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CONSTITUTION OF THE ASIAN AEROSOL RESEARCH ASSEMBLY
1
FORMATION 1.1
The Representative Independent Scientific
Organisations, concerned with aerosol science, from Asian
countries form this Assembly to promote collaboration in
the field of aerosol research. 2 NAME 2.1 The name of the organisation is the Asian Aerosol
Research Assembly commonly referred to as AARA. 3 OBJECTIVES 3.1 To provide an international forum among Asian countries for the planning and organisation of the continuing
series of the Asian Aerosol Conferences. 3.2 To award prizes and marks of recognition for
exceptional performance in the field of aerosol research. 4 MEMBERSHIP 4.1 Membership of the Assembly is open to Representative
Organisations of Asian countries that fulfil all the requirements listed
under the heading "Addition of Members". 4.2 Each Representative Organisation will provide, and
keep updated, a point of contact with whom the officers of AARA and other
members may correspond. 5 REPRESENTATION 5.1 Each 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. 6 OFFICERS OF THE ASSEMBLY, THEIR TERMS AND DUTIES 6.1 The officers shall be a President, a Vice-president, and a Secretary. The
officers do not have to be delegates to the
Assembly. 6.2 The term of office shall begin at the first assembly
meeting held in conjunction with an Asian Aerosol
Conference and shall extend until the first Assembly meeting held in
conjunction with the next Asian Aerosol
Conference. However, no officer's term shall end before his or her successor
has been elected. 6.3 The 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 Asian Aerosol 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. 6.4 The Vice-President shall represent the Assembly in
its relationship with the host country in the organisation of the upcoming Asian 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. 6.5 The 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. The Secretary shall set up and maintain a bank account to handle all funds for which the Assembly is responsible. He or she shall arrange for
the acceptance and banking of all funds and shall arrange payment of expenses
and other disbursements specifically authorised by the Assembly. The Secretary is normally
selected as a person who can work closely with the President. 6.6 In 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 decision must be made within no more than one year from the vacancy occurring. 7 DELEGATES 7.1 The appointment of Delegates is the sole
responsibility of the Organisation for which they are the representatives.
Their period 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. 8 THE ASIAN AEROSOL
CONFERENCE 8.1 The Assembly shall ensure that an Asian Aerosol Conference is arranged every two years unless special
circumstances determine otherwise. 8.2 The Assembly shall invite applications from the
Representative Organisations to host the conference and shall select the Host
Organisation and venue at least two years before it is due to be held. 8.3 Representative Organisations bidding to host the Asian Conference shall prepare a proposal covering all substantial aspects
of the conduct of the Conference and send the application to
the President. 8.4 It 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. 8.5 The official language of the Asian Aerosol
Conference shall be English. 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. 8.6 Participation in the Asian Conference must
be open to all those who wish to attend. 9 ADDITION OF MEMBERS 9.1 Those Asian 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 30 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 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 of its 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. 9.7 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. 10 MEETINGS 10.1 The Assembly shall meet whenever called by the
President or by the joint decision of the Vice-President and the Secretary. 10.2 A quorum to transact business at an Assembly meeting
shall consist of at least one Delegate from two thirds of the Representative
Organisations. 10.3 Decisions should be valid
only when more than half of valid votes are received. 10.4 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. 10.5 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. 11 FINANCES 11.1 The primary means of providing finance for Assembly
expenses is from awards made from the profits generated by the Asian Aerosol Conference. The amount of the award shall be agreed 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 Asian 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 Secretary shall present a financial report to
each scheduled meeting of the Assembly. 12 AWARDS 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 The Secretary should prepare
the Award that may have a monetary prize associated. Where Representative Organisations
are providing financial support to the Award, the budget must be endorsed by
all the contributors. 13 AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION 13.1 Notice of any proposed amendment or revision of the
constitution must be made to Delegates at least one month before the
meeting at which they are to be tabled. 13.2 Changes to the constitution, approved by the
Assembly, will become effective when, and only when, ratified by two-thirds of the Representative National Organisations. |