About the ICO:

Regulations of the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Ophthalmology

On this page:

• Article 1 - Purpose
  
  
• Article 2 - Members of the Board of Trustees
  
  
• Article 3 - Eligibility for Election to the Board of Trustees
  
  
• Article 4 - Signatory Power
  
  
• Article 5 - Meetings, Quorum and Passing of Resolutions
  
  
• Article 6 - Amendments and Additions

Article 1

Purpose
The purpose of the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Ophthalmology (hereinafter called the “Board”) is to promote the aim of the International Council of Oph­thalmology (hereinafter called the “Council”) by serving as the executive committee of the Council.

Article 2

Members of the Board of Trustees

Members of the Board 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:

            (I)        The President of the Board.

            (II)       The Vice-President of the Board.

            (III)      The Secretary-General of the Board.

            (IV)      The Treasurer of the Board.

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 as are approved by the Board, who shall serve for a four year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years.

(IV) The immediate Past President of the  Board.

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

(VI) The President of the previous World Ophthalmology Congress (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 two year term with a maximum of eight (8) consecutive years with a biennial performance review.

D. Honorary Life Members

Honorary life members proposed by the Board 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 Board to communicate to the Board 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 Board 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 Board of Trustees
No one shall be eligible for election to the Board unless he or she belongs to a society affiliated to the Council which honors its annual subscription, unless the reasons for the Society’s default are acceptable to the Board.

Article 4

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

Article 5

Meetings, Quorum and Passing of Resolutions

The Board 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 may cast a second vote if there is a tie.

Meetings of the Board may also be held by conference telephone, video-telephone or any other method of communication by means of which all participants in the meeting are able to hear one another.

Resolutions may also be passed by means of a written resolution (including by means of email) setting forth the action to be taken, if the resolution is:

 Such resolutions shall 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 Board by a majority of two thirds (2/3). Such amendments and additions shall have been distributed to the Board at least two (2) months in advance of the meeting at which they are to be considered.

Adopted June 26, 2008, Hong Kong

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 of the International Council of Ophthalmology