Statutes
I. Name, duration, seat
1. Under the name of International Association of Mathematical
Physics, hereinafter designated as the Association, as association has
been organized and incorporated; it is governed by Article 60 and
following of the Swiss Civil Code and by the present Statutes.
2. The duration of the Association is unlimited.
3. The seat of the Association is in Geneva, Switzerland.
II. Aims of the Association
4. The aims of the Association are:
(a) to promote international cooperation in mathematical physics;
(b) to encourage and coordinate activities in mathematical physics.
5. The aims of the Association may be implemented by whatever methods
deemed appropriate such as (a) distribution of pertinent general
information;
(b) coordination, organization, and support of any form of scientific
activities, such as meetings, conferences and summer schools,
corresponding to the aims of the Association;
(c) coordination and promotion of scientific exchanges.
III. Membership
6. The membership of the Association shall consist of Ordinary Members
and Associate Members.
7. Ordinary membership is open to individuals interested in the
advancement of mathematical physics.
8. Associate membership is open to organizations interested in the
advancement of mathematical physics.
9. Each application to Ordinary or Associate membership is decided
upon by the Executive Committee of the Association on the basis of
recommendations by two Ordinary Members.
10. The Executive Committee may invite individuals or organizations to
become members of the Association.
11. Membership is terminated
(a) by withdrawal in writing;
(b) by death;
(c) by elimination, after non-payment of the membership dues for one
year;
(d) by expulsion, which is decided upon by Executive Committee only on
a serious reason of scientific nature.
12. Elimination of membership due to non-payment of membership dues can
be waived by the Executive Committee.
13. An Expelled person or organization may appeal to the President of
the Association for a ballot of the General Assembly.
Expulsion shall be annulled and the membership recovered if the expulsion does
not receive a simple majority of the valid votes at the ballot
of the General Assembly.
IV. Administration
14. The authority of the Association derives from its members and is
exercised at ballots, conducted electronically or by other
means decided by the Executive Committee, or at a
meeting of the General Assembly.
15. The Association is administered by the Executive Committee which,
in accordance with these Statutes and subject to the direction and
review of the members, shall conduct the business of the Association.
16. The Officers of the Association are a President, a Vice-President,
a Secretary and a Treasurer.
IV(A). General Assembly
17. All Ordinary Members are entitled to attend meetings of the
General Assembly.
18. Any decision reached at meetings of the General Assembly become
binding only when approved by a
ballot of the General
Assembly.
19. Each item in a ballot except the elections of members of the Executive
Committee shall be a choice between approval and rejection.
20. The Executive Committee shall put the following items to a ballot
of the General Assembly.
(a) Items decided upon by the Executive Committee.
(b) A decision reached by vote at a meeting of the General Assembly.
(c) An expulsion of a member, provided that a written appeal to the
President is made by the expelled member.
(d) An amendment of Statutes, an amendment of By-laws or the
dissolution of the Association proposed by a written request with
signatures of not less than one hundred Ordinary Members.
21. Voting rights are reserved for Ordinary Members who paid up the
annual dues. Each paid-up Ordinary Member is entitled to one vote both
at the voting of a meeting of the General Assembly and at a ballot
of the General Assembly.
IV(B). Executive Committee
22. The Executive Committee consists of twelve Ordinary Members of the
Association, elected by a ballot of the General Assembly for a term of
three years, beginning of the first day of January following the election.
23. The Executive Committee shall meet on the call of the President at
least once during its term. The quorum shall consist of six
members of the Executive Committee.
24. Apart from the meeting the Executive Committee conducts its business
by correspondence and ballots.
25. In important matters, the Executive Committee takes decisions
based on votes of the General Assembly.
26. The Executive Committee can dismiss any Officer of the Association
at a meeting or by a ballot, by a majority vote of all members
of the Executive Committee. Dismissed Officers remain members of the
Executive Committee for the remainder of their term.
27. With the written consent of half or more members of the Executive
Committee, any member of the Executive Committee can convene a meeting
of the Executive Committee or a ballot of the Executive Committee,
even against the President's will, on a
motion of the replacement of the President.
28. The Executive Committee may adopt its own rules of procedure, as
long as they do not contravene these Statutes and By-laws.
IV(C). Election of the Members of the Executive Committee
29. Any Ordinary Member who held the Ordinary membership at the first
day of January of the election year, except those who were members of
the Executive Committee in the immediately preceding two consecutive
terms, is eligible to stand as a member of the Executive Committee.
30. The first twelve eligible persons, in the order of numbers of
votes received, shall be elected as members of the Executive Committee
for the new term. In the case of a tie for the last place or places,
the Executive Committee of the current term decides on the matter.
