RULES OF PROCEDURE
1.
These Rules of Procedure
complement and are to be read in conjunction with the statutes of the ESC which
consist of Articles I-XIV.
2.
Member’s rights and duties
All
ordinary and honorary members as defined in Articles IV, V, VI are entitled to:
a)
receive
a quarterly Newsletter.
b)
receive
the Journal of the ESC.
c)
receive
information about seminars, congresses and other meetings organised or
supported by the ESC.
d)
free
attendance at ESC seminars.
e)
preferential
registration rate at ESC congresses.
f)
attend and vote at the General Assembly and
suggest items for the agenda (Article X,3).
g)
be
represented on the Board of Directors.
h)
vote for the Board of Directors (Article X,7).
i)
receive
minutes of the General Assembly and a summarised financial statement.
All members will:
a)
inform
the Secretary of any change of address.
b)
pay
a yearly subscription (Article IV, 1).
c)
not
knowingly bring the ESC into disrepute (Article VI).
d)
inform
the Treasurer of any suggested or actual financial support, be it monetary or
in kind, which they have received in the name of the ESC.
e)
not
commit the ESC, either directly or via the local Congress/Seminar organising committee to any
expenditure without getting prior authorisation
from the Treasurer.
3. Payment of
yearly subscriptions
The annual
subscription is due on 1st January. Unless arrangements have been made for
regular payments to be made through a credit card, the Treasurer will send out
a reminder no less then a month after the due date. A second reminder is sent when
the fee is at least two months overdue and, if no response is received within
three months, membership can be deemed to be cancelled.
When a new
member joins after 1st October, their subscription will, in the first instance
only, last up to 15 months rather than the usual 12.
4. Rights and
duties of the Board of Directors
A Board member is entitled
to:
a) be invited to a board meeting once every calendar year.
b) elect the Executive Committee.
c) serve a
term of four years initially but may stand for re-election (for a maximum of 2
terms consecutively, i.e. 8 years).
d) to receive a summary of the discussions at
each Executive Committee meeting.
e) to discuss any proposed changes to the Statutes prior to
ratification at the General Assembly.
f) to vote on any proposed changes to the Rules of Procedure.
A Board member will:
a) attend at least one Board meeting every two calendar years.
b) represent all the views of those
members who are entitled to vote for him/her to the Board and Executive
Committee.
c) assist the Executive Committee from time to time with translations
of short letters into their own
language or similar tasks best carried out in the individual countries.
d) render assistance with the organisation of
congresses and seminars by serving on sub-committees when requested.
e) inform all those eligible to vote when an
election is due and request nominations in time for this to be sent out with
the agenda for the General Assembly.
f) ensure that all those eligible to vote who are present or
represented in the General Assembly
are given the opportunity to do so.
The first representative for each country can be elected onto the Board
when there are 10 paid up members and the second member can be elected if there
are 50 or more paid-up members from
that country. When the membership
numbers from any country drop below the set level the representation on the
Board will be adjusted acccordingly at the time of each General Assembly.
When a new Board member needs to be elected, all members of the
appropriate country will be informed by the Central Office one month prior to
the General Assembly. The number of members at the time of the Congress shall
be used as a reference to determine the level of representation.
If the
Board of Directors is likely to have more than 29 members, the Executive
Committee will examine the current Rules of Procedure and suggest ways in which
they can be changed so that the Board does not become so big that it is no
longer effective or financially viable.
When the number of elected Board members according to these rules comes
to less than 29 the shortfall will be made up by representatives from countries
who have more than 5 but less than 10 members. Initially this will be by
drawing lots and later in rotation.
5. Executive
Committee (EC) – rights and duties
All Executive Committee
members will:
a) attend a
minimum of half the EC meetings a year. In exceptional circumstances, the EC
may waive this rule.
b) assist in the overall planning of the congresses. seminars and
other meetings organised by the
ESC. The detailed planning is the responsibility of the
local organizing committee who may
co-opt Board members onto sub-committees when
required.
