International Association for Ambulatory Surgery – I.A.A.S.

Central Office: c/o The British Association of Day Surgery

35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, LONDON WC2A 3PE, UK

International Non-profit Organisation

Registered office: Tichelrei 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

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Operating rules

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Original version: General Assembly, Geneva, Switzerland, April 22, 2001.

Revision: General Assembly, Seville, Spain, April 24, 2004

1.       Procedure for the admission of new members

Applications for membership should be addressed to the Central Office which will then forward them to the President. The President shall refer the application for evaluation to an Applications Committee of at least three persons designated by the Executive Committee.

The Applications Committee will report to the Executive Committee after receiving the advice, if necessary, of IAAS members from the same country as the candidate. If agreed, or if there is not an IAAS member from the candidates country, the Executive Committee will decide, on the recommendation of the Applications Committee and the President, to admit the candidates as a Full, Associate or Corresponding Member on a provisional basis, or to turn down the application

The final decision on membership will rest with the General Assembly (GA) at its next meeting.

IAAS subscription fees will be due as of the date of provisional acceptance by the Executive Committee.

                      2.                   Appointment of members of the Executive Committee

Vacancies arising will be stated in the agenda for the General Assembly meeting together with the names of Directors eligible and willing for re-election and an invitation for proposals for candidates willing to stand for election.

At the General Assembly meeting a list of candidates will be drawn up and communicated to all delegates.

Delegates will vote on a ranking basis for candidates.

Vacant Directorships will be filled in line with the ranking achieved in the vote.

3.       Management of finances

3.1.    Management of Bank Accounts:              

Opening any bank account for the IAAS requires a decision of the Executive Committee of the IAAS. Those authorised to sign for the account (bank transfers, cheques, credit cards) should be designated by the Executive Committee, as should the number of signatures (separate or joint). The Executive Committee can, of course, change the signatories when desired.

The signatories will be the President, Secretary and Treasurer: all cheques should be double-signed. The Association should retain one credit card in the name of the President and all financial transactions must be referred to the Treasurer for approval. The treasurer himself will be responsible to the IAAS Executive.

All original bank statements should be filed at Central Office.

3.2.    Accounting:

All original accounts for the year will be held by the Treasurer. Once he has presented the Annual accounts these should then be filed at the Central Office to facilitate proper accounting and control by the financial administration, without prejudicing the decision-making process chosen by the Executive Committee to decide on or approve expenditures.

The day-to-day accounts and the accounting are managed by the Treasurer as are the annual accounts of the Association. The treasurer conducts all the verification necessary for which he should have all necessary documents at his disposal (documents available at the Central Office). He will then present these accounts to the Executive Committee and the General Assembly.

The General Assembly will appoint two members to audit and verify the annual accounts and the management of IAAS finances.

3.3.    Payments to Directors, Auditors, General Assembly delegates

All Directors, Auditors, and General Assembly delegates are unsalaried. They may only claim reasonable expenses as previously agreed by the Executive Committee.

3.4.    Budgetary Management:

Meetings costs:

The budget for meetings is established considering the location (city) of the meetings, the number of participants, the travel costs actually incurred by the participants and the meeting costs. The following procedure applies:

1.      The Executive Committee takes into consideration the members’ proposals for the locations of the meetings of the Executive Committee and the General Assembly. Members who offer to host meetings of the IAAS will specify the possible technical and financial support, if any, that the participants may expect to receive.

2.      The members of the Executive Committee and of the General Assembly are asked to send to the Central Office, within an agreed time, their estimated travel expenses (travel estimate form), given the locations of the meetings. Failing this, they may not be able to claim reimbursement for expenses.

3.      The Treasurer will evaluate the general budgetary impact of the proposed meeting locations.

4.      The Executive Committee gives final approval to the locations of forthcoming meetings on the basis of budgetary evaluation.

5.      Participants should submit to the Treasurer a statement of travel expenses for which they require reimbursement within one month of the meeting.

6.      The Treasurer will verify without delay the conformity to budget estimates and will prepare the bank transfers. The Treasurer then send the signed transfer by E-mail or fax to the President or Secretary for a second signature. The latter then faxes the signed transfer immediately to the bank for payment. These expenses will be paid within one month of receipt by the IAAS Treasurer.

3.5.    Membership fee:

Membership fees (in Euro's or the equivalent amount in US$) will be determined by the General Assembly and are to be paid into the IAAS account by March 30^th  of the relevant year at the latest. Accounts for membership will be sent out by the 30^th December of the previous year with, if not already settled, a reminder 2 months later i.e. 28^th February.

Late payments without due cause may lead to a penalty addition of 10% to the fee or cancellation of an organisation’s membership

3.6.    Congress Organising Committee Contribution

The member appointed by the IAAS to organise the IAAS International Congress will raise a fee per delegate with the registration fee as determined by the IAAS Executive Committee / General Assembly. The Congress Organizing Committee will forward the fees to the IAAS Central Office for banking in the IAAS account within 3 months of the end of the Congress.

In addition the Organising Committee will support expenses for travel, accommodation, meals and meetings of the IAAS Executive Committee and General Assembly members as determined by the Executive Committee / General Assembly.

3.7.    Sponsor's contributions

Sponsor's contributions to IAAS will be paid into the IAAS account. The Central Office will provide proof of payment. Receipt of payment will be acknowledged by the Treasurer with a copy to the President and the Central Office.

4.       Management of administration and Filing

All administrative processes are to be centralised in the Central Office. The Central Office is to be informed within an appropriate timescale of processes effected by the President, the Treasurer, other officers and members of the Executive Committee.

The office services will be provided as required by the officers of the IAAS or by the administrative office staff.. The Office will hold the records of the Association and will forward all correspondence to the President for action. Mail addressed to individual IAAS officers will similarly be forwarded directly to them for action. The Secretary should prepare draft minutes of the IAAS Executive and General Assembly meetings and send these to the President. Thereafter these corrected minutes should be sent to all delegates by the Central Office.

At the end of their tenure of office the President and any other officers should pass all IAAS relevant files to the Central Office for central filing.

5.       IAAS International Congresses

The rules provide for:

- submission for applications and selection of the organising committee for future congresses,

- general methods of organising the congresses, and

- financial arrangements

are recorded in a document called the Bid Manual (1999) which is an integral part of the current Rules of the Association.