31. A member may resign from the Executive Committee. When a vacancy
arises in the Executive Committee between elections, the Executive
Committee may coopt an Ordinary Member to fill the vacancy. The term
of the member of the Executive Committee so coopted is the remaining
term of the replaced member.
IV(D). Officers
32. The President implements decisions taken by the Executive
Committee.
33. The President chairs meetings of the Executive Committee and of
the General Assembly. In his absence, his place shall be taken by the
Vice-President, or in the absence of the latter by a member of the
Executive Committee.
34. The Association is bound by the signature of the President (or,
should the President be prevented from signing, of the Vice-President)
together with the signature of another member of the Executive
Committee.
35. The Vice-President carries on the functions of the President in
the event of death, incapacity, dismissal or resignation of the
President, until a new President has been elected for the unexpired
term by the Executive Committee.
36. The Secretary is responsible for
(a) administering the election of the members of the Executive
Committee for the subsequent term;
(b) administering the election of the Officers for the subsequent term;
(c) administering the election of the Officers for any vacancy of the
current term;
(d) drafting the minutes of meeting of the Executive Committee and of
the General Assembly;
(e) conducting the ordinary business of the Association;
(f) keeping records.
37. The Treasurer administers the financial matters of the Association.
38. In the event of the death, incapacity, dismissal or resignation of
the Vice-President, of the Secretary or of the Treasurer, the
President may appoint another member of the Executive Committee as a
temporary substitute until the vacancy is filled by a election
of the members of the Executive Committee.
IV(E). Elections of Officers
39. Officers are elected from among the members of the Executive
Committee by a ballot. The term of an Officer is the same as
the period of the term of members of the Executive Committee.
40. No person may hold two or more Offices at the same time.
41. Any vacancy for Officers during their term is to be filled by
election of the members of the Executive Committee. The term of
the Officer so elected is the remaining term of the vacancy.
V. Regional Centers
42. The Executive Committee may create regional secretariats for the
efficiency of the work of the Association.
VI. Finance
43. The resources of the Association consists of
(a) dues paid by members;
(b) possible gifts, bequests and legacies;
(c) subsidies or grants which may be awarded to it by public or private
bodies;
(d) any other resources which may derive from its own activities.
44. In order to fulfill its aims and to secure its functioning, the
Association may at all times constitute or organize separate or
independent funds or bodies and give them an appropriate legal
structure.
45. Members of the Association are not personally liable for the debts
and liabilities of the Association. The Association is liable only to
the extent of its assets.
46. Any member withdrawing from the Association forfeits his rights to
Association assets.
VII. Dissolution of the Association
47. The dissolution of the Association shall be decided upon by a
postal ballot of the General Assembly. The decision of the dissolution
shall be taken by a simple majority vote of all paid-up Ordinary
Members.
48. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, its assets
shall be allocated by the Executive Committee to one or more
scientific organizations.
VIII. By-Laws
49. By-Laws may be established on any matters not covered by these
Statutes, by a ballot of the General Assembly.
50. The By-Laws may be amended by a ballot of the General
Assembly.
IX. Amendment of Statutes
51. No change may be made in these Statutes without the approval of
the simple majority of paid-up Ordinary Members in a ballot of
the General Assembly.
Appendix
1. The members of the Association of Mathematical Physicists as of the
first day of January, 1977, shall be the founding members of the
Association.
2. These Statutes shall enter into force from the moment of its
approval by the simple majority of the founding members in a postal
ballot.
3. The original members of the Executive Committee shall be the
officers in the governing board elected by the Association of
Mathematical Physicists in October, 1975. The term of the original
members of the Executive Committee shall terminate on the thirty-first
day of December, 1978.
4. The Statutes were modified by the General Assembly and a subsequent
postal ballot in April 2007.
By-Laws
I. General Assembly
1. The date and site of each meeting of the General Assembly is
decided upon by the Executive Committee. At least two months before each
meeting of the General Assembly, the Secretary shall mail a
notice to each member of the Association, stating the place and time
of the meeting.
2. The Agenda of each meeting of the General Assembly is decided upon
by the Executive Committee and shall be issued with the announcement
of the meeting.
3. Upon a written request of not less than one fifth of the Ordinary
Members, the Executive Committee shall convene a meeting of the
General Assembly. The written request shall indicate precisely the
agenda or the items which should be discussed at the meeting.
4. The date and items of each ballot of the General Assembly
except those for the elections of members of the Executive Committee
is decided upon by the Executive Committee. At least a month before
the deadline date of the ballot, the Secretary shall
mail a notice to each member of the Association, stating the
item or items of the ballot and the deadline date.
5. A ballot of the General Assembly is valid if valid votes
from at least half of the paid-up Ordinary Members are cast. If a
ballot of the General Assembly becomes invalid due to an
insufficient number of valid with any number of votes, a second
ballot on the same items can, at the discretion of the Executive
Committee, be conducted within two months from the deadline date of the
first ballot. This second ballot is valid with any
number of votes, except for the ballot on the amendment of the
Statutes, on the amendment of the By-Laws, or on the dissolution of
the Association.
