MELODI Rules

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MELODI Association

Revised articles of the Associations Internal Rules as approved at the General Assembly of MELODI,

held in Rovinj, Croatia on 4 October 2018

Internal rules

SECTION I: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: Purpose

  1. The present Internal Rules are intended to establish the operating procedures of the MELODI Association, the relations between MELODI and its Members, and the relations between the Members as regards the operation of the Association.
  2. This document does not constitute social legislation.

Article 2: Membership fees

  1. Membership fees are fixed annually by the General Assembly as part of the approval of the budget for the upcoming financial year.
  2. Membership fees are due at the beginning of each financial year.
  3. At the beginning of each financial year MELODI invoices the membership fees and payment should follow soon.

Article 3: Accounting period of the Association

  1. The accounting period (i.e. financial year) begins on the 1st of January and ends on the 31st of December of each year.

SECTION II: OPERATION OF THE ASSOCIATION

Article 4: General assembly

  1. The General Assembly may only deliberate on issues listed in the agenda approved at the beginning of the respective meeting.
  2. The General Assembly meets at the Association’s headquarters or at any other suitable location stipulated in the invitation.
  3. In the beginning of meetings the General Assembly elects a Chairperson and a Rapporteur for the respective meeting of the General Assembly with the duties to act as head of the meeting and to write the minutes, respectively.
  4. At the start of a meeting, an attendance sheet is drawn up, signed by the General Assembly Members present or represented and certified by the Chairperson and the Rapporteur of the meeting.
  5. General Assembly deliberations are recorded in minutes containing a summary of the discussions, the text of the proposals presented for consideration, the result of votes as well as documentation and results of elections.
  6. A copy of the attendance sheet is added as annex.
  7. The minutes are signed by the Chairman and the Rapporteur of the meeting.
  8. They are recorded in chronological order, without blanks or deletions, in the Association’s register of minutes from meetings.

Article 5: Executive Council – Election and By-election of Council Members

  1. Before electing a new Executive Council the General Assembly may decide about the number of Members of the Council within the frame given by the Statutes of the Association.
  2. Before electing Executive Council Members with dedicated officer functions in the Association the General assembly may make a decision about these functions and the number of Members to elect for these special duties.
  3. The General Assembly elects the Members of the Executive Council. Elections will take place by secret ballot if there is more than one candidate standing for a vacant position.
  4. In the event of a split vote, a lot will be drawn by the acting chairperson of the General Assembly and will resolve the issue.
  5. The election for the Executive Council is organised in three consecutive steps.
  6. Step I: Fifty (50) percent of the seats in the Council, in case of an uneven number of seats the next higher full number, candidatures are called from the college of Signatory Members and a first secret ballot takes place.
  7. Step II: For the remaining seats in the Council candidatures will be called from the colleges of Signatory and Subscribing Members, respectively, and a second secret ballot takes place.
  8. Step III: Candidatures from the elected Executive Council Members are called for the dedicated officer functions in the Association, i.e. for Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, and additional officer functions as decided by the General assembly at the beginning of the election process, a third ballot takes place.
  9. In all three ballots, all Members of the Association with voting rights may vote.
  10. In cases of vacancies of one or more Council Member positions with dedicated officer functions, i.e. Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, or any other function as decided by the General Assembly for the current election period, the Council must fill these officer positions via interim- elections for the interim time period until the next General assembly.
  11. In case of vacancies of other Council Members, the Council may fill these positions by interim- elections for the interim time period.
  12. The Executive Council may interim-elect vacant Council Members only if at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Council Members are present.
  13. Interim-elections should reflect the balance of Executive Council Members as given in the Statutes of the Association.
  14. By-elections are mandatory when the Council Membership is reduced to less than six (6) Members.
  15. In this case a General Assembly has to be called in by the Chair of the Association.
  16. Interim-elections of Council Members by the Executive Council are subject to ordinary by- elections by the next General Assembly.
  17. By-elected Council Members serve the remaining term of the election period of the Executive Council in total.
  18. Persons capable of providing specific advice to the Executive Council on an issue in the agenda may be invited as consultants by the Council or its Secretariat on a case by case basis, such as coordinators of major integration EURATOM projects or other experts.

Article 6: Executive Council’s Secretariat

  1. Persons capable of providing specific advice on an issue in the agenda of the Executive Council’s Secretariat may be invited as consultants.

Article 7: Chair and Vice chair of the Association

  1. The Chair of the Association ensures compliance with legal provisions, notably social requirements incumbent to the Association as employer.
  2. The Vice Chair acts in replacement of the Chair in his/her absence and supports the Chair in his duties as head and representative of the Association.

Article 8: Treasurer

  1. The Treasurer manages the financial affairs of the Association in cooperation with the Chair. Payments and commitments with a single monetary value in excess of € 2.500 require the signature of the Chair and of the Treasurer.

Article 9: Secretary

  1. The Secretary maintains the various registers of the Association.
  2. In agreement with the Chair, he/she organizes the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the General Assembly, the Executive Council and its Secretariat.
  3. He/she prepares, the minutes of the Executive Council and its Secretariat, signs / certifies these documents after their approval by the Body concerned and supports the Chair and Rapporteur of the General Assembly in their offices.

Article 10: Stakeholder and Communication Manager

  1. A Stakeholder and Communication Manager is elected by the General Assembly from within the Executive Council Members.
  2. He/she establishes and maintains (a) the links to stakeholders in the radiation protection research arena in Europe and beyond, and (b) the content of the MELODI presentation in the internet and comparable media.

Article 11: Internal Operations Coordinator

  1. An Internal Operations Coordinator is elected by the General Assembly from within the Executive Council Members.
  2. He/she links the activities of (a) the Scientific Advisory Committee, (b) the MELODI Working Groups, (c) topical MELODI workshop initiatives, and (d) the annual MELODI meeting organizers to the work of the MELODI Executive Council and vice versa.

Article 12: Scientific Advisory Committee

  1. The Executive Council nominates a Scientific Advisory Committee and asks the General assembly for approval.
  2. The Scientific Advisory Committee assists the association in the reviewing and evaluation of its activities or of scientific tasks.
  3. Terms of reference and rules for the Scientific Advisory Committee have to be approved by the Executive Council.
  4. The Scientific Advisory Committee reports annually to the General Assembly.

Article 13: Working Groups

  1. The Executive Council may decide about the establishment of a Working Group structure of the Association and of specific Working Groups for the purpose of implementing MELODI’s objectives.
  2. These Working Groups are constituted by individual scientists or other experts affiliated to a Signatory or Subscribing Member or by Associated Members, as appointed by the Council.
  3. Terms of reference, rules and support by an administrative/technical secretariat for Working Groups have to be approved by the Executive council.
  4. Persons capable of providing specific advice on an issue in the work programme of a Working Group may be invited as consultants by the Group on a case by case basis after approval by the Executive Council’s Secretariat.
  5. Working Groups report on a regular basis to the Executive Council.
  6. The General Assembly may ask special Working Groups to give additional reports directly to the General Assembly.
  7. The Executive Council annually gives a report to the General Assembly about the Working group structure of the Association, the work done by the Working Groups and asks for approval.