Constitution
Chapter I: Constitution
Introduction
The foundation of an International Society that could bring camelid
scientists together was first proposed and discussed during the
international conference on the young camel held at Ouarzazate in
Morocco (1999). The meeting was jointly organized by the Agronomic and
Veterinarian Hassan II Institute (IAV Hassan II, Morocco) and by the
Centre for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for
Development (CIRAD-EMVT, France). Several other discussions and
correspondence followed the Morocco meeting and founders of ISOCARD were
able to successfully organize the first international meeting in Al-Ain
in 2006. The large number of camelid scientists representing the
different disciplines and from different continents that attended the
2006 meeting gave the society a wider recognition and proper
representation of camelid scientists worldwide. All the previous
activities led the camelid scientists to express interest in the
foundation of such a society
ARTICLE 1 – Name and Seat
The name of the Society shall be the International Society of Camelids
Research and Development (ISOCARD), hereafter referred to as the
Society.
Article 1 A – Jurisdiction
The law applicable to
the Society shall be the law of the Seat country. All matters that need
to follow a law shall fall within the jurisdiction of the courts of
that country.
ARTICLE 2 - Character
The
Society is a non political, non religious and non profit-making
federation of camelid scientists and/or affiliated scientific and
professional associations.
ARTICLE 3 - Objectives of the Society
3.1 To give international scientific status for camelid sciences.
3.2 To promote the camelid science and practice.
3.3 To promote the contributions of camelid scientists to the development of camelid farming (extensive to intensive).
3.4 To promote scientific publications in camelid fields.
3.5 To set high standards in camelid education and training.
3.6 To promote standards of health and welfare in camelids.
3.7 To organize International camelid conferences every three years.
3.8 To encourage the exchange of information on camelid interest
between the members and different networks and interested organizations.
3.9 To establish and maintain relations with other organizations whose interests are related to the objectives of the Society.
ARTICLE 4 – Membership
Membership is opened for all those interested in camelids research and development The membership shall consist of:
4.1 Full members: A person who endorses the objectives of the Society
and who has interest in camelid research and development, shall be
eligible to become a full member.
4.2 Student member: Any
regular student of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural or related
sciences, shall be eligible to become a student member.
4.3 Honorary members: Any person who made outstanding contribution to
the camelid sciences or ISOCARD should be eligible for nomination by the
EC as an honorary member. Honorary status carries all rights of full
membership. Honorary members shall not pay the membership fees.
4.4 Associate members, such as non-governmental organizations, private
companies, farmer societies, who would have to pay a specified
membership fee.
ARTICLE 5 – Fees & Funding
The following fees will be collected on membership becoming effective:
Full Member: $35/annum
Student Member: $10/annum
Honorary Member: Free Associate member: $200/annum
The payment of membership fees constitutes the basic funding of the
Society. The Society may receive grants from organizations, donations
from individuals and all other contributions, with a view to financing
its activities.
ARTICLE 6 – Structure
The
structure of the Society shall be constituted of the Executive Council
and the General Assembly of members. The general Assembly of the society
represented by its members should elect the Executive Council. The role
of the different members of the Executive Council will be decided
between the elected members.
ARTICLE 7 – The Executive COUNCIL
The Executive Council is composed of:
7.1 The Chairman
7.2 The Vice chairman
7.3 The General Secretary
7.4 The Treasurer
7.5 The officer in charge of scientific affairs
7.6 The officer in charge of public relations
The Executive Council is the highest executive body of
the Society, both in terms of legislation and decision making. It shall
be elected by the majority of the General Assembly.
Article 7A – Nomination for the EC
Members of the Society who are interested in being nominated for the EC
should send their application to the Secretary General, upon receiving
an invitation for nominations sent six months before the date of the
triennial conference. Each nomination must have a proposer and a
seconder. If there are only six nominations, the applying nominees are
automatically elected.
ARTICLE 8 – The General Assembly
The General assembly is organized every three years during the regular
ISOCARD conference. It has to elect the Executive Council from a list of
nominees provided by the standing EC. A quorum will be constituted
when more than half of the registered members attend in any meeting.
