CONSTITUTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ASSOCIATIONS OF ANATOMISTS
(Amended on 9th August, 2014, during the General Assembly of the XVII Federative International Congress of Anatomy, held in Beijing, China. The original IFAA Constitution was published in Acta Anatomica, 138: 273-278, 1990)
Chapter I
Name and Objectives
Article 1
(1) The name of the society shall be the “International Federation of Associations of Anatomists” (hereafter called IFAA).
(2) The purpose of the IFAA shall be to assemble the national and multinational anatomical associations that request membership and are approved as members.
Chapter II
Headquarters and Purpose
Article 2
The IFAA shall have its headquarters at the institution of the Secretary-General.
Article 3
The aims of the IFAA shall be the following:
(a) To further the development, and to promote progress of all anatomical or biomorphological sciences.
(b) To encourage and increase scientific, technological, educational and administrative exchanges among anatomists worldwide.
(c) To provide general guidelines for educational, technological and scientific purposes and for issues of general interest to anatomical sciences.
(d) To coordinate and support the preparation, revision and publication of documents on the terminology of the anatomical sciences and biomorphology.
(e) To stimulate friendship and cooperation among members of associations of anatomists.
(f) To promote international scientific congresses, symposia and other meetings of anatomical and morphological sciences.
Chapter III
Assets
Article 4
The assets of the IFAA shall be the following:
(a) Membership dues proportional to the number of members paid by the Associations or Societies of Anatomists.
(b) Income received as a result of its activities.
(c) Income from publications.
(d) Physical resources of the IFAA.
(e) Any other resources obtained.
Chapter IV
Membership
Article 5
(1) The members of the IFAA shall be the Associations of Anatomists, national or multinational, Anatomical Societies, and those that apply for membership and are admitted to regular status.
(2) Membership is contingent upon payment of the annual dues, as determined by the General Assembly. Associations that do not pay the annual dues, and are in arrears for two years, cannot be considered members of the IFAA and their representatives are not eligible to attend or vote at meetings of the General Assembly. Where an Association has difficulties in paying its dues for good reason, the Association must explain the reasons in writing to the IFAA Treasurer who can advise the Executive Committee about the Association’s membership status. Subsequent decisions of the Executive Committee concerning the membership status of Associations in arrears are final and are only subject to future discussions at the next meeting of the General Assembly.
(3). The Executive Committee, by a two-thirds majority of its membership, may deem that a
constituent member association is insufficiently engaged in matters pertaining to the IFAA. Should a constituent member association be deemed not to be so engaged, the association should initially be asked for an explanation for the lack of engagement. Should the Executive Committee not accept the explanation or be assured of a commitment to engage sufficiently in IFAA matters, the constituent member association will be required to resign from membership of the IFAA. The association may seek re-instatement to the IFAA at a General Assembly.
Chapter V
Administrative Organs
Article 6
The organs of administration of IFAA shall be the following:
(1) The General Assembly
(2) The Executive Committee
General Assembly
Article 7
The General Assembly shall represent the universality of the members of the IFAA and its decisions shall be final.
Article 8
1. The General Assembly shall be made up of representatives of every Member Association as determined in Article 5. Each Association shall appoint two named representatives for a five-year term, renewable once. The representatives may be changed during their term of office by their Association, provided that the Secretary-General is informed in writing of such changes.
2. At the General Assembly, each Association shall have either one or two votes. Decisions concerning the number of votes allocated to a particular Association is made by the Executive Committee (confirmed by the General Assembly (if needs be, ad referendum) and will be based primarily upon the size of the membership of the Association.
3. The members of the Executive Committee attend the sessions of the General Assembly without the right to vote. However, the President of the session (see Article 9) shall have a tie-breaking vote.
4. The representatives may be contacted by the Secretary-General, acting on behalf of the Executive Committee, to vote on policy issues, including Constitutional matters (in line with Article 29). In such cases, the representatives are required to consult with their Association in order to decide its vote.
