News
& Notices
Organizations & People
Standing
Committees
Divisions
Projects
Reports
Publications
Symposia
AMP
Links
of Interest
Search
the Site
Home
Page
|
|
Bylaws
As adopted by the Council
Madrid, Spain, on 9 September 1975
Incorporating additions and amendments approved
B1 Membership (cf. Statute
3)
- A request of a country for admission to the Union shall be considered
by the Council at its next regular meeting if it has been received
in writing by the Secretary General at the Secretariat at least six
months before that meeting, together with the appropriate documentation.
When the admission of a new Member has been approved by the Council,
membership shall begin on 1 January of the following year.
B2 Voting Procedure in Council (cf. Statute
5)
B2.1 Scientific Matters
- B2.11 Recommendations of a scientific nature received from
Divisions, Sections, or other bodies of the Union, shall normally
be submitted for consideration by the Council. The Council may adopt
them by a simple majority of personal votes cast by the Delegates
present at a regular meeting. Between such meetings, the Bureau may
act on behalf of the Council in these matters.
- When the recommendations are matters for international agreement
in nomenclature symbols, terminology, and conventions, they shall
be considered by the Bureau which may adopt them provisionally. The
recommendations shall then be published and the submission of comments
be invited within five months to the appropriate body of the Union
which made the recommendations. After considering any comments the
recommendations, appropriately amended if necessary, shall be sent
to the Council for adoption at a regular meeting.
- B2.12 Postal ballots on scientific matters may be conducted
in accordance with a procedure to be determined by the Bureau for
each ballot.
B2.2 Nonscientific Matters
- Voting on nonscientific matters shall be by Delegations, each Delegation
being entitled to cast the number of assigned votes. All the votes
to which the Adhering Organization is entitled shall be cast in the
same sense.
B2.21 Admission and Removal of Members
- Admission of Members shall be by a simple majority of votes recorded
at a regular meeting of the Council. Removal of an Adhering Organization
shall be valid only if at least three-quarters of the votes recorded
at a regular meeting of the Council are cast in favour of such removal.
Any reassignment approved by the Council shall become effective on
1 January of the following year.
B.2.22 Elections
- For election of Officers of the Union and Elected Members of the
Bureau the following rules shall apply:
-
- B2.221 Nominations may be made by the Adhering Organizations.
These nominations must be received in writing by the Secretary General
at the Secretariat at least two months before the beginning of the
meeting of the Council at which the elections will take place. They
must indicate clearly the position for which each candidate is nominated
and shall be accompanied by a biographical note on each candidate.
B2.222 The Bureau shall discuss the nominations made by the Adhering
Organizations at a meeting prior to the meeting of the Council at
which the elections are to take place. It has the right to make additional
nominations for which information shall be provided. When the number
of nominations exceeds the number of vacancies, the Bureau may make
recommendations to the Council for filling the vacancies. These recommendations
are not binding on the Council.
- The officers of the Union and the Elected Members of the Bureau,
as defined by the Statutes, shall be elected at a regular meeting
of the Council by a written and secret ballot, a simple majority of
the votes recorded being required for election. The election for each
officer shall be held separately. If no nominee receives a majority
on the first ballot, the nominee receiving the smallest number of
votes shall be eliminated on the next ballot and successive ballots
shall be held until a nominee receives a simple majority of the votes
recorded or there are only two nominees on which to vote. If two nominees
get an equal number of votes, the Presiding Officer, after consultation
with the Executive Committee, shall cast the deciding vote.
- For election of Elected Members of the Bureau, the nominees receiving
the highest number of votes shall be elected to the vacancies provided
that the number of votes cast for each such nominee shall be a majority
of the total votes cast per vacancy. If fewer nominees than the vacancies
receive a majority of such votes cast, then those receiving the majority
shall be declared elected and a second ballot conducted among the
remaining nominees for the remaining vacancies. If, in this second
ballot, no nominee receives a majority, the nominee receiving the
smallest number of votes shall be eliminated on the next ballot and
successive ballots conducted until all vacancies are filled. In each
ballot, the number of names to be listed on ballot papers shall be
no more and no less than the number of vacancies outstanding at the
conclusion of the previous ballot.
B2.23 Other Nonscientific Matters
- Proposals on other nonscientific matters, after consideration, may
be adopted without a formal vote unless objections are raised, when
a vote shall be taken. Unless specifically stipulated otherwise in
the Statutes and Bylaws, a simple majority of the votes recorded shall
be required for adoption.
