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Constitution and Rules

  1. The Society shall be called the British Atherosclerosis Society.
  2. The British Atherosclerosis Society, hereinafter referred to as the Society, has been instituted for the purposes of advancing and exchanging knowledge and to advance the education of the public in all matters relating to the causes and treatment of atherosclerotic diseases in humans.
  3. Only those who have an interest in the purposes of the Society defined in Rule 2 shall be eligible for Membership of the British Atherosclerosis Society.
  4. The Society shall be affiliated to the International Atherosclerosis Society.
  5. The business of the Society shall be conducted by a Committee elected by the members of the Society from their number. It will consist of a Chair, a Chair Elect*, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Webmaster, a Junior Member and five Ordinary Members of whom at least two shall be clinicians and at least two shall be non-clinical scientists.The Chair may be an Ordinary or Senior Member and shall take office for 3 years after serving as Chair Elect for 1 year.  The Secretary, Treasurer and Webmaster shall be Ordinary Members and shall normally hold office for five years.  The members of the Committee without office shall retire after three years.  In exceptional circumstances, roles could be extended for up-to 12 months by a Committee vote. Committee members. Committee members will not be eligible for immediate re-election to the Committee except as officers.
    *   Note: There will only be a Chairman Elect on the Committee in the year leading up to each change of Chair i.e. every 3 years.
  6.  Members to serve on the Committee both with and without office will be elected.  They shall be nominated by the Committee or by any two members of the Society.  Nominations shall be sent to the Secretary at least six weeks before the Annual General Meeting. Elections for Committee membership will be held by email and ratified at the Annual General Meeting.
  7. The Chair shall chair the Annual General Meeting.  The Treasurer shall be responsible to the Society for any financial matters.  The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the Committee meetings, a record of meetings of the Society, a record of the membership and notify all members of the date and place of the next meeting. The Secretary shall co-ordinate the arrangements pertaining to the meetings of the Society including the attendance of members.
  8.  The Committee shall meet at least two times each year.  There shall be a quorum when at least one-third of the number of members of the Committee for the time being or three members of the Committee, whichever is the greater, are present at a meeting.  The Committee shall report to the Annual General Meeting.
  9. There shall be four classes of members, Ordinary, Junior, Honorary and Senior.
  10. Applications for junior and ordinary membership of the Society are encouraged and there shall no formal limit set to the membership of the Society.  Potential junior members should be registered for a higher degree at the time of application.  Applicants for junior membership should apply to the Secretary of the BAS committee, enclosing a copy of their CV and a supporting letter from their principal supervisor.  A decision upon eligibility and acceptance for junior membership will be made by the Secretary on behalf of the committee and members of the Society. Junior members (students) can apply by mailing a brief curriculum vitae and a letter of support from their principal supervisor to the Secretary of the Society. On completion of their studies, JUNIOR members may apply to become ORDINARY members of the Society only after having completed 5 years of work experience.  JUNIOR members may continue their JUNIOR membership during this 5 year period but should notify the secretariat of any change of address or email during this time.
    Candidates for ordinary membership should have at least three years experience at postdoctoral level (with the exception of the winner of the Young Investigator Award, who shall automatically be offered ordinary membership of the Society).  Candidates for ordinary membership should be proposed by a member of the Society with personal knowledge of the candidate and seconded by one other member.  They shall provide information about their medical and scientific qualifications and career by submitting their curriculum vitae.  Proposals for ordinary membership shall be sent to the Secretary and shall be considered by the committee.  The Society will seek to maintain a membership with an interest in atherosclerosis from a wide range of disciplines.
  11. The Committee shall comply with their obligations under the Charities Act 1992 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that Act) with regard to:
    (i)     the keeping of accounting records for the Society
    (ii)    the preparation of annual statements of account for the Society
    (iii)   the auditing or independent examination of the statements of account of the Society and;
    (iv)    the transmission of the statements of account of the Society to the Charity Commissioners.
  12.  The annual subscription to the Society shall be due on the 1st May each year.  Any Ordinary Member whose subscription is still unpaid by the 30th September following shall cease to be a member forthwith.  Such a lapsed member shall not be eligible for re-election to membership of the Society except after paying the subscription in default.
  13. Ordinary Members shall automatically become Senior Members on the 1st January following their 65th birthday and shall not pay an annual subscription.  There shall be no limit to the number of Senior Members.  Senior Members shall be entitled to attend and participate in the Business Meetings and the Scientific meetings of the Society, invite guests to the Scientific Meetings and propose new members, but shall have no voting rights except the Chair, if a Senior Member.
  14. Honorary Members shall be eminent scientists (British or foreign) nominated either by the Committee or by two members and approved by the Annual General Meeting.  Such Honorary Members shall be informed of the time, place and contents of the Scientific Meetings and be eligible to attend them.  They shall have no voting rights.  They shall not be required to pay a subscription.
  15. There shall be two meetings annually: a Spring Meeting and an Autumn Meeting.  Additional meetings may be arranged at the discretion of the Committee.  All these meetings will be open to non-members.  An annual General Meeting shall be held during the Spring Meeting, extraordinary AGM may be held at the Autumn meeting if required.
  16. The Committee shall, whenever possible, arrange for each meeting to include a symposium on one particular aspect of atherosclerosis.  A particular emphasis shall be placed on the provision of generous time for discussion after each communication.
  17. The Rules of the Society shall not be changed unless two-thirds of the Ordinary Members present at the Annual General Meeting vote in favour of a change.  For this purpose a quorum shall be one-third of the Ordinary Members.  Notice of the suggested change shall be given in writing at least four weeks before the Annual General Meeting to the Secretary, who shall notify all members of the proposal at least one week before the meeting. Alternatively, Ordinary Members may be asked by the Secretary to vote electronically in favour of a change. A change will be ratified if a two-thirds of the votes received are in favour. For this purpose a quorum shall be one-third of the Ordinary Members.
  18. If the Committee decides that it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Society, it shall call a meeting of all members of the Society, of which not less that 21 days’ notice (stating the terms of the resolution to be proposed) shall be given.  If the proposal is confirmed by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting the Committee shall have power to realise any assets held by or on behalf of the Society.  Any assets remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to the objects of the Society as members of the Society may determine or failing that shall be applied for some other charitable purpose.  A copy of the statement of accounts, or account and statement, for the final accounting period of the Society must be sent to the Charity Commissioners.