IEEEP By Laws

ARTICLE I - History

Section 1 Karachi Section (originally called West Pakistan Section and later Pakistan Section) was established in September 1968 after the acceptance of written petition from its members by IEEEP Executive Committee and consequent appointment of provisional Chairperson of the Section.

Section 2 The first Bylaws were drafted in 1969. Subsequently an updating process was introduced in 1997 and updates were completed on 7.2.1998, 10.4.1999, 12.10.2000, 20.05.2001, 04.08.2001 and 11.08.2001 in order to meet IEEEP Regional Activities Department requirement that all units' bylaws be in compliance by 31.12.2001.

Section 3 These Section Bylaws are being framed under the provision of IEEEP Bylaws and the RAB Operations Manual.

Section 4 These Bylaws have been updated in consultation with the Section Membership and adopted in the meeting of the Karachi Section Executive Committee held on August 6, 2001. These have been approved by the Regional Activities Board on November 29, 2001.

ARTICLE II - Name and Territory

Section 1 This entity shall be known as IEEEP Karachi Section.

Section 2 The territory of Lahore Section shall consist of that area of Pakistan which excludes the territories of Karachi and Islamabad Sections.

ARTICLE III - Interpretation

Section 1 In all instances, the IEEEP Constitution, Bylaws, Policy and Procedures, and RAB Operations Manual will prevailwhen there is a contradiction between these mandatory documents and the Section Bylaws.

Section 2 Following is the list of mandatory IEEEP documents as mentioned in Section 1 above :-

1. IEEEP Constitution
2. IEEEP By Laws
3. IEEEP Policy and Procedures Manual
4. The RAB Operations Manual
5. IEEEP Conference Reporting System
   

ARTICLE IV - Purpose of the Section

Section 1 The Section shall have as its objectives the advancement of the theory and practice of IEEEP designated fields and the maintenance of high professional standards among its members. The above shall be realised, among other ways, by holding lectures, issue of newsletters, conferences, discussions, exchange of knowledge, continuing education programs etc., thus aiding Section members with their day-to-day operating problems and contributing to their long term professional development. The Section shall also endeavor to promote understanding of the influence of technology (in its of field of competence) on daily life and public welfare.

Section 2 The Section may cooperate with other national and international organisations having similar objectives as IEEEP, provided always that no financial liabilities are placed on IEEEP without advance approval from the IEEEP Executive Committee.

Section 3 The Section may participate in organising / sponsoring technical lectures, conferences or seminars with other national or international organisations or IEEEP entities provided always that :-

1. IEEEP Policy and Procedures Manual (Referred to at Article III, Section 2(iii) above) and reporting requirements as per form L-35 shall be met.
2. Prior budget approval as required by (i) above shall be arranged.
3. Section Chair shall consult the Executive Committee for policy approval for each instance, which shall be conveyed to the participating entity in writing.
4. In case permanent arrangement for holding joint sessions, technical or otherwise, is made, in addition to all above requirements, a memo of understanding shall be signed prior to the go-ahead for holding joint sessions.
5. Report of the Conference shall be sent to IEEEP following Policy / Procedures as outlined by IEEEP.
   

ARTICLE V - Officers and Members of the Executive Committee

Section 1 The officers of the Lahore Section shall be :-

1. Chairperson
2. Vice Chairperson
3. Secretary / Secretary-cum-Treasurer as one person
4. All Chapters Chairpersons
5. Seven (7) members-at-large (who, where needed, shall be assigned specific areas of responsibility pertaining to the functioning of the section).

Section 2 The seven (7) members-at-large shall also be elected, and shall be members of the Section Executive Committee. The total membership of the Executive Committee shall therefore be twelve (12).

Section 3 The term of the elected officers shall be for two years.

Section 4 The term of office will begin on January 1 of a calendar year but, in any case, the outgoing officers will continue until their successors are duly elected and take office.

The consecutive period of service in any one office shall not exceed two years (either as one two year term or two consecutive one-year terms) except when the extension and written reasons thereof have been approved by the Regional Director.

