EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CATARACT AND REFRACTIVE SURGEONS
BYE LAWS
(Revised September 2005)
1. Management
1.1 The general management of the Society shall be vested in an elected Board.
1.2 The Board shall elect an Executive Committee consisting of the President, Secretary and Treasurer to ensure that the decisions of the Board are implemented. To facilitate the work of the Society, the Executive shall have the right to invite non-members of the Executive to attend these meetings.
1.3 The Society shall appoint and maintain a central office.
2. Membership
2.1 The Society shall have the following categories of membership
Full
Full membership is confined to European ophthalmologists. (The WHO definition of Europe is accepted by the Society as it's official definition). Only full members have voting rights and may stand for election. Membership is open to practicing ophthalmologists and non-medical visual scientists. Applicants for the latter category must be proposed and seconded by a member and sanctioned by the General Purposes Committee.
2.2 The Board shall be entitled to alter its membership categories from time to time in line with the emerging needs of the Society.
3. Dues and Fees
3.1 The annual dues may be established by the Finance Committee and ratified by the Board.
3.2 All dues shall be payable with the membership application. In the event that the dues are outstanding for a period in excess of 60 days despite two reminders from the Society the membership will be terminated in writing. After such termination the member may rejoin the society only by applying for membership as a new member.
4. Elections to the Board
4.1 Elections to the Board will be held every two years to fill 50% of the seats on the Board.
4.2 Board members shall be elected for a period of four years and may be re-elected for a further period of four years only.
4.3 Candidates must be nominated by 5 full members of the Society. A member can nominate only 1 candidate. To be eligible to stand for election candidates must be a full member of the Society for at least three years and must accept the nomination in writing.
4.4 The Board shall formulate procedures that allow a reasonable opportunity for a nominee to the Board or a nominee for an office to communicate to members the nominee's qualifications and reasons for the nominee's candidacy.
4.5 No more than one ordinary member of the Board may be from the same country.
5. Board of Officers
The Board shall consist of:
5.1 The Immediate Past President shall remain on the Board for a period of two years.
5.2 Nominations will be sought from Board Members for the position of President. These will be considered by the General Purposes Committee which will put forward a recommended candidate for approval by the Board. In the event that this recommendation is not accepted, the General Purposes Committee will put forward another candidate. This process will be repeated until a candidate is appointed.
5.3 The Board shall appoint its President for a term of two years which term shall not be renewable. A two-thirds majority is required for this appointment.
5.3 The President elect shall be appointed at least one year before his/her term of office is due to begin.
5.4 The term of office of the President, Secretary and Treasurer should run in line with the calendar year. The Treasurer and Secretary must be elected every two years but there is no limit to the number of two year terms for which they can be elected. The vote should be by means of a secret ballot.
5.5 The Editor of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery has an automatic right to a seat on the Board and does not have to be elected. However, the Editor is not excluded from standing for election.
5.6 The President, Treasurer, Secretary and Editor will be withdrawn from their elected Board Position for the time of their holding office. They will now instead be Board Members ex-officio. The country stipulation rule will not apply to these positions.
5.7 If the Treasurer/ Secretary retires from office during the time that he/she was originally elected, he/she shall stay on the Board for the remainder of the original election term and not be included in the country stipulation.
5.8 If the Treasurer/Secretary retires from his position at the end of his term on the Board then he may serve on the Board for an additional two years as a past officer.
5.9 Only elected members shall have the right to vote at Board Meetings e.g. if the retired Treasurer or Secretary is no longer within the elected term then they do not have voting rights.
5.10 Any officer may be removed at any time by a two thirds majority of all the members of the Board.
5.11 Any officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Secretary of the Society. Any such resignation shall take effect as at the date of such notice or at any later time specified therein.
6. Co-Opted Members
6.1 The Board may co-opt additional members by a two-thirds majority vote for the following purposes:
To represent important membership groups which are otherwise not represented.
6.2 Co-Opted Board Members will have all rights of elected Board Members with the exception of voting rights at Board Meetings.
