Article VII, Section 8, of the 1984 Constitution of the International Radiation Protection Association is as follows -

RULES - The Executive Coucil shall formulate and publish a set of rules by which the Association is governed. All such rules shall be consistent with the directives of the General Assembly and the provisions of the Constitution and shall be construed to secure a speedy and inexpensive administration of the affairs of the Association commensurate with sound practice. The rules become effective when transmitted to the duly authorised representatives of the Associate Societies, and have official status until amended or revoked by action of the Council or by direction of the General Assembly.

In general -

1. The rules shall provide that no affirmative action can be taken by the Executive Council unless sanctioned by at least seven voting members of the Executive Council and if a vote is to be taken at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Executive Council, a member may be represented by his proxy.
2. The rules shall be specific as to the duties of the officers and the voting membership of the Executive Council shall vest the officers with such authority as may be required for the efficient execution of these duties. The rules shall provide for the bonding of any officer or agent who will be responsible for substantial sums of money where this is practicable and not unduly expensive.The rules shall also provide for equally acceptable alternative security measures where bonding is not carried out.
3. The rules shall provide for a Commission on Publications which is responsible for the establishment and management of the official publication of the Association under the chairmanship of the Publi-cations Director.
4. The rules shall establish criteria by which acceptance or rejection of an applicant for Associate Society status is determined.
5. No rule shall be formulated which violates the independence of any Associate Society. The Asso-ciate Societies are autonomous in their own right and are free to pursue their objectives and those of the Association in any manner consistent with sound management and in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Association.
6. The rules shall specify the general arrangements to be followed in the organisation of an IRPA Congress.
7. The rules may include other matters as may be considered appropriate and not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution.

Where a request for interpretation of these rules, is inititated under Art. XIV of the constitution, interpretation shall be determined by the Rules Committee subject only to revocation by the General Assembly. In all other cases, interpretaion shall be determined by the Executive Council which may set up a working party to make recommendations to the Executive Council. The working party shall consist of not less than three, nor more than five, members of IRPA including as chairman a former officer of IRPA (when possible a past president) and also at least one legal adviser to IRPA.

At a meeting of the General Assembly, the business shall proceed in the order given in the circulated agenda unless the meeting decides otherwise. (Art VIII, Sects. 7, 8, 9, 11; Art XIII, Sects. 1, 2). The procedures to be followed in the conduct of the meeting shall be outlined to delegates in the form of a written statement.

The chairman of the General Assembly shall be the President or, in his absence, the Vice-President of the Association. In the absence of both President and Vice-President of the Association, the Executive Council shall appoint one of its members to be the chairman. (Art VI, Sect. 1).

1. President. As early in the meeting of a General Assembly as practicable, the chairman of the Nominations Committee shall present his committee's nominations for President. Any additional nominations (Rule 2.5.6f below) shall be added to the list of names upon which the members of the General Assembly will vote.
2. Vice-President of the Association. After the announcement of the result of the election of President, the Chairman of the Nominations Committee shall present his committee's nominations for Vice -President of the Association. Any additional nominations (Rule 2.5.6f, below) shall be added to the list of names upon which the members of the General Assembly will vote.
3. Executive Officer. After the announcement of the result of the election of the Vice-President of the Association, the chairman shall announce the appointment of Executive Officer made by the Executive Council, and ask for the approval of the General Assembly. If such approval be not given, the General Assembly shall stand adjourned until either -
   1. the Executive Council can announce another appointment of Executive Officer for which it asks the approval of the General Assembly, or (if this is not immediately practicable)
   2. the Executive Council announces which member of the Executive Council is willing to act as pro tempore Executive Officer pending an early appointment to be made by the Executive Council after the General Assembly, which appointment shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval as soon as practicable by postal ballot.
4. Treasurer and Publications Director. After the appointment of the Executive Officer has been dealt with under Rule 2.5.6. (c) above, the chairman shall announce in turn the appointments made by the Executive Council of Treasurer and Publications Director. If, in either case, the appointment is not approved by the General Assembly, the Executive Council shall seek the approval of the General Assembly for the appointment of another person either before the end of that meeting of the General Assembly, or by postal ballot as soon as practicable by postal ballot.
5. Executive Council Members. After the approval of the General Assembly has been given to the appointment of Publications Director, the chairman of the Nominations Committee shall present his committee's nominations for Executive Council Members. Any additional nominations (Rule 2.5.6 f, below) shall be added to the list of names upon which the members of the General Assembly will vote.
6. Additional nominations. After the names of nominees for election as Officers and Executive Council Members have been made available to members of the General Assembly, additional nominations for any office, and for Executive Council membership, may be submitted to the Executive Officer. Each additional nomination must be made on a form similar to that in Annex A, and must be signed by FIVE members of the General Assembly. No member of the General Assembly may sign more than one additional nomination form in relation to elections made at one meeting of the General Assembly. Additional nominations for President must comply with Art VI, Sect. 1, and those for Vice-President of the Association with Art VI, Sect. 2 of the constitution Additional nominations for any other office, or for Executive Council Member, must be those of delegates to the General Assembly.

