ISV CONSTITUTION
1. THE NAME OF THE SOCIETY
The name of the society shall be: INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR VACCINES
2. AIMS
2.1. To encourage, establish and promote the development and the use of vaccines/immunity to prevent and control infectious and non-infectious diseases in humans and animals.2.2. To develop a professional and academic society devoted to all aspects of vaccines, and to support and promote the career development of scientists in the field of vaccinology, including trainees.
3. OBJECTIVES
3.1. To actively promote study, communication and collaboration, among individuals and organizations who seek to innovate, develop, manufacture and enhance vaccines that decrease or eliminate those diseases that are susceptible to vaccine prophylaxis and treatment.
3.2. To examine and evaluate efficiency, safety and control issues and communicate such evaluations to those involved in the issuing of product licenses for such materials.
3.3. To encourage the development of appropriate vaccine materials and production processes on the basis of the cost-benefit relationship to the vaccinees.
3.4. To encourage and support research that seeks to determine the basis of immune protection and to use such knowledge to produce new and more efficient vaccines/immunization approaches.
3.5. To hold meetings, conferences, fairs, seminars and lectures that will promote the aims.
3.6. To publish such data and information in research papers, reviews and other media that will promote the aims.
3.6.1. To support efforts needed to establish a web site for all matters relating to vaccines and vaccination.
3.7. To examine and establish codes of practice for the production and the use of vaccines.
3.7.1. To establish the means for the professionalization and continuing education of the vaccinologists.
3.8. To honor those who have made exemplary contributions to the field.
3.9. To interact with the public and news media and present messages to the community that are consonant with the range of opinions existing in the leading workers in the field.
3.10. To generate and promote educational materials for the scientists, technicians and engineers that will continue to progress the field.
3.11. To establish standards that can be used to control the allocation of certificates of proficiency in the field.
3.12. To set up an information service to provide verbal and visual materials to those pursuing the aims of the society.
3.13. To promote the establishment of banks of materials that can support vaccine research, development, manufacture and use.
3.14. To promote those commercial activities that are both central and peripheral to those pursuing the aims of the society.
3.15. To set up task groups to tackle particular problems that stand in the way of the achievement of the aims.
3.16. To respond to initiatives from governments or their official agencies that seek to exploit vaccines or that need to be informed what vaccines can achieve in the furtherance of the aims.
3.17. To work with national and international bodies to recognize the social benefit of research and development in vaccines vis à vis therapy.
3.18. To arrange the organization, administration and finances of the Society so that it can achieve its aims.
3.19. To establish statutes in accordance with the furtherance of the aims of the Society.
3.20. To establish statutes that enable the full participation of those individuals who from time to time may have conflicts of interest.
3.21 To achieve the aims in a manner that is fair, unbiased and not subjected to pressures that are not inherent in the aims.
4. MEMBERSHIP
4.1. The Society shall consist of Ordinary, Student and Honorary Members. All such members will be or will have been actively engaged in promoting the Aims and Objectives of the Society.
4.2. The names, qualifications and professional experience of the candidates for Ordinary Membership of the Society must be sent to the Secretary on the form provided for this purpose and the record of membership fee payment sent to the Treasurer. The Secretary will review the Membership application and approve on behalf of ISV. A list of the approved Members will be updated quarterly and submitted to the Board, and available at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
4.3. When a person has been approved as a member of the Society, the Secretary shall inform that individual and shall send the new member a copy of the Constitution.
4.4. A Student Membership is granted to students actively enrolled in a degree-awarding program in an accredited higher institution. A letter is required from a mentor, department chair or school registry to confirm the student status. The membership fee is reduced for a student member.
4.5. The Board shall have the power to terminate a membership if such a termination appears to them to be in the interests of the Society. Termination must be justified internally by the Board. An explanation of such a termination may be requested at a General Meeting.
4.6. Honorary Members of the Society shall not number more than 10% of the membership. Nominations for Honorary Membership shall be put forward by the Board and shall be circulated to Members with the Agenda for the Annual General Meeting. Members who cannot attend the meeting shall be entitled to vote by post or by e-mail. To qualify for Honorary Membership the nominee must be supported by 66 % of the Members who take part in the voting.
5. ISV FELLOWS
5.1. ISV may elect people with significant contribution to the science of vaccines and to ISV as ISV fellows.
5.2. ISV fellows must maintain active ISV membership status with paid membership dues, and only fellows in active status are qualified to vote for new fellows and are eligible for running as a member of the Board.
5.3. The Past-president will coordinate the election and activities of ISV fellows.
5.4. Each year, existing ISV fellows may nominate certain numbers of candidates to Past-president who will solicit supporting letters from two ISV members including at least one from an ISV fellow.
5.5. Existing fellows will vote to elect new ISV fellows by simple majority, with no more than five new fellows elected in any given year.
6. OFFICERS AND BOARD
6.1. The Honorary Officers of the Society shall be a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Past President and a President-Elect.
6.2. There shall be a Board of the Society consisting of the five Officers and ten elected members (including five elected from the existing Fellows and five from the other ordinary ISV members). Non-Fellow members can also be nominated for the openings reserved for Fellows if there are less than five candidates for Fellow positions. The President shall serve as Board Chair during his or her term.