ARTICLE 9 - Official Language
The official and working language of the Society shall be English. But
the general information on this website of the Society should be
available in English, Arabic, French and Spanish or any other language
in order to cover the main languages spoken by Camelid scientists
worldwide. Links will be provided on the front page.
ARTICLE 10 - Bank Account
A bank account at the name of ISOCARD should be open at the country where the Secretariat is established.
ARTICLE 11 - Dissolution
A decision to dissolve the Society shall require the consent of at
least two thirds of the votes cast by the quorum present at the General
Assembly. It may only be taken at a meeting of the General Assembly
specially called for this purpose.
ARTICLE 12 - By-Laws
In order to regulate the affairs of the Society, the Executive Council
shall draw up By-laws and Congress Rules to be approved by the General
Assembly.
ARTICLE 13 - Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws
Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws shall be suggested by the
Executive Council at any of its meetings, and approved by the general
assembly.
Chapter II
By-Laws
The bodies of the Society are:
General Assembly
Executive Council
A. The General Assembly
Article 1
The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Society. It has the
full authority for the running and administration of the Society. It
shall define the general policies of the Society. For this effect the
General Assembly: 1. Elects the Executive Council in each session. The
mandate of the Executive Council is three years. 2. Council adopts its
rules of procedure and those of the Executive Council. 3. Adopts
proposed modifications to the Constitution by a two-thirds majority of
the members present.
Article 2
The General Assembly is composed of all members of the Society attending the triennial conference.
1. An Ordinary Session of the General Assembly is called once every
three years, to coincide with the triennial international conference of
the Society on the initiative of the Chairman who determines the Agenda.
The date and place is that of the triennial conference decided by the
Executive Council.
2. The General Assembly may only enter into
valid deliberation on condition that the number of members physically
present is equal to or more than half of the membership of the Society.
3. At the General Assembly the Chairman presents an activity and financial report for approval.
4. With the exception of those deliberations relative to the
modification of the Constitution, decisions are taken by simple majority
vote of those members present. In the case the votes are equally
divided, the Chairman's vote shall be decisive.
General Assembly Election Procedure
Article 3
An election will be held for the new members of the ISOCARD Executive
Council during every ISOCARD International Conference. This will be done
by ballot at the General Assembly Meeting, held during the course of
the Conference. All candidates and voters must be a member of ISOCARD.
1. At the start of the election the Secretary General will hand out
voting 'cards' to each member of the Society who is present at the
meeting.
2. A Society member who is not standing for the EC
will be selected by the Society`s Chairman to chair the election with
the aid of three Vote counters.
3. Each nomination must have a
proposer and a seconder. If there only six nominations, the applying
nominees are automatically elected.
4. Two members of the
current Executive Council (hereafter referred to as “the Council”) shall
remain on the Council in order to ensure continuity of information
within the Society governance. If only two current members wish to
remain, they shall be re-elected automatically.
5. Four members of the current Council shall step down, to be replaced by newly elected members.
6. If more than 2 current Council members wish to stay on the Council,
they will need to be elected by the ISOCARD members, but after the
election, no more than 2 current Council members shall remain.
7. The remaining 4 members of the Council will be new members elected
from the ISOCARD membership. Consequently, there may be two groups of
individuals standing for election: those hoping to be re-elected from
whom only 2 may be selected, and those seeking election for the first
time from whom 4 may be selected. This will be based on the number of
votes per candidate.
8. Should there not be enough new
candidates standing for election (i.e. less than 4), then more current
members will be eligible to remain if they wish.
9. Only one
person from a single country may be elected. (The country is defined by
the candidate’s place of work.) Therefore, if more than one person is
nominated from a single country, only the individual with the highest
number of votes can be elected to serve on the Council. This rule
ensures that the Council maintains its international representation.
10. One position on the Council is to be reserved for a candidate
representing South American Camelids. This is to reflect the smaller
number of ISOCARD members representing these species and ensures that
they continue to be represented on the Council. A maximum of 3 positions
may be held by persons representing South American Camelids.
