Special Interest Group on Pain in Childhood International Association for the Study of Pain®
Bylaws
Article I Name and Office
Section 1. Name. The name of the organization is Special Interest Group on Pain in Childhood, International Association for the Study of Pain (the “SIG”).
Section 2. Office. Usual communication with the SIG is through the office of the SIG President, as shown on the SIG website, www.childpain.org.
The official office of the SIG is at the Secretariat of the International Association for the Study of Pain, hereinafter referred to as “IASP”:
Article II Purpose
The purpose of the SIG is to complement the work of the IASP as stated in Article II (Purposes) and in Article IX (Special Interest Groups) of the Bylaws of the IASP.
Specifically, the SIG’s objectives are:
- To serve as an international and interdisciplinary forum for researchers, clinicians, and educators in the field of pediatric pain;
To promote education about pain in children for patients, their families, and healthcare providers; - To encourage pediatric pain research and training through international networks;
- To influence policy to promote children’s pain relief through public advocacy;
- To provide input and representation to IASP about pediatric pain in meetings, publications
and other communications.
Article III Organization and Status
The SIG operates as a special interest group under Article IX of the Bylaws of the IASP, which governs limitations, meetings, finances, and termination of all special interest groups.
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Article IV Membership and Voting Privileges
Section 1. Membership. Membership in the SIG is open to all members of the IASP who on an annual basis (a) indicate their interest in joining the SIG, and (b) pay the additional nominal fee charged by IASP for Membership in this SIG.
Section 2. Voting privileges. Members’ voting privileges include:
a) Electing the Council of the SIG;
b) Voting on any proposal which the Council specifically indicates will be voted on by the Membership. Unless otherwise indicated by the Council, all matters of the SIG will be decided by vote of the Council only.
Section 3. Termination of SIG Membership. Members can terminate their membership by a written request to the IASP office. SIG membership will be deemed to have lapsed after non-payment of dues for three months.
Article V Council
Section 1. Makeup and number. The affairs of the SIG shall be managed by its Council comprised of no less than 8 and no more than 11 members, each a Councilor, including the Officers and, in addition, a non-voting Council Member serving as liaison to IASP. The Officers make up the Executive Committee of the Council.
Section 2. Election. Call for candidates is open to members of the SIG. Candidates for Council shall be nominated by at least two members of the SIG, with the consent of the nominee. Council members will be elected via online elections to be called by Council and managed by the IASP secretariat as needed to fill Council positions.
In case an election is uncontested, or there are fewer candidates than vacancies, any position may be filled on the decision of Council without an election.
Section 3. Vacancy. Any vacancy or unfilled position on the Council shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment. The Nominations Committee will recommend an appointee who must be ratified by a majority of the Council members. On completion of such an appointment for an unexpired term, a candidate remains eligible for election to Council.
Section 4. Resignation and Forfeiture. Any Council Member may resign at any time by giving written notice to the President. Any Councilor may be removed from the Council for any reason by a recorded affirmative vote of 2/3 of the total number of Council members.
Section 3. Term of Office. Councilors shall hold office for 6 years and may not be re-elected to an immediately consecutive term but may be re-elected after an interval of at least four years off Council. Terms of office begin on January 1st following election and end on December 31st.
Article VI OFFICERS
Section 1. Officers. The Officers of the SIG shall be a President, President-Elect, Past-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Section 2. Election and Transition. The Secretary and the Treasurer are elected by Council from among members of Council.
Only present or past Councilors or Officers, excluding the Immediate Past President, may be nominated for the office of President-Elect.
Section 3. Term of Office. Each Officer shall hold the office for three years or until his/her successor shall have been duly elected and qualified. The Secretary and the Treasurer shall not hold the same position for more than two consecutive terms. The outgoing Treasurer will maintain the books of the SIG until an annual report is completed after the end of his/her term.
Upon completing a 3-year term as Officer, if the Member’s original term as Council Member is not yet expired, she or he shall return to the position of Council Member to complete that term.
Section 4. Removal. An Officer may be removed when:
a) An officer is not fulfilling the responsibilities of the office as prescribed in the Bylaws; and/or
b) An officer engages in conduct which the Council determines to be injurious to the organization or its purposes.
The Council, at a duly noticed meeting (online, telephone, or face-to-face), may by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote, take such action as it determines appropriate, which may include: (1) requesting the resignation of the officer; (2) making a formal recommendation that the officer be removed from office.
