CONSTITUTION OF THE I.U.A.

Article 1

By the subscribers to the present statutes an association is founded entitled "International Union of Angiology". It is ruled by the French law of 1901 decret of August 16th, 1901, Law number 81 909 of October 9th, 1982. The following subtitle describes the constituents of the organization: “ A Society for Vascular Medicine, Surgery and Endovascular Interventions”.

Article 2 - Goal

The goal of this union is to stimulate and disseminate, at an international level, scientific knowledge in the whole field of angiology ; moreover, the Union facilitates propagation of all documents and knowledge on Angiology through the different media, by organization of congresses, seminars, national and international meetings and by publication of a journal of the International Union of Angiology as well as by textbooks on Angiology. The Union will stimulate research as well as clinical work on Angiology in the different countries. Furthermore, it will set up Committees or commissions to handle the different activities of the International Union of Angiology.

Article 3 - Headquarters

a) The headquarters of the Union are located at "c/o Académie de Chirurgie - Les Cordeliers - 15, Rue de l'Ecole de Médecine - 75006 PARIS". The address can be changed within the "Department" by the decision of the Administrative Board. In case, it is transferred outside the "Department", an extra-ordinary General Assembly has to be called on in order to make a decision on this point by the majority of the votes.
b) The Executive Board establishes the site of the Administrative Secretariat of the International Union of Angiology.

Article 4 - Official languages

The official languages of the International Union of Angiology are English and French.

Article 5 - Members

The Union is composed of physicians interested in Angiology; there are 6 groups of members :
A - Honorary members : These are members who have rendered significant services to the Union. They have to be approved by the Administrative Board and they pay no annual fee.
B - Corporate members : Corporate members are those companies or industries who pay an annual fee determined by the Executive Board each year, or as subsequently determined by the General Assembly at the beginning of each year.
C - Full members : Full members are those who pay an annual fee at the beginning of each year.
This fee is determined by the Administrative Board. This fee includes the subscription to the official Journal of the International Union of Angiology.
D - Emeritus members : A full member of the Union can apply to the Executive Board to become an Emeritus Member at age 65. Membership fee for Emeritus Members is reduced by 50 %.
E - Associate members : Associate members are those who do not hold a medical degree or Ph. D. certificate. (eg. vascular technologists, vascular nurses). They pay an annual fee as determined by the Administrative Board.
F - Associated society or organization members : This category includes scientific national or international societies or organizations dealing with practical or theoretical aspects of vascular disease. Each society or organization will send one representative to the IUA and this representative will be a voting member of the Administrative Board. Each representative should be a full member of the IUA and has to pay an annual fee.

Article 6 - Admission of membership

The admission of membership to the association has to be approved by the Executive Board which takes its decision at each of its meetings based on the recommendations of the Membership Board.

Article 7 - Membership

Membership in the Union comes to an end by :
1 - Resignation
2 - Dismission : This is decided by the Administrative Board because of non-payment of the membership fee or other serious reasons, as judged by the Executive Board.
The member is invited by registered mail to defend his case during a meeting of the Executive Board. There is possibility of a redress addressed to the General Assembly. It should be sent before the end of a period of two months after reception of the letter of dismission. Every dismission approved on by the General Assembly is considered as irrevocable.

Article 8 - Finances

Income sources of the Association are as follows :
1 - Admission fees and membership fees.
2 - Donations and the income from the publication of the Journal or other means of publication.
3 - Income from activities of the Union.
4 - Grants coming from the state or public institutions.
5 - A percentage of 5 % on the registration fee of every paying delegate attending a chapter or world congress. This percentage can be altered by the Administrative Board according to recommendations by the Executive Board.
6 - All other resources authorized by legal or reglementary rules.

Article 9 - Administrative Board

The Union is guided by an Administrative Board consisting of the National and Society Delegates and the Executive Board.

A - National and Society Delegates :
The national delegates are elected in the following way : each national group of full members elects for a period of 2 years, one or more national delegates depending on the total number of national members. One national delegate is elected per 200 full members of a national group and a supplementary delegate will be elected for each additional 200 or fraction of 200 members. The national delegates are re-electable once for a second period of 2 years. Delegates of national or international societies or organizations are nominated by the societies or organizations for a period of 2 years, with the option for re-nomination for a second period of 2 years.

B - Chapters :
The Union is divided into 8 chapters :
1 - The European Chapter,
2 - The North-American Chapter,
3 - The Latin-American Chapter,
4 - The Asian Chapter,
5 - The Australian and New Zealand Chapter,
6 - The North African Chapter
7 - The Southern African Chapter
8. The Multinational Chapter.
For Chapters 1 to 7, a Secretary is nominated by the Administrative Board among the National Delegates. The Secretaries of the Chapters are invited to the meetings of the Executive Board and are voting members of the Administrative Board. They are nominated for a period of 2 years, which term can be renewed once, for a second period of 2 years. Chapter 8 includes multinational vascular societies or organizations (eg. Mediterranean League of Angiology & Vascular Surgery, Central European Vascular Forum, IASACO and the I nternational Society of Vascular Specialists ). Each organization or multinational society will name a representative who will serve as a voting member of the Administrative Board. Each representative is also invited to the meetings of the Executive Board.

