment due to ELIXIR under this Agreement, within four weeks of the payment date as determined under Art 5.1.3, the ELIXIR Board shall have the right to charge interest on the overdue amount. In case of early payments the respective ELIXIR Member State will be paid interest.The interest rate shall be proposed by the ELIXIR Director on an annual basis, together with the proposed ELIXIR Budget, which covers costs incurred through late payment. Interest on any delayed payments shall be charged without prejudice to the provisions of this Agreement regarding the payment of contributions.
5.2 Financial contributions by Observers
Observer status of States according to Article 4.2.1.a shall be renewed at the end of each two year period provided that the renewing State pays a contribution equal to 30% of the financial contribution, which such State would have to pay if it were an ELIXIR Member. The renewed observership shall start on the first day of the next Financial Year.
5.3 Obligations of Intergovernmental Organisations other than the EMBL
The ELIXIR Board shall specify the obligations of any Intergovernmental Organisations other than the EMBL prior to their approval as a member.
5.4 Services carried out by the EMBL within the framework of ELIXIR
5.4.1 The EMBL’s Core Responsibilities
Subject to the provision and actual receipt of sufficient funding from the ELIXIR Budget and of an adequate Financial Plan, the EMBL shall be responsible for the following services which are deemed essential for the operation and management of the ELIXIR Hub and the accomplishment of ELIXIR's goals (the »Core Responsibilities«):
a. Employing ELIXIR staff.
b. Making facilities and infrastructure available to the ELIXIR Hub.
c. Entering into agreements with third parties for the purpose of achieving ELIXIR’s goals.
d. Acting as a Party in legal disputes with third parties arising out of actions performed or omissions committed in the framework of ELIXIR.
5.4.2 Commissioning of additional technical and administrative services from the EMBL
In the event that the ELIXIR Board requires technical or administrative services in addition to the Core Responsibilities contained in Article 5.4.1, and subject to the provision and actual receipt of sufficient funding from the ELIXIR Budget, it shall commission such additional services from the EMBL as “Commissioned Services”.
The EMBL shall describe the Core Responsibilities as well as the Commissioned Services and additional services in Work Programmes, which shall run over the same five year term as the Financial Plan and the Programme and which shall be submitted to the ELIXIR Board for approval together with the Financial Plan and the Programme. The Core Responsibilities and the Commissioned Services shall be funded through the ELIXIR Budget. The Work Programmes may also include additional services which EMBL may agree to provide and which are not funded by the ELIXIR Budget.
5.4.4 Evaluation of Work Programmes
Work Programmes shall be regularly evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Board as determined by the ELIXIR Board.
The organisational structure of ELIXIR shall comprise the following bodies:
– The ELIXIR Board
– The ELIXIR Directorate
– The Scientific Advisory Board
– Heads of Nodes Committee
– Other Committees established by the ELIXIR Board.
6.2.1 Role and Purpose of the ELIXIR Board
a. The ELIXIR Board shall be the ultimate decision-making body of ELIXIR, which enables the representatives of the ELIXIR Members to make collective decisions on all matters related to ELIXIR, which shall then be put into effect by the ELIXIR Director.
b. The ELIXIR Board determines ELIXIR’s policy in scientific, technical and administrative matters, in particular by providing guidelines to the ELIXIR Director on his or her duties and monitoring them. It both implements and monitors ELIXIR’s establishment and operation, and decides on necessary resources and components which are appropriate for inclusion in ELIXIR, with advice from the Scientific Advisory Board.
a. The ELIXIR Board is composed of representatives of all ELIXIR Members that act as delegates. Each ELIXIR Member shall have not more than three delegates, which may be accompanied by advisers the latter not having voting rights.
b. Members of the Heads of Nodes Committee shall not be nominated as Delegate.
c. The ELIXIR Board shall elect a Chair and two vice-chairs.
d. The ELIXIR Board shall establish its own Rules of Procedure.
6.2.3 Observers within the ELIXIR Board
Observers may attend ELIXIR Board meetings under the conditions set forth in Article 4.2.1. For the avoidance of doubt, Observers do not have any voting rights.
6.2.4 Powers of the ELIXIR Board
The ELIXIR Board shall have the exclusive power to issue the following decisions. Each decision must be voted on at a Board meeting that is quorate in accordance with Article 6.2.6 below. No decision shall be taken unless there is a two-thirds majority of all ELIXIR Members present and voting, unless otherwise stipulated in this Agreement:
a. Consider and approve the entry of an interested entity as a member in ELIXIR and determine any conditions of its accession by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
b. Consider and approve obligations of Intergovernmental Organisations other than the EMBL by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
c. Decide on the expulsion of a Defaulting ELIXIR Member according to Article 4.4.1;
d. Decide on the suspension of rights of a Defaulting ELIXIR Member State as a Board member in case of delayed contributions;
e. Approve any applications to become an Observer;
f. Approve the Financial Plan by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
g. Approve the ELIXIR Budget annually by Qualified Majority of the ELIXIR Members;
h. Decide on modifications of the financial contributions of all ELIXIR Member States by Qualified Majority under the circumstances as set out in Article 5.1.5 and following adjustment according to Article 6.2.4 i.;
i. Decide on the adjustment of the financial contributions of an ELIXIR Member State in the event that special circumstances are brought to the attention of the ELIXIR Board as set out in Article 5.1.5 by unanimous vote, and the affected country must abstain from voting;
j. Decide whether to recommend to the EMBL Council the acceptance of gifts or special contributions if required so by the EMBL’s Financial Rules and Regulations and as described under Article 7.6.2;
k. Approve the annual financial report on the use of the ELIXIR Budget ;
l. Approve the auditor’s reports in relation to ELIXIR;
m. Approve and modify the Programme for ELIXIR by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
Cooperation with ELIXIR Nodes, the EMBL and other co-operations
n. Decide whether to accept the application of a Research Institute to become an ELIXIR Node;
o. Agree to enter into a proposed Collaboration Agreement with an ELIXIR Node;
p. Agree to a Work Programme proposed by the EMBL to the ELIXIR Board;
– Regarding Core Responsibilities as described under Article 5.4.1 by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
– Regarding Commissioned Services as described under Article 5.4.2 and additional services as described under Article 5.4.3 by two-thirds majority.
q. Decide whether to not renew an existing Collaboration Agreement with an ELIXIR Node;
r. Decide whether to terminate a Collaboration Agreement with an ELIXIR Node during the term of the Collaboration Agreement;
s. Decide on modifications to a Work Programme
– Regarding the Core Responsibilities as described under Article 5.4.1 by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
– Regarding the Commissioned Services as described under Article 5.4.2 and additional services as described under Article 5.4.3 by two-thirds majority;
t. Decide whether to terminate Commissioned Services or other services from the EMBL as described under Article 5.4.2 and Article 5.4.3;
u. Establish co-operation with non-Member States, national bodies in those states, international governmental or non-governmental organizations (such as national research institutes) and definition on the conditions and terms of such co-operation by unanimous vote of the ELIXIR Members;
v. Establish the Rules of Procedure;
w. Without prejudice to the overall framework of the EMBL Council’s decisions, the EMBL Financial Rules and Regulations, Staff Rules and Regulations and Internal Policies, the ELIXIR Board may adopt and revise such rules, regulations and policies as may be required for the operations of ELIXIR, provided they are consistent with the aforementioned EMBL rules, regulations and policies;
Advisory bodies and committees
x. Establish advisory bodies, committees and working groups and such further subsidiary or advisory bodies as it sees necessary for ELIXIR’s proper functioning and the achievement of ELIXIR’s goals. Subordinate bodies shall adopt their own rules of procedure;
y. Appoint members of the Scientific Advisory Board;
z. Appoint and dismiss the ELIXIR Director;
aa. Approve reports;
bb. Decide upon any matters pertaining to ELIXIR or its operations submitted to it by the ELIXIR Director or by any ELIXIR Member and that are not subject to different majority requirements according to Article 6.2.4 by a Simple Majority.
a. The ELIXIR Board shall meet at least once a year. The Board may meet in extraordinary sessions. Both the ordinary and extraordinary meetings shall be held at the ELIXIR Headquarters, unless otherwise decided by the ELIXIR Board.
b. The meetings of the ELIXIR Board shall be convened by the chair of the ELIXIR Board at least once a year and at any time upon written request of at least 50% of the ELIXIR Members, according to the formalities set out in the Rules of Procedure.
6.2.6 Voting Rules and Quorum
a. Each ELIXIR Member that is represented by its delegates or by a proxy holder at the meeting shall have one vote.
b. For the avoidance of doubt, the chair of the ELIXIR Board does not have a casting vote.
c. Board meetings shall be quorate if two-thirds or more of the ELIXIR Members are present or represented.
d. Abstentions shall not be taken into account into the calculations of the majorities.
e. The resolutions passed at the meetings of the ELIXIR Board in accordance with this Agreement shall be binding on all ELIXIR Members, including those absent or dissenting.
6.2.7 Suspension of rights of ELIXIR Members States as a Board Member
If an ELIXIR Member State owes outstanding contributions which equal or exceed the amount of the contributions due from that Member State for the previous two preceding years, the ELIXIR Board may decide to suspend the rights of a Defaulting Member, in particular those linked to its representation in the ELIXIR Board. Such Defaulting Member shall be deemed to be in serious breach of its obligations under this Agreement for the purposes of Article 4.4.1.
6.3.1 Role of the ELIXIR Director
The ELIXIR Director is responsible for implementing the decisions of the ELIXIR Board. Furthermore, the ELIXIR Director is responsible to the Director General of EMBL for the observance of the EMBL Rules and Regulations.
