CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN ASIA SOCIETY FOR TRANSPORTATION STUDIES (EASTS) 1)2)3)4)5)
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
Section 1.1 Name of The Organization – The name of the organization shall be Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, acronymed EASTS, and hereinafter referred to as the Society.
Section 1.2 Geographical Scope of the Society – Its scope covers the areas of Eastern Asia, including Oceanic regions.
Section 1.3 Headquarters – The Society shall maintain a headquarter office in Tokyo, Japan.
Section 1.4 Objectives – The objectives of the Society are to foster and support excellence in transportation research and practice and to stimulate professional exchange in all aspects and modes of transportation.
Section 1.5 Activities – The primary activity of the Society is to organize, generally once every two years, a Conference on Transportation Studies, gathering researchers and practitioners who have interests in the areas defined in section 1.2. Aside from the Conference, in order to achieve the objectives mentioned in Section 1.4, the following activities shall be undertaken:
(a) Promotion of International Research Activities
(b) Publication of Journal and Proceedings
(c) Conduct of symposia, seminars and workshops.
(d) Exchange of knowledge and information
(e) Promote excellence in the practice of transportation profession through recognition of outstanding achievements and accomplishments
(f) Pursuit of other activities to attain the objectives of the society.
ARTICLE II
Membership
Section 2.1 Classification of Membership – As defined in Sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5, membership in the Society has four classes, as follows:
a) Member Domestic Societies;
b) Representative Members;
c) Regular Members; and
d) Student Members.
Section 2.2 Member Domestic Societies – Member Domestic Societies are defined as country/regional societies operating within and those with special interest in the areas defined in Section 1.2, who are prepared to pay appropriate annual dues. Application for membership shall be submitted by the interested domestic society to the EASTS Board of Directors for approval.
Section 2.3 Representative Members – Representative Members, who must be regular members of the Society, shall be the president and/or the duly authorized representative of the member domestic societies. The number of Representative Members for a domestic society shall be based upon its category as defined in Section 8.2. The Representative Members shall have the same rights and duties of Regular Members as enumerated in Section 2.4 plus the following:
(a) To elect the Directors-at-large;
(b) To ratify proposed amendments to the Constitution; and
(c) To vote on all matters normally reserved for the general membership to decide on.
Section 2.4 Regular members – Regular Members are those selected by their respective domestic society as recognized experts in transportation with sufficient experience in the profession. In the event that there is no existing domestic society, admission as a regular member is through the recommendation of at least two regular members of the Society and approval of the Board of Directors and the payment of Individual Annual Due shown in Attachment I. All Regular Members shall have the following rights and privileges:
(a) To participate in all deliberations/meetings of the Society;
(b) To be eligible to hold elected positions in the society;
(c) To have access to all of the facilities of the Society;
(d) To examine all the records or books of the Society during business hours.
Section 2.5 Student Members – Student Members are those verified as students belonging to universities or other educational institutions and selected by their respective domestic society as prospective Regular Members. All Students Members shall have the following rights and privileges:
(a) To participate in all deliberations/meetings of the Society;
(b) To have access to all of the facilities of the Society; and
(c) To examine all the records or books of the Society during business hours.
(d) To be eligible for students discount on fee for activities of Society.
Section 2.6 Separations from membership, disciplinary proceedings – All Regular and Student Members of the Society may
(a) Tender resignation.
(b) Be subject to disciplinary proceedings, following notice and an opportunity to be heard, in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE III
Organization
Section 3.1 The Organs of the Society – The organs shall include the Board of Directors, an International Scientific Committee, a Conference Committee and a Secretariat. The highest level of decision-making organization of the Society shall be the Board of Directors (hereafter referred to as the Board), under which the International Scientific and the Conference Committee shall be formed for the purpose of organizing conferences.
Section 3.2 Officers of the Society – The Society shall be headed by a President and two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary-General and a Treasurer who shall be members of the Board.
Section 3.3 Election of Officers and Term of Office – A President is elected from among Board Members at a meeting of the Board. The elected President shall recommend two Vice-Presidents from the Board Members, and a Secretary-General and a Treasurer among Representative Members or Regular Members for approval by the Board. The elected officers shall hold office for a period of four (4) years, or until such time as their duly elected successors have qualified.
