Constitution

1FORMATION

1.1The Representative Independent Scientific Organisations, concerned with aerosol science, from the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan and the United States of America initially formed a standing Assembly to promote collaboration in the field of aerosol research. As other national and multi-national organisations have been formed, which have met the criteria for membership, they have been invited to apply for membership.

2NAME

2.1The name of the organisation is the International Aerosol Research Assembly commonly referred to as IARA.

3OBJECTIVES

3.1To provide an international forum for the planning and organisation of the continuing series of conferences known as the International Aerosol Conferences.

3.2To promote scientific understanding in the field of aerosol research in such ways as are consistent with its status as an international scientific body and this Constitution.

3.3To award prizes and marks of recognition for exceptional performance in the field of aerosol research.

4MEMBERSHIP

4.1Membership of the Assembly is open to Representative Organisations of a country or group of countries that fulfil all the requirements listed under the heading “Addition of Members”. Membership may also be open to other international organisations concerned with specific aspects of aerosol research.

4.2The current membership of IARA is that given in the membership attachment to this Constitution. This attachment shall be updated following every change.

4.3Each Representative Organisation will provide, and keep updated, a point of contact with whom the officers of IARA and other members may correspond.

5REPRESENTATION

5.1Each Representative Organisation has the right to send two voting delegates to every meeting. The choice of delegates is the responsibility of the Organisation and delegates may be changed at any time. The point of contact or the responsible officer of the member organisation must certify to the secretary of IARA the names and addresses of the current Delegation.

6OFFICERS OF THE ASSEMBLY, THEIR TERMS AND DUTIES

6.1The officers shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. If so desired, an assistant to the President ma be appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Assembly. The officers do not have to be delegates to the Assembly

6.2The term of office shall begin at the first assembly meeting held in conjunction with an International Aerosol Conference and shall extend until the first Assembly meeting held in conjunction with the next International Aerosol Conference. However, no officer’s term shall end before his or her successor has been elected.

6.3The President shall preside at meetings of the Assembly, co-ordinate its activities, issue (through the Secretary) the call for meetings, advise and support the Vice-President in matters concerning the next International Conference and represent the Assembly in its relationship with other organisations. He or she is empowered to establish such committees as may be necessary to the conduct of the business of the Assembly.

6.4The Vice-President shall represent the Assembly in its relationship with the host country in the organisation of the upcoming International Conference. Whenever possible he or she shall be a member of the organisation hosting the conference. He or she will preside at Assembly meetings in the absence of the President. The Vice-President shall normally become President for the next term of office.

6.5The Secretary shall be responsible for the permanent records of the Assembly. At the request of the President he or she shall issue the call for meetings and shall, in consultation with the other officers prepare the meeting agenda. He or she shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings and for conducting any formal votings by the Assembly between meetings. He or she shall keep the official list of Delegates and of the Representative Organisations entitled to Delegations, together with appropriate contact details of the Organisations. When the date for an International Conference is established, the Secretary shall promptly inform the presiding officer of all member and observer organisations, together with other organisations, as appropriate, requesting them not to schedule meetings in conflict with the International Conference.

6.6The Treasurer shall set up and maintain a bank account to handle all monies for which the Assembly is responsible. He or she shall arrange for the acceptance and banking of all funds payable to the Society and shall arrange payment of expenses and other disbursements specifically authorised by the Assembly. To minimise the cost of moving the bank account between countries the Treasurer may be re-elected for subsequent terms, if so agreed by the Assembly.

6.7In the event of the resignation, incapacity or death of an Officer during his or her term, the remaining Officers shall name an appropriate qualified person to serve in the vacant office until the next meeting of the Assembly. Such a meeting must be held, in conjunction with an appropriate conference, within no more than one year from the vacancy occurring. At this meeting the Assembly shall take action to fill any remaining, unexpired portion of the term.

7DELEGATES

7.1The appointment of Delegates is the sole responsibility of the Organisation for which they are the representatives. Theirperiod of office runs from the time that the Representative Organisation informs the Secretary of the Assembly of their names and contact details and continues until a replacement representative is named.

8THE INTERNATIONAL AEROSOL CONFERENCE

8.1The Assembly shall ensure that an International Aerosol Conference is arranged every four years unless special circumstances determine otherwise.

8.2The Assembly shall invite applications from the Representative Organisations to host the conference and shall select the Host Organisation and venue at least four years before it is due to be held.

8.3Representative Organisations bidding to host the International Conference shall prepare a proposal covering all substantial aspects of the conduct of the Conference. This shall be distributed to delegates to consider at least one month prior to the meeting at which the decision is to be made. Delegates may request additional information.

8.4When inviting and assessing bids from Representative Organisations the Assembly shall take into account the need to ensure that the conference moves regularly between the various geographic regions where the Organisations are located.

8.5It is the responsibility of the Host Organisation to ensure that that the selection of papers for presentation at the Conference is based primarily on scientific merit but that, within that constraint, the conference provides the opportunity for all aspects of Aerosol Science to be addressed.

8.6The official language of the International Aerosol Conference shall be English. If the Host Organisation wishes to permit other languages to be used for presentations interpretation facilities must be provided and full details of these arrangements must be included in the proposal submitted to the Assembly. All abstracts and papers published or printed in conjunction with the Conference shall be in English although abstracts in other languages are acceptable if accompanied by an English translation.

8.7Host Organisations shall include proposals for the publication of the proceedings of the conference in the application to host the Conference and these must be approved by the Assembly.

8.8 Participation in the International Conference must be open to all those who wish to attend.

9ADDITION OF MEMBERS

9.1 Those countries with societies and institutions which, for a substantial period of time, have been making major written contributions to the scientific literature in the field of aerosol research, are encouraged to form Representative Organisations. Such Representative Organisations will be considered for membership upon submission of a written application to the President of the Assembly. To be eligible for voting membership a Representative Organisation must:

9.2 Be an independent scientific society committed to the support of research in the field of aerosol science.

9.3 Have held at least one meeting a year for the last three years.

9.4 Have a current membership of at least 50 members.

9.5 The Representative Organisation may be a national organisation or, if several countries wish to group together to meet the membership requirements, a regional or multi-national organisation.

9.6 Membership may also be open to other international organisations concerned with specific aspects of aerosol research. Qualification for membership of such bodies shall be judged on the basis of their independence, the scientific output of their membership and their representative status.

9.7 The written application for membership shall clearly identify the Representative Organisation as to its name, its official address, any other societies and institutions it represents, the kind and number of its members, and the name ofits chief executive officer. If possible the name(s) of the person(s) who will form the first delegation should be included. There may also be furnished such supporting evidence of its qualifications as a Representative Organisation as those preparing the application deem to be appropriate. The applicant shall supply any additional information requested by the Assembly or a review committee.

9.8 Upon receipt of an adequate written application for membership, the President shall circulate the application to delegates and place it on the agenda for the next meeting. At that meeting the Assembly may vote immediately on the application or may appoint a review committee to report to the next meeting with a recommendation on the application.

9.9 Organisations which do not satisfy the requirements of independence, length of time in existence or number of members, but which are deemed to be representative of a country or region, may be accepted as a non-voting observer. Observers will have the same rights and responsibilities as members except that they will have no vote. They must follow the same application protocol, as that required for voting membership, to achieve observer status.

10MEETINGS

10.1 The Assembly shall meet whenever called by the President or by the joint decision of the Vice-President and the Secretary. The Assembly should normally meet at least once each year and such meetings should, whenever possible, be associated with a conference which Delegates are likely to attend. There shall be meeting called at each International Aerosol Conference.

10.2 Before adjournment of the final session of a meeting, the Assembly shall set the time and place for its next scheduled meeting. Requests for items to be included on the agenda of scheduled meetings shall be sent in time to reach the Secretary at least three months prior to the meeting. The agenda for a scheduled meeting shall be sent in time to reach the Delegates one month in advance of the meeting.

10.3 If a special meeting is called prior to the next scheduled meeting, notice of this meeting must be sent in time to reach Delegates at least two months before the meeting date. The full agenda of a special meeting must reach the Delegates at least one month before the meeting date.

10.4 A quorum to transact business at an Assembly meeting shall consist of at least one Delegate from two thirds of the Representative Organisations.

10.5 Each Delegation shall have two votes in any actions of the Assembly. When the Delegation consists of two Delegates each shall have one vote. For meetings, a Representative Organisation may give written authorisation to an attending Delegate to cast a proxy vote for the absent Delegate.

10.6 If the President deems it desirable he or she may conduct formal Assembly business by mail, including actions on motions and resolutions, with the exception of voting on new members or changes to the Constitution.

11FINANCES

11.1 The primary means of providing finance for Assembly expenses is from awards made from the profits generated by the International Aerosol Conference. The amount of the award shall be agreed in advance with the Host Organisation so that it can be included in the budget for the Conference.

11.2 The Assembly may request Representative Organisations to contribute funds to support specific initiatives or awards but may not require them to do so.

11.3 The Assembly shall not accept any financial responsibility for the International Aerosol Conference. This is to be entirely the responsibility of the Host Organisation.

11.4 The Assembly may use the funds it receives to pay expenses associated with the administration of the Assembly. It may also use them to finance awards and prizes, which have been agreed by the Assembly and budgeted for.

11.5 The Treasurer shall present a financial report to each scheduled meeting of the Assembly.

12AWARDS AND PRIZES

12.1 The Assembly may agree to award recognition for achievements, in the field of aerosol science, in the name of the Assembly. These may be once-only, occasional or at a regular time interval. Whatever the type of award, an Award Committee shall be set up which will, in the first instance, submit the proposed rules for the Award to the Assembly for approval.

12.2 The Awards Committee shall issue a call for nominations from Representative Organisations at least six months prior to the date at which the Award is to be made. They shall then select the recipient(s) according to the agreed rules. The name(s) shall then be submitted to the President for endorsement.

12.3 All Awards which have a monetary prize associated must be specifically budgeted for and the budget supported by the Treasurer. Where Representative Organisations are providing financial support to the Award, the budget must be endorsed by all the contributors.

13AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

13.1 Notice of any proposed amendment or revision of the constitution must be made to Delegates at least three months before the meeting at which they are to be tabled.

13.2Changes to the constitution, approved by the Assembly, will become effective when, and only when, ratified by three-quarters of the Representative National Organisations.