CONSTITUTION
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR AESTHETICS
Article I. Aims
To give institutional recognition, worldwide, to aesthetics as a field of humanistic knowledge, to encourage and promote inquiry in aesthetics, and to disseminate its findings.
To expedite exchange between national societies and regional societies of aesthetics; to promote the creation of national societies in countries where none are in existence; to provide a forum for aestheticians who are not members of any national society.
Aesthetics embraces all studies of the creation and appreciation of the arts, of the aesthetic values of art and nature, of industry and everyday life, and of the relations of those activities and values to economic, political, and social life and other modes of human culture.
Article II. Membership
The Association shall be made up of the following:
- Constituent Societies: every national and regional society of aesthetics that seeks admission to the Association and that, having been admitted, remains active and in good standing. Each constituent society is to furnish the Secretary-General a list of the names and mailing addresses of that society’s President and Secretary-General.
- Individual Members: individual aestheticians who seek admission to the Association, and who, having been admitted, remain in good standing.
Article III. Removal from Membership
An individual or society may, for reasons communicated to the party concerned, be suspended temporarily from membership or reinstated to active membership by a majority vote of the Executive Committee (EC).
An individual or society may, for reasons communicated to the party concerned, be removed from membership by a two-thirds vote of the EC.
Article IV. Board of Officers
The Board of Officers of the Association is formed by:
the President; the First and Second Vice-Presidents, the Secretary-General, and the Assistant Secretary-General.
The First Vice-President or, when unavailable, the Second Vice-President, shall deputize for the President when necessary.
A Treasurer will be appointed and voted upon by the EC members after the newly elected officers take over.
No country shall be represented by more than one officer at any one time.
The Officers serve a four-year term. Their term may be renewed once (4 + 4 years). After serving two consecutive terms, Officers may be re-elected following a mandatory four-year break.
Article V. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee (EC) shall be made of:
- Board of Officers
- Delegate members of national and regional societies, one from each constituent society, selected by that society
- Delegates at Large, two in number, elected by and representing individual members of the IAA
- Treasurer, whose responsibilities are to oversee the IAA WISE account and report to the EC at every EC meeting, the Vice-Treasurer who will assist the Treasurer when necessary or will act on their behalf
- Honorary Life Members, designated by the EC, are appointed upon the retirement of the individual from the office of President or as a form of recognition for other distinguished contributions. Honorary Life Members are exempt from the payment of dues.
All members of the EC shall be individual members of the Association who are recognized and established scholars in aesthetics. No country shall be represented by more than two members of the EC at any one time, excluding Delegates at Large and Honorary Life Members.
The EC must convene, either remotely or in person, at least three times per year. Regular meetings shall be called by the President, Vice-President, or Secretary General. Additional meetings may be requested by any member of the EC.
The EC :
- shall rule on all applications for admission of the new Constituent Societies to the Association.
- shall authorize conferences/congresses sponsored by IAA and appoint their scientific committees
- shall make policy decisions in the name of the Association.
Article VI. Elections
All procedures concerning the election of the Board of Officers and two Delegates at Large occur online. The Secretary General has the function of issuing an online call for applications at least six months before the expiry of EC members’ terms. The Secretary-General shall be charged with supervising these elections and is authorized to employ the Assistant Secretary General to assist in doing so.
Only one candidate from each country shall be permitted. In the event that there are multiple candidates from the same country, the EC will be responsible for selecting one.
The three candidates receiving the most votes on the Presidential slate shall be elected President, First Vice-President, and Second Vice-President, respectively. The two candidates receiving the most votes on the Secretary-General slate shall be elected Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General, respectively.
If there are multiple candidates to the role of Delegate at Large from the same country, the EC will be responsible for selecting one representative. However, delegates at large may share the same nationality as a member of the EC. The two candidates receiving the highest votes shall be elected.
Article VII. Unexpired Terms of Office
The EC shall appoint a suitable member to fill any office made vacant by resignation or death. If the unexpired term is longer than one year, that term shall be considered as a full term in meeting restrictions on consecutive terms.
Article VIII. Dues
The amount of the annual dues to be paid to the Association by the individual members is 10 EUR. The change of the amount shall be determined by the EC.
The Constituent Societies are asked to contribute an amount determined by the EC based on the number of their active members (1 EUR per person / up to 100 persons). If the constituent society has more than 100 members, its fee will be 100 EUR.
In special circumstances, the constituent society can be exempt from the payment of dues by the consent of the EC Officers.
Article IX. Scientific Events
IAA scientific events shall be organized periodically.
The Scientific Committee of such events should include the Secretary General, the President/Vice-President and three additional members from the EC.
Article X. Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed either by the Officers or by the EC members. They shall take effect when approved by the majority of the EC members participating in an online voting.
Article XI. Bylaws
The EC shall have the right to make and amend bylaws that implement this Constitution, consistent with the aims of the Association. These bylaws shall be communicated to the membership.