6.3.2 Major tasks of the ELIXIR Director
The ELIXIR Director shall:
a. In accordance with the EMBL’s internal rules and regulations and policies and the decisions of the ELIXIR Board, manage and administer ELIXIR and the ELIXIR Hub staff.
b. Prepare the Programme for which it will seek the advice of the Heads of Nodes Committee, supervise and execute the Programme and oversee the Financial Plan.
c. Present an annual scientific report to the ELIXIR Board.
d. Present an annual financial report to the ELIXIR Board on the use of the ELIXIR Budget.
e. Propose each year no later than 1 October an ELIXIR Budget showing detailed estimates of the projected income and expenditure of ELIXIR for the following financial year.
f. Attend the meetings of the ELIXIR Board in a non-voting capacity.
g. Inform the ELIXIR Board about all relevant matters related to ELIXIR that would either require a decision or acknowledgement.
h. Appoint and dismiss ELIXIR Staff in accordance with the EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations.
i. Negotiate and prepare Collaboration Agreements with Nodes (under Article 8.5) and a Work Programme with the EMBL (under Article 5.4.2).
6.3.3 ELIXIR staff working at the ELIXIR Hub
a. Staff working for the ELIXIR Hub shall be responsible for providing administrative and technical support to the ELIXIR Hub and in particular to the ELIXIR Director and the Scientific Advisory Board.
b. The ELIXIR Director as well as ELIXIR Staff shall be employed by EMBL in accordance with the EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations.
c. ELIXIR Staff shall be accountable to the ELIXIR Director for the execution of all technical and administrative services undertaken to implement the decisions of the ELIXIR Board.
6.3.4 Appointment of the ELIXIR Director
a. The ELIXIR Director is appointed by the ELIXIR Board and shall perform all tasks assigned to it as detailed in this Agreement.
b. If a vacancy should arise the ELIXIR Board appoints an interim ELIXIR Director pending a recruitment process.
6.3.5 Dismissal and resignation of the ELIXIR Director
a. The decision to dismiss the ELIXIR Director is to be taken by the ELIXIR Board.
b. In case of resignation of the ELIXIR Director, EMBL shall inform the ELIXIR Board at once by notifying the Chair of the ELIXIR Board in writing.
6.4 The Scientific Advisory Board
The Scientific Advisory Board shall provide advice to the ELIXIR Board and ELIXIR Director in relation to ELIXIR activities from a scientific perspective.
a. The Scientific Advisory Board shall be composed of highly qualified, internationally recognized scientists selected on the basis of their competence in all aspects of ELIXIR. The Scientific Advisory Board should strive for a gender balanced composition.
b. The Scientific Advisory Board members shall be appointed in their own right and not as representatives of the ELIXIR Members.
6.4.3 Selection and appointment of Scientific Advisory Board members
a. The ELIXIR Director, after consultation with the ELIXIR Members, shall propose to the ELIXIR Board a list of candidates which the ELIXIR Board shall take into account during the selection process.
b. The members of the Scientific Advisory Board shall be appointed by the ELIXIR Board for a period of three years.
c. The Scientific Advisory Board shall establish Rules of Procedure.
6.5 Heads of Nodes Committee
The Heads of Nodes Committee shall be composed of representatives of the ELIXIR Nodes and EMBL-EBI. The Heads of Nodes Committee shall give advice to the ELIXIR Board and Director in relation to ELIXIR activities. The ELIXIR Director shall consult the Heads of Nodes Committee to establish the Programme which he/she will submit to the ELIXIR Board.
6.5.2 Members of the Heads of Nodes Committee
a. Every ELIXIR Node that entered a Collaboration Agreement with the ELIXIR Hub shall appoint one representative, which shall act as the head of the ELIXIR Node and shall have a seat on the Heads of Nodes Committee.
b. EMBL-EBI shall appoint one representative, which shall act as the head of the EMBL-EBI’s participation in ELIXIR and shall have a seat on the Heads of Nodes Committee.
c. The Heads of Nodes Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
6.6 Other Committees established by the ELIXIR Board as necessary
The ELIXIR Board and the ELIXIR Director may establish other committees as and when appropriate. The ELIXIR Board shall define the terms of reference and membership of such committees.
7.1 Financial planning and budget
Every five years the ELIXIR Director shall submit a proposal for the Financial Plan to the ELIXIR Board for consideration and approval. This sets out the basis for each ELIXIR Member State’s contributions in this five year period and the maximum agreed budget for ELIXIR for that same period. The Financial Plan shall be based on the agreed Programme.
7.1.2 Annual contributions
No Member State shall be required to pay more or less than their normal annual contribution agreed in the Financial Plan. Article 5.1.5, Article 7.5 Sentence 2 and Article 9 remain unaffected.
The ELIXIR Director shall also, by no later than 1 October of each year, submit to the ELIXIR Board for consideration and approval an ELIXIR Budget setting out detailed estimates of projected income and expenditure for ELIXIR activity of the ELIXIR Hub for the following financial year.
7.1.4 Foreign currency movements
The ELIXIR Director shall, at the time of budget submission for the following year, also provide to the ELIXIR Board an estimate of the impacts of foreign currency movements on the current year’s ELIXIR Budget. The ELIXIR Board shall consider how these foreign currency movements have impacted the ELIXIR Director’s ability to deliver the Programme and what, if any, financial remedy should be applied.
7.2 Funding of the ELIXIR Hub
The ELIXIR Hub shall be financed by
– Financial contributions of Member States
– Financial contributions of Observers according to Article 5.3
– Gifts
– Special contributions other than gifts, as set out in this Agreement
– Grants.
Funding is subject to approval of the ELIXIR Board.
The Financial Year of ELIXIR shall run from 1 January to 31 December.
The EMBL shall maintain separate ELIXIR accounts in accordance with EMBL’s financial regulations, policies, processes and rules. The EMBL shall ensure that all income and expenditure in respect of ELIXIR activities is separately identifiable within its accounts. The EMBL shall report on the income and expenditure of ELIXIR through an annual ELIXIR Income Statement, which shall form part of the EMBL Annual Accounts (Annex 2).
The incomes and expenditures of ELIXIR shall be subject to an annual external audit, which shall form a part of the EMBL annual audit. The EMBL’s external auditors shall provide the ELIXIR Board with a separate audit report on ELIXIR income and expenditure at ELIXIR’s own cost.
The EMBL shall be entitled to charge ELIXIR for overhead costs related to its services in accordance with the EMBL’s financial regulations, policies, processes and rules. The EMBL charges ELIXIR any costs incurred by the EMBL as a result of ELIXIR having a negative cashflow.
7.6 Core principles of financial management of ELIXIR
7.6.1 Administration of ELIXIR Budget
The EMBL shall, in accordance with the decisions made by the ELIXIR Board, administer the ELIXIR Budget of the ELIXIR Hub. The ELIXIR Budget will be managed in accordance with the Agreement establishing the EMBL and the EMBL Financial Rules and Regulations.
Any gift, the value of which exceeds €250.000, and all special contributions require approval of the ELIXIR Board and approval of the EMBL Council such approval to be provided in accordance with the EMBL Financial Rules and Regulations. Gifts should be consistent with the purposes of ELIXIR and the EMBL.
8.1 Application process for ELIXIR Nodes
The application process shall comprise the following steps:
– Proposal by ELIXIR Member
– Evaluation of Node application
– Negotiation phase
– Legal integration of the ELIXIR Nodes into ELIXIR through Collaboration Agreements
– Regular evaluation.
Node Applicants shall be proposed by ELIXIR Members. The ELIXIR Board invites ELIXIR Members to hand in proposals according to procedures decided by the ELIXIR Board.
8.3 Formal eligibility criteria
ELIXIR Members shall only propose Node Applicants that fulfil the following cumulative criteria:
a. be or be part of a legal entity with legal personality under its domestic law;
b. be located in an ELIXIR Member State and
c. be able to demonstrate its financial sustainability in view of the activities it proposes to carry out for ELIXIR.
8.4 Procedure for evaluating Node applications
Proposals are evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Board, according to procedures decided by the ELIXIR Board.
8.5 Collaboration Agreements
8.5.1 Status as ELIXIR Node
Upon its acceptance, the successful Node Applicant shall conclude a Collaboration Agreement with the EMBL, acting on behalf of the ELIXIR Hub. By signing the Collaboration Agreement the Node Applicant shall become an ELIXIR Node. The details of the Collaboration Agreement shall be determined by the ELIXIR Director, who shall take into account observations of the ELIXIR Node Applicant, and shall be subject to final approval by the ELIXIR Board.
8.5.2 Provision of technical services
Collaboration Agreements shall define the provision of technical services (Commissioned Services and additional services) through the ELIXIR Nodes and set out the mechanisms for their provision.
8.6 Commissioning of technical services by ELIXIR Nodes
In the framework of the Commissioned Services, the ELIXIR Board may decide to sub-commission certain technical services from the ELIXIR Nodes. Such Commissioned Services performed by the ELIXIR Nodes shall be funded through the ELIXIR Budget and the terms and conditions under which they are provided shall be detailed in a Collaboration Agreement.
8.7 Procedure for evaluation of ELIXIR Nodes
ELIXIR Nodes shall be regularly evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Board as determined by the ELIXIR Board. Upon recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Board the ELIXIR Board shall decide whether it wishes to renew or terminate (in whole or in part) the Collaboration Agreement with the ELIXIR Node.
8.8 Termination of Collaboration Agreement
8.8.1 Termination by ELIXIR Node
The ELIXIR Node may terminate the Collaboration Agreement by giving at least twelve (12) months’ notice in writing to the ELIXIR Director.
8.8.2 Termination by ELIXIR Board
The ELIXIR Board may terminate the Collaboration Agreement in case of a serious breach of the Collaboration Agreement by the Node by giving at least three months notice in writing to the Head of the ELIXIR Node. The Collaboration Agreement shall terminate immediately in the event that an ELIXIR Node loses at least one of the formal eligibility criteria as listed under Article 8.3.
