Society Constitution | Taiwan Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Article I - General Provisions

Section 1:: The provision of this act is written in accordance with the Civil Organizations Law.
Section 2:: The official name of the organization shall be the Taiwan Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (TSCPaLM), (hereafter referred to as the Society).
Section 3:: This is a non-profit social organization herein after referred to as the Society, exists to promote Clinical Pathology related research, development and application, and to upgrade the standard of clinical pathology practice in general and encourage active exchanges with International pertinent societies as our main objective.
Section 4:: The Society shall have its operating premises furnished in national administration district.
Section 5:: The site of the Society shall be located in the same city as that of the government agency in charge and should be approved accordingly.
Section 6:: The target business of this society shall be directed and supervised by the Ministry of Interior.

Article II - Missions

Section 7:

The Society shall dedicate itself to the missions as follows:

To pursue advances in the research, development, and applications of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
To advance education and training by organizing scientific presentations and symposiums related to Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
To review hospitals that are involved in training Clinical pathologists and to certify clinical pathologists on behalf of the Ministry of Health and social welfare
To produce scientific manuscripts or publish magazines or periodicals related to Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
To facilitate international scientific exchange related to Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine through symposium and another meeting to strengthen our scientific prestige
To coordinate with public and private medical and research institutions to promote the development of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
To handle other Society relevant matters

Article III - Membership

Section 8:

Membership of the Society shall be classified into the following four categories: Individual Membership, Institution Membership, Sponsoring Membership, and Honorary Membership.

Individual Membership:	Application for individual membership shall be endorsed by two active members, and the membership shall be conferred upon the approval by the Society’s Board of Directors. Domestic or foreign certified Clinical Pathologist Any domestic or foreign graduated physician who is currently engaged in clinical pathology and laboratory medicine-related department at public or private and/or teaching hospital Individual membership shall be eligible to any persons holding a certificate of medical physician issued by a local or a foreign institute plus more than three years’ experience in resident rotating training or had a great contribution in clinical pathology and laboratory Medicine Any physician who holds a document issued by his advisor that he or she is currently in training as a resident in clinical pathology and laboratory medicine at a teaching hospital accredited by the Society may engage in any activity which is organized by society gratuitously
Institution membership:	Application of clinical pathology related public or private institution membership should pay an annual membership fee, and the membership shall be conferred upon the approval by the Society’s Board of Directors. It shall delegate one individual to participate in the different activities.
Sponsoring Membership:	Sponsoring membership shall be bestowed to individuals or organizations who are interested in the research and development of Society by providing solid support. Sponsoring membership shall be conferred upon the approval of the Society’s Board of Directors.
Honorary Membership:	Honorary membership shall be bestowed to individuals who had an extraordinary devotion to the Society in terms of the academy, any activity and society affair. Honorary membership shall be conferred upon the approval of the Society’s Board of Directors.

Section 9:

Any person who had any following lawsuits is not eligible to be a member:

Who convicted criminal incarceration before or being the execution of a criminal term of imprisonment, but probation is not limited to this
Who convicted security punishment before or being execution of a criminal term of imprisonment
Who declare bankruptcy but is yet to be restored
Who engaged in the proclamation of Injunction but yet to be revoked

Section 10:

If any member commits an act that is against the law or the regulations of the Society, or refuses to abide by a resolution passed at a general meeting of the members, the Board of Directors may decide to either warn or membership suspension. In serious cases, any member who commits any activity which results in serious harm to society may be delisting through resolution at the general assembly.

Section 11:

Any person who had any following conditions is not eligible to be a member:
Member by revoking his or her rights as a member
Delisting through resolution at the general assembly

Section 12:

Fees already paid will not be returned to persons who either relinquish their membership or are dismissed from the Society.

Section 13:

Individual and institution members shall be entitled to the right to say, the right to vote, the right to be elected, and the right to recall, One membership one vote.

Section 14:

Members must abide by the Society’s constitution, the resolution of the general assembly and pay the membership dues accordingly.

Articles IV - Organization

Section 15:

The Society’s highest authority and command lies in the General Assembly. The Board of Directors shall serve as the executive team, operating the official affairs of the Society on behalf of the General Assembly when the meeting is not in session. The Board of Supervisors shall serve as the Society’s watchdog body.

Section 16:

The responsibilities of the General Assembly are as follows:

To draw up and amend the Society’s Constitution
To elect and recall the members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors
To decide on membership fees, operating charges, and the method and amount of members' donations
To decide on the annual working plans, reports, budget, and final accounting
To decide on the discipline and dismissal of members
To decide on the disposition of the Society's property
To make decisions regarding the dissolution of the Society
To make decisions regarding other important matters related to the rights and obligations of the members

Section 17:

The Society has 15 Board members and 5 Board of Supervisors. All of these people are elected by the members. When the elections for these positions of the Board of Directors and board of supervisors are being held, 2 alternative Board members and 1 alternative supervisor are elected at the same time. The number of votes gained by each person is used as the basis for deciding which of those elected will hold official or alternative positions. In the event of two people gaining the same number of votes, the decision will be made by drawing lots. If the position of one of the board or supervisor members becomes vacant, it will be filled up by following alternative member until the next term.

