Statutes and By-laws

STATUTES OF THE ASSOCIATION

Adopted by the General Assembly at Berne, October 1967; modified at Canberra, December 1979; modified by mail ballot, 1998; modified at Perugia, July 2007; modified at Montreal, July 2019; modified by electronic vote, December 2020 (Previous version/changes).

I. Objects, Composition and Membership of the Association

1) The International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) hereafter referred to as the Association is a constituent of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics hereafter referred to as the Union. The Association is subject to those articles of the Statutes and By-Laws of the Union which apply to Associations, and also to these Statutes.

2) The objects of the Association are:

(a) to promote the study of scientific problems relating to the ocean and interactions taking place at its boundaries, chiefly insofar as such study may be carried out by the aid of mathematics, physics and chemistry;

(b) to initiate, facilitate and coordinate research into and investigations of those problems of the ocean which require international cooperation;

(c) to provide for discussion, comparison and publications; and

(d) to organize Assemblies, which include symposia on the most interesting and up-to-date problems of physical and chemical oceanography.

3) Those Adhering Bodies that adhere to the Union are Members of the Association, and are hereafter referred to as "Members".

By resolution of an Association Assembly, other international organizations that are concerned with the study of physical sciences of the oceans may be admitted to Membership, with the status of guests.

II. Administration

4) The Authority of the Association shall be vested in the Members, and exercised collectively by their accredited delegates. The Association will hold a meeting of delegates at General Assemblies of the Union and at Association Assemblies occurring during interim periods between General Assemblies.

5) The Association shall convene scientific symposia and/or workshops and hold business meetings of the Members' delegates at the General Assemblies of the Union, to be held normally once every four years. The Association may recommend to the Executive Committee of the Union, at a General Assembly of the Union, arrangement of joint sessions of two or more Associations or of joint meetings of two or more Committees or Commissions for the discussion of topics of an interdisciplinary character. With the concurrence of the Executive Committee of the Union, the Association may arrange General Assemblies and other meetings of its own in the interval between the General Assemblies of the Union, either singly to deal with topics of specific interest, or jointly with another Association or other Associations.

(a) Meetings of Members' delegates are restricted to the delegates, members of the Association Executive Committee, and persons invited by the Association President when their attendance is deemed necessary to make reports or presentations to the delegates.

(b) Meetings of the Association Executive Committee are restricted to members of the Executive Committee and persons invited by the Association President when their attendance is deemed necessary to make reports or presentations to the Executive Committee.

6) The President, the two Vice Presidents, the Secretary General, and the Treasurer of the Association shall be elected by delegates to the Association in accordance with Section III.

7) The Bureau of the Association shall consist of the President, Past President, the Secretary General and the Treasurer. Its duties shall be to conduct the affairs of the Association in accordance with the decisions of the foregoing meetings of the delegates. It shall prepare the Agenda for meetings of delegates. With the advice of the Association Executive Committee, it shall prepare the scientific program for Assemblies.

8) In accordance with Section III, the delegates from countries having Members shall elect eight persons who, together with the President, immediate Past President, Vice Presidents, Secretary General, and Treasurer, shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Association. One of the eight members will be de facto an early career scientist, whose formal role will be to chair the IAPSO Early Career Scientists Working Group.

9) The Executive Committee may establish Association Commissions, Working Groups or Services to address particular scientific areas of oceanography, and may abolish such Commissions, Working Groups and Services by a majority vote of the Executive Committee members. The Executive Committee may also approve Association participation in joint Commissions, Working Groups and Services with other Associations or scientific bodies, and may withdraw Association participation by a majority vote of the Association Executive Committee members.

10) A Nominations Committee of four persons from countries having Members will be appointed by the Executive Committee. The Nominations Committee will normally include the immediate Past President as its Chairperson. Its function will be to scrutinize nominations received for positions on the Executive Committee which become vacant, to seek additional nominations where appropriate, to ensure disciplinary and geographical distribution, and to prepare a final slate of candidates for election at the General Assembly.

11) The Executive Committee of the Association may establish medals and awards to recognize individuals for their accomplishments in advancing the knowledge of the physical and chemical sciences of the oceans.

III. Voting

12) Voting is held (a) at meetings during the Association Assembly or (b) electronically. Electronic voting is voting using electronic systems (e.g., Internet, E-mail, Fax) and organized by the IAPSO Secretary General. Electronic votes shall be open for one calendar month from the date of announcement. Electronic voting shall normally be suspended in the 6 months preceding an Association Assembly.

