IGCA : Introduction Constitution

Article 1:

General Provisions

The Association established hereby shall be called the International Gastric Cancer Association (IGCA), (hereinafter referred to as the Association), founded on March 29, 1995 by the members of the International Preparatory Committee.

Article 2:

Objectives

The objectives of the Association are:

(1)	To provide an international forum for the advancement of research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.
(2)	To facilitate the eradication of gastric cancer worldwide.

Article 3:

Section 1: (Qualifications for membership)
Active members shall be individuals who have distinguished themselves by well-recognized professional and/or scientific achievements in the field of gastric cancer. Distinguished members shall be recommended to be Honorary member by the council board when they reach the age of 70, and they shall be approved by the General Assembly. Recommendations shall be based on their activities and contribution to the Association. Honorary members are entitled to attend council meetings with no voting right.
Honorary Presidents and Honorary members shall be recommended by the Council of the Association from individuals who have contributed enormously to the Association.

Section 2: (Membership, Fees)
The acceptance of members and matters concerning membership fees are under the jurisdiction of the Council of the Association.

Article 4:

Governing Bodies

Section 1: (Structure)
The President shall represent the Association and preside at all the meetings. The governing structure consists of an Executive Committee, Council and General Assembly.

Section 2: (Executive Committee)

(1)	(Members) The following members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the Council. All members should be under the age of 70.
		President	1
		President-Elect	1
		Past President	1
		Secretary General	1
		Secretary General-Elect * *elected two years prior to the end of Secretary General's term	1
		Treasurer	1
		Editor(s) of the journal	1 or 2

(2)	(Meetings of the Executive Committee) The Executive Committee shall be convened at the invitation of the President at each Congress and between two Congresses. Auditors* shall attend these meetings. *see Section4 and Article 5 (10)

(3)	(Chairperson and Resolutions) The President shall chair the meeting of the Executive Committee. In the absence of the President, the President-Elect shall act as a proxy. If the latter is also unable to preside, any other member of the Executive Committee, selected with consent of majority, may preside. The Secretary General shall serve as the secretary of the meeting. Resolutions shall be passed with the approval of a simple majority of those present except Auditors. In cases of an equal division of votes, the decision shall be made by the chairperson.

(4)	(Activities) The Executive Committee makes suggestions and plans to achieve the goal of the Association. Final decisions are made at the Council meeting, and the Executive Committee implements the council's decisions. The Executive Committee organizes Standing Committees, which implement some of the following activities:(a) issuing Gastric Cancer, the official journal of the Association, jointly with the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association (JGCA), (b) organizing workshops for both researchers and physicians, (c) maintaining TNM classification. The Executive Committee takes the financial responsibility to ensure these activities.

Section 3: (Council)

(1)

(Members):
The Council represents the IGCA members, and it consists of members who represent a country, region or specialty. All members should be under the age of 70.

(2)

(Meeting):
The Council shall meet in regular session every two years, preferably during or close to the time of each Congress of the IGCA.

(3)

(Authority):
The Council is authorized to implement the following:

(a)	Elect Executive Committee members Council members two Auditors from Council members
(b)	Policy recommendations.
(c)	Review financial needs of the IGCA and determine the annual subscriptions.
(d)	Amendment of the Constitution. The Council may delegate other authority to the Executive Committee.

Section 4: (Auditors)
The Auditors check the activities of the Executive Committee including financial report.

Section 5: (General Assembly)
The General Assembly shall consist of those fee-paying members who attend the Business Meeting at the Congress. A simple majority of any given General Assembly is necessary for approval of suggestions and requests by the Council.

Section 6: (Congress)
The Association hosts the world-wide scientific meeting called the International Gastric Cancer Congress (IGCC) in order to achieve the objectives of the Association.
The Congress shall be held every two years.
The President-Elect of the Association will be the President of the Congress. The Congress President and Congress venue must be selected by the Council four years in advance.

Section 7: (Organ Journal)
The Association publishes the organ journal.
Detailed by-laws concerning the publication of the journal are established separately.

Article 5:

Method of selection

(1)	President: After the incumbent President's term expires, the President-Elect shall succeed automatically to the office of the President.
(2)	President-Elect The President-Elect is elected by the Council and assumes the office of President-Elect.
(3)	Past President The President shall automatically be the Past President for the next two years after the incumbent President's term expires.
(4)	Secretary General The Secretary General is elected among the Council members by the Council.
(5)	Secretary General- elect The Secretary General- elect is elected among the Council members by the Council two years prior to the end of Secretary General's term.
(6)	Treasurer The Treasurer is elected among the Council members by the Council.
(7)	Editor(s) of the Journal The IGCA nominates one of the two editors-in-chief of Gastric Cancer Journal. He/she shall be approved by the Council.
(8)	Working Committee's Chair The chairpersons of the Working Committees shall be elected by the Council.
(9)	Council members Council members shall be nominated and elected by the Council members if there are any vacancies. The number of Council members shall be around 30 for the present.
(10)	Auditors Two Auditors are elected among the Council members who are non members of the Executive Committee by the Council.

Article 6:

Term of Office

(1)	The term of office of President shall be from the end of Congress to the end of next Congress.
(2)	The term of office of President-Elect shall be from the end of Congress to the end of next Congress. The President-Elect shall not be eligible for re-election to this office.
(3)	The term of office of Past President shall be from the end of Congress to the end of next Congress.
(4)	The term of office of all other Executive Committee members shall be four years, and they shall be eligible for re-election to their office. The maximum number of terms is two (total eight years).
(5)	The term of Council members shall be four years, and they shall be eligible for re-election to their office. The maximum number of terms is two (total eight years)
(6)	Council member who fails to attend two consecutive IGCC meetings shall be disqualified from the Council.

Article 7:

Regional Chapters at the IGCA

Regional Chapters operate to activate local activities in each region. The establishment of each Regional Chapter should be proposed and approved by the Council. Detailed by-laws concerning each Regional Chapter are established separately.

Article 8:

Finance

(1)	Funds for each International Gastric Cancer Congress are procured and managed independently by the efforts of the President-elect.
(2)	The expenses of the Association will be met by the annual subscriptions of members, contracts, grants and donations. Membership fees and contributions shall be used to subsidize the Association.
(3)	For the Association's regular activities, the Executive Committee should make active efforts to raise funds to balance the accounts. The Treasurer together with the Secretary General is responsible for planning the annual budget for various activities and committee meetings. They have to report a balance sheet, and the accounts should be checked by the Auditors.
(4)	(Fiscal year) The fiscal year of the Association begins on January 1 and ends on December 31.

Article 9:

Office

The office of the Association is located at the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, and can be changed on the decision of the Executive Committee.

Article 10:

Amendment to Constitution

Amendments to the Constitution can be proposed by the Council and reported to the General Assembly.

Article 11:

Administration of by-laws

Detailed by-laws concerning the enforcement of this Constitution can be passed by the Council, which shall have jurisdiction over the establishment, revisions and voiding of all such rules.