Constitution of AARR

1. DEFINITION

The word “Association” wherever mentioned means “ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR RADIATION RESEARCH (AARR).” AARR is a non-profit organization established on November 17, 2005 in Hiroshima by its first Founder President, the late Prof. Takeo Ohnishi, Nara Medical University, Japan.

2. HEAD OFFICE

The Head Office of AARR shall be in Japan, which, however, may be shifted to any other Asian Country decided by the Association. In any case, at a time, there shall be only one Head Office in the country of a Member Society.

3. JURISDICTION AND MEMBERS

The jurisdiction of the Association shall be all over Asia. The Member Societies also shall be from all over Asia.

4. TENURE OF FINANCIAL YEAR

The financial year of the Association shall be as per the Country of the Head Office of the Association.

5. OBJECTIVES
  1. To facilitate integration and interaction of radiation Societies/Professional Organizations in Asian Countries and for Asian identity of radiation research.
  2. To promote the diffusion of knowledge in these research areas through organizing congresses, meetings, conferences, workshops, awareness programs, scientific publications, etc., as decided by the Association.
  3. To promote discussion, interactions amongst scientists, the public, and industry and act as a liaison to communicate facts and research developments to the public, government, and regulatory bodies.
  4. To promote excellence in radiation research activities in Asian Countries by various means.
  5. Any other task/project as deemed necessary for the furtherance of the objectives of the Association.
6. MEMBERSHIP
  1. Any Society/Association/Professional Bodies (referred to as ‘Member Society’ hereafter) within the jurisdiction of the Association with aims and objectives related to radiation research shall submit an application for admission to the Association in the prescribed format/procedure as decided by the Association. After scrutiny of the application, the Council of the Association shall accept or reject the membership application. In case two or more Member Societies submit the application for Membership from the same country, the Council of the Association shall decide about the membership application after due discussion. Applications for membership from individuals who do not have a membership organization will also be considered by the Council to determine whether or not they are eligible for membership.
  2. Member Society shall pay the subscription charges according to the number of Councilors [maximum 10 (ten)] nominated by the Society in each calendar year.
  3. Member Society shall actively participate in activities of the Association and facilitate the promotion of the objectives of the Association.
  4. Member Society may withdraw from membership in written form and such communication shall be received from the Chairman/President or equivalent office bearer of the Member Society and put up in the Council for consideration and final decision.
  5. Suspension of membership shall be due to non-payment of the subscription for three consecutive years or any other reason decided by the Council of the Association.
7. ADMINISTRATION
  1. There shall be an Assembly constituted by Members of Member Societies participating in the Congress. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by a Council.
  2. The Officers of the Association shall be:
    • One President;
    • Three Vice-Presidents;
    • One Secretary General-Treasurer.
  3. The Council of the Association shall consist of the Officers of the Association, Councilors nominated by each Member Society, and four Councilors-at-Large, one each from Biology, Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry. The Immediate Past President shall be an ex officio Member of the Council.
  4. As and when required, the President in consultation with the Vice Presidents of the Association shall nominate/seek representative(s) without voting rights from Member Societies to keep representation of all Member Societies in the Council. As and when deemed appropriate, the President in consultation with the Vice Presidents shall nominate Honorary Academic Member(s) without voting rights in the Council.
8. ELECTION AND TENURE OF OFFICERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS

The tenure of the Council would be till the next election during the regular Congress, i.e., a term of 4 years. The maximum tenure for the President shall be one consecutive term and two consecutive terms for other Council Members. The election for the President, Vice Presidents, Secretary General-Treasurer, and Councilor-at-large shall be held in the meeting of the Councilors. Due process of proposing the name and seconding shall be followed and final decision either by consensus or, if needed, by voting of Councilors' meeting held during the Congress. In the case of voting, a decision of the Council shall be taken out of simple majority votes and in case of a tie, the President's vote shall be decisive. The quorum of the Council meeting shall be 6 (or at least one/tenth of the total number of Councilors) but the same can be reassembled after a gap of one hour to discuss the same agenda as previously circulated. At least one meeting of the Council shall be held every two years (physical or virtual or physical + virtual as deemed necessary). Minutes of the Council Meeting shall be circulated to Councilors for any suggestion or objection within 15 days.

9. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

The President shall be responsible for conducting the proceedings of the Council and the overall functioning of the Association. During the Congress, the President shall address the Assembly and seek suggestions for discussions and approval in the Council. In the absence of the President, the Vice President (in order of seniority) shall function as President. The Secretary General shall be responsible for maintaining the minutes of the meetings, keeping the bank balance sheet and audit statement of subscriptions. The President of the Council or any other nominated member of the Council as decided by the Council shall represent the Association to International Bodies or other Associations, such as IARR.

10. AARR AWARDS

AARR awards for Senior Scientists, Young Researchers, or any other Award decided by the Association shall be duly announced well before (say 3-6 months prior to the event) the regular 4-year term Congress. Award Committee(s) (3-7 members) presided by the President or his nominee (to be kept confidential) shall be constituted by the President from among the Councilors preferably consisting of the Awardees in previous years. The Secretary General-Treasurer shall receive applications/nominations and put them before the Award Committee for scrutiny and selection. Awardees must be communicated at least 4 weeks prior to the Congress.

11. BANK ACCOUNT

The bank account of the Association shall be at the Head Office of the Association. At any time, there shall be no more than one bank account of the Association. Other subsidiary bank accounts may be operated as per need and respective government laws to conduct the business of the Congress, Meeting, or Conference. Organizers may seek funds from the Association on a refundable basis. Organizers would submit a balance sheet of subsidiary account(s) to the Association within 90 days of the completion of the event. The subsidiary account shall be closed within a year with an intimation to AARR. Any surplus amount should be returned to the Association as per government laws prevailing in respective countries.

12. AMENDMENT

The Councilors shall make recommendations to alter, amend, or add to this Constitution by resolution passed at the Councilors' meeting by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting on the resolution duly brought forward before the Councilors.

13. DISSOLUTION

If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Association there remains, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Association but shall be given or transferred to some other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to those of the Association and which shall prohibit the distribution of its or their income and property amongst its or their members to an extent at least as great as is imposed on the Association under or by virtue of Clause 11 thereof, such institution or institutions to be determined by the members of the Association at or before the time of dissolution and if and so far as effect cannot be given to such provision then to some charitable object.

Additional Clause
  1. This constitution shall go into effect on Oct. 21, 2023.
  2. The President of the Association for the tenure year 2022-2026 shall be Satoshi Tashiro, M.D., Ph.D.
    The head office of the Association will be located at the following address from October 2022.
        Department of Cellular Biology,
        Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine,
        Hiroshima University
        1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City 734-8553, Japan