13) In questions of scientific nature, or of administrative nature, or of a character partly administrative and partly scientific not involving matters of finance, voting shall be by Members, each Member having one vote with the provision that its subscription shall have been paid up to the end of the year preceding the voting.

14) In questions involving finance, voting shall be by Member delegates, with the same provision as for administrative questions. The number of votes for each Member delegate shall be equal to the number of its category of membership to the Union.

15) Before a vote either during an Association Assembly, or through an electronic vote, the President shall decide whether the matter under consideration is scientific, administrative or financial in character and whether voting by correspondence is applicable.

16) A delegate shall represent only one Member. In the case of voting held during an Association Assembly, an adhering Member not represented by a delegate may submit by post its vote on any specific question of an agenda.

17) Guests will not vote.

IV. General

18) These Statutes shall be changed only by a majority of two thirds of the votes cast by delegates at an Association Assembly or electronically in accordance with Section III. Any modification to the Statutes shall come into force at the close of the Association Assembly at which they are adopted, or in the case of electronic voting on the date at which they are adopted.

19) The Association may make By-Laws which may be changed by a simple majority of the votes cast by delegates at an Association Assembly, or electronically in accordance with Section III. Any modification to the By-Laws shall come into force at the close of the Association Assembly at which they are adopted, or in the case of electronic voting on the date at which they are adopted.

20) This English text shall be the authoritative text of the Statutes of the Association.

BY-LAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION

Adopted by the General Assembly at Berne, October 1967; modified at Canberra, December 1979; modified at Honolulu, August 1995; modified by mail ballot, 1998; modified at Perugia, July 2007; modified by electronic vote, December 2020 (Previous version/changes)

I. Membership of the Association

1) It is recommended that each adhering Member shall form a National Sub-Committee for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans, to which correspondence may be addressed.

2) Each adhering Member and each international member may contribute to the Agenda of Association Assemblies.

II. Administration

3)

(a) The President and the Vice Presidents shall be elected for one four-year term. Their terms shall be the interval between the ends of two successive General Assemblies of the Union. A Vice President may be elected for one additional four-year term.

(b) The term of the immediate Past President shall run from the end of the General Assembly at which the new President is elected until the end of the next General Assembly.

(c) The Secretary General and the Treasurer shall be elected for two periods, and may be re-elected for the subsequent single period.

4) The President shall:

(a) provide general leadership for the Association in all matters;

(b) represent the Association on the Union Executive Committee;

(c) serve as chairperson of those meetings of Members' delegates and the Association Executive Committee held at Association Assemblies;

(d) represent the Association in communications with the International Association for Biological Oceanography (IABO) either directly or through scientific committees of the International Council for Science (ICSU);

(e) appoint qualified ocean scientists to serve as liaisons between the Association and other scientific organizations as appropriate; and

(f) prepare Association responses on inquiries of a scientific nature received from other organizations.

5) The Vice Presidents shall:

(a) perform such tasks as may be assigned by the President or the Association Executive Committee; and

(b) act as the President whenever the President is not present or is unable to perform any of the President's duties. The acting President shall perform such tasks as required by the President.

6) The Secretary General shall:

(a) serve as Secretary of the Association Assemblies, the Member meetings, the Executive Committee and the Bureau; arrange for meetings of these Bodies; prepare and distribute promptly the agenda and the minutes of all their meetings;

(b) manage the affairs of the Association, attend to correspondence, preserve the records;

(c) maintain an Association web page on the World Wide Web, either as part of or linked to the Union web page. The web page shall include all general details of the Association; its activities; abstract books of Association Assemblies when available; and other information of use to Members and associated scientists;

(d) at least three months before the General Assembly of the Union, forward to all the Members a report on the administration of the Association since the last General Assembly, and present a summary of this to the delegates meeting at General Assembly itself; and

(e) perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Association Bureau.

7) The Treasurer of the Association shall be responsible for the financial administration of the Association in accordance with directions issued by the Association Bureau. The Treasurer shall:

(a) prepare the yearly budget of the Association and distribute to the Association Bureau for approval;

(b) collect the funds of the Association and disburse them in accordance with the approved budget;

(c) maintain records of all the financial transactions of the Association and submit annual financial reports thereon to the Association Bureau and to the Treasurer of the Union;

(d) assemble, at the end of the calendar year preceding a General Assembly, the complete accounts of the Association for the past period for presentation to the Association Bureau and the Treasurer of the Union at least three months prior to the General Assembly and at the Member meeting at the Assembly; and

(e) pay traveling expenses and per diem subsistence to members of the Executive Committee attending Association Assemblies and meetings with Association support, where those concerned cannot draw proper allocations from their national sources (see By-Law 18).

