|
|
Organization
Article 1: Name
The Society shall be called:
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY
Article 2: Objectives
The objectives of the Society shall be: (a) to promote international discussions
and diffusion of information and ideas relating to hematology; (b) to provide a forum for such discussion
and to encourage international collaboration in investigation of hematological problems; (c) to encourage
standardization of hematological methods and nomenclature; (d) to represent the interests of
hematology shall include scientific principles, clinical and laboratory aspects of diagnosis and
management of blood diseases and any other topics relating to the biology and pathology of blood
forming tissues. As part of its functions the Society shall, at intervals, organize scientific, educational and
business meetings to be called International Congresses of Hematology. These will be held in an agreed
rotation in the three Divisions (see Article 3). The actual place will be determined by the Board of
Councillors of each Division.
Article 3: Divisions of the Society
The Society shall consist of Three Divisions. In alphabetical
order, these are (1) Asian-Pacific, (2) European-African, and (3) Inter-American. Each division shall be
administered by a Board of Councillors (to be known as the Divisional Board); members of the Divisional
Boards shall form the Council of the Society (to be known as the Council)
|
|
 |
Membership
Article 4: Membership
Membership of Society shall be as (a) Ordinary Members (Members), (b)
Honorary Members and (c) Emeritus Members.
Section 1. Members. Any person of good professional standing if medically or scientifically qualified or
who is in other ways eminent in the field of hematology in any of its aspects shall be eligible. Ordinarily,
candidates will have manifested a continuous interest of hematology for a period of at least 5 years.
Trainees with lesser experience may be reconsidered as applicants for membership.
Section 2. Honorary Members. They shall have distinguished themselves sufficiently by research or
personal efforts in the cause of hematology or related fields of scientific medicine to warrant their
nomination by one of the Divisional Boards. This nomination also must be ratified by the Council,
whereas other grades of membership may be agreed by a Divisional Board alone. They shall have all
the privileges of active members. They shall be exempt from paying dues.
Section 3. Emeritus members. They shall be those members who, upon reaching the age of sixty-five,
and upon making a request to the Divisional Secretary-General, may be designated as Emeritus
Members. Emeritus Members shall pay no dues, shall not hold office, and shall not have the right to vote.
Section 4. All duly elected members are entitled to receive a diploma signed by the Secretary-General
of the Division. These should be in a standard form in an appropriate language, and will be sent to the
member on payment of the requisite cost.
Section 5. Application for Membership shall be made on the form authorized by the Society, signed by
the applicant, recommended by two members and approved by the National Councillor or, in a country
without a Councilor by a Councellor-at-large or by a member of the Divisional Council. The application
should include a list of qualifications, professional positions and scientific contributions of the candidate.
Applications will be reviewed by the appropriate Divisional Board at its next regular meeting. Applicants
approved by the Divisional Boards shall be submitted for ballot by members of the Society at any regular
business of the Society. An affirmative vote by three-quarters of those present and voting is required for
election.
Section 6. Proposal for Honorary Membership may be any member of the Society. Such Proposal shall
be made in writing, and submitted to a Divisional Secretary-General, who will submit it to the members
shall be elected by the members of the Society at any regular business meeting for the Society by an
affirmative vote by three-quarters of those present and voting.
Section 7. Members will belong to one Division only but are privileged to attend meeting of any division
of the Society as a full member. Non-members may register for attendance at a Congress. They may
not present a paper in a scientific session unless introduced by a member or invited as a distinguished
guest by the Congress Committee. Registration fees for members shall be significantly lower than for
nonmembers. Certified trainees in hematology may also be eligible for the reduced fees.
Article 5: Suspension of Members
A member may be removed from the rolls of the Society for:
1) Non-Payment of dues to the Society (see Article 7)
2) Other reasons presented in writing to a Secretary-General by at least two members. The Divisional
Board will study the nature of the complaint. Before the matter is presented at the regular business
meeting of the Society, the Member must be given an opportunity to defend himself in person or in
writing before the Divisional Board. At least three-fourths of the members attending a regular
business meeting must approve by secret ballot the action of the Divisional Board for the expulsion
to become effective.
Article 6: Resignations
Resignations from the Society shall be submitted in writing to a Divisional
Secretary-General, who shall cause the same to be presented to a Divisional Board at the next meeting,
and the resignation shall not become effective until acted upon by the Divisional Board.
|
|
|
Finances
Article 7: Dues
Section 1. Subscriptions will be payable to the Secretary-General of the Division to which the Member
belongs (see Article 3). The annual dues for Members are payable in advance, and the method of
payment shall be fixed by each Division. The currency on which the financial structure is based shall be
fixed by the Council.
