IUPESM By-Laws

IUPESM By-Laws

GENERAL ASSEMBLY
VOTING PROCEDURES
OFFlCERS
ELECTlONS OF OFFICERS AND ORDINARY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
ELECTlON PROCEDURES
COUNCIL
STANDING COMMITTEES AND AD HOC COMMITTEES
FINANCES
AMENDMENTS TO THE By-Laws

1. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

An Ordinary Session of the General Assembly is normally held every three years, at the place of and during the World Congress.
The Secretary-General shall inform Members at least six months in advance of the date and location of the General Assembly.
Each Constituent Organization shall have the right to appoint 100 voting delegates, to attend the General Assembly and vote.
Each National Member shall have the right to appoint two (2) delegates to attend the General Assembly and vote.
Each member of the Council shall be a delegate to the General Assembly and have one vote.
Constituent Organizations and National Members may designate alternates to normal delegates.
Affiliate members are entitled to attend General Assembly meetings with observer status.
Attendance at a General Assembly is open to all members of Constituent Organizations, National Members and representatives of Affiliate Members
Extra-ordinary meetings of the General Assembly may be corvened by petition to Council of one or more Constituent Organizations, or a majority of the National and Affiliate members.
The President of the IUPESM shall be Chairman of the General Assembly.
The Secretary-General of the IUPESM shall be Secretary of the General Assembly.
It is the responsibility of the Members to provide, to the office of the IUPESM Secretariats an updated list of their delegates.

2. VOTING PROCEDURES

Voting delegates to the General Assembly shall be the delegates from the Constituent Organizations; two delegates from each National Member; and all Council members, with no individual having more than one vote.
All issues, except amendments to the Statutes and proposals for expulsion, shall be decided by a simple majority vote of the delegates in attendance at a General Assembly Meeting (provided that a quorum is achieved) or sixty percent (60%) of those responding to a mail ballot.
For all decisions a quorum must be achieved. A quorum at the General Assembly shall be one-third of all eligible voting delegates. If decisions have to be made by postal ballot, a quorum shall consist of one-half of all eligible voting delegates.

3. OFFlCERS

3.1 The Officers of the IUPESM are:

The President
The Vice-President
The Secretary-General
The Treasurer
The Past-President

3.2 The office of the Treasurer may be held by the Secretary-General.

3.3 The President shall be Chairman of all meetings of the General Assembly, and the Council. He or she shall be responsible for the implementation of the policy of IUPESM.

3.4 The Secretary-General shall be responsible for all matters concerning the administration of IUPESM and, in particular, for the conduct of correspondence, the preparation and distribution of publications and the safe keeping of the archives of IUPESM.

He or she shall prepare the Annual Report of the IUPESM for distribution to all members.
The Secretary General may be assisted by such staff as may be approved by the Council. The salary and terms of appointment shall be approved by the Council.

3.5 The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of IUPESM, in accordance with the directives of the Council.

He or she shall be responsible for the preparation of the Annual Budget of the IUPESM
He or she shall submit annually to the Council and to the members of IUPESM, an audited statement of accounts.

3.6 The Vice-President shall be Chairman of the Awards Committee

3.7 The Past-President shall be Chairman of the Nominating Committee.

3.8 With the approval of the Council, responsibility for a particular duty normally discharged by an Officer of the IUPESM may be delegated to another person.

4. ELECTlONS OF OFFICERS AND ORDINARY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

The Terms of Office for Officers and Ordinary Members of Council, where succession is not automatic, shall normally be for the period between General Assembly meetings, with renewal for elected Ordinary Members by General Assembly vote, for a maximum of one extra period.

4.1 The President shall be the retiring President of one of the Constituent Organizations, and the Vice-President shall be the retiring President of another of the Constituent Organizations, these offices to be alternated between the organizations to give equal representation. They shall be designated one term prior to assuming offices, such recommendation to be the responsibility of the Nominating Committee.

Where circumstances make the alternate appointment of President or Vice-President impossible, the Nominating Committee shall be empowered by Council to nominate a candidate for election.

4.2 The offices of Secretary-General and Treasurer shall alternate between the Constituent Organizations in a manner parallel to those of President and Vice-President

The incumbent Secretary-General or Treasurer may, however, be re-elected to their respective offices, by the General Assembly, for up to three terms.

4.3 The Vice-President or, failing this, the Past-President shall normally fulfil the duties of the President should he or she become unable to discharge them. If the Past President is unable to fulfil the duties of the President, the Council shall decide who is to undertake these.

4.4 The Council shall also decide who shall undertake the duties of any other Officers if they are unable to discharge such duties.

