IASA Constitution - old version

The following text is of the old version of the IASA constitution, as adopted by postal ballot on 22 September 1999. Read the current version here: new constitution

ARTICLE 1: NAME

The name of the organisation is
in English: International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives
in French: Association Internationale d'Archives Sonores et Audiovisuelles
in German: Internationale Vereinigung der Schall- und Audiovisuellen Archive
in Spanish: Asociaci��n Internacional de Archivos Sonoros y Audiovisuales

Acronym: IASA

ARTICLE II: PURPOSES

A. To strengthen the bonds of co-operation between archives and other institutions which preserve sound and audiovisual documents.

B. To initiate and encourage activities that develop and improve the organisation, administration and contents of recorded sound and audiovisual collections, and, in pursuance of these aims, to co-operate with other organisations in related fields.

C. To study all techniques relevant to the work of sound and audiovisual archives and other institutions which preserve these documents and to disseminate the results of such study on an international scale.

D. To encourage, on an international level, the exchange of sound and audiovisual documents and of literature and information relating to these documents.

E. To stimulate and further by every means the preservation, documentation and dissemination of all recorded sound and audiovisual collections.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

A. Six categories of membership shall make up the Association.

Full institutional: shall be available to institutions, organisations, or corporations holding sound or audiovisual collections.
Full individual: shall be available to persons professionally engaged in the work of archives and other institutions which preserve sound or audiovisual documents; including persons retired from professional engagement.
Associate institutional: shall be available to institutions, organisations, or corporations having a serious interest in the stated purposes of the Association.
Associate individual: shall be available to persons having a serious interest in the stated purposes of the Association.
Honorary: may be awarded by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Executive Board as a token of meritorious service in the work of sound and audiovisual archives.
Sustaining: shall be available to persons, institutions, or organisations interested in the welfare of the Association.

B. Members in all categories shall be entitled to serve on committees, sections and task forces, attend meetings of the General Assembly, and make recommendations on Association business.

C. Only full individual members and representatives of full institutional members shall be eligible to hold office on the Executive Board and to vote on Association business. These rights extend to all honorary members elected by the Association. Full individual members have one vote. Full institutional members, represented each by one nominated person, have two votes.

D. Members in all categories shall be entitled to receive the publications of the Association under the conditions provided for their distribution.

E. Membership dues shall be fixed by the General Assembly upon the proposal of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE IV: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

A. The General Assembly shall be comprised of those members from all categories who are in attendance at the annual meetings of the Association.

B. The General Assembly shall be convened annually to receive and vote on the reports of the Executive Board and other Association business.

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ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE BOARD

A. The Executive Board of the Association shall consist of the elected officers, plus the Immediate Past President.

B. The Executive Board shall serve as the executive organ of the Association and shall approve annual budgets.

C. The President and Secretary-General shall be empowered to appoint further non- elected and non-voting members of the Board to carry out specific functions as the need arises. Such appointments are to be confirmed by the first General Assembly after the appointment, and will run for the term of the Executive Board which makes the appointment, but can be reaffirmed by every new Executive Board. Such members are responsible to the Executive Board.

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ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS

A. Officers of the Association shall be: President, Past President, three Vice-Presidents, Editor, Secretary-General, Treasurer.

B. The Immediate Past President of the Association shall remain a member of the Executive Board as of right for one term, and not be subject to election on such occasion.

C. Officers shall be elected by the membership as provided by the By-Laws.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

A. The General Assembly shall be convened by the Executive Board at least once every year, the exact time and place to be determined by the Executive Board.

B. Meetings of the Executive Board shall be called by the Secretary-General upon the direction of the President. Upon request by three members of the Executive Board a meeting must be called.

C. At the written request of at least 50 per cent of the membership the Executive Board must convene an extraordinary General Assembly. At such meetings no business may be transacted other than that for which the meetings have been called.

ARTICLE VIII: PUBLICATIONS

A. A periodical of the Association shall be published under the responsibility of the Editor whose editorial policy shall be approved by the Executive Board.

B. Any other publications of the Association require the prior approval of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE IX: COMMITTEES, SECTIONS AND TASK FORCES

A. The formation and dissolution of a committee is decided by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Executive Board. The formation includes the name of the committee, its purposes and aims and the name of the committee's chairperson and potential members.

