European Geosciences Union

1.1

organise annual General Assemblies, with the help of a Programme Committee (see By-Law 7.6), at which a full range of scientific sessions shall be held;

1.2

organise, sponsor or co-sponsor appropriate workshops, scientific meetings, topical conferences, short courses, summer schools, etc. outside General Assemblies, including those organised by other bodies;

1.3

publish a Newsletter, under the auspices of an Editor, which shall be distributed to all members;

1.4

publish appropriate scientific journals and books on all media, which shall be available to all members (as defined in Article 2.1.) at concessionary rates;

1.5

undertake outreach activities, which should include: identifying and drawing attention to social problems which could be addressed by the scientific work of its members and communication with the non-scientific public;

1.6

establish links which would allow influence to be brought to bear on decision-makers, primarily but not exclusively, in Europe;

1.7

establish liaisons with other scientific organisations, both within and outside Europe, to mutual benefit;

1.8

encourage participation of young scientists in the affairs of the Union through concessionary fees and a limited number of travel awards to assist attendance at General Assemblies.

2.1

Applications for Individual Membership are handled by the Executive Secretary (or Secretaries) (see By-law 4.4.).

2.2

Proposals for Honorary Membership shall be made to the Chairman of the Honorary Membership Committee and considered in confidence by the Awards Committee (see By-law 7.9a.), and, where recommendations in favour are made, these shall be submitted to the Council for approval.

2.3

The amounts of membership fees shall be determined by the Council, on the advice of the Finance Committee (see By-law 7.8c.).

2.4

All members are entitled to

3.1

Slates for the election of officers to vacant posts on the Council shall be prepared by the Nomination Committee (see By-law 7.10.a.). Such slates should, wherever possible, contain at least two names for each vacancy. The names of candidates for Presidents of Divisions and Sections shall be decided at the relevant Business Meetings of the Divisions and Sections (see By-law 6.10.) and for the other officers of Council at the relevant Plenary Session, respectively, and fed to the Nominations Committee. Members of the Union not being able to attend the relevant Business Meetings or Plenary Session may propose names of candidates directly to the Chairpersons of the Business Meetings of the Divisions and Sections (see By-law 6) or of the Plenary Session (see By-law 9), respectively, by 3 weeks prior to the relevant meetings.

3.2

The Chairman of the Nominations Committee must ascertain the willingness of each candidate to stand for election.

3.3

The Chairman of the Nominations Committee shall present the proposed slates to the Council for its approval.

3.4

Ballot papers, listing all candidates, and with provision for additional write-in candidates, shall be distributed to all members of the Union by the Executive Secretary (or Secretaries).

3.5

Members may vote for one candidate only for each vacancy, but with the proviso that each Member may vote for only one President of a Division or Section, however many Presidential vacancies occur. Completed ballot papers shall be returned to the Executive Secretary (or Secretaries).

3.6

The names of the elected candidates shall be announced at the Council meeting and the Plenary Session of the Union held during the next General Assembly, and in the Newsletter.

4.1

The President shall be elected to serve for a term of 2 years. He/she shall be elected one year before the beginning of the term of office, and in that period serve as President-Elect, and shall continue as a member of the Council for one year after the term of office, as Past-President. The President-Elect or the Past-President, respectively, is the Vice-President of the Union.

4.2

The President shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.

4.3

The President shall normally preside at meetings of the Council and the Plenary Session, and shall be an ex-officio member of all Committees (if not already specified). If the President is unable to act, for whatever reason, the Vice-President shall deputies for him/her.

4.4

The Executive Secretary (or Secretaries) shall be appointed by the Council to serve for a term of five years, and shall be indefinitely eligible for re-appointment for subsequent terms. He/she shall be an ex-officio member of the Council and of all Committees (if not already specified).

4.5

The General Secretary shall be elected to serve for a term of two years, and shall be eligible for immediate re-election.

4.6

The Treasurer shall be elected to serve for a term of two years, and shall be eligible for immediate re-election.

4.7

The President of each Division or Section shall be elected (according to the rules stated in By-laws 3.1. and 3.5.) for a term of two years, and shall be eligible for immediate re-election once only.

4.8

In a year in which no General Assembly of the Union can be held, the term of office of members of the Council may be extended by a maximum of one year with the agreement of those members of Council whose term of office is not completed.

5.1

The Council shall meet at least once every year. A quorum of the Council shall consist of fifty percent of its membership.

5.2

Any member of the Council who is unable to attend a meeting may designate an alternate who must be a member of the Union, provided that the prior agreement of the President has been obtained. Such alternates shall have voting rights and shall be counted in determining a quorum.

5.3

An agenda appropriate to the nature of the business to be discussed shall be prepared by the General Secretary in discussion with the President for each meeting of the Council, and should be communicated to all members of the Council at least three weeks prior to the meeting.

5.4

Minutes of all meetings of the Council shall be prepared by the General Secretary and communicated to all members of the Council.

