Constitution

Name
The name of the society shall be “Bangladesh Society of Microbiologists (BSM).”

Office
The registered Head Office of the Society will be situated in the Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.

Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of the Society are as follows:

• To promote the advancement of the Science of Microbiology in all its perspectives.
• To promote  and  safeguard  the  interest  of  all  microbiologists  in Bangladesh and to impart guidance to young microbiologists in vocational and career planning.
• To bring out a Research Journal and other publications in order to stimulate  the  publication  of  the  research  work  done  by  the members of the society.
• To promote  the  utilization  of  national  resources  of  the  country through application of Microbiological Sciences.
• To create  awareness  on  and  to  advocate  the  importance  of microbiology to the people of Bangladesh.
• To co-operate with national and international organizations in the matter of mutual interest.

Membership
There will be four categories of membership as follows:

1. General Members
   Persons interested in Microbiological Sciences with a minimum Graduation Degree or equivalent shall be eligible for enrolment as members. They have voting right to any election organized by the Society.
2. Life Members
   Members who serve the Society continuously for five years with devotion may be come Life Members on payment of necessary fees. Life Members have voting right to any election organized by the Society.
3. Honorary Members
   Honorary membership may be offered to persons of distinction in Science on the recommendation of the Executive Committee. They are not entitled to vote in any election.
4. Associate Members
   Associate membership may be offered to persons interested in Microbiology and to those who believe in the aims and objectives of the Society. They will have no voting right. The Associate Members will receive the Journal of the Society and will enjoy all other privileges.

Enrolment of Members
Members may propose any qualified person to be a member of the Society and send to the General Secretary the name and qualifications of each of the candidate on a special form provided for the purpose by the General Secretary after it has been duly seconded by another member. New memberships have to be approved at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Society.

Election and Tenure of the Executive Committee

• The election of the Office Bearers will be held in the Annual General Meeting of the Society by the members present in that meeting.
• An Election  Commissioner  and  two  Polling  Officers  will  be appointed  by  the  Executive  Committee  to  conduct  the  election three  months  prior  to  the  expiry  of  the  tenure  of  Executive Committee.
• The tenure of the Office of elected Office Bearers shall be two calendar years beginning from the 1stJanuary and shall continue till 31^stDecember of the next year.
• No Office Bearers of the Society shall be eligible for election to the same Office  for  more  than  two  terms    The President   and   the   General   Secretary,   unless   they   are reelected for the second term, will remain as Ex-Officio Members of the Executive Committee for the following term; they will be named as immediate past President and immediate past General Secretary.

Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the Society shall consist of the following Office Bearers: (a) President – one, (b) Vice-President – two, (c) General Secretary – one, (d) Joint Secretary – two, (e) Treasurer – one, and (f) Member – fourteen. They will conduct the business of the Society. No organization or institution shall be represented by more than three members in the Executive Committee, excluding the Office Bearers. The Executive Committee will conduct affairs of the Society in accordance with the decisions of the General Meeting and take appropriate action in the period between General Meetings with subsequent approval of the General Meeting.

The Executive Committee shall appoint a Chief Editor and ten Editors subject-wise. The tenure of the Editorial Board of which the Chief Editor is the Head will be same as the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee will also constitute a Board of Advisory Editors of the Journal. The tenure of this Board of Advisory Editors will be same as the Executive Committee.

Article VIII: Functions of the Executive Committee

1. President
   The President shall direct to convene the meeting of the general body and the Executive Committee, and shall preside over the meetings of the Society.
2. Vice-Presidents
   The executive Committee will decide as to who will act as the First and Second Vice-President. In absence of the President the First Vice-President or in the case when both President and First Vice-President will be absent, the Second Vice-President will carry on the functions of the President. The President may assign such other duties to the Vice-Presidents as may be necessary for the smooth functioning of the Society.
3. General Secretary
   The General Secretary shall be responsible to the Executive Committee for his actions and shall work under the direction of the President of the Society. He will act as Secretary to the various bodies unless otherwise specifically provided for, which may come in course of his activities, issuing notice, arranging meetings and keeping the records of the proceedings of the meetings.
4. Joint Secretaries
   The First and the Second Joint Secretaries will assist the General Secretary in discharging his duties and will do such other works as may be assigned to them by the Executive Committee. In absence of the General Secretary the First Joint Secretary or in the case of both the General Secretary and the First Joint Secretary being absent, the Second Joint Secretary will act as the General Secretary.
5. Treasurer
   The treasurer shall keep the accounts of the funds of the Society and maintain necessary documents for the purpose. The Treasurer and the Secretary shall be jointly responsible for making all payments as per approved budget or authorized by the Executive Committee as per rules as may be framed from time to time.
6. Members
   The members of the Executive Committee shall be assigned with various responsibilities as decided by the Executive Committee.

Meetings

1. Executive Committee Meeting
   Executive Committee Meeting will be convened by the General Secretary in consultation with the President of the Society and the President shall preside over the meeting. In absence of the President of the Society the First Vice-President will preside over the meeting. In absence of both the President and the first Vice- President, the second Vice-President will preside over the meeting and in absence of all of them one senior member selected by the members present will preside over the meeting. The General Secretary in consultation with the President can convene an emergency Executive Committee Meeting with one day’s notice. The Executive Committee will meet at least four times a year including one at the time of conference. At least seven members must be present to form the quorum of the Executive Committee Meeting.
2. General Meeting
   The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held usually in December every year, and the quorum of the meeting will be bythepresenceofatleast20members.TheExecutive Committee will decide the date and place of the Annual General Meeting of the Society. Additional General Meeting for special occasion/reasons may be called by the Executive Committee or a RequisitionMeetingcanbecalledwhenatleast30membersof the Society request the President. The Requisition Meeting shall be held within one month of the receipt of there question notice.

Membership Fee
Dues of various categories of membership will be as per Bylaws of the Society.

Finance and Accounts
Section A: Finance
The Executive Committee may accept financial support from Organizations, Governments, International Agencies, and other appropriate sources, such as donation from individuals, group of individuals, any philanthropic association(s), educational and research institutes, corporations and similar bodies and the subscription from the members.

Section B: Accounts

1. The Treasurer   shall   maintain   proper   books   and   reports   of accounts  with  respect  to  all  sums  of  money  received  and expended by the Society.
2. All sums received by the Society including subscription shall be regularly deposited in an account with a sheduled bank, and account will be operated jointly by the Treasurer and the General Secretary. In the absence of the treasurer the President will sign the cheque(s).
3. Audit: Once every financial year the accounts of the Society will be examined and the correctness of the Income and Expenditure account and  Balance  sheet  will  be  ascertained  by  a  properly qualified  auditor  or  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Executive Committee.
4. The Treasurer after the approval of the Executive Committee shall present the financial reports of the Society in the General Meeting.

Bylaws

• The Executive Committee will prepare the Bylaws for smooth functioning of the Society as and when deemed appropriate.
• Executive Committee or a member of the Society will propose amendments to the Bylaws in writing to the General Secretary. The proposal will be reviewed at the current or next meeting of the Executive Committee. If a majority of the Executive Committee members votes for approval of the proposal or a modification, it will be presented to the General Meeting for vote and is to be declared adopted and effective immediately if ratified by a majority of the members present and voting.
• Alternatively, the proposal may be forwarded without delay from the Executive Committee to members of the Society approval by mail ballot, to be completed within six months and decided by a majority of   the   votes   received,   and   to   become   effective immediately.

Amendment

1. The constitution of the Society may be amended by a three- quarters vote of the voting members present and voting at a General Meeting. The Executive Committee or a Member of the Society may propose amendments for receipt by the General Secretary at least six months before a General Meeting. The proposed amendments are promptly transmitted to members of the Society and members of the Executive Committee.
2. Members of the Society will send proposal of other amendments (except amendments for constitution) to the General Secretary. The General Secretary will place the content of the proposal to the Executive Committee Meeting. The Executive Committee will consider the proposal to circulate to all members of the Society for their opinion in writing. The General Secretary will collect the members’ opinion at least one month before the General Meeting and will place this matter to the General Meeting.