IFAC
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

adopted by the General Assembly in Budapest, Hungary, July 2, 1984
amended by the General Assembly in 1994
amended by the General Assembly in 2000

CONSTITUTION

SECTION 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1

(a) The organization is to be called 'International Federation of Automatic Control' - abbreviated IFAC.

(b) The Federation, which does not engage in any activity with financial or political aims, adopts the legal form of an association in accordance with paragraph 60 and further of the Code Civil Suisse, as long as it is not contradictory to the present Constitution.

(c) The seat of IFAC shall be determined by the General Assembly.

Article 2

(a) The purpose of the Federation is to promote the Science and Technology of Control in the broadest sense in all systems whether, for example, engineering, physical, biological, social or economic, in both theory and application. IFAC is also concerned with the impact of control technology on society.

(b) The primary object of the Federation is to serve all those concerned with the theory and application of automatic control and systems engineering, wherever situated. To further this aim, it maintains working relationships with other organizations, national or international, especially with other non-governmental professional federations.

(c) IFAC is to provide a framework for collaboration between those working in automatic control and systems engineering, irrespective of race, creed or colour or of geographic location and to promote the free exchange of ideas and experts within its professional field.

(d) The Federation is not to become involved in any kind of political activity nor to take a stand on any such issue.

(e) IFAC will not take part in any commercial activity with the explicit aim of acquiring financial gain.

Article 3

IFAC is to promote the science and technology of automatic control and systems engineering, in cooperation with national and other international organizations, by

(1) Organizing and sponsoring technical meetings such as congresses, conferences, symposia and workshops.

(2) Technical publications.

(3) Any other means consistent with this Constitution.

Article 4

With the approval of the General Assembly, IFAC may join international organizations whose wider aims, or part of them, implicitly include those of IFAC.

SECTION 2 - MEMBERS

Article 5.

For each country, one scientific or professional engineering organization, having a strong interest in automatic control and a sound professional background, or one council formed by two or more such organizations, shall be eligible for membership of IFAC. Such organizations, after admission to IFAC, will be known as National Member Organizations (NMOs) and shall have a responsibility for furthering the aims and objectives of IFAC within their respective countries.

Article 6

(a) Each application for membership of IFAC shall be addressed to the IFAC Secretary.

(b) The Council, having ascertained that the application corresponds to the requirements of Article 5, will submit the application for membership to the General Assembly which will authorize the admission on a simple majority of votes cast.

(c) Admission includes the obligation to recognize and adhere to this Constitution and By-Laws and to pay the appropriate dues as may from time to time be determined by the General Assembly.

Article 7

(a) The membership of an NMO may be terminated by a vote of the General Assembly if the activity of that NMO is consistently violating the letter or the spirit of the present Constitution.

(b) Membership may be terminated by a vote of the General Assembly if a member is two years in arrears in payment of its membership fee but such termination shall not relieve a member of the obligation to pay such membership fees which are in arrears.

(c) A National Member Organization not being in arrears in payment of its membership fee may terminate its membership by delivering a declaration to that effect to the President or to the Secretary prior to July 1st in order to become effective at the end of the current year.

SECTION 3 - GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Article 8

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Federation and shall comprise delegations from all the National Member Organizations.

Article 9

(a) The General Assembly may be convened either as a regular or an extraordinary meeting.

(b) A regular meeting of the General Assembly takes place at each triennial international congress convened by IFAC.

(c) An extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly may take place at any other time decided upon by the Council. The Council is furthermore obliged to convene such a meeting upon request of ten or more National Member Organizations.

Article 10

At a meeting of the General Assembly, delegations shall be present from at least half of the member organizations to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Article 11

(a) At a meeting of the General Assembly, each NMO shall have one and only one vote.

(b) Each National Member Organization shall normally be represented at meetings of the General Assembly by its President who will cast the vote on the NMO's behalf. If the President is unable to attend, the NMO may be represented by a proxy whose name must be communicated by the NMO, in writing, to the IFAC Secretary prior to the scheduled date of the meeting.

