Introduction
The Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (International Academy of Philosophy of Sciences; henceforth, “the Académie”) is a class of the Institut International des Sciences Théoriques, whose head office is located at Rue Marie de Bourgogne 8, B-1050 Brussels.
An administrative Secretariat is attached to the Académie.
Title I – Purpose and Means
Art. 1 The purpose of the Académie is to bring together philosophers of science and scientists through conferences, generally held triennially in major scientific centres, and through the publication of reports presented at the conferences of the Académie. The Académie is committed to promoting diversity and gender equality while remaining attentive to the quality of the scientific and scholarly achievements of the membership.
Title II – Membership
Art. 2 The Académie consists of full members, corresponding members, honorary members, and emeritus members who participate equally in the scientific work of the Académie, preferably in person or, if that is not possible, online.
Art. 3 Full members who, for three consecutive years, have not taken part in the activities of the Académie, will become corresponding members.
Art. 4 Full members become emeritus members when they reach the age of 80 or when they notify the President that they are unable for valid reasons to take part regularly in the activities of the Académie.
Art. 5 The right to vote at the General Assembly shall be exercised by the full members, as well as by the honorary and emeritus members who attend in person. In case of generally accepted circumstances that prevent members from travelling, the Academic Council can allow online voting. This mode of voting will apply to all full, honorary and emeritus members and has to be announced in the invitation to the General Assembly.
Art. 6 New corresponding, full and honorary members shall be elected on the basis of a written and motivated proposal by the Academic Council or by three full members at least three months before the election. The same rules apply to the promotion of corresponding members to full membership.
Art. 7 New corresponding, full and honorary members will be elected only if they obtain an absolute majority of the votes in the first ballot, provided that this number is at least equal to an absolute majority of the Académie’s full members who attend in person or have nominated a proxy.
Art. 8 The number of full members of the Académie may not exceed seventy.
Title III – Académie Management
Art. 9 The Académie is headed by an Academic Council composed of a President, two vice- presidents and two assessors. In case of a tie, the President of the Académie will have a casting vote.
Candidates for the presidency are full members proposed by the Academic Council or by three full members. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority – taking account of abstentions – of the votes cast is elected. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first ballot, a second ballot shall take place immediately afterwards and the candidate who obtains at least half of the votes cast – not taking account of abstentions – is elected. If this vote also fails to elect a president, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected President ad interim for the duration of one year and a new election shall take place at a General Assembly the following year. If two or more candidates have the same highest number of votes, the candidate with the greatest seniority as full member will be elected President ad interim; in the event of a tie, the candidate with the most seniority of age is elected President ad interim.
Election of Vice-Presidents and Assessors
Candidates for both offices must be full members proposed in the same way as candidates for the presidency. In the first ballot, the two candidates with the highest number of votes are elected; if this ballot is not decisive, a second ballot is held immediately afterwards, limited to the ex aequo candidates; if this ballot is again not decisive, the candidates with the greatest seniority as full member will be elected; in the event of a tie, the candidates with the greatest seniority of age are elected.
Art. 10 The President, vice-presidents, and assessors hold office for three years. While the vice- presidents and assessors are re-electable without limitation, the President can serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms. This does not prevent the same member from being elected President of the Académie for a further term on a subsequent occasion.
Art. 11 The Académie may have one or more Honorary Presidents. The eligibility requirement is to have served as President for six years. The names of members who meet these requirements and are willing to be elected shall be put to the vote of the General Assembly, and those who gain an absolute majority of votes will be elected. Honorary Presidents are members honorum causa, without voting rights, of the Academic Council.
Art. 12 The Board of Directors of the ASBL Patrimoine de l’Institut International des Sciences Théoriques (PIIST) determines annually the amount of the endowments assigned to the Académie. The Academie keeps an annual record of its expenses and revenues.
Title IV– General Provisions
Art. 13 The General Assembly of the Académie meets, in principle, every three years. There can be extraordinary General Assemblies. Full, emeritus, and honorary members have the right to take part in the General Assembly. Full members may nominate as proxy, to exercise their voting rights, a full member participating in the General Assembly. No participant may act as proxy for more than three members.
Art. 14 The General Assembly of the Académie shall be competent for making any amendments to the Statutes, 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. 15 All terms not provided for in these Statutes will be decided by the General Assembly by an absolute majority of votes.