Section 5 In case any vacancy occurs before the completion of normal term of that office then it shall be filled in as follows: -

1. If the remaining time for the completion of the term is six months or less then the Executive Committee shall, by majority vote, assign "Additional Responsibilities" to any of the existing members of the Executive Committee for the remaining period. This shall not disqualify the said member from the next due elections of the Section in any way and the period of additional responsibility shall not be considered towards his/her two years tenure.(a) If the remaining time for the completion of the term is six months or less then the Executive Committee shall, by majority vote, assign "Additional Responsibilities" to any of the existing members of the Executive Committee for the remaining period. This shall not disqualify the said member from the next due elections of the Section in any way and the period of additional responsibility shall not be considered towards his/her two years tenure.
2. If the remaining period is more than six months then the Executive Committee shall elect a new member by its majority vote. However if this remaining period is
   1. less than one year even then it shall be considered as one full year in that office and the member shall be eligible for election for only one more one year term in that office.
   2. more than one year then the member so elected shall be deemed to have completed a normal two year term and shall not be eligible for re-election to that office in the coming elections.

Section 6 The Section Chair and the Executive Committee, with due consultation, may appoint members as they deem fit to give opinions or perform special task(s). These appointed members shall not have a voting right in the Executive Committee meetings but they may be counted towards a quorum. The term of the appointed member(s) shall expire along with the term of the Executive Committee as usual.

Section 7 In addition to the above elected officers and executive members, the following shall be appointed by the Section Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee :-

1. A REPCOM Designee for contact with the Reference List of Education Program Committee (REPCOM), preferably a knowledgeable person in engineering academia but not affiliated with the institute of one of the programs being recommended. At least 2 suitable persons representing academia and industry shall be attached to the REPCOM Designee.
2. A GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Representative shall be appointed who shall be a graduate of not more than 9 years. This GOLD Representative shall carry out programs in the Section to promote membership development and retention of recently graduated student members.

Section 8 On every instance of appointment information shall be sent to IEEEP Region 10 REP Coordinator.

Section 9 At the start of every calendar year the Chairperson shall appoint an E-mail Coordinator. This E-mail Coordinator shall receive and redirect the e-mail received by him to the other officers/members for whom the messages are meant.

Section 10 No remuneration shall be paid to the elected officers, voting members or co-opted members of the Executive Committee, members of REPCOM Committee and the E-mail Coordinator.

Section 11 All officers and members of the Executive Committee and REPCOM Subcommittee shall have to be voting members of IEEEP i.e. these officers and appointed representatives of the Section shall be of Member grade or higher. Student and Associate members are not permitted to hold elected or appointed office.

Section 12 Removal from office. If for any reason the best interests of the Section seem to require a change in the governing body during the year, the matter shall be duly and carefully considered by the Section Executive Committee. On not less than a two-thirds vote of the Section Executive Committee or upon receipt by the Section Executive Committee of a petition signed by at least 15% of the members of the Section, the Section Executive Committee shall call a special meeting of the Section membership for the sole purpose of considering and voting upon the recommended change. A two-thirds vote of the members present shall be necessary to declare an office vacant. Also upon two-thirds vote of the members, the vacant office may be filled for the unexpired term, as specified in the Section Bylaws.

Section 13 If during his/her tenure a Chairperson resigns from this post he/she cannot then become the Past Chair. In such cases the previous Past Chair will stand in as the current Past Chair till the end of the term.

ARTICLE VI - Standing Committees

Section 1 The Standing Committees of the Section shall be as follows:-

1. Membership Development
2. Professional Activities
3. Student Activities
4. Educational Activities
5. Awards and Recognition
6. Conference

Section 2 The Chairpersons of the Standing Committees shall be appointed by the Section Chairperson with the approval of the Section Executive Committee and their term will expire on 31st December after a period of two years. The Chairperson of each standing committee has to be a member of the Executive Committee.

Section 3 Each committee chairperson shall appoint his/her committee members with the approval of the Section Executive Committee and their term will expire on 31st December after a period of two years.

Section 4 The duties of the Standing Committees will be as laid down in the IEEEP RAB Operations Manual and the IEEEP Bylaws.

Section 5 Additional members may be appointed by the Standing Committees in order to perform efficiently but in no case shall persons be introduced who are not IEEEP members.

Section 6 No remuneration shall be paid to the chairpersons or members of the Standing Committees.

