Proposal new IAL Constitution

Proposal for a new IAL constitution, by the IAL Constitution Committe

At the Salzburg IAL General Meeting in 1996, we elected a Committee to review the IAL Constitution (see below, also available at: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/cpsu/assoc.html), and propose any changes, where necessary. In order to arrive at a proposal likely to get full support from the IAL membership at the Barcelona meeting, the draft proposal is presented here for your review and discussion. Suggestions for improvement, and comments will be much appreciated. The Committee will try to respond to every point raised, through Mats Wedin. We propose to close the discussion on 30 November 1999, after which the Committee will present the revised proposal to the Council for final circulation to the members and presentation to the General Meeting in Barcelona 2000. We would urge IAL members to contribute to the discussion on this proposal. Please express any concern on overlooked matters or unexpected consequences of some formulations to the Discussion Forum.

The IAL Constitution Committee (M. Jahns, H. Sipman, C. Smith and M. Wedin)

1. Name: The name of the Association shall be the International Association for Lichenology (IAL).

2. Goals: To promote and encourage communication throughout the world among those interested in the study of lichens. In furtherance of these aims but not otherwise, to: a) Organize field meetings, conferences, and exhibitions. b) Publish news, views, and activities of lichenologists. c) Encourage and actively support the conservation of lichen flora.

3. Membership: The Association (IAL) shall have two types of membership: individual and institutional. Individual members are those whose dues have been paid. They shall receive all Association publications, shall have voting rights, and shall be eligible for attending IAL-sponsored meetings and excursions. Institutional members are those whose subscriptions have been paid. They shall receive all Association publications.

4. Power to raise Money: To further the goal, the Association (IAL) has the power to raise money by dues, subscriptions, or other means as approved by Council. The purpose of raising such money is purely for scientific purposes and shall not be used for financial profit.

5. Dues and Subscriptions: Upon the advice of Council, the membership dues and subscriptions rates shall be determined at a General Meeting of the Association (IAL) by a majority vote of those present. A schedule of payment for dues and subscriptions shall be established by Council and published in the Newsletter. The Council has power to suspend any member who is more than one year in arrears in payment. Members who have paid are entitled to receive the Associations publications issued during the calendar year in which payment is made.

6. Officers and Council: The elected officers of the Association (IAL) shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Editor, and two Council Members-at-large. These seven officers will form the Council. Additional officers may be appointed at the discretion of Council.

7. Election of Officers: Election of officers shall take place at meetings of the association (IAL) convened for the purpose, normally every 4 years, or held at regular IAL Symposia, or ar a regular International Mycological Congress, or at a regular International Botanical Congress, unless circumstances require a special meeting. Nominations for the Council may be made by any individual member and must be submitted to the Secretary in writing at least two months before the election with the written consent of the person nominated. Members of Council are not eligible to serve consecutive terms. If there is more than one nominee for each Council officer, an election by majority vote on a closed ballot shall be held to determine the Council membership.

8. Duties of Council and Officers: The Council shall administer the affairs and funds of the Association (IAL). The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, shall preside at all meetings of the Association and the council. In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, a presiding officer shall be determined in the following order: Secretary, Treasurer, Editor or officer specially designated by Council. When votes on motions are taken during meetings, the presiding officer shall only cast a vote in the case of a tie. The Secretary shall keep minutes of all General Meetings and Council Meetings and shall conduct correspondence as requested by Council. He or she shall provide the Editor with a summary of the proceedings of all General Meetings and the results of formal decisions for publication in the forthcoming issue of the Newsletter. The Treasurer shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditures and shall have a statement presented at General Meetings of the Association. The Editor shall prepare for publication the International Lichenological Newsletter (ILN). The content and format of the Newsletter shall be at the editors discretion subject to review and recommendation of Council.

9. Meetings: "The Association (IAL) shall normally hold General Meetings at Symposium meetings of the IAL, at International Botanical Congresses and at International Mycological Congresses. Additional meetings may be held at the discretion of Council. The Council shall hold meetings at the Congresses and as requested by the President. Notice of General Meetings shall be sent to members at least four weeks before the date of the meeting. The procedure and order of business at meetings shall be decided by the presiding officer. Additional General Meetings of the Association (IAL) shall be convened on the request of Council or of twenty members. The request shall be addressed to the Secretary and shall specify the purpose for which the meeting is called. A convening notice stating this purpose shall be communicated to every individual member of the Association at least six weeks prior to the meeting date. When votes are taken during General Meetings, a quorum of thirty individual members shall be required. In the case of Council decisions, approval of at least four Council Members is required.

