ARTICLE 1 - STYLE
The society to which these regulations apply is constituted in accordance with Art. 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code and is called the "European Atherosclerosis Society". The legal address of this Society shall be the same as that of the Executive officer. The society was founded in 1964.
ARTICLE 2 - OBJECTIVES
The European Atherosclerosis Society is instituted for the purpose of advancing and exchanging knowledge concerning the causes, natural history, treatment and prevention of atherosclerotic disease in man and animals.
This aim will be promoted by any or all of the following means:
(a) The holding of scientific meetings dealing with research in the field of atherosclerosis and of sciences relevant to its study.
(b) Encouraging other meetings between members of the Society and exchanges of information with others engaged in atherosclerosis research.
(c) Fostering collaborative work between national and international centres engaged in the investigation of atherosclerosis.
(d) Encouraging and assisting the publication, on occasions, of the proceedings of the Society's meetings, or other works furthering the knowledge of atherosclerosis.
(e) Funding research fellowships, bursaries and other support, and fostering the organisation of training courses in research methods and techniques, particularly to assist young research workers engaged in studies on atherosclerosis and allied scientific fields.
(f) Acceptance and investment of sums accruing from dues, endowments, grants, funds, and bequests and their disbursement for the above purposes.
ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP
(a) Persons residing in Europe or neighbouring countries engaged in, or who direct research for, the purpose set out in Article 2 shall be eligible for membership of the Society.
(b) Membership of the Society shall be subdivided into Ordinary, Honorary, Corresponding and Corporate members.
(c) Ordinary members shall be entitled to full privileges of the Society, namely, to hold office, to vote, to take part in the business of the Society, to participate in its social and its scientific activities. Ordinary members shall pay the full annual subscription plus an appropriate annual subscription to the International Atherosclerosis Society, with which the Society is affiliated.
(d) Honorary Members. Persons of distinction in the field of atherosclerosis, or who have been of particular service to the Society, shall be eligible for election as Honorary members. Honorary members shall have the right to take part in discussions and voting like Ordinary members at meetings of the Society but shall not hold office, and shall not pay any subscription.
(e) Corresponding Members. Distinguished non-European scientists who have made a substantial contribution to the proceedings of the Society. They shall pay a subscription and shall have voting power.
(f) Corporate Members. Companies will be admitted to corporate memberships of the Society for a minimum of 5 years. They shall pay a standard subscription determined by the Executive Committee and shall have no voting power.
ARTICLE 4 - ORGANIZATION
Office-Bearers and Executive Committee
(a) The business of the Society shall be conducted by an Executive Committee elected from the Ordinary membership of the Society. The Executive Committee shall comprise the Officers of the Society (Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer) and four Ordinary members and, where appropriate, a Chairperson-elect and Secretary-elect (see clause (c)(i) and (ii) below).The Executive Committee shall be empowered to co-opt additional Ordinary members to serve on the Committee for specific purposes (eg. to assist with the arrangement of meetings). Members so co-opted shall not exceed three in number and shall not serve for longer than one year but can be co-opted for an additional year
(b) Four members shall form a quorum at a meeting of the Executive Committee.
(c) Periods of Office and Duties of Officers and Committee
Offices shall be held for the following periods:
(i) In the interest of continuity, the chairperson is elected one year before he/she takes office. During that year, he/she will be a supernumerary member of the Executive Committee if not already a member. The period of office is three years, and the chairperson is not eligible for immediate re-election. The Chairperson shall preside at Executive Committee and Business meetings and is empowered to nominate another member of the Executive Committee to preside in his/her absence. The Chairperson will have a casting-vote at all meetings.
(ii) In the interest of continuity, the secretary is elected one year before he/she takes office. During that year, he/she will be a supernumerary member of the Executive Committee if not already a member. The period of office is three years, and the secretary is eligible for immediate re-election for not more than one further period of office. The secretary shall be responsible for calling meetings of the Executive Committee and Business meetings and shall keep minutes of those meetings. The Secretary shall notify all members of the date and place of the next meeting at least three months in advance and shall send details of each meeting to all members at least three weeks in advance. Annually, at a Business meeting, the Secretary shall report on the work done by the Society during the preceding year.
(iii)The Treasurer shall hold office for three years and be eligible for re-election. He/she shall be responsible for all the Society's financial matters including the collection of subscriptions to the Society and to the International Atherosclerosis Society. He/she shall notify the Executive Committee of any members whose subscriptions are one year in arrears. He/she shall pay accounts due by the Society and shall present a statement of the Society's accounts annually. In the case of any expenditure the advisability of which is deemed doubtful, the Treasurer shall seek and accept the guidance of the Executive Committee.
(iv) The four non-Officers of the Executive Committee will ordinarily serve for three years. They shall then retire and shall not be eligible for re-election until one year has elapsed after their demission from the Committee's service.
