Interim Constitution

Interim Constitution of the Asian Population Association

Drafted in Tehran by the Establishment Committee
4 December 2007
(Revised in Bangkok, June 1, 2008)

The Asian Population Association is a non-profit association of population specialists with the aim of drawing the attention of governments, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the general public to population issues in Asia and to promote demography as a science.

The Association organizes regional and specialized conferences, coordinates the work of Scientific Committees and Working Groups and documents research output through a wide variety of publication formats.

Article 1. The Association

1. The Asian Population Association (herein after referred to as the Association) is a collection of individual members who share the aim of promoting the understanding of population issues in Asia.

2. To achieve this aim, the Association shall foster relations between persons engaged in the study of demography and related disciplines. The members will collaborate to stimulate interest in the population of Asia, among governments, national and international organizations, scientific bodies and the general public. The Association shall organize meetings and conferences and document scientific information dealing with population issues in Asia.

3. The Association is organized and operated exclusively for scientific and educational purposes. It does not profit from its scientific activities and is non-partisan with respect to national and international political debates.

Article 2. Membership

1. Membership in the Association is open to all persons who have made contributions to the scientific study of population issues through their research, teaching, writing, or other activities; who support the goals of the Association; and who pay dues.

2. Applications for membership shall be in writing using the Association?s application form. On approval by the Council, membership will be conferred on the applicant, along with all rights and responsibilities of membership.

3. Council shall confirm new members at least once a year.

4. The full membership of the Association shall be informed of new members at least once a year.

5. The Association will maintain a directory of members with individual contact information and a brief description of research interests.

6. Graduate Students shall be eligible for associate membership without any membership fee. The Council will determine the application process and the Association benefits to be extended to Student Associates. Student Associates shall not have the right to vote in any Association matters.

7. The Council may for good and serious reasons and by a two-thirds majority (six out of the nine members) suspend a member from the privileges of membership. Such suspension shall become operative immediately, but shall be reported to the next General Assembly. The suspended member shall have the right to address the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall vote on the issue of expulsion which will require a two-thirds majority to be carried. The decision of the General Assembly shall be final.

8. Members who have not paid dues for two successive years without being excused payment by the Council shall be considered to have resigned. Such members may be reinstated on payment of all back dues.

9. The Council may establish special conditions of life membership.

Article 3. General Assembly

1. The General Assembly of all members shall be convened at regular intervals and at least once every two years. The Council will issue by-laws for the procedures to convene and run a General Assembly.

2. The Secretary-General shall give at least three months notice to each member of the Association of the date and place of the next General Assembly.

3. The accidental omission of notification to an individual member under Article 3.2, shall not invalidate the actions of the Assembly.

Article 4. Officers and Council

1. The Officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-General and a Treasurer; and shall be elected by the membership.

2. The Immediate Past President may serve as an ex-officio Council member in an advisory capacity.

3. The Council of the Association shall consist of the four Officers and five other members, all to be elected in the manner laid down in Article 9.

Article 5. Period of Office

1. The Council will be elected by the membership as a whole every two years. The elected officers shall serve in their specific capacities for the term of the Council.

2. Members and Officers of Council shall not be eligible for election more than two consecutive terms in one capacity and not more than three terms in any capacity.

3. Vacancies in the Council resulting from death, resignation, election to another office, or any other cause, shall be filled in the following manner:
a. If there is a vacancy in the office of the President, the Vice-President shall succeed to the office and shall serve for the remainder of the former President?s term of office.
b.If there is a vacancy in the office of Vice-President, Secretary-General or Treasurer, one Member of Council shall be chosen by majority vote of Council to serve for the remainder of the Officer?s term.
c. The filling of a vacancy among other Members of Council will be carried out by referring back to the results of the most recent election. The non-elected candidate who gained the most votes shall be co-opted as Member to serve the remainder of the Council term.

Article 6. Executive Secretary

1. The Council may appoint an Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretary may be paid an honorarium by the Association and serves subject to the wishes of the Council.