8.8.3 Expiry and renewal conditions of Collaboration Agreement
The ELIXIR Board may decide to renew the Collaboration Agreement unless the following cumulative conditions apply:
a. Receipt of an evaluation of the Scientific Advisory Board that contains specific reasons which merit a decision not to renew the Collaboration Agreement;
b. Decision by the ELIXIR Board to terminate the Collaboration Agreement; and
c. Six months notice in writing before the regular end of the Collaboration Agreement to the ELIXIR node.
If the formal eligibility criterion as described under 8.3.b. ceases to apply, the ELIXIR Board may make the decision to renew or terminate the Collaboration Agreement without any involvement of the Scientific Advisory Board.
The decision not to renew the Collaboration Agreement has to be notified in writing to the ELIXIR Node six (6) months prior to the expiry of such Collaboration Agreement.
9.1 The EMBL as aggrieved party
Each ELIXIR Member State shall be liable to the EMBL for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or similar damage related to or resulting from the operation or management of the ELIXIR Hub or from Commissioned Services by the EMBL according to Article 5.4, provided that such loss or damage was not caused by the EMBL’s willful act or gross negligence.
9.2 Claims by third party
Each ELIXIR Member State agrees to indemnify and hold the EMBL harmless from and against any and all such direct, indirect or consequential loss or similar damage to a third party as a result of the operation or management of the ELIXIR Hub or from Commissioned Services from the EMBL according to Article 5.4, provided that such damage was not caused by the EMBL’s willful act or gross negligence.
9.3 Distribution of losses among ELIXIR Member States
Liability shall be incurred from the date that the loss of damage arose until such time as the loss or damage is remedied. The financial consequences of the liability borne by each ELIXIR Member State shall be calculated pro rata based on each Member State’s ordinary contributions in the year that the loss/damage was incurred. Should the loss or damage cover multiple years a separate calculation shall be made for each year, but only for those Member States at the time of the original loss or damage.
9.4 Insurance coverage for ELIXIR
The EMBL represents and warrants that it has taken out insurance as required by the Host Site Agreement between the EMBL and the Government of the United Kingdom.
10. Intellectual Property
The activities of ELIXIR Hub are limited to the provision of technical services and administration. As ELIXIR is an infrastructure framework and does not conduct research itself, it is not expected that Intellectual Property will be developed directly from its activities or operation, rather it is expected to promote the creation of Intellectual Property by researchers using ELIXIR infrastructure. The ELIXIR Members therefore agree that all data and technical services enabling access and support of the data shall be provided on an open access and/or open source basis and shall be put into the public domain under the applicable licenses. However, in the event that an invention would result from the activities or the operation of ELIXIR that may be protected and commercialized, the ELIXIR Members agree that such an invention shall be reported to the ELIXIR Board. The invention shall be the property of the entity carrying out the work generating that invention. The ELIXIR Members shall then by mutual agreement decide on a case-by-case basis on the best course of action.
The ELIXIR Board shall establish an ethics policy that is in line with relevant laws and regulations and that considers best practices. It shall put in place measures to ensure that activities required as part of the ELIXIR Hub’s mission shall be in line with this ethics policy. The ELIXIR Board shall implement mechanisms to ensure that ELIXIR Nodes as well as all other collaboration partners in the context of ELIXIR are made aware of their obligation to ensure compliance of all relevant laws and regulations (and, where applicable, local ethical guidelines) when handling, storing, or processing personally identifiable data resulting from biomedical research.
12. Effectiveness, Entry into force and Accession of new ELIXIR Members
12.1 Signature, effectiveness and entry into force
This Agreement shall be open for signature by eligible entities according to Article 4.1.1. It shall enter into force thirty days after the date on which five countries and the EMBL have expressed their consent to be bound by the Agreement.
For any eligible entity that expresses its consent to be bound by the Agreement subsequent to the entry into force of the Agreement, the Agreement shall enter into force for that entity thirty days following the date of its consent.
12.2 Accession of a new ELIXIR Member
A new ELIXIR Member enters into this Agreement as of the date of its signature of this Agreement.
Without prejudice to Articles 4.3, 4.4 and 12.1, this Agreement shall be in full force and effect until 31 December 2017 and tacitly renewed.
13. Termination and consequences
This Agreement may be terminated by consensus of all ELIXIR Members. It shall be terminated automatically and with immediate effect if there are less than three ELIXIR Member States remaining and/or if the EMBL has withdrawn in accordance with Article 4.3.3.
In the event that this Agreement is terminated, the EMBL shall be entrusted with the liquidation of the assets and property allocated to ELIXIR, excluding property and assets put at the disposal of ELIXIR by the EMBL and which were not acquired for the purposes of ELIXIR (the ownership of such assets shall return to the EMBL). The proceeds of such liquidation shall first be used to meet any outstanding liabilities incurred by ELIXIR. Any remaining assets and monies shall be apportioned among the remaining ELIXIR Members in proportion to their overall financial contribution at the time of dissolution. Any remaining liabilities or deficit shall be apportioned between the remaining ELIXIR Members.
This Agreement is drawn up in English. The English language shall govern all documents, notices, meetings, proceedings and processes relative thereto and shall be the working language for ELIXIR.
15. Inconsistencies and severability
Should any provision of this Agreement become invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement. In such a case the ELIXIR Members shall be entitled to request that a valid and practicable provision be negotiated which best fulfils the purpose of the original provision.
Any notice to be provided under this Agreement shall be in writing to the addresses and recipients as listed in the most recent address list kept by the ELIXIR Director based on the initial list of ELIXIR Members and other contact persons.
This Agreement may be amended in writing and by mutual consent of all ELIXIR Members.
No rights or obligations of the ELIXIR Members arising from this Agreement shall be assigned or transferred, in whole or in part, to any third party without the other ELIXIR Member’s prior formal approval, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned.
This Agreement shall be applied in accordance with and governed by
(a) international law; and subsidiary
(b) the law of England and Wales in the case of matters not, or only partly, regulated by acts referred to in (a) above.
20. Settlements of Disputes
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in relation to this Agreement, or the existence, interpretation, application, breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, which is not settled through the good offices of the Chair or Vice-Chair of the ELIXIR Board, shall be settled on the basis of the PCA Arbitration Rules 2012. The number of arbitrators shall be three. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English.
The appointing authority shall be the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Each Party shall bear its own costs of arbitration. The arbitral tribunal may apportion its costs between the Parties if it determines that apportionment is reasonable, taking into account the circumstances of the case.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments or Entities, have signed this Agreement in a single original which shall be deposited in the archives of the EMBL which shall transmit certified copies to all Signatories.
KONZORCIJSKI SPORAZUM ELIXIR
EVROPSKE INFRASTRUKTURE ZA VEDE O ŽIVLJENJU IN BIOLOŠKE INFORMACIJE (ELIXIR)
Preambula
Člani Elixirja soglašajo z ustanovitvijo Evropske infrastrukture za vede o življenju in biološke informacije – Elixir, raziskovalne infrastrukture, organizirane z osrednjim vozliščem in razpršenimi vozlišči, ki bo v najširšem pomenu besede skrbela za delovanje in upravljanje povezane zbirke virov bioloških podatkov, orodja in literature. Elixir je raziskovalna infrastruktura svetovnega pomena, odprta znanstvenikom vseh strok. Njen namen je biti vključujoča raziskovalna infrastruktura, ki spodbuja pristop novih članov.