Section 5. Vacancy. A vacancy in any office may be filled through appointment by the President and ratified by the Council.
Section 6. Elected Officer Roles
A. President. The President shall preside at meetings of the Executive Committee, Council and members; be responsible for executing policies determined by the Council; and act as principal spokesperson for the SIG; report to the SIG, as required, on the activities and operation of the SIG. He/She shall be an ex-officio Member without vote of all committees except the Nomination Committee. The President, with the assistance of the Secretary and Treasurer, shall be responsible for complying with all reporting requirements of the SIG and of the IASP.
B. President-Elect. The President-Elect shall assist the President in his or her duties as the President shall request, and shall carry out the responsibilities of the President in his or her absence or disability. The President-Elect shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Council may prescribe by standing or special resolution, or as the President may provide, subject to the powers and supervision of the Council.
C. Immediate Past-President. The Immediate Past-President shall assist the President-Elect in his or her duties as the President shall request, and shall carry out the responsibilities of the President-Elect in his or her absence or disability. The Immediate Past-President shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Council may prescribe by standing or special resolution, or as the President may provide, subject to the powers and supervision of the Council.
D. Secretary. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings held by the members, the Council and the Executive Committee; see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws, and be custodian of the SIG’s records. The Secretary shall create or arrange for the creation of a newsletter for SIG members.
E. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall:
a) Assist the IASP Secretariat in maintaining financial and accounting records for the SIG;
b) Provide Council at least once a year with a budget for the subsequent year and a report on the current and past year’s financial transactions, assets, and liabilities;
c) Assist the President and Local Arrangements Chair in developing and approving any financial agreements for the ISPP and any other conferences organized or sponsored by the SIG;
d) Assess and approve any claims for payment or reimbursement to be paid on the SIG’s behalf by the IASP Secretariat.
Article VII IASP liaison
The IASP Liaison is appointed by IASP Council to advise and assist in coordination of activities and policies of the SIG with those of IASP. The IASP Liaison attends Council meetings as a non-voting member. The term of office of the IASP Liaison is established by IASP Council independently from the terms of office for other members of SIG Council.
Article VIII Committees
Section 1. Committees. There shall be such committees created by the Council as may be required to carry on the work of the SIG. The quorum for a committee meeting shall be a majority of its members. At least one (1) committee member must be a member of the Council. A majority of other Committee members must be members of the SIG.
Section 2. Appointment. The President, subject to the ratification of the Council, shall appoint the chairperson(s) of committees, and approve the membership of the committees. Wherever possible, committee chairs shall be Officers or Councilors.
Section 3. Term. The chairperson and members of special committees shall serve for one year, or until their assignments have been completed, whichever comes first.
Section 4. Standing Committees. The SIG will have the following committees, but may add other committees and task forces as needed: Executive, Membership, Nominations and Scientific Program. All committees shall report to Council on their activities and proposals. All committees’ actions are subject to approval by the Council.
A. Executive Committee. This committee shall consist of the President, President-elect, Immediate Past President, Secretary and Treasurer. The Committee shall have the power to execute the policies and directions of the Council and shall oversee the financial affairs of the SIG.
B. Membership Committee. This committee shall consist of two or more Council members and will develop policies and procedures regarding the membership and application process and international outreach.
C. Nominations Committee. This committee shall be chaired by the Immediate Past-President or another Councilor designated by Council. It shall comprise the chair plus two other Councilors. The duties of the committee are as follows:
1. Based on current needs of the SIG as identified by Council, to issue a call for nominations of SIG members who have interest and experience relevant to those needs.
2. Following receipt of nominations, to create one or more slates of candidates for election to Council.
3. To announce elections to SIG members with at least 60 days notice. (See IASP Bylaws, Elections, section IX.2.)
4. To work with the IASP Secretariat to implement the election, to receive its results, and to announce them to Council for dissemination to members.
5. To communicate with candidates who are nominated but not elected to Council to encourage their continued engagement with the SIG as volunteers and potential committee members.
D. Scientific Program Committee of the International Symposium on Pediatric Pain. The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) plans, directs and supervises the scientific program presented at the International Symposium on Pediatric Pain (ISPP).