B2.24 Postal Ballots
- Postal ballots on nonscientific matters may be conducted in accordance
with a procedure described below, each Adhering Organization being
entitled to cast the number of assigned votes, provided always that
decisions on admission and removal of Members [(B2.21) above] and
elections [(B2.22) above], the location of the official headquarters
of the Union, changes in Statutes and Bylaws, and the dissolution
of the Union are excluded from such postal ballots. Decisions reached
by postal ballot on nonscientific matters shall be subject to ratification
by the Council at its next meeting. In postal ballots on nonscientific
matters only those votes shall be valid which are received within
four months from the date of mailing of the request for voting. Action
shall only be taken if more than one-half of the maximum possible
number of votes has been received at that date. A simple majority
of the votes shall be required for a decision.
B2.25 Additions to Council Agenda
- Matters to be considered at a meeting of the Council must appear
on the agenda of that meeting, which shall be sent to the Adhering
Organizations at least four months before the meeting is to be held.
However, in case of urgency, a question may be added to the agenda
with the consent of at least three-quarters of the Delegates present
at the meeting. Modification of the Statutes or Bylaws, admission
or removal of Members, and elections of Officers or Elected Members
of the Bureau, are excluded from this procedure.
B3 General Assembly Report
- After each General Assembly of the Union the Executive Director
shall publish an official report (Comptes Rendus) of the General
Assembly.
B4 Divisions, Sections, and Commissions (cf.
Statute 10)
B4.1 Division and Section Committees
- B4.101 Each Division or Section shall be administered by
a Division or Section Committee which shall be the organ of liaison
between the Bureau on the one hand and the various bodies constituting
the Division or Section on the other hand.
- B4.102 The Titular Members and Associate
Members of a Division or Section Committee and of Commissions within
a Division or Section shall together form the Membership of the Division
or Section.
- B4.103 The Titular Members of each Division Committee shall
be chosen by an electorate comprising the Titular Members, Associate
Members and National Representatives on the Division Committee, together
with the members or officers of such other bodies within the Division
that the Bureau may specify. The number of Titular Members shall not
exceed ten unless otherwise determined by the Bureau. The term of
service of a Titular Member shall be not more than four consecutive
years, but shall cease on election as an Officer. The Vice-President
and the President of a Division or Section shall not hold these respective
offices for more than four consecutive years; the Secretary of a Division
or Section shall serve for four consecutive years and be eligible
for reelection up to a maximum of a further four years. Exceptional
circumstances must be established and special permission of the Bureau
granted for Titular or Associate Membership of the same or more than
one Division or Section Committee beyond a total of twelve years of
total Titular and Associate Membership, whether the Memberships are
consecutive or not.
- Subject to this provision, the immediate Past-President of the Division
or Section shall be one of the Titular Members of the Division or
Section Committee for a period of two years. In addition to these
Titular Members, the President, Vice-President, Past-President, Secretary
General, and Treasurer of the Union shall be ex officio Members
of all Division and Section Committees.
- Additionally, a Division or Section Committee may elect Associate
Members, who shall have full voting rights. The number of Associate
Members shall not exceed six. The term of service of an Associate
Member shall be two years, with the possibility of reelection consecutively
for two more years only.
- A newly elected Titular Member or Associate Member of a Division
or Section Committee shall assume office only after approval by the
Bureau or Executive Committee. The Adhering Organization with which
the Titular Member or Associate Member is connected shall be notified
of the appointment.
- Additionally, a Division Committee may elect no more than six National
Representatives on the nomination of Adhering Organizations, with
no more than one representative from a given Adhering Organization.
The term of a National Representative shall be two years, with the
possibility of renomination and reelection consecutively for only
two more years. Exceptional circumstances must be established and
special permission obtained from the Bureau for the election of a
National Representative from a country already represented on the
Committee by a Titular or Associate Member.
- B4.104 The Division or Section Committee shall elect from
among its existing and, subject to confirmation, new Titular Members
a President, a Vice President designated as President-Elect, and a
Secretary. These elections shall be subject to approval by the Council.
- B4.105 The Division or Section Committee may form a Division
or Section Executive Committee, consisting of the President, the Vice-President
designated as President Elect, and the Secretary of the Division or
Section, to carry out the necessary administrative duties between
meetings of the Division or Section Committee.
- B4.106 The functions of the Division or Section Committee
shall be:
- B4.1061 to propose to the Council through the Bureau
the establishment of Commissions to be attached to it and to appoint
the membership and the initial officers of these, the appointments
having to be approved by the Council;
- B4.1062 to propose to the Council through the Bureau
the dissolution of existing Commissions when required;
- B4.1063 to supervise the work of its Commissions and
other bodies;
- B4.1064 to plan and organize scientific meetings and
other activities which are deemed useful in furthering the objects
of the Division or Section;
- B4.1065 to prepare a budget for the Division or Section
in accordance with a procedure to be prescribed by the Treasurer,
for consideration and approval by the Bureau and the Council;
- B4.1066 to advise the Bureau for recommendation to the
Council on scientific matters.