4.5 Ordinary Members of Council:

4.5.1 Ordinary Members of Council shall be the immediate Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Secretaries-General of the Constituent Organizations (if not already Officers as in By-Laws 4.1 and 4.2)

plus four (4) Ordinary Members elected by the General Assembly, with due consideration to a balance among the Constituent Organizations. and National Members.

5. ELECTlON PROCEDURES

5.1 Election of Officers and Ordinary Members of Council shall be from a slate prepared by the Nominating Committee in accordance with By-Laws 4 and 5.

5.2 Council shall appoint a Nominating Committee and Chairman immediately after each ordinary General Assembly meeting.

5.3 The Nominating Committee shall nominate one candidate for each of the Offices of President and Vice-President in accordance with Bylaw 4.1.

5.4 The Nominating Committee shall nominate one candidate for the Offices of Secretary-General and Treasurer in accordance with bylaws 3.2 and 4.2.

5.5 For the four elected Ordinary Members of Council, the Secretary-General shall solicit names of candidates from the Constituent Organizations and National Members one year before the ordinary meeting of the General Assembly.

5.6 The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least one candidate for each position in the Council from the list of names resulting from the application of bylaw 5.5 and in accordance with bylaw 4.5.1. In addition, each Constituent Organization has the right to nominate one candidate.

5.7 The Nominating Committee shall conduct the election procedure, and shall have the authority to recruit assistants where required. Scrutineers, appointed by the Nominating Committee Chairman, shall check the voting credentials of delegates and supervise the balloting procedure.

6. COUNCIL

6.1 Meetings of the Council shall be convened by decision of the President

6.2 Council shall be responsible for.

the preparation of a budget for IUPESM
recommending the scale of annual dues to be paid by Members of IUPESM, for ratification by the General Assembly
the appointment of Ad hoc Committees or Working Groups with precise terms of reference.
the preparation of the Agenda for the General Assembly

6.3 On receipt of applications for membership the Council shall recommend action to the General Assembly,

6.4 In between sessions of the General Assembly, formal action may be taken by the Council by mail ballot to the delegates as specified in bylaw 2.

7. STANDING COMMITTEES AND AD HOC COMMITTEES

7.1 The Standing Committees of the IUPESM are:

The Congress Coordinating Committee: The duties of the Congress Coordinating Committee are:
1. to coordinate all activities relating to the selection of prospective sites for the World Congress,
2. development of site-selection criteria,
3. solicitation of site proposals
4. preliminary review of proposals and coordination of presentations to the governing bodies of the Constituent Organizations,
5. coordinating of the balloting procedures,
6. preparation of Contracts.
7. monitoring of the progress of local Congress Organizing Committees, and liaison with them.
The Nominating Committee: the duties of the Nominating Committee are outlined in bylaw 5.
- Membership of the Nominating Committee should reflect a fair representation of the various membership groups in the IUPESM.
The Awards Committee: the duties of the Awards Committee are to administer all awards programs of the IUPESM, including the Awards of Merit.
- Membership of the Awards Committee shall consist of the Vice- President of the IUPESM who shall be the Chairman, plus two representatives from each of the Constituent Organizations.
- Each Committee member shall have one vote, except for the Chairman who shall vote only in the event of a tie.

7.2 The Ad Hoc Committees of IUPESM:

These Committees shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Council, as required.

8. FINANCES

8.1 Each Constituent Organization shall pay annual dues to the IUPESM which shall be recommended by Council acting in conjunction with the Officers of each Organization and approved by the General Assembly.

8.2 Each National Member of the IUPESM shall pay annual dues which shall be recommended by Council, and approved by the General Assembly.

8.3 Each Affiliate Member of IUPESM shall pay annual dues which shall be recommended by Council, and approved by the General Assembly.

8.4 The dues structure shall be reviewed by Council annually.

8.5 In the event of resignation or cancellation of membership, the Member concerned is liable to pay any dues owed including those for the current calendar year. Any Member that ceases to belong to IUPESM forfeits all rights to the assets of IUPESM from the moment of ceasing to be a Member.

8.6 On request, and with approval of the Council, IUPESM may reimburse the expenses of members of Council, Standing Committees or Ad Hoc Committees occurred when discharging their duties.

9. AMENDMENTS TO THE By-Laws

9.1 Amendment of any Bylaw shall require a majority vote of delegates in attendance at a General Assembly or of those responding to a mail ballot at other times.

Published by:

The International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine
Heikki Terio, Ph.D., Secretary General
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Karolinska University Hospital
Huddinge
SE-141 86 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46-8-585 808 52
Fax: +46-8-585 862 90
e-mail: heikki.terio @ karolinska.se