ARR Constitution

Rules of the Association

1. The name of the Institution (hereinafter called "the Association") is "The Association for Radiation Research".

2. The Association shall be a voluntary non-profit making body of persons associated for the purpose described below.

3. The objects for which the Association is established are charitable, and are:

(a) To promote learning and advance education in the field of radiation research. 

(b) To extend, increase and disseminate knowledge of radiation research in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, medicine and other related disciplines. 

(c) To affiliate or join in association with any other charitable body, institution or society whose interests and objects are similar, ancillary or considered to be helpful to the objects of the Association. 

(d) To receive and apply donations, subscriptions and funds from persons and organisations designed to promote the objects aforesaid, or any of them, and to hold funds in trust for same. 

(e) To do all such things as are incidental or the Association may think conducive to the attainment of the above objects or any of them. 

4. Membership 

(i) Any persons who are concerned, interested or engaged directly or indirectly in the fields of radiation biology, radiation chemistry, radiation physics, radiation oncology, radiography, radiation protection or in any related pursuit, or who are able to contribute to the objects of the Association, may be eligible for election to membership of the Association. 

(ii) There shall be one class of membership which shall be open to persons of any nationality, except that, in accordance with these general principles, a person may be elected to Honorary Membership on the basis of distinction in his or her field, and/or service to the Association. Honorary Membership should not exceed 20 living persons. 

(iii) Election to membership and Honorary Membership shall be made by the Committee. The Committee's decision in all elections to membership and Honorary Membership shall be final and no reason need be assigned by them for non-election to membership. 

(iv) Any member may resign his or her membership by giving to the Secretary notice in writing, including by valid e-mail, to that effect. 

5. Subscriptions

(i) The Annual Subscription for members shall be set by the General Meeting (see 7), on the recommendation of the Committee. The Annual Subscription for students and retired members shall be one half that of ordinary members of the Association.  Membership is free to Honorary Members. 

(ii) Annual subscriptions shall be payable in advance on the 1st of July in each year. Whatever time a person applies for election to the membership, the full annual subscription shall apply for the current year, except that if he/she applies for membership after 1st March the subscription will apply from 1st July of that year.  

In the event of any person subsequently not being elected under rule 4(i) they shall be entitled to the return of any subscriptions already paid. 

(iii) Any member whose subscription is more than three years overdue  shall cease to be a member unless the Committee otherwise decide. 

6. Expulsion from Membership 

The Committee may expel from the Association any member whose conduct is such as shall, in the opinion of the Committee, be injurious to the character and interests of the Association or render him unfit to be a member of the Association. Before a member is expelled his/her conduct shall be inquired into by the Committee and he/she shall be given an opportunity to defend themselves and to justify or explain their conduct. If two thirds of the members of the Committee present when the matter is inquired into are of the opinion that the member has been guilty of such conduct as aforesaid and that the member has failed to justify or explain it satisfactorily the Committee may call upon the member to resign, and if they does not resign, may expel them from membership. Provided always that a member so expelled shall have a right of appeal to members at the next General Meeting and the members present at such a meeting shall decide by a two thirds majority on a secret ballot whether the Committee's decision to expel the member shall be confirmed.

7. General Meeting 

(i) A General Meeting of the Association shall take place not less frequently than once in every two years, at such a place as may be determined by the Committee. As far as possible, the General Meeting shall be held in conjunction with a Scientific Meeting at which attendance of members is unrestricted. Fourteen days' notice giving details of time, place, agenda and resolutions shall be given in the case of each General Meeting. 

(ii) A quorum for a General Meeting shall not be less than two officiating members and three ordinary members of the Committee personally present with ten other members. 

(iii) The above-mentioned meeting shall be called General Meetings. All other meetings shall be called Special General Meetings. 

 

8. Special General Meeting 

(i) The Committee may, whenever they think fit, convene a Special General Meeting. 

(ii) Alternatively, the Secretary may convene a Special General Meeting forthwith upon the request in writing, including valid e-mail, of twenty five members of the Association stating the purpose for which the meeting is required.

(iii) At least twenty-eight clear days' notice shall be given of a Special General Meeting. Every such notice shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the business to be conducted. 