C - The Administrative Board elects an Executive Board among its members. The Executive Board is composed of 13 voting members :
1 - The President,
2 - Vice-Presidents (one from each chapters N. 1- 8).
3 - The Secretary General and the Associate Secretary General,
4 - The Treasurer General and the Associate Treasurer General,
5 - The Immediate Past-President remains a member of the Executive Board during a period of 2 years. Past-Presidents of the Union, remain as members of the Executive Board as Advisors of the Board. However, they will no longer have right to vote.
6. Past-Presidents aged more than 70 years and still active, on proposal of the Executive Board, are nominated Honorary President of the IUA. They can participate in the meetings of the Board but without right to vote. The Chief and Executive editors of the Journal ("International Angiology"), the Secretaries of the Chapters 1 to 7 and all representatives of the Multinational Chapter 8 are members of the Administrative Board and are invited to the meetings of the Executive Board as non-voting members. Advisers to the President are voting members of the Administrative Board but non-voting members of the Executive Board.

D - The Executive Board :
It remains in office for a period of 2 years; only the Secretary and the Treasurer can be re-elected once for a new period of 2 years.
Both the Administrative Board and the Executive Board can invite experts to provide advice for the topics to be discussed at their meetings.

E - The President elect :
The President elect is the President of the next World Congress of the International Union of Angiology. The President Elect is elected among the Vice-Presidents by the Executive Board and approved by the Administrative Board.

F - In case of absence or incapacity of the President, the President Elect is authorized to take over the functions of the President and to decide on the necessary items.
In case the President Elect is incapacitated, he is replaced by the oldest member or by any other administrator designated by the Administrative Board.

G - In case of vacancy of non availability, the Administrative Board can temporarily replace its members. The next General Assembly can decide on the permanent replacement. The term of the members elected in that way, ends at the time when normally the term expires of the replaced members.

Article 10 - Meeting of the Administrative Board

The Administrative Board meets once every year ; convocation is summoned by the President. It can have a supplementary meeting in case at least 3 members of the Executive Board are asking for it.
The decisions of the Administrative Board are taken by majority of the votes. In case of equality of votes, the vote of the President is casting.

A - The President :
The President convokes the meeting of the Executive Board as well as the meeting of the Administrative Board and the meeting of the General Assembly. He represents the Union in all its activities in civil life and has all powers in that respect. For example, he has the power to appear in justice in the name of the Union both to defend the Union as for any inquiry the Union has introduced.

B - The Secretary General and the Associate Secretary General :
The Secretary General, who is helped by the Associate Secretary General, takes care of all the secretarial work of the International Union of Angiology. In particular, he draws up a report on the decisions and notes them in the register. He keeps in good order the special legal register and looks for application of the necessary formalities.

C - The Treasurer General and the Associate Treasurer General :
The Treasurer General, who is helped by the Associate Treasurer General, takes care of the management of all belongings of the Union. He executes all payments and collects all the income under supervision of the President. However, payments which are in excess of to 150 U.S. Dollars (or the equivalent in French Francs) are countersigned by the President. He keeps in order, at a daily base, the accountancy on all transactions and produces a complete report to the Administrative Board as well as to the General Assembly during the World Congress of the International Union of Angiology which is held every 2 years.

Article 11 - Committees, Councils, or Commissions :

The Administrative Board designates among its members the following Committees, Councils or Commissions :

A - The Membership Committee :
It is composed of one Past-President, one Vice-President (in office) and 6 members of the Administrative Board. Its main goal is to review the applications that are presented, taking into account the curriculum vitae and the titles of the candidate. It will meet as often as necessary after convocation of its chairman.

B - The Financial Committee :
It is composed of the President, one Past-President, one Vice-President, the Secretary General and 6 members of the Administrative Board. Its goal is to help to the Treasurer-General to make up his annual report. Moreover, this Committee should look for grants to improve the budget of the International Union of Angiology. It meets as often as necessary on convocation of its chairman.

C - The Scientific Committee :
It is composed of the President, one Past-President, one Vice-President, the Secretary General and 6 members of the Administrative Board. Its goal is to determine the most important scientific activities of the International Union of Angiology. It selects the location of the World Congress. It takes the decisions on all angiological congresses whatever they might be, meetings or seminars. It works together with other scientific organizations, the Administrative authorities of Health as well as with National and International Health Organizations. It favors in general, the study of angiological problems in all their aspects.

D - The Committee of Publication :
It is composed of one Past-President, one Vice-President and 6 members of the Administrative Board, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the International Union of Angiology as well as Assistant Editors Elected by the Committee of Publications among its active members using a majority vote. Its goal is to ensure the elaboration of the Journal of the International Union of Angiology and to co-ordinate all publication activities.

E. The Vas cular Centre Committee :
It is composed by the President, one past-President, the Secretary General, one expert in the field and 6 members of the Administrative Committee. Its goal is to co-ordinate the policy of the Society for the establishment of the rules for the creation and the implementation of Vascular centres in the world.