Člani Elixirja, ki
– se zavedajo, da je povpraševanje po virih podatkov med raziskovalci v vedah o življenju vedno večje;
– se zavedajo sedanje poplave podatkov in dejstva, da Elixir ponuja možnost učinkovitega upravljanja evropskih podatkov iz ved o življenju z nadgradljivimi rešitvami;
– se zavedajo, da lahko osrednje vozlišče Elixirja in vozlišča Elixirja pomembno usklajujejo dejavnosti na posameznih področjih;
– se zavedajo, da bodo vozlišča Elixirja organiziranav državah članicah;
– se zavedajo, da bodo vozlišča Elixirja ustanove, ki so izbrane na podlagi meril odličnosti in jih odobri svet Elixirja;
– se zavedajo, da vozlišča Elixirja prek osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja prejemajo vso potrebno podporo poslanstvu te infrastrukture;
– priznavajo, da je usklajeno mednarodno delovanje Elixirja nujno za nadgradnjo in vzdrževanje obstoječih virov podatkov ter ustanavljanje novih, če se za to pokaže potreba;
– priznavajo pomen podpiranja različnih bioinformacijskih znanstvenih skupnosti na državni ravni ter zlasti obstoječih in prihodnjih vozlišč Elixirja, če je ta podpora v najboljšem interesu članov Elixirja in v skladu s poslanstvom te infrastrukture;
– priznavajo, da je pomembno zagotoviti vozliščem Elixirja sredstva za zagotavljanje storitev, za katere se zaprosi po članih Elixirja;
– upoštevajo državne naložbe za vzpostavitev Elixirja in priznavajo, da je cilj osrednjega vozlišča zagotoviti ustrezno in primerno podporo za največjo usklajenost in vključenost posameznega vozlišča v Elixir, da se doseže kar največji znanstveni učinek;
– se strinjajo, da bodo podatki in znanje Elixirja prosto dostopni, čeprav bo dostop po potrebi nadzorovan;
– se strinjajo, da se izzivi Elixirja najbolje rešujejo z združevanjem dejavnosti na evropski in državni ravni;
– se strinjajo, da upravljanje Elixirja nujno temelji na merilih znanstvene in storitvene odličnosti, in
– priznavajo potrebo po obsežnem izobraževanju glede virov podatkov in bioinformacijskih infrastruktur,
so se sporazumeli:
1 Pomen izrazov in razlaga
V tem sporazumu izrazi, navedeni v nadaljevanju, pomenijo:
sporazum | ta konzorcijski sporazum Elixir z vsemi prilogami; |
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prosilec za vozlišče | raziskovalni inštitut, ki zaprosi, da postane vozlišče Elixirja; |
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sporazum o sodelovanju | sporazum, sklenjen za določen čas med EMBL v imenu sveta Elixirja in prosilcem, ki mu je podeljen status vozlišča Elixirja; |
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naročene storitve | tehnične in administrativne storitve, za katere je pristojno osrednje vozlišče Elixirja in ki se financirajo iz proračuna Elixirja; opravlja jih lahko eno od vozlišč Elixirja v skladu s sporazumom o sodelovanju ali EMBL v skladu s programom dela; |
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temeljne pristojnosti | kot je opredeljeno v 5.4.1; |
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član ali država članica Elixirja, ki ne izpolnjuje obveznosti | član ali država članica Elixirja, za katero svet Elixirja ugotovi, da krši ta sporazum, kot je navedeno v 4.4.1 in 6.2.7; |
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Elixir | kot je opredeljeno v preambuli in 3.1; |
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svet Elixirja | glavni organ odločanja, ki ga sestavljajo predstavniki članov Elixirja; |
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proračun Elixirja | zajema vse načrtovane prihodke in odhodke, vsako leto ga pripravi direktor Elixirja ob upoštevanju finančnega načrta in dejavnosti, kot je opredeljeno v 7.2 tega sporazuma; |
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direktor Elixirja | oseba, ki jo imenuje svet Elixirja in deluje kot izvršni organ Elixirja. Predstavlja Elixir navzven in izvaja sklepe sveta Elixirja v skladu s 6.3 tega sporazuma; |
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sedež Elixirja | sedež osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja je na Evropskem inštitutu za bioinformatiko, zunanji enoti EMBL, v Wellcome Trust Genome Campus v Hinxtonu, Cambridge, Združeno kraljestvo; |
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osrednje vozlišče Elixirja | Elixir deluje po modelu "osrednjega vozlišča in vozlišč". Osrednje vozlišče Elixirja je osrednja usklajevalna organizacija Elixirja, ki deluje prek sveta Elixirja in pod njegovim nadzorom, vodi pa jo direktor Elixirja. Zagotavlja administrativne in tehnične storitve za Elixir, opredeljene v 3.3. Pravnoorganizacijsko je del EMBL in je zato del pravne osebeEMBL; |
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član Elixirja | podpisnik tega sporazuma; |
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država članica Elixirja | vsaka država članica, ki je podpisnica tega sporazuma; |
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vozlišče Elixirja | državni ali mednarodni raziskovalni inštitut, ki z EMBL sklene sporazum o sodelovanju za zagotavljanje storitev z evropsko razsežnostjo, ki imajo dodano vrednost za Elixir; |
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osebje Elixirja | osebje, zaposleno pri EMBL v skladu s kadrovskimi pravili in predpisi EMBL ter financirano iz proračuna Elixirja; |
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EMBL | Evropski laboratorij za molekularno biologijo; |
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EMBL – EBI | Evropski inštitut za bioinformatiko, zunanja enota EMBL. |
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kadrovska pravila in predpisi EMBL | notranja delovnopravna pravila EMBL, ki so jih sprejele države članice EMBL in jih občasno spreminja svet EMBL ter urejajo pravna razmerja med EMBL in osebami, ki zanj delajo; |
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finančna pravila in predpisi EMBL | pravila in predpisi o finančnem poslovanju, upravljanju in notranjem nadzoru iz VI 3(e) sporazuma o ustanovitvi EMBL, dopolnjeni s sprejetimi politikami in postopki; |
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finančni načrt | petletna ocena vrednosti in časovne razporeditve finančnih virov, nujnih za izvedbo programa; |
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finančno leto | kot je opredeljeno v 7.3.1; |
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odbor vodij vozlišč | kot je opredeljeno v 6.5.1; |
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opazovalec | država, pravna oseba ali posameznik, ki se udeležuje sej sveta Elixirja kot opazovalec brez glasovalne pravice in običajno za omejen čas; |
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program | petletni znanstveni program, ki ga sprejme svet Elixirja za izpolnjevanje namena in ciljev Elixirja; |
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kvalificirana večina | dvotretjinska večina vseh članov Elixirja pod pogojem: |
| (i) da prispevki v proračun Elixirja tistih članov, ki so prisotni in glasujejo, pomenijo najmanj dve tretjini vseh prispevkov v ta proračun, |
| (ii) da pritrdilno glasujejo vsi pri glasovanju prisotni člani Elixirja razen enega; |
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raziskovalna infrastruktura | izraz raziskovalna infrastruktura se nanaša na osrednje ali razpršene raziskovalne zmogljivosti, zbirke podatkov ali vire za obsežno računalniško obdelavo, analiziranje in modeliranje; |
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raziskovalni inštitut | javno ali zasebno financiran državni ali mednarodni raziskovalni subjekt; |
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poslovnik | pravila, ki v najširšem smislu urejajo organizacijo in poslovanje sveta Elixirja ter jih svet Elixirja sprejme v skladu s 6.2.4 tega sporazuma; |
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znanstveni svetovalni odbor | organ, ki je sestavljen iz neodvisnih znanstvenikov, ki nadzorujejo kakovost dejavnosti Elixirja, izvedenih v vozliščih in osrednjem vozlišču Elixirja pod nadzorom sveta in direktorja Elixirja. Po potrebi svetujejo svetu in direktorju; |
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navadna večina | več kot petdeset odstotkov (50 %) oddanih glasov; |
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soglasje | glasovanje s soglasjem vseh prisotnih in glasujočih delegatov; |
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delovni program | storitve iz 5.4.3 tega sporazuma, ki jih opravlja EMBL. |
1.2.1 Besede v edninski obliki vključujejo množinsko obliko in obratno. Besede v enem spolu vključujejo tudi drugi spol.
1.2.2 Besede »vključuje«, »vključen« ali »vključno« pomenijo, da seznam zadev ni omejen.
Ta sporazum je pravna podlaga za Elixir. Opredeljuje organizacijsko sestavo ter določa razmerje med osrednjim vozliščem in vozlišči Elixirja. Da ne bi bilo dvoma, ta sporazum ne ustanavlja pravne osebe. Osrednje vozlišče Elixirja gostuje pri EMBL z mandatom konzorcija Elixirja. Ta sporazum določa vlogo EMBL kot gostitelja Elixirja, kot je opredeljena v 2.3 in 5.4.1., ter pravice in obveznosti članov Elixirja.
Svet Elixirja sestavljajo predstavniki vseh članov Elixirja. Je najvišji organ odločanja, ki sprejema vse strateške odločitve ter v imenu članov Elixirja nadzoruje dejavnosti osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja in njegove odnose z vozlišči.
2.3 Vloga EMBL v Elixirju
V skladu z opredelitvijo iz Elixir gostuje na EMBL in je kot tak del EMBL, ki se strinja, da prek osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja zagotavlja namenske storitve v podporo ustanovitvi in delovanju Elixirja, ki so opredeljene v tem sporazumu ali jih bo opredelil svet Elixirja. Elixir uporablja pravno osebo EMBL ter privilegije in imuniteto EMBL kot medvladne institucije. Za naloge, ki jih opravlja EMBL za Elixir, veljajo notranja pravila in predpisi EMBL, ter če je to primerno, politike EMBL, vključno, da ne bo dvoma, kadrovska pravila in predpisi ter finančna pravila in predpisi EMBL. Osebje, ki dela za osrednje vozlišče Elixirja (vključno z direktorjem Elixirja) na sedežu Elixirja, je zaposleno pri EMBL na podlagi kadrovskih pravil in predpisov EMBL. EMBL zagotavlja Elixirju tehnične storitve (naročene storitve in mednarodne bioinformacijske storitve, če so na razpolago sredstva), ki jih odobri svet Elixirja.
2.4 Razpršena infrastruktura
Elixir ima razpršeno sestavo, v kateri je osrednje vozlišče Elixirja s sporazumi o sodelovanju povezano z njegovimi razpršenimi vozlišči.
2.5 Osrednje vozlišče Elixirja
Osrednje vozlišče Elixirja je na sedežu Elixirja. Osrednje vozlišče Elixirja je osrednja usklajevalna organizacija, ki pod nadzorom sveta Elixirja in vodstvom direktorja Elixirja zagotavlja administrativne storitve usklajevanja in tehnično podporo.
2.6 Vključitev vozlišč Elixirja v infrastrukturo Elixirja
Vozlišča Elixirja delujejo kot neločljivi del obstoječih raziskovalnih inštitutov v državah članicah Elixirja. Raziskovalni inštitut lahko postane vozlišče Elixirja, ko uspešno opravi izbirni postopek. Vozlišča Elixirja zagotavljajo tehnično in administrativno podporo, ki se financira iz proračuna Elixirja kot naročena storitev ali iz drugih virov. V skladu s 8.5 vozlišča Elixirja z osrednjim vozliščem Elixirja sklenejo sporazum o sodelovanju.
3 Cilji in naloge Elixirja, osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja, EMBL in vozlišč Elixirja
Elixir je razpršena raziskovalna infrastruktura, katere namen je usklajevanje, vzdrževanje, skladiščenje, arhiviranje, povezovanje in razširjanje podatkov iz ved o življenju, ki jih ustvarjajo raziskovalci teh ved v Evropi in drugje, v ustreznem varnem okviru, ki omogoča prost dostop do podatkov, pri tem pa varuje njihovo lastništvo.
3.1.2 Zagotavljanje virov podatkov za področje ved o življenju
Elixir sprejema ukrepe za opravljanje nalog iz 3.2 na podlagi usklajevanja med člani Elixirja. V Elixirju se bodo novi biološki viri podatkov, ki so v znanstveni skupnosti zelo iskani, dodatno razvijali, ustrezna finančna sredstva pa se bodo zbirala po potrebi.
3.1.3 Poslanstvo osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja
Osrednje vozlišče Elixirja opravlja znanstvene, tehnične in administrativne naloge. Najvišji organ odločanja Elixirja je svet Elixirja, ki odloča o znanstvenih, tehničnih in administrativnih zadevah. V pomoč svetu so direktor Elixirja, znanstveni svetovalni odbor in odbor vodij vozlišč. Vozlišča v državah članicah sodelujejo pri nalogah Elixirja.