(iv) A quorum at a Special General Meeting, be it convened under Subclause (i) or (ii), shall be twenty five members. 

9. Scientific Committee 

The Committee may arrange Scientific Meetings of the Association at suitable times and places. The arrangements for such meetings shall be made by the Committee through a local organising committee or by some other body participating in the meeting.

10. Procedure of General Meetings & Special General Meetings 

(i) The Chairman/Chairwoman of the Committee shall preside as Chairman/Chairwoman at any General Meeting. If the Chairman/Chairwoman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, then the numbers present if sufficient to form a quorum shall choose a member of the Committee, or if all members of the Committee present decline to preside, then they may choose any member present to preside. 

(ii) The Chairman/Chairwoman of the meeting may with the consent of the meeting at which a quorum is present, or if such a meeting so decide, adjourn the meeting from time to time, or from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at such adjourned meeting other than business for which the adjournment took place. 

(iii) At all General Meetings any resolution put to the vote at the meeting shall, unless the Rules otherwise provide, be decided by a show of hands by a majority of the members present in person and entitled to vote, and a declaration by the Chairman/Chairwoman of the meeting that a resolution has been carried or lost shall be conclusive and the Secretary shall record this in the minutes. 

(iv) Every member present shall have one vote and in the event of an equality of votes the Chairman/Chairwoman shall be entitled to a further or casting vote. 

(v) If within half an hour of the time appointed for the holding of a General Meeting a quorum is not present the meeting, if convened on the request of members, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to such time as the Chairman/Chairwoman shall decide.  

11. The Committee

(i) The affairs of the Association shall be managed by the Committee which shall be the governing body of the Association and which will act on behalf of the Association within the rules of the Association. 

(ii) The Committee shall consist of a Chairman/Chairwoman, a Vice-Chairman/Chairwoman who succeeds the Chairman/Chairwoman at the completion of the latter's term of office, a Past Chairman/Chairwoman, a Secretary and a Treasurer and up to ten, but no less than 5 ordinary members in any one year. 

(iii) Only members of the Association shall be eligible to hold office as Committee members. 

(iv) A member of the Committee may resign his/her office at any time by giving notice in writing, including valid e-mail, to the Committee. 

(vi) Subject to the above-mentioned maximum number, the existing members of the Committee may from time to time appoint any member of the Association to be an additional member of the Committee to fill a casual vacancy. Any member so appointed shall retain his/her office only until the next committee elections, at this time he/she shall then be eligible for re-election.  

12. Election of the Committee 

(i) Nomination for any vacancies on the committee will be requested from the membership by the Secretary not less than 2 months before the 1st July deadline (See 12(ii)). If at that time, more nominations are received than places to fill, an e-mail ballot will be held.  The Secretary shall send to all Ordinary Members a ballot paper containing a list of the names of the nominees. Voting for the election of Committee members shall be by returning the ballot papers to the Honorary Secretary, by e-mail, by the date stated on the ballot paper. Those candidates receiving the majority vote will be elected for a place on the committee.  The results will be announced by e-mail to the membership and minuted at the next available General Meeting.

(ii) Any member shall be entitled to nominate another member for each office, provided the nominee has consented to stand and is eligible for the office. Nominations shall be seconded by another member and shall be received by post or valid e-mail according to the specified deadline stated. If there has not been at least one nomination for each office, the Secretary shall, in consultation with Committee members, make such provision as ensures that there shall be at least one nominee for each office. 

(iii) Providing that they are happy to serve another term and that conduct, in the opinion of the committee, is conducive to the successful running of the Association, committee members do not have to be re-elected by the membership to serve a second or third period on the committee (see 12(iv)). 

(iv) All members of the Committee shall be elected for a period of initially two years, to run from 1st July, and can remain on the Committee for up to six years (serving three periods of two years each) provided that: 

(a) The Secretary and the Treasurer do not serve in those offices for more than two and three consecutive two-year periods respectively.

(b) The Chairman/Chairwoman and Vice-Chairman/Chairwoman shall not be eligible to serve in those offices for consecutive two-year periods. 

