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Constitution
INTERNATIONAL BOARD ON THE APPLICATIONS OF THE MÖSSBAUER EFFECT
(IBAME)
Constitution and By-Laws
September 2019
CONSTITUTION
I. GENERAL RULES
Article 1. Name; legal status
§1. The “International Board on the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect” (henceforth referred to as “IBAME” or “the Board”), has been operational in its present form since 1993.
§2. IBAME succeeds the International Commission on the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect and its International Advisory Board, both of which operated from 1978 to 1993.
§3. The Board is not a legal entity.
Article 2. The international Mössbauer community, Mössbauer spectroscopists
§1. The term “international Mössbauer community” describes the informal network of individuals engaged and/or interested in applications of the Mössbauer effect. The international Mössbauer community includes: research workers, lecturers, teachers and graduate students among others.
§2. A member of the international Mössbauer community is referred to as a “Mössbauer spectroscopist”.
§3. Throughout the IBAME Constitution and By-Laws, the terms “Mössbauer effect” and “Mössbauer spectroscopy” are used in a broad sense; they comprise conventional laboratory techniques and related methods such as nuclear resonance scattering of synchrotron radiation, inelastic nuclear scattering of synchrotron radiation, synchrotron radiation perturbed angular correlation, analytical and theoretical studies and so on.
§4. A Mössbauer paper is regarded as a peer-reviewed publication in which applications of the Mössbauer effect play a component part.
§5. An active Mössbauer spectroscopist (henceforth referred to as an “AMS”) is defined as a living person who has published at least 5 Mössbauer papers during the last 10 years or published at least 100 Mössbauer papers since 1958.
Article 3. Objectives of the Board
§1. The objectives of the Board are
a) to advance the diffusion of knowledge in the field of the Mössbauer effect and its applications;
b) to promote the activities of the international Mössbauer community;
c) to represent the international Mössbauer community and to formulate statements on its behalf;
d) to cooperate with colleagues to arrange the dates and venues of the various international and regional Mössbauer conferences;
e) to encourage and where possible support young researchers who are active in Mössbauer spectroscopy to participate in Mössbauer conferences. Preference will be given to researchers from countries with weak resources.
§2. Prospective International Union of Mössbauer Spectroscopists
(a) On formation of the proposed International Union of Mössbauer Spectroscopists[1] (henceforth referred to as “IUMS”), the Board is ready to act as the governing body of this association;
b) IUMS is likewise expected to express its preparedness for the Board to act as the governing body of IUMS;
c) the statutes of IUMS will harmonise with the IBAME Constitution and By-Laws; this will ensure a smooth transition from the IBAME Constitution and By-Laws to those of IUMS.
II. MEMBERSHIP
Article 4. Types of Members
§1. The membership of IBAME shall consist of
a) Elected Members;
b) Executive Members;
c) Advisory Members;
d) Honorary Members
§2. The rules governing the different types of membership are defined in the Constitution and in the By-Laws.
Article 5. Elected Members
§1. Elected Members to the Board can be determined by:
a) a national Mössbauer community (i.e. Mössbauer spectroscopists in an individual country — National Delegates);
b) a consortium of national Mössbauer communities (i.e. Consortial Delegates);
c) a Topical Group of IBAME (i.e. Group Delegates).
§2. Elected Members will hold voting rights in the IBAME Panel (the Panel is defined in Section III. Article 9. §1.a)).
§3. National Delegates will be elected by Mössbauer spectroscopists in individual countries. The number of representatives of each country will depend on[2]
a) the total number of participants from that country in the four preceding International Conferences on the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect (ICAME) and
b) the total number of AMSs in that country.
§4. The number of National Delegates from an individual country shall be governed by the following rules:
a) Countries having more than 100 ICAME participants in total will be allowed up to three representatives; those having more than 25 participants will be allowed up to two representatives; and those having more than 5 participants will be allowed one representative. In calculating the total number of participants in the four preceding ICAME, any country which hosts an ICAME will not count its participants in the year when it hosts ICAME. Its participation will be calculated by multiplying the average of its participants in the other three ICAME by four.
b) Should a country have no Elected Member to the Board according to the rules of Paragraph a), that country shall be eligible to elect one member to the Board provided that country has at least 5 AMSs. Further cases of the eligibility may be defined by the By-Laws.
§5. Countries with no representation on the Board may – if they choose – combine their number of participants at ICAME or the number of their AMSs, thereby providing scope for the combined countries to qualify for no more than one Consortial Delegate to the Board.
§6. The election of National and Consortial Delegates will be governed by the following rules:
a) When, after an ICAME, the entitlement of a country or a consortium of countries to its IBAME membership decreases, such a decrease will take effect from the first election that would normally be held in that country or consortium.
b) The election of National or Consortial Delegates of individual countries or consortia of countries will be carried out amongst the Mössbauer spectroscopists in that country or consortium, preferably by secret ballot. The Executive Committee will assist, advise, and may appoint a person to organise the election if they judge necessary. The IBAME Chair must be informed, in writing, of the result immediately after any election.
§7. For the election of Group Delegates the following rules will apply:
a) Group Delegates will be elected by secret ballot by members of the IBAME Topical Groups.
b) Each Topical Group will have the right to elect one Group Delegate to IBAME.
c) Topical Groups having more than 100 members will have the right to elect a second Group Delegate to the Board.
§8. Elected Members will only be admitted to membership if the Executive Committee judges that the Member has been properly elected. In the event of any doubt about Elected Membership, the Executive Committee will decide (an appeal may be made to the IBAME Panel).
§9. Elected Members will hold office for a maximum of six years (shorter periods of office are allowed if preferred by the individual countries, consortia or Topical Groups). The mandate will start with the admission to membership by the Executive Committee (or later if preferred by the delegating body) and will expire at the end of the calendar year before the six-year period of membership will have been completed. Re-election is allowed.
§10. An Elected Member unable to attend a meeting of the IBAME Panel may request in writing a representative of that country, consortium or Topical Group to participate in a meeting of the IBAME as a proxy and to vote even though that person is not an Elected Member.
Article 6. Honorary Members
§1. Election of Honorary Members of the Board will be for life and will be exceptional. Honorary membership is recognition of an extraordinary scientific contribution to Mössbauer spectroscopy.
§2. The total number of Honorary Members at any one time should not be more than three.
§3. The nomination of an Honorary Member should be by three or more AMSs and shall be made to the IBAME Chair in the form of a written statement (preferably not exceeding 500 words) on the merits of the nominee. Self-nomination is not permitted.
§4. Election of an Honorary Member will be by secret ballot when the votes of at least two thirds of the IBAME Members with voting right are received (either in person or in written form) and when the nominee receives the votes of at least two thirds of the Members voting.
§5. Honorary Members shall hold voting right in IBAME, however, their absence from IBAME meetings will have no influence on the quorum of the Board.
§6. Should an Honorary Member becomes an Elected Member or Executive Member, he/she will retain the title of Honorary Member, however he/she will exercise his/her rights only in the new capacity. Once his/her mandate as Elected Member or Executive Member expires, the original status of the Honorary Member will be restored.
Article 7. Executive Members
§1. Executive Members of IBAME shall be the members of the IBAME Executive Committee.
§2. Executive Members shall be elected by IBAME by secret ballot. The Chair and the Vice Chair shall be directly nominated by IBAME Members. Other Executive Members shall be nominated initially by the Chair and the Vice Chair; further nominees may be added to the list of nominations by IBAME Members.
§3. If a newly elected Executive Member is already an Elected Member of IBAME then the country, consortium or Topical Group which he/she represents will be able to elect another representative.
§4. The IBAME Chair, Vice Chair and the IBAME Secretary can hold one of these offices for a maximum of six years. Re-election is allowed.
§5. Executive Members shall hold voting right in IBAME.
Article 8. Advisory Members
§1. Former Chairs, Vice Chairs and Secretaries of IBAME as well as of its predecessor organisation the International Commission on the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect, shall be offered lifelong status as an IBAME Advisory Member provided that they served in their office at least for four years.
§2. IBAME may co-opt further Advisory Members of special expertise or to represent countries not being present in the Board for fixed term.
§3. Advisory Members shall be invited to take part in all activities of IBAME.
§4. Advisory Members shall hold no voting right in IBAME and their eventual absence from IBAME meetings will have no influence on the quorum of the Board.
§5. Should an Advisory Member become an Elected Member or Executive Member, he/she will exercise his/her rights only in the new capacity. Once his/her mandate as Elected Member or Executive Member expires, the original status of the Advisory Member will be restored.
III. ORGANISATION & STRUCTURE
Article 9. Organs of IBAME
§1. The organs of IBAME are:
a) the IBAME Panel comprising all Elected, Honorary, Executive and Advisory Members of IBAME;
b) the Executive Committee comprising the Executive Members.
§2. The competence and structure of the organs are defined in the provisions of this Constitution.
Article 10. Other Bodies of IBAME
§1. The Board may establish Topical Groups that normally focus on special fields of Mössbauer spectroscopy or its applications. The activity of Topical Groups will be regularly checked by the Executive Committee. Topical Groups lacking visible activity shall be abolished by the IBAME Panel (cf. Section III. Article 13. §3).
§2. The Board may establish permanent or ad hoc committees for certain tasks. The mandate of ad hoc committees shall be for fixed term or until withdrawal. The IBAME committees are listed in and regulated by the By-Laws.
Article 11. The IBAME Panel
§1. The IBAME Panel is the supreme authority of IBAME. Accordingly, in the event of any dispute between the Executive Committee and the IBAME Panel, the IBAME Panel will make the final decision.
§2. The IBAME Panel has exclusive authority
a) to modify the Constitution and its By-laws;
b) to elect Honorary and Executive Members of IBAME;
c) to take decisions on the date and venue of upcoming ICAME conferences;
d) to dissolve or merge IBAME.
§3. The IBAME Panel shall meet at least every second year, normally at ICAME conferences (at least for two sessions each time).
§4. A quorum of the IBAME Panel at a meeting shall be the first whole number equal to or greater than 50 % of the total number of Elected and Executive Members. Notwithstanding to this rule, certain decisions of the IBAME Panel may be restricted to a higher figure of participation (cf. Section III. Article 11. §5.b))
§5. Votes and majority requirements within the IBAME Panel:
a) Each IBAME Member with voting rights shall have one vote. Notwithstanding this rule, the same person may vote both on his/her own behalf and, in addition, as a representative of other IBAME Member(s) with voting rights based on a written transfer of the voting rights of the absent Member.
b) Resolutions relating to dissolving or merging IBAME require a 2/3 majority of all IBAME Members with voting rights.
c) Resolutions to changes to the Constitution require a 2/3 majority of IBAME Members participating in the voting and a participation of at least 2/3 of IBAME Members with voting rights in the voting.
d) Resolutions relating to the election of an Honorary Member require 2/3 majority of IBAME Members participating in the voting.
e) All other resolutions including changes to the By-Laws require a simple majority.
f) The Session Chair (i.e., normally the IBAME Chair) shall have a casting vote in case of a tie.
§6. Votes in a meeting of the IBAME Panel shall be taken by show of hands unless a secret ballot vote is requested by a simple majority. All votes concerning the election of persons shall be by secret ballot unless a vote by a show of hands is requested by unanimous decision of the represented Members with voting rights.
§7. Meetings of the IBAME Panel shall be chaired by the IBAME Chair. In case of unavailability, the meeting shall be chaired by the Vice Chair or another trustee from the Executive Committee. The meeting at which the result of the election of the new IBAME Chair will be announced shall be chaired by the outgoing Chair. For special items of the agenda the Session Chair (i.e., normally the IBAME Chair) may invite another IBAME Member to act as temporary Chair.
§8. The IBAME Chair may invite consultants to meetings of the IBAME Panel or to certain item(s) of its agenda.
§9. The course of the meeting of the IBAME Panel shall be recorded in minutes by the Secretary or another rapporteur, stating the place and date of the meeting, attendees, subjects of the meeting, the nature of the discussion and the resolutions. The minutes shall be signed by the Chair of the meeting and the actual rapporteur of the minutes. Minutes shall be sent out to the participants of the meeting within two months and a deadline of another two months for possible objections should be given. Final wording of the minutes shall be approved at the following meeting of the IBAME Panel.
§10. Between meetings of the IBAME Panel decisions can be made in written procedures by electronic means. Decisions made in written procedures shall have the same power as decisions made at meetings provided that the regulations of §4–§6 have been fulfilled.
Article 12. The Executive Committee
§1. The Executive Committee is the operative body of IBAME.
§2. The Executive Committee shall consist of 3 to 7 Members (odd number preferred).
§3. The actual number of Executive Members shall be regulated by the By-Laws.
§4. The Executive Committee shall comprise
a) the IBAME Chair;
b) the IBAME Vice Chair;
c) the IBAME Secretary;
d) other possible Executive Members of special and well-defined responsibilities within the Executive Committee as regulated by the By-Laws.
§5. At the time of their election, Executive Members may be, but need not be IBAME Elected Members.
§6. The IBAME Chair shall be the spokesperson of IBAME. He/she shall consult other Executive Members before taking any important decision.
§7. The IBAME Vice Chair shall act for the IBAME Chair should the Chair be unable to fulfil his/her obligations.
§8. As a rule, the IBAME Secretary shall contact IBAME Members on behalf of the Executive Committee in operative matters. This role may be nevertheless temporarily transferred to the IBAME Chair or another Executive Member by mutual agreement with the IBAME Secretary.
Article 13. Topical Groups
§1. The formation of a Topical Group may be approved by the IBAME Panel on receipt of a formal request, including a programme of activities by not less than three AMSs.
§2. In order for a Topical Group to be approved by the IBAME Panel, it must fulfil the following criteria:
a) a minimum of 20 AMSs who declare to be members of the Topical Group;
b) at least two officers (Chair and, e.g., Vice Chair or Secretary) of the Topical Group;
c) a simple set of Rules of Operation, including preparedness to follow the IBAME Constitution;
d) an annual report made to the Executive Committee.
§3. In the event of a Topical Group failing to meet the above criteria, the IBAME Panel, upon recommendation of the Executive Committee, may decide to abolish the Topical Group concerned.
§4. An AMS may be member of any number of Topical Groups.
IV. CONFERENCES
Article 14. ICAME
§1. IBAME shall be responsible for deciding the date and venue of ICAME and will appoint its main organiser.
§2. The conference date and/or venue may be changed upon request of the conference organisers. This change is subject to the agreement by the IBAME Panel. In case of urgency, the agreement can be granted by the Executive Committee with the provision that the IBAME Panel is informed immediately.
§3. IBAME shall act as the International Advisory Committee of ICAME conferences.
Article 15. Other conferences
§1. IBAME shall be ready to coordinate other Mössbauer conferences and provide advice to their organisers.
§2. Conference organisers seeking the cooperation with IBAME should approach the IBAME Chair. The response to such a request will be made by the IBAME Panel or, in urgent cases, by the Executive Committee with the provision that the IBAME Panel is informed immediately.
Article 16. Responsibilities
§1. IBAME will take no financial or organisational responsibilities either for ICAME or other conferences.
§2. IBAME will refrain from influencing conference organisers in their decisions concerning matters with impact on the conference budget.
V. AWARDS
Article 17. IBAME Fellows
§1. The IBAME Panel may elect as lifelong IBAME Fellows Mössbauer spectroscopists whose achievements in Mössbauer spectroscopy or commitment to the international Mössbauer community warrants specific recognition.
§2. The total number of IBAME Fellows at any one time should not exceed 5 % of the AMSs.
§3. Nomination and decision rules for IBAME Fellows are regulated by the By-Laws.
Article 18. Merit-based prizes
§1. IBAME awards two merit-based prizes:
a) IBAME Young Scientist Award;
b) IBAME Science Award.
§2. The IBAME Young Scientist Award shall be granted to researchers up to the age of 35, for high-quality contribution to science based on research that involves application of the Mössbauer effect.
§3. The IBAME Science Award shall be granted to researchers for a high-quality contribution to science based on research that involves application of the Mössbauer Effect over an extended period of at least 20 years.
§4. Nomination and decision rules for merit-based prizes are regulated by the By-Laws.
VI. AMENDMENTS
Article 19. Changes to the Constitution and its By-Laws
§1. No part of this Constitution shall be amended except by a meeting or a written procedure of the IBAME Panel so that the quorum, voting and majority conditions of Section III. Article 11. §5.c) will have been fulfilled and the text of the amendment will have been submitted in writing at least two months before the meeting or the voting deadline of the written procedure.
§2. The By-Laws may be amended by the IBAME Panel at a meeting or in a usual written procedure by simple majority.
BY-LAWS
I. MEMBERSHIP
Rule 1. Eligibility of countries with insufficient number of AMSs to delegate an Elected Member to IBAME
§1. Beyond the possibility offered by Section II. Article 5. §4.b) of the Constitution, countries having at least 2, 3 or 4 AMSs (cf. Section I. Article 2. §5 of the Constitution) who have published 9, 7 or 6 Mössbauer papers (cf. Section I. Article 2. §4 of the Constitution) during the last 10 years, respectively, are eligible to elect one member to IBAME. This eligibility is available provided that this country has no Elected Member according to the option specified in Section II. Article 5. §4.a) of the Constitution.
§2. Notwithstanding Section II. Article 5. §5 of the Constitution, this Rule cannot be applied to facilitate forming consortia.
II. DECISION-MAKING
Rule 2. Written procedures
§1. Written procedures shall be:
a) as a rule, carried out by electronic means;
b) in exceptional cases by ordinary mail, preferably using the double-envelope technique.
§2. The call for a written procedure shall contain all materials needed for voting on the issue concerned.
§3. The quorum is determined by the number of possible voters.
§4. Unless otherwise specified (cf. Section VI. Article 19. §1 of the Constitution), the minimum time available for voting shall be 4 weeks.
III. AWARDS
Rule 3. Rules of the IBAME Fellow status
§1. Nominations for the IBAME Fellow status can be submitted to the IBAME Chair by anyone active in research related to applications of the Mössbauer effect.
§2. Nomination should include a written statement (preferably not exceeding 500 words) on the merits of the nominee.
§3. The IBAME Chair may seek the advice of the Award Committee.
§4. Decision on the nomination will be made by the IBAME Panel on voting decided by a simple majority.
Rule 4. Rules of IBAME merit-based prizes
§1. Nominations for the IBAME Young Scientist Award and for the IBAME Science Award can be submitted to the IBAME Secretary by anyone active in research related to applications of the Mössbauer effect.
§2. Nominations should include:
a) one-page CV;
b) list of publications with those involving the Mössbauer effect highlighted;
c) one-page statement of importance of research and significance of the Mössbauer effect to the research.
§3. Self-nomination is not permitted.
§4. The recipients of the IBAME merit-based prizes will be announced about six to eight months before ICAME. Awardees will be invited to present a talk at ICAME.
§5. Both prizes will be awarded by the Award Committee.
IV. COMMITTEES
Rule 5. Executive Committee
§1. The Executive Committee is chaired by the IBAME Chair.
§2. The Executive Committee meets at least two times a year; the meeting can be in person, by phone conference or a concerted e-mail discussion. Further communication within the Executive Committee is primarily by electronic means.
§3. In case of a meeting of the Executive Committee, its course will be recorded in minutes by the IBAME Secretary.
§4. Decision within the Executive Committee is made with simple majority; the Chair has a casting vote in case of a tie.
Rule 6. Award Committee
§1. The Award Committee is a permanent committee of IBAME.
§2. The Award Committee consists of its Chair and four members.
§3. The Chair and members of the Award Committee are appointed by the IBAME Panel.
§4. The Chair of the Award Committee is selected from the Executive Committee.
§5. Other members of the Award Committee are experienced Mössbauer spectroscopists of renown but who need not be IBAME Members.
§6. Tasks of the IBAME Award Committee are:
a) issuing calls for the IBAME merit-based prizes;
b) evaluating and assessing the award proposals;
c) deciding on the awards to be granted.
§7. The Chair of the Award Committee holds office for a maximum of four years, members of the Award Committee hold office for a maximum of six years. Notwithstanding to this, every second year (preferably at meetings of the IBAME Panel) at least two members of the Award Committee shall be replaced by new members.
Rule 7. Structure Committee
§1. The Structure Committee is an ad hoc committee of IBAME.
§2. The mandate of the Structure Committee will be valid until withdrawal.
§3. Chair and members of the Structure Committee are appointed by the IBAME Panel.
§4. The Chair of the Structure Committee is selected from the IBAME Members.
§5. The IBAME Chair, the IBAME Vice Chair and the IBAME Secretary are ex officio members of the Structure Committee.
§6. Other members of the Structure Committee are Mössbauer spectroscopists familiar with IBAME matters but who need not be IBAME Members.
§7. Tasks of the IBAME Structure Committee are:
a) to discuss possible measures for improving the strategy of IBAME;
b) to draft amendments to the Constitution and its By-Laws;
c) to elaborate steps towards the envisaged transition of IBAME to IUMS.
§8. Chair and members of the Structure Committee may hold office until withdrawal.
Rule 8. Nomenclature Committee
§1. The Nomenclature Committee (also called Mössbauer Nomenclature Review Group) is an ad hoc committee of IBAME.
§2. The mandate of the Nomenclature Committee will be valid until withdrawal.
§3. Chair and members of the Nomenclature Committee are appointed by the IBAME Panel and are selected from experienced Mössbauer spectroscopists representing different fields of Mössbauer spectroscopy.
§4. Both the Chair and the members of the Nomenclature Committee may be but need not be IBAME Members.
§5. Task of the IBAME Nomenclature Committee is to elaborate and develop the Recommendations for Nomenclature and the Reporting of Mössbauer Data (with relevance for both laboratory and synchrotron experiments).
§6. The Chair of the IBAME Nomenclature Committee may invite further members to the committee, an action subject to the consent of the Executive Committee.
§7. Chair and members of the Nomenclature Committee may hold office until withdrawal.
V. ICAME CONFERENCES
Rule 9. Submission of proposals to organise and host ICAME
§1. Proposal to organise and host ICAME can be submitted any time to the IBAME Secretary by one or more National or Consortial Delegates.
§2. The organiser of ICAME may but need not to be an IBAME Member.
§3. Proposals should reach the IBAME Secretary not later two weeks before the IBAME meeting where the decision will be made.
Rule 10. Decision on the date and venue of ICAME
§1. Decision on the date and venue of ICAME is made at a meeting of the IBAME Panel preferably four years in advance.
§2. The decision is made in a secret ballot by absolute majority (i.e., more than 50 % of the votes of members taking part in the voting). Should no proposal get the absolute majority, a second voting will be held with participation of the proposals having got the most and the second highest number of votes.
§3. In case of a common ICAME and HYPERFINE conference decision about conference site is made in such way, that both communities have the same number of votes, irrespective of how many voters are nominated from each side. The decision is made in a secret ballot by absolute majority (i.e. more than 50% of the votes of members taking part in the voting). Should no proposal get the absolute majority, a second voting will be held with participation of the proposals having got the most and the second highest number of votes. In case of draw the decision is made by drawing lots.
Rule 11. Agreements and reports on ICAME
§1. IBAME may conclude further agreements on conditions that ICAME organisers have to fulfil during the ICAME process.
§2. ICAME organisers shall report regularly to the Executive Committee and to IBAME at its meeting preceding the conference.
VI. COMMUNICATIONS
Rule 12. Individual communication
§1. Individual communication to IBAME on principal or strategic matters shall be addressed to the IBAME Chair.
§2. Individual communication to IBAME in operative matters shall be addressed to the IBAME Secretary.
Rule 13. Website
§1. The official website of IBAME is http://ibame.org/.
§2. The editor of the official website is appointed by and reports to the Executive Committee.
§3. The official website stores public and internal IBAME documents the latter being of restricted access.
Rule 14. Mailing list
§1. For immediate communication between IBAME and the international Mössbauer community an IBAME-recognised mailing list is used.
§2. The IBAME-recognised mailing list is the MIX[3]-Bulletin (mix@lists.kfki.hu) with the subscription address https://mailman.kfki.hu/sympa/info/mix, a free and voluntary service.
§3. IBAME encourages members of the international Mössbauer community to subscribe to the MIX-Bulletin.
05 September 2019
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[1] Working name that may change later.
[2] It is envisaged that, following the foundation of IUMS, the only way of electing a national representative to IBAME will be by national Members of IUMS. However, IBAME Members elected to the Board according to the rules before the foundation of IUMS will complete their mandate according to the rules valid at the time of their election. In future statutes, the IUMS membership will replace the role of AMS so that the concept of AMS will be removed from the rules.
[3] MIX: Mössbauer Information eXchange