Elixir:
a. zagotavlja vire podatkov,
b. zagotavlja storitve, izobraževanje in pomoč pri vzpostavljanju v celoti povezane in trajnostne mreže virov in orodja, ki bo olajšala razširjanje podatkov in mednarodno sodelovanje,
c. uveljavlja standarde,
d. zagotavlja ustrezno računalniško infrastrukturo za obdelavo, arhiviranje in analiziranje podatkov,
e. zagotavlja infrastrukturo za orodje,
f. podpira prijave za financiranje dejavnosti, povezanih z Elixirjem, in
g. zagotavlja druge storitve v skladu s sklepi sveta Elixirja.
3.3 Naloge osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja
Brez poseganja v naloge iz 3.2 osrednje vozlišče Elixirja:
a. upravlja in administrativno vodi dejavnosti Elixirja,
b. usklajuje storitve (npr. pošiljanje podatkov, tehnične dejavnosti, usposabljanje ali druge dejavnosti po potrebi),
c. zagotavlja storitve in podporo vozliščem Elixirja in uporabniški skupnosti,
d. navezuje stike z drugimi infrastrukturami ved o življenju,
e. podpira prijave za financiranje dejavnosti Elixirja in
f. usklajuje prijave za vseevropsko financiranje v podporo Elixirju.
3.4 Naloge vozlišč Elixirja in EMBL
Brez poseganja v naloge iz 3.2 EMBL in vozlišča Elixirja zagotavljajo osrednjemu vozlišču Elixirja storitve, opredeljene v 5.4.1, 5.4.2 in 8.5.2.
4.1.1 Izpolnjevanje pogojev
Pogoje za članstvo v Elixirju izpolnjujejo ti subjekti:
a. države članice Sveta Evrope,
b. druge države, za katere lahko svet Elixirja odloči, da izpolnjujejo pogoje,
c. mednarodne organizacije, ki so pravne osebe, ustanovljene po mednarodnem pravu ali pravu EU (vključno, da ne bo dvoma, s konzorciji evropske raziskovalne infrastrukture – ERIC),
d. EMBL.
Prošnja, naslovljena na predsednika sveta Elixirja, mora vključevati izjavo o zavezanosti poslanstvu Elixirja iz tega sporazuma in o priznavanju obveznosti, povezanih s članstvom, iz 5.
Status opazovalca se lahko podeli:
a. državam, ki so pripravljene sodelovati v Elixirju, vendar še ne izpolnjujejo pogojev za članstvo v tej infrastrukturi, in
b. subjektom, ki jih svet Elixirja povabi, da kot opazovalci redno prisostvujejo njegovim sejam.
4.2.2 Trajanje statusa opazovalca
Po prejemu prošnje, naslovljene na predsednika, lahko svet Elixirja podeli status opazovalca za največ dve leti, vsekakor pa se to obdobje konča ob izteku finančnega leta. Status lahko svet Elixirja obnovi za nadaljnje dveletno obdobje pod pogoji iz 5.2. Svet Elixirja določi pogoje za sprejem opazovalcev.
4.3 Izstop člana ali opazovalca Elixirja
4.3.1 Izstop države članice Elixirja
Država članica lahko izstopi iz Elixirja ob koncu finančnega leta z enoletnim odpovednim rokom in pisnim obvestilom predsedniku sveta Elixirja. Svet Elixirja se z izstopom formalno seznani.
4.3.2 Pravne posledice izstopa države članice Elixirja
Država članica, ki izstopi iz Elixirja, nima pravice do nikakršne odškodnine ali uporabe dobrega imena in mora plačevati prispevek v proračun Elixirja, dokler izstop ne začne veljati. Preden je ta potrjen, morajo biti plačani vsi zapadli prispevki in izpolnjene vse obveznosti.
EMBL lahko izstopi ob koncu finančnega leta, tako da o nameravanem odstopu od tega sporazuma pošlje obvestilo vsaj 24 mesecev vnaprej.
Opazovalci lahko izstopijo kadar koli v prvih dveh letih po tem, ko so bili sprejeti kot opazovalci. Po obnovitvi statusa lahko izstopijo ob koncu finančnega leta z enoletnim odpovednim rokom in pisnim obvestilom predsedniku sveta Elixirja.
4.4 Izključitev člana ali opazovalca Elixirja, ki ne izpolnjuje obveznosti
4.4.1 Prenehanje članstva ali statusa opazovalca
Brez poseganja v pristojnost sveta Elixirja, da v skladu s 6.2.7 začasno odvzame pravice države članice, ki ne izpolnjuje obveznosti, ima svet Elixirja tudi pristojnost, da odloči o prenehanju članstva člana, ki ne izpolnjuje obveznosti, ali prenehanju statusa opazovalca, če so izpolnjeni ti pogoji:
a. član ali opazovalec Elixirja resno krši eno ali več obveznosti po tem sporazumu ali povzroči hude motnje pri delovanju Elixirja ali grozi, da jih bo povzročil, in
b. članu ali opazovalcu Elixirja je bilo omogočeno, da v svojo obrambo predstavi stališča svetu Elixirja, ki se je z njimi seznanil, in
c. član ali opazovalec Elixirja ni odpravil kršitve v času, ki ga določi svet Elixirja (razen, da ne bo dvoma, če se kršitev nanaša na neplačilo prispevkov iz 6.2.7).
4.4.2 Pravne posledice izključitve
Član ali opazovalec Elixirja, ki je izključen iz Elixirja, nima pravice do nikakršne odškodnine, uporabe dobrega imena, povračila prispevka za finančno leto, v katerem je bil izključen, ali delnega ali celotnega odpisa zapadlih prispevkov, ki jih še dolguje proračunu Elixirja. Nemudoma po potrditvi izključitve mora plačati vse zapadle prispevke in izpolniti vse obveznosti.
5 Obveznosti članov in opazovalcev Elixirja
5.1 Finančni prispevek držav članic Elixirja
Vsaka država članica Elixirja letno prispeva v proračun Elixirja v skladu s finančnim načrtom iz 7.1.1. Države članice Elixirja so za dejavnost osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja skupno odgovorne, da zagotovijo zadostna sredstva za ohranitev pozitivne gotovinske bilance.
Prispevki se za vsakega člana Elixirja izračunajo enkrat na začetku finančnega načrta na podlagi povprečnega neto nacionalnega dohodka v faktorskih stroških (NND) za predhodna tri koledarska leta, za katera so na voljo statistični podatki. V prilogi 1 je lestvica finančnih prispevkov za predvidene države članice.
Direktor Elixirja obvesti države članice o znesku njihovega finančnega prispevka in v dogovoru s svetom Elixirja o datumu in načinu plačila teh prispevkov.
5.1.4 Pristop novega člana
Če država postane članica tega sporazuma po začetku njegove veljavnosti, ostanejo finančni prispevki drugih članov Elixirja, določeni v 5.1.2, nespremenjeni. Do konca tekočega finančnega načrta se prispevek novega člana obravnava kot dodatni prispevek.
Svet Elixirja lahko upošteva vse posebne okoliščine države članice ter za omejeno in določeno obdobje ustrezno prilagodi njen prispevek.
5.1.6 Zamude plačil ali predčasna plačila
Če država članica ne plača katerega zneska po tem sporazumu v štirih tednih po dnevu zapadlosti iz 5.1.3, lahko svet Elixirja na zapadli znesek zaračuna zamudne obresti. Za predčasna plačila pa se državi članici izplačajo obresti. Višino obresti predlaga direktor Elixirja na letni ravni skupaj s predlogom proračuna Elixirja, iz katerega se krijejo stroški zaradi zamud pri plačilih. Zamudne obresti se zaračunajo brez poseganja v določbe tega sporazuma o plačilu prispevkov.
5.2 Finančni prispevki opazovalcev
Status opazovalcev po 4.2.1 se obnavlja ob koncu vsakega dveletnega obdobja pod pogojem, da država, ki želi obnoviti ta status, plača prispevek v višini 30 % finančnega prispevka, ki bi ga morala plačati, če bi bila članica Elixirja. Obnovljeni status opazovalca začne veljati na prvi dan naslednjega finančnega leta.
5.3 Obveznosti medvladnih organizacij razen EMBL
Svet Elixirja določi obveznosti medvladnih organizacij razen EMBL, preden jih potrdi za člane.
5.4 Storitve, ki jih EMBL izvaja v Elixirju
5.4.1 Temeljne pristojnosti EMBL
Pod pogojem, da so v proračunu Elixirja predvidena in iz njega dejansko nakazana zadostna sredstva ter da je sprejet ustrezen finančni načrt, je EMBL pristojen za te storitve, ki veljajo za bistvene pri delovanju in upravljanju osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja ter doseganju ciljev Elixirja (»temeljne pristojnosti«):
a. zaposlovanje osebja Elixirja,
b. zagotavljanje zmogljivosti in infrastrukture za osrednje vozlišče Elixirja,
c. sklepanje sporazumov s tretjimi strankami za doseganje ciljev Elixirja,
d. nastopanje kot stranka v sporih s tretjimi strankami, ki nastanejo zaradi storitev ali opustitev v okviru Elixirja.
5.4.2 Naročanje dodatnih tehničnih ali administrativnih storitev pri EMBL
Če svet Elixirja potrebuje tehnične ali administrativne storitve, ki presegajo temeljne pristojnosti po 5.4.1, in če so v proračunu Elixirja predvidena in iz njega dejansko nakazana zadostna sredstva, naroči te dodatne storitve pri EMBL kot »naročene storitve«.