5. The General Assembly can, at the start of its meeting, vote to allow observers to be present. These may be invited to speak on issues by the President of the session but shall have no voting rights.
Article 9
The session of the General Assembly shall normally be chaired by the President of the IFAA, who shall have as a recording secretary one of the Secretaries of the IFAA. In the absence of the President of the IFAA, the Chair of the General Assembly will be decided in line with Article 23.1.
Article 10
The General Assembly shall make decisions on the following matters:
(a) Election of the President of the IFAA and of the members of the Executive Committee for a five-year term, beginning at the time of a Federative International Congress. Reinstatement is possible once.
(b) Ratification of any alterations of the IFAA Constitution.
(c) Creation and dissolution of Federative International Programmes and Committees and approval of their rules and reports. All members/associates of Federative International Programmes and Committees are recommended by the Executive Committee and approved by the General Assembly. They serve for a term (usually 5 years) that begins at the time of the Federative International Congress. Members/associates are eligible for reinstatement. For a Federative International Committee, it shall nominate its Chair and Secretary. Subsequently, the nominated Chair of a Federative International Committee (being a prospective member of the IFAA Executive Committee) shall be considered for approval by the Executive Committee and then by the General Assembly ad referendum (i.e. via its representatives).
(d) Ratification of Federative International Programmes and Committees appointed ad referendum of the General Assembly by the Executive Committee.
(e) Approval of the reports on activities, budget and balance.
(f) Determination of the amount of annual membership dues.
(g) Approval of admission to membership of Associations of Anatomists.
(h) Approval of the place, date and designation of the President of subsequent Federative International Congresses upon proposal of the Executive Committee.
(i) Deliberation on all matters submitted by the Executive Committee or by any member of the IFAA.
Article 11
(1) The final decision on the election of the place, date and President of Federative International Congresses shall be made by the General Assembly after having received the list of candidatures inscribed in the agenda.
(2) Each candidate to host a Federative International Congress shall have ample time (approximately 10 minutes) before the vote to provide information on the organization of the meeting.
Article 12
(1) The sessions of the General Assembly are to be held at each Federative International Congress of Anatomy, when the majority of its members is present, and it shall begin 15 minutes later with any number of its members.
(2) The decisions of the General Assembly shall be by secret ballot and majority vote. Voting papers (that acknowledge one or two votes for each Association) will be issued at the registration of representatives (see Article 8) before commencement of the General Assembly meeting.
(3) The agenda of the General Assembly shall be sent by the Executive Committee to each member of the IFAA at least three months prior to the beginning of the session. It shall bear (A) the name and address of the persons presented for election of Officers in the Executive Committee, (B) the name of the Associations and of the places candidating for organization of the subsequent Federative International Congress, (C) the name of the Associations applying for membership of the IFAA, and (D) indications of any Constitutional changes needed to be ratified by the General Assembly.
Article 13
The Executive Committee administers the IFAA.
Article 14
(1) The Executive Committee is made up of a President, two Vice-Presidents, the immediate past President, a Secretary-General, at least two Secretaries, a Treasurer, an Editor for the IFAA’s newsletter, and Chairs of Federative International Programmes and Committees. Chairs of Federative International Programmes shall be designated as Secretaries of the IFAA. All members of the Executive Committee are elected by the General Assembly for a term of 5 years, renewable once.
(2) The President assumes duties following her/his election at the General Assembly of the Federative International Congress.
(3) The decisions of the Executive Committee are made up of the majority of its members, the President having the privilege to break tied votes.
(4) The President can sanction the presence of observers at a meeting of the Executive Committee. These may be invited by the President to speak on issues but have no voting rights.
