Preamble
In view of the rapid development of research in the history of East Asian science, technology, and medicine, specialists in these fields met at Cambridge, England, on 4 August 1990, on the occasion of the Sixth International Conference on the History of Science in China, and adopted the following bye-laws:
Article 1. Name
The name of the Society shall be the “International Society for the History of East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine.”
Article 2. Principle Office
The society is legally registered under the laws of France. The principal office of the Society shall be located at Instituts d’Asie, 52, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005, Paris, France. The Board shall have the power to change the principal office from one location to another. Its decision shall be ratified by a General Assembly.
Article 3. Purpose
The purpose of the Society shall be to serve, represent, and speak for scholars of the history of East Asian, science, technology, and medicine.
Article 4. Activities
The activities of the Society shall include:
(a) organising a plenary conference (ICHSEA) every four years, beginning in 2011, and in the intervals between ICHSEAs organising a panel or panels or some other significant activity at the quadrennial International Congress for the History of Science (ICHS) through the East Asia Commission of the DHST, beginning in 2013. If the dates or periodicity of the ICHS are changed by the responsible body, the Board may take any necessary steps to adjust the Society’s participation in the ICHS, but shall seek approval of its action at the next plenary meeting following its decision.
(b) seeking support for conferences and other activities from international organisations;
(c) finding means to aid scholars to enter the field;
(d) sponsoring publication of refereed research reports and monographs;
(e) publishing a journal.
Article 5. Membership
(a) Membership in the Society is open to anyone working in, or with a scholarly interest in, the history of East Asian science, technology, and medicine. Membership shall consist of four classes: (i) ordinary, (ii) student and retired, (iii) institutional, (iv) honorary. Ordinary members are those who pay the standard dues. Student members are those who document their status as student at a college or university. They pay dues at the student rate. Retired members may pay dues at the student rate. Institutional membership shall be non-voting. Distinguished persons may be elected at a meeting of the Society to non-voting honorary membership.
(b) Membership in the Society may be suspended or terminated by the Board for non-payment of dues, or for conduct which the Board shall deem inimical to the interests of the Society.
(c) A meeting of the Society shall be held quadrennially at the plenary conference of the Society (see Article 4a) on such date and at such time as may be fixed by the Board.
Article 6. Board of Directors
(a) The officers (Bureau) shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
(b) There shall be a Board of Directors (Conseil d’Administration) consisting of the officers and two additional members. The organiser of the next plenary conference shall serve as a Director until the meeting of the society held at that conference. The Editor of the Society’s journal shall serve as a Director, and may serve more than two four-years terms consecutively. The Society shall be administered by the Board, who shall be legally responsible for its activities.
(c) Elections shall be conducted according to the Electoral Procedures which are incorporated into these Bye-Laws in the appendix under that title.
(d) The President and Vice-President shall not hold the same office consecutively for more than one four-year term. No officer shall serve more than two consecutive four-years terms. Each Director shall take office upon election and shall hold office until a successor has been elected at the next meeting of the Society.
(e) The President has the general powers and duties of management usually vested in such an office. He shall preside at all meetings of the Society and Boards.
(f) If the President is unable to perform his duties, the Vice-President shall perform them.
(g) The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings of the Society and Board. At the quadrennial meeting of the Society, he shall present on behalf of the Board a report of the activities of the Society.
(h) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial affairs of the Society. He shall present a financial report at the quadrennial meeting of the Society.
(i) The Board shall appoint National Secretary-Treasurers for countries in which foreign exchange is legally unavailable. Each shall be responsible for the Society’s administrative and financial affairs within the country. National Secretary-Treasurers shall keep records and report to the Board on all the monies administered on behalf of the Society.
(j) The Board may appoint committees to further the aims of the Society.
Article 7. Finances
The Society shall be supported by membership dues, the sale of its publications, grants from national and international organisations, and private contributions.