ARTICLE VII - Management of the Section

Section 1 The Section Office shall always be in the city of Lahore.

Section 2 There shall only be part-time employees for managing accounts and for secretarial work associated with the newsletter, day to day correspondence etc. The wages paid to them shall be recommended by the Chairperson and approved by the Executive Committee for the duration of the Chairperson's term of office. All personnel-related activity of the Section shall be in compliance with IEEEP Policy and Procedures and required personnel policies, and local laws and regulations.

Section 3 The management of the Section shall be by the Section Executive Committee which shall consist of the elected officers, the Past Chairperson, Chapters Chairpersons, the Standing Committees Chairpersons and elected members as per Article V above.

Section 4 The number of elected members must be at least one greater than those appointed. Furthermore, a quorum will require more elected than appointed members.

Section 5 The presence of a majority of the Section Executive members shall be necessary to conduct the business of the Committee.

Section 6 The minutes of meeting shall be circulated among all the members of the Executive Committee and Student Branches with a request that they may forward their comments, if any.

Section 7 For the benefit of members outside Lahore who, for some reason, cannot attend a certain meeting, comments, opinions and suggestions by telephone, fax, or e-mail may be accepted and recorded in the minutes.

Section 8 The meetings of the Section Executive Committee will ordinarily be held monthly and will be called by the Section Chairperson or by a request of any 3 members of the Section Executive Committee.

Section 9 The fiscal year of the Section shall be January 1 to December 31 of each calendar year.

Section 10 No expenses shall be payable to officers or members, on account of travel or otherwise, to attend the meetings of the Executive Committee.

Section 11 When specific tasks are to be carried out by officers or Executive Committee members, actual costs involved in completing such tasks may be reimbursed to the officers or Executive Committee members provided always that a budget has been approved by the Chairperson and original vouchers produced at the end of the task.

Section 12 A "Manual of Section Operation" shall be developed to keep section procedures reasonably consistent from term to term. The manual may be updated as the Section Bylaws or mandatory IEEEP Policy documents are updated. The Section Executive Committee shall have the power to approve and or modify this from time to time for best management of the Section keeping in line with the requirements of IEEEP Policy document and instructions from Regional Activities Department.

Section 13 In case of any disputes, differences of opinion etc. among the Executive Committee members (including the Chairperson) the matter shall first be brought to the Executive Committee for fair resolution without involving any other persons. In resolving the issue the Section Executive Committee may seek the guidance of the Region Director, Regional Office or HQ or any past Chairperson.

ARTICLE VIII - Nomination and Election of Officers

Section 1 A Nominating Committee consisting of at least 3 members from among the current Section membership or from the Section Executive Committee, but not then officers of the Section, shall be appointed by the Section Chairperson with the approval of the Section Executive Committee.

Section 2 The members of the Nominating Committee shall not be eligible for nomination for any office of the Committee for that term for which the elections are to be held.

Section 3 The Nominating Committee will be announced to the voting members of the Section, along with the names of the officers as nominated and the brief bio-data of the nominees with a brief position statement of each candidate, under signatures of the Section Chairperson by postal certificate. Following this a minimum of 28 days shall be allowed for possible additional nominations by petition. To be valid the petition must be signed by 10 or more voting members.

Section 4 If only one nomination is made for each office the election may be made at the Annual Meeting. If additional nominations are made, election will be by ballot, mailed to the membership, with the vote counted by a Tellers Committee appointed by the Section Chairperson. The election results shall be announced as per schedule given in Article VIII Section 7. The results are also to be sent by mail under postal certificate to the voting members as per list available with the Section in Voting Members' Register (ref. Article XI Section 1 ahead).

Section 5 No officers and members of the Executive Committee shall serve in the same position for more than one term except with a gap of one term.

Section 6 Elections shall be held according to a schedule, detailed in Section 7 below, which will enable the Chairperson-Elect and other Executive Committee members-Elect to benefit from an orientation period of approximately three months which is to be ensured by the cooperation of the current office bearers. This would thus, subsequently, facilitate not only a more effective transition but also better implementation of their duties and functions by the new officers and members of the Committee, when they assume charge, leading to smoother running of the Section.

Appointment of Nominations Committee 1st June
Announcement of Nominations/Call for Nominees 1st July
Close Nominations by Petition 5th August
Appoint Tellers Committee 6th August (which may be the same as the Nominations Committee)
If required a ballot shall be mailed prior to 10th August
Finalisation of Results 15th September
Announcement of Results 25th September
Pre-AGM Executive Committee meeting 20th October
Hold Annual General Meeting Last week of December

Section 8 The Annual General Meeting shall be announced by mailing notices to all the members as listed in the Section Voting Members' Register, on or before 15th November of every year. Among other items to be taken up at this meeting at least the following will be included in the agenda :-

1. Confirmation of minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting.
2. Business arising out of the previous Annual General Meeting.
3. Report of the outgoing Chair.
4. Endorsement of appointment of auditors.
5. Approval of the annual audited accounts report.
6. Approval of the annual budget.
7. Any other points with the permission of the Chair.

Section 9 Soon after election of the officers and the Executive Committee, but not later than January 31, officers' confirmation form, duly filled in, shall be sent by the Secretary to IEEEP Regional Activities Department.

ARTICLE IX - Finances

Section 1 All expenditures of Section funds must be approved by the Section Treasurer. A statement of accounts shall be prepared by the Treasurer on quarterly basis and reported to the Chairperson for his/her endorsement.

Section 2 Except for normal operation of the Section no funds shall be used without prior authorisation of the IEEEP Executive Committee.

Section 3 The accounts of the Section shall be operated by the Section Chairperson and the Section Treasurer jointly. At the start of the new term a resolution shall be passed by the Section Executive Committee authorising signatures of the new Section Chairperson/Section Treasurer, approved by a majority of the Section Executive Committee in a meeting with this item as one of the agenda items, and also enclosing the proposed draft of resolution. In addition to the two officers mentioned above the signatures of the Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Past Chairperson may also be included. The cheques shall be signed by two officers. All Cheques issued shall be brought to the knowledge of the Section Chairperson and the Treasurer as soon as practicable.

Section 4 A monthly report of the Treasurer, endorsed by the Chairperson, shall be presented in the monthly meeting of the Section Executive Committee.

Section 5 The budget shall be prepared annually by the Treasurer and put up to the Section Executive Committee for approval.

Section 6 All payments shall be made against actual expense vouchers. Normally no advances shall be paid except as allowed by the Chairperson under special circumstances the reasons for which must be assigned.

Section 7 No advance shall be paid to the Section Officers/Representatives for travel to attend any Region Meeting, Section Congress or any other meetings, congresses etc.

Section 8 Funds can be transferred from the Section to the Chapters and Student Branches as allowed by the IEEEP Policy and Procedures Manual. The Chapters and Student Branches shall be required to submit original expense vouchers to ensure proper and accurate accounting.

Section 9 Section funds can be used with the prior approval of the Section Executive Committee to host or sponsor social events, functions or activities related to the promotion of the Section/IEEEP's image. However effort shall be made to meet the major expenses for such functions from suitable advertising, from sponsorships and from contributions from the members/attendees and the industry.

A reasonable number of special guests may however be accommodated from the Section funds, if required, provided always that special permission of the Chairperson is obtained. The usual expenses of light refreshments during meetings of the Section (technical or administrative), if not sponsored, may be met from the Section funds

Section 10 The accounts of the section shall be regularly audited by an independent company appointed for this purpose. Their remuneration shall be fixed by the Chairperson in consultation with the Executive Committee and endorsed by the next Annual General Meeting.

Section 11 The Secretary/Treasurer will forward the Annual Report of Financial Activity (L-50) to the IEEEP Tax Compliance Office as soon as possible after 1 January each year.

ARTICLE X - Membership Data

Section 1 One of the duties of the Section Chair is to keep the membership data current.

In order to achieve this, at the beginning of every year, all members listed in SAMIEEE Database (January Data) shall be mailed a questionnaire for updating the membership data. However information of any change shall accordingly be reflected in the Database as and when it is known.

The member's response to the questionnaire shall be recorded in a Section Voting Members' Register kept at the Section office.