Section 2. Members in arrears for dues for two years shall be notified thereof by the Divisional
Secretary-General by means of a "return receipt" registered letter. Members in arrears for six years may be dropped from the roll for non-payment of dues at the discretion of the Divisional Council. Members may be re-instated upon payment of all arrears and current dues.
Section 3. Registration fees will be charged to members attending scientific meetings. The amount and
arrangements for collection will be determined by the Congress Committee.
|
|
|
Officers
Article 8: Business Affairs
Section 1. The business affairs of the Society shall be administered by the Council consisting of a
Chairman of Council, President (who will be the President of the current Congress), President-elect,
immediate Past-President, three Vice-Presidents appointed by the each of the Three Divisions, the three
Divisional Secretaries- General, the Congress Secretary and Treasurer, and the Councillors from each
of the Divisional Boards. Chairman of Special Committees may attend meetings of the Council ex-officio
without voting rights. The Chairman of Council shall hold office for 4 years and will not be eligible for
reelection to the same office. The President, Congress Secretary and Congress Treasurer shall serve
for a two year period, terminating at the conclusion of a Congress. The Vice-Presidents and Councillors
will hold office only so long as they hold corresponding office in their respective Divisions. The
Secretaries-General shall hold office as long as they hold the corresponding office in their respective
Divisions, Normally this will be for one term of two years, but they will be eligible for relection. No
members may hold more than one office simultaneously.
Section 2. Councellors-at-large. Members of the Society who have rendered outstanding service to the
Society may from time to time be appointed by the Councils as Councellors-at-large (see Article 14
Section 2). They shall be nominated by their respective Divisions, and there shall be no more than 10
Councellors-at-large from each Division. They will hold office for a period of not more than 10 years.
They may attend and participate in Council meetings but do not have voting rights.
Section 3. The office of the Secretary-General in the Division from which the Chairman has been
elected shall constitute the principal business office of the Society.
Section 4. Election of Chairman. The Chairman shall be elected by the Council from amongst its
members by secret ballot at a regular Council meeting. The post shall be held in equal rotation between
the Divisions.
Section 5. Election of President and President-elect. The President shall be nominated by the Divisional
Board of the Division where the next Congress will be held on the proposal of the National Society. This
nomination shall be ratified by the Council. A similar procedure shall be adopted for nomination of
President-Elect. The Congress Committee shall be organized in the host country by the President. The
Congress Secretary and Treasurer will serve on the Council as indicated in Section 1 above. The
National Councilor(s) shall be ex officio members of the Congress Committee.
|
|
|
Committees
Article 9: Special Committees
Section 1. Congress Committee. The President shall appoint a Congress Committee and subcommittees
which may be deemed appropriate for the organization of the scientific program, commercial
exhibition, social arrangements and other congress activities. Membership of the Congress Committee
and sub-committees is at the discretion of the President in accordance with local custom of the host
country but the Committee shall include National Councilors(s) who shall represent the Society. An
education program shall be arranged within the framework of each Congress. This shall be coordinated
by the Divisional Committee on Science and Education who, for this purpose, will establish an ad hoc
sub-committee in collaboration with the Congress Committee.
Section 2. A committee for awards, consisting of the President, the Chairman of Council and the Secretaries-General shall allocate any awards that are made at Congress meeting in the name of the
Society.
Section 3. Standing Committee. The Standing Committee shall be appointed to oversee all functions
for which the society assumes administrative responsibility, including relationship with outside bodies. Its
membership shall consist of the Chairman of Council, President, Past President, President-elect, the
Secretary-General of each Division, two Councillors-at-large from each Division, a member representing
the Society on the international co-ordinating Committee, the Chairman of each special committee and
an observer from the International Council for Standardization in Hematology. The Councillor-at-large
will hold office for four years but are eligible for re-election. The Chairman of Council shall serve as
Chairman of the Standing Committee and will report at all regular meetings of the Council.
Section 4. Other Committees. The following committees are established: Nomenclature Committee
and Science and Education. The members of these and any other Committees which may be
established shall be appointed by the Board on the recommendations of the Standing Committee. The
Chairman of a Committee shall be appointed from its members by Council. The Chairman of Council
shall be ex-officio member of the Committee. The Chairman of each Committee shall attend the Council
ex-officio and shall present reports.
