Statutes

§ 2 The organization of IUPB is set out below:

1. The Board of IUPB
   1. Board members are responsible for IUPB administration.
   2. Board membership consists of a President, Past President, 2-4 Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, or Secretary-Treasurer.
   3. Candidates for Board membership are nominated by dues-paying member societies and by current Board members. The slate of candidates must be approved by the Board and then the General Assembly at the International Congress. Nominations will be solicited 2 months before the interim Board meeting.
   4. The term of a Board Office starts the day after the International Congress of Photobiology (ICP) at which the officers are elected, and ceases at the end of the following International Congress.
   5. The President chairs Board Meetings, Executive Committee, and the General Assembly.
   6. The President is not immediately eligible for re-election. The President, upon completion of the term, will be a member of the Board for one 5-year term as Past President. The Secretary and Treasurer (or Secretary-Treasurer) and Vice Presidents may be re-elected for an additional term for a total of two 5-years terms. It is expected that the terms of the Vice Presidents will be staggered, i.e, 50% of Vice Presidents would rotate off after each ICP, to be replaced by newly elected Vice Presidents.
   7. The presence of 60% of Board members constitutes a quorum for Board meetings.
   8. The Board communicates, through the Secretary, or the Secretary-Treasurer, to member societies and individual members on a regular basis.
2. The Executive Committee
   1. The Executive Committee consists of the President (as chair), Secretary and Treasurer, or Secretary-Treasurer.
   2. The Executive Committee is authorized to act on behalf of the Board in between the Board meetings, and is to inform the Board at a later date.
3. Ad hoc Task Force
   When a special issue needs to be addressed, an ad hoc task force can be appointed by the President and approved by the Board for a limited period to study and advise on particular issues. Task Force members are nominated by virtue of their competence and need not be members of IUPB. A Chair of the task force is appointed by the President.
4. General Assembly
   The General Assembly is an open meeting, but voting will be restricted to the representatives of national and international societies and individual members (one per society/group). It is held once at the occasion of the ICP; agenda items would include report of the Treasurer, and election of the President and Board members.

§ 3 Responsibility of the Board

The administration of IUPB is the responsibility of the Board, to which all important questions should be submitted for approval. All Board members, including the President, are elected at the extended Board meeting, and take office immediately after the conclusion of the ICP.

The followings are the Board’s function:

1. To communicate regularly with the member societies and individual members.
2. To decide upon the affiliation of individual members.
3. To record and circulate the minutes of the General Assembly and of Board meetings.
4. To award the Niels Finsen medal(s), Finsen lecture(s), and Edna Roe lecture(s).

§ 4 Responsibility of Officers:

1. The President:
   • Chairs the interim Board meeting, the extended Board meeting, and presides at the General Assembly.
   • Represents IUPB in all interactions with other societies or organizations that are not members of IUPB.
   • In consultation with the Executive Committee and the Board, makes decisions on affairs related toIUPB, with the approval of the General Assembly as appropriate.
   • Is the chair of the Executive Committee.
   • Is responsible for calling the meetings of the Board, which should occur at least twice during the 5- year cycle: one interim Board meeting in between the ICPs, and another one during the ICP. The latter one (extended Board meeting) should include time allocated for representatives of member societies and of individual members (one from each society/group) to attend the Board meeting.
2. Vice Presidents:
   • Assist and advise the President on all matters related to IUPB.
   • Attend the extended Board meeting and the interim Board meeting.
   • One would function as an interim President should the President be unable to perform his/her duties.
3. Secretary and Treasurer:
   • These two positions, if need be, can be assumed by one individual.
   • The Secretary is responsible for preparing minutes of all meetings, distributing them to all members, managing the website, and communicating regularly to all members.
   • The Treasurer is responsible for all the fiscal activity of the IUPB. It is understood that any investments would be done in a manner to preserve the principal. The Treasurer is responsible for detailed financial reports at all Board meetings, and to present a financial report at the General Assembly. Any expenses greater than 1000 euros need to be approved by the Executive Committee, and/or the Board.
   • The Treasurer is to distribute the financial report of IUPB annually, after its approval by the Executive Committee, at the time of the solicitation of annual dues from members.
   • IUPB financial accounts shall be audited by two auditors appointed by the Board. The auditors' report shall be approved by the General Assembly.
   • The Secretary-Treasurer, or Secretary and Treasurer attend the extended Board meeting and the interim Board meeting and is (are) a member of the Executive Committee.

§ 5 Function of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is convened by the President at least twice during the 5-year term through internet. It ensures that the affairs of IUPB are conducted in accordance with the decisions of the General Assembly. To this end, it considers all matters of general policy of interest to IUPB. In order to ensure that the organization of the ICP or other meetings conforms with the general guidelines of IUPB policy, the Executive Committee cooperates with the national group in the organization and financial arrangements and in planning the scientific program of the congress or meetings.

In addition, the Executive Committee has the following functions:

1. Admission of new national and international groups;
2. Appointment of ad hoc task forces;
3. Preparation for the election of new members of the Board by the General Assembly;
4. Appointment of the national group responsible for the organization of the next International Congress or other meetings of IUPB;
5. Approval of annual financial report prior to its distribution to all members.

