Termination, expulsion and suspension

Membership can also end by termination or expulsion (also referred to as removal) by the association.

Termination

An association may terminate membership in cases specified in the articles of association, when a member no longer meets the articles of association‘s requirements for membership or when it would be unreasonable to expect the association to allow the membership to continue. Termination is therefore a forward-looking measure. Unless the articles of association assign this task to another body, termination is carried out by the board. We previously wrote about the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) terminating the membership of an affiliated football club and about a football club terminating the membership of a youth player.

Expulsion

Expulsion may only be imposed when a member acts in breach of the articles of association, regulations or resolutions of the association, or causes the association unreasonable harm. Expulsion has a punitive character and is backward-looking. It is a last resort, meaning that a less severe sanction (such as suspension) should first be considered.

Suspension

Suspension of a member is a measure that results in the member being unable to exercise membership rights. During suspension, membership has not yet formally ended. We previously wrote about the suspension of a member of the SP political party, which is organised as an association.

Challenging a decision

A member who has been expelled, suspended or whose membership has been terminated may challenge the decision in court by seeking annulment of the decision. It is also possible to seek a provisional suspension of the decision in summary proceedings, pending a full civil trial.

According to established case law, it is not the role of the court to substitute its judgment for that of the board: the court must exercise restraint in assessing whether the board has reasonably and fairly weighed all relevant interests and acted with due care in adopting an expulsion decision.

Despite this high threshold, in practice courts do regularly annul expulsion decisions. It is therefore essential that boards of associations make such decisions thoughtfully and with care.