Article 10: Vacancies
Section 1. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chairman, the unexpired portion of the term of office shall be filled by an acting Chairman to be nominated by the relevant Divisional board and approved by
the Standing Committee as an interim measure until a new election takes place at the next regular
Council meeting. In the event of a vacancy for President-elect a nomination shall be made by the
Congress Committee and approved by the Standing Committee. Vacancies occurring in the office of
Vice-Presidents and Secretaries-General shall be filled for the unexpired term of office by the
appropriate Divisional Board of Councillors. If a vacancy should occur in the offices of Secretary of
Treasurer of Congress, the vacancy shall be filled by an appointee of the President.
Article 11: Duties of Officers and Special Committees
Section 1. The President shall preside over all general assemblies of the Society (see Article 12). The
Chairman of Council shall preside at all meetings of the Council and shall serve as the Chief Executive
Officer of the Society. He shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. He shall serve as Chairman
of the Standing Committee and shall take the chair ad hoc at any meetings of all other committees in
the absence of the appointed Chairman. In the absence of the President, the Chairman will preside at
any general assembly.
Section 2. The President shall appoint the members of all special Congress Committees. The Chairman
of Council shall appoint any other special committee ordered by the Society and shall be empowered to
appoint such others as he may consider necessary and for which he has secured the approval of a
simple majority of the members of the Council.
Section 3. The Secretary-General shall keep a correct and permanent record of the meetings and the
transactions of the Society. They shall conduct the correspondence and perform such other duties as
pertain to the office of the Secretary. The spheres of action of the respective Secretary-Generals shall
be determined by the Council. The Secretary-General of the Division from which the Chairman has been
appointed will be ex-officio Secretary of the Council. The Secretary-General of each Division will publish
a Newsletter at least once a year covering the activities of the Society in the Division. The Newsletter
shall contain official reports, membership lists, applications for membership and other items of interest
to the Society. The Secretaries-General, who shall also be the Treasurers of their respective Divisions,
will receive and be the custodians of the funds of the Society. At each regular meeting for the Council
the chairman will propose a budget for his office for approval by the Council to be paid equally by the
three Divisions if no other sources of funds are available. The transportation expenses of the
Secretaries-General of Congresses shall be paid by the respective Divisions if no other sources of funds
are available.
Section 4. The Secretary and Treasurer of the Congress shall be responsible for the transaction of
business in preparation for and conduct of the Congress.
The Congress Treasurer shall receive and be the custodian of the registration fees and of such other
funds as will be collected for the conduct of the Congress. In order facilitate organization of the
appropriate local committees, the Treasurer may be advanced, upon request and approval by the
Chairman of Council, an amount of money to be agreed in advance by the Divisional Board from the
Society funds of the Division in which the Congress will be held, such funds to be repaid after the
Congress, out of fees and income.
Within 180 days following the close of the meeting the Congress Treasurer shall submit the audited
financial accounts in income and expenditure to the Secretary-General of the Division. This account
shall include a sum of money which shall be paid to the Division of the Society. The amount of this
payment shall be predetermined by agreement between the Congress Committee and the Divisional
Council. It may be waived only under special circumstances.
Within 180 days following the close of the meeting the Congress Secretary shall present his report for
Congress was held. The report will be submitted to the Council and then presented to the General
Assembly of the Society at their next regular meeting. The terms of office of the Secretary and of the
Treasurer of the Congress will be considered at an end after they have completed all the business
connected with the preceding scientific meeting, and the report has been approved by the Council.
Section 5. The Executive and Administrative body of the Society during the interval between
Congresses shall consist of the Chairman of Council, President, and the three Secretaries-General. The
Secretary-General of the Division from which the Chairman has been appointed shall be named as
Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretary shall be empowered to enter into contracts and authorize
such expenditure as may be necessary to carry on the affairs and the business of the Society. The
Executive Secretary shall supervise the affairs of the Society, pass on all questions of policy to the
Council and delegate to the Congress committee any authority necessary for the organization and
management of a Congress. Its actions shall always be covered by the Constitution and By-laws of the
Society. The accounts of the Executive Secretary shall be audited at least every two years. The
Executive Secretary shall prepare a report to be made by the President to the Business meeting for the
society on its activities during the interval between the congresses. The Council shall meet on other
occasions on call of the Chairman.
Section 6. For countries without national societies, the Chairman may from time to time invite an
observer from that country to attend meetings of the Council. When no Councillor or designated
alternative is able to attend from any country, the Chairman may appoint a temporary observer for that
country from those present at the Congress. Such observers will not have voting powers.
