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STATUTES OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

Adopted by the Preparatory Committee for
Establishing the International Organization for
Earthquake Engineering, February 20, 1962,
Revised: 1979,1980,1984,1996 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2012

Art. 1 NAME
The name of this organization is "International Association for Earthquake Engineering" (hereinafter referred to as the "Association"). The Initials IAEE may be used as the abbreviated name of the Association.

Art. 2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSOCIATION
2-1 The objective of the Association is to reduce seismic risk worldwide by promoting international cooperation among scientists, engineers and other professionals in the broad field of earthquake engineering through interchange of knowledge, ideas, results of research and practical experience.

2-2 The Association will accomplish its objective by:
(a) holding world conferences;
(b) promoting and facilitating the interchange of information; and
(c) promoting and facilitating the extension of technical cooperation.

Art. 3 MEMBERSHIP
3-1 Members of the Association are National Organizations of Earthquake Engineering (defined in Article 4, and hereinafter referred to as "National Organizations").

3-2 A National Organization is composed of members, individual or corporate, accepted into membership according to the statutes of that particular organization.

3-3 Individual members of affiliated National Organizations shall be deemed to be individual members of the Association. An individual member of the Association may belong to more than one National Organization, and these need not include that of his/her country of residence.

Art. 4 QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
4-1 A National Organization must have objectives in keeping with the objective of the Association; and must also have:
(a) a Constitution or Statutes;
(b) a President, Chairman, or equivalent Executive officer;
(c) a Secretary; and
(d) an address for its secretariat.

4-2 The total membership of a National Organization shall be not less than 8.

4-3 Organizations that effectively represent independent earthquake engineering activity in a country or in a definite territory/region may become a member of the Association provided they can be listed under a name that will avoid any misunderstanding about the country or territory/region represented. Only one national organization from a country or from a territory/region may become a member of the Association.

4-4 The National Organization must inform the Association and provide full details whenever its constitution or statutes are changed.

4-5 The Executive Officer or Secretary of the National Organization must inform the Association when a new executive has been appointed and when the address of the secretariat is changed.

4-6 Each National Organization is required to send a report to the Association every four years, two months before the Executive Committee meeting to be held between two world conferences, and when requested by the President of the Association. The report shall include the following items, demonstrating that the National Organization meets the qualifications described in Articles 4-1 to 4-5.
(a)@Current President and Secretary General, with contact details
(b)@Delegate and Deputy Delegate and their full contact details
(c)@Current membership roster
(d)@General information about the National Organization, including Website, Activities, and Statutes

4-7 If a National Organization fails to provide adequate information, then the Executive Committee may consider invoking Article 7-2 of these Statutes.

Art. 5 APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
5-1 To become a member of the Association, an existing National Organization must apply, in writing, to the Secretary General of the Association. This application must be signed by its executive officer and its Secretary, formally applying for membership and indicating that if accepted, the National Organization will do its best to further the objective of the Association, to cooperate with it and to abide by its statutes.

5-2 The letter of application from an applicant shall be accompanied by:
(a) a copy of its current Constitution or Statutes;
(b) list of names of its current officers;
(c) the address of the secretariat;
(d) list of names of its current members; and
(e) the date of its founding.

Art. 6 REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
6-1 Within six months of its receipt the applications for membership in the Association will be reviewed by the Executive Committee of the Association. At the conclusion of this review the application for membership will either be deferred or be approved by the Executive Committee.

6-2 In the case where the Executive Committee decides to defer an application, the applicant may appeal at the next General Assembly.

6-3 Actions of the Executive Committee shall be reported to the General Assembly of Delegates at its next meeting.

Art. 7 RESIGNATION OR REMOVAL FROM MEMBERSHIP
7-1 A member may resign from the Association by forwarding a resignation letter to the Secretary General of the Association, duly signed by the Executive officer and the Secretary of the National Organization.

7-2 The Executive Committee may terminate the membership of any National organization with due cause. The vote to terminate membership must be supported by at least two-thirds of the members of the Executive Committee. Before taking the vote on termination of a member, the member under consideration will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the case.

Art. 8 ADMINISTRATION
The authority of the Association shall be exercised through:
(a)The General Assembly of Delegates;
(b)The Executive Committee of the Association;
(c)The officers of the Association; and
(d)The Secretary General of the Association

Art. 9 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF DELEGATES
COMPOSITION AND TERM OF OFFICE
9-1 The General Assembly of Delegates shall be composed of all Delegates representing National Organizations which are members of the Association.

9-2 Each National Organization shall designate a Delegate and a Deputy Delegate to represent it in the Association. There shall be only one Delegate and one Deputy Delegate from each National Organization. The Deputy Delegate shall represent the National Organization in the absence of the Delegate.

9-3 The term of office of the Delegate and the Deputy Delegate shall be four years. Each National Organization shall appoint a Delegate and a Deputy Delegate two months before the General Assembly convenes, to represent the National Organization. If necessary, the Delegate or the Deputy Delegate may be replaced at any time by the National Organization. Appointments may be renewed for one additional term. No individual may serve for more than two terms.

MEETINGS
9-4 A session of the General Assembly of Delegates shall be held during each world conference.

9-5 The sessions of the General Assembly of Delegates shall be presided over by the President of the Association.

9-6 The sessions of the General Assembly of Delegates are closed meetings.

9-7 Persons who may attend the sessions of the General Assembly of Delegates and their rights are listed below:
(a) National Delegates, who may speak, may move resolutions and may vote;
(b) Deputy National Delegates, who may speak, move resolutions and may vote, only when the National Delegate is not present;
(c) Members of the Executive Committee, who may speak and move resolutions but may not vote; and
(d) Other persons specifically invited by the President, who may speak if invited to do so on a matter but may not move resolutions or vote.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
9-8 The powers and duties of the General Assembly of Delegates are:
(a) to elect the President, the Executive Vice-President, and the Directors;
(b) to confirm recommendations for Honorary Members of the Association;
(c) to select the venue of the next world conference;
(d) to review and approve Association policies and procedures;
(e) to decide on dissolution of the Association; and
(f) to amend these Statutes.

QUORUM AND ACTION IF THERE IS NO QUORUM
9-9 A quorum for a session of the General Assembly of Delegates shall be one-half of the National Delegates, except as noted below.

9-10 If there is no quorum present, and thus a session of the General Assembly of Delegates cannot be convened at the previously announced time, then the meeting will be re-convened by the President within the same day when the required quorum will be one-third. If this quorum is also not reached, then the business scheduled for the meeting shall be conducted through correspondence and postal or email ballot within six months of the World Conference.

VOTING
9-11 At the sessions of the General Assembly of Delegates, unless otherwise provided for in the Statutes, a majority vote of the Delegates present shall be required to approve any matter put to vote. The President shall cast the deciding ballot in the event of a tie vote. All elections and the selection of the venue of the next world conference shall be carried out using secret paper ballots.

NOMINATION OF OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
9-12 The President shall appoint a nominating committee consisting of himself/herself and two former elected Presidents or Executive Vice-Presidents not now serving in that office. This nominating committee shall submit to the Secretary General not later than one month prior to the session of the General Assembly of Delegates at the world conference, a slate of nominations approved by the Executive Committee consisting of one name each for the offices of President and Executive Vice-President, and eight Directors.

9-13 Additional nominations for these offices may be made from the floor at the General Assembly of Delegates at the world conference by any National Delegate present, to be seconded by another National Delegate.

9-14 The candidate receiving a majority vote of the Delegates present shall be elected. When more than two choices are available and none of the choices receives a majority of the votes on the first ballot count, the choice receiving the fewest votes shall be deleted, and a second ballot conducted. The procedure shall be repeated successively until one of the choices receives a majority of the votes. In the event of a tie vote for any office, the incumbent President shall cast the deciding ballot.

9-15 In the event that, due to lack of quorum or for other reasons, the General Assembly of Delegates has not been convened to carry out the elections of officers it shall be the duty of the Secretary General to ensure that the elections of the officers are held through mail or email balloting and that the process be completed within six months of the world conference. In such an event, to save time the formality of seconding names proposed by a Delegate as required in Article 9-13 shall be waived. Further in such a case the persons securing the highest number of votes shall be declared elected and the requirement of obtaining a majority of votes, as required in Article 9-14, shall be waived. The incumbent President, or in the absence of the incumbent President, the incumbent Executive Vice-President, shall break any ties in the voting that need to be broken.


9-16 When more than eight choices are available, each National Delegate shall vote for their choice of eight names from those candidates nominated according to Articles 9-12 and 9-13. From the candidates, only eight with the most number of votes shall be elected.

9-17 In the event that, due to lack of quorum or for other reasons, the General Assembly of Delegates has not been convened to carry out the elections of Officers and Directors, it shall be the duty of the Secretary General to ensure that the election of the Executive Committee is held through mail or email balloting and that the process be completed within six months of the world conference. In such an event, to save time, the formality of seconding names proposed by a Delegate as required in Article 9-13 shall be waived.

9-18 Up to three other Directors may be selected by the Executive Committee in order to improve the geographical distribution of the Directors. Not more than one Director shall be from any one country.

9-19 The number of members of the Executive Committee (other than the Consultative Members) from any one country shall not exceed three. When the Executive Vice-President is not from the country selected to hold the next world conference, the President, after consulting the National Delegate of that country, shall name an additional Vice-President from that country.

SELECTION OF VENUE FOR WORLD CONFERENCE ON EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING
9-20 The General Assembly of Delegates shall select the place for the next world conference from a list of candidate countries which have filed with the Secretary General a letter of invitation from the affiliated National Organization. lf more than two choices are available and none of the choices receives a majority vote of the Delegates present on a first ballot count, the choice receiving the fewest votes shall be deleted, and a second ballot conducted. This procedure shall be repeated successively until one of the choices receives a majority of the votes. In the event of a tie vote, the President shall cast the deciding ballot. lf at the time of the session of the General Assembly of Delegates a single candidate does not receive a majority, the Secretary General shall arrange for the location of the next world conference by correspondence within six months of the world conference.

POSTAL OR EMAIL BALLOT
9-21 For matters deemed by the Executive Committee as requiring interim action by the General Assembly of Delegates, decision may be taken by a postal (including Facsimile) or email ballot. Unless provided for in the statutes, approval of a resolution by postal or email ballot will require the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast; provided that the total votes cast is equal to at least half of the eligible voters.

Art. 10 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
COMPOSITION AND TERM OF OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
10-1 The Executive Committee shall consist of the following:
(a)President;
(b)President-Elect or Past President;
(c)Executive Vice-President;
(d)Other Vice-President if appointed by the President according to Article 9-19;
(e)not more than eleven Directors;
(f)the Secretary General; and
(g)Consultative Members, namely
Past President (other than the immediate Past President); Honorary Members; and Suitably qualified persons co-opted by the Executive Committee.

10-2 The President-Elect shall be elected quadrennially following the procedures outlined in Articles 9-14 and 9-15, and shall serve for a continuous term of eight years as follows: two years as President-Elect, four years as President, and two years as Past-President.

10-3 Consultative Members of the Executive Committee may not vote.

10-4 The President is the Chairman of the Executive Committee.

10-5 The Executive Committee shall meet during each world conference. In addition, it may meet at the call of the President. During the interval between world conferences, the Executive Committee shall function through correspondence and postal or email balloting.

DUTIES
10-6 The functions of the Executive Committee are:
(a)to transact the business of the Association in accordance with the decisions and policies approved by the General Assembly of Delegates;
(b)to decide on admissions, withdrawals and termination of memberships;
(c)to assist the National Organization in the host country in the planning of the next world conference;
(d)to make recommendations to the General Assembly of Delegates for its approval either in session or by postal or email ballot; and
(e)to fill any vacancy in the Officers that may occur between world conferences.

QUORUM AND ACTION IF THERE IS NO QUORUM
10-7 A quorum for a session of the Executive Committee shall be one-half of the voting members of the Executive Committee.

10-8 lf there is no quorum present, actions of the Executive Committee have no status until they are confirmed through a postal or email ballot of the Executive Committee within six months of the world conference.

VOTING
10-9 Unless otherwise provided for in the Statutes, a majority vote of the voting members present shall be required to approve any matter put to vote. The President shall cast the deciding ballot in the event of a tie vote. Approval of a resolution by postal or email ballot will require the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast; provided that the total votes cast is equal to at least half of the eligible voters.

10-10 Dissolution recommendation must be supported by two-thirds of the members of the Executive Committee eligible to attend and vote at the meeting.

FILLING OF VACANCIES
10-11 Any vacancy occurring among the Officers of the Association, in between the sessions of the General Assembly of Delegates at world conferences, will be filled by the Executive Committee, via a postal or email ballot conducted by the Secretary General.

LENGTH OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
10-12 Except for President, Officers and Directors referred to in Article 10-1 (Vice-Presidents and up to eleven Directors) shall be eligible for one-re-election or re-appointment to the same position.

Art. 11 OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES
11-1 Officers of the Association are:
(a) President;
(b) Executive Vice-President;
(c) Vice-President, if appointed, as provided for in Article 9-19; and
(d) Secretary General.