ARTICLE XI - Section Records

Section 1 The Section office record shall contain at least the following documents :-

1. Section Voting Members' Register.
2. A Manual of Section Operations.
3. Section Bylaws (along with Mandatory IEEEP Policy Documents).
4. A folder of the last 5 Annual Reports.
5. A folder containing MOM's of all Executive Committee meetings held in the last 5 years.
6. Reports from all the Regional meetings for the last 5 years.
7. Reports from the Section Congress for the last 5 years.
8. General correspondence.
9. SAMIEEE software and database.
10. Accounts record.
11. A folder containing handing/taking over of Section record for the last 5 years.
12. A folder containing record of all changes in the Section Bylaws.

Section 2 The record disposal shall be as per document mentioned in Article III Section 2(iv) above.

ARTICLE XII- Formation of Chapters/Affinity Groups

Section 1 On receipt of a petition from the required number of members to form a chapter of any society or a joint chapter of two or more societies, the Secretary shall proceed with the process of formation of the desired chapter. The chapter chair, after installing of the chapter shall automatically become a member of the Executive Committee. Chapter formation shall be in accordance with the procedure explained in the RAB Operations Manual.

Section 2 Affinity Groups may also be formed through the petition process as described in the RAB Operations Manual.

ARTICLE XIII- Travelling Expenses of Officers

Section 1 In accordance with IEEEP Policy only the Section Chairperson or his/her nominee shall officially attend the Regional Meeting and Section Congress. Travelling expense for this purpose shall be spent by the Chairperson or nominee in the first instance and then reimbursed at the destination by the organising entity directly to the visiting officer. No advances or reimbursements for such expenses shall be made except if budgeted according to the IEEEP guidelines/announcements in their publications. However actual expenses incurred in obtaining the visa may be reimbursed from the Section. A copy of the visa stamp(s) shall accompany the expense voucher(s).

Section 2 Any other officer(s) may be allowed to accompany the Chairperson or his/her designee provided that the visit does not involve any expenses by the Section.

Section 3 Funds may be allocated to help the Section Chairpersons of student branches, from outside the meeting city announced, attend Section meetings provided that the attendee(s) is/are invited by the Chairperson by name and the confirmation of the attendee(s) is received beforehand.

Section 4 For Pakistan Council meetings (within Pakistan) the Section shall pay airfare as well as boarding and lodging expenses. In addition the Section shall also meet the local transport/taxi expenses if these are not provided by the organising section.

1. Residence to Airport and back
2. Airport to place of meeting/hotel and back
3. Hotel to place of meeting and back

Section 5 Comprehensive travel insurance shall be admissible for all international travel through IEEEP's volunteer international travel insurance or otherwise.

Section 6 Any unforeseen, emergency expenses, incurred while travelling on IEEEP business shall be reimbursed only after the approval of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE XIV- Annual Report of Activity

Section 1 The L-31 meeting activity reports of the Section and of its subunits (Chapters, Affinity Groups, etc.) shall be sent by the Secretary to the Regional Activities Department on the form sent by the Headquarters.

ARTICLE XV- Amendments

Section 1 Proposals for amendment(s) to these bylaws may originate in the Section Executive Committee or by a petition signed by 10 or more voting members. For this purpose a Section Bylaws Committee, comprising of three elected or appointed members of the Section Executive Committee, may be formed to review and update the bylaws by incorporating anyamendments in accordance with IEEEP Bylaws. The proposed Bylaws or amendment(s) thereto shall be delivered or mailed at least twenty days before the stipulated meeting of the Section Executive Committee at which the vote will be taken. Two-thirds of all votes cast at that meeting shall be required to approve any new Bylaws, amendments or revocation.

Section 2 Amendments to or revocation of these bylaws shall be in accordance with the IEEEP Bylaws and shall come in force with effect from the dates mentioned in the amendment(s) and with the approval of the Regional Director received in writing.

The Bylaws Committee formed vide Circular dated October 06, 2000 has finalised the Bylaws draft in accordance with the IEEEP guidelines and the guidance of the Section Executive Committee.

The signatures of the Section Bylaws Committee are made below : -

1. Engr. Hasnain Reza Mirza Chairperson
2. Dr. Syed Zahoor Hassan Vice Chairperson
3. Engr. Sajid Aziz Advisor Bylaws/Conference