(c) Any Committee member who has served in an office of the Committee shall be eligible to serve in another office in the next two-year period, provided that he/she does not serve as an ordinary member of the committee for more than three consecutive two-year periods. 

(v) The Association may by a resolution adopted at a General Meeting or Special General Meeting remove any member of the Committee before the expiration of his/her period of office and may appoint another member in his/her place, but any person so appointed shall retain his/her office so long as the officer or member in whose place he/she is appointed would have held the same if he/she had not been removed.  

13. Procedure at Committee Meetings 

(i) The Committee may meet together to undertake business as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of votes. In the case of an equality of votes the Chairman/Chairwoman shall have a further or casting vote. 

(ii) A quorum of the Committee shall be four consisting of three members with the Chairman/Chairwoman or the Secretary or the Treasurer. In the absence of the Chairman/Chairwoman the Committee shall elect one of their number as Chairman/Chairwoman. 

(iii) On the request of any three members of the Committee, the Secretary shall at any time summon a meeting of the Committee within twenty-eight clear days. 

(iv) The Committee shall cause proper minutes to be made of the proceedings of all meetings of the Association and of the Committee and minutes will be ratified by the committee at the next available meeting. 

(v) All acts done by any meetings of the members of the Committee or by any person acting as a member of the Committee shall, notwithstanding that it afterwards be discovered that there is some defect in the appointment of any such member of the Committee or person acting as aforesaid or that they or any of them were disqualified be, as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a member of the Committee. 

(vi) The office of member of the Committee shall be vacated if the member (a) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his/her creditors generally or (b) becomes of unsound mind, or (c) resigns his/her office by notice in writing, including valid e-mail, to the Committee.  

14. Accounts 

(i) The Committee shall cause proper books of accounts to be kept with respect to (a) all sums of money received and expended by the Association, (b) all sales and purchases by the Association, (c) all assets and liabilities of the Association. 

(ii) At each General Meeting the Committee shall present to the members of the Association an account of income and expenditure since the last General Meeting made up to the preceding 31st December, together with a balance sheet made up as at the same date. 

(iii) The Committee shall have the accounts of the Association audited according to the rules of the Charity Commission. 

 

15. Winding Up

The Association may only be dissolved by resolution at a General Meeting approved by seventy-five per cent of the members present and voting. In the event of winding up, the assets of the Association, after payment of debts and liabilities, shall be transferred to a selected charitable institution of a similar nature to the Association. 

16. Changes in Rules 

(i) The Committee may, by resolution in that behalf, passed at any meeting by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members present and voting (and is an absolute majority of the whole of the Committee) and confirmed at the next General Meeting by a like majority, alter, amend or add to these rules and such alteration, amendment or addition shall be effectual between the resolution of the Committee and the next General Meeting in any event.  Any changes agreed by the membership in principle will be minuted at the next available General Meeting.

(ii) Members unable to attend the General Meeting at which such resolution is voted on, may vote on such resolutions by post or valid e-mail. Votes received by the Committee not later than thirty minutes before the time of the meeting shall be added to those cast personally at the meeting. 

17. Notices and Communications

(i)  Any notice required to be given by these rules shall be given in such a manner as the Committee may decide.

(ii) Communication within the Committee, and between the Committee and Members, shall normally be by e-mail unless the Committee decides otherwise.

(iii)  It is the responsibility of Members to inform the Secretary and/or Treasurer of their e-mail address for such communications. In any event, failure of the Secretary/Treasurer or Members to receive e-mail communications, regardless of cause, shall not be deemed to result in any election or resolution being invalid, providing that the Secretary/Treasurer has taken reasonable steps to e-mail Members at their last known e-mail address and to maintain e-mail facilities to receive communications.

(iv) Notices of General Meetings and Special General Meetings, and of elections to the Committee, shall also be posted on the Association's web site at the time of circulating the Membership by e-mail.

Note:
In the unlikely event of the Association becoming bankrupt, the liability of Ordinary members would be limited to the amount of their subscription for the year in question and any arrears which they had not paid, except that the members would be liable for any particular debt which they had specifically authorized the Committee to incur. Apart from this exceptional case, the responsibility would fall upon members of the Committee, whose task it is to manage the affairs of the Association.