- B4.107 The Division or Section Committee shall meet at least
every two years, during a General Assembly.
- B4.108 Decisions of the Division or Section Committee must
receive the approval of the Bureau when they would have financial
consequences involving the budget of the Union. In addition, in order
to ensure the fullest coordination between the activities of all the
Divisions and Sections, the Secretary General at the Secretariat shall
be informed of all other decisions taken by the Division and Section
Committee.
- B4.109 At a General Assembly the Division or Section President
shall report to the Council on the activities of the Division or Section
since the last General Assembly. In a year in which a General Assembly
is not held the Division or Section President shall present to the
Division or Section Committee and to the Bureau a written report on
the activities of the Division or Section since the last General Assembly.
- B4.110 Each Division and Section shall make provision for
the conduct of the work of its Commissions and other bodies. Such
provision, which must receive the approval of the Bureau, may be incorporated
in Divisional or Sectional rules.
B4.2 Annual Meeting of Division and Section Presidents
- A meeting of the Division and Section Presidents shall be held each
year. At this meeting topics which are of interest for cooperation
between the Divisions and Sections or between the Divisions and Sections
on the one hand and the Council, the Bureau, and the Executive Committee
on the other hand shall be discussed and the meeting may make recommendations
to the Bureau.
- The meeting shall be presided over by one of the Division or Section
Presidents elected for this task at the previous meeting. The Secretary
General shall be invited to attend.
B4.3 Commissions
- B4.301 On the recommendation of a Division
or Section Committee, through the Bureau, the Council may create a
Commission of the Division or Section. Each Commission shall have
as its objective the study of topics of international scientific or
technical significance requiring agreement, standardization, or codification
in some aspect of pure or applied chemistry. The terms of reference
of a new Commission shall be clearly described and approved by the
Council. If a Division or Section Committee wishes to create a Commission,
it must apply to the Bureau for the appointment of an ad hoc
committee of three persons which shall study the question and then
report back to the Bureau. This report, if favourable to the creation
of a new body, shall contain an indication as to the probable duration
of the life of the new body and an estimate of its annual cost.
- B4.302 At each General Assembly, the
Council shall in the light of the Division or Section President's
report and on the recommendation of the Bureau decide whether or not
to continue each Commission.
- B4.303 Each scientific and technical Commission shall be
composed entirely of specialists. They may consist of Titular Members
and Associate Members, who all shall have full voting rights.
- Each Commission shall elect from among its existing and, subject
to confirmation, new Titular Members by a simple majority a Chairman,
a Secretary, and, if desired, also a Vice-Chairman. These elections
are subject to approval by the Bureau.
- B4.304 The Membership of each new Commission is determined
by the Council. Thereafter, both Titular Members and Associate members
may be nominated by the Commission but shall assume office only after
approval by the Division or Section Committee and by the Bureau or
Executive Committee. The terms of service of Titular Members and Associate
Members shall be two years, with the possibility of reelection for
two years of Membership up to a maximum of eight years. The sum of
the years of service as a Titular Member, including service as Chairman,
Vice-chairman, or Secretary, shall not exceed a total of ten years,
whether these are consecutive or not, and further appointment thereafter
as an Associate Member shall be for two years only. The rotation of
a person through alternate periods of Associate, Titular, and Associate
Membership may be permitted to a total of twelve years. Exceptional
circumstances must be established and special permission of the Bureau
granted for
- (i) the reappointment as a Titular Member of a person who has
served eight years as a Titular Member, whether these are consecutive
or not. The extension shall be for a period of two years.
- (ii) the rotation of a person through alternate periods of Titular
and Associate Membership beyond a total of twelve years, whether
these are consecutive or not. The extension shall be for a period
of two years.
- (iii) membership in any capacity, other than that of National
Representative, of one or more Commissions of a Division or Section
or of different Divisions or Sections beyond a total of twelve
years, whether these are consecutive or not. The extension shall
be for a period of two years.
- (iv) the replacement by a Division or Section President between
General Assemblies of a Member of a Commission.
- The number of Titular Members of each Commission shall not exceed
eight. The number of Associate Members of a Commission shall not normally
exceed the number of Titular Members but, in exceptional circumstances,
may be increased to twelve by a decision of the Bureau. Both Titular
Members and Associate Members shall be authorities in the field covered
by the Commission and shall be so recognized by their Adhering Organizations.
Before submitting their names for election, the Chairman of the Commission
shall explain to them their duties and they shall agree to undertake
them if they are elected.
- The choice of a Titular Member or an Associate Member by a Commission
may take place either during a meeting of the Commission or by correspondence.
The nomination shall then be submitted via the Division or Section
Committee to the Secretary General at the Secretariat for approval
by the Bureau or Executive Committee. The Adhering Organization with
which the Titular Member or Associate Member is connected shall be
notified of the appointment.