EMBL navede temeljne pristojnosti in naročene storitve v delovnih programih, ki zajemajo isto petletno obdobje kakor finančni načrt in program ter se predložijo svetu Elixirja v sprejetje skupaj s finančnim načrtom in programom. Temeljne pristojnosti in naročene storitve se financirajo iz proračuna Elixirja. Delovni programi lahko zajemajo tudi dodatne storitve, za katere se lahko EMBL dogovori in ki niso financirane iz proračuna Elixirja.
5.4.4 Ocenjevanje delovnih programov
Delovne programe redno ocenjuje znanstveni svetovalni odbor, kot to določi svet Elixirja.
Organizacijska sestava Elixirja zajema te organe:
– svet Elixirja,
– direktorat Elixirja,
– znanstveni svetovalni odbor,
– odbor vodij vozlišč,
– druge odbore, ki jih ustanovi svet Elixirja.
6.2.1 Vloga in namen sveta Elixirja
a. Svet Elixirja je najvišji organ odločanja, ki omogoča predstavnikom članov Elixirja, da sprejemajo skupne odločitve o vseh zadevah v zvezi z Elixirjem, ki jih nato uresničuje direktor Elixirja.
b. Svet Elixirja odloča o politiki ter znanstvenih, tehničnih in administrativnih zadevah zlasti tako, da daje direktorju Elixirja smernice glede njegovih dolžnosti in spremlja njihovo izvajanje. Ustanovi Elixir in spremlja njegovo delovanje ter ob pomoči znanstvenega svetovalnega odbora odloča o potrebnih virih in elementih, ki so primerni za vključitev v Elixir.
a. Svet Elixirja sestavljajo predstavniki vseh članov Elixirja, ki delujejo kot delegati. Vsak član ima največ tri delegate, ki jih lahko spremljajo svetovalci brez glasovalne pravice.
b. Člani odbora vodij vozlišč ne morejo biti imenovani za delegate.
c. Svet Elixirja imenuje predsednika in dva podpredsednika.
d. Svet Elixirja sprejme svoj poslovnik.
6.2.3 Opazovalci v svetu Elixirja
Opazovalci se lahko udeležujejo sej sveta Elixirja pod pogoji iz 4.2.1. Da ne bo dvoma, opazovalci nimajo glasovalnepravice.
6.2.4 Pristojnosti sveta Elixirja
Svet Elixirja je izključno pristojen za sprejemanje v nadaljevanju navedenih odločitev. O njih se glasuje na seji sveta, ki je sklepčen v skladu s 6.2.6 tega sporazuma. Če ta sporazum ne določa drugače, odločitev ni sprejeta, če pri glasovanju ni prisotna in ne glasuje dvotretjinska večina vseh članov Elixirja.
a. S soglasjem članov Elixirja obravnava zainteresirani subjekt in potrdi njegov sprejem v Elixirjevo članstvo ter določi pogoje za njegov pristop.
b. S soglasjem vseh članov Elixirja obravnava in potrdi obveznosti medvladnih organizacij razen EMBL.
c. V skladu s 4.4.1 sklepa o izključitvi člana Elixirja, ki ne izpolnjuje obveznosti.
d. Sklepa o začasnem odvzemu pravic državi članici Elixirja, ki ne izpolnjuje obveznosti, kot članici sveta, če zamuja s plačilom prispevkov.
e. Odobrava prošnje za pridobitev statusa opazovalca.
f. S soglasjem članov Elixirja potrjuje finančni načrt.
g. S kvalificirano večino članov Elixirja letno potrjuje proračun Elixirja.
h. V okoliščinah iz 5.1.5 in v skladu s prilagoditvami iz 6.2.4 i s kvalificirano večino odloča o spremembah finančnih prispevkov vseh držav članic Elixirja.
i. Če je svet Elixirja obveščen o posebnih okoliščinah po 5.1.5, s soglasjem odloča o prilagoditvah finančnih prispevkov posamezne države članice, pri tem pa se mora ta država vzdržati glasovanja.
j. V skladu s finančnimi pravili in predpisi EMBL ter 7.6.2 odloča, ali naj svetu EMBL priporoči sprejem daril ali posebnih prispevkov.
k. Potrjuje letno finančno poročilo o izvrševanju proračuna Elixirja.
l. Potrjuje revizijsko poročilo o Elixirju.
m. S soglasjem vseh članov Elixirja potrjuje in spreminja program Elixirja.
Sodelovanje z vozlišči Elixirja, EMBL in drugo sodelovanje
n. Odloča o sprejetju prošnje raziskovalnega inštituta, da postane vozlišče Elixirja.
o. Soglaša s sklenitvijo predlaganega sporazuma o sodelovanju z vozliščem Elixirja.
p. Soglaša z delovnim programom, ki ga EMBL predlaga svetu Elixirja:
– s soglasjem članov Elixirja glede temeljnih pristojnosti po 5.4.1;
– z dvotretjinsko večino glede naročenih storitev po 5.4.2 in dodatnih storitev po 5.4.3.
q. Odloča o obnovitvi obstoječega sporazuma o sodelovanju z vozliščem Elixirja.
r. Odloča o odpovedi sporazuma o sodelovanju z vozliščem Elixirja pred potekom njegove veljavnosti.
s. Odloča o spremembah delovnega programa:
– s soglasjem članov Elixirja o temeljnih pristojnostih, navedenih v 5.4.1;
– z dvotretjinsko večino glede naročenih storitev po 5.4.2 in dodatnih storitev po 5.4.3.
t. Odloča o prenehanju opravljanja naročenih storitev ali drugih storitev EMBL po 5.4.2 in 5.4.3.
u. S soglasjem članov Elixirja vzpostavlja sodelovanje z državami nečlanicami, državnimi organi v teh državah, mednarodnimi vladnimi in nevladnimi organizacijami (kot npr. državni raziskovalni inštituti) ter določa pogoje za tako sodelovanje.
v. Sprejme svoj poslovnik.
w. Brez poseganja v celoten okvir odločitev sveta EMBL, finančna pravila in predpise, kadrovska pravila in predpise ter notranje politike EMBL lahko svet Elixirja sprejema in revidira pravila, predpise in politike, ki so potrebni za delovanje Elixirja, pod pogojem, da so usklajeni z navedenimi pravili, predpisi in politikami EMBL.
Svetovalna telesa in odbori
x. Ustanavlja svetovalna telesa, odbore in delovne skupine ter pomožne ali svetovalne organe, ki so po njegovem mnenju nujni za ustrezno delovanje Elixirja in doseganje njegovih ciljev. Pomožna telesa sprejmejo svoje poslovnike.
y. Imenuje člane znanstvenega svetovalnega odbora.
Direktor Elixirja
z. Imenuje in razrešuje direktorja Elixirja.
aa. Potrjuje poročila.
bb. Z navadno večino odloča o vseh zadevah v zvezi z Elixirjem ali njegovim delovanjem, ki mu jih predloži direktor Elixirja ali kateri koli član Elixirja in za katere po 6.2.4 ni zahtevana drugačna večina.
a. Svet Elixirja se sestane najmanj enkrat letno. Svet se lahko sestaja na izrednih sejah. Če svet Elixirja ne odloči drugače, redne in izredne seje potekajo na sedežu Elixirja.
b. Predsednik sveta Elixirja skliče sejo sveta vsaj enkrat letno ali kadar koli na pisno zahtevo vsaj 50 % članov Elixirja v skladu s poslovnikom.
6.2.6 Glasovalna pravila in sklepčnost
a. Vsak član Elixirja, ki ga na seji zastopajo njegovi delegati ali pooblaščenec, ima en glas.
b. Da ne bo dvoma, predsedujoči sveta Elixirja nima odločilnega glasu.
c. Seje sveta so sklepčne, če sta prisotni ali zastopani dve tretjini ali več članov Elixirja.
d. Vzdržani glasovi se ne upoštevajo pri izračunu večine.
e. Sklepi, sprejeti na sejah sveta Elixirja v skladu s tem sporazumom, so zavezujoče za vse člane Elixirja, tudi tiste, ki niso bili prisotni ali se niso strinjali.
6.2.7 Začasni odvzem pravic državi članici Elixirja kot članici sveta
Državi članici Eliksirja, ki dolguje plačilo prispevkov v znesku, ki je enak znesku njenih prispevkov za predhodni leti ali presega ta znesek, lahko svet Elixirja začasno odvzame pravice, zlasti tiste, ki so povezane z njenim članstvom v svetu Elixirja. Za tako državo članico se šteje, da resno krši obveznosti po tem sporazumu za namene 4.4.1.
6.3.1 Vloga direktorja Elixirja
Direktor Elixirja je odgovoren za izvajanje odločitev sveta Elixirja. Poleg tega je odgovoren generalnemu direktorju EMBL glede upoštevanja pravil in predpisov EMBL.
6.3.2 Glavne naloge direktorja Elixirja
Direktor Elixirja:
a. V skladu z internimi pravili, predpisi in politikami EMBL ter odločitvami sveta Elixirja upravlja in administrativno vodi Elixir in osebje osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja.
b. Po posvetovanju z odborom vodij vozlišč pripravi program, ga nadzoruje in izvaja ter nadzoruje finančni načrt.
c. Odboru Elixir predstavi letno znanstveno poročilo.
d. Odboru Elixir predstavi letno finančno poročilo o izvrševanju proračuna Elixirja.
e. Vsako leto najpozneje do 1. oktobra predlaga proračun Elixirja z natančnimi ocenami predvidenih prihodkov in odhodkov Elixirja za naslednje finančno leto.
f. Udeležuje se sej sveta Elixirja brez glasovalne pravice.
g. Obvešča svet Elixirja o vseh pomembnih zadevah v zvezi z Elixirjem, o katerih je treba odločati ali s katerimi se je treba seznaniti.
h. Zaposluje in odpuščaosebje Elixirja v skladu s kadrovskimi pravili in predpisi EMBL.
i. Dogovarja se o sporazumih o sodelovanju z vozlišči (v skladu s 8.5) in o delovnem programu z EMBL (v skladu s 5.4.2) ter jih pripravlja.
