EFI - The European Federation for Immunogenetics

EFI Constitution - Continued

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5

Chapters 6

Chapters 7

Chapters 8

Chapters 9-10

CHAPTER 7

Article 13 (Rules of procedure)

The Articles of the present chapter apply to meetings of both the General Assembly and the Executive Committee unless otherwise indicated.

Article 14 (Quora)

There shall be a quorum at any meeting of the General Assembly if 30% are present or represented by proxy.
There shall be a quorum at any meeting of the Executive Committee if half of the members of the Executive Committee are present.

Article 15 (Submission of proposals)

Any proposal shall be submitted in writing if a General Assembly or Executive Committee member so requests. In that case, it shall not be discussed until it has been circulated.

Article 16 (Consideration of proposals)

When a number of proposals relate to the same subject, they shall be put to the vote in the order in which they were submitted. In case of doubt, the Chairman shall decide.
When a proposal is the subject of an amendment, the amendment shall be put to the vote first. When two or more amendments to the same proposal are presented, the meeting shall vote first on which ever departs furthest in substance from the original proposal. It shall then vote on the next furthest removed from the original proposal and so on until all the amendments have been put to the vote. However, when the acceptance of one amendment necessarily entails the rejection of another, the latter shall not be put to the vote. The final vote shall then be taken on the proposal as amended or not amended. In case of doubt as to the order of priority, the Chairman shall decide.
Parts of a proposal or amendment may be put to the vote separately.
In the case of proposals with financial implications, the most costly shall be put to the vote first.

Article 17 (Procedural motions)

Procedural motions shall take precedence over all other proposals or motions except points of order. They shall be put to the vote in the following order :

Suspension of the sitting
Adjournment of decision on the item in hand
Postponement of a decision on the substance of a proposal specified date
Moving to next agenda item

Article 18 (Re-examination of decisions)

When a decision has been taken it is only re-examined if a member if the meeting so requests and if this request receives a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

Article 19 (Voting)

Each voting member of the General Assembly or Executive Committee has one vote.
Subject to any contrary provisions in these rules, decisions of the General Assembly or the Executive Committee are taken by a two- thirds majority of the votes cast.
Procedural matters shall be settled by a majority of the votes cast.
When the question arises as to whether or not a matter is procedural in nature, it may not be so regarded unless the committee decides to that effect by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast.
For the purposes of these Articles of Association, "votes cast" shall mean the votes of members for or against. Members abstaining shall be regarded as not having cast a vote.

Article 20 (Election of Officers)

The Chairman of a meeting shall be the President himself or one member designated in accordance with Article 8, para 2; however, if for any reason this designation cannot carried out, the Secretary shall replace the President; in the absence of the Secretary the meeting shall elect a Chairman.
The Chairman shall conduct proceedings and sum up the conclusions whenever he thinks necessary. He may call to order a speaker who departs from the subject under discussion. He retains the right to speak and to vote as a member of the meeting.
Election of the EFI Officers and of a Chairman of a meeting shall require a two-thirds majority at the first ballot and a simple majority at the second ballot. If elections are conducted by postal ballot a simple majority vote is required for election.
Nomination of candidates for positions on the Executive Committee shall be made by the Executive Committee or by ten members of the General Assembly from at least two countries.
Votes shall be taken by postal ballot or a show of hands unless at least ten members present request the holding of a secret ballot.
If the number of members of the Executive Committee falls below nine between meetings of the General Assembly, the President and Secretary shall together set up a postal ballot in accordance with the preceding paragraph. Not later than one month after receiving written notification of the vacancies, they shall invite nominations allowing a four-week period for their submission and issue ballot papers allowing two weeks for their return.
If the President or the Secretary or both cease to hold office between meetings of the General Assembly, a postal ballot should be set up in accordance with the provisions of the present article by the other members of the Executive Committee acting together.
If at any time between meetings of the General Assembly, all members or all but one member of the Executive Committee cease to be members of the Executive Committee an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly shall be convened in accordance with Article 10 to elect a new Executive Committee.