B. The formation and dissolution of a section is decided by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Executive Board. The formation includes the name of the section, its purposes and aims and the name of the section's chairperson and potential members.

C. The formation of a task force is decided by the Executive Board on the initiative of any interested party and includes the name of the task force, its size, the and scope and the name of the group's convenor and potential members. Dissolution of a task force shall take place either automatically when the defined end of the project has been achieved and a final project report presented to and accepted by the Executive Board, or on the decision of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE X: NATIONAL OR REGIONAL BRANCHES

A. National or regional associations or groups of members of IASA in any country may apply to the Executive Board for recognition as a National or Regional Branch of IASA.

B. Applications shall be addressed to the Secretary-General of IASA who shall refer such applications to the Executive Board. The Board shall draw up a proposal to be voted upon by the next General Assembly.

ARTICLE XI: AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS

A. Associations or organisations with purposes similar to the purposes of IASA may apply to the Executive Board for recognition as an Affiliated Organisation.

B. Applications shall be addressed to the Secretary-General of IASA who shall refer such applications to the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall draw up a proposal to be voted upon by the next General Assembly.

ARTICLE XII: EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Relations of IASA with organisations in related fields of interest:

A.1. The terms of relationship with other organisations shall be drafted by the Executive Board and submitted to the General Assembly. Approval shall be by a majority of the votes cast.

A.2. The President, with the approval of the Executive Board, may enrol or withdraw the Association as a member of another organisation. Such memberships must to be presented to the following General Assembly of the Association for approval.

B. The Executive Board may appoint a member to represent the Association in its relations with other organisations, the term of the appointment to be at the discretion of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE XIII: OFFICIAL YEAR

The official year of the Association shall be the year between regular meetings of the General Assembly.

ARTICLE XIV: AMENDMENTS

The Constitution and the By-Laws may be amended by a postal ballot of members entitled to vote. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority and the By-Laws by a simple majority of the votes cast. A draft of the amendment must be mailed to each member at least three months before the General Assembly at which the amendment(s) is (are) discussed and a recommendation made on a two-thirds majority to submit the amendment(s) to a postal ballot.

ARTICLE XV: DISSOLUTION

The Dissolution of the Association may be pronounced only with the approval of a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by members in postal ballot.

ARTICLE XVI: AUTHORITATIVE LANGUAGE OF THE CONSTITUTION

In case of disagreement the English text of the Constitution is authoritative.

ARTICLE XVII: EFFECTIVE DATE

This Constitution is effective from 22 September 1999.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE I: NAME

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE II: PURPOSES

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

A. Dues

Proposals for changes in membership dues shall be mailed to each member at least two months before the meeting of the General Assembly at which the proposal will be put to a vote. To become effective, such proposals require a majority of the votes cast by members in attendance at the meeting.
The dues of all members shall be paid to the Treasurer of the Association.
The membership year shall be the calendar year and dues are payable on January 1st.
To secure voting privileges at any meeting, dues for the current membership year must be paid before that meeting.
If a member's dues remain unpaid for one calendar year, the membership may be considered terminated.

B. Application for membership

Application for membership shall be addressed to the Officer of the Association who is authorised to accept such applications and to determine the appropriate category of membership which may be granted in accordance with Article III of the Constitution.

C. Representation

An authorised officer of a body holding institutional membership in the Association may designate, by name, a person to receive communications from the Association and an authorised officer of a body holding institutional membership in the Association my designate, by name, a person to cast the institution's votes.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE IV: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE BOARD

A. A quorum shall consist of at least four Officers of the Executive Board.

B. Voting shall be by a majority of Officers present at a meeting.

C. The President or his deputy shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie.

D. The President and Secretary-General jointly shall be empowered to act in emergencies. Such action shall be subject to earliest possible approval by the Executive Board.

E. Disbursements

Applications for extraordinary disbursement shall be made to the Treasurer who will report them to the Executive Board for approval.
All cheques drawn on the accounts of the Association shall be signed by the Treasurer, or by other persons authorised by the Executive Board.

F. The Executive Board is empowered to fill any vacancies which arise on the Executive Board, the person so appointed to serve only for the unexpired term of the office.