6.3.3 Osebje Elixirja v osrednjem vozlišču Elixirja
a. Osebje, ki dela za osrednje vozlišče Elixirja, je odgovorno za zagotavljanje administrativne in tehnične podpore osrednjemu vozlišču ter zlasti direktorju Elixirja in znanstvenemu svetovalnemu odboru.
b. Direktor in osebje Elixirja sta zaposlena pri EMBL v skladu s kadrovskimi pravili in predpisi EMBL.
c. Osebje Elixirja je odgovorno direktorju za izvajanje vseh tehničnih in administrativnih storitev, potrebnih za uresničevanje odločitev sveta Elixirja.
6.3.4 Imenovanje direktorja Elixirja
a. Direktorja Elixirja imenuje svet Elixirja, opravljati pa mora vse naloge, ki so mu dodeljene v skladu s tem sporazumom.
b. Če se mesto sprosti, svet Elixirja za čas izbirnega postopka imenuje vršilca dolžnosti direktorja.
6.3.5 Odstavitev in odpoved direktorja Elixirja
a. Sklep o odstavitvi direktorja Elixirja sprejme svet Elixirja.
b. Če direktor Elixirja odstopi, EMBL o tem nemudoma obvesti svet Elixirja s pisnim sporočilom predsedniku sveta Elixirja.
6.4 Znanstveni svetovalni odbor
Znanstveni svetovalni odbor z znanstvenega vidika svetuje svetu in direktorju Elixirja v zvezi z dejavnostmi Elixirja.
a. Znanstveni svetovalni odbor sestavljajo visokokvalificirani, mednarodno priznani znanstveniki, izbrani na podlagi svoje usposobljenosti na vseh področjih delovanja Elixirja. Odbor si mora prizadevati za uravnoteženo zastopanost spolov.
b. Člani znanstvenega svetovalnega odbora so imenovani kot posamezniki in ne kot predstavniki članov Elixirja.
6.4.3 Izbira in imenovanje članov znanstvenega svetovalnega odbora
a. Direktor Elixirja po posvetovanju s člani Elixirja predlaga svetu Elixirja seznam kandidatov, ki ga svet Elixirja upošteva pri izbirnem postopku.
b. Svet Elixirja imenuje člane znanstvenega svetovalnega sveta za obdobje treh let.
c. Znanstveni svetovalni svet sprejme svoj poslovnik.
Odbor vodij vozlišč sestavljajo predstavniki vozlišč Elixirja in EMBL – EBI. Ta odbor svetuje svetu in direktorju Elixirja glede dejavnosti Elixirja.Direktor Elixirja se posvetuje z odborom vodij vozlišč pri sestavljanju programa, ki ga predloži svetu Elixirja.
6.5.2 Člani odbora vodij vozlišč
a. Vsako vozlišče Elixirja, ki ima sklenjen sporazum o sodelovanju z osrednjim vozliščem Elixirja, imenuje enega predstavnika, ki je vodja vozlišča Elixirja in je član odbora vodij vozlišč.
b. EMBL – EBI imenuje enega predstavnika, ki je vodja za sodelovanje EMBL – EBI v Elixirju in je član odbora vodij vozlišč.
c. Odbor vodij enot sprejme svoj poslovnik.
6.6 Drugi odbori, ki jih po potrebi ustanovi svet Elixirja
Svet in direktor Elixirja lahko po potrebi ustanovita druge odbore. Svet Elixirja določi pogoje za ustanovitev teh odborov in članstvo v njih.
7.1 Finančno načrtovanje in proračun
Direktor Elixirja vsakih pet let predloži svetu Elixirja predlog finančnega načrta v obravnavo in sprejetje. To je podlaga za prispevke posamezne države članice Elixirja v tem petletnem obdobju in najvišji sprejeti proračun Elixirja za isto obdobje. Finančni načrt temelji na sprejetem programu.
Državi članici ni treba plačati večjega ali manjšega prispevka od običajnega letnega prispevka, ki je potrjen v finančnem načrtu. To ne vpliva na 5.1.5, drugi stavek 7.5 in 9.
Direktor Elixirja najpozneje do 1. oktobra vsako leto predloži svetu Elixirja v obravnavo in sprejetje proračun Elixirja za naslednje finančno leto z natančnimi ocenami predvidenih prihodkov in odhodkov za dejavnosti, ki jih v Elixirju izvaja osrednje vozlišče Elixirja.
7.1.4 Gibanje deviznih tečajev
Direktor Elixirja skupaj s proračunom za naslednje leto predloži svetu Elixirja tudi oceno vpliva gibanja deviznih tečajev na proračun Elixirja za tekoče leto. Svet Elixirja preuči, kako so ta gibanja deviznih tečajev vplivala na sposobnost direktorja Elixirja, da izvede program, in kakšni, če sploh, finančni popravki bi bili potrebni.
7.2 Financiranje osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja
Vozlišče Elixir se financira s:
– finančnimi prispevki držav članic,
– finančnimi prispevki opazovalcev v skladu s 5.3,
– darili,
– poleg daril s posebnimi prispevki, opredeljenimi v tem sporazumu,
– nepovratnimi sredstvi.
Financiranje mora potrditi svet Elixirja.
Finančno leto za Elixir je obdobje od 1. januarja do 31. decembra.
7.3.2 Računovodski izkazi
EMBL vodi ločeno računovodstvo za Elixir v skladu s svojimi finančnimi predpisi, politiko, postopki in pravili. Zagotavlja, da so prihodki in odhodki dejavnosti Elixirja v računovodskih izkazih prikazani ločeno. Poroča o prihodkih in odhodkih za Elixir v letnem izkazu poslovnega izida, ki je del letnih računovodskih izkazov EMBL (priloga 2).
Za prihodke in odhodke Elixirja se vsako leto opravi zunanja revizija, ki je del letne revizije EMBL. Zunanji revizorji EMBL predložijo svetu Elixirja ločeno revizijsko poročilo o prihodkih in odhodkih Elixirja; stroške tega poročila krije Elixir.
7.5 Splošni stroški poslovanja
EMBL zaračunava Elixirju splošne stroške poslovanja za svoje storitve v skladu s svojimi finančnimi predpisi, politikami, postopki in pravili. Zaračuna mu morebitne stroške, ki jih ima EMBL zaradi negativnega denarnega toka Elixirja.
7.6 Temeljna načela finančnega poslovanja Elixirja
7.6.1 Izvrševanje proračuna Elixirja
V skladu s sklepi sveta Elixirja EMBL upravlja proračun Elixirja za osrednje vozlišče Elixirja. Proračun Elixirja se izvršuje v skladu s sporazumom o ustanovitvi EMBL ter finančnimi pravili in predpisi EMBL.
Za vsa darila, ki presegajo vrednost 250.000 EUR, in za posebne prispevke sta potrebni soglasji sveta Elixirja in sveta EMBL v skladu s finančnimi pravili in predpisi EMBL. Darila morajo biti skladna z namenom Elixirja in EMBL.
8.1 Prijavni postopek za vozlišča Elixirja
Prijavni postopek zajema te korake:
– predlog člana Elixirja,
– ocena prijave za vozlišče,
– pogajanja,
– pravnoorganizacijska vključitev vozlišč Elixirja v Elixir s sporazumi o sodelovanju,
– redno ocenjevanje.
8.2 Pravica do dajanja predlogov
Prosilce za vozlišče predlagajo člani Elixirja. Svet Elixirja povabi člane Elixirja k dajanju predlogov v skladu s postopkom, ki ga sam določi.
Člani Elixirja lahko predlagajo samo tiste prosilce za vozlišče, ki izpolnjujejo vsa spodnja merila:
a. so pravna oseba s pravno osebnostjo po notranjem pravu ali del pravne osebe,
b. so v državi članici Elixirja in
c. lahko dokažejo vzdržnost svojih financ glede dejavnosti, ki jih nameravajo opravljati za Elixir.
8.4 Postopek ocenjevanja prijave za vozlišče
Predloge ocenjuje znanstveni svetovalni odbor v skladu s postopkom, ki ga določi svet Elixirja.
8.5 Sporazumi o sodelovanju
8.5.1 Status vozlišča Elixirja
Sprejeti prosilec za vozlišče sklene sporazum o sodelovanju z EMBL, ki deluje v imenu osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja. S podpisom tega sporazuma postane prosilec za vozlišče vozlišče Elixirja. Podrobnosti sporazuma o sodelovanju določi direktor Elixirja, ki upošteva pripombe prosilca za vozlišče, dokončno pa jih potrdi svet Elixirja.
8.5.2 Zagotavljanje tehničnih storitev
V sporazumu o sodelovanju so opredeljeni tehnične storitve (naročene storitve in dodatne storitve), ki jih zagotavljajo vozlišča Elixirja, in mehanizmi njihovega zagotavljanja.
8.6 Naročanje tehničnih storitev v vozliščih Elixirja
Svet Elixirja se lahko odloči, da pri naročenih storitvah preda izvajanje nekaterih tehničnih storitev vozliščem Elixirja. Naročene storitve, ki jih opravljajo vozlišča Elixirja, se financirajo iz proračuna Elixirja in zagotavljajo pod pogoji, ki so opredeljeni v sporazumu o sodelovanju.
8.7 Postopek ocenjevanja vozlišč Elixirja
Vozlišča Elixirja redno ocenjuje znanstveni svetovalni odbor, kot to določi svet Elixirja. Ta se na podlagi priporočila znanstvenega svetovalnega odbora odloči za obnovitev ali odpoved (delno ali v celoti) sporazuma o sodelovanju z vozliščem Elixirja.
8.8 Odpoved sporazuma o sodelovanju
8.8.1 Odpoved s strani vozlišča Elixirja
Vozlišče Elixirja lahko odpove sporazum o sodelovanju s pisnim obvestilom z najmanj dvanajstmesečnim (12) odpovednim rokom, poslanim direktorju Elixirja.
