Constitution

The Committee shall elect a Chairman who shall serve for 4 years following the meeting of the Committee held in conjunction with each World Congress of Neurology.  He or she shall be eligible for re-election for one additional term.  Nominations for the position of Chairman seconded by another member of the Research Committee from another Research Group shall be submitted by the individual Research Groups to the Secretary-Treasurer General of the WFN in sufficient time for such nominations to be communicated to the Research Committee no later than six months prior to the meeting of the Research Committee at which the election of the Chairman will take place.  This election will be conducted by secret ballot at the appropriate meeting of the Research Committee and will be based upon a simple majority decision.

The Management Committee of the Research Committee shall consist of the Chairman of the Committee, the President and First Vice-President of the WFN, and the Secretary-Treasurer General of the WFN, who will also act as the Secretary of the Research Committee.

The Research Committee shall meet during each World Congress of Neurology and normally it will also meet at least once between successive Congresses prior to the meeting of the Council of Delegates of the WFN held in conjunction with that meeting of the Organising Committee of the World Congress which is held midway between successive Congresses.  The Chairman of the Research Committee shall present a report upon the work of the Committee at each meeting of the Council of Delegates of the WFN.  Minutes of the meetings of the Research Committee and, where appropriate, of its Management Committee, shall be published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences and, whenever appropriate, in World Neurology.

An extraordinary meeting of the Research Committee can be called if requested by not fewer than 5 members of the Committee, and at least two months’ notice of such a meeting shall be given.  The quorum for all meetings of the Committee shall be one-third of its total membership.  Any recommendations made when a quorum is not present must be confirmed at a later meeting with a quorum, or by postal vote.

Ordinary, voting members of the Research Committee as defined in Article 2 are the representatives (normally the chairman or secretary) of the individual Research Groups of the WFN appointed by those Groups to represent them on the Committee, in addition to the ex officio members.  Associate members of the Research Committee are the individual full members of the Research Groupsother than the ordinary or ex officio members as defined.  Associate members shall be entitled to receive newsletters and other information produced by the Research Committee but are not entitled to attend the meetings of the Committee unless nominated to do so in place of an ordinary member representing a Research Group who is unavoidably absent.

Membership in a Research Group should be open to individuals who have made demonstrable contributions, or have shown sincere interest, in the scientific/clinical area encompassed by the Research Group.  The criteria should be in the form of publications, presentations at scientific meetings, and membership in national or international subspecialty societies.  Applicants should apply for membership in a group by sending their curriculum vitae to the Secretary/Treasurer of the Group.  No group shall have an arbitrary fixed limit on total membership but must be open to all qualified applicants.  The application will be decided by the committee, or by the officers of the Research Group if deemed appropriate.  Applicants denied membership may appeal to a meeting of the entire Research Group or to the Research Committee.

A Research Group once duly constituted and approved by the Research Committee and by the Council of Delegates of the WFN is empowered to recruit its own members who, once accepted as members of the Group, then automatically become associate members of the Research Committee.  The founding members of a new Group shall, on formation, constitute its Executive Committee.

Each Group shall elect from its Executive Committee a Secretary Treasurer and, if it so wishes, a Chairman.  Alternatively, in the case of formation of a new Group, the President of the WFN may propose a Chairman and/or Secretary.  Where any Group considers it to be appropriate, more than one Chairman and/or Secretary may be elected from different defined geographical areas.  If so desired, the office of Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer may be combined.

The Executive Committee shall determine which of its offices (Chairman and/or Secretary/Treasurer) shall represent its interests on the Research Committee of the WFN.  Not more than four individuals from any single Research Group shall be so nominated.  When voting at the Research Committee, the officers representing each individual Research Group must decide who shall vote on behalf of their Group as each Research Group will have only one vote.

The officers of the Research Group shall be appointed for a four-year term of office.  All officers shall be eligible for re-election for one additional term of four years.  Only exceptionally should any officer serve more than two consecutive terms.

The election of officers shall be preceded by formal nomination; each nomination shall be submitted in writing by a member of the Research Group and each must be seconded by another member of the Group and accompanied by a note signifying the agreement of the nominated individual.  If only one nomination is received according to these rules for each office, then that individual shall be deemed to be elected; where there is more than one nomination for any office, an election can be held at a meeting or by postal ballot and the candidate obtaining a simple majority shall be elected.

Executive Committees of individual Research Groups may agree to appoint sub-committees which shall in turn be entitled to elect their own officers according to this electoral scheme.  Each Research Group shall be entitled to determine the size and constitution of its Executive Committee.

Nominations for membership of the Executive Committee must also be proposed and seconded by members of the Group and all members of the Group shall be entitled to vote.

Wherever possible, elections shall take place at formal meetings of the Research Group, but may be conducted by postal vote.