(c) Each NMO may authorize another National Member Organization to vote in its place at a meeting of the General Assembly, provided the IFAC Secretary has been notified by the authorizing NMO, in writing, prior to the scheduled date of the meeting.

Article 12

Except for amendments to the Constitution, any decision of the General Assembly will require the support of at least half of the votes cast. In the case of a tie, the Chairman of the meeting will have a casting vote.

Article 13

The President of the Federation or, in his absence, the President-Elect or one of the Vice-Presidents or, if

None of these be present, another member of the Council authorized by the President or failing him by the Council, shall preside at any meeting of the General Assembly.

Article 14

(a) If any decision is required between meetings of the General Assembly, the Council may order a postal ballot.

(b) A postal ballot will only be valid if at least half of the National Member Organizations have voted.

(c) Except for amendments to the Constitution, any decision reached by postal ballot will require at least half of the votes cast. In the case of a tie, the President of IFAC will have a casting vote.

(d) Such a decision will be considered as having been reached by the General Assembly.

SECTION 4 - LANGUAGES

Article 15

(a) For the purpose of discussions at technical meetings, the five languages of IFAC shall be English, French, German, Russian and Spanish.

(b) The working language of IFAC shall be English. This will be used for written reports and records as well as for verbal discussions at any meeting of the General Assembly and of all working bodies (Council, Boards, Committees) of the Federation. Any written document of IFAC shall be produced in English.

SECTION 5 - OFFICERS

Article 16

(a) The elected officers of IFAC shall be

The President
The President-Elect
Two Vice-Presidents
The Immediate Past President
The IFAC Treasurer

(b) The appointed officers of IFAC shall be

The IFAC Secretary
The Chairman of the Awards Committee
The Chairman of the Policy Committee
The Chairman of the Publications Committee

Article 17

(a) With the exception of the Immediate Past-President, all the officers listed in Article 16(a) shall be elected by the General Assembly after nomination by the Council. Such elections will require at least half of the votes cast.

(b)Only those who have been elected or appointed for at least a total of two terms in one or several of the following offices
       - Council member
       - Technical Board member
       - Technical Committee chair
       - Executive Board member
       - Executive Committee member
may be elected to the offices of President and President Elect. Normally the President Elect, after serving this capacity for one term, will be elected to the office of President for the next term.

(c) The elected officers shall take office at the conclusion of the General Assembly at which they are elected or, if a postal ballot be held between sessions of the General Assembly, on the announcement of the result of that ballot by the IFAC Secretary, as the case may be. They remain in office until the conclusion of the next regular meeting of the General Assembly.

(d) The President and President-Elect shall not be eligible for re-election to the same office. Vice-Presidents will be eligible for re-election for a second term of office not necessarily immediately following their first term of office. The IFAC Treasurer shall be eligible for re-election for up to but not more than three additional terms of office not necessarily consecutive.

Article 18

(a) If the President resigns or cannot serve, the President-Elect or, failing him, one of the Vice-Presidents selected by the Council or, if none of these can serve, a member of the Council selected by the Council will temporarily serve in his place as Acting President for such period as may be decided by the Council.

(b) The person serving as Acting President is to have exactly the same rights, privileges, responsibilities, and disabilities as the President would have.

(c) Anyone so appointed shall not be barred under Article 17(d) from election as President-Elect or President at a later date.

Article 19

The President shall legally represent the Federation.

Article 20

(a) The Council shall appoint an IFAC Secretary.

(b) The duties, responsibilities and privileges of the IFAC Secretary are defined in the By-Laws.

(c) The IFAC Secretary may be appointed at any time by the Council as and when a vacancy occurs. A new holder of such office will normally be appointed to the conclusion of the next following Triennial International Congress. He may then be reappointed, for one three year term each time, with no limit as to the number of such terms.

Article 21

(a) The Council shall appoint the Chairman of the Awards Committee, the Chairman of the Policy Committee and the Chairman of the Publications Committee.