1. The first act of the General Assembly after agreeing upon its membership shall be to appoint a teller and a sufficient number of assistant tellers, after considering the names proposed by the General Assembly Arrangements Committee.
2. Before any vote is taken, the chairman must be satisfied that a quorum is present.
3. Each nominee and each teller (if a delegate to the General Assembly) is entitled to vote. The chairman of the meeting may only vote in the event of a tie.
4. Once the voting has begun, no further discussion on the items involved in the vote is permitted while the voting procedure is being completed.
5. At the discretion of the chairman, any vote may be taken by a show of hands or by a ballot vote except that a ballot vote shall be taken at any time after tellers have been appointed, for any vote about persons, and also when a motion calling for a ballot vote has been agreed. For a ballot vote, the teller shall issue to each delegation chairman the correct number of ballot papers for the members of his delegation. Each member, after marking his vote on the ballot paper, shall fold it for collection by the tellers, who will then count the votes and report on the result to the chairman of the General Assembly.
6. A vote of two-thirds of those present and voting is necessary to carry a motion expelling an Associate Society from the Association (Art III, Sect 9); or one amending the Constitution (Art XV Sect 2) or one dissolving the Association (Art XVI Sect 3); any other motion is carried if a simple majority of the votes cast is in favour.
7. In the event of a vote by correspondence (Art VIII, Sect. 8), the full text of any resolution proposed shall be sent to the secretary of each Associate Society and to each voting member of the Executive Council together with the name and address of the teller appointed by the President to tally the total votes cast. Each Associate Society shall then conduct a ballot among those who were its delegates to the last General Assembly. If a delegate can no longer participate because he has died, is no longer a member of the Associate Society, is now an Executive Council member, or is not available, the Asso-ciate Society may appoint a substitute. A delegate who is qualified to participate may, however, appoint a proxy if he wishes. Such a ballot must be conducted in accordance with the voting procedures of the Associate Society; an officer of the society will then certify the result an send it to the teller, to whom each voting member of the Executive Council sends his vote direct. If the vote required for a resolution to be carried has not been received by the teller 120 days after the text of the resolution was sent to the Associate Societies, he shall declare the resolution concerned to have been lost.

At least 90 days notice of each meeting of the Executive Council shall be sent by the Executive Officer to each member of the Council, each Associate Society and each official body referred to under 4.2 below. At least 60 days before each such meeting, a copy of the agenda shall be sent to all those who have been sent notice of the meeting.

A member may be represented at a meeting by a proxy, who shall be a member of the Executive Council authorised by that member to act on his behalf in all the ways open to that member had he been present, but subject to any limitations specified in the authorisation. Before a person may act as a proxy, he shall produce satisfactory evidence that he is so authorised, and the record shall indicate the evidence accepted. Unless agreed by the Executive Council, no individual may act as proxy for more than two members.

No business shall be transacted at any session of the Executive Council unless there be present, in person or by proxy, a majority of the members of the Executive Council including at least three members present in person.

The Association may reimburse travelling and other out-of-pocket expenses to those members of the Executive Council unable to reclaim expenses from other sources.

A representative of each Associate Society and a representative from each official body to which the Executive Council has authorised an invitation, are entitled to attend all open sessions of the council provided there is no cost commitment to IRPA. Such representatives shall have no right to vote, and may speak only at the invitation of the chairman.

1. At meetings. Unless the Executive Council determine otherwise, a motion shall be approved when seven members voting in person or by proxy vote are in favour. The vote may be taken by show of hands, by voice vote, or by ballot at the discretion of the chairman except that if a motion for a ballot has been proposed and carried, no further discussion shall take place on the merits of the motion until that motion has been put to a ballot vote. The chairman of the meeting may vote only in the event of a tie.
2. By mail ballot. When in the opinion of the President it is necessary to reach a decision at a time when it is not practicable to hold a meeting, this shall be done by mail ballot. Details of the matter to be decided shall be sent to each member of the Executive Council together with an envelope addressed to the teller appointed by the President to whom the marked and signed ballot form is to be returned. A decision requires the approval of a majority of the members of the Executive Council and shall be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting. If after a specified time no decision has been reached, the President may declare any votes cast as null and void.