These guidelines shall not apply to corporate members of the Research Committee which each have their own statutes and/or rules of procedure.
The Secretary/Treasurer of the Research Group shall provide a complete list of names and addresses of members of his/her Research Group to the Chairman and Secretary of the Research Committee and to the President and Secretary-Treasurer General of the WFN annually, and shall notify these individuals annually or at such shorter intervals as shall be appropriate of any changes in membership (election of new members, resignations, etc.) or of changes of address or other relevant information of which he or she has been notified.  The Research Committee shall be responsible for promulgating and for revising from time to time as may be appropriate general guidelines governing the constitution of the Research Groups and issues such as the election of officers and the terms and conditions of membership of those Groups.

3. Corporate Membership

Organisations or institutions, international societies or federations concerned with research or other activities in the neurological sciences may be accepted as corporate members of the Research Committee and may, on the recommendation of the Management Committee, be invited to nominate a representative of that body upon the Research Committee.  When an international society or federation has developed as a consequence of the activities of a Research Group, it shall be for the Research Committee as a whole to determine, on the recommendation of its Management Committee, whether the relevant Research Group should continue its activities or whether it should be disbanded.  Representatives appointed to represent such international societies or federations upon the Research Committee shall have the full voting rights of ordinary members.

4. Honorary Membership

The Research Committee may confer Honorary Membership upon those who have made significant personal contributions to the development of the neurological sciences.  Nominations for Honorary Membership may be made by ordinary or ex officio members of the Committee and shall be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.  Honorary members shall be entitled to attend meetings of the Committee and to vote.

5. Research Groups – formation and disbandment

The procedures concerned with the formation of new Research Groups and with the disbandment of existing Groups are set out in the Bye Laws

The individual Research Groups are encouraged to raise funds to support their activities according to guidelines approved by the Research Committee.  Such funds may, according to the wishes of the individual Groups, be obtained by subscriptions from members of the Groups, or through grants from individuals, commercial companies, trusts or foundations.  The administration of such funds shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Research Group through the authority conferred upon him/her by the members of the Group or its Executive Committee.

The officers of the WFN and of the Research Committee shall not be held responsible for the management of any funds held by the Secretary/Treasurer of any of the individual Research Groups.

The Secretary-Treasurer General of the WFN shall invite the Secretary/Treasurer of each Research Group and each corporate member to make a financial contribution each year to support the central administrative costs of the Research Committee.

The individual Research groups shall also be entitled to apply to the WFN for financial support of meetings and symposia and/or for grants to cover other expenses, but the provision of general support for such activities can only be offered by the Management Committee in the light of resources available.  Wherever local legislation or currency exchange regulations do not permit any transfer of funds from individual Research Groups to the central funds of the WFN, such funds may be deposited in banking institutions in the country or countries in question and may be expended on the authority of the Management Committee for the support of Research Committee activities.

1. Formation of new Research Groups

Proposals relating to the formation of new Research Groups shall be made in writing either to the President of the WFN or to the Chairman and/or Secretary of the Research Committee who shall then consult the other members of the Management Committee concerning the proposal.

Proposals should normally indicate: (a) the name of the proposed new Group; (b) the reasons as to why the formation of the Group is being proposed; (c) the names and affiliations of the individuals who are suggested as members of the proposed Group; (d) whether National Neurological Societies or delegates have been consulted about the names of potential members of the Group; and (e) an outline of proposed activities of the Group.

The Management Committee shall consider the proposal and shall have the right to recommend whether formation of the Group shall proceed and to nominate, where appropriate, additional members of the Group, bearing in mind the nature and importance of the subject or topic proposed, the existence of other organisations which may have an interest in the field, and the importance of achieving a truly international membership.  The Management Committee shall have power, where appropriate, to defer making a recommendation about the formation of the Group proposed, pending consultation with National Societies and delegates and other interested parties.  When the formation of such a new Group is recommended by the Management Committee, this recommendation shall be ratified at the next meeting of the Research Committee and shall subsequently be reported to the Council of Delegates of the WFN.

2. Disbandment of new Research Groups

When it appears to the Management Committee that a Research Group is no longer effective or that its continuation is no longer in the best interests of the Research Committee and/or of the WFN, either due to falling membership or to non-compliance with these Statutes and By-Laws or to lack of activity, the Committee shall after notifying the Secretary/Treasurer of the Group, where necessary, consult National Societies or delegates and may recommend to the Research Committee that the Group be disbanded.  Such a recommendation requires confirmation at a meeting of the Research Committee; the decision of the Committee is final.

When an international society or federation has been formed arising out of the activity of a Research Group or independently in the same field of activity or scientific interest as a Research Group, the Management Committee may recommend to the Research Committee either that (a) the Research Group be disbanded through the procedure laid down above; or that (b) the Research Group remain in existence but that the Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer of the Group may be invited to discuss through the delegate appointed by the international society or federation to represent it on the Research Committee the best method of co-ordinating the activities of the Research Group with those of the international society or federation.