8) Of the eight persons referred to in Article 8 of the Statutes, not more than four may be elected to an additional term.

9) The Executive Committee shall:

(a) prepare for the Executive Committee of the Union recommendations concerning the arrangement, at a General Assembly of the Union, of scientific meetings to be confined to joint sessions of two or more Associations or of Joint meetings of two or more Committees or Commissions, for the discussion of topics of an interdisciplinary character;

(b) at its meetings during an Assembly, select the themes of Association symposia for the next Assembly, and recommend conveners for the symposia;

(c) seek for the concurrence of the Executive Committee of the Union for the arrangement of General Assemblies and other meetings of the Association in the intervals between the General Assemblies of the Union, either singly to deal with topics of specific interest, or jointly with another Association or other Associations;

(d) fill any vacancy which may occur among the officers of the Association between General Assemblies. Such appointments shall be subject to the subsequent approval of the next General Assembly. Tenure of office for part of a period shall not be counted as a period for the purpose of these By-Laws;

(e) consider matters of general administration and finance, and report thereon to the General Assembly;

(f) make recommendations on matters of policy;

(g) frame the budget for the ensuing period and report to the General Assembly of the Association and to the Secretary General of the Union. The budget period of the Association coincides with the budget period of the Union;

(h) advise upon the distribution of funds; and

(i) consider proposals for changes in the Statutes and By-Laws, and report thereon to the General Assembly.

10) Officers designated by these By-Laws for special duties or for special committees may appoint substitutes in their stead. Notice of the intention to do so must be sent in writing to the President or Secretary General. No substitute shall represent more than one officer.

11) Decisions and actions of the Officers and Committees of the Association, taken during and between Association Assemblies, shall be reported to the delegates' business meeting at the Assembly.

12) Proposals for the Agenda of the meeting of delegates at General Assemblies of the Union and Association Assemblies shall reach the Secretary General six months before the meetings. The Secretary General shall send the Agenda to the Members and their accredited delegates, through the National Sub-Committees where such exist, at least four months before the meeting. No question not previously placed on the Agenda shall be discussed unless approved by two thirds of the votes of the Members represented at the Assembly.

13) Medals and Awards

(a) The Executive Committee shall establish protocols for awarding medals or other awards established by the Association.

(b) The Prince Albert I Medal shall be awarded at each Association Assembly to a distinguished ocean scientist for career achievements in advancing the knowledge of the physical and/or chemical sciences of the oceans.

(c) The Eugene LaFond Medal will be awarded at Association Assemblies to a student or scientist from a developing country in recognition of the student's or scientist's presentation of an outstanding paper. Not more than one Medal will be awarded at any Assembly. The Executive Committee may decline to present the Medal at a particular Assembly.

14) Nominations Committee

(a) The terms of members of the Nominations Committee referred to in Article 10 of the Statutes will expire at the end of the General Assembly following their appointment.

(b) A call for nominations for candidates for positions on the Executive Committee will be issued by the Secretary General of the Association at least six months prior to a General Assembly where an election is to take place.

(c) Nominations must be accompanied by a brief Curriculum Vitae, and will not be accepted later than three months prior to the General Assembly, except for additional candidates identified by the Nominations Committee in accordance with Article 10 of the Statutes.

(d) The Nominations Committee will prepare a slate of candidates one month prior to the General Assembly, and will confirm that the members of this slate are prepared to serve if elected.

(e) In the event of a vacancy occurring on the Executive Committee during its term of office as a result of the resignation or demise of a member, the Nominations Committee will assist the Executive Committee in finding a suitable replacement.

III. Finance

15) The President and Treasurer shall individually have power to sign documents on behalf of the Association.

16) All disbursements of Association funds shall be made by the Treasurer in consultation with the Association Bureau.

17) The Treasurer shall receive the allocation of funds from the Union, maintain financial accounts, obtain receipts for disbursement of funds and maintain financial records.

18) Traveling expenses may be paid by the Treasurer, but only

(a) in connection with meetings on specific Association or Union business; when the travelers represent the Association and not the Members or other organizations; and where those concerned cannot draw proper allocations from their national sources; and

(b) to cover the traveling costs of a person receiving an award from the Association.

(c) Such payments may cover traveling costs at economy rates and a reasonable contribution to other expenses when attending such meetings.