6.1

The scientific activities of the Union shall be organized through Divisions and Sections. For the current list see Appendix 1.

6.2

Divisions and Sections may be established, modified, or discontinued at any time by the Council.

6.3

Each Division or Section may create Sub-Divisions or Sub-Sections, respectively, to identify particular areas of interest. The current Sub-Divisions and Sub-Sections are listed in Appendix 2.

6.4

Each Division and Section shall have a President. A Secretary shall be appointed who shall ensure the timely execution of the activities of each Sub-Division or Sub-Section, respectively.

6.5

The management and administration of each Division and Section are the collective responsibility of the respective officers.

6.6

The President of each Division or Section shall be elected as stated in By-laws 3.1. and 3.5., and shall be a member of the Council.

6.7

The names of candidates for Sub-Divisions or Sub-Sections Secretaries shall be decided at the relevant Business Meetings of the Divisions and Sections and shall be forwarded by the respective Divisions or Sections Presidents to the Council for approval. Each Secretary shall be appointed for a term of two years, and shall be eligible for immediate re-appointment once only.

6.8

The President of each Division or Section shall be a member of the Programme Committee (see By-law 7.6.).

6.9

Each Division and Section shall hold a Business Meeting during the course of the General Assembly of the Union.

6.10

It is the task and responsibility of the officers of each Division and each Section to

7.1

The administrative, educational and other activities of the Union shall be carried out through the following Committees:

7.2

Committees may be established, modified, or discontinued at any time by the Council.

7.3

Each Committee shall have an ex-officio Chairman and members as given in Appendix 3.

7.4

Each Committee shall meet during the course of the General Assembly of the Union, and shall present a report on the meeting to the Council, as required.

7.5

Individuals may be invited to attend any Committee Meeting on the invitation of the Chairman of the Committee. Such invitees shall not have any voting rights.

7.6

It is the task of the Programme Committee to

7.7

It is the task of the Publications Committee to

7.8

It is the task of the Finance Committee to

7.9

It is the task of the Awards Committee to

7.10

It is the task of the Nominations Committee to

7.11

It is the task of the Committee for Outreach Activities

7.12

It is the task of the Committee on Education

7.13

It is the task of the Committee for Foreign Affairs

8.1

For each journal under the direct control of the Union, Council shall appoint a managing editor and an editorial board. The terms of reference of the managing editor and editorial board shall be agreed by Council on a case-by-cases basis. The managing editor shall chair the editorial board and report to Council on the activities of the board.

8.2

For each journal under the shared control of the Union and other bodies, Council shall appoint editorial representatives as laid down in the appropriate agreements with those bodies. One of the Union's representatives shall be designated as a chief representative with responsibility to report to Council on the activities undertaken by the editorial representatives.

8.3

It is the task of the managing editor or chief representative to suggest to Council candidates to fill editorial vacancies when these arise. They shall consult the other members of the editorial board and, where appropriate, other members of the scientific community served by the journal.

9.1

A Plenary Session of the Union, consisting of its members (of all categories, see Article 2.1.) meeting together in a formal session, shall be convened during a General Assembly of the Union.

9.2

At a Plenary Session, reports of the President on behalf of the Council and of the Treasurer on behalf of the Finance Committee shall be considered and, if approved and adopted, the liabilities of the Treasurer and of the other Members of Council shall be discharged.

9.3

The results of the ballots for the election of new members of the Council shall be announced at the Plenary Session.

9.4

Proposals for amendments to the Constitution, and proposals for changes or additions to the By-laws shall be presented to, and approved by, the Plenary Session.

9.5

Any matters of general concern to the Union may be raised at a Plenary Session, and discussed.

9.6

The General Secretary shall keep a record of the Plenary Session, and publish minutes of the meeting in the Newsletter.

10.1

Overall assistance for all bodies and officers involved in the organization of the Union shall be provided by the Office(s) of the Union, under the direction of an Executive Secretary (see By-law 4.4.).

10.2

The Office(s) is (are) responsible for the day-to-day running of the Union, under the general guidance of the Council.

10.3

It is the responsibility of the Office(s) to handle all applications for Individual Membership of the Union, to deal with the annual invoices sent to members, and to keep a master list of members.

10.4

Membership and journal subscriptions shall be paid to the Office(s). The Office(s) will in general handle all orders for journals placed by members, and liaise with the relevant publisher appropriately.

10.5

The Office(s) shall be responsible for the overall organization of the General Assemblies.

10.6

The Office(s) may be involved to various extents in the organization of other meetings and activities of the Union.

10.7

The Office(s) shall be responsible for the production and distribution of the various publications of the Union.

10.8

The Office(s) shall provide the Treasurer with a detailed balance sheet of income and expenditure at the end of each year, and it should be ready at any time for a commission established by the Council to audit the Office(s).

10.9

The Executive Secretary (or Secretaries) shall report each year on the activities of the Office(s) to the Council.