Section 18:

The responsibilities of the Board of Directors are as follows:

To decide on the holding of a general assembly
To examine members' qualifications
To elect and recall the Chairman of the Board and the standing Board members
To decide on the resignation of the Chairman of the Board and standing or regular Board members
To hire and dismiss personnel
To formulate the annual working plans, reports, budget, and final accounting
To execute other duties as necessary such as regulation, by law, and resolution of the general assembly

Section 19:

The fifteen directors, upon election, shall proceed to elect five Standing Directors, who are in turn to elect one director to chair the Board of Directors and to represent the Society as its President. The President handles and supervises the affairs of the Society, the president also acts as the chairman at meetings of the Board of Directors and general assembly. He/she acts as its official representative for extramural activities. If otherwise engaged and unable to fulfill his/her responsibilities he/she must designate one of the standing members of the Board to act on his/her behalf. If he/she is unable to find a designee, one is chosen by the standing Board members themselves.

Section 20:

The responsibilities of the Board of supervisors are as follows:

To supervise the work of the Board of Directors
To examine and approve the annual accounting of income and expenditure
To elect or recall the standing board of supervisors
To decide on the resignation of individual supervisors or standing supervisors

Such other supervisory duties as necessary such as regulation, by law and resolution of the general assembly

Section 21:

The five Board of Supervisors elects one standing supervisor to oversee the Society’s official affairs and audit balance sheets, respectively, and also serves as the chairman.

Section 22:

These board and supervisor members shall hold office for a three-year term and may serve for another consecutive term upon reelection. The elected president shall hold office for a period of three years, and the period is renewable once and once only upon re-election. The tenure of the 3-year board of directors starts from the first meeting of the board of directors.

Section 23:

All board office bearers are voluntary and honorary in nature.

Section 24:

Any member of the Board of Directors or Supervisor should be dismissed immediately under the following circumstances:

If he loses his eligibility as a member
If he tenders resignation for reasons, and is accepted by the resolution of the Board of Directors or Supervisor
If he is recalled or dismissed
If he is penalized by having his rights as a member of the Society revoked during his term in office

Section 25:

The Society shall appoint a Secretary-General and several Administrative Officers. The Secretary-General shall be nominated by the Society’s President and approved by the Board of Directors and the relevant government authority must be informed when the post is filled, and when the term of office is terminated.

Section 26:

The Society shall assign several committees to meet organization needs; the organization bylaws of such committees shall be stipulated at other times. The number and committee members shall be appointed by the Board of Directors/Supervisors prior to employment. Unless otherwise arranged or appointed, such committees shall be chaired by a member of the Society’s Board of Directors/Supervisors.

Section 27:

The Society may establish honorary president, honorary board of directors and several advisors when deemed necessary.

Article V Meetings

Section 28:

The general assembly consists of either regular or ad interim meetings. The Society shall conduct the General Assembly at least once a year. Assembly ad interim may be arranged at any time when deemed necessary by the Board of Directors, or at the request of over one-fifth of the members, or when the board of supervisors makes a written request for such meetings.

Section 29:

When a member is unable to attend a general meeting in person, he or she may delegate another member in writing to represent him or her. Any member may act on behalf of only one person.

Section 30:

Resolutions at general meetings of the members may be passed only with the agreement of more than half the number of members present. However, resolutions involving the following matters may only be passed with the agreement of more than two-thirds of those present:

Changing or making new regulations
Dismissal of members (members' representatives)
Recalling members of the Board of Directors or Supervisors
Disposition of the Society's property
Dissolving the organization
Other important matters with a bearing on the rights and obligations of the members

Section 31:

The Board of Directors holds meetings every four months. The Board of Supervisors also holds a meeting every four months. Joint meetings or temporary meetings may be arranged at any time when deemed necessary. Resolutions at these meetings may be passed only with the agreement of more than half the number of members of the Board or Supervisors present.

Section 32:

Members of the Board of Directors and the Supervisor must attend meetings of the relevant bodies. Other individuals may not be delegated to attend the meetings on behalf of members of the Board of Directors or the Supervisor. Two consecutive absences without good reason may be considered as resignation from the Board of directors or Supervisors.

Article VI - Revenues

Section 33:

The revenues of the Society shall be derived from the following sources:

Admission fee in the amount of NT$1500 per individual member and NT$5.000 for institution members Admission fee in the amount of NT$1500 per individual member and NT$5.000 for institution members
Annual membership due in the amount of NT$1500 per individual member and institution members
Free donations by members
Government financial endowment, funds
Interests
Other sources

Section 34:

The Society's fiscal year is from January l to December 3l.

Section 35:

Two months before (after) the end of each year, the budget (final accounts) compiled by the Society must be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval, and then reported to the relevant authorities after being passed at a general assembly. However, the final accounts must first be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for examination, and the results of this examination must be reported at the general assembly.

Section 36:

In case of the Society’s dissolution, all properties shall be transferred to the government in compliance with related regulations. The Society’s properties shall be by no means distributed among individual members or transferred to any other institutions.

Article VIII - Supplementary Provisions

Section 37:: Upon matters related to the constitution being inadvertently incomplete or negligent, shall be amended according to the regulation.
Section 38:: Further detailed administrative rules and bylaws shall be stipulated by Board of directors.
Section 39:: Whereupon the Society’s Constitution had been passed by the General Assembly shall be ratified by the Ministry of the Interior prior to implementation. Any subsequent amendments are alike.