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CONSTITUTION

THE BIOETHICS SOCIETY OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN(BSEC)

 Article 1: NAME

 The name of the Society shall be “The Bioethics Society of the English-Speaking Caribbean” (hereafter referred to as the “Society”)

Article 2: MISSION

 The Mission of the Society is to increase knowledge and understanding through promoting and fostering deliberations about bioethical issues across the English-speaking Caribbean, thereby making a significant contribution to the overall development and implementation of bioethics in human and animal healthcare, research and policy-making.

 Article 3: OBJECTIVES

 1. The objectives of the Society are:

  • to provide a forum for all interested professionals to exchange ideas and address problems in bioethics;

  • to promote the teaching of bioethics at all levels of undergraduate, post-graduate, and continuing education;
  • to promote research and publication thereof, and provide ethics-based information for practicing professionals and the general public;
  • to promote the harmonization of law and bioethics, and the development of institutional mechanisms for addressing ethical issues arising in all aspects of health, research and policy-making .
  • The structure of the Society and its activities shall reflect the theoretical, clinical, and policy approaches existing in the study and discussion of bioethics (including health care ethics, research ethics, professional ethics, and ethics in health policy)
  • The business of the Society shall be conducted without the purpose of financial gain for its members; any profit accruing to the Society shall be used in promoting its objectives.

Article 4: MEMBERSHIP

  • The Society is primarily for persons from any Caribbean or neighbouring country or territory who have or intend to have a significant involvement in the discussion, teaching, research, or clinical aspects of bioethics in the English-speaking Caribbean. The categories of membership shall be:
      • Regular membership which shall be available to any person who is a registered member of a health-care profession or possesses formal qualifications in fields related to ethics, law, religious studies, science, social science, or other interested professional person.
      • Life membership which shall be conferred on a person who meets the qualifications for regular membership and makes a single contribution to the Society in an amount determined from time to time by the Executive Committee.
      • Honorarymembership whichmay be conferred on a person, forextraordinary and meritorious service rendered to the Society over a period of years, or for outstanding accomplishment in an area of bioethics, on the basis of a recommendation by the Steering Committee / Executive Committee which is confirmed by at least two-thirds majority of the members present and voting at the launch of the Society, and subsequently at an Annual Business Meeting of the Society.Honorary members shall be voting members of the Society.
      • Contributing membership which shall be available to any person who meets the qualifications for regular membership, and who is
        • a student regularly enrolled in a recognized tertiary level institution, an active volunteer with the Society, a senior citizen (65 years or older), or an inmate in a penal institution;
        • unable to afford the dues payable by regular members
          Contributing membership shall not entitle the member to vote.
      • Benefactor : A benefactor of the Society is any person who meets the qualifications for regular membership and who contributes an amount in excess (at least twice) of the subscription payable by regular members.
      • Corporate membership which shall be available to any corporation or organization that meets, through its mission and activities, the qualifications for regular membership. Two persons who qualify in their own right for regular membership of the Society shall represent the interests of their corporation / organisation, however such persons shall not be entitled to vote.
  1. Application for membership (except Honorary membership) shall be made using the form provided for that purpose and shall be subject to approval by the Executive Committee. Where deemed necessary, written recommendations for membership from two existing members of the Society may be requested.
  2. Individual members of the Society in good financial standing may submit to the Executive Committee the names of persons whom they deem eligible for consideration for Honorary membershi p.
  3. A member may at any time resign as a member of the Society; such resignation shall be in writing and addressed to the Executive Committee.
  4. A member who fails to pay the annual subscription to the Society for two consecutive years or more may have his/her membership revoked by the Executive Committee
  5. The Executive Committee may, by an affirmative vote of not less than 75% percent, remove from the membership of the Society any member whose personal or professional conduct is such as to bring the Society into disrepute.