- B4.305 Besides the Membership of a Commission, the following
may attend Commission meetings:
- (i) National Representatives nominated by the various Adhering
Organizations and approved by the Commission. A Commission may
coopt not more than one such representative from an Adhering Organization,
but such representation shall not be permitted if the Commission
already has a Titular or Associate Member from that Organization,
unless exceptional circumstances are established and special permission
granted by the Bureau. Such representation shall lapse at the
conclusion of the next General Assembly unless the person is renominated
by his Adhering Organization and reapproved by the Commission.
Reappointment of National Representatives beyond a total of twelve
years service, whether these are consecutive or not, requires
that special circumstances should be established by the Adhering
Organization.
- (ii) Observers, who shall be persons desirous of becoming acquainted
with the work of a Commission, may attend on the advice of the
Division or Section President or Secretary General. Observers
may not take part in the proceedings of a Commission unless specifically
invited to do so by the Chairman.
- The names of these National Representatives and Observers shall
be communicated to the Secretary General by the Chairman of the Commission
concerned.
- B4.306 The Division or Section President shall be ex officio
a member of all the Commissions attached to the Division or Section.
- B4.307Members of IUPAC bodies may receive
contributions towards travel and subsistence expenses from funds of
the Union, as authorized by the Treasurer. The Bureau shall establish
procedures and guidelines for the approval of such expenses.
- B4.308 A Commission may propose to the Division or Section
Committee the establishment of subcommittees with responsibility for
designated functions within the scope of the Commission.
- B4.309 A meeting of a Commission can be financed only upon
authorization of the Treasurer after recommendation by the appropriate
Division or Section Committee.
- B4.310 The Chairman of a Commission shall each year present
to the Division or Section Committee a written report on the activities
of the Commission, outlining the results obtained and indicating any
new work which is to be undertaken.
- B4.311 All reports of Commissions shall be forwarded via
the Division or Section Committee to the Bureau, and then submitted
to the Council if required by Bylaw 2.11.
B5 Associated Organizations (cf. Statute
11)
- B5.1 The Bureau, having satisfied itself that the claims
and activities of an organization seeking to become an Associated
Organization of the Union are in accordance with Statute 11, may recommend
acceptance to associate membership by the Council provided that
- (i) the period of existence of the applicant organization has
been adequate to establish its stability and the quality of its
activities;
- (ii) the statutes and bylaws of the organization do not conflict
with the Statutes and Bylaws;
- (iii) the activities of the organization neither duplicate nor
are in conflict with the legitimate functions of the Union such
as standardization, codification, or other matters of scientific
importance.
- B5.2 The Union shall invite Associated Organizations to send
representatives to its General Assembly and to relevant meetings of
IUPAC bodies when joint sponsorship of meetings or other joint activities
may be discussed.
- B5.3 The Union shall offer assistance in publicizing meetings
of Associated Organizations.
- B5.4 The Union shall present to Associated Organizations
such particulars as are decided by the Officers of the Union to be
relevant to joint activities.
- B5.5 The continuation of membership of each Associated Organization
shall be reviewed by the Council every four years beginning in 1993.
B6 Adoption, Changes, and Interpretation of Bylaws
- B6.1 The Bylaws shall take effect immediately after their
adoption by the Council.
- B6.2 Changes in the Bylaws may be proposed by the Bureau
or by any Adhering Organization. Notice of changes so proposed shall
reach the Secretary General at the Secretariat in writing at least
eight months before the meeting of the Council at which the proposal
is to be considered. A change shall be made only if more than one-half
of the total number of votes assigned to the Adhering Organizations
are cast in favour of such a change.
- B6.3 In all cases where the bylaws are not clear or do not
give a decision, the President's Ruling shall be decisive.
PRESIDENTIAL RULINGS
Member Countries/Territorial Considerations: see Minute 10/79, 30th
Council - Davos: Prof. G. Smets ruled that:
In the case of a country in which present circumstances make it impossible
for all chemists to engage in coordinated scientific activities over
the whole territory, "country", as used in Statute 3.1 shall
designate geographical territory, in which a community of chemists pursue
independent scientific activities.
Use of the word "country", see Minute 7.3/97, 124th Executive
Committee - Jerusalem: Prof. A. E. Fischli ruled that:
In accord with IUPAC's status as a non-governmental organization, the
word "country" as used in Statutes 1, 3.1 and 3.3 may include
a specific geographic territory that is widely recognized as having
the cultural and administrative characteristics usually associated with
an independent state but without necessarily having complete independence
or sovereignty.
> Back to
Statutes and Bylaws index
Page last modified 15 May 2002.
Copyright ©1997-2002 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Questions or comments about IUPAC, please contact, the Secretariat.
Questions regarding the website, please contact the
webmaster.
|