Constitution of the Asia-Pacific EPR/ESR Society (APES) PDF Print E-mail

NOTES:

  • Version adopted provisionally at the 3rd General Meeting [GM] of the Asia-Pacific EPR/ESR Society, held on the 30 October 2001 at Kobe University, Kobe, Japan; to be reviewed at the 4th APES General Meeting, to be held on 22 November, 2004, at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
  • Amendments arising from the discussion at the 3rd GM and corrections are indicated in bold.

 

Article I. Name

The Name of this Society shall be the Asia-Pacific EPR/ESR Society (APES), hereinafter called "the SOCIETY".

 

 

Article II. Objectives

The objectives of the SOCIETY shall be:

(a) To advance and stimulate knowledge of the principles, recent developments, and applications of Electron Paramagnetic (Spin) Resonance (EPR/ESR) spectroscopy, hereinafter referred to as EPR, and related techniques;

(b) To communicate information and news about EPR and its applications among its members and to serve as a clearing house on EPR among scientists in academia, government, and industry;

(c) To encourage appropriate and useful application of EPR in a wide variety of fields including physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, medicine, geology, and other disciplines;

(d) To provide a central voice for the EPR community in the Asia-Pacific region by promoting support for research and development utilising EPR through interaction with other societies, government funding agencies, and international scientific organisations;

(e) To stimulate educational programs on EPR and related spectroscopic techniques through organisation of schools, workshops, courses, and seminars;

(f) To foster scientific interaction among EPR spectroscopists throughout the Asia-Pacific region and to engage in any lawful activities which further this end.

The SOCIETY is for the Asia-Pacific region and is to cover the entire range of disciplines that use EPR.

 

 

Article III. Membership

1. The SOCIETY shall consist of Regular Members, Student Members, Postdoctoral Members, Emeritus Members, Associate Members, and Institution Members.

 

(a) Regular Members. Any person who has made a personal contribution to the advancement of EPR or its applications shall be eligible to become a Regular Member.

(b) Student Members. Any student actively engaged in EPR research or its applications shall be eligible to become a Student Member.

(c) Postdoctoral Members. Any person engaged in EPR research or its applications and holding a postdoctoral position shall be eligible for this status of membership for up to three years.

(d) Associate Members. Any person supporting the objectives of the SOCIETY, and who is not eligible as a Regular Member, shall be eligible to become an Associate Member.

(e) Emeritus Members. Any person whose professional activities qualify him/her for status as a Regular Member and who holds emeritus status or the equivalent.

(f) Institutional Members. Any institution supporting the objectives of the SOCIETY shall be eligible to become an Institutional Member.

 

2. Admissions. Persons satisfying the required conditions may become Members of the SOCIETY, in the appropriate category, on making written application to the Secretary of the SOCIETY and on paying the membership fee established for that category.

 

3. Rights and Privileges. All Members of the SOCIETY shall have the right to attend any meeting of the SOCIETY and to participate in the discussion, to hold office, and to vote on candidates for office and on matters of policy.

 

4. Termination of Membership. Membership of the SOCIETY may be terminated by resignation in writing, or as provided in Article VIII, by non-payment of membership fees.

 

 

Article IV. Council and Officers

1. Council. The management of the SOCIETY shall be vested in a Council consisting of the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, as Officers, and elected Regional Representatives. The composition of the Council shall provide for a balanced geographical distribution within the Asia-Pacific region, as well as a proper balance of researchers in different branches of EPR.

 

The term of office of elected members of the Council shall be two years or until the next General Meeting, normally held every two years.

 

The Council shall meet at least once per year, normally during a suitable scientific conference. Business may be transacted by mail or electronic mail between meetings. The Council will determine its own rules of conduct of business.

 

2. President. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the SOCIETY and shall chair meetings of the Council. The President shall direct the general affairs of the SOCIETY and execute such other duties as may be determined by the Council. The term of office of the President shall be two years, subject to re-election for no more than one further period of two years except for the following two cases: (i) if the Provisional President is elected as the President and (ii) if the Vice President succeeds to the office as a result of the death, disability, or resignation of the President. In either case (i) or (ii) such service shall not be counted as a regular term.

 

3. Vice-Presidents. The two Vice-Presidents will carry out any duties assigned by the President or Council, will carry out the duties of the President in the absence of that person, and shall assume the office of President in the event of the death, disability, or resignation of the President. The term of office shall be two years, subject to re-election for no more than one further period of two years.

 

4. Secretary. The Secretary shall maintain all the records of SOCIETY meetings, and be responsible for the distribution of all essential information to members. The term of office of the Secretary shall be two years, subject to re-election for no more than two further periods of two years.

 

5. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have custody of all funds of the SOCIETY, collect all dues and disburse funds in accordance with the direction of the Council. The Treasurer shall maintain proper books of accounts for the SOCIETY. The term of office of the Treasurer shall be two years, subject to re-election for no more than two further periods of two years.

 

6. Executive Committee. The SOCIETY's day-to-day affairs shall be conducted by the Executive Committee in accordance with the general directions of the Council. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the Immediate Past President, the two Vice-Presidents, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.