Section 7. The Congress Committee shall transact all business connected with the preparation,
organization and conduct of the Congresses of the Society. Transactions always shall be governed by
the Constitution and By-laws of the Society. It shall audit the accounts of the Treasurer of the Congress
at the end of the Congress. The President or (if different) the Chairmen of the Congress Committee shall
on his behalf prepare a report to be presented at the meeting of the Council at the time of the Congress
to complete the business of the Congress and to certify the accounts of the Treasurer of the Congress
(see Article 2, section 4).
Section 8. Officers and members of all special Committees shall transfer promptly to their successors
all funds, books, manuscripts, vouchers and other property of the Society on termination of their offices.
Article 12: Meeting of the Members
The Society shall hold regular scientific and educational meetings, to be called International
Congresses, at intervals and places determined by the Council, notice of which shall be mailed to every
member at least six months prior to such meeting. At each Congress there shall be a business meeting
of members of the Society to be called a General Assembly of Members. Special extraordinary meetings
may be called by the Chairman of Council .At least thirty days notice of a meeting shall be given to
members. Twenty-five members shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business of the Society at
regular and special meetings.
Article 13: Meetings of the Council
The Council of the Society will meet to deal with business affairs of the Society at each meeting of the
International Congress. Twenty-five members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
|
|
|
Divisions
Article 14: Organization of Divisions
Section 1. The Officers of each Division shall consist of not more than three Vice-Presidents and a
Secretary-General. The Vice-Presidents shall hold office for two terms of 2 years and shall not be eligible
for re-election. The Secretary-General shall be elected for one term but is eligible for re-election.
Section 2. The Divisional board shall be the executive and administrative council for the Division and
shall consist of Members from countries represented in the Division. There shall be one Councillor to
represent each country whose total number of fully paid-up Members in the International Society of
Hematology is 5–100 Countries with more than 100 member in the ISH will be represented by one voting
Councilor for each 100 members or fraction of 100 with a maximum up to five councillors for any one
country. The Councillors shall be nominated by National Societies of Hematology which have been
approved by the Divisional board of the Society. They shall not be eligible for immediate re-election after
three consecutive terms. The nominations shall be subject to approval by the Divisional Vice Presidents
and the Divisional Secretary-General. One-third of the members of the Divisional board shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business. If there is no National Society, the members of the International
Society resident in that country may nominate to the Council one representative to act as a non-voting
member. In those countries where more than one society exists, Councillors shall be nominated by
postal ballot of all members within that country as circulated from the office of the Secretary-General.
Each Division may nominate up to 12 Councillor-at-Large. These shall be members of the Division of at
least 15 years standing who have rendered outstanding service to the Society. They shall not be
regarded as National Councillors but shall have duties and responsibilities to the International Society in
general.
Section 3. The three divisions may organize international meetings and other activities provided that
they conform to the rules and regulations of the Society.
Article 15: Elections
Section 1. Each Divisional Board shall at a business meeting held preferably before the meeting of
Council at each Congress, nominate not more than three Vice-Presidents and a Secretary-General, and
shall fill such other vacancies as may have occurred in Committees. Normally, at any time not more than
one Vice-president shall come from any one of the countries represented in the Divisions. These
nominations shall then be presented to the Council for ratification. Election shall be made by a simple
majority of votes cast by Members present at the business of the Society.
Section 2. The Vice-Presidents and all newly elected officers shall be inducted into office at the
conclusion of the meeting.
|
|
|
General
Article 16: Standing Rules for Society and Divisional Meetings
Section 1. At all business meetings the Chairman shall first call the members assembled to order for the
purpose of transaction such business and appointing such committees as are required.
Section 2. Non-members and members of the Society in arrears for subscription fees may participate
in the Congress scientific session but will not be eligible for registration at the reduced rate that is
charged to Members in good standing; they will be subject to all the rules and regulations relating to the
Congress.
Section 3. Order of Business for General Assemblies, Meetings of Councillors and other business
sessions:
1. Call to order
2. The minutes of the previous meeting
3. Referred unfinished business
4. Report of the Secretaries-General
5. Report of Committees
6. Election of Members
7. New Business
8. Nominations from Divisional Boards
9. Election of Officers
10. Induction of Officers
11. Any other business
Article 17:
All proceedings of the meetings of this society and questions or order not provided for by
these By-laws shall be governed by the rules and customs prevailing in the country of meeting.
Article 18: Historian
There may be from time to time an official Historian of the Society who shall be appointed by the Council.
Article 19: Amendments
Amendments to the Constitution and By-laws may be submitted in writing
by the members, at least three months prior to a regular Assembly meeting. Three quarters of votes cast
at the Assembly meeting shall be required to amend. Votes by mail must be received not later than three
weeks preceding the date set for the meeting, in order to be valid.
|
|
|
|