10. Change of Constitutional Rules: Changes in these Rules may be made only at General Meetings of the Association (IAL) and must be approved by not less than two-thirds of the members present at the meeting. Proposals of changes in the Rules must be detailed in the convening notice sent to every individual member, at least four weeks prior to the meeting.The Association (IAL) exists solely for non-profit and no rule change shall be allowed which will change the non-profit status.

1. Name - The name of the Association shall be: The International Association for Lichenology (IAL).

2. Goals - The purpose of the IAL shall be to promote the appreciation and understanding of lichens and lichenology throughout the world. To achieve this, the IAL shall: a) encourage the study of lichens, b) advocate lichenological interests in the international arena, c) stimulate communication among those interested in lichens by publishing news, views and activities of lichenologists, d) organise field meetings, conferences, and exhibitions, and, e) encourage and actively support the conservation of lichen flora.

3. Membership - Members of the IAL are those whose dues have been paid.

4. Power to raise Money - The IAL is a non-profit organization. It has the power to raise money by dues or other means as approved by Council. The purpose of raising such money is purely for scientific purposes, funding awards (see art. 11: Awards), supporting congresses, travel-expenses, and similar activities.

5. Dues - Upon the advice of Council, the membership dues shall be determined at the General Meeting of the IAL by a majority vote of those present. A schedule of payment for dues shall be established by Council and published in the Newsletter. The Council has the power to suspend any member who is more than one year in arrears in payment.

6. Officers and Council - The elected officers of the IAL shall be a president, a Vice-President and President-Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer, an Editor, the Chair of the Conservation Committee, and Council Members-at-large. The number of Members-at-large should not exceed 10. In addition to these elected officers, the immediate past-President will automatically become Council Officer. Additional officers may be co-opted by the Council when appropriate. These officers will form the Council.

7. Election and nomination of Posts and Officers - a) Elections. Election of Council, Permanent Committees, Nomination Committee, and auditor shall take place at the General Meeting of the IAL. The term for all posts and Officers is four years. Members of Council are not eligible to serve consecutive terms in the same position. An election by majority vote shall be held for all posts. If no nominated candidate is accepted by the Meeting, or if no nominations for a post are available, the Council may fill the post temporarily by co-option. b) Nominations. All elections are prepared and conducted by a nominating committee of three members, none of whom are council officers. The nominating committee will publish a call for nominations in the IAL Newsletter one calendar year prior to the IAL general meeting, and present the list of nominees with short descriptions of their qualifications in the Newsletter prior to the general meeting. Nominations must be made in writing (e-mail is acceptable) with the written consent of the nominee. The committee will endeavour to provide at least two nominees to each post. Nominations for the Council may be made by any member of the IAL, and must be submitted to the nominating committee. Additional nominations from the floor at the meeting are accepted if seconded by another member. c) Audit. The auditor will review the financial records of the IAL and present a report to the General Meeting. d) Conservation Committee. The IAL Conservation Committee is the link to the IUCN. Additional Committees may be decided upon by the general meeting.

8. Duties of Council and Officers - a) The Council shall administer the affairs and funds of the IAL. b) The duties of the President are to: i) Promote the interests of the IAL; ii) Preside at all business meetings and programmes of the IAL and the council; iii) Represent the IAL at the International Botanical Congress, International Mycological Congress, and other appropriate meetings. c) The Vice-President/President-Elect shall: i). Oversee the organization of all meetings of the IAL and, when appropriate, represent Council in organizing committees of meetings; ii). Encourage field meetings and specialist seminars in addition to the general meetings and in close contact with local societies; iii) Serve as President when necessary. d) In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, a presiding officer shall be determined in the following order: Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor. In the absence of the Secretary the presiding officer will appoint an acting Secretary to take minutes and pass them on to the Secretary. e) The Secretary shall keep minutes of all General and Council Meetings, send the minutes to all Council Members including the members at large, and shall conduct correspondence as requested by Council. She/he shall provide the Editor with a summary of the proceedings of all general meetings and the results of formal decisions for publication in the forthcoming issue of the Newsletter; f) The Treasurer shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditures and shall present a statement of the financial status of the IAL at the general meeting at the conclusion of her/his tenure; g) The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer as requested by Council, be responsible for the IAL overseas accounts, and present a statement of these for the Treasurer before the general Meeting, to be included in the main statement of the financial status. h) The Editor shall be in charge of the preparation and distribution of the International Lichenological Newsletter (ILN); i) The Members at Large have the responsibility to: a. Promote lichenology in their geographic area and to contact professionals and amateurs in their region; b. Alert IAL of matters that affect lichens and lichenology in their area; act as an informant on regulatory aspects for visiting lichenologists, inform on regulations for collecting; alert IAL of conservation concerns, announce regional meetings and field trips to IAL; Inform IAL on activities of local societies; c. Represent IAL at local activities if no other officer of the Council is present.