6.3 The President shall have the authority to appoint one or more Board Members as Vice Chair(s) to assist the Board Chair in managing Board activities as assigned by the Board Chair during his or her term. This role is designed to ensure continuity of the organization and to stimulate other Board Members to take on leadership roles within ISV.
6.4. The Officers shall run the regular operation of ISV activities including the Annual General Meeting of the Society. The Board sets the overall strategy of ISV and oversees the work of Officers. The term of newly elected Officers and the Board starts on January 1st of the year immediately following the election and ends on December 31st of the next year for a full two calendar years.
6.5. The Officers of the Society and the other five non-Fellow members of the Board shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Society. Five Fellow members will be elected by existing ISV Fellows no later than the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
6.5.1. President and President-Elect of the current term will be the persons to run election with the support of ISV Office.
6.5.2. Nominations for a position on the Board may be made by any Member of the Board or by any two ordinary Members no later than two weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting of the Society. The final list of candidates shall be sent together with the written consent of the nominees along with nominees’ personal statement and/or bio to the Secretary no later than two weeks before the Annual General Meeting of the Society. Such nominations shall be circulated with the notice of that meeting. Only members in good standing can vote. Members unable to attend the meeting shall be entitled to vote by post or e-mail. If other nominations are not received for the filling of vacancies, the Board shall nominate one for each available vacancy.
6.6. The President shall hold office for two consecutive years and shall not be eligible for re-election to the same office for a further period of two years. The President-Elect serves for a two-year term before becoming President. The Past-President has a two-year term which commences after stepping down from the position of President.
6.7. The President may be removed from office by 25 members of the society signing a petition that there be a vote calling for the removal of the President from office. There will then be a ballot by email of all the Members and in the event that over 66% of those voting to uphold the petition, then the President will stand down and an election by email will be held to obtain a new President.
6.8. Other Officers and Board members shall hold office for two years and may be re-elected to the same or different offices in subsequent elections.
6.9. The Board may, for specific purposes, co-opt members to participate in Board Meetings but such co-opted members would not be eligible to vote on resolutions proposed in Board.
6.10. From time to time the Board may establish sub-committees to pursue specified elements of the Aims and Objectives of the Society. The Board shall have the power to appoint and remove individuals from such sub-committees and to dissolve such sub-committees when this is deemed necessary. An Officer of the Society shall be an ex-officio member of each sub-committees.
7. FINANCE
7.1. Members shall pay to the Society’s account an annual membership due payable in advance due on the 1st of January. The amount of the subscription shall be set at the Annual General Meeting of the Society and shall remain in force until it is changed at another Annual General Meeting of the Society. The Board shall have the power to terminate membership if a member fails to pay the subscription after due notice has been given. Honorary Members do not pay a subscription.
7.2. For membership of the Society to become effective an electronic method for the transfer of funds or other acceptable fund transfer approach will be used for the payment of the subscription that shall be received by the Treasurer at the time of application or the annual renewal. But the Board shall have the power to relax this requirement in exceptional cases.
7.3. The funds and estates of the Society shall be derived from the annual membership due of Members, donations, grants, funds generated by running events and other endowments accepted by the Board on behalf of the Society. They shall be administered by the President and/or Treasurer acting on instructions given by the Board of the Society and shall only be used for the furtherance of the Aims and Objectives of the Society.
7.4. The accounts of the Society shall be audited by the Board before the Annual General Meeting of the Society and a report shall be made by the Treasurer to the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
7.5. In the event that the Society is dissolved for any reason, the surplus funds remaining after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall not be distributed among the Members but shall be paid or transferred to some other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to those of the Society and which shall also prohibit the distribution of its or their income among its or their Members. Such institution or institutions shall be determined by the Members of the Society at or before the time of dissolution and if effect cannot be given to this provision, the surplus funds shall be devoted to some charitable object or objects.
8. MEETINGS
8.1. The Annual General Meeting of the Society (and when necessary a Special General Meeting) shall be held annually as part of the annual congress or at a place and time decided by the Board. The Secretary shall circulate the Agenda to all Members before the Meeting.
8.2. Scientific meetings and symposia relating to the objects of the Society shall be arranged from time to time by the Board. One such meeting may immediately precede or follow the Annual General Meeting and at each such Meeting the Board shall submit proposal for the dates of such Meetings to be held during the ensuing twelve months. Unauthorized reports, minutes of the proceedings of any Meeting of the Society or its officers shall not be disclosed to the press.
9. ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION
9.1. Alterations to any provision of this Constitution of the Society shall be made only at the Annual General Meeting of the Society provided that notice of such an alteration has been given on the Agenda of the Meeting and that two-thirds or more of those voting on the alteration signify their assent. Members unable to attend the Meeting shall be encouraged to express themselves in letters which will be read out at the Meeting. Notice of any proposed alteration duly seconded shall be given to the Secretary no later than two weeks before the Meeting.
9.2. ISV is incorporated in the state of Massachusetts, USA and registered with US IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. The Constitution of the Society cannot be altered such that the Society will cease to be a charity at law.
Ratified 9/19/2022
