CONSTITUTION
Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence Association
(PREMIA)
1. Name.
The name of the society is "Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence Association (PREMIA)", henceforth referred to as the Society.
2. Objectives.
The Society is a non-profit society. It aims at providing a forum for research in pattern recognition and machine intelligence in applied domains including computer vision, image processing, speech analysis, robotics, multimedia, document analysis, character recognition, knowledge engineering, fractal analysis and intelligent control, involving methods including statistical techniques, neural networks, evolutionary programming, fuzzy logic, machine learning and hardware implementation.
3. Activities.
The Society shall fulfil the objectives in Rule 2 by organizing seminars and conferences, by publishing journal and conference papers, and by dissemination of information related to the areas of research in Rule 2.
4. Membership.
4.1 There shall be three categories of membership, namely Full Membership, Student Membership and Institutional Membership. Application for membership should be sent in writing to the Board. The Board will decide on the application for membership. A copy of the Constitution shall be furnished to every approved member upon payment of the entrance fee.
4.2 Full Members – those with qualification as deemed adequate by the Board and who subscribe to the objectives of the Society can apply for full membership.
4.3 Student Members – persons who are full time registered students can apply for student membership.
4.4 Institutional Members – organizations who subscribe to the objectives of the Society can apply for institutional membership.
4.5 Only Full Members of the Society have the right to vote and to be voted into office in the General Meeting.
5. Terminations of membership.
5.1 A member who wishes to terminate his/her membership from the Society shall inform the Board of this intention in writing.
5.2 A member who does not fulfil his/her financial obligations as decided by this constitution and the General Meeting shall have his/her membership terminated by the Board.
5.3 A member whose conduct, in the view of the Board, is damaging to the name of the Society shall have his/her membership terminated by a two-thirds majority of the Board. Such member, if aggrieved by the decision of the Board, may appeal to the General Meeting of members within one month of receipt of the notification from the Board. The decision of the General Meeting shall be final.
6. Dues.
6.1 Each member of the Society shall pay an entrance fee and an annual subscription. The amounts of the entrance fee and subscription for different member categories shall be decided by the General Meeting on recommendation from the Board from time to time.
6.2 The entrance fee and the first subscription shall be paid to the Treasurer at the time of membership application. The subsequent subscription shall be paid to the Treasurer no later than a month after the member receives the renewal notice.
6.3 If a member falls into arrears with his subscription or other dues, he shall be informed immediately by the Treasurer. If he fails to settle his arrears within four weeks of their becoming due, the Board shall terminate his/her membership.
6.4 A member whose membership has been terminated as provided in Rule 6 shall pay an entrance fee again if he/she wishes to reinstate his/her membership.
6.5 Any additional fund required for special purposes may only be raised from members with the consent of the General Meeting of members.
7. The Board.
7.1 The administration of the Society shall be entrusted to a Board consisting of eight members, including a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, to be elected as alternate Annual General Meeting.
7.2 Full Members who are not Singapore citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents shall be eligible for election as members of the Board, but not as the following office bearers: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. After having been elected into the Board, they shall continue to reside in Singapore for the whole period of their term.
7.3 Names for the above offices shall be proposed and seconded at the Annual General Meeting and election will follow on a simple majority vote of the members. Except for the Treasurer who shall not be re-elected to the same or related post for a consecutive term of office, all other office bearers of the Board may be re-elected to the same or related post for a maximum of three consecutive terms. The term of office of the Board is two years.
7.4 Election will be either by show of hands or, subject to the agreement of the majority of the voting members present, by a secret ballot. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
7.5 A Board Meeting shall be held at least once every six months after giving seven days' notice to Board Members. The President may call a Board Meeting at any time by giving five days' notice. At least ½ of the Board Members must be present for its proceedings to be valid.
7.6 Any member of the Board absenting himself from three meetings consecutively without satisfactory explanations shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Board and a successor may be co-opted by the Board to serve until the next Annual General Meeting. Any changes in the Board shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies within two weeks of the change.
7.7 The Board has power to authorise the expenditure of any sum per month from the Society's funds for the Society's purposes, provided always that the sum does not exceed the amount determined at the Annual General Meeting of members.
8. Responsibilities of the Board and Office Bearers.
8.1 The duty of the Board is to organise and supervise the day-to-day activities of the Society. The Board shall prepare all issues that are to be put before the General Meeting, handle all the Society's affairs and implement the decisions of the General Meeting. The Board may not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the General Meeting of members without prior reference to it and always remains subordinate to the General Meetings of members.
8.2 The President shall chair the meetings of the Board and the General Meetings, convene the Board meetings and the General Meetings, sign for the Society, and represent the Society when necessary, nationally and internationally.
8.3 The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President when the latter is unable to do so.
8.4 The Secretary shall handle the Register of Members of the Society, receive and register new members, minute all Board meetings and the General Meetings, and handle all correspondences and records, except financial, of the Society and shall be responsible for their correctness.
8.5 The Treasurer shall collect the dues, manage the finance of the Society, report to the Board when members do not pay their dues, keep detailed records, make payments that are approved by the Board or the General Meeting. He/she shall keep an account of all monetary transactions and shall be responsible for their correctness. He/she is authorised to expend monies for petty expenses on behalf of the Society, provided always that the sum spent does not exceed the monthly amount determined by the Board. He/she will not keep more than the same monthly amount in the form of cash and money exceeding the monthly amount shall be deposited in a bank to be named by the Board. Cheques, etc. for withdrawals from the bank must be signed by the President or Vice-President
in addition to the Treasurer.
