About the ICO/IFOS:

Regulations of the International Council of Ophthalmology

On this page:

• Article 1 - Purpose
  
  
• Article 2 - Members of the Council
  
  
• Article 3 - Eligibility for Election to the Council
  
  
• Article 4 - Signatory Power
  
  
• Article 5 - Amendments and Additions

Article 1

Purpose
The purpose of the International Council of Ophthalmology (hereinafter called the "Council") is to promote the aim of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (hereinafter called the "Federation") by serving as the executive committee of the Federation.

Article 2

Members of the Council
Members of the Council shall consist of voting members and nonvoting members.

Voting members are the officers, ex-officio members with vote and ordinary members. Nonvoting members are honorary life members and ex-officio members without vote.

A. The Officers:

B. Ex-officio Members with Vote:

(I) A member appointed by the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness. This member, who must be an ophthalmologist, president or vice-president of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness and also serve as a member from the International Organization Against Trachoma, shall serve for a four year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years.

(II) A member appointed by the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis, who shall serve for a four year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years.

(III) A member appointed by each of such supranational Ophthalmological Societies Pan-American, European, Asia-Pacific, Afro-Asian and Pan-Arab-African as are approved by the General Assembly, who shall serve for a four year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years.

(IV) The immediate Past President of the Council.

(V) The immediate Past Secretary-General of the Council.

(VI) The President of the previous World Ophthalmology Congress of Ophthalmology (hereinafter called the "Congress").

(VII) The Presidents of the two forthcoming Congresses.

(VIII) The Chairperson of the Foundations Committee.

(IX) The Chairperson of the Advisory Committee.

C. Ordinary Members including Program Directors.

Ordinary members, who shall serve for a four year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years with a biennial preformance review

D. Honorary Life Members

Honorary life members proposed by the Council and elected by the General Assembly, who shall serve without vote.

E. Ex-officio Members Without Vote

Ex-officio members without vote elected by the Council to communicate to the Council the work in progress, conclusions and recommendations of a committee or program, shall serve for a one year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years.

F. Number of Voting Members

The number of voting members of the Council may not exceed forty (40) and the number of ex-officio members with vote may not exceed fifteen (15).

Article 3

Eligibility for Election to the Council
No one shall be eligible for election to the Council unless he or she belongs to a society affiliated to the Federation and honoring its annual subscription, unless the reasons for the Society's default are acceptable to the Council.

Article 4

Signatory Power
The President of the Council, the Vice-President of the Council, the Secretary-General of the Council, the Treasurer of the Council, or any other member of the Council who is designated by the Council shall be authorized to act on behalf of the Federation. The Council may designate persons who are not members of the Council to act on behalf of the Federation. The Council shall determine the form and modality of the signature of the authorized person or persons.

Article 5

Quorum and Passing of Resolutions

The Council may pass resolutions when the majority of its voting members are present.

Votes are held by a show of hands or by written secret ballot and the majority of those present rules unless otherwise specified in the various Regulations.

The president may vote on all motions and has in all votes but on main (principal) motions the final ballot at tie (double vote).

Resolutions may also be passed by means of circulation (propositions submitted and approval given in any form of writing, e.g. by letter, telex, telefax or e-mail) unless a member of the Council requests discussion. Such resolutions require unanimous approval by all voting members of the Council. Such resolutions must be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting.

Article 6

Amendments and Additions
Amendments and additions to these Regulations shall be valid only if they have been accepted by the Council by a majority of two thirds (2/3). Such amendments and additions shall have been distributed to the Council at least two (2) months in advance of the meeting at which they are to be considered.

Adopted 5/10/05, Florence

Next: Regulations of the World Ophthalmology Congress

Also see:

• Part 1: Preamble to Article 7 of the Statutes
  
  
• Part 2: Article 8 to 17 of the Statutes
  
  
• Part 3: Articles 18 to 23 of the Statutes
  
  
• Regulations of the Awards