1. the names of the members present,
2. the name of each proxy and the member he represents,
3. all rulings from the chair,
4. the exact wording of all motions approved by the Executive Council,
5. where requested by the member or members concerned, the name(s) of any member(s) opposed to any resolution approved, and a brief statement of the reasons. A copy of all such minutes shall be placed in the permanent records of the Association, together with other documents relating to the work of the Executive Council. After considering any comments made by members of the Executive Council, such minutes, except for the minutes of any closed session, shall be sent to each Associate Society (whether represented at the meeting or not) and each official body entitled to send observers.

The creation of a new commission requires an addition to the rules in Section 6 in which its terms of reference and the method of appointment of its chairman and members will be laid down. An addition to Section 7 of the rules may similarly be made for the appointment of any new committee; however, the Executive Council may appoint any new committee of a purely temporary nature, lay down its terms of reference and appoint its chairman and members without such changes in the rules. Such a temporary committee, if still in existence, is automatically disbanded when a new President is elected.

It is the responsibility of the Vice-President for Congress Affairs to determine how the committee is organised to carry out its task, including the setting up of any sub-committees, for example, to arrange details of finance, exhibition, publicity, registration, accommodation social events. It is then the responsibility of the committee to determine the duties and responsibilities of its members and the members of any sub-committees set up, and to work in collaboration with the International Congress Programme Committee and the General Assembly Arrangements Committee.

The committee shall submit to the Executive Council when requested an itemised budget showing the anticipated income and expenditure in connection with the Congress. The Executive Council may then authorise the Treasurer to advance IRPA monies to the committee to finance its work before the Congress in the expectation of repayment after the Congress. No commitment, expenditure, or obligation of any sort shall be made in the name of the IRPA, or of any member of the IRPA, without the specific authorisation of the Executive Council or its authorised representative.

After the Congress, accounts relating to the Congress, which have been audited or certified according to the practices of the host country or countries, shall be sent to the Treasurer for presentation to the Executive Council; a substantial and annotated report, including a report from the chairman of the International Congress Programme Committee, shall be sent to the Executive Officer; any relevant documents about the organisation of the Congress shall be sent to the next Vice-President for Congress Affairs. These shall when possible be sent within 90 days of the close of the Congress but, where this is not possible, by that time a report showing the progress made towards the sending of these documents shall be sent to the President with copies to the Treasurer, the Executive Officer and the next Vice-President for Congress Affairs. The Executive Council shall direct the disposal of any monies remaining after all the expenses have been met and loans repaid.

Any arrangements made shall be subject to the approval of the President. One of the duties of the committee is to nominate for appointment by the General Assembly a teller who shall not necessarily be a member of the General Assembly and, in consultation with the nominated teller, a sufficient number of assistant tellers.

The members of the committee shall include a secretary who is a member of the host society or societies, and after the names of the members have been agreed with the President and the chairman of the committee, they shall be appointed by the Vice-President for Congress Affairs. The Vice- President for Congress Affairs shall be an ex officio member of this Committee.

1. Each Associate Society may appoint to serve on the Rules Committee one of the delegates of the Associate Society to the General Assembly. This member (unless replaced by the Associate Society) shall serve as a member of the committee from 30 days before a General Assembly until 30 days before the next General Assembly. The responsible officer of each Associate Society that has appointed a delegate to serve on the Rules Committee shall send notification of the name and address of this delegate to reach the Executive Officer not less than 30 days before a General Assembly. The delegates who have been so notified to the Executive Officer shall be the members of the Rules Committee and shall be informed of the details of any proposed meetings of the Committee.
2. The Executive Officer shall be chairman of the committee, but shall only have a vote in the event of a tie.
3. No other Executive Council Member shall attend meetings of the committee unless appointed to do so by the Executive Council, and he shall then have no vote.
4. No decision shall be taken at a meeting of the committee unless at least half the members of the committee are present and a majority of those are in agreement. A vote may be taken by mail ballot at the discretion of the chairman, and then a decision requires the agreement of a majority of the members voting.
5. When the General Assembly is discussing any decision of the Rules Committee relating to the credentials of any delegation or delegate(s), the delegation or delegate(s) under discussion may speak, but may not move or second any resolution, and may not vote.