F. The Guidelines Committee :
It is composed by the President, one past-President, one of the Advisors of the President, one expert in the field and 6 members of the Administrative Committee. Its goal is to establish and to publish on the journal “International Angiology” guidelines on the fields of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease and other fields of interest of the Society.

G. The Committee for Continuous Medical Education in Angiology:
It is composed by the President, two past-Presidents, three expert in the field, one of the Advisors of the President and 6 Members of the Administrative Committee. Its goal is to organize educational courses on the various fields of vascular pathology in different countries taking part in the Union.

H. The Committee for updating the Website:
It is composed by the President, two past-Presidents, one Advisor to the President and 6 Members of the Administrative Committee. Its goal is to updating continuously the Website of the Society.

I. The Council on Vascular Medicine an Biology :
It is composed by the President, one past-President, one Vice-President, the Secretary or Associate Secretary, and 6 members of the Administrative Board. Its goal is to develop into the Union the main field of interest concerning basic and applied researches, pathophysiological mechanisms as well as diagnostic and therapeutic aspects in Vascular Medicine

J. The Council on Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Intervention :
It is composed by the President or one past-President, one Vice-President, the Secretary General or the Associate Secretary General, one expert in the field and 6 members of the Administrative Committee. Its goal is to develop into the Union the main field of interest concerning basic and applied researches, pathophysiological mechanisms as well as diagnostic and therapeutic aspects concerning Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Interventions

K . The IUA Foundation
The International Union of Angiology may constitute a no-profit Foundation with the aim to collect funds for the promotion of the scientific and educational activities of the Society.

L – Other Committees and Commissions :
Other Committees can be set up by the Administrative Board in order to co-ordinate the different scientific or non-scientific activities of the International Union of Angiology. Each Committee and each Council must submit a written report on its activities that is sent to the Administrative Board and to the General Assembly 60 days before the World Congress. All requests or suggestions made by the Committees and Councils must be approved by the Administrative Board. Votes are taken by simple majority and secret vote. In case of equality of votes, the vote of the Chairman is casting. Each Committee or Council has a Chairman and a Co-Chairman, nominated by the Executive Board; the term of office is two years. After the term of two years, the Co-Chairman becomes Chairman of the Committee or Council and the Chairmen become immediate past-Chairmen for the next two years.

Article 12 - The Ordinary General Assembly

The Ordinary General Assembly is composed of all the members of the Union whatever their title of membership. It meets at least once a year. It has the obligation to organize a meeting during the World Congress. Urgent meetings of the General Assembly can be organized in between after written request signed by at least 200 members. Concerning the annual meetings, the members are invited at least two weeks before the date determined by the Executive Board or depending on modalities foreseen by bylaws. The agenda of the meeting is enclosed in the invitation letter and is set up by the Administrative Board. The Secretariat of the General Assembly is the same as the one of the Executive Board. The President, assisted by the members of the Executive Board, chairs the Assembly and exposes the situation of the Union. The General Assembly approves the present accounts, votes on the budget of the next management and decides the changes of the members of the Administrative Board according to the rules of the bylaws. It delegates to the Administrative Board or to the Executive Board all power to accomplish the operations that are part of the goals of the Union, also in case the power foreseen in the bylaws to that respect, should be insufficient. Moreover, it decides on all questions brought on the agenda. All the decisions of the Annual General Assembly are taken by majority of the members being present or represented using a secret vote. Urgent meetings of the General Assembly can be organized in between on the written request signed by 200 members or more coming from 10 countries or more.

Article 13 - The Extraordinary General Assembly

It is composed of all the members of the Association whatever their title of membership. The President can call on an extraordinary General Assembly when necessary or on the request of the half + one of the members according to the modalities as mentioned in Article 12. It should be composed of at least a quarter of the members. It has to decide using a 3/4 majority of votes of the members present at the meeting. The members, that are unable to come to the meeting; can be represented by another member of the Association having a written procuration. A list of the members present will be set up and certified by the members of the Executive Board. In case the quorum is not obtained during the meeting of the Assembly can be organized using individual invitation or, if necessary, publication in the press. This should be done with an interval of 2 weeks. During this new meeting, valid decisions can be taken whatever the number of the members being present.
The Extraordinary General Assembly can decide on :
•  a change of the by-laws,
•  a fusion of the International Union of Angiology with another association having the same goals,
•  the dissolution of the International Union of Angiology and attribution of its belongings according to the laws and rules being operative.

Article 14 - Official records (minutes)

The official minutes on the decisions of the Assemblies are recorded by the Secretary on a register and signed by the President and a member of the Executive Board being present at the deliberations. The official minutes are recorded by the Secretary on a register and signed by the Secretary and the President. The Secretary can deliver all certified copies to testimony in front of third parties.

Article 15

The Administrative Board can, if necessary, establish the text of internal regulations to determine practical details of the present by-laws. Such "Internal regulations" as well as its eventual changes will be proposed for approval to the General Assembly.