6. Each item in a ballot, except for the election of the
members of the Executive Committee, the amendment of the Statutes and
the dissolution of the Association is approved by a simple majority of
the votes.
II. Executive Committee
7. The date, site and agenda of a meeting of the Executive Committee
are decided upon by the President. The President shall include on the
agenda of a meeting of the Executive Committee any item requested by
any member of the Executive Committee in writing. The place, time and
provisional agenda of the meeting shall be announced in writing to
each member of the Executive Committee not later than 30 days before
the meeting. The full agenda of the meeting shall be announced to each
member of the Executive Committee not later than fourteen days before the
meeting.
8. The member of the Executive Committee convening a meeting of the
Executive Committee under Article 27 of the Statutes decides the date
and site of the meeting. The announcement of such a meeting must be
mailed to arrive at each member of the Executive Committee not later
than 30 days before the meeting.
9. Any member of the Executive Committee, who does not attend a
meeting of the Executive Committee, can either appoint in writing
another member as a proxy for that particular meeting or
demand that the meeting can be conducted electronically, or give
specific opinions on items on the agenda to the President in
writing. A decision against such a written opinion can be made only by
the majority opinion among all members of the Executive Committee.
10. A meeting of the Executive Committee can take decisions only on
items on the agenda of the meeting. The minutes of each meeting of the
Executive Committee shall be distributed to all members of the
Executive Committee. Records of discussions
in the Executive Committee shall be kept by the Secretary.
11. In case of a tie in a ballot of the Executive Committee,
the President shall have a second and casting vote.
III. Election of the Members of the Executive Committee
12. The dead-line date for the ballot of the General Assembly
for the election of members of the Executive Committee is the
thirty-first day of October of the last year of the preceding term of the
members of the Executive Committee.
13. At least two months before the deadline of the ballot for
the election of the members of the Executive Committee, the Secretary
shall send the announcement of the ballot to each Ordinary
Member, attaching the official list of Ordinary Members as at the
first day of January of the election year, a list of recommendations
from the Executive Committee possibly with reasons for the
recommendation, a list of individual recommendations, a list of the
top 24 persons in the last such election together with the number of
votes for each person and a list of non-eligible members of the
Executive Committee.
14. A name of an Ordinary Member shall be included in the list of
individual recommendations, if the Secretary's office receives before
the thirtieth day of April of the election year
an individual
recommendation, giving the name and address of the recommendee and
accompanied by signatures of ten further Ordinary Members of the
Association and a letter of consent signed by the recommendee.
15. In the ballot for the election of the members of the
Executive Committee, voters may write 12 or less names in a ballot list.
IV. Election of Officers
16. As soon as the members of the Executive Committee for the
subsequent term shall are elected by the ballot of the General
Assembly, election of Officers for a new term shall be held by a
ballot. Each newly elected member of the Executive Committee
has a voting right for this election.
17. Four Officers are voted, one name for one Office.
The eligible person collecting largest number of votes for each Office
is elected to that Office. In the event of a tie for the largest
number of votes the President for the current term shall have a
casting vote.
18. If a person is elected to two or more Offices by an election, he
becomes the Officer with a higher precedence in the following order:
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer. The unfilled Office
is filled by a further ballot using the same procedure.
V. Finance
19. The fiscal year of the Association shall be the calendar year.
20. The amount of membership dues is fixed by the Executive Committee.
21. The membership dues for each fiscal year is payable by the end of
the preceding fiscal year.
22. The Executive Committee must prepare the budget of the current
year and the financial reports of the preceding year, which are then
to be distributed to all members of the Association.
23. Gifts, bequests and legacies received by the Association must be
used in accordance with the wishes of the donors.
Appendix
1. These By-Laws shall enter into force from the moment of is
approval by the simple majority of the founding members in a postal
ballot.
2. The first President of the Association shall be elected from the
original members of the Executive Committee by a postal ballot of the
original members of the Executive Committee immediately after the
approval of these Statutes. Each member of the Executive Committee
shall have one vote and the eligible person receiving the highest
number of votes shall be the President.
3. The first Officers of the Association other than the President
shall be elected from the original members of the Executive Committee
by a postal ballot of the original members of the Executive Committee
immediately after the election of the first President. This election
is to be administered by the first President of the Association. Each
original member of the Executive Committee has three votes, one for
each Office. The eligible person receiving the highest number of votes
for each Office is elected to that Office. In case of a tie, the
President shall have a second and casting vote. If the same person is
elected to two or more Offices, Article 18 applies.
4. The By-laws were modified by the General Assembly and a subsequent
postal ballot in April 2007.