Charter of the International Congress

Charter of the International Congress on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials

　
PREAMBLE
The International Congress on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials was formed partly as a result of the efforts of the late Professor Shuji Taira, who organized the first International Conference on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials in Kyoto, Japan in August 1971, and continued his efforts in furthering the objectives of this organization, namely to foster research on the mechanical behaviour of materials and to promote international cooperation.
Founding governors of ICM are listed in article 13.
　
STATUTES
　
Article 1 - NAME
The name of this organization is the International Congress on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, hereafter referred to as the "Congress", or by its initials, ICM.
　
Article 2 - OBJECTIVES
2.1 The objectives of the Congress are to foster research on the mechanical behaviour of materials, to promote related international cooperation among scientists and engineers and to provide means for the public dissemination of the results from these efforts.
2.2 For this purpose the Congress shall, both solely and in cooperation with other bodies, hold an International Conference on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials generally every four years, and carry out any other activities deemed desirable and feasible to promote the stated objectives.
　
Article 3 - MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Membership shall be open to organizations, societies, bodies and individuals maintaining an active interest in the objectives of the Congress.
3.2 In these Statutes the word "members" shall be understood to mean members of the Congress.
3.3 Those organizations, societies, bodies and individuals who desire to join the Congress shall make written application in such form as may be prescribed by the Board of Governors of ICM and shall undertake to be governed by the Charter of the Congress. The Board of Governors shall consider such applications, and obtain the advice of the delegation of the country concerned, if there is one, and make such inquiries as it may think desirable. Membership shall be granted by vote of the Board of Governors.
　
Article 4 - THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
4.1 The Board of Governors shall consist of the President, the Vice Presidents and a representative of each national delegation.
4.2 The national delegations for each country shall be established by that country. Each national delegation shall delegate its representative for that Conference who will serve on the Board of Governors.
4.3 The function of the Board of Governors shall be:
(a)　To manage the Congress.
(b)　To elect a President and not more than three Vice-Presidents.
(c)　To elect not more than five Governors at Large and to elect members of Executive Committee. The function ofGovernors at Large is to represent other than national interests among other things liaison to other organizations.
(d)　To elect members.
(e)　To select a permanent Congress Secretariat.
(f)　To select date and place of the next International Conference on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials as mentioned in 2.2.
(g)　To approve amendments to the Charter.
(h)　To consider any other matters affecting the Congress.
4.4 A session of the Board of Governors shall be held during each International Conference.
4.5 Each member of the Board of Governors shall have only one vote. A quorum shall consist of one-third of the total number of Governors of the ICM. A simple majority shall be effective excepting for the selection of organizer of the next conference when the method of voting shall be by proportional representation.
4.6 A Governor may appoint a member of his national delegation to represent him at a meeting of the Board of Governors. This member shall have full voting rights.
4.7 For matters requiring interim action by the Congress, decisions may be taken by proposal ballot. This requires a majority vote of the full Board of Governors for adoption.
　
Article 5 - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
5.1 The President, the immediate past President, the Vice-Presidents, the Governors at Large, the representative of the Secretariat, and six representatives elected by the Board of Governors shall function as the Executive Committee, which will constitute the Agenda Committee for the Board of Governors.
5.2 The Executive Committee shall meet each International Conference, and at such other times as the President and Vice-Presidents deem necessary.
5.3 A quorum of the Executive Committee is 50%. Postal ballots may be used. A simple majority shall be effective.
5.4 The President of the Congress shall be the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
　
Article 6 - PRESIDENT
6.1 The function of the President shall be:
(a)　To preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and at sessions of the Board of Governors.
(b)　To act on behalf of the Congress in the conduct of the affairs of the Congress in accordance with the politics and procedures adopted by the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee.
(c)　To designate the order of the precedence of the Vice-Presidents with respect to the assumption of the duties of the President under the circumstances referred to in Article 7.
(d)　To appoint a committee to nominate candidates for elected office. This committee should consist of four members of the Board of Governors.
6.2 The term of the President shall commence at the end of a Conference and continue through the next Conference. He shall be eligible for re-election.
　
Article 7 - VICE-PRESIDENTS
The functions of the Vice-Presidents shall be to assume the duties of the President in case the President is unavailable.
　
Article 8 - SECRETARIAT
The function of the Secretariat shall be :
(a)　To be responsible to the Board of Governors for the administrative and financial management of the Congress and to submit a report, a financial statement and a balance sheet to the Board of Governors each year.
(b)　To make all necessary preparations for meetings of the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee.
(c)　To maintain the records of the Congress.
(d)　To conduct the correspondence necessary to maintain the affairs of the Congress.
　
Article 9 - FINANCES
9.1 National members shall be responsible for meeting their own expenses.
9.2 The financial arrangements connected with holding the International Conference and other meetings shall be the responsibility, in each case, of the host country.
9.3 The foregoing shall not preclude any one from voluntarily contributing to the funds of the Congress or to the organizing expenses of the International Conference.
9.4 The financial year of the Congress shall coincide with that of the Secretariat.
　
Article 10 - GENERAL
The official language of the Congress shall be English.
　
Article 11 - AMENDMENTS
11.1 Amendments may be proposed either by any national delegation or by the Board of Governors.
11.2 To amend the Statutes, a quorum of three-fifths of the Board of Governors shall be required.
11.3 Adoption of any amendment to the present Statutes shall require two-thirds affirmative vote of the members present at the meeting of the Board of Governors.
11.4 The proposed amendments shall be circulated to all Governors at least one month before the meeting at which they are to be considered.
　
Article 12 - HONORARY FELLOWS
The Congress shall award to appropriate individuals the grade of Honorary Fellow of the Congress, in recognition of work done by such individuals to further the objectives described in Article 2. Such Honorary Fellows shall be elected by the Board of Governors.
　
Article 13 - ICM BOARD OF GOVERNORS
FOUNDING GOVERNORS
　Honorary President
　　Professor Shuji Taira*
　Presidents
　　Dr Nathan Promisel
　　Professor Volker Weiss
　Vice Presidents
　　Dr Robert Goldhoff*
　　Professor Joe Dean Morrow
　　Professor Keith Miller
GOVERNORS
　Austria：Prof. W. Stickler
　Belgium：Prof. W. Soete
　Brazil：Dr S.N. Monteiro
　Canada：Prof. A. Plumtree
　Egypt：Prof. M. Farag
　England：Prof. K. Miller
　France：Prof. J. Lemaitre
　Germany：Prof. E. Macherauch
　Israel：Dr B. Cina
　Italy：Prof. G. Caglioti
　Japan：Prof. S. Taira*
　Netherlands：Dr C. Verbraak
　Sweden：Prof. J.A.H. Hult
　USSR：Prof. P. Poluchin
　USA：Prof. W. Owen
　
GOVERNORS AT LARGE
Professor D. Taplin (Also ICM/ICF Liaison)
Professor D. Francois (Also ICM/ICF Liaison)
* Deceased
　