BY LAWS TO ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS

A. Nomination

In the year preceding the General Assembly at which the election of officers is to take place, the Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three members. The Nominating Committee shall elect a chairman from among its members. Following its appointment the Committee shall circulate the membership requesting nominations for all offices, the nominations to be duly signed by a proposer, a seconder and the nominee. In the event that no nomination(s) has (have) been received for any office(s) eight months prior to the date of the election, the Nominating Committee shall itself seek a candidate(s) for that (those) office(s), the nomination(s) to be duly signed each by a proposer, a seconder and the nominee. The Committee shall then prepare a slate of all nominations, listing the nominations for each office in alphabetical order. This slate shall be mailed to the membership four months before the date of the election.
The President shall not be eligible for nomination to a second consecutive term as President.

B. Elections

The Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall preside over the elections at the General Assembly and shall not vote except to break a tie in the election of any Officer.
Voting shall be by postal ballot. Full members should receive the ballot form four months before the General Assembly at which the election results will be announced. Members of the Association shall return their ballot papers in a blank sealed inner envelope. The inner envelope shall be enclosed in an outer envelope bearing the name and address of the voting member and sent to the Chairman of the Nominating Committee. It must be received by the Chairman of the Nominating Committee at least one month before the General Assembly. The Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall check whether the member is entitled to vote (cf Article III C of the Constitution). The ballot papers which have been accepted shall be delivered unopened at the General Assembly. Only members of the Nominating Committee are permitted to open the inner envelopes at the counting.
Officers shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by members and the results shall be announced by the Chairman of the Nominating Committee at the General Assembly.
In the event that there is only one nomination for any office, that nominee shall be deemed elected and the full membership informed four months before the General Assembly at which the election results will be announced. Otherwise voting shall be by postal ballot (cf Para B.2.).

C. Terms of Office

Officers shall assume office at the end of the General Assembly in which the election is held and shall retire at the end of the General Assembly three years following their election.

D. Duties

The Officers are to serve as voting members of the Executive Board. In addition, Officers will perform the following duties and other duties stipulated elsewhere in the Constitution and By-Laws.

The President: to act as chief executive officer of the Association.
Vice Presidents: to serve as general advisers on Association business and one of the Vice-Presidents or the Past President, on the decision of the Executive Board, to act as the chief executive officer in the event of the President's inability to serve. Moreover, each Vice-President undertakes duties determined in agreement with the Executive Board.
Secretary-General: to prepare agenda and record minutes for Executive Board meetings and General Assemblies, to prepare and co-ordinate annual conferences and inter-conference Executive Board meetings, to maintain communications with committees and national branch executive officers, to co-ordinate the work of the secretariat as it affects membership, to attend to correspondence as directed by the President, and to maintain relations with bodies IASA is affiliated to or who may affiliate with IASA.
Treasurer: to prepare the annual budget for the approval of the Executive Board, and to keep an accurate record of income and expenditure.
Editor: to edit and publish the Association's publications.
Past President: Ex officio member of the Board with voting rights, to provide continuity and to undertake duties determined in agreement with the Executive Board.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

A. Notice of meetings of the General Assembly and an agenda of the business to be transacted shall be mailed to the members by the Secretary-General not less than two months in advance of the meeting.

B. Representation Institutional members may be represented by a person other than the one designated in the By-Laws to Article III, paragraph C, provided the institution files an authorisation with the Secretary-General.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE VIII: PUBLICATIONS

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE IX: COMMITTEES, SECTIONS AND TASK FORCES

A. Committees

Membership
Members may apply to serve on a committee. Applications must be addressed to a committee officer and approved by the committee members.
Officers
Officers of a committee shall be at least a chairperson, a vice chair and a secretary. The chairperson shall be appointed by the Executive Board on recommendation of the committee members following elections every three years and serve at the discretion of the Executive Board. The vice chair and the secretary shall be elected by the committee members every three years.
Duties
To organise and co-ordinate the work of the committee. To be responsible for, and to inform the Executive Board in time, of the committee's programme at the annual conference. To report annually to the Executive Board and the General Assembly. Election of committee officers. Committees shall elect officers every three years.