 

Article 5: PATRON

A person may be appointed Patron of the Society on the recommendation of the Steering Committee / Executive Committee which is confirmed by at least two-thirds majority of the members present and voting at the launch of the Society, and subsequently at an Annual Business Meeting of the Society. ThePatron shall be an ambassador for the Society; shall actively support the mission and objectives of the Society through his/her own professional activities; shall pay no subscription; and shall be a non-voting member of the Society.

Article 6: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

  1.   The Society shall be managed efficiently, democratically and transparently by an Executive Committee, comprising up to 13 persons, which shall be responsible to the general membership.
  2. The Executive Committee shall derive its authority from the Constitution of the Society, and shall becharged with conducting the day-to-day business of the Society. Decisions made and other actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the Society’s members at the next Annual Business Meeting of the Society. All members of the Executive Committee shall beregular members of the Society.
  3. The Executive Committee shall consist of :
    • President
    • Vice President
    • Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Web Site Coordinator
    • Up to 5 Regular Members (to represent the five regional groupings in the Caribbean indicated below, where these groupings are not represented by persons holding the positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer, or where it is deemed that an additional person is required to provide adequate representation).
    • Immediate Past-President

The regional grouping shall be geographical as follows:

North: Bermuda, The Bahamas, The British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands, The US Virgin Islands

West: Belize , Jamaica, The Cayman Islands

North-East: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis

South-East: Dominica , St. Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Barbados

South: Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana

  1. Members of the Executive Committee shall be elected at the Annual Business Meeting of the Society. Election to positions on the Executive Committee shall require a majority of the votes of the total number of members in good financial standing present and voting, and members in good financial standing who submitted mail-ballot votes or votes submitted by electronic means, where the latter practice is in accordance with the Society’s policies governing mail-ballot and electronic voting (to be developed)
  2. Nominations for positions of the Executive Committee shall be by electronic / mail ballot. The consent of the person who is nominated must first be obtained. Each nomination shall contain the name of the member being nominated, the name of the person proposing the nomination and the name of the person seconding the nomination. The nomination should be sent to the Secretary, Executive Committee at least one month before the meeting at which the election is to take place.
  3. All members of the Executive Committee (except the Web site coordinator) shall hold office for two years, and be eligible for reelection. The President and the Treasurer shall not hold office for more than two consecutive terms; other members of the Executive Committee (except the Web Site Coordinator) shall not hold the same office for more than three consecutive terms.
  4. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to co-opt on to the Executive up to three members of the Society, at any one time, to provide specialized support e.g. to a specific project endorsed by the Society. The term of office will be agreed with the Executive Committee.
  5. The Executive Committee may, by a majority vote, remove from office any member of the Executive Committee who in their opinion is not performing satisfactorily.
  6. Auditors of the Financial Accounts of the Society shall be appointed annually at the Annual Business meeting of the Society.

 

 Article 7: MEETINGS

  1.  The Society shall hold such meetings as are deemed necessary,at suchtimes and places to be determined by the Executive Committee. Preferably, the Executive Committee shall rotate the meeting site across the English-speaking Caribbean.
  2. Notification of any meeting of the Society shall be sent in writing or by electronic notification (where applicable) to all members of the Society at least one (1) month in advance.
  3. Annually, a Business Meeting (ABM) and a Bioethics Forum shall be held.
  4. The ABM shall be the ratifying and policy-making body of the Society.
  5. The Bioethics Forum shall provide the opportunity for the presentation of work related to the field of bioethics, the exchange of ideas, and the discussion of bioethical issues germane to the English-speaking Caribbean.
  6. An Extraordinary Business Meeting (EBM) may be called by two-thirds majority of the voting members of the Society who are in good financial standing.
  7. Decisions at meetings shall be by majority vote, except where otherwise provided in this Constitution, and each member who is entitled to vote shall have one vote. However in the event of a tie, the President shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote.
  8. The Society shall maintain an interactive website www.bioethicscaribe.org.jm through which it may transact its business.
  9. The Society shall seek to publish a Newsletter at least annually, which may include articles presented at the Bioethics Forum.
  10. In furtherance of paragraph 2 ofArticle 3, members of the Society may engage in active communication about bioethical issues through email or online-discussions throughout the year.

Article 8: QUORUM FOR MEETINGS

  1.  The quorum for Executive Committee meeting shall be one-third of the membership, but should include the President (or Vice-President) and two voting members.
  2. The quorum for the Annual Business Meeting shall be met when the number of Regular, Benefactor or Honorary members participating exceeds the number of Executive Committee members (including the President, or Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) by at least fifty percent. In the event of absence of the Executive Secretary, a person may be nominated from the voting members in attendance to act as Secretary for the meeting.

Article 9 : FINANCE

  1.  All funds due and payable to the Society shall be paid into such bank accounts opened for that purpose and such accounts shall be known as “ The Bioethics Society of the English-Speaking Caribbean”
  2. The signatories to the account shall be either the President or Secretary , and Treasurer (i.e. 2 signatories).
  3. Membership subscription to the Society shall be paid by members at such rate as shall be determined from time to time. The subscription fee shall be assessed annually; the amount proposed by the Executive Committee shall be approved by its members at the next ABM.
  4. Annual subscription shall be due and payable June 1 st in any year

 

Article 10: AMENDMENTS

  1.  This Constitution and By-Laws may be amended by two-thirds of those members present and entitled to vote at an Annual Business Meeting of the Society.
  2. Amendments to the Constitution or By-Laws shall be proposed in writing to the Executive Committee by three members in good financial standing.
  3. Proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society shall be sent in writing to all members at least two months before the Annual Business Meeting at which the proposed amendments are to be considered and acted upon.

BY-LAWS

1. Terms of Reference of Members of the Executive Committee

President

    • Ensure that the Society meets all objectives and functions efficiently
    • Develop annual plans for the Society; monitor progress
    • Coordinate the various tasks of the Society
    • Actively engage in increasing the awareness in the general public regarding the Society’s activities
    • Delegate responsibilities to co-opted members
    • Interact regularly with other Societies / Organisations
    • Set meeting agenda with Secretary
    • Preside over all meetings of Executive Committee, and Annual Business Meeting
    • Release all official correspondence
    • Serve as an ex-officio member of any sub-committee

Vice-President

  • Assist the President in organizing the various activities of the Society
  • Execute the tasks of the President in his/her absence
  • I n the event of resignation or death of the President nominate a new Vice President (with majority Executive Committee agreement)
  • Coordinate publicity of the Society; strive to expand its membership
  • Coordinate fund raising events along with Secretary

Secretary

  • Maintain and update the list of members of the Society
  • Coordinate fund raising events along with Vice President
  • Internal publicity within the Society of the various issues raised; preparation of mailing lists, newsletters, etc.
  • Coordinate the meetings of the Society; set up agenda with President; review and maintain the minutes of meetings; record keeping
  • Coordinate projects along with Project Coordinator (co-opted)

Treasurer

  • Collect contributions from members and other sources
  • Maintain accounts of the Society
  • Make disbursements with President
  • Update Executive Committee / Annual Business Meeting with the financial accounts of the Society
  • Submit financial reports to auditors
  • Present audited accounts at meetings

Website Coordinator

  • Provide specific technical skills to the Society
  • Having the significant responsibility of representing the society through the web site in an
    informed and decent way.
  • Make the Society’s website professional and easy-to-use
  • Update the Society’s website frequently
  • A non-voting member, not subject to automatic rotation

Immediate Past President

  • Provide continuity of leadership and direction to new Executive Committee, affording a seamless transition of responsibilities and activities
  • Shall be an ex-officio, non-voting member

Regional Representative

  • Resource person who interactively represents the interests of members of the Society resident in one or more of the regional groupings

Co-opted member

  • Any member of the Society co-opted by the Executive Committee to provide services or support to the Committee or Society as a whole
  • A non-voting member, not subject to automatic rotation