2. The Executive Secretary shall perform such functions as the President and the Secretary-General and Treasurer may assign and, if the Association has an office, shall direct that office and manage the routine budgets and staff employed.

3. The Executive Secretary shall not be a member of the Council but will attend its meetings and keep minutes of the meetings of the Council and General Assembly.

Article 7. Powers of Council and Officers

1. The Council shall have powers delegated by the General Assembly to manage the affairs of the Association, in accord with the objectives and missions of the Association.

2. In cases of urgency and between regular meetings the President in consultation with the Vice President and Secretary General will act on behalf of the Council and will represent the Association to the general public.

3. The Vice President shall assist the President in carrying out the decisions of the Council and the General Assembly.

4. The Secretary-General shall oversee the administration of the affairs of the Association, be the liaison between the Executive Secretary and the Council.

5. The Treasurer shall cause accounts to be kept of the finances of the Association, and shall make financial reports to meetings of Council and the General Assembly.

Article 8. Voting Rights

1. All confirmed members of the Association shall have equal voting rights.

2. Votes at a General Assembly may, in the first instance, be taken by a show of hands. After the results of the vote have been announced, the President or any five members present may demand that a ballot be taken.

Article 9. Election of Officers and Members of the Council

1. An election of four Officers and five Members of the Council shall be held every two years in advance of the General Assembly.

2. The Council will appoint a Nominations Committee drawn from the membership, comprising five eminent scholars with knowledge of the Asian region, to arrange upcoming elections. The composition of the Committee should reflect variety in terms of nationality and disciplinary specialization, and should ensure gender balance.
a. One member will be designated the Chair of the Nominations Committee, and will be responsible to report back to Council.
b. Normally no member of the Council will be eligible to serve on the Nominations Committee, but the Council may appoint up to two current members to the Committee if it is clear that they will be retiring from the Council after the election.

3. Nominations for all positions will be compiled by the Nominations Committee and submitted to the Council.
a. The Council will determine the schedule for the process of nomination and election, and will ensure that the membership is informed about each stage of the process.
b. The Nominations Committee will provide the names of at least two members to be candidates for each position to be filled.
c. The full slate of nominations should reflect variety in terms of nationality and disciplinary specialization, and should ensure gender balance.
d. The candidates must be Association members in good standing.
e. Members may not serve more than two consecutive terms as an Officer of the Association, and may not serve on Council for more than four consecutive terms in different positions as Officer or Member.
f. All nominees must provide agreement to their candidature and willingness to serve if elected.
g.Members of the Nominations Committee may not be nominated as candidates for Council positions.

4. The election will be organized by the Secretariat under the authority of the Council. The electoral procedure shall be overseen by the Chair and one other member of the Nominations Committee, who will ensure that the election is carried out in a fair and transparent way.
a. Election of Officers will be based on simple majority vote between two candidates.
b. In the case of three or more candidates for any Officer post, the candidate receiving a plurality of votes will be declared winner.
c. If there is a tie vote for any position, all elected Officers of the incoming Council who shall convene to determine a casting vote. If they are unable to make a casting vote the election of that position will be declared void, and the membership will vote in a supplementary poll.

5. The newly elected Officers and Council shall assume office immediately following the declaration of election results, and will work with the outgoing Officers to effect a speedy and efficient transfer of responsibilities, records and information needed to carry out the Association?s business.

Article 10. Finance

1. The financial affairs of the Association shall be administered by the Treasurer, acting under the direction of the Council.

2. Members of the Association shall pay dues to the Association, unless they are excused by resolution of the Council.

3. The amount and periodicity of dues shall be determined by the Council.

4. If the Council decides that it is necessary to change dues, it shall inform the members of the Association of the reasons for that decision at least two months before the start of the year when dues are to change.

5. The Council shall be empowered, if necessary, to set a registration fee for members, student associates, and others who attend a meeting or conference organised by the Association.