8.6 The other members on the Board shall assist in the general administration of the Society and perform duties assigned by the Board from time to time.
9. Auditors.
9.1 Two auditors who are not members of the Board shall be elected for a period of two years at the General Meeting. The auditors shall examine the accounts of the Board and report to the General Meeting. The auditors shall not be re-elected for a consecutive term.
9.2 They:
a) Will be required to audit each year's accounts and present a report upon them to the Annual General Meeting.
b) May be required by the President to audit the Society's accounts for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Board.
9.3 The financial year shall be from 1st June to 31st May.
10. General Meeting.
10.1 The supreme authority of the Society is vested in the General Meeting of members presided over by the President. At least 25% of the total voting membership, or 30 voting members, whichever is the lesser, present at a General Meeting shall form a quorum. Proxies shall not be constituted as part of the quorum.
10.2 An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held once every year by August.
10.3 At other times, an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called at any time by the order of the Board and must be called by the President on the request in writing of not less than 25% of the total voting membership or 30 voting members, whichever is the lesser. The notice in writing shall be given to the Secretary setting forth the business that is to be transacted. The Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened within two months from receiving this request to convene the Extraordinary General Meeting.
10.4 If the Board does not within two months after the date of the receipt of the written request proceed to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting, the members who requested for the Extraordinary General Meeting shall convene the Extraordinary General Meeting by giving ten days' notice to voting members setting forth the business to be transacted and simultaneously posting the agenda on the Society's notice board.
10.5 At least two weeks' notice shall be given of an Annual General Meeting and at least ten days' notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting. Notice of meeting stating the date, time and place of meeting shall be sent by the Secretary to all voting members. The particulars of the agenda shall be posted on the Society's notice board four days in advance of the meeting.
10.6 Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, voting by proxy is allowed at all General Meetings.
10.7 The following points will be considered at the Annual General Meeting:
a) The previous financial year's accounts and annual report of the Board.
b) Where applicable, the election of office-bearers and Honorary Auditors for the following term.
10.8 Any member who wishes to place an item on the agenda of a General Meeting may do so provided he gives notice to the Secretary on week before the meeting is due to be held.
10.9 In the event that there is no quorum at the commencement of a General Meeting, the General Meeting shall be adjourned after half an hour and should the number then present be insufficient to form a quorum, those present shall be considered a quorum, but they shall have no power to alter, delete or make additions to the existing Constitution.
11. Trustees.
11.1 If the Society at any time acquires any immovable property, such property shall be vested in trustees subject to a declaration of trust.
11.2 The trustees of the Society shall:
a) Not be more than four and not less than two in number.
b) Be elected by a General Meeting of members.
c) Not effect any sale or mortgage of property without the prior approval of the General Meeting of members.
11.3 The office of the trustee shall be vacated:
a) If the trustee dies or becomes a lunatic or of unsound mind.
b) If he is absent from the Republic of Singaporefor a period of more than one year.
c) If he is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that he continues as a trustee.
d) If he submits notice of resignation from his trusteeship.
11.4 Notice of any proposal to remove a trustee from his trusteeship or to appoint a new trustee to fill a vacancy must be given by posting it on the notice board in the Society's premises at least two weeks before the General Meeting at which the proposal is to be discussed. The result of such General Meeting shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies.
11.5 The address of each immovable property, name of each trustee and any subsequent change must be notified to the Registrar of Societies.
12. Prohibitions.
12.1 Gambling of any kind, excluding the promotion or conduct of a private lottery which has been permitted under the Private Lotteries Act Cap 250, is forbidden on the Society's premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or drug taking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.
12.2 The funds of the Society shall not be used to pay the fines of members who have been convicted in a court of law.
12.3 The Society shall not engage in any trade union activity as defined in any written law relating to trade unions for the time being in force in Singapore.
12.4 The Society shall not attempt to restrict or interfere with trade or make directly or indirectly any recommendation to, any arrangement with its members which has the purpose or is likely to have the effect of fixing or controlling the price or any discount, allowance or rebate relating to any goods or service which adversely affect consumer interests.
12.5 The Society shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds any/or premises to be used for political purposes.
12.6 The Society shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Society or its office-bearers, Board or members unless with the prior approval of the relevant authorities.
12.7 The Society shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purposes without the prior approval in writing of the Head, Licensing Divisions, Singapore Police Force and other relevant authorities.
13. Amendments to Constitution.
No alteration or additions/deletions to this Constitution shall be made except at a General Meeting and with the consent of two-thirds of the voting members either in person or by proxy, and they shall not come into force without the prior sanction of the Registrar of Societies.
14. Interpretation.
In the event of any question or matter pertaining to day-to-day administration which is not expressly provided for in this Constitution, the Board shall have power to use its own discretion. The decision of the Board shall be final unless it is reversed at a General Meeting of members.
15. Disputes.
In the event of any dispute arising amongst members, they shall attempt to resolve the matter at an Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with this Constitution. Should the members fail to resolve the matter, they may bring the matter to a court of law for settlement.
16. Dissolution of the Society.
16.1 The Society shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than three-fifths of the voting members, expressed, either in person or by proxy, at a General Meeting convened for the purpose. The final General Meeting will decide how to handle the remaining funds after fully discharging all debts and liabilities of the Society.
16.2 In the event of the Society being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be disposed of in such manner as the General Meeting of members may determine or donated to an approved charity or charities in Singapore.
16.3 A Certificate of Dissolution shall be given within seven days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies.