Tasks

Statutes

V. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

V.1. The General Assembly is held during a European Microscopy Congress (EMC), an EMS extension when organized or the International Congress for Microscopy when organized in Europe, and is composed of paid-up members of The Society.

V.2. The secretary of the Executive Board prepares the agenda for the General Assembly. The agenda is approved by the Executive Board before it is made available three months in advance of the General Assembly.

V.3. The president of the Executive Board serves as chairman of the General Assembly, or in his/her absence, the secretary or the past-president will serve (in that order).

V.4. All paid-up EMS members, including members of the Executive Board, have one vote in the General Assembly.

V.5. Matters to be voted on by the General Assembly can be forwarded to a round of electronic voting in the month following the General Assembly.

V.6. No meeting of the General Assembly shall have the power to make valid decisions unless a quorum of 50 voting members is reached, with the exception of moving particular matters to a round of electronic voting. A valid meeting of the General Assembly also has the right to move certain issues to a round of electronic voting if the number of on-site votes is deemed to be too low to be representative for the society.

V.7. Decisions of the General Assembly are taken by a simple majority of votes, with the exception of the matter described in V.8e and in the by-laws B4 and B5. In the event of an equal division of votes, the chairman shall make the final decision.

V.8. The General Assembly:

By-laws

C. GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND GENERAL COUNCIL

C.1. The General Assembly should meet at least once a year, the General Council at least every four years. During an EMC year or an IMC year in Europe , these meetings are held in conjunction with the EMC or IMC. The date, the place and the agenda of the meeting shall be announced by the secretary at least three months in advance by publication of the available data on the website of The Society.

C.2. The agenda of the General Assembly and General Council shall be composed by the secretary and be approved by the Executive Board before publication on the website.

C.3. Any group of twenty EMS members may propose subjects for discussion at the meeting of the General Assembly. Such proposals shall reach the secretary at least three months before the meeting. A subject not placed on the agenda can be discussed at the General Assembly only if approved by at least half of the delegates with voting rights present.

C.4. Corporate members (see section G) and national microscopy societies with en-bloc membership shall make known (in writing) to the secretary, not later than one day before the General Council meeting, the name(s) of their representatives.

C.5. Each national microscopy society shall be represented at the General Council meeting by its representatives. Each representative shall have only one vote.

C.6. On each particular matter, electronic voting can replace the on-site voting when so decided by the General Assembly and General Council. Electronic voting has no quorum and will be conducted in a pre-defined period of time immediately after the respective General Assembly or General Council (with a maximum delay of one month after the date of the General Assembly and General Council for the closing of the e-voting procedure). The majority rules remain the same as with on-site voting.

C.7. The president of the Executive Board may invite observers, representing scientific bodies, organizations or individuals to attend a meeting of the General Assembly and General Council. Such invited guests may take part in the discussion but have no voting powers.

C.8. Minutes of meetings of the General Assembly and General Council shall be made by the secretary within three months of the adjournment of the meeting. The minutes shall be published on the website and sent by e-mail to the secretaries of societies for microscopy in Europe and officers of the Executive Board of IFSM, the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy.

C.9. After approval by the Executive Board and the General Assembly, two copies of the approved minutes shall be signed by the president and the secretary and shall be kept by the president and the secretary and handed over to their successors.