(b) The Chairman of the Awards Committee, the Chairman of the Policy Committee and the Chairman of the Publications Committee will normally serve from the conclusion of a Triennial Congress to the conclusion of the next. They may be reappointed for one additional three year term not necessarily consecutive. Should any of them be prevented from serving for any reason, a successor may at any time be appointed by the President to serve for the remainder of his term of office.

Article 22

(a) Upon retirement from his IFAC office or any time thereafter, any elected IFAC officer may be appointed by the President an Advisor of IFAC. Such an appointment may be for life.

(b) IFAC Advisors may be consulted by the active officers on any matter related to the Federation or given special assignments as the President deems appropriate.

SECTION 6 - THE COUNCIL

Article 23

(a) The management of the Federation shall be vested in a Council.

(b) The Council shall be responsible for the management of the Federation to the General Assembly from which it receives its mandate and to which it shall report on the state of the Federation, not less frequently than at each Triennial Congress.

(c) Subject only to the directions of the General Assembly, the Council will formulate the policies of the Federation, in relation to the world community of control engineers, the National Member Organizations, intergovernmental and other non-governmental international professional organizations. It shall develop the long-term plans of the Federation for approval by the General Assembly and shall instruct the various boards and committees of IFAC accordingly.

(d) The Council shall direct and supervise the functioning of the Federation, including both the technical and the executive activities. It will delegate particular functions to the appropriate boards and committees and will from time to time receive activity reports from those boards and committees.

Article 24

(a) The Council shall consist of the elected officers of IFAC (Art. 16a) and a number of elected Ordinary Members.

(b) The number of Ordinary Members shall be not less than one sixth nor more than one quarter of the total number of member organizations. Within these limits the number of Ordinary Members to be elected shall be decided from time to time by the Council.

(c) The Council shall be as widely representative as possible and in particular each Ordinary Member shall be from a different National Member Organization of IFAC. However, members of the Council shall serve in a personal capacity and not as representatives of their member organization.

(d) Members of the Council shall serve voluntarily and be unpaid.

(e) The appointed officers of IFAC (Art. 16b) shall attend the meetings of the Council and participate in its deliberations but have no right to vote.

Article 25

(a) The members of the Council are elected by the General Assembly. Such an election shall require a simple majority of the votes cast.

(b) A candidate for election to the Council may only be nominated with the approval of the member organization of his own country.

Article 26

(a) Ordinary Members of the Council shall take office at the conclusion of the session of the General Assembly at which they are elected or, if a postal ballot be held between sessions of the General Assembly, on the announcement of the result of that ballot by the IFAC Secretary as the case may be.

(b) At each triennial regular session of the General Assembly, all the Ordinary Members of the Council shall retire and not more than half of them shall be eligible for re-election as Ordinary Members to serve until the conclusion of the next regular session of the General Assembly.

(c) No Ordinary Member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms nor for more than three terms in all in that capacity.

Article 27

(a) Should any member of the Council other than the President or President-Elect, due to resignation, death or other cause, be prevented from fulfilling his duties, the Council may appoint someone to serve in his place until the next election.

(b) Such a period of office shall not be considered as a term in office from the point of view of subsequent elections, as described in Article 26.

Article 28

(a) The President of the Federation or, in his absence, the President-Elect or one of the Vice-Presidents or, if none of these be present, another member of the Council authorized by the President or failing him by the Council, shall preside at any meeting of the Council..

(b) A quorum for a meeting of the Council shall be not less than half of the members of the Council and must include not less than half of the Ordinary Members of the Council.

(c) All provisions concerning voting are set forth in the By-Laws.

SECTION 7 - BOARDS AND COMMITTEES

Article 29

(a) The Council shall be assisted in its work by two Boards, namely the Technical Board and the Executive Board, and a number of Committees to which it may delegate such powers as it may from time to time decide by resolutions of the Council passed by a simple majority.

(b) All members of Boards and Committees shall serve in a personal capacity and not as representatives of any NMO.

(c) All services to IFAC by the office bearers and members of Boards and Committees shall be voluntary and unpaid.

