Cephalopod International Advisory Council - Bylaws

Founded in 1983, the aims of CIAC are to stimulate, accelerate and influence the direction of cephalopod research, to provide help and advice on aspects of cephalopod biology, including those relevant to the management of the increasingly important cephalopod fisheries and to spread information on past and current research.

The means by which the aims will be achieved include:

  1. The holding of "CIAC Workshop/Symposia" every 2-3 years and the publication of the results in book, printed, or electronic format.
  2. The organization of "CIAC Joint" meetings with fisheries organizations, societies, or laboratories for exchange of information and usually the publication of papers and/or training manuals.
  3. The endorsement of meetings or symposia organized by any cephalopod workers who provide evidence to CIAC of the value and feasibility of a meeting being planned.
  4. The production of a Newsletter, which will be distributed via Internet.
  5. The publication and updating of a "Directory of English Translations of Research Publications in Other Languages", a "List of Cephalopod Workers of the World", a "Computerized Bibliography of Cephalopod Research", "Keys for the Identification of Cephalopods", and "State of the Art" papers in selected areas of research.

Organization and Rules of CIAC

Introductory note

The Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) meets at every Workshop/Symposium that it plans and conducts, and that is designated as a "CIAC Workshop/Symposium". These "Council Meetings" may be divided into several continuous sessions. The objectives of these meetings are to plan and implement the aims of the Council as described above. At all CIAC Workshops/Symposia there will be an "Open meeting", presided over by the President or Executive Secretary of CIAC, to which anyone interested in CIAC and its aims may come and speak on subjects of relevance to CIAC, at which participants will be asked for nominations for membership of Council, and at which proposals for CIAC Workshops/Symposia may be made.

Rules of CIAC

  1. The Council will consist of 18 established members each elected for 2 terms. Two of the members should be graduate students, postdoctorals, or early career researchers (further referred to as "students") with the same rights as the other Council members. A quorum will comprise 10 (ten) members.
  2. Within this membership, two Officers will be elected, including a President and an Executive Secretary, both normally elected for one term but both able to be re-elected for a second term, in the absence of other candidates or by re-election against other candidates.
  3. Each "term" will extend from the end of one Council meeting to the end of the next.
  4. "Council meeting" is defined as a formally convened session or sessions with agenda during a CIAC Workshop/Symposium.
  5. Nomination and election process.
    1. Nominations, to replace vacancies on Council, will be solicited from the floor at the Open meeting.
    2. All nominations require a proposer and seconder, either of whom should deliver a short recommendation of the nominee.
    3. Prior to nomination the nominee must have agreed to serve if elected; otherwise his/her nomination is provisional until acceptance has been notified to the Executive Secretary in writing.
    4. New members will be elected by a secret ballot at a Council session that will normally be held at the end of a CIAC Workshop/Symposium. Retiring members of Council shall vote in this election.
    5. In electing new members consideration must be given to both the geographic and research fields of prospective candidates in order to maintain representation of the various fields of research and the international character of the Council, as well as to respond to new interests and directions of the cephalopod research community.
    6. Ex-members of the Council are eligible for re-election to the Council after an interim of one term (normally three years).
    7. Officers will normally be elected from members with at least one term's experience on Council.
    8. The Executive Secretary can begin his/her two terms of office from his/her election as secretary irrespective of his/her previous term on CIAC.
    9. The President and Executive Secretary can be re-elected after one term out of office. This paragraph does not supersede the regulation that members other than the President and the Executive Secretary cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.
    10. At least 8 (eight) people should be elected on the CIAC each term.
    11. Election will be by a majority vote of Council. Names of nominees will be put in alphabetical order on ballot sheets. Council members will vote by ranking their preferences numerically from 1 to n. The President and Executive Secretary will count and total the rank results. The newly elected members will be the appropriate number of people (for replacing retiring members) with the smallest totals. In the event of a tie, Council members will discuss the merits of each of these candidates and revote on those in the tie. The alphabetical list of elected members will be posted immediately after the last Executive Council session and the successful candidates will be informed by the Executive Secretary.
    12. One new student member shall be voted on to the Council at each formal meeting of CIAC, which is held every three years at CIAC sponsored Workshops/Symposia. In this way, there will be one standing and one new student member for each three years. The procedure for electing student members shall be as follows: the current student representatives will serve as a nominating committee and will place on a ballot the names of 4 (four) students of their choice to be voted on by the entire Council; prior to nomination the student nominees must have agreed to serve if elected. Additional student nominations may be made from the floor at the open Council meeting.
    13. Five (5) Reserves will be elected, of which one (1) will be a student. The newly elected Reserves will be the four (4) full and one (1) student nominees with the next smallest totals after the newly elected Council Members. Reserves are non- voting members of Council. They function to replace any full Council Members should they resign, be voted off Council, or otherwise be incapacitated. Reserves serve for one (1) term.
  6. By a 2/3 majority vote of those in attendance at a Council meeting (or at least 10 voters) any current members of CIAC can be voted off CIAC if they have moved out of cephalopod research or for any other compelling reason.
  7. Council Meetings should take place every 2-3 years, whether or not any Extraordinary Meetings are held between.
  8. People not on CIAC may be invited to attend a Council Meeting or any of its sessions after a majority vote of Council or at the agreement of the President and the Executive Secretary.
  9. An "Extraordinary Council Meeting" can be called as required at the discretion of the President in conjunction with the Executive Secretary, or of the majority (10 or more) of Council. All members must be invited beforehand and at such a meeting rules cannot be changed.
  10. All sessions of Council Meetings and Open Meetings must have an agenda circulated in advance.
  11. Local Chairpersons shall be appointed by CIAC to host and organize CIAC Workshops/Symposia. These people may be members of Council or shall be invited to become "Ex-Officio Members" of Council (with no voting rights) for one term starting at the end of the previous CIAC meeting. The Newsletter editor, if not already a member of Council, shall be invited to become an "Ex-Officio Member".
  12. Endorsement of meetings requires that all CIAC members be consulted.
  13. Change of Rules.
    1. Where two or more Council members want the rules of CIAC to be changed, a committee of at least three members shall be appointed by the President at a regular Council Meeting.
    2. Any recommendations must be posted for at least 48 hours before the final Council session or, if between CIAC Meetings, they must be circulated with the agenda for the next meeting.
    3. Proposals for changes of rules cannot be voted upon until the Council session following the presentation of the committee's recommendations.
  14. "Lifetime Achievement Award (Honorary Membership) of CIAC" may be conferred, by a vote at a Council Meeting, on any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to cephalopod research and/or the ideals and aims of CIAC. This will have the normal privileges of ex-officio membership and a free issue of the Newsletter each year.

Last modified: Mon Aug 21 12:37:43 BST 2000