The Constitution
(including amendments ratified at the Annual General Meetings of 1981, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2010 and at the Extraordinary General Meeting of 2007).
The Rules
1. Membership
- Membership of the Society shall be open to all persons and organisations engaged in or actively interested in the study of Micropalaeontology.
- Membership may be terminated by resignation in writing to the Membership Secretary of the Society.
- Any member whose annual dues are more than one year in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned unless otherwise decided by the Main Committee of the Society.
2. Officers and Ordinary Members of the Main Committee
- The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society and its Main Committee and rule on all questions of procedure that may arise. The President may appoint ad-hoc committees at his/her discretion.
- The Secretary shall maintain the records of the Society and prepare minutes of its Main Committee, and call meetings of the Society and its Main Committee as provided for in the Rules. He/she shall be responsible for all the secretarial duties required by the activities of the Society.
- The Treasurer shall collect and disburse the funds of the Society and shall be responsible for its accounts. The accounts should be balanced at the end of each year and shall be audited by a member of the Society who is not a member of the Main Committee.
- The number of members serving at any time on the Main Committee shall not be limited. Additional members may be co-opted at the discretion of the Main Committee.
- All members of the Society are eligible for election as members of the Main Committee.
3. Terms of Office
- The mandate of Main Committee members officially commences at the end of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which they are elected.
- The President shall be elected to serve for three years and shall not normally be eligible for a second consecutive term of office.
- The Secretary, Treasurer, Journal Editor, Newsletter Editor, Special Publications Editor, Membership Secretary, Industrial Liaison Officer, Publicity Officer and Webmaster shall be elected initially for three-year terms of office but may be re-elected for a second term of office in those positions. After two consecutive terms of office, they shall only be eligible for re-election by a special resolution of the Society at the AGM.
- Other members of the Main Committee shall be elected for a two-year term of office and shall be eligible for a second term of office in that position. After two terms of office, they shall not normally be eligible for re-election as ordinary members of the Main Committee. They remain eligible for election as officers of the Society.
4. Nominations and Elections
- All nominations for election to the Main committee should be proposed and seconded by members of the Society. When any position is due to become vacant, nominations shall be made to the Secretary at least one month before the date of the AGM at which the election will be held. Nominations for any vacancy of representatives of the Specialist Groups shall be made through the Chair of that group to the Secretary at least one month before the AGM.
- If there is more than one candidate for a post, the Secretary shall issue a list of all candidates for election in the form of a postal and/or electronic ballot four weeks before the AGM. Postal ballot forms must be returned to the Secretary by post two days before the meeting (or be handed in before the start of the AGM). In the case of postal votes, the ballot papers should be placed in a sealed envelope and forwarded to the Secretary so that these votes can be opened at the AGM. In the case of electronic votes, the ballot papers should be mailed to the Secretary for receipt until midnight two days before the AGM. If there is only one candidate for a post, an election will occur at the AGM and be confirmed by a two-thirds majority of those members.
- The Main Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy occurring for any reason on the Main Committee for the unexpired part of the term of office. Members appointed shall be eligible for election to the Main Committee at the next AGM.
5. Meetings and Management Between Meetings
- The Society shall hold an AGM at which the business affairs of the Society shall be transacted. The AGM will be held at a time and place set by the Main Committee.
- An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to transact business of the Society may be called by the Main Committee at any time. Such a meeting may also be called if the President receives a request for such a meeting from any group of at least ten members.
- All members of the Society shall be informed of the time, place and agenda of any AGM or EGM not later than three weeks before it is to be held.
- Additional items may only be added to the Agenda of that meeting with the approval of those members present at the meeting.
- At meetings of the Society, each member present shall have one vote; in the event of a tie, the Chair of the Meeting shall have the casting vote on all matters relating to the work and activities of the Society.
- At meetings of the Main Committee, a simple majority of the committee’s membership shall constitute a quorum. At the AGM, 8% of the current membership of the Society shall constitute a quorum.
- The Main Committee may call specialized scientific meetings in addition to the General Assemblies at any time.
- The Main Committee shall be responsible for managing the business of the Society between the AGMs. The Main committee shall present to the AGM at the expiry of its term of office a general report on the activities of the Society.
6. Membership Fees
- The annual membership fees shall be determined at the AGM by the General Assembly. Any change in the rates of annual subscriptions shall be determined at the AGM by a majority vote of those members present at the meeting.
- The financial year of the Society shall normally coincide with the calendar year. Subscriptions to the Society shall be due on January 1st of each year.
- The society shall participate in the Direct Debiting scheme as an originator to collect subscriptions for any membership class and/or any other amounts due to the Society.
- Additional levies may be made from time to time by particular specialist groups to cover the costs of their particular activities.
7. Postal and/or Electronic Ballots
In the case of matters which must be decided by Postal and/or Electronic ballot (Paragraph 4 ii), the Secretary shall send ballot papers to all members of the Society. The closing date for the ballot will either be stated clearly on the ballot paper or will coincide with holding a general meeting of the Society.
8. Amendment of Rules
Amendments to the Rules of the Society may be proposed by the Main Committee or by individual members of the Society through the President. Amendments will be confirmed at a General Meeting following the receipt of a two-thirds majority during a Postal and/or Electronic ballot.
Committee Procedures
Meeting Frequency
TMS Committee meetings are usually held three times a year, in March, June and November. The November meeting precedes the TMS AGM. Meetings are usually held in the Natural History Museum, London, or online.
Meeting Purpose
These meetings are the main forum for running society business and developing new initiatives. All TMS members are welcome to propose topics for discussion at the Committee meetings, by contacting the secretary or another member of the committee.
Sponsorship Request
TMS specialist groups are entitled to request support for organising meetings and reasonable costs of such meetings, and budget plans are agreed upon during committee meetings. Information on applying for meeting sponsorship is available here.
TMS also sometimes sponsors relevant meetings or conference symposia organised by other bodies, usually on the basis that the sponsorship supports student attendance or expenses of a micropalaeontological guest speaker. We also request that the society is publicised at the meeting. Preference is given to requests by TMS members.
Committee expenses
In addition, TMS has a regular awards and honours scheme.
TMS committee members are entitled to recompensation for reasonable expenses necessarily incurred as part of their activities on behalf of the society. This includes travel costs for attending TMS committee meetings, stationery and postage costs (e.g. journal editor), and purchase of specialist software (e.g. website editor). Expense requests should be made to the treasurer using the appropriate expense form (obtained below) with receipts attached.
Code of Conduct
This Code of Conduct applies to all member and non-member engagement with and within TMS. Members of the Society and those engaging with the Society by submitting to or reviewing for The Journal of Micropalaeontology and the Special Publications, attending TMS-run events or engaging with the Society on social media, are expected to adhere to this Code. At Society events, the Code extends to speakers, volunteers, exhibitors and meeting facility staff.