Section 3.4 Other Officers and Agents – The Board may appoint such other officers and agents as it shall deem necessary, and who shall hold office for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined by the Board.
ARTICLE IV
Duties of the Officers
Section 4.1 Duties of the President – The President shall preside at all meetings of the members and of the Board. The President shall exercise such powers and performs such duties incident to his/her office and such other duties as may from time to time delegated to him/her by the Board. Among other, the President shall:
(a) Preside at all meetings of the members and of the Board;
(b) Represent the society in all activities to which it is a party or participant; and
(c) Organize and supervise work groups among the members of the society.
Section 4.2 Duties of the Vice-Presidents – The First Vice-President shall, in the absence or inability of the President, perform the duties of the President and such other duties as the Board may from time to time prescribe. The Second Vice-President shall perform the duties of a Conference Director, and shall chair the Conference Committee.
Section 4.3 Duties of the Secretary-General – The Secretary-General organizes and heads the Secretariat which is the main arm of the Society in the implementation of its plans and programs. Specifically, the Secretary-General shall:
(a) Promote research activities and public relations of the Society;
(b) Manage membership concerns;
(c) Keep all corporate records of the Society;
(d) Deliver all notices in accordance with the resolutions of the Board; and
(e) Perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board.
Section 4.4 Duties of the Treasurer – The Treasurer shall:
(a) Have charge and custody of and be responsible for the funds of the Society;
(b) Disburse the funds of the Society for specific purpose authorized by a resolution of the Board;
(c) Take charge and have custody of petty cash funds as may be fixed by the Board;
(d) Be responsible for keeping the financial records of the Society and the liquidation of any and all accounts, liabilities and obligations owing on dues from the Society;
(e) Monitor all delinquencies and send notices on overdue Society’s dues and/or demand letters; and
(f) In general, perform all the duties incident to the office of the Treasurer and such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board.
ARTICLE V
Board of Directors
Section 5.1 General Powers – The Board of Directors shall have general supervision and control of the business and affairs of the society.
Section 5.2 Board Member – The Board shall be composed of one representative from each member domestic society(ies); three to five Directors-at-large elected by Representative Members; Officers of the society as defined in Section 3.2 and Chair of the International Scientific Committee as constituted in Section 6.2. The Directors-at-large shall hold office for a period of four (4) years, coinciding with the term of office of the officers of the Society, or until such time as their duly elected successors have qualified. Should any Director-at-large fail to complete his/her term by at least one year due to resignation or any unavoidable circumstances, the Board shall elect from among the Representative Members his/her replacement to serve the unexpired portion of his/her term. Former presidents of the Society shall sit in the Board as Advisers and ex-officio members without the right of vote.
Section 5.3 Vacancies – Any vacancy of officer(s) occurring in the Board by resignation, removal, death or incapacity, shall be filled in the same way described in Section 3.3, at any regular meeting of the Board, as long as a quorum exists at that meeting. The officer(s) so elected shall serve the unexpired terms of the director(s) replaced.
Section 5.4 Regular Board Meeting – The regular meeting of the Board shall be held every year. One will be held during the regular biannual Conference, and the other will be held in Tokyo during the year when there is no regular Conference, or at such other times and places as the Board may determine.
Section 5.5 Special Board Meeting – A special meeting of the Board shall be held whenever called by the President or on written call of a majority of the Directors.
Section 5.6 Quorum – A majority of all the Directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board..
ARTICLE VI
International Scientific Committee
Section 6.1 Role – An International Scientific Committee (hereinafter referred to as “ISC”) is hereby created for the purpose of assisting the Directorate of the Conference, and ensuring a high level of scientific quality of the Conference, among others, with the call for papers, invited papers, the selection of contributions to be presented and contributions to be published, and the recommendation of the candidates for awards and recognition.
Section 6.2 Members – The ISC shall be composed of a chair who shall be appointed by the Board as recommended by the President and members chosen by the ISC chair..
Section 6.3 Duties of the Chair – The Chair of the ISC shall manage the whole organization of the Conference in terms of its scientific aspects such as :
(a) Coordinating session organizers of the Conference;
(b) Reporting to the Board the program of its activities.