If these duties cannot be
complied with, the functions of the EC member will be delegated to a co-opted
Board member.
c) the ESC meetings will
meet the following guidelines:
–
invitations
and the agenda need to be sent out at least one month prior to the meeting
–
all
items should be listed on the agenda in detail
–
accepted
minutes of previous meetings should be signed by the President and Secretary
General
–
all
members should report on the incoming and outgoing correspondence
a) President
The President will:
• actively promote the Society and its aims.
• build bonds with other related bodies.
• seek sources of money for the furtherance of the Society’s aims.
• convene and chair at least two
yearly Executive Committee meetings as well as yearly Board meetings.
b) Vice President
The Vice President in collaboration with the Central Office will:
• assist in all presidential duties.
• deputise for the President when requested.
c) Secretary-General
The Secretary-General will:
• keep an updated list of all members.
• keep accurate minutes of Executive and Board meetings as well as
the General Assemblies and ensure
their distribution.
• write all necessary correspondence for the Society.
• send all new members the Statutes and Rules of Procedure of the
Society.
• organise Executive and Board meetings.
• work closely with the President to ensure
that all necessary parties are informed in good time of meetings and decisions.
• supervise the ESC website on the Internet in co-operation
with the webmaster
d) Assistant Secretary
The Assistant Secretary
will:
• assist in all secretarial duties.
• deputise for the Secretary when requested.
e) Treasurer
The Treasurer will:
• oversee written records of
all financial transactions.
• present an up-to-date financial report at each Executive
Committee and Board meeting .
• send out appropriate
reminders for the yearly subscriptions
• prepare a financial report for inspection
by the nominated members of the Society (Article X.6) at least 2 months prior
to the General Assembly. A written summary of this
report, once countersigned, must be presented to all members of the Society at
the General Assembly and be distributed with the minutes of the meeting to all
members.
f) Assistant Treasurer
The Assistant Treasurer
will:
• assist in all the Treasurer’s duties.
• deputise for the Treasurer when requested.
Each EC meeting has to be
attended by either the President or the Vice President and either the Secretary or the Assistant
Secretary and either the Treasurer or the Assistant Treasurer. If any of the
three roles is not represented, the meeting will be invalid.
6. Affiliation
to other organisations
International
or national organisations with similar or related aims may apply for
affiliation to the ESC. Members of affiliated societies shall pay a 50 percent
reduced yearly fee (suggested by the EC, approved by the Board). Those seeking affiliation
must submit an application in writing to the Secretary General. The Board shall
ratify the final affiliation. This decision shall be
followed by a signed contract including rights and duties of members of affiliated societies. The Central
Office of the ESCshall receive a complete list of members including email and
postal adresses from the affililated Society. Members of affiliated societies have no
voting rights during GA of the ESC by virtue of their affiliation.
Members
of affiliated societies are entitled to:
a)
receive
an electronic form of the Journal of the ESC
b)
receive
an electronic form of the Newsletter
c)
receive
information about seminars, congresses and other meetings organised or
supported by the ESC
d)
free
attendance at ESC seminars
e)
preferential
registration rate at ESC congresses
Affiliated
societies will:
a)
inform
the Secretary of the Central Office of any change of address
b)
pay
a yearly subscription
7.
Publications
The ESC may have
publications, the details of which will be proposed by the EC and approved by
the Board. The Editor will be a member of the Society and may be a member of
the Board if appropriately elected. The appointment will be made by the EC with
ratification by the Board. It will be for a period of two years initially and
further terms will be at the discretion of the EC. The Editor of the
publication will be invited to all Board meetings as an ex officio non-voting
member. The Editor can also be invited to EC meetings when the discussion is
relevant as a non-voting member.
8. Financial arrangements
The Treasurer is responsible for keeping accurate and up to date
financial records.
The publishing costs of the
proceedings of a congress/seminar should be part of the costs of the meeting.
The EC is empowered to allow
expenditure for:
• production of the newsletter.
• essential travel/accommodation expenses to meeting (Economy
Flights only).
• employment of occasional secretarial assistance by the
President/Secretary General/Treasurer.
Any expenditure of over 10.000 Euro on any one
meeting/item (other than congress/ seminar) should be ratified by the Board.