(v) The EAS may appoint an Executive Officer to assist the Executive Committee with the running of the society business.
ARTICLE 5 – MEMBERSHIP PROCEDURES
(a) Ordinary and Corresponding Members
(i) Application forms for membership shall be distributed by the Secretary of the Society and shall be available to participants at all EAS meetings. They shall also be available on the EAS Web site.
(ii) The Executive Committee shall scrutinise and approve the applications
(iii) The list of new members will be announced at the yearly business meeting
(b) Election of Honorary Members
Honorary membership will only be offered to outstanding persons. Any member of the Society shall be entitled to propose, with the support of at least four other members, the name of a distinguished person judged suitable for Honorary membership. Such proposals shall be made to the Executive Committee and if accepted, the Honorary member shall be elected at a Business meeting on the nomination of the Executive Committee, notice being given on the agenda for the meeting.
(c) Election of Office-Bearers and Executive Committee
(i) The names of members to replace retiring Officers or ordinary members of the Executive Committee, may be proposed by a member of the Society who has obtained the written consent of the nominee. Such nominations shall be sent to the Secretary at least three months before the election. The Secretary shall send to each Ordinary member a postal ballot-paper containing: the names of members of the Executive Committee; the names of retiring Officers or members; and the names of those nominated to fill the vacancies. The completed ballot-paper should be returned to the nominated Returning Officer by the given date.
(ii)In the event of an incidental vacancy occurring on the Executive Committee, this shall be filled at the next Business meeting by the election of another Officer or member of the Committee from among the Ordinary members of the Society. This member shall only hold office for the unexpired term of office of the member replaced, but shall be eligible for re-election.
ARTICLE 6 - SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
(a)Regular scientific meetings shall be held each year in Europe. These should be one large annual Congress and several small Workshops, which should be focused on one major topic. Business meetings shall be held yearly during the annual Congress.
(b)EAS Congress will be organized by a local chairperson who shall be appointed by the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Program Committee of the EAS in cooperation with a National Society. The Program Committee is composed of the local chairpersons, the chairperson and/or chairperson-elect of the EAS, the chairpersons of the last and next EAS Congresses and three distinguished European scientists appointed by the EAS executive Committee.. The PC will assist the chairpersons of the meetings in choosing and deciding on chairpersons of sessions, plenary speakers and abstracts for workshops.
ARTICLE 7 - JOURNAL
The official journal of the European Atherosclerosis Society is ‘Atherosclerosis’ published by Elsevier Science according to an agreement of March 1998, between the Society and the publisher.
ARTICLE 8 - ADISORY Board
(a)In order to further promote its objectives, the EAS will establish an Advisory Board as a forum for continuous exchange of information between scientific organizations involved in the propagation of knowledge in the field of atherosclerosis in Europe.
(b)Each a society in good standing and with a distinct objective consonant with those of the EAS may apply to become a member of the Advisory Board. The application should be sent to the Secretary of the EAS for scrutinization and approval by the Executive Committee. The names of the approved societies will be announced to the EAS members at the yearly business meeting. The Chairperson and one additional nominated representative are included in the Advisory board of the EAS.
(c)The Advisory Board will give advice to the Executive Committee. There will be at least one formal meeting annually, which is called and chaired by the Chairperson of the EAS. Other interactions will take place by e-mail and through a Website.
ARTICLE 9 - FINANCES
The Society's annual fee for Ordinary and Corresponding members include the membership fee and the subscription to the official Journal of the Society ‘Atherosclerosis’. The amount shall be proposed by the Executive Committee but shall require approval by a simple majority of the Ordinary members present at a Business meeting. Members shall be notified of any alteration in subscriptions proposed by the Executive Committee, at least one month in advance of the next Business meeting and shall require similar approval by a simple majority .
The liability of the Society shall be limited to its own assets and members shall not be personally liable for debts incurred by the Society. The Society’s finances are subject to annual external audit.
ARTICLE 10 - GENERAL RULES
(a) The name and logo of the Society cannot be used for any purpose without the prior agreement of the Executive Committee.
(b) Any member whose subscription is two years in arrears and who has been duly notified of the fact shall, if the Executive Committee sees fit, be removed from membership of the Society.
(d) The Executive Committee shall be empowered to invite any other scientific society or organisation to join in the work of a meeting.
ARTICLE 11 - DISSOLUTION
The Society can only be dissolved with the agreement of two-thirds of the members. Any residual funds shall be divided equally among the then current Ordinary members for use in research on atherosclerosis.
ARTICLE 12 - ALTERATIONS AND AMENDMENTS
Any alteration, addition or amendment to the above Constitution and Regulations of the Society must be circulated to all members at least one month in advance of the next business meeting. The changes require the agreement of two-thirds of the Ordinary members attending the business meeting.
Seville, April 2004 | 