8.8.2 Odpoved s strani sveta Elixirja
Če vozlišče Elixirja resno krši sporazum o sodelovanju, ga Svet Elixirja lahko odpove s pisnim obvestilom z najmanj trimesečnim odpovednim rokom, poslanim vodji tega vozlišča. Če vozlišče Elixirja ne izpolnjuje več najmanj enega od meril primernosti iz 8.3, se sporazum o sodelovanju takoj prekine.
8.8.3 Prenehanje veljavnosti in pogoji za obnovitev sporazuma o sodelovanju
Svet Elixirja se lahko odloči za obnovitev sporazuma o sodelovanju, razen če so izpolnjeni vsi ti pogoji:
a. znanstveni svetovalni odbor je predložil oceno, v kateri so našteti podrobni razlogi za sprejetje odločitve, da se sporazum o sodelovanju ne obnovi,
b. svet Elixirja je sprejel odločitev, da se sporazum o sodelovanju prekine, in
c. vozlišču Elixirja je bilo šest mesecev pred rednim prenehanjem veljavnosti sporazuma o sodelovanju poslano pisno obvestilo.
Če eno od meril primernosti iz 8.3 b ni več izpolnjeno, se lahko svet Elixirja odloči, da obnovi ali prekine sporazum o sodelovanju brez posvetovanja z znanstvenim svetovalnim odborom.
Sklep, da se sporazum o sodelovanju ne obnovi, je treba sporočiti vozlišču Elixirja pisno šest (6) mesecev pred potekom sporazuma.
Države članice Elixirja so odgovorne EMBL za vso neposredno, posredno ali posledično izgubo in podobno škodo, ki je povezana s poslovanjem ali vodenjem osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja ali je posledica tega poslovanja ali vodenja ali izhaja iz naročenih storitev, ki jih izvaja EMBL v skladu s 5.4, če te izgube ali škode ni povzročil EMBL z namernim dejanjem ali iz hude malomarnosti.
9.2 Zahtevki tretjih strank
Države članice Elixirja se strinjajo, da bodo EMBL plačale odškodnino in prevzele odgovornost za vso morebitno neposredno, posredno ali posledično izgubo in podobno škodo do tretjih strank, ki je posledica poslovanja ali vodenja osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja ali izhaja iz naročenih storitev, ki jih izvaja EMBL v skladu s 5.4, če te izgube ali škode ni povzročil EMBL z namernim dejanjem ali iz hude malomarnosti.
9.3 Razdelitev izgube med državami članicami Elixirja
Odgovornost nastane na dan nastanka izgube ali škode in traja, dokler izguba ali škoda ni odpravljena. Finančne posledice odgovornosti vsake države članice Elixirja se izračunajo sorazmerno s prispevki države članice za leto, v katerem je nastala izguba ali škoda. Če se izguba ali škoda nanaša na večletno obdobje, se za vsako leto naredi ločen izračun, vendar samo za tiste države, ki so bile članice v času, ko je izguba ali škoda nastala.
9.4 Zavarovalno kritje za Elixir
EMBL jamči in zagotavlja, da je sklenil zavarovanje v skladu s sporazumom o gostovanju med EMBL in vlado Združenega kraljestva.
10 Intelektualna lastnina
Dejavnosti osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja so omejene na zagotavljanje tehničnih in administrativnih storitev. Ker je Elixir infrastrukturni okvir in sam ne opravlja raziskav, ni pričakovati, da bo s svojimi dejavnostmi ali delovanjem razvijal intelektualno lastnino; od njega se pričakuje, da bo spodbujal ustvarjanje intelektualne lastnine pri raziskovalcih, ki uporabljajo infrastrukturo Elixirja. Člani Elixirja se zato strinjajo, da so vsi podatki in tehnične storitve, ki omogočajo dostop do teh podatkov in njihovo podporo, zagotovljeni na podlagi prostega dostopa in/ali odprte kode in da so v skladu z veljavnimi licencami javni. Če pa je posledica dejavnosti ali delovanja Elixirja izum, ki se lahko zaščiti in trži, se člani Elixirja strinjajo, da se o tem izumu obvesti svet Elixirja. Izum je lastnina subjekta, ki je opravil delo, ki je privedlo do izuma. Člani Elixirja nato za vsak primer posebej z medsebojnim soglasjem odločijo, kako najprimerneje ravnati.
Svet Elixirja opredeli etične usmeritve v skladu z ustreznimi zakoni in drugimi predpisi ter ob upoštevanju najboljših praks. Sprejme ustrezne ukrepe, da so dejavnosti, ki so potrebne za opravljanje nalog osrednjega vozlišča Elixirja, v skladu s temi etičnimi usmeritvami. Svet Elixirja vzpostavi mehanizme, da se vsa vozlišča Elixirja in drugi sodelujoči partnerji v Elixirju zavejo obveznosti upoštevanja vseh ustreznih zakonov in drugih predpisov (in po potrebi lokalnih etičnih smernic) o ravnanju z osebnimi identifikacijskimi podatki, ki izhajajo iz biomedicinskih raziskav, ter njihovem shranjevanju ali obdelavi.
12 Učinkovanje, začetek veljavnosti in pristop novih članov Elixirja
12.1 Podpis, učinkovanje in začetek veljavnosti
Sporazum je na voljo za podpis vsem subjektom, ki izpolnjujejo pogoje po 4.1.1. Veljati začne trideset dni od dneva, ko so pet držav in EMBL izrazili soglasje, da jih ta sporazum zavezuje.
Za vsak subjekt, ki izpolnjuje pogoje in po začetku veljavnosti sporazuma izrazi soglasje, da ga ta zavezuje, začne sporazum veljati trideset dni od dneva njegovega soglasja.
12.2 Pristop novega člana Elixirja
Novi član Elixirja pristopi k temu sporazumu na dan, ko ga podpiše.
Ne glede na določbe 4.3, 4.4 in 12.1 ta sporazum v celoti velja in učinkuje do 31. decembra 2017 ter se molče podaljša.
13 Prenehanje veljavnosti in posledice
13.1 Prenehanje veljavnosti
Ta sporazum lahko preneha veljati s soglasjem vseh članov Elixirja. Samodejno in s takojšnjim učinkom preneha veljati, če v njem ostanejo manj kot tri države članice Elixirja in/ali če EMBL izstopi v skladu s 4.3.3.
Če ta sporazum preneha veljati, je EMBL pooblaščen za likvidacijo sredstev in premoženja, dodeljenih Elixirju, razen premoženja, ki ga je EMBL dal na razpolago Elixirju in ni bilo pridobljeno za potrebe Elixirja (lastništvo nad temi sredstvi se vrne EMBL). Izkupiček iz likvidacije se najprej uporabi za kritje morebitnih zapadlih obveznosti Elixirja. Morebitna preostala finančna ali druga sredstva se razdelijo med preostale člane Elixirja sorazmerno z njihovim skupnim finančnim prispevkom ob prenehanju delovanja. Morebitne preostale zapadle obveznosti ali izguba se razdelijo med preostale člane Elixirja.
Sporazum je sestavljen v angleščini. Angleški jezik se uporablja za vse dokumente, sporočila, seje, postopke in s tem povezane procese ter je delovni jezik Elixirja.
15 Nedoslednosti in neodvisnost določb
Če katera določba tega sporazuma postane neveljavna, nezakonita ali neizvedljiva, to ne vpliva na veljavnost njegovih preostalih določb. V takem primeru imajo člani Elixirja pravico zahtevati, da se s pogajanji oblikuje veljavna in izvedljiva določba, ki najbolje uresničuje namen osnovne določbe.
Vsa obvestila po tem sporazumu se pisno pošiljajo na naslove in prejemnikom po najnovejšem seznamu, ki ga vodi direktor Elixirja na podlagi začetnega seznama članov Elixirja in drugih oseb za stike.
Sporazum se lahko spremeni s pisnim medsebojnim soglasjem vseh članov Elixirja.
Pravice ali obveznosti članov Elixirja se ne smejo v celoti ali delno odstopiti tretjim strankam ali prenesti nanje brez predhodne potrditve drugih članov Elixirja, ki pa potrditve ne smejo neupravičeno zavrniti, z njo odlašati ali je pogojevati.
19 Pravo, ki se uporablja
Sporazum se uporablja v skladu z:
(a) mednarodnim pravom in podrejeno
(b) zakonodajo Anglije in Walesa za tiste zadeve, ki jih ne urejajo ali jih samo delno urejajo akti, navedeni v točki (a).
Vsak spor, nesoglasje ali zahtevek, ki izhaja iz tega sporazuma ali je v zvezi z njim ali njegovim obstojem, razlago, uporabo, kršitvijo, odpovedjo ali prenehanjem veljavnosti in ki ni rešen s pomočjo dobrih uslug predsednika ali podpredsednika sveta Elixirja, se reši v skladu s pravili arbitraže Stalnega arbitražnega sodišča iz leta 2012. Arbitri morajo biti trije. Za arbitražni postopek se uporablja angleščina.
Organ za imenovanja je generalni sekretar Stalnega arbitražnega razsodišča. Vsaka stranka krije svoje stroške arbitraže. Arbitražno sodišče lahko razdeli stroške med stranke, če presodi, da je ob upoštevanju okoliščin zadeve razdelitev primerna.
V potrditev tega so podpisani, ki so jih za to pravilno pooblastili njihove vlade ali subjekti, podpisali ta sporazum v enem izvirniku, ki se hrani v arhivu EMBL, ta pa overjene kopije pošlje vsem podpisnikom.
Za izvajanje sporazuma skrbi ministrstvo, pristojno za znanost.
Ta zakon začne veljati naslednji dan po objavi v Uradnem listu Republike Slovenije – Mednarodne pogodbe.
Št. 630-02/15-3/11
Ljubljana, dne 26. januarja 2016
EPA 352-VII
dr. Milan Brglez l.r.