6. The Officers shall appoint professionally qualified auditors, who shall examine the books, vouchers and accounts of the Association annually, and determine whether they have been properly kept. The auditors shall make a report for the period between regular General Assemblies to the Treasurer who shall submit their report to the General Assembly.

Article 11. Committees and Scientific Groups

1. The Council will appoint committees of Association members to deal with internal matters concerning the Association and its external relations.

2. The Council or the General Assembly may also appoint scientific groups of Association members to study specific population issues.

3. All Association committees and scientific groups thus appointed shall take office immediately upon appointment. Each committee or scientific group shall be appointed for a specified period, but may be reappointed by Council with or without revision of its membership at the expiration of that period.

4. The Chair of each committee or scientific group shall make a written report on its work to the General Assembly.

Article 12. Meetings and Conferences of the Association

1. The Council may arrange biennial conferences to be held in conjunction with General Assemblies. It shall, however, be open to the Council to organise regional or other meetings, which shall not be regarded as General Assemblies.

2. The Council shall determine the conditions for participation in Association meetings and conferences, including registration fees and the terms under which non-members should be permitted to participate. Meetings and conferences organised by the Association shall be open to all members of the Association.

3. The Council may appoint an organising committee for each conference or meeting and may delegate power to such committees.

4. The Council through the organizing committees may make rules regarding the presentation of communications to meetings and conferences by members of the Association and other participants.

Article 13. Publications

1. The Association shall publish in printed or digital form materials which are appropriate to the aims set out in Article 1.

2. The Council shall decide the conditions under which publications shall be made available to members of the Association and student associates, heeding the financial implications of any decisions, and the need to make the material widely accessible, in either print of digital form.

3. The Council and the General Assembly shall develop policies related to the ownership of copyright of all Association publications and intellectual property.

Article 14. Amendments

1. Any proposal for the amendment of this Constitution should be submitted in writing with the endorsement of not less than twenty-five members.

2. Proposals for amendments shall be circulated to members of the Association at least three calendar months before the General Assembly at which they are to be debated, together with a statement giving reasons for the proposals.

3. The Council shall appoint a Committee of not less than five members reflecting regional balance, to examine any amendments proposed. The Committee review the implications of the amendment and shall have the power to make modifications to the proposed amendments, provided these do not alter the intent of the proposers. The Committee shall consult a representative of the signatories to any amendments before accepting such modifications. The Committee will report the evaluation of the amendment to the General Assembly and the proposers of the amendment will be given an opportunity to speak to their amendment.

4. The Secretary-General and Treasurer shall organise a secret ballot among the full membership, and invite members to return ballot forms within a period of six weeks. If at that date fewer than half the votes have been cast, the Secretary-General and Treasurer shall once again invite members who have not cast their votes to return their ballots within a further period of six weeks. At that date the ballot shall be closed, and the votes counted. An amendment shall become operative if a two-thirds majority support it.

Article 15. Dissolution of the Association

1. Under conditions of financial insolvency, loss of membership support, or lack of legal viability, it may become necessary to dissolve the Association. The Council may decide by a two-thirds majority to start proceedings for dissolution.
a. The Council shall then instruct the Secretary General to organise a secret ballot on the proposal to dissolve and invite members to return ballot forms within a period of six weeks.
b. If at that date fewer than half the potential votes have been cast, the Secretary-General shall once again invite members who have not cast their votes to return their ballots within a further period of six weeks. At that date, the ballot shall be closed, and the votes counted by a group consisting of three Association members appointed by Council.
c. The proposal to dissolve the Association shall be approved if at least half of the votes have been cast in favour of dissolution.

2. Within four weeks of the proposal being approved by the ballot, the Council shall appoint three liquidators, at least two of whom must be members of the Association, who shall name the organisation(s) to which the assets should be distributed after payment of all debts and liabilities..

3. Upon the dissolution of the Association, its assets shall be distributed to one or more non-profit organisations that are organised and operate exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, to be used for tax-exempt purposes. Those organisations should have educational and scientific objectives similar to those of the Association.