(5) Nominations for the election of Officers of the Executive Committee (i.e. President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary-General, Treasurer, Secretaries, Newsletter Editor,) will be sought by a Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will be chaired by the President of the IFAA (in line with Article 15(d)). Members of the committee will be chosen to represent all continents of the world and nominations for this committee shall be sought from the constituent member societies. The process of nomination of Officers shall begin by notifying constituent member societies of vacancies and by soliciting suitable candidates. Following deliberations of the Nominating Committee, a short list of names shall be forwarded for consideration to the Executive Committee and hence to the constituent member societies for their comment. The names forwarded shall have the prior approval of the nominees who shall provide brief descriptions of their academic credentials and of their aspirations/plans for taking up a position as an Officer of the IFAA. Following further deliberations of the Nominating Committee, constituent member societies will be informed of the nominations to be placed before the General Assembly of the IFAA. The General Assembly shall then finally decide on the election of the officers of the IFAA by secret ballot and majority vote (in line with Article 10).
(6) The Executive Committee, by a two-thirds majority of its membership, may decide that a member of the Executive Committee is insufficiently engaged in matters pertaining to the IFAA and his/her position in the committee. Should a member of the Executive Committee be deemed not to be so engaged, he/she should initially be asked for an explanation for the lack of engagement. Should the Executive Committee not accept the explanation or be assured of a commitment to engage sufficiently in IFAA matters, the member of the committee will be required to resign from membership of the Executive Committee. Unless the Executive Committee has 6 months or less in office, the Executive Committee shall appoint a replacement member to serve for the remaining term of office.
Article 15
The duties of the President (in her/his absence
of a Chair decided in line with Article 23.1) shall be:
(a) To provide leadership to the IFAA by fostering its main aims and objectives and its traditions and by ensuring strategic development to enhance anatomy’s national and international reputation.
(b) To represent the IFAA at all events
(c) To preside over the sessions of the General Assembly and of the Executive Committee.
(d) In line with Article 12(5), to chair the Nomination Committee for the election of Officers of the Executive Committee.
Article 16
The duties of the Secretary-General shall be:
(a) To substitute for a Vice-President in her/his absence.
(b) To ensure that the decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee are executed.
(c) To monitor the daily routine activities of the IFAA.
(d) To prepare the report of the activities of the IFAA.
(e) With the President, to set the agenda for meetings of the IFAA (i.e. General Assembly and Executive Committee).
(f) With the Treasurer, to maintain a list of contacts (e.g. representatives; see Article 8) for Constituent
Anatomical Associations/Societies that are full
members of the IFAA.
(g) To monitor the activities of a Nomination Committee set up to provide names for election for the Executive Committee.
Article 17
The duties of the Secretaries who are not Chairs of Federative International Programmes shall be to record and prepare the minutes of the sessions of the General Assembly and of the Executive Committee as well as to substitute the Secretary-General and/or the Treasurer in cases of absence. The Secretaries shall also register the attendance of representatives of national associations that are members of the IFAA at the General Assembly and shall organise the votin at the General Assembly.
The duties of the Secretaries who are Chairs of Federative International Programmes shall be to take responsibilities for coordinating the daily activities of their Programmes.
Article 18
The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
(a) To take responsibility for the resources of the IFAA.
(b) To collect and deposit the income into bank accounts of the IFAA.
c. To maintain the financial records of the IFAA (including the bank accounts, all records of deposits, expenditures and withdrawals, and any and all costs relating to maintaining such records).
d. To advise the Executive Committee of the membership status of national Anatomical Associations/Societies;
e. With the Secretary-General, to maintain a list of contacts for Constituent Anatomical Associations/Societies that are full members of the IFAA.
f. To pay such sums of money that are authorized by the Executive Committee to individuals and/or organisations (in line with the aims of the IFAA).
g. To present the IFAA accounts at each annual meeting of the Executive Committee and at the General Assembly at the IFAA’s International Congress.
h. Three months prior to the General Assembly of the IFAA, to appoint a certified public accountant to perform a review procedure on all of the IFAA’s accounts and financial statements.
Article 19
Besides its meetings during a Federativ International Congress, the Executive Committee will annually hold ordinary meetings between successive Congresses. Extra-ordinary meetings of th Executive Committee may be held at other times at the request of four or more of its members.
Article 20
The duties of the Executive Committee shall be:
(a) To prepare, and send out at least three months in advance, the agenda of the forthcoming General Assembly session.
(b) To obtain funds and financial support for the IFAA.
(c) To recommend the amount of annual membership dues.
(d) To receive applications from candidates seeking to organize Federative International Congresses.
(e) To announce and publicize the Federative International Congresses.
(f) To receive applications of Anatomical Associations for membership to IFAA.
(g) To give publicity to directories and newsletters of the IFAA.
(h) To support all publications of the IFAA.
(i) To publish the report of activities, prepared by the Secretary-General, and to submit the balance sheet of accounts, prepared by the Treasurer.
(j) To assist in the nomination of the members of the Executive Committee in line with Article 14(5).
(k) To keep and update the inventory of historical resources.
(l) To take initiatives of general interest and implement resolutions approved by the General Assembly.
(m) To designate, for approval by the General Assembly, the President, the place and date of the following Federative International Congress.
Article 21
(1) The Executive Committee may coordinate activities among Anatomical Associations. However, this will only be done only at the specific request of the Anatomical Associations involved.
Article 22
(1) The Executive Committee may propose appointments of specialized Federative International Programmes and Committees ad referendum of the General Assembly.
(2) Each specialized Federative International Programme or Committee shall be comprised of representatives of as many Associations of anatomists as possible, provided they are members of IFAA.
Article 23
(1) In the absence of the President, her/his functions shall be performed temporarily by a Vice-President. The same applies to a Vice-President, who shall be represented by the Secretary-General. The same applies to the Secretary-General who shall be replaced by one of the Secretaries.
(2) In case of the resignation or incapacitation of the President, and prior to relection/reappointment, her/his function will be taken over by a Vice-President. In case of the resignation or incapacitation of a Vice-President, and prior to relection/reappointment, her/his function will be taken over by the Secretary-General. In case of the resignation or incapacitation of the Secretary-General or the Treasurer, and prior to relection/reappointment, their functions shall be performed respectively by the Treasurer or by one of the Secretaries.
Chapter VI
Federative International Congresses
Article 24
Applicants to organize a Federative International Congress shall mail their proposal, including the site date and name of the President to the Secretary- General, at least three months before the beginnin of the next Congress.
Article 25
(1) The President of the Federative International Congress shall be nominated by the respective Association of Anatomists in whose country(ies) the Federative International Congress will take place. She/he shall normally begin her/his term after her/his election by the General Assembly and she/he shall complete it on the last day of the Congress.
(2) A Federative International Committee will be established to monitor the progress of preparations for the upcoming Federative International Congress in order to assist the President of the Congress and to support any local organizing committee. The President of the Congress shall serve ex officio as the Convenor of the committee, which normally should include three members of the IFAA Executive Committee and three members the local organizing committee.
Article 26
The IFAA shall meet during a Federative International Congress every four or preferably five years. The current term of the elected officers shall also be reduced to correspond to the interval between successive Congresses.
Chapter VII
Limitation of Action
Article 27
The IFAA shall not lend any part of its income, without the receipt or adequate security, and shall not pay any compensation for salaries, honoraria or gratuities to any of its officers for personal services rendered. The officers shall serve on a voluntary basis.
Chapter VIII
Termination
Article 28
(1) By proposal of the Executive Committee, the General Assembly may decide to terminate the IFAA by two-thirds of its members present and voting (2) Upon dissolution of the IFAA, the Executive Committee shall distribute the assets to the members according to the decision of the General Assembly.
Chapter IX
Amendments
Article 29
Between Federative International Congresses, and with the approval of the Executive Committee, the Constitution can be amended by at least two-thirds majority vote of the IFAA representatives. All Constitutional changes must subsequently be ratified by at least two-thirds majority vote at a General Assembly of the IFAA.
Chapter X
Unforeseen Cases
Article 30
Cases not considered by this Constitution shall be decided by the Executive Committee and, when necessary, ad referendum of the General Assembly.
Amended and approved by the General Assembly Beijing, China (August 9th, 2014)
Friedrich Paulsen
Secretary-General