PRESIDENT
11-2 The functions of the President shall be:
(a)to preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and at sessions of the General Assembly of Delegates;
(b)to act on behalf of the Association in the conduct of affairs of the Association in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the General Assembly of Delegates; and
(c)in collaboration with the Secretary General to respond to matters, other than those in 11-6, that arise between sessions of the General Assembly.

EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
11-3 The function of the Executive Vice-President shall be to assume the duties of the President in case the President is unavailable.

VICE-PRESIDENT
11-4 The function of the Vice-President is to provide the liaison between the Executive Committee and the Organizing Committee of the World Conference.

SECRETARY GENERAL
11-5 The Secretary General shall be nominated by the National Organization of the country where the Central Office of the Association is located, and shall be confirmed by the Executive Committee. The term of service of the Secretary General shall be at the pleasure of the Executive Committee, subject to reconfirmation at intervals not greater than six years.

11-6 The functions of the Secretary General shall be:
(a) to administer the Central Office of the Association;
(b) to maintain the records of the Association;
(c) to print and distribute publications of the Association;
(d) to keep in trust the money contributed to the Association and to provide an annual accounting of the Association funds, serving as its Treasurer;
(e) to receive the report of the nominating committee;
(f) to receive the invitation(s)for world conference venue;
(g) to arrange for minutes of the session of the General Assembly of Delegates at the world conference to be taken and distributed including records of business transacted, movers and seconders of all motions including nominations; and
(h) in collaboration with the President to approve the support of the Association of international and regional conferences related to earthquake engineering, when such support is requested.

Art. 12 HONORARY MEMBERS
12-1 Honorary Members shall be selected on the basis of their distinguished service to earthquake engineering.

12-2 Nominations of Honorary Members will be brought to the Executive Committee by a sub-committee of the Executive Committee, appointed for this purpose by the President. The Executive Committee shall nominate Honorary Members, to be confirmed by the General Assembly of Delegates.

Art. 13 FINANCES
13-1 There shall be no dues or assessments to member National Organizations of the Association.

13-2 Operating expenses of the Central Office of the Association shall be met by the National Organization of the country in which the Central Office is located. A small percentage of registration fees from World Conferences, as set by the Executive Committee, shall supplement these operating expenses. Financial planning and management within IAEE are executed as set forth in the IAEE Financial Operational Policies document approved by the Executive Committee.

13-3 Each National Organization shall be responsible for meeting its own expenses.

13-4 Expenses of a world conference shall be met by the host country.

13-5 The foregoing shall not preclude any member National Organization from voluntarily contributing to the funds of the Association or to the expenses of a world conference.

Art. 14 LOCATION OF HEADQUARTERS
The Central Office of the Association shall be located in the country determined by the Executive Committee.

Art. 15 OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE ASSOCIATION
The official language of the Association shall be English.

Art. 16 COMMITTEES
16-1 The President or the Executive Committee, as needed, may establish committees or work groups for specific tasks.

16-2 Unless specifically extended, appointments of all Committees expire at the end of the General Assembly of Delegates Meeting following their formation. The authority establishing a Committee, at the time of establishment, must provide the terms of reference, and the composition including the name of the Chairman of the Committee.

16-3 All committees shall report to the Executive Committee.

Art. 17 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION
The official journal of the Association shall include in its title
EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING & STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS.

Art. 18 LIABILITY
The Association and bodies created by it may not incur expenditures on behalf of the Association in excess of the funds at their disposal.

Art. 19 DISSOLUTION
19-1 Only the General Assembly of Delegates, at a meeting held in conjunction with a world conference, acting on a recommendation of the Executive Committee to that effect, can decide to dissolve the Association. Dissolution resolution must be supported by two-thirds of the General Assembly of Delegates eligible to attendant vote at the meeting.

19-2 In the event of the dissolution of the Association, its assets shall be ceded to an international charitable organization approved by the General Assembly of Delegates.

Art. 20 AMENDMENTS TO THE STATUTES
Adoption of any amendment to the Statutes shall require majority affirmative vote of the Delegates eligible to vote. This applies both for the ballot in the session of the General Assembly of Delegates and for postal or email ballot. No vote shall be taken on an amendment to the Statutes until at least three months have elapsed since the complete text of the proposed amendment has been distributed to the National Delegates.

Last Update on 2012/09/27

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International Association for Earthquake Engineering
last updated 03.08.11