IACR Constitution and By-laws CONSTITUTION 1. SCOPE AND PURPOSE The International Association of Cancer Registries is a professional society, whose members are interested in the development and application of cancer registration and morbidity survey techniques to studies of defined population groups. The Association welcomes to membership organizations concerned with the collection and analysis of data on cancer incidence and/or the end results of cancer treatment in defined population groups. 2. MEMBERSHIP The Association consists of Voting, Associate and Corporate members. Each organization for which Voting Membership is approved by the Executive Board (see 3 below) is entitled to one vote when ballots are taken. Other organizations, for which Associate or Corporate Membership is approved by the Executive Board, are not entitled to vote. The Executive Board is empowered to offer non-voting membership to individuals who are interested in and who have contributed to the aims of the Association. Individual Honorary Membership of the Association may be awarded to persons who have made distinguished contributions to the development of cancer registration and studies of cancer in defined populations. 3. EXECUTIVE BOARD The Executive Board is the highest authority of the Association. It consists of the President, the General Secretary, the Executive Secretary and the Regional Representatives. The immediate past President of the Association serves as an ex-officio member of the Executive Board. The President, the General Secretary and the Regional Representatives shall be elected by the Voting members for designated terms as provided for in the By-laws. Officers must be affiliated with and proposed by an Associate or Voting member. A Regional Representative shall be from a member organization in the Region he or she represents. A vacancy on the Executive Board may be filled, for the remainder of the term of office, either by vote of the Voting members or by vote of the Executive Board. In the case of death or resignation of the President within one year of the end of his/her mandate, the election of a new President will take place on the scheduled date (4 years after the previous election). If death or resignation occurs in the first three years of office, a new President shall be elected as soon as possible. The Executive Board shall adopt general By-laws, define the duties of officers, create and discharge committees and take such other actions as required to implement the stated purposes of the Association. If the immediate past President is not available because of death or resignation, the previous President shall continue ex-officio for a further two years. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) provides the Association with a Secretariat. IARC provides, in agreement with the Executive Board of the Association, a professional staff member to act as Executive Secretary. A vacancy in the position of Executive Secretary may be filled by decision of the Executive Board for a maximum period of one year. 4. REGIONS The Executive Board shall define the several Regions of the Association, realign the Regional structure of the Association from time to time as conditions warrant and may approve By-laws for a Region submitted by members of that Region and recommended for adoption by the Regional Representative. For the purpose of regional representation, members shall be elected for:    Africa (1)    Europe (2)    North America (2)    Central and South America (1)    Asia (2)    Oceania (1) The Executive Board may approve By-laws for a Region submitted by members of that Region and recommended for adoption by the Regional Representative. The Regional Representatives will serve as primary liaison officers to provide a continuing inventory of cancer registries and to facilitate exchange of information and the organization of projects. 5. ACTIVITIES The Executive Board shall consult the Voting members on vital questions that may affect the policies of the Association. Any activities which fall within the sphere of interest of the Association may be authorized by the Executive Board, including arrangements for international and local scientific meetings and the issuance of publications reporting the activities of the Association. The Association will cooperate with and seek the support of other organizations concerned with cancer registration in fostering the activities of mutual interest. No action taken by the Association shall be construed as committing an affiliated organization to a prescribed course of action. 6. AMENDMENTS Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the Executive Board or in writing by at least 20 Voting members. Before becoming effective, an amendment must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of those voting in a mail ballot of Voting Members. BY-LAWS (Forth Amendment 2006) TERM OF OFFICE Each officer except the Executive Secretary shall normally serve a term of four years. No elected officer other than the General Secretary may have two successive terms in the same position. NOMINATIONS The Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three staff members of organizations holding Voting membership. The Nominating Committee shall report their slate of candidates to the General Secretary for circulation to the members and notification on the website at least 60 days in advance of the distribution of mail ballots; five Voting members may nominate a candidate for any office by so informing the General Secretary in writing. If the General Secretary is a candidate for a second period of office, the slate of candidates shall be reported to the President. BALLOTING AND ELECTION All ballots for election of officers shall be conducted by mail and supervised by the Executive Secretary, who may set reasonable deadlines for the return of ballots. Candidates receiving a plurality of the votes cast shall be declared elected. The President and General Secretary of the Association shall be elected by the total voting membership. The Regional Representatives shall be elected by the Voting members of the Region concerned. As required by the terms of office, elections are to be held every four years. MEMBERSHIP The Executive Secretary shall prepare and distribute application forms for membership. The Executive Board takes decisions about membership applications, but this Board may delegate the authority to approve applications for membership to the President, the General Secretary and to the appropriate Regional Representative(s) The Executive Board has the power to change the membership status from Associate to Voting and vice versa; it shall also have the power to withdraw membership after due consideration. Corporate membership can be given to companies, journals or other appropriate organizations. Payment of the Corporate membership fee entitles such members to have access to the IACR mailing list. From time to time lists of members of the Association shall be prepared and distributed by the Secretariat. MEMBERSHIP FEES Voting and Associate members of the Association pay an annual membership fee, to be reconsidered when necessary by the Executive Board of the Association. The fees shall be as follows:       Voting and Associate members:       Non-voting individual members:       Corporate members:          US$           US$           US$   145  50  500      or     EUR       100     Membership fees may be waived at the discretion of the Executive Board. Members that only have access to non-convertible currency may, at the discretion of the Executive Board, pay their fees into a local currency account. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT The Executive Board will appoint a Treasurer to the Association who will:   • Maintain good order of the Association Finances and ensure that financial      regulations are adhered to.   • Maintain an up to date account of all financial transactions.   • Advise the Executive and membership on expenditure of the budget.   • Prepare a statement of revenue and expenditure to be presented at the Annual      Business Meeting for ratification.   • Be empowered to disburse Association funds for such purposes as are agreed. All transactions over $250 shall be agreed with the President and General Secretary. CRITERIA FOR VOTING AND NON-VOTING MEMBERSHIP Full voting membership is accorded to well established population-based cancer registries or associations of cancer registries which collect data on all sites of cancer and have good coverage of an accurately enumerated defined population and can provide valid incidence rates. Associate non-voting membership is given to cancer registries which for one reason or another do not cover all cases of cancer in the population, e.g. newly established, not population-based, or site-specific. Individual membership is given to registries which have not started operating and to individuals who are interested in the activities of the Association. Corporate non-voting membership is given to corporate organizations. COMMITTEES Other than the restriction placed on membership for the Nominating Committee, all staff members of Voting and Associated organizations are eligible to serve as chairman or member of any Association committee. The President shall make committee appointments after consultation with members of the Executive Board. The General Secretary and the Executive Secretary are ex-officio members of all Association committees.