11. Each candidate will make a short speech that should include the following information:
- The candidate’s current position, experience and research interests
- Reasons the candidate would like to stand for election
- A statement about what the candidate would bring to ISOCARD
- Any positions held on advisory Councils/Committees elsewhere.
12. After
finishing their speeches all candidates will leave the room. The
Society`s members will then vote for their preferred candidates. The
election council counts the votes and announces the elected officers.
13. The EC shall elect the Chairman directly.
B. The Executive Council
Article 4
I. The
Officers of the Society shall be a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a
Secretary General, a Treasurer, a scientific affairs officer and a
public relation officer.
II. At their 1st meeting the Executive Council shall assign each office
III. The Executive Council shall meet at least three times during the
three year term. The Executive Council meeting shall be held at the
Society's triennial conference venue.
IV. Duties of the Executive Council members are:
1. The Chairman is responsible for the implementation of all actions
and decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Council of the
Society and represents the society. He/she shall also approve the
material that is to be uploaded onto the Society's Home Page. She/he is
responsible for presenting the conference report on the activity of the
Society during his term.
2. The Vice-Chairman will replace the
Chairman in case of absence, support the Chairman in all matters
regarding the Society; and support development in all areas of work
3. The General Secretary is responsible, for drawing up:
(1) The Minutes of the Sessions of the General Assembly.
(2) The Minutes of the Meetings of the Executive Council. He/she shall
be responsible for their distribution to the EC members of the Society
and
(3) issue notices of meetings and inform all members of the
Society, about scientific meetings, social affairs, annual meetings and
elections as well as about activities of other organizations that may be
of interest.
4. The Treasurer is responsible for making all
payments, receiving the funds of the Society and for keeping the
Society's accounts. Approval for transaction by the EC members is
required by anonymous voting.
5. The Scientific Affairs
Officer shall manage the society's scientific affairs including
publication of the Journal of Camelids Science.
6. The Public
Affairs Officer monitors and responds to public policy issues related to
the Society. The public affair officer should monitor the content of
the society’s website and suggest changes and update its contents. Also
need to encourage members to be more proactive and contribute to the
society’s website.
Membership
Article 5
1. Membership
shall be open to all individuals interested in the aims of the Society,
being researcher, student or camel owner. These persons are eligible
for membership on condition they adhere to the Constitution and By-Laws
of the Society and pay an annual membership fees.
2.
Qualification for membership entails fulfilling the qualifications
defined in article 4 of this Constitution, and filling an admission
form to be sent to the Secretary General.
3. Membership shall cease under the following circumstances:
I. By written resignation presented to the Secretary General.
II. By exclusion pronounced by the Executive Council as a result of non-payment of Fees for two consecutive years.
III. By exclusion as a result of a decision of two-thirds of the General Assembly members.
The International Triennial Conference
Article 6
1. The Society shall hold a triennial Scientific Conference. The place
of the next conference shall be decided by the Executive Council upon
receipt of proposals by members. In selecting a conference venue, the
Society will be guided by the principles of rotation, accessibility, and
cost. The Secretary General, on behalf of the EC, shall invite
individuals and groups to volunteer to serve as the local organizers and
host the conference. Applications shall be submitted, by the Secretary
General, to each member of the EC. The Executive Council of ISOCARD will
evaluate the proposal on the basis of its academic merit, taking into
account the scholarly importance of the proposed conference, its likely
impact upon Camelids, the focus of the conference theme (s) and program
and the scholarly standing of and contribution to be made by the named
key speaker (s). The facilities of the institution to provide for a
large, multi day event may also be considered.
The Executive
Council is committed to principles of equity, integrity and
confidentiality in the treatment of all applications competing to host
ISOCARD Conferences. All applications will be evaluated by the members
of the EC and decisions are taken by simple majority vote of EC members,
should there be more than one bid. In the case the votes are equally
divided, the Chairman's vote shall be decisive.
2. An
Organizing committee shall be formed by the host institution to
facilitate the organization of the conference. The scientific committee
shall be formed by the EC in collaboration by the host institution.