§ 6 Category

1. The IUPB recognizes as members national or international photobiology societies. The number of members in each society is not limited. Each society should send a delegate (the society President or a person nominated by the group) to attend the extended Board meeting held at the International Congress, and to attend the General Assembly.
2. Individual members are recognized by IUPB only in those countries having no national or international photobiology society. Where there are fewer than ten members, they may affiliate as individual members. A representative of individual members is invited to attend the extended Board meeting, and individual members can attend the General Assembly, with one as a voting member.
3. Only societies and individual groups whose IUPB membership dues are paid on time and in full are eligible to attend the extended Board meeting and to vote at the General Assembly.

§ 7 Admission to IUPB

Photobiologists in a country or group of countries not already affiliated to IUPB may form a national or international group and apply to the Board through the Secretary or Secretary-Treasurer for affiliation at any time of year. Admission of a new group is granted by the Board provided that a majority of ist members votes in favor (if necessary by email) within six months following the application.

§ 8 Income

The income of IUPB consists of:

1. Annual dues from national and international societies and from individual members.
2. Potential contributions from the ICPs: One-tenth of the congress fee of each paying participant and exhibitor will be collected from the local organizer and used for the expenses as described below (§ 9.5). This issue must be announced to all participants in a Congress brochure. The Board reserves the right to have a clear understanding of the budget of ICP from the organizer.
3. Donations and subscriptions from other sources.

§ 9 Expenses

The expenses of IUPB comprise:

1. The administrative expenses of the Board.
2. All expenses connected with the work of IUPB which are approved by the Board.
3. Expenses associated with awarding the Finsen medal(s), Finsen lecture(s), and Edna Roe lecture(s).
4. Expenses associated with awarding grants approved by the Board.
5. Expenses associated with the organization of the ICPs.

§ 10 Membership Dues

The annual dues from a society or group is established by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Board.

§ 11 Disaffiliation

A group that pays no annual dues for two consecutive years despite reminder by the Treasurer, or Secretary-Treasurer, shall be considered disaffiliated. The group may be re-affiliated at the discretion of the Board upon payment of the annual dues.

§ 12 Prizes

1. In memory of Niels Finsen, Nobel laureate and celebrated pioneer in photobiology and phototherapy, IUPB awards prizes and a lectureship to scientists or to groups of scientists who are distinguished for their researches in photobiology or in the pure and applied sciences directly related to photobiology. These prizes and lectureship are presented on the occasion of an ICP.
2. In memory of Edna Roe, a lectureship in her honor is also awarded by IUPB at the occasion of an ICP.
3. The expenses incurred in the distribution of the Niels Finsen prizes, Finsen lectureship and Edna Roe lectureship are covered by IUPB.
4. The Secretary, or the Secretary-Treasure, at the direction of the Board, shall solicit nominations from members of IUPB 18 months before the ICP meeting.
5. Selection of the awardees is made by the IUPB Award Selection Committee.
6. Upon the approval of the Board, IUPB can also award grants or fellowships.

§ 13 Modification of Statutes

The present Statutes can be modified only by a decision of the two-thirds majority of voting members present at a General Assembly. Any proposed modification should be sent to the Secretary, or Secretary-Treasurer, at least six months before the Assembly, and after discussion by the Board, shall be circulated to all members for discussion at least three months before the General Assembly. In cases of urgency, the Executive Committee has the right to modify the Statutes until the following Board meeting and General Assembly, which shall approve or reject these changes.

§ 14 Arbitration

1. To settle all disputes arising within IUPB an internal Arbitration Panel is appointed. This panel is a "mediation board" as stipulated by the Austrian Associations Act of 2002 (Vereinsgesetz 2002) and not an arbitration court according to §§ 577 ff of the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO).
2. The Arbitration Panel consists of three ordinary members of IUPB: One arbitrator is to be nominated in written form to the Executive Committee (EC) by one party to the dispute. Within seven days the EC requests the second party to identify another arbitrator within 14 days. Upon notification within seven days by the EC the identified arbitrators elect a third arbitrator to act as chairman of the Arbitration Panel. In case of a tie, a draw among the suggested names decides. With exception of the General Assembly arbitrators must not be members of any body of IUPB involved in the dispute.
3. The Arbitration Panel decides after listening to both parties with a simple majority when all its members are present. It decides to the best of its knowledge and its decisions are final within IUPB.

§ 15 IUPB dissolution

A motion to dissolve the IUPB must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of the voting members present at a General Assembly. This motion shall then be sent to all groups and is confirmed if approved by a majority of them.

If the IUPB is dissolved, after payment of any outstanding debts, its funds are to be used for privileged purposes according to §§ 34 ff of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (Bundesabgabenordnung, BAO). In this case the general assembly has to appoint a liquidator and to decide to whom the liquidator has to transfer the remaining funds. The available assets are to be transferred to the scientific photobiological member societies based on the number of units of their membership, provided these societies fulfill the requirements for tax advantage as laid down in §§ 34 ff BAO. At the time of dissolution of IUPB or discontinuation of the aforementioned privileged purposes of IUPB, should these beneficiaries have ceased to exist or have lost the requirements for tax advantage according to §§ 34 ff BAO or should the transfer at the preconditions described above be impossible for any other reason, the remaining assets must be assigned to other privileged purposes as laid down in §§ 34 ff BAO. As far as possible and lawfully permitted, this funding should benefit institutions that follow identical or similar goals as IUPB.

§16 Effectiveness and amendment of these Statutes

These Statutes become effective when approved by two-thirds of the voting members present at the General Assembly. Amendment of these Statutes must be proposed by the Board and be approved by two thirds of the voting members present at the General Assembly.