International Academy for Suicide Research

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organisation shall be the International Academy of Suicide Research, hereinafter referred to as “the Academy”.

ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Academy shall be the promotion of high standards of research and scholarship in the field of suicidal behaviour by fostering communication and cooperation among scholars engaged in such research.

ARTICLE III. ORGANISATION

Section 1. INCORPORATION. The Academy is a not-for-profit corporation organised under the laws of the State of The Netherlands. If this corporation shall be dissolved at any time, no part of funds or property shall be distributed to, or among, its members; but after payment of all indebtedness of the corporation, the surplus funds and properties shall be used for education and research in such a manner as the Board of Directors of the Academy may determine.

Section 2. OFFICES, AGENTS AND POWERS. The corporation shall have and continuously maintain in the State of the Netherlands a registered office and may designate other offices within or without the State of the Netherlands as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.

Section 3. MEMBERSHIP. The membership of this Academy shall consist of persons whose qualifications and classifications are established in Chapter 1 of the Bylaws of the Academy.

ARTICLE IV. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of the Academy, constituted in accordance with Chapter II of the Bylaws of the Academy, shall be responsible for carrying out directives of the membership and for administering the business of the Academy in the intervals between annual meetings of the membership.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS

The officers of this Academy shall be a President, a President-Elect, the immediate Past President, and a Secretary-Treasurer.

ARTICLE VI. ANNUAL MEETING

The annual meeting of this Academy shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter VI of the Bylaws of the Academy

ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS

This constitution may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of those members of the Academy who cast a vote (provided that 25% of the members respond to the ballots. The ballot shall be by mail, and all ballots must be returned to the Academy Secretary-Treasurer, or to such other person who may be designated by the Board of Directors of the Academy, within thirty days after the mailing of the ballots to the membership. A second ballot does not require a quorum.

BYLAWS

CHAPTER I. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. There shall be two categories of membership: member and associate.

Section 2. A member shall be an individual who has established an enduring reputation as a distinguished scholar in the field of suicidal behaviour.

Section 3. An associate member shall be an individual who is currently actively engaged in scholarly research in the area of suicidal behaviour but has not yet attained the enduring reputation required of the full member.

Section 4. Members and associate members shall have the same rights and privileges except that only members shall be entitled to vote in any election or on any issue or business matter pertaining to the Academy.

Section 5.
a) There shall be a Membership Committee, multidisciplinary in its constituency, that shall be appointed by the president of the Academy with the approval of the Board of Directors. The Secretary-Treasurer of the Academy shall be the Chairman of the Membership Committee.

b) Candidates for membership or associate status may be nominated by any Academy member and must be seconded by another member. Nominations shall be directed to the Chairman of the Membership Committee, who shall evaluate the nominee’s credentials and shall submit a recommendation concerning the nominee to the Membership Committee, which shall consequently vote to accept or reject each nominee. The Membership Committee shall, along with its recommendation, indicate whether the nominee is applying for membership or associate status.

c) Nominees receiving approving votes from a majority of the Membership Committee and approved by Board of Directors shall be elected to membership or associate status, whichever is applicable.

Section 6. Members and associates whose dues are in arrears for two consecutive years shall cease to be members of the Academy. Former members who have ceased to be members may be reinstated by approval of the Board of Directors upon full payment of the dues in arrears. The Board of Directors, according to criteria proposed by the Board and discussed with the members, may put a limit on the number of members of the Academy.

Section 7. The President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Crisis Intervention (IASP) or his/her nominee may serve as an ex officio member of the Academy with the same status of an Associate, not being entitled to vote in any election.

CHAPTER II. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. The Board of Directors of the Academy, hereinafter referred to as the Board, shall consist of the officers of the Academy.

Section 2. The procedure for nominating and electing the Board of Directors shall be as follows.

a) The Secretary-Treasurer of the Academy shall invite every member of the Academy to place the name or names of Academy members in nomination. It shall be the duty of the Secretary-Treasurer to verify that the nominee is a member in good standing and has consented to serve if elected.

b) The name of every member in good standing who is nominated and consents to serve shall appear on the ballot.

c) Voting shall be by secret mail ballot. Candidates receiving a majority of the votes shall be deemed elected. In the event of this not occurring on the first ballot the votes of the last candidate shall be redistributed until one candidate meets the criteria for election. The nomination and election procedure shall be supervised by the Board of Directors.

Section 3. All officers shall serve for a period of two years, until their successors are elected and installed, except that the Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for two terms of two (2) years.

CHAPTER III. OFFICERS

CHAPTER V. DUES

Section 1. Dues for members and associates shall be determined annually be the Board of Directors. Dues are payable on January 1 of each year or upon election to membership.

Section 2. Associates and members elected to membership after June 30th of any year shall be required to pay only one-half of the annual dues of that year.

Section 3. Dues shall cover an annual subscription to the Archives of Suicide Research.

Section 4. When a husband and wife are both either members or associate members of the Academy, the dues for one of them shall be one-half of the regular dues, without a subscription to the Archives of Suicide Research.

CHAPTER VI. MEETINGS

Section 1. There shall be an annual meeting of the Membership. Time and place of meetings shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. All meetings of the Academy, including Membership, Board and Committee Meetings, shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, revised, except where those rules are in conflict with these Bylaws or with regulations adopted by the membership.