Section 6.4 Session Organizer – Each member of the ISC must organize a Session of the Conference for the purpose of encouraging the development of transportation research and excellence in professional practice, seeking solutions to important problems of Eastern Asia interest, and aiding in the dissemination of scientific information.
Section 6.5 Regular Committee Meetings – The ISC shall meet once every two years during the regular Conference or at such other times and places as the Chair may determine.
Section 6.6 Special Committee Meetings – A special meeting of the ISC shall be held whenever called by the Chair or on written call of a majority of the members of the ISC.
ARTICLE VII
Conference Committee
Section 7.1 Role of the Conference Committee – The Conference Committee is constituted by the Board for the purpose of providing overall directions and guidance, and deciding on the general program structure of the regular Conference in cooperation with the ISC.
Section 7.2 Organization – The host domestic society of the Conference shall organize the Conference Committee headed by the Conference Director who is appointed as the Second Vice-President at the same time.
Section 7.3 Duties of the Conference Director – The Conference Director shall chair the Conference Committee, and take all the responsibilities related to the Conference.
ARTICLE VIII
Funds of the Society
Section 8.1 Funds – The funds of the Society shall be derived from the annual dues collected from the domestic societies, gifts, donations or endowments from public or private institutions.
Section 8.2 Category of Member Domestic Society and Number of Representative Members– The contribution to the Society is generally related to the number of Regular Members of each domestic society. The table below gives useful information of the category to which a Member Domestic Society belongs and of number of Representative Members of each category:
| Category | No. of Representative Members |
No. of Regular Members |
| 1 | 1 | less than 25 |
| 2 | 2 | 25 to 74 |
| 3 | 3 | 75 to 124 |
| 4 | 4 | 125 to 174 |
| 5 | 6 | more than 174 |
Section 8.3 Dues – Domestic Societies shall pay the annual dues shown in Attachment II of this constitution immediately upon notification of their acceptance.
Section 8.4 Increases in the Annual Dues – The annual dues provided in this Constitution may be increased by the Board. In no case shall any such increases be made more often than once every two years.
Section 8.5 Disbursements – Withdrawal from the funds of the Society, whether by check or any other instrument, shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the President. If necessary, the Board may designate other signatories.
Section 8.6 Fiscal Year – The fiscal year of the Society shall be from 1st of January to 31st of December of each year.
ARTICLE IX
Meetings of Representative Members
Section 9.1 Regular and Special Meetings – The Representative Members shall meet regularly once every four years for the main purpose of electing the new Directors-at-large. Regular meetings shall preferably be held to coincide with an EASTS Conference. A special meeting may be held whenever call by the President or on written call of a majority of the Directors.
Section 9.2 Quorum and Proxies – A majority of all Representative Members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Representative Members. Any Representative Member may be designated as a proxy of absent Representative Members. Such designation must be made in writing by the Representative Members concerned or by the President of the Domestic Society to which the absent Representative Members belong. Proxies shall be counted for purposes of determining quorum.
ARTICLE X
Official Language
The official language of the Society shall be English. Other languages may be used provided that the Regular Member brings his/her translator at his/her own expense.
ARTICLE XI
Amendments
This constitution, or any provision thereof, may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of the Directors at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors duly held for the purpose, subject to ratification by a majority vote of all Representative Members at a regular or special meeting held for the purpose.
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ATTACHMENT
Attachment I
Individual Annual Due mentioned in section 2.4 is US$20.
Attachment II
Annual Dues:
| Category | Annual Dues |
| 1 | US$ 100 |
| 2 | US$ 500 |
| 3 | US$ 1,000 |
| 4 | US$ 2,500 |
| 5 | US$ 5,000 |
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1) The constitution was amended by the board of directors at its meeting on 16 September 1999 in Taipei
2) The constitution was amended by the Representative Member Meeting on 21 September 2005 in Bangkok
3) The constitution was amended by the Representative Member Meeting on 23 September 2007 in Dalian
4) The constitution was amended by the Representative Member Meeting on 20 June 2011 in Jeju
5) The constitution was amended by the Representative Member Meeting on 8 September 2013 in Taipei