Any expenditure of over 20.000 Euro on any one meeting/item (other than
Congress/seminar) should be ratified by the General Assembly.
The annual membership fee shall be reviewed regularly
by the EC, discussed by the Board and voted on at the General Assembly.
9. Congress
Sitting
Congresses are
held every two years. To enable enough time for organisation the site for the
congress four years later will be voted on at the General Assembly. The
organiser of the next congress will make a short presentation at the General
Assembly including dates and venue and confirming their willingness and ability
to proceed with the organisation.
A short proposal and presentation shall be made at the
General Assembly in support of the bid for the next Congress prior to a vote. A short recommendation from
the Board may follow a presentation.
10. Seminar
Sitting
The ESC seminars are usually held in the year when
there is no congress. Any member wishing to organise a seminar shall submit a
bid in writing to the Central
office. A short presentation should be made
at the Board meeting in support of the bid prior to a vote.
11. Guidelines for applicants wishing to organise an ESC
Congress/Seminar
1)
At the time of submitting a bid to organize a
Congress or Seminar a country must have at least 10 paid up members of the ESC
2)
Proposals for holding congresses are presented
4 years ahead at the General Assembly.
The venue is decided upon by a vote of the ESC members during the
General Assembly.
3)
Proposals for holding seminars are presented 4
years ahead at the Meeting of the Board of Directors. The venue is decided upon by a vote of the Board members.
4)
An official bid for the congress /seminar must
be delivered to the Central Office not later than three months before the day
of the appropriate General Assembly or Meeting of the Board of Directors. Four
copies of the bid are required. The
Central Office is obliged to confirm receipt of the document and to send copies
to the EC members (president, treasurer, secretary general), one copy shall
remain on file at the Central Office. Bids for congresses are presented by the
EC at the Board meeting before the appropriate GA.
5)
An official bid to hold a congress/seminar must
include:
a)
A preliminary budget, containing calculations
of expenditures (congress venue,) and an estimate of contributions by local
sponsors (acquiring local sponsors is
not a condition of organizing a seminar).
b)
A letter of acceptance from the organizers
stating that they are prepared to follow the principles of the Society for the
organizing congresses or seminars (as specified in sample contract sent on request by the Central Office).
c)
Specifications of the congress/seminar venue,
sufficient capacity of accommodations, and accessibility of the city and a
congress venue where the congress is to be held.
d)
Proposal of scientific topic(s) of the
congress/seminar. A definite topic is decided by the Board in accordance with
the proposal of the organizers.
6)
The Board of Directors reserves the right to
determine the date of holding the congress/seminar, changing the date if
necessary, possibly changing the location in the case of apparent inability of
the organizers to guarantee the event or in the case of an unstable situation
in the country where the congress/seminar is to be held.
12.
ESC associated meetings or events
Each request to organize an activity under the
auspices of the ESC, should meet the following criteria:
–
the ESC must be involved in the programme,
–
the theme and programme must concur with the
aims of the Society,
–
the request must be discussed and approved by
the EC.
13.
Simultaneous translation
English is the official language of the ESC.
Simultaneous translation can be available in 2
languages other than English, and or the language of the host country, for ESC
Congresses, seminars and general assemblies. These languages shall be decided
on by the EC and the Board.
14.
ESC granted projects
Individuals or organisations may apply for
financial support from the ESC for activities that are in accordance with the
aims of the Society as described in the Statutes. Application forms are
available at the Central Office. Up to a maximum of 5% of the balance in the
ESC accounts can be awarded in any one financial year.
The
application must contain
- The aims and projected outcomes of the project
- Details of any other source of funding sought or obtained
- Details of the person or organisation making the application
- Commitment to present the results to the Board of Directors and
acknowledge the ESC funding appropriately - A detailed budget
proposal
All proposals will initially be scrutinized by
a small scientific committee which will have at least two members of the
Executive Committee on it of the Board.
They will then be presented to the full Board for the final decision on
whether to make the award.
The Treasurer will be responsible for initial
and ongoing monitoring of the awards.