Article I: Name

An association is hereby constituted, named “The International Regulatory Peptide Society” according to the French law of July 1901 and the provisions of this constitution.

Article II: Aims

“The International Regulatory Peptide Society” is a non-profit making organisation with the following aims:

• to promote scientific meetings devoted to all aspects of basic and clinical research on regulatory peptides and related topics thus keeping up the great tradition of the International Symposia on Gut Hormones (see article X “The International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides”)
• to establish Viktor Mutt lectureship and award and eventually other awards
• to distribute scholarships and promote postgraduate education
• to establish contacts and links with other organisations and institutions sharing close goals
• to disseminate information about “The International Regulatory Peptide Society” activities
• to collect funds in order to fulfil its scientific and social purposes.

Article III: Headquarters

The headquarters of the association is housed in France at the workplace of the chairman of the Steering Committee (address: University of Rouen, n 76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan, France). This registered office may be transferred to another location by decision of the Steering Committee.

Article IV: Duration

The association is established for an unlimited period of time.

Article V: Membership

Membership of the association is open to any person holding a PhD and/or MD graduated having an interest in regulatory peptides and related scientific subjects. Members will pay a contribution, the amount of which is proposed by the Steering Committee and approved by the general assembly. Participants to the biennial scientific meeting, “The International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides” will pay their contribution through a registration fee to the symposium. Any member may withdraw from the association at any time. The membership terminates automatically in the case of non-payment of the contribution.

Article VI: Central Fund

There is a Central Fund composed of membership fees, grants provided by public institutions, sponsor companies and any other sources permitted by the law. The fund must be strictly used to fulfil the aims of the association as defined in article II “Aims”. No payment from the Central Fund shall be made to any member of the association except for the reimbursement of expenditure incurred on behalf of the Society and approved by the Steering Committee.

Article VII: Responsibilities of the Steering Committee

The governing body of the association is the Steering Committee. It is composed of 9-12 members approved by the general assembly. The Steering Committee has members of different nationalities and of different scientific fields to represent the international vocation of the association. Each member will serve a term of 6 years which may in exception be renewed for one additional period. In the event of an unexpected vacancy, the Steering Committee will nominate a substitute but this substitution will require ratification by the General Assembly. The Steering Committee elects a President (chairman) and a Treasurer. The President chairs meetings of the Steering Committee. He is responsible for writing minutes of Steering Committee and General Assembly meetings and any business report related to the activities of the association except financial reports. In the event of his absence, the President may nominate any Steering Committee member as his deputy, inheriting the same authority as he.

The Treasurer is entrusted with the funds of the association, their collection, their safe keeping, and disbursement according to decisions of the Steering Committee. The budget and annual accounts are prepared by the Treasurer. They are presented to the Steering Committee and to the General Assembly for approval according to the law of July 1st, 1901. The Treasurer has the authority to sign individual transactions according to rules defined by the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee writes guidelines concerning the biennial scientific meeting of the association (The International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides) and sub-committees of the association.

Article VIII: Steering Committee meetings

The Steering Committee meets at least once a year and is convened by the President. Agenda of the meetings and any proposal, nomination or document to be discussed is circulated by the president to members of the committee at least fifteen days beforehand through electronic mail. Decisions of the committee are valid only if at least 50% of the members are present or represented. A member of the committee may be represented by another member who may hold one written proxy. Decisions are made by simple majority of the members present or represented. In the event of an equally divided vote, the vote of the President is decisive. Persons who are not members of the Steering Committee may attend meetings of the committee by invitation but cannot vote. Minutes of meetings are written by the President and circulated to all members of the Steering Committee within a period of two weeks for approval using electronic mail.

Article IX: General Assembly

The General Assembly of the association is the highest body of the association. It consists of members of the association. It meets at least every two years and is convened by the President. The General Assembly makes decisions on the election of members to the Steering Committee, reports on activities of the association, the budget, the annual accounts, the venue for scientific meetings (The International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides), alteration of the statutes, co-operation with other associations and societies, dissolution of the association and any business which falls into the scope of the association. Votes of the General Assembly are valid only if at least 50% of the members are present. Decisions of the General Assembly are made by a simple majority of participants. Minutes of the General Assembly are written and signed by the President and the Treasurer of the association and are circulated to all members within fifteen days.

Article X: Dissolution

The association and it’s statutes may be dissolved at any time at a meeting of the General Assembly at which at least two-thirds of the members vote in favour of dissolution. Prior notification of the proposal for dissolution should be made to the Steering Committee at least 6 months beforehand. In the event of the dissolution of the association, the Steering Committee is responsible for the liquidation of the association. The remaining fund would be distributed for future use exclusively for the same goals as those defined in article II of the current statutes.

Article XI: Sub-committees/European Section

The Steering Committee may appoint sub-committees to undertake specific tasks designated by the Steering Committee. Sub-committees are subject to guidelines defined by the Steering Committee. A committee for the selection of the recipient of Viktor Mutt lectureship is appointed by the International Steering Committee. The Viktor Mutt lectureship has been established in recognition of the fundamental research of Viktor Mutt in the field of gastrointestinal peptide hormones and neuropeptides. It is awarded every two years at the time of the International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides. The Steering Committee forms a scientific advisory committee. Members of the Scientific Advisory Committee attend to (or watch over) the international influence of the association and pay special attention to the fact that the association covers all fields of regulatory peptide research. They actively contribute to establish connections with disseminate groups of scientific investigators or individuals working on regulatory peptides and related subjects and they assist the Steering Committee and organisers of the International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides in adequately establishing the scientific programme of the symposium.
The European section of the International Regulatory Peptide Society has the aims of the International Society in the European area.

Article XII: The International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides

The official scientific meeting of the association is “The International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides”. First held in 1976, the International Symposium on Gastrointestinal Hormones has expanded its scope in recognition of the role of gut peptides outside the digestive tract. In 1996, the meeting was renamed as the “International Symposium on Regulatory Peptides”. The organisation of this biennial scientific meeting is delegated to a member of the association at the venue selected by the General Assembly. This member forms and chairs a local organising committee subject to guidelines prepared by the Steering Committee. The local organising committee has the responsibility of symposium organisation in co-operation with the Steering Committee and sub-committees of the association.

Article XIII

For everything not explicitly covered by these articles, the law of July 1st 1901 and the usages on international associations shall remain applicable.