Article 8. Amendments
The Bye-laws, upon recommendation by the Board, may be amended at a quadrennial meeting of the society by a majority of members present and qualified to vote. Proposed amendments should be addressed to the Secretary at least six months before a meeting. Those approved by the Board shall be communicated by the Secretary to all members by three months prior to a meeting. The decision with respect to articles or sections of articles of those present at a meeting of the Society will be binding, and will be effective immediately.
Electoral Procedures Appendix
Officers shall be elected by secret ballot in advance of each quadrennial meeting of the Society. The election procedure shall be as follows:
(i) Between nine and eight months before a meeting of the society the Secretary shall communicate to the members of the society a call for nominations for all those offices on the Board which are due to fall vacant.
(ii) Any member of the Society who has paid his subscription up to date and has not been suspended from membership and who is not excluded by virtue of previous service may be nominated for any office. A member may only be nominated for one office in any one election. Nominations must take the form of a proposal in writing (on paper or by electronic means) from at least two members of the society addressed to the Secretary, naming the candidate and the office for which he is standing, and including a short curriculum vitae of the candidate. A short personal statement by the candidate may also be included if the candidate wishes to do so. The candidate must consent to the nomination for it to be valid. Nominations shall close six calendar months before the opening of the society’s quadrennial meeting.
(iii) If only one valid nomination is received for any office by the closing of nominations, the Secretary shall notify the Board of this, and the President shall declare that the candidate has been elected unopposed for the office in question.
(iv) If there is more than one validly nominated candidate for any office, the Secretary shall notify the Board of this, and shall proceed to conduct a ballot of the members for the office in question. The ballot process shall be initiated within one month of the closing of nominations, by the Secretary communicating to members a list of the names of the candidates for each office, together with copies of the curriculum vitae and personal statement (if any) submitted with each nomination. As part of that communication, members shall be asked to cast one single vote for any one candidate for each contested office. With the agreement of the Board, the Secretary shall operate procedures to ensure that the authenticity of ballots can be checked without violating the confidentiality of the procedure. These procedures may make use of independent scrutineers during the examination and counting of the ballots. The ballot shall be conducted by hard copy mail, unless the Board resolves unanimously that some other means of voting (by electronic means or otherwise) is practical and no less secure and fair than a ballot by hard copy mail, and if all the candidates consent to this.
(v) The Board shall fix the closing date for ballots to reach the Secretary, or an independent scrutineer nominated by the Board, provided that this date shall be between five and four calendar months before the opening of the society’s quadrennial meeting, and the Secretary shall communicate this date to members as part of the communication referred to in (iv).
(vi) After the closing date for the receipt of ballots, the Secretary or the Scrutineer, in consultation with the Board shall count the number of votes cast for each candidate for each office. The candidate gaining the largest number of votes for a given office shall be declared elected. The Secretary shall communicate the results of the elections, including any unopposed elections, to members of the society at least three calendar months before the quadrennial meeting of the society. The Secretary or the Scrutineer shall keep the ballots cast in good custody at least until the quadrennial meeting of the Society takes place and the election results have been declared. If no objection to the conduct of the election is made and sustained under the provisions of (vii), the ballots may then be destroyed.
(vii) The Secretary shall declare the results of the election at the quadrennial meeting of the society. If any objection to the validity of the election for any or all offices on the sole grounds that the procedure in the Electoral Procedures Appendix has not been followed has been communicated to the Secretary in writing by hard copy at least one month before the quadrennial meeting, the Secretary shall notify members of this objection at the meeting, and a debate shall take place forthwith on the objection. This debate shall take no longer than one half hour, and at the close of that time a vote by show of hands shall take place on a motion to uphold the objection made by the member objecting, to which a member of the Board shall reply. If the motion is upheld by a majority of three quarters or more of the members present and voting, then the election for the office or offices in question shall be declared invalid, and the Board shall propose to the meeting for agreement by simple majority proposals for a fresh election or elections using procedures that shall be modeled as closely as possible on the Electoral Procedures Appendix as time will permit. Any such new elections must be concluded within six months of the end of the quadrennial meeting, and the current Board shall remain in office until the elections are concluded.