INTRODUCTION
The Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (International Academy of Philosophy of Sciences) is a class of the Institut International des Sciences Théoriques, whose head office is at 8 Rue Marie de Bourgogne in 1050 Brussels.
An administrative Secretariat is attached to the Academy.
Title I – Purpose and means.
Art. 1 The purpose of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (AIPS) is to bring together philosophers of science through generally triennial symposia, held in major scientific centres, through annual conventions, and through the publication of the reports presented at the various sessions of the Academy. The Academy is committed to promote gender equality and diversity, while remaining attentive to the quality of the scientific achievements of future members.
Title II - Members.
Art. 2 The Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (AIPS) consists of full members, corresponding members and emeritus members who participate equally in the scientific work of the Academy, preferably in person, if not possible, remotely.
Art. 3 Full members who, for three consecutive years, have not taken part in the activities of the Academy, will become corresponding members.
Art. 4 Full members become emeritus members when they reach the age of 80 or even before that age on their request, those full members who for valid reasons feel that they cannot continue to take part regularly in the activities of the Academy.
Art. 5 The right to vote at the general meetings shall be exercised by the full members, as well as by the honorary and emeritus members that personally attend. In case of generally accepted circumstances which prevent people from international travels, the Academic Council can allow voting in distance. This possibility will apply to all full members and has to be communicated together with the invitation to the general meeting.
Art. 6 New members will be elected on presentation by the Academic Council or on the reasoned request of three full members at least three months before the vote.
Art. 7 The candidate will be elected only if he or she has the absolute majority of the votes in the first ballot, provided that this number is at least equal to the absolute majority of the Academy's full members in attendance or having given a proxy. No voter may receive more than three proxies.
Art. 8 The number of full members of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (AIPS) may not exceed seventy.
Title III – Academy management.
Art. 9 The Academy is headed by an Academic Board made up by: a chairman, two vice-chairmen, two assessors and a secretary general. The Director of the Institute is a member of the Academic Board by right and takes part in the deliberations. In case of a tie, the Chairman of the Academy has a casting vote.
Candidates for the presidency are proposed according to the same rules as new members, as stated in article 6. The candidate who receives the absolute majority — counting with abstentions — of the cast votes is elected. If nobody receives this majority, a second vote shall take place immediately afterwards and the candidate, who receives at least half of the explicit cast votes is elected — not counting abstentions. If this vote also fails to elect a president, the candidate with the highest number of votes shall be elected President ad interim for the duration of one year and a new vote shall be taken at the General Assembly of the following year. If two or more candidates will have the same highest number of votes, the candidate with the senior as full member and emeritus will be elected as President ad interim; in the event of a tie, also on the basis of this criterion, decision is based on the seniority of age.
Election of Vice-presidents and Assessors. For both offices, candidates are proposed in the same way as candidates for the presidency. In the first vote, the two candidates with the highest number of votes are elected; if this vote is not decisive, a second vote is held immediately afterwards, limited to the candidates ex aequo; if this is also not decisive, the offices are filled by seniority as full members and emeriti of the candidates in the second vote; in the event of a tie, also on the basis of this criterion, decision is based on the seniority of age.
Art. 10 The terms of the president’s, vice-president’s, assessor’s and secretary-general’s offices are three years, while the holders of academic offices are all eligible for re-election without limitation, in the case of the President, immediate re-election is permitted for one time only. This does not prevent the same person from being elected as President of the Academy again on subsequent occasions.
Art. 10bis The Academy may have one or more Honorary Presidents. The eligibility requirement is to have served as President for six years. The names of persons who meet these requirements and are willing to be elected shall be put to the vote of the Assembly, and those who have reached the quota of the absolute majority of voters shall be elected. Honorary Presidents are members “honorum causa”, without voting rights, of the Academic Council.
Title IV - Participation of the Academy in the academic management of the Institute.
Art. 11
a) The General Academic Board of the International Institute of Theoretical Sciences is made up by the Director of the International Institute of Theoretical Sciences which hold the honorary chairmanship, the members of the Academic Boards of the two Academies belonging to the Institute and three members of the Secretariat General. The members of the Secretariat General are called upon to give technical indications.
b) If the Director is unable to act, he shall be replaced by the most senior Chairman and, in the case of equal seniority, by the oldest of the two Chairmen.
c) In the event of a tied vote, the director of the Institute shall have a casting vote.
Art. 12 The director of the Institute and the new members of the Secretariat General are appointed by the members on the basis of the General Secretariat. The director of the Institute is in charge of the secretariat general for the performance of the study plans drawn up by the Academic Board on the indications of the Academy.
Title V – Economic management.
Art. 13 The overhead costs of the secretariat of the Academy are assumed by the secretariat general of the Institute.
Art. 14 The Academic Board shall administer the resources of the Academy.
Art. 15 The general Academic Board shall administer the resources of the Institute common to both Academies.
Title VI – General Provisions.
Art. 16 The General Meeting of the Academy meets, in principle, every three years. There can be extraordinary general meetings. Full members, emeritus members and honorary members have a right to take part in the meetings. Full members may give their voting proxy in writing to a member participating in the meeting. Each participant may receive up to a maximum of three proxies.
Art. 17 The General Meeting of the Academy shall be competent for making any amendments to the By-laws, approved by two-thirds of the members taking part in the vote, provided that this number is at least equal to the absolute majority of the full members.
Art. 18 All the terms not provided for in these by-laws will be specified in an internal policy.
Excerpt from the By-laws of the asbl Patrimoine de l’Institut International des Sciences Théoriques (PIIST):
Art. 13 The Board of Directors of the PIIST asbl sets annually the amount of the endowments assigned to the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (AIPS) and to the Académie Internationale des Sciences Religieuses (AISR).
Art. 1 L’Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences a pour but d’établir des rapprochements entre philosophes des sciences au moyen de symposia, en principe triennaux, tenus dans les grands centres scientifiques, au moyen de colloques annuels, et au moyen de la publication des rapports présentés aux différentes séances de l’Académie. L'Académie a lesouci de promouvoir l'égalité de genre et la diversité, tout en restant attentive à la qualité scientifique des réalisations de ses futurs membres.
Titre II - Des membres.