Constitution of the Asian and Oceanian Child Neurology Association

ARTICLE 1. NAME

  The name of this Association shall be “The Asian and Oceanian Child Neurology Association AOCNA”.

ARTICLE 2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Association shall be:

a.To foster the study and dissemination of knowledge in all aspects of child neurology, particularly in the Asian and Oceanian regions.

b.To promote cooperation in scientific exchange amongst the member countries and establish close personal and professional contacts amongst those interested and working in the field.

c.To organize and hold a Congress approximately every two years, and to promote and support such other activities as may be deemed necessary for the realization of the above aims.

ARTICLE 3. MEMBERSHIP

  Membership shall be open to members of national professional organizations devoted primarily to the problems of child neurology. These national organizations shall be known as Chapters of AOCNA. Whenever there is not yet a Chapter in a given country or region, an individual from a country or region which is not a member of another Chapter may become a member of the Association by direct application to the Secretary or Treasurer for consideration, and approval by the Executive Board.

  There shall be only one Chapter in each country or region. When there is more than one eligible organization in a country or region, the Executive Board shall recommend for membership the organization which, in its opinion, can best accomplish the objectives of the Association.

  The members of the association have the right to receive the benefits listed in the Appendix

ARTICLE 4. SITE OF THE SECRETARIAT

  The location of the Secretariat shall be selected by the discretion of the President, but for the time being it shall be sited in Japan.

ARTICLE 5. GOVERNING BODIES

A.Council of National (Chapter) Delegates

  The governance of the AOCNA shall be vested in a Council of National (Chapter) Delegates, consisting of one voting delegate elected by each National Chapter, or if there is no National Chapter, selected by the Executive Board with subsequent approval of the Council of National Delegates. The President of the AOCNA shall preside and Chair the meetings of the Council of National (Chapter) Delegates. In case of his/her absence, the Secretary of AOCNA will chair the Council meeting. A quorum shall consist of 10 National Delegates. Members of the Executive Board shall attend the Council Meeting but may not vote [unless such persons are also the National (Chapter) Delegates]. An additional delegate from each Member-Chapter shall be allowed to attend the Council Meetings as a non-voting observer. The Council shall meet at the time of each AOCNA Congress, at the least.

The term of the national delegate shall be defined as a maximum period of 3 consecutive Congresses (or approximately 6 years). The National Chapters, by a process of selection, nominate the delegate for one term which is extendable for a period of 2 more consecutive Congresses depending upon the National Chapter’s and the AOCNA’s acceptance of the extended term.

The functions of the Council shall be:

1.  To examine and, if appropriate approve the reports of the President, Secretary and Treasurer.

2.  To determine the location of the AOCNA Congress.

3.  To elect the President and the President-Elect of the AOCNA.

4.  To appoint the Secretary and Treasurer of the AOCNA.

5.  To approve the nominations of committee and executive board members

6.  To approve the nominations of the honorary officers and members

7.  To decide on applications for membership.

8.  To plan the basic program for the next two-year period of the AOCNA.

9.  To revise the Constitution of the AOCNA, if considered necessary.

10. To deal with any matter which can be brought up before the Council by a member.

11. To fulfill the duties of the National delegates listed in the Appendix.

B.The Executive Board

The Executive Board Officers of the AOCNA shall consist of the President, the immediate past President, President of the subsequent Congress, the President of the immediate past Congress, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. These Executive Board officers, i.e. President, President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer will be elected by the Council of National (Chapter) Delegates.

The term of the President shall be defined as a period of 2 consecutive Congresses (or approximately 4 years). At the third year of a current President’s term, the Council of National Delegates shall elect the next incoming President (the “President-Elect”). Upon election, the President-Elect shall attend Executive Board meetings to learn about the operation of the Association, and to ensure an efficient transition of leadership. The length of the President’s term may be subjected to changes due to unforeseeable external circumstances.

The terms of all the elected officers shall be defined as a period of 2 consecutive Congresses (or approximately 4 years). The Executive Board shall be convened at least once between the meetings of the Council of National (Chapter) Delegates, and at other times if considered necessary by the President. A quorum will consist of 3 members.

The functions of the Executive Board shall be:

1.  To carry out the programs and policies of the AOCNA

2.  To nominate and present to the Council of National Delegates a list of candidates for the officers of the Executive Board namely President, Secretary and Treasurer.

3.  To assist the President of the forthcoming Congress with its preparation.

4.  To formulate a budget plan and recommend it to the Council for approval.

5.  To evaluate and approve appropriate applications for membership of AOCNA from individual candidates, as well as new organizations, countries or regions.

6.  To nominates members of the committees.

7.  To nominate honorary officers and members

8.  To ensure an efficient and effective transition of leadership

ARTICLES 6. COMMITTEES

The AOCNA shall have the committees as listed below:

1.  Scientific Committee

2.  Financial Committee

3.  Long-term planning Committee

4.  Young Team Committee

5.  Constitution (By-Laws) Committee

6.  Homepage committee

The role and authority of each committee shall be defined elsewhere. Other committees may be formed if necessary, at the discretion of the President. The members of the committees are elected from the members of the Association at the discretion of the Council of the National Delegates. A chairperson will be elected in each committee by the members of the committee. The chairperson of the Committees may attend the Executive Board meeting as non-voting observers if requested by the President.

ARTICLE 7. ADVISORY BOARD

Advisory Board members shall consist of honorary members and past officers of the Executive Board, who shall advise on the policies and programs of the AOCNA. The members of the Advisory Board may attend the Executive Board meeting as non-voting observers. The terms of the members of the Advisory Board are the same as the officers of the Executive Board, but they may be reappointed after completion of the term.

ARTICLE 8. AUDITORS

Auditors shall be elected from the membership to audit the activities of the Society. The auditors cannot be officers of the AOCNA Executive Board or members of the Council of National Delegates concurrently. The term for the auditors is the same as the other Executive Board officers.

ARTICLE 9. CONGRESSES

A.  An AOCNA Congress (Official Name: Asian Oceanian Congress of Child Neurology, AOCCN) shall be held once approximately every two years.

B.  A national delegate who wishes to host a congress in his or her country or region must submit a formal bid for it four years in advance.

C.  The Congress will be open to any interested individual on payment of the registration fee.

ARTICLES 10. VOTING

  To revise the Constitution, a two-thirds majority vote in the Meeting of the Council of National (Chapter) Delegates is required. A simple majority vote shall be valid for all other matters. The voting process may be an in-person or virtual vote.

ARTICLE 11. DUES AND FINANCES

A.DUES

  Dues shall be payable in U.S. dollars or Japanese Yen (for Japanese members only).

B.FINANCES

  The Executive Board shall obtain and control the monetary funds of the Association according to needs of the AOCNA and the progress of its activities.

  Funds will consist of the annual dues of its members, subsidy, gifts, and any support made to the Association whether, by its own members or by persons or institutions outside the Association, the acceptance of which shall be approved by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE 12. MISCELLANEOUS

A.LANGUAGE

  English shall be the official language of the AOCNA.

ARTICLE 13. AMENDMENTS

  Notice of any proposal to revise the Constitution shall be sent to the Secretary no later than six months prior to the next Council Meeting of the National (Chapter) Delegates. The proposal shall be provided to each Council member no later than three months prior to the Council meeting, and shall be placed on the Agenda of the Council meeting by the Secretary.

APPENDIX

The benefits of the members are as follow.

    1.  Free to browse the AOCNA website

    2.  Reduced registration fees for the AOCCN and other relevant meetings

    3.  Other relevant services for the members

The duties of the national delegates are as follow

    1.  To attend the Council Meeting every two years or as needed

    2.  To distribute AOCNA news

    3.  To disseminate communications from AOCNA to the members

    4.  To recruit new members to the AOCNA and promote AOCNA

    5.  To update their local membership lists every year.

    6.  To vote on issues that arise for the association