6.3 Co-Opted Members shall serve a term of two years and their co-option can be renewed once for an additional two years. The renewal shall be agreed by a two-thirds majority of the Board.
6.4 Time served on the Board as a co-opted member does not count with respect to the rules for elected members. Therefore a co-opted member if elected can then serve two full four year terms as an elected board member.
6.5 Only members of the ESCRS can be co-opted to the Board.
7. Meetings of the Board
7.1 The Board shall meet twice yearly.
7.2 The Board shall vote and make decisions if there is a quorum of 50% plus 1 voting Board member at the Board meeting. If the vote is equally divided, the President shall have the casting vote.
7.3 Any Board member who fails to attend more than two consecutive Board meetings shall be automatically expelled from the Board unless the circumstances are extraordinary.
8. Publications
8.1 The ESCRS shall have the right to publish a scientific journal, newspaper and other print and electronic materials as approved by the Board.
9. Standing Committees
9.1 The Board of Officers of the ESCRS shall form the following Standing Committees
9.2 Finance Committee which shall be chaired by the Treasurer.
9.3 General Purposes Committee which shall be chaired by the Secretary.
9.4 Any other Committee that the Board of Officers deem necessary.
9.5 Chairs of Committees shall be elected by the members of each Committee and need not be members of the Board. The appointment of Committee Chairs is subject to the approval of the General Purposes Committee and the Board. The appointment of Committee Members is also subject to the approval of the General Purposes Committee and the Board.
10. Scientific Meetings
10.1 The ESCRS shall hold an annual scientific meeting and any other scientific meetings as deemed appropriate by the Board.
10.2 The President of the ESCRS is the Honourary President of all Congresses or meetings.
11. Annual General Meeting
11.1 The members of the ESCRS shall meet for an annual general business meeting. This shall be held during the annual scientific congress.
12. Duties of the Secretary
12.1 The Secretary shall co-ordinate the organisation of the Board and the general meetings of the ESCRS.
12.2 The Secretary shall maintain contact between officers and Members of the ESCRS.
12.3 The Secretary shall keep accurate minutes of the Board Meetings and distribute them in good time before each board meeting.
12.4 The Secretary is responsible for notification to members of the AGM in good time before hand and is responsible for the agenda and Secretary's report.
13. Duties of the Treasurer
13.1 The Treasurer shall present to the Board the accounts of the ESCRS certified by a Chartered Accountant.
13.2 At the termination of his period of office the Treasurer should hand over all documents in his possession to his successor.13.3 The Treasurer shall prepare a financial report on the Society for the AGM which shall accompany the Secretary's report and the agenda.
13.4 The Treasurer shall convene and chair the Finance Standing Committee which considers financial matters appertaining to the business of the ESCRS.
13.5 The Finance Committee shall consist of the Treasurer, the Secretary and the Directors of the Company.
13.6 An annual financial report shall be prepared by the Treasurer which shall be published.
14. Termination of Membership
14.1 Membership of the ESCRS shall terminate on the occurrence of any of the following events
15. Suspension or Expulsion
15.1 The member shall be given 15 days prior written notice and the reasons for the proposed expulsion or suspension. A notice shall be sent by first class certified or registered mail to the members last known address as shown on the ESCRS records.
15.2 The Member shall be given an opportunity to be heard either orally or in writing at least 5 days before the effective date of the proposed suspension or expulsion. The hearing shall be held or the written statement considered by the Board or by a Committee authorised by the Board to determine whether the suspension or expulsion should take place.
15.3 The decision of the Board or Committee shall be final and binding.
15.4 Any action challenging a suspension or expulsion or termination of membership including a claim alleging defective notice must be commenced within one year of the date of the suspension, expulsion or termination.
16. Amendment of Bye Laws
16.1 New Bye Laws may be adopted or the current bye laws may be amended or appealed by approval of the members in a general meeting provided that any such adoption amendment or repeal shall not be inconsistent with anything contained in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company.