Article 30

(a) The Technical Board shall comprise a Chairman who shall be one of the Vice-Presidents, one or more Vice-Chairmen and a number of Ordinary Members. The number of Ordinary Members is determined by the Council and shall not exceed one third of the number of Technical Committees.

(b) The Vice-Chairmen and members of the Technical Board shall be appointed by the Council.

(c) The Technical Board appoints Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen to the Technical Committees.

(d) Vice-Chairmen and members of the Technical Board and Chairmen of Technical Committees will

Normally be appointed to serve from the conclusion of one Triennial International Congress to the conclusion of the next. Any of them may be reappointed to the same office for one additional term of office but not more. Should any of them be prevented from serving for any reason, a successor may at any time be appointed by the President (in the case of a Vice-Chairman or member of the Technical Board) or by the Chairman of the Technical Board (in case of a Technical Committee Chairman) to serve for the remainder of his term of office.

Article 31

(a) The main duty of the Technical Board will be subject only to the policy agreed by the Council and will be to consider such symposia, conferences, workshops and other technical meetings, other than the Triennial Congresses, as may be recommended to it by the Technical Committees and if it sees fit, arrange for their regulation and organization.

(b) In addition the Technical Board will advise the Council on all technical matters and make such recommendations in relation to technical meetings, publications, and the technical contents of the Triennial Congress.

(c) It shall from time to time review the technical activities of IFAC in the light of its aims and objectives and shall report to the Council each year.

(d) All matters requiring a vote in meetings of the Technical Board shall be decided on a simple majority of the votes cast. The Chairman will not vote except in the case of a tie when he will have a casting vote.

Article 32

(a) The Executive Board shall comprise a Chairman, who shall be the other Vice-President, the Immediate Past-President, the IFAC Treasurer and the IFAC Secretary, together with the Chairmen of the Executive Committees, namely the Chairman of the Awards Committee, the Chairman of the Policy Committee, the Chairman of the Publications Committee and the President-Elect who is Chairman of the Administrative and Finance Committee. If and when the Council sets up any additional Executive Committees, the Chairmen of them may also be appointed by the Council to the Executive Board.

(b) A Vice-Chairman of any of the Executive Committees may attend any meeting of the Board, as an alternate to his Chairman.

Article 33

(a)The Executive Committees shall be appointed by the Executive Board, with the exception of their Chairmen, ex-officio members and any Council member selected by the Council to serve on such Committees. Their term of office is from the conclusion of one Triennial Congress to the conclusion of the next.

(b) The Awards Committee shall comprise a Chairman and the Chairmen of the Selection Committees of the various awards as members.

(c) Besides the Chairman, the Policy Committee shall have a Vice-Chairman and not less than three nor more than six ordinary members.

(d) The Publications Committee shall comprise the Chair, a Vice-Chair, the Chair of the Publications Managing Board, the Editors-in-Chief of the Official IFAC Journals, the Editor of the Newsletter, the Electronic Media Editor and two Ordinary Members.

(e) The Administrative and Finance Committee shall comprise the President-Elect as Chairman, a Vice-Chairman appointed by the Council from its Ordinary Members, the IFAC Treasurer and the IFAC Secretary ex-officio and two Ordinary Members.

Article 34

(a) The Executive Board shall coordinate and supervise the executive activities of IFAC, in particular those activities in the competence of and carried on by the Executive Committees. Furthermore, it shall coordinate the external relations of the Federation. It shall also consider all applications for IFAC membership and make recommendations to the Council.

(b) The Awards Committee shall regulate and control all award-related activities. It shall report to the Council on its work each year.

(c) The Policy Committee shall advise the Council, at the Council's request or on its own initiative, on the general policy and long-range planning of the Federation, on matters concerning the relations between IFAC and other international organizations and between IFAC and its NMOs as well as on procedural matters and guidelines related to the conduct of business within the Federation and to the organization of technical meetings. It shall make a report to the Council each year.