9. Meetings - The IAL shall hold its General Meeting at the IAL Symposium convened every fourth year. Additional meetings of the IAL shall be held at International Botanical Congresses and at International Mycological Congresses. Notice of the Meetings shall be published in the IAL Newsletter and/or the Internet at least four weeks before the date of the meeting. The procedure and order of business at meetings shall be decided by the presiding officer. Any member of the IAL may introduce topics for discussion at General Meetings. The request shall be addressed to the Secretary at least six weeks prior to the meeting date. Additional topics may be proposed from the floor at the meeting, if seconded by another member. The Council shall hold meetings at the Congresses, as requested by the President, and as requested by two Council officers. All officers are voting members. Discussion and voting is also possible in meetings arranged by Internet. A quorum requires the participation of at least six Council members, including three Members-at-large. When votes are taken during General Meetings, a quorum of thirty individual members shall be required. In the case of Council decisions, approval of at least four Council members is required. When votes on motions are taken during meetings, the presiding officer shall only cast a vote in the case of a tie.

10. Communication- IAL Symposium: Every fourth year, the IAL shall arrange a major international symposium covering all aspects of lichenology. The Organizer of the next IAL Symposium is elected by the general meeting. IAL Newsletter: The content and format of the IAL Newsletter shall be at the discretion of the editor subject to review and recommendation of Council. The Newsletter will be published on the WWW as far as possible. Printed copies will be supplied for members without access to the net on request. Discussion Group: The IAL will maintain a listserver (lichens-l) for discussion of matters of interest among anyone interested in lichens, dissemination of information from the IAL Council to the membership, and any other matters of interest to lichenologists. This listserver will be open to all lichenologists or those interested in lichens but is not to be used for commercial purposes. Membership list: The IAL will maintain an on-line list of members together with addresses, means of contact and interests, to enable individuals to contact one another in the pursuit of promoting lichenological interests. The list may not be given or sold to commercial interests.

11. Awards - IAL Awards and Medals are decided on by the Council after hearing recommendations from the Awards Committee. The Committee will publish a call for nominations in the IAL Newsletter at least six months prior to the next IAL general meeting. 1. Mason Hale Award: The Mason Hale award recognizes excellence in research by young lichenologists; one award, which may be divided between no more than two people, is presented at each general meeting. The award includes a prize of 250 Euro, a sum that can be changed by the Council. Any member of the IAL can make nominations, and candidates are also allowed to put themselves forward. Nominations must include three copies of all relevant publications for the consideration of the committee. 2. Acharius Medal: the Acharius medal recognizes the life work of distinguished lichenologists; a call for nominations is made in the Newsletter. Nominations which are to be succinct statements (limited to one page) of the nominees accomplishments can be made by all members of the IAL

12. Change of constitutional Rules - 1. Changes in these Rules may be made only at General Meetings of the IAL and must be approved by not less than two-thirds of the members present at the meeting. Proposals of changes in the Rules must be detailed in the convening notice sent to every individual member, at least four weeks prior to the meeting. 2. The IAL exists solely for non-profit and no rule change shall be allowed which will change the non-profit status.

In my opinion (this sentence applies to all of the following statements), the shorter a constitution is, the better. To be durable, it should refrain from matters of detail, and concentrate just on a few, really fundamental points. The older constitution consisted of 882 words (4691 characters), the proposal for the new one (henceforward called "proposal"), with 1637 words (8456 characters), is almost two times as long. Too long. Some more detailed criticism follows, based on the proposal, but sometimes also concerning the current constitution.

Art.1: no change. Art. 2: older version shorter, but proposal slightly better. Art. 3: proposal much shorter and clearer. Art. 4: older version shorter, more general, and hence better Art. 5: the main difference here is in suspending members who are one year (old version) or two years (proposal) in arrear of payment. I support the proposal. Art. 6: In the proposal, the Council is enlarged from seven to a lot (up to 17 with max 10 members-at-large, plus the co-opted members and the past President). How many "members-at-large" should we have? A constitution must fix a number, unless the members-at-large are not elected, but co-opted by the Council. Old and new versions state: "Additional officers may be co-opted by the Council when appropriate" Is there no confusion here between an elected executive body (the Council) and his faculty to ask for advice to other colleagues? An elected body cannot modify its composition at own will Art.7: the proposal hugely enlarges article 7. It introduces a) two new bodies, the "Nominating Committee" and the "Conservation Committee", and, b) a new method for nominations. Cannot these matters be left to the Council, or to members of the Council (e.g. the secretary for the Nomination Committee)? Basically, I agree with point b). I also agree with the fact that Council members cannot serve in the same position twice, but I suggest, for practical reasons, to make an exception for the Treasurer. Furthermore, where is the mysterious "Auditor" creeping out from? Art. 8: this article, as well, hugely enlarges that of the current Constitution. Just a few examples: 8.3) Why should we give the Vice-President additional duties, some of which could conflict with those of the President? 8.7): is an "Assistant Treasurer" for "overseas" accounts really needed? Maybe yes, or not, but certainly not for "overseas" accounts. A "sea" also stretches from South Africa to Japan. Art. 9: The proposal is better. "Additional" meetings, however, cannot be published "at least four weeks before the date..."; "months" sounds more realistic. If I live in Tasmania, and I am eager to take part in an additional meeting in Liechtenstein, I need some more time to plan my trip. Articles 9.3 (a...) and 9.3 (b...) are a mess (...sorry for this blunt statement, details upon request...): my suggestion is to cut them altogether. Art. 10: here we abandon the old constitution, art. 10 of which became art. 12 of the proposal, that contains two additional articles (10 and 11). Art. 10 is devoted to "communication". Let me designate the different paragraphs with letters: a) this can go in art. 9.1, b) This should go in art. 8.8: but...what is the "review" of the Council on "content and format" of the Newsletter? Does this mean that every issue of the Newsletter should be "reviewed" by a Council of 17 members, plus those "co-opted when appropriate"? Finally, I wonder whether we do need a mention of a "listserver" in a Constitution. Art. 11: this is an important new article: I agree with the spirit of the proposal, but...where is the mysterious "Awards Committee" (another one!) coming from? If we elect a Council, we should also thrust it on such matters as awards (e.g. the "Awards Committee" can be designated by the Council). Finally, what is the sense of specifying the amount of money for an award in a constitution, adding that this "can be changed by the Council"? Art. 12: this, art. 10 of the current constitution, remains unchanged. Point 12.2, however, was already expressed in article 4 of the proposal, and is likely to be best stressed there than here.

A final remark:, While I do agree that slight changes in the present constitution are the best thing we can get from the Barcelona meeting, my dream is a radically different one: a constitution that pragmatically takes into account the basic difference between a more or less "democratic" State and an international Scientific Society, and one which will transform IAL into a kind of federation-umbrella for different national/regional societies.

Pier Luigi Nimis, Trieste

This albeit short discussion could leave us more time for the scientific program in Barcelona. I have two points to add: 1) the present voting system automatically excludes all IAL members who cannot come to the General Meeting. Would it not be good if they could vote by mail upon request? More administration work for the sake of democracy...(mailed votes should reach the General Meeting before the election takes place). 2) Change is good, and I can understand the proposal to prevent Council members from serving permanently in the same position. But, if someone fulfills the aims of the IAL extraordinarily well in her/his position, and would agree to do so for 4 years more, why should we not give her/him the possibility of re-nomination for - maximally - a second period?

Martin Grube, Graz

A Member of the Constitution Committee kindly and rightly asked me to clarify my previous obscure criticism to art. 9 of the Proposal. Here is what I propose instead, with some explanations. New Proposal for Art. 9: "A General Meeting will be held every fourth year at the IAL Symposium. Additional meetings, convened by the Council, must be advertised in the Newsletter at least six months in advance. Any Member can address topics for discussion to the Secretary at least six months prior to the meeting date. To validate a General Meeting, a quorum of thirty members is required". 2. To be deleted (General Meetings and Council "meetings" cannot be subsumed into a single article regulating both the meetings of a "Parliament" and the way a "Government"works. The Council could well decide to held no "meetings" altogether, and to rely, for example, on e-mail. A Constitution howewer, must state how the decisions of the Council should be taken: I guess by a majority vote. My suggestion: the majority of ALL Council members - to be placed, however, not here but in the article concerning the Council). 3. To be deleted (the first sentence of the proposal is the last sentence of the only sub-article proposed here, while the second one is commented on at point 2. The third sentence sounds obscure to me.

Pier Luigi Nimis, Trieste

Thanks to Pier Luigi for responding and trying to provoke a discussion on the proposed revisions to the IAL constitution! We certainly need more input (both positive and negative) from the IAL membership to reach a good proposal. Please, respond to this discussion to make the future constitution acceptable to everyone and effective, without unexpected consequences, so as to enable adoption without too much debate in Barcelona! We (the Committee) agree with Pier Luigi that the draft proposal would benefit from being shortened. We will take several of his suggestions (all very helpful) into account. PL's overall sentiment is right, but we were faced with some great concerns of IAL members when we started to draft the proposal, and the proposed major changes reflect these. Also, the world is changing and everything is becoming more commercialized, which is why there are several phrases protecting non-profit status. We apologise beforehand by not responding to those PL's issues with which we agree before submitting the revised proposal for publication in the Newsletter. Some comments on the more significant suggestions: A) Democracy. We want to point out that power in this potentially large and important international Society is with the membership. There have been major concerns expressed by several members on how we have nominated and voted for (or not, as the case may be) our Council and Committees over the past years, and we felt it necessary to clarify this in some detail. We deliberately try to change from the 'appointed successor' approach run by the sitting Council to a democratic process where the membership nominate, vote and approves (or not). The process is in great need of consistency (we think that a small Committee fully independent from Council is a good solution to the nomination problem), and we (you!) still need to think about how we are to formalize the voting procedure, and the several alternative systems that could work. We also felt that it was important to continue the current maximum period for Council posts, so to avoid these becoming life-time careers. The proposal, however, now excludes the possibility that a person who did an excellent job cannot serve the Council in another position. We are trying to enable the Council to have members who have served previously in a different capacity, so that there is some continuity: this is forbidden in the current constitution. B) Tax status and financial future. A big issue that this proposal tries to pave the way for is to try to establish tax free status for the IAL in one or several countries, as well as forming a foundation, so people could donate money to the IAL. Proper audit will be one requirement for this. The tradition in the IAL has been to have two treasurers (currently one European and one north American), which has simplified our handling of funds considerably. The proposal formalizes this system, but does not focus on any particular continent, and leaves us the possibility to co-opt additional assistants in the future, should this be needed. The Auditor is a person (independent from Council) who, on behalf of the membership, checks that the finances are in proper order and the books correct. It assures the membership that their dues are used appropriately. Audit is taken for granted in many (most?) countries, and would certainly be demanded if IAL were to apply for tax-free status. C) Definition of roles in the Council. These roles have previously been problematic in interpretation for the Council, making the definition of responsibilities desireable (we feel). If written down there is no argument. D) Pier Luigi finished his comments by pointing out his vision of transforming 'IAL into a kind of federation-umbrella for different national/regional societies'. This is an important suggestion, and definitely something that the membership should consider at some point. Our preliminary discussion raised a number of positive and negative concerns. This issue was first raised by Pier Luigi in London (ILN 31, 1: 3). The Committee feels that the proposal goes far beyond revising the constitution to a discussion on the very nature of IAL. We felt that we had a very specific mandate, so we stuck to it. We will try to reply to some of PL's specific comments below:

Art.6: The large number of members-at large, introduced some years ago, was mainly an attempt to broaden the input of non-western-Europeans into Council. This system has not worked very well, and PL may be right in that these Council members may not have had much of a function so far. How many members-at-large (Council members without defined offices/posts) we should have, is up to discussion. The proposal validates the current situation, but this should be debated, and we hope that present members-at-large will contribute to this discussion! On the co-option of additional officers: this would enable the Council to bring in specialists for particular tasks, to advise, but not to vote. The wording of the proposal probably reflects a constitutional tradition where non-Council officers are excluded from council meetings, and therefore must be formally co-opted to be allowed presence.

Art. 7: These are typical matters that a Council has nothing to do with; nominations should not involve Council and the Conservation Committee (which possibly at present is our most important connection with the real world) must have the mandate of the membership.

Art. 8: This has largely been commented on above. We were trying to define the appropriate responsibilities, the most important of which was the linkage between the General Meeting organisation and the Council.

Art. 9: There is a need to define when the Council and the membership can actually make decisions. We must prevent the scenario where the President and one or two officers meet over a beer and make decisions that are valid. The same goes for the General Meeting, but PL is correct when pointing out that we must not cause confusion and mix the two in one paragraph.

Art. 11: We think that the Council has enough to do without taking on this responsibility which is quite time-consuming. The duties include getting people to submit nominations by preparing the necessary documentation, reviews and evaluations of the various candidates, and decision-making. Another point is that if a member of Council could be a candidate for an award they have generally withdrawn their nomination in order to make sure that there is no sign of impropriety. There is no other document dealing with the awards, defining them. They do not come from funds that have been set aside for this purpose, they come straight from our dues. We felt that this situation required some defined guidelines - perhaps there would be another way, which we then would be happy to get suggestions on.

Art.12: We feel that the issue of a non-profit status is so important that we should not de-emphasize it. By stating that no change in this respect is possible, we emphazise this.

Finally: Do continue to express concern over the draft proposal. We need to have a proposed revision that can be accepted by the IAL majority in Barcelona, so that we do not leave the next IAL meeting without a new and much improved constitution. The discussions should take place now! We, the Committee, feel that there are a few issues not raised by Nimis that should be discussed. We agree on the importance of democracy - the membership actually voting on various proposals and posts - and have discussed the pros and contras of various voting procedures. The proposal expresses one of these. There are others mail balloting or secret balloting at the beginning of the meeting, for example. The Committee did not reach consensus on this issue. The controversial points were for a democratic process that enabled the whole membership to participate (a time-consuming and costly process) as opposed to the current very practical procedure. Please think carefully about the consequences of this, and the consequences of possible alternative systems. Looking forward to further discussion on this very important issue

The IAL Constitution Committee, via Mats Wedin

(I sent several other remarks to the Constitution Committee, which are not published here, both for reasons of space and because the scarcity of responses from IAL members gave me the impression that they - in my opinion, wrongly - are not interested in these matters) - My main concern is about the all too many elected "Committees". If directly elected, and not co-opted by the Council, a given Committee could well tend to behave as an independent mini-Council for the matters entrusted to it. This creates a situation of potential conflict with the principal elected body, the Council, and this could render the management of our Association quite perilous. In any case, the proposal is weak in not clarifying the duties of the Committees, their relationships with the Council, their composition, and the ways Committee members should be elected (which will make the election system still more cumbersome). Please, attentively consider this point: it is the main - although not the only - reason why I am against the direct election of any Committee (except, perhaps, the Election Committee).

Pier Luigi Nimis, Trieste

§ 1. Name - The name of the Association shall be the International Association for Lichenology (IAL).

§ 2. Goals - The purpose of the IAL shall be to promote the appreciation and understanding of lichens and lichenology throughout the world. To achieve this, the IAL shall: a) encourage the study of lichens, b) advocate lichenological interests in the international arena, c) stimulate communication among those interested in lichens by publishing news, views and activities of lichenologists, d) organise field meetings, conferences, and exhibitions; and, e) encourage and actively support the conservation of lichen flora.

§ 3. Membership - Members of the IAL are those, whose dues have been paid.

§ 4. Power to raise Money - The IAL has the power to raise money by dues or other means as approved by Council. The purpose of raising such money is purely for scientific purposes and funding awards (§ 11 Awards).

§ 5. Dues - Upon the advice of Council, the membership dues shall be determined at the General Meeting of the IAL. The Council has the power to suspend any member who is more than one year in arrears in payment.

§ 6. Officers and Council - The elected officers of the IAL shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer, an Editor, and Council Members-at-large. The number of Members-at-large should not exceed 10. In addition to these elected officers, the immediate past-President will automatically become Council officer. These officers will form the Council. Additional officers, without voting rights, may be co-opted by the Council when appropriate.

§ 7. Election and nomination of Posts and Officers - 1. Elections. Election of Council, Permanent Committees, Nomination Committee, and auditor shall be held by majority vote. The term for all posts and Officers is four years. Members of Council are eligible to serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same position. 2. Nominations. All elections are prepared and conducted by a Nominating Committee of three members, none of whom are Council Officers. The Nominating Committee will publish a call for nominations in the IAL Newsletter one calendar year prior to the IAL General Meeting, and present the list of nominees in the Newsletter prior to the General Meeting. Nominations must be made with the consent of the nominee. 3. Audit. The auditor will review the financial records of the IAL and present a report to the General Meeting.

§ 8. Duties of Council and Officers - 1. The Council shall administer the affairs and funds of the IAL. All officers are voting members. A quorum requires the participation of at least six Council members, including three Members-at-large. In the case of Council decisions, approval of at least four Council Members is required. In the case of a tie vote, the President's vote will be final. 2. The duties of the President are to: a. Promote the interests of the IAL, b. Preside at all business meetings and programmes of the IAL and the Council. c. Represent the IAL at the International Botanical Congress, International Mycological Congress, and other appropriate meetings. 3. The Vice-President shall: a. Oversee the organization of all meetings of the IAL and, when appropriate, represent Council in organizing committees of meetings. b. Encourage field meetings and specialist seminars in addition to the general meetings and in close contact with local societies. c. Serve as President when necessary. 4. The Secretary shall keep minutes of all General and Council Meetings, send the minutes to all Council members including the members at large, and shall conduct correspondence as requested by Council. He/she shall provide the Editor with a summary of the proceedings of all General Meetings and the results of formal decisions for publication in the forthcoming issue of the Newsletter. 5. The Treasurer shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditures and shall present a statement of the financial status of the IAL at the General Meeting. 6. The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer as requested by Council, be responsible for the IAL overseas accounts, and present a statement of these for the Treasurer before the General Meeting, to be included in the main statement of the financial status. 7. The Editor shall be in charge of the preparation and distribution of the International Lichenological Newsletter (ILN). 8. The Members at Large have the responsibility to: a. Promote lichenology in their geographic area and to contact professionals and amateurs in their region. b. Alert IAL of matters that affect lichens and lichenology in their area; act as an informant on regulatory aspects for visiting lichenologists; inform on regulations for collecting; alert IAL of conservation concerns; announce regional meetings and field trips to IAL. c. Inform IAL on activities of local societies. d. Represent IAL at local activities if no other officer of the Council is present.

§ 9. General Meetings - The IAL shall hold its General Meeting at the IAL Symposium. Additional meetings must be advertised in the Newsletter at least six months in advance. Any Member can address topics for discussion to the Secretary prior to the meeting. A quorum of thirty members shall be required for valid decisions.

§ 10. Communication - IAL Symposium: Every fourth year, the IAL shall arrange a major international symposium covering all aspects of lichenology. The Organizer of the next IAL Symposium is elected by the General Meeting. - IAL Newsletter: The content and format of the IAL Newsletter shall be at the discretion of the editor, subject to recommendation of Council. - Membership list: The list of members may not be given or sold to commercial interests.

§ 11. Awards - IAL Awards and Medals are decided on by the Council. A call for nominations will be made at least 6 months prior to the next IAL General Meeting. - Mason Hale Award. The Mason Hale Award recognizes excellence in research by young lichenologists. The Award will be presented to young scientists for outstanding published work resulting from a doctoral dissertation or similar study. - Acharius Medal. The Acharius medal recognizes the life work of distinguished lichenologists.

§12. Change of Constitutional Rules - 1. Changes in these Rules may be made only at General Meetings of the IAL and must be approved by not less than two-thirds of the members present at the meeting. Proposals of changes in the Rules must be sent to Secretary in time for publication in the issue of the Newsletter appearing prior to the General Meeting. 2. The IAL exists solely for non-profit and no rule change shall be allowed which will change the non-profit status.

§13. Dissolution of the IAL - A motion to dissolve the IAL must be approved by a two-thirds majority. If the IAL is dissolved any funds remaining after all outstanding liabilities are discharged shall be used for scientific purposes in the field of lichenology as agreed by the dissolving General Meeting.