B. Sections

Membership
Members may apply to serve on a section. Applications must be addressed to the section officers and approved by the section members.
Officers
Officers of a section shall be at least a chairperson, a vice chair and a secretary. The chairperson shall be appointed by the Executive Board on recommendation following elections every three years and serve at the discretion of the Executive Board. The vice chair and the secretary shall be elected by the section members every three years.
Duties
To organise and co-ordinate the work of the section. To hold at least one working session per year, the minutes of which must be forwarded to the Executive Board. To be responsible for, and to inform the Executive Board in time, of the section's programme at the annual conference. To report annually to the Executive Board and the General Assembly on the section's work progress. Make recommendations to the Executive Board on the appointment of the section's chairperson and elect the vice chair and the secretary every three years.

C. Task forces

Membership
Members may apply to serve on a task force preferably before project start. Applications must be addressed to the group's convenor. A task force is empowered to co-opt experts or specialists if necessary.
Officers
A task force is controlled and managed by a convenor. The convenor shall be appointed by the Executive Board and serve at the discretion of the Executive Board. The structure of a task force is determined by the convenor.
Duties
To be responsible for the settling of the project as agreed by the Executive Board. To set up and carry out a working plan for the project. To inform the Executive Board and the General Assembly on the project progress at the annual conference(s) by written reports; give a final written project report appropriate for distribution as soon as the project is finished.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE X: NATIONAL OR REGIONAL BRANCHES

A. A representative of a National or Regional Branch may participate in an annual meeting of the Executive Board and report to the General Assembly.

B. To become recognised as a National or Regional Branch an association or organisation shall fulfil the following demands:

It shall state a wish to become closely related with IASA.
It shall state its readiness to refer to the Executive Board of IASA for approval any matters of other than a routine nature which are to be nationally promulgated in IASA's name and all matters proposed for international circulation.
All members shall reside in the same country or region.
The association or organisation shall include a membership of whom at least 50% are also members of IASA.
The chairman and at least one other member of the executive committee of the association or organisation shall be members of IASA.
Each National or Regional Branch shall have at least two officers, one of whom is the chief executive.
Each National or Regional Branch shall designate a representative who shall report about the affairs of the association or organisation in the annual meetings of the Executive Board and the General Assembly of IASA. The representatives of a National or Regional Branch shall be a member of IASA.
Each National or Regional Branch can establish and levy its own dues. It shall establish and levy such dues in consultations with IASA.
Each National or Regional Branch shall submit to the Executive Board of IASA a copy of its local rules or constitution, which rules or constitution shall be in harmony with the Constitution of IASA.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XI: AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS

A. A representative of an Affiliated Organisation shall participate in an annual meeting of the Executive Board and report to the General Assembly.

B. To become recognised as an Affiliated Organisation with purposes similar to the purposes of IASA an association or organisation shall fulfil the following demands:

It shall state a wish to become affiliated with IASA.
It shall designate a representative who shall report about the affairs of the association or organisation in the annual meetings of the Executive Board and the General Assembly of IASA.
The Affiliated Organisation shall be entitled to vote at the General Assembly of IASA.
The Affiliated Organisation shall pay an annual due to IASA to be established by the General Assembly of IASA on the recommendation of the Executive Board.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XII: EXTERNAL RELATIONS

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XIII: OFFICIAL YEAR

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XIV: AMENDMENTS

Voting shall be by postal ballot on the recommendation of the General Assembly. Agreed amendments will be forwarded to the membership within two months of the General Assembly. The Secretary-General shall conduct the ballot and specify the date for the return of valid voting papers. Ballot papers should be returned in a sealed inner envelope. The inner envelope will be enclosed in an outer envelope bearing the name and address of the voting member. The Secretary-General will collect the ballots and open them after the final date for return. Votes will be counted by the Secretary-General and/or his nominees and the results forwarded to the Executive Board who will amend the Constitution accordingly. The result will be announced to the membership at the following General Assembly. The Constitutional amendments will take effect from the date of the General Assembly which receives them.

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XV: DISSOLUTION

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XVI: AUTHORITATIVE LANGUAGE OF THE CONSTITUTION

BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE XVII: EFFECTIVE DATE

These By-Laws are effective from 22 September 1999.

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