(d) The Publications Committee shall regulate and control all IFAC publications in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Council and will authorize expenditure on publications within strict budgetary limits approved by the Council. It will submit a report on its work to the Council each year.

(e) The Administrative and Finance Committee shall be responsible for directing the work of the Secretariat and shall control the use of IFAC funds in accordance with the budgets approved annually by the Council. It shall report to the Council annually and shall submit for approval the balance sheet and account of income and expenditure prior to their consideration by the Council. It shall also submit to the Council annually a proposed budget for the ensuing financial year.

(f) The Immediate Past President shall normally take care of the external affairs of IFAC. He shall maintain working relationships with other international organizations, whether governmental or non-governmental, on behalf of the Federation and, except when the President of IFAC attending personally, he will represent the Federation with these organizations.

Article 35

(a) Such Technical Committees as are deemed necessary and desirable are formed by the Technical Board within guidelines set by the Council. The continuation and termination of the Technical Committees is also decided by the Technical Board.

(b) The Technical Board will establish Coordinating Committees, each of which will consist of one Technical Board member as Chairman and two or more Technical Committee chairmen. Each Coordinating Committee will provide oversight and coordination among its Technical Committees and will meet periodically, and report annually to the Technical Board.

(c) Subject to the general direction of the Technical Board, the Technical Committees shall organize the technical activities of the Federation. They shall provide a framework for the cooperation of the workers on a worldwide basis in their particular field of automatic control..(d) The Technical Committees shall take active steps to promote the participation of industry and commerce in the activities of the Federation and to foster collaboration between those working on theoretical aspects of control and those engaged in its application.

(e) The Technical Committees shall plan and supervise the conferences, symposia and workshops in the particular fields assigned to them by the Technical Board and shall be responsible for the technical content and level of such meetings.

Article 36

(a) The members of each Technical Committee shall be selected by the Committee Chairman with the concurrence of the Vice-Chairmen. Each NMO may recommend members to each Technical Committee.

(b) Members of Technical Committees shall be appointed in the first instance to serve until the conclusion of the next Triennial Congress. Thereafter they may be reappointed by the respective Committee Chairman, who shall also notify the concerned NMOs, to serve for another three year term each time. While there is no limitation as to the number of such terms, it is desirable to have some rotation in the membership of Technical Committees.

(c) The Chairman of any Committee, with the concurrence of the Vice-Chairmen, may invite other experts to offer temporary, voluntary, unpaid services.

SECTION 8 - FINANCE

Article 37

Membership fees, royalties and unconditional donations shall constitute the sources of revenue for IFAC.

Article 38

(a) Member organizations shall be required to pay an annual membership fee which will become due on January 2nd in each year. New member organizations joining IFAC after July 1st in any year shall be required to pay only half the annual fee for that year.

(b) The membership rates shall be as determined by the General Assembly.

Article 39

IFAC may collect royalties from the sales of its journals, of the publications arising from its congresses, conferences, symposia, and workshops and of other technical publications.

Article 40

The revenue of IFAC shall be used for administrative and other expenses as directed by the Council, which will be held responsible to the General Assembly for the use of such revenues.

Article 41

(a) An IFAC sponsored technical meeting will normally be held in a country which has a National Organization in membership of IFAC. The NMO of the host country will take financial and administrative responsibility for the organization and conduct of the meeting.

(b) Exceptionally the Council may approve the holding of an IFAC meeting in a country not in membership of IFAC provided that a national body in that country has undertaken to be responsible for its conduct both financially and administratively.

Article 42

IFAC shall not be held responsible for expenses incurred by representatives of member organizations or IFAC office-bearers in attending meetings.

SECTION 9 - FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 43

(a) A proposed amendment to the Constitution must have the support of at least one-third of the National Member Organizations of IFAC or of at least five elected members of the Council before it can be brought to a vote in the General Assembly.

(b) Adoption of an amendment to the Constitution shall require a two-thirds majority of the total membership of IFAC.

(c) Amendments to the Constitution may be voted on by means of a postal ballot.