 

7. Founding President. During the lifetime of its founder and in recognition of his special contributions to the establishment of the Society, the Society shall maintain the personal office of the Founding President to be established by vote of the General Meeting at the expiry of the regular term of office. The Founding President shall serve as a supernumerary member of the Council with voting rights for a regular two-year term, renewable by vote of the General Meeting and shall perform such duties as may be defined by the Council.

 

 

Article V. General Meetings

1. General Meetings of the SOCIETY shall be held during suitable scientific meetings normally every two years. Otherwise, the elections should be held within the period of not more than every 3 years and not less than every 2 years, whenever possible. All participants at that scientific meeting may attend and speak at such meetings; only Members of the SOCIETY may vote. The President of the SOCIETY, or one of the two Vice-Presidents, shall chair any General Meeting.

 

2. Quorum. The quorum for a General Meeting shall be minimum of 20 (twenty) APES Members present with all categories of members eligible to vote or 10 per cent of the membership, whichever is less. By decision of the Council any matter deemed to be of major impact on the SOCIETY shall be submitted to the Membership for a mail/email ballot.

 

 

Article VI. Standing Committees

In addition to the Executive Committee the Council may appoint the following Standing Committees:

  • Nominating Committee
  • Elections Committee.

The Council may appoint other Committees as required. Recommendations concerning Conferences, Symposia, Courses, and Schools shall be the business of the Executive Committee. A majority of a Committee shall constitute a quorum for business. All recommendations of the Committees are subject to approval by the Council.

 

2. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least four persons appointed by the Council to serve for two years. The Immediate Past President shall be an automatic member of the Nominating Committee and shall chair its meetings. The members of the Nominating Committee shall have an international distribution and reflect a range of scientific aspects of EPR. The members of the Nominating Committee may not be candidates in the elections for which they have prepared nominations. They shall have particular regard to a geographical and international distribution of nominees and to balance of scientific aspects of EPR In particular, successive Presidents should come from different countries. Nominations may also be received by petition signed by at least five Regular Members and accompanied by a written statement from the nominee of willingness to serve.

 

3. Elections Committee. The Elections Committee shall consist of three members from different institutions appointed by the Council to serve for two years. The members of the Elections Committee may not be candidates in the elections as Officers of the SOCIETY. The Elections Committee shall conduct all elections and mail ballots of the SOCIETY.

 

 

Article VII. Elections

1. Elections will be held normally every two years during the General Meetings. In the event that an office of the SOCIETY or a position on the Council becomes vacant due to any cause, the Nominating Committee will nominate a candidate or candidates and a special election will be carried out as soon as feasible.

(delete:

2. The form "Endorsement for the APES Council & Nomination Form for the next Council" shall be sent by email or mail to the members who were absent at a given APES General Meeting; the forms shall be returned within 3 months to the nominated member of the Elections Committee.)

 

2. The "Nomination Form for the APES Council Members" shall be made available to the Members present at a given scientific meetings during which a General Meeting is held; the forms are to be returned at the General Meeting.

 

3. A General Meeting of the APES is authorized to elect President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretary at the time of the Meeting.

 

 

Article VIII. Fees

1. Fees. The fees (annual subscription) for the various membership categories of the SOCIETY shall be determined by the Council.

 

2. Waiver of Fees. The Treasurer may waive the membership fee of a Member for good reason. In the case of currency restrictions in a Member?s country, Members shall have the option to pay their dues in the currency of their country to a Committee in that country that has been established by the SOCIETY.

 

3. Non-payment of Fees. A Member who has not paid the appropriate membership fee by three months after the expiration of the membership period shall be sent a notice of pending termination of membership. If the fee has not been paid by six months after the expiration of the memberships period, that person shall cease to be a Member of the SOCIETY.

 

 

Article IX. Miscellaneous Provisions

1. Incorporation. The Council may arrange for the SOCIETY to be incorporated in a particular country or state, if it is deemed advantageous to do so. If, for the purposes of incorporation, the SOCIETY requires a Board of Directors or Trustees, then the members of the Council shall be the Directors or Trustees.

 

2. Office of the SOCIETY. The Office of the SOCIETY shall be established at an address determined by the Council.

 

3. The Financial Year of the SOCIETY shall be the same as the calendar year.

 

4. Audit. The accounts of the SOCIETY shall be reviewed annually by appropriate independent professionals. A report shall be presented to the Council and reported to the Membership.

 

5. Divisions. The Council may approve the formation of Divisions to encompass specialised areas of scientific interest within the EPR field, and shall determine the conditions of operation of such Divisions.

 

6. Affiliations.

(a) The SOCIETY is to be affiliated with the International EPR (ESR) Society in accordance with the Guidelines for Affiliation to the International EPR (ESR) Society (in Attachment 1) as long as it is deemed suitable by the Council.

(b) The SOCIETY may maintain affiliations with other appropriate organisations as determined by the Council.

 

7. Amendments. Any provision in the constitution may be amended, or repealed by two-thirds majority of the Members present at a General Meeting. (delete: casting ballots in a mail or email ballot, except that for the first four years of the existence of the SOCIETY a simple majority of those voting will be sufficient.)

 

8. Dissolution. The SOCIETY may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of those Members casting ballots in a mail ballot. The assets of the SOCIETY will be distributed in a manner determined by the Council and in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation, in a manner that is consistent with the non-profit status of the SOCIETY.