1. The SPC comprises the following members:
a) A Council member designated as the continuing Council representative for meetings, who will work with Council members to identify a Chair;
b) The SIG President (ex officio; participates in all proceedings but without vote);
c) The SPC Chair, appointed by SIG Council. The Chair should have served on the SPC for one of the two most recent ISPP. The Chair in consensus with the above two members, nominates six to eight additional SIG members to serve on the SPC, including:
i. At least two other SIG members who were on a previous SPC within the last five years;
ii. Representatives of diverse disciplines, geographical regions, research and clinical interests, and career stages; and with gender balance.
2. The complete committee, as nominated by the SPC Chair, will be reviewed and approved by 2/3 majority vote of Council two to three years before each ISPP. Changes in the membership of the SPC will be submitted by the SPC Chair for approval by Council.
3. The SIG council may choose to permit the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the ISPP to organize its own Education Day or other educational functions, responding to local and regional needs, on separate days before or after the ISPP. If the SIG Council decides to organize its own Education Day or other educational functions, then the SPC will oversee that accordingly.
4. If the SIG plans other meetings in addition to ISPP (e.g., satellite meetings with World Congress on Pain), similar SPCs will be organized following the principles and procedures above.
Article IX Meetings
Section 1. General Meetings. A General Meeting of the SIG shall be held in conjunction with each ISPP and each IASP World Congress. General Meetings are open to anyone attending ISPP or IASP World Congress, but only members of the SIG may vote.
Section 2. Notice of General Meetings. Notice of General Meetings shall be delivered to SIG members in accordance with IASP Bylaws, Article XIV, Electronic Transmissions, no less than 60 days before the meeting.
Section 3. Quorum/Voting. The quorum for voting on any decision at a General Meeting is one-tenth (1/10th) of SIG members or 25 members, whichever is smaller, represented in person or by proxy.
An affirmative vote is the simple majority of the quorum unless otherwise stated in the bylaws.
Section 4. Council Meetings. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held in conjunction with each ISPP and IASP World Congress, not at the same time as the General Meeting. The President or any 2 Council members can call special meetings of the Council which will normally be conducted online or by teleconference.
Notice of a time and place for any meeting of the Council shall be delivered by e-mail to each Member of Council at least 30 days prior to the meeting.
A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Council, whether online or face-to-face. Unless otherwise specified, a simple majority vote of the Council members present shall determine the outcome of issues brought before the Council.
Section 5. Action without Meeting. Any action of the Council may be taken without a meeting if the majority of members of the Council individually consent to this action. The President shall determine the method of voting on the action and be responsible to provide written results of the action to the Secretary. Results of consent and the action shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Council.
Article X General
Section 1 Compensation. Council members shall not receive any reimbursement by the SIG of expenses related to travel, accommodation or other expenses to attend any meeting unless it is required outside the schedule of ISPP or IASP World Congress and approved by a 2/3 majority of the total number of Council members.
Section2 . Contracts. Special Interest Groups may not enter into a contract or agreement binding IASP. However, the SIG Council may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents of the SIG, to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the SIG and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances. Such contracts are limited by IASP bylaws and decisions of IASP Council.
Section 3 . Conflict of Interest. Each Member of SIG Council shall be responsible for identifying and stating any conflicts of interest when pertinent issues are discussed and voted on by the Council. The conflict of interest shall be noted in Council’s minutes and if a vote on the matter is taken the results will note the outcome and that the Member with a conflict has not cast a vote. “Conflict of Interest” shall be defined as a Member who has an interest (personal, fiscal or academic) in the outcome of a Council action.
Section 4. Indemnification. The Council members shall be indemnified and held harmless to the extent and in the manner permitted by IASP.
Article XI Financial Administration
IASP exercises control over the financial administration of its Special Interest Groups: see Article XI of the IASP Bylaws. Official financial records of the SIG are kept by the IASP Secretariat, based on information provided by the SIG Treasurer and President.
All payments issued by the IASP Secretariat in the name of the SIG will require prior approval by the Treasurer and the President.
The fiscal year of the SIG shall begin on the first day of January and end on the last day of December. (See IASP Bylaws, Article XI).
Article XII Dissolution
Upon dissolution or final liquidation of the SIG, any remaining assets shall be, after payment or the making of provision for payment of all the lawful debts and liabilities of the SIG, returned to general funds of the IASP.
ARTICLE XIII Amendment to Bylaws
These Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed and new Bylaws may be adopted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members of Council. Such changes are subject to ratification by members of the SIG at the next General Meeting, and approval by the IASP Secretariat.
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