Article 44

(a) The General Assembly may, subject to the general provisions of the present Constitution, adopt any By-Law that it deems necessary for achieving the aims of IFAC or for regulating the objects and activities of the various boards and committees.

(b) Such By-Law shall be established or amended on a simple majority of votes cast by the General Assembly either by direct ballot or postal ballot, provided that at least half of the member organizations have voted. In the case of a tie, the President will have a casting vote.

Article 45

Both the Constitution and the By-Laws are to be interpreted on the English text which is to be considered as the only official text.

Article 46

(a) The procedure for the dissolution of IFAC is the same as for amendments to the Constitution (Article 43).

(b) In the event of the dissolution of IFAC the Council shall determine the manner of disposal of the funds and properties for the benefit of one or more non-profitmaking organizations, the aims of which are as similar to the aims of IFAC as possible.

BY-LAWS

GENERAL PROVISIONS

No. 1

These By-Laws are drafted in accordance with Article 44 of the Constitution.

No. 2

The seat of IFAC is in Zurich, Switzerland.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

No. 3

(a) The date of a session of the General Assembly and the agenda therefore shall be fixed by the Council taking into account the suggestions of Member Organizations.

(b) Notice of a session of the General Assembly shall be sent to member organizations by the IFAC Secretary not less than six months prior to the date fixed, accompanied by a provisional agenda.

(c) Comments on the agenda shall be returned to the IFAC Secretary not less than four months before the date of the session..(d) The final agenda shall be sent to Member Organizations not less than two months prior to the date of the session.

No. 4

Matters not appearing on the agenda of a session of the General Assembly will be considered only if prior approval is given by not less than half of the Member Organizations represented at the General Assembly.

No. 5

(a) All requests for calling an extraordinary session of the General Assembly by member organizations shall be sent to the IFAC Secretary accompanied by a statement of the matter or matters which they desire to be discussed in accordance with the provisions of Article 9(c) of the Constitution.

(b) The date of an extraordinary session of the General Assembly shall be fixed so that the session may take place within one year from receipt of the request by the IFAC Secretary.

COUNCIL

No. 6

(a) The Council shall reach decisions either at a meeting or by post.

(b) Whenever possible, the Council should reach its decision by consensus. If a vote is necessary, decision shall be made on the basis of a majority of the votes cast.

(c) For a meeting of the Council, a member may appoint as his proxy another member of the Council.

Notice of his proxy shall be sent to the President or the Secretary prior to the meeting.

(d) Bearers of IFAC offices shall be entitled to attend as guests any meeting of the Council provided it is

Not convened as a closed meeting. Such guests shall normally not participate in the deliberations of the meeting unless invited to do so by the Chairman of the meeting.

No. 7

The Council shall submit to the General Assembly

(1) A slate of candidates for election to the Council for the ensuing 3 years, including both the Elected Officers and the Ordinary Members and prepared according to By-Law 8.

(2) The report of the Council for the preceding 3 years.

(3) The Treasurer's report and statement of accounts of IFAC.

(4) Proposals for the admission of new National Member Organizations.

(5) Proposed modifications to the Constitution or By-Laws of IFAC.

(6) Proposed date and place of the next session of the General Assembly.

No. 8

In the case of elections to the Council carried out during a session of the General Assembly, in accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution, the procedure shall be as follows:

(1) A preliminary list of candidates for election shall be prepared by an Election Committee consisting of three members from different countries appointed by the IFAC President, who also selects the Chairman of the Election Committee.

(2) This preliminary list of candidates, after approval by the Council, shall be sent by the IFAC Secretary to all Member Organizations at least four months before the date fixed for the elections, inviting them to make additional nominations within one month and seeking from relevant NMOs their agreement to the nomination of those people for whom their approval is required in accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution.

(3) The final list of candidates, including the nominations from Member Organizations shall be sent to all Member Organizations at least two months before the date of elections.

(4) The Election Committee shall supervise the operations of voting and count the ballots..(5) The Chairman or a member of the Election Committee shall report the results of voting to the General Assembly.

No. 9

In the case of elections to the Council carried out by postal ballot in accordance with Articles 14 and 25 of the Constitution, the procedure shall be as follows:

(1) The Council shall submit its nominations to the Member Organizations and shall invite further

Nominations not later than four months before the date fixed for the elections.

(2) The final slate of candidates, including any nominations which may have been made by Member Organizations, shall be sent out to the NMOs not later than two months before the date of the elections.

(3) Only ballot papers received by the day fixed for the elections will be valid.

(4) The IFAC Secretary shall be responsible for the postal ballot and shall report the results thereof.

No. 10

(a) The Election Committee will also prepare the slate of candidates to those offices that fall within the direct competence of the Council, according to Article 20(a), 21 and 30(b) of the Constitution. These are - the IFAC Secretary - the Chairman of the Awards Committee - the Chairman of the Policy Committee - the Chairman of the Publications Committee - the Vice-Chairmen of the Technical Board - the members of the Technical Board

(b) Before preparing the slate of candidates, the Election Committee shall seek recommendations from the concerned Committee or Board, preferably with alternatives, for each of the offices listed under (a) except the IFAC Secretary.

(c) A candidate to any of the offices listed under (a) may only be nominated with the consent of the Member Organization of his own country.

(d) The slate of candidates will be provisionally approved by the outgoing Council before its retirement.

(e) Appointments will be made by the incoming Council after it has taken office.

No. 11

In accordance with Article 30(c) of the Constitution, the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Technical Committees will be appointed by the incoming Technical Board, after it has taken office, upon the recommendation of the outgoing Technical Board. To facilitate such recommendation, the slate of candidates to the offices listed under No. 10(a) will be made available to the outgoing Technical Board.

No. 12

In accordance with Article 33(a) of the Constitution, the Executive Committees, with the exception of their Chairmen, ex-officio members and any member of the Council selected to serve on such Committees, will be appointed by the incoming Executive Board, after it has taken office, upon the recommendation of the outgoing Executive Board. To facilitate such recommendation, the slate of candidates to the offices listed under No. 10(a) will be made available to the outgoing Executive Board.

No. 13

The IFAC Treasurer, with the assistance of the Administrative and Finance Committee, will manage the finances of the Federation as directed by the Executive Board after approval by the Council. In particular, he will

(1) collect membership fees and other revenues;

(2) pay the expenses of the Federation;.(3) manage IFAC funds;

(4) prepare an annual financial report;

(5) prepare an annual budget.

No. 14

In accordance with Article 20 of the Constitution, the IFAC Secretary

(1) acts as Secretary of the General Assembly as well as of the Council;

(2) is charged with the implementation of the resolutions approved by the General Assembly or the Council and will act on all matters in accord with these decisions; in cases where clarification is required, he shall obtain and follow the opinion of the President;

(3) shall, taking into account the suggestions of the President and the other members of the Council, prepare the agenda of each meeting of the Council and post it at least two months before the date of the meeting;

(4) conducts the current business of IFAC, runs the secretarial office, deals with correspondence and maintains the records of the Federation;

(5) attends meetings of the Technical Board and, in accordance with its decisions, monitors all IFAC conferences, symposia and workshops and disseminates information on such meetings.

No. 15

All documents committing IFAC in any way must be signed by two members of the Council, one of whom should be the President and, if financial matters are involved, the other must be the Treasurer.

FINANCE

No. 16

The financial year shall be the calendar year.

No. 17

Donations, legacies and grants can be accepted by authority of the Council.

No. 18

(a) The membership fees shall be fixed in five designated categories, each Member Organization having a free choice of the category in which it wishes to pay.

(b) The rates for each category of membership shall be fixed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Council as may from time to time be necessary.

(c) Each Member Organization shall communicate to the IFAC Treasurer by October 1st of each year if it wishes to change its category of membership for the ensuing year.

For further information contact the IFAC Secretariat.

IFAC INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

CONSTITUTION

SECTION 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS