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BY-LAWS
BYLAWS of the INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR LASER SURGERY AND MEDICINE Adopted October 25th, 1977: revised November 1981; November 1989; August 2001; further revised November 29th, 2009 Section 1: Name
The Name of the Organization shall be THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR LASER SURGERY AND MEDICINE, hereafter referred to as The Society. Section 2: Objective The objective and purpose of the Society shall be to serve as a medium for exchange, advancement and dissemination of scientific knowledge related to the use of the laser for application in medicine, surgery and research, and to provide internationally-recognized accreditation for medical laser specialists, together with the International Academy of Laser Medicine and Surgery, under the umbrella of the World Federation of Societies for Medicine and Surgery (WFSLMS).
Section 3: Offices The Society shall maintain its offices at the premises of the current Secretary-General, with the current office located in Chennai, India.
Section 1: Categories of Membership The categories of membership shall be as follows: (a) Member: A member of the Society shall be an active member in good standing, namely having paid their annual dues. (b) Honorary Member: The Society may from time to time nominate an inpidual for Honorary Membership who has distinguished themselves in their field, and who may not be an ISLSM member. Honorary Members will be assessed no dues, and shall have no voting rights at Society General Assemblies. Candidates must be proposed and seconded by two active members of the Society, approved by the Membership and Executive Committees, then voted on by the general membership.
Section 2: General Qualifications Active members of the Society shall be required to hold an advanced and appropriate professional or scientific degree or equivalent qualification, plus an interest and qualification in the use of the laser in clinical surgery, clinical medicine, or research. Section 3: Election to Membership Candidates must be proposed and seconded by two active members of the Society, approved by the Membership and Executive Committees. Section 4: Termination of Membership The Society, by majority vote of members present and entitled to vote, may suspend a member for due cause, but the suspended member may petition the Executive Council and request a final hearing. Section 5: Honorary President Any President of the Society who has been an active member for ten (10) years, including his or her term of office, shall be awarded the title of Honorary President and shall sit on the Advisory Council. Honorary Presidents shall be assessed no dues. Section 1: General Powers
The affairs of the Society shall be managed by the Council, consisting of the Executive and the Advisory Council, who shall report to the Membership at each General Assembly concerning all decisions and recommendations in order to obtain approval of the membership. Should the Membership disapprove of any proposal from the Council, a final decision shall be made at that meeting.
Section 2: Council Members
The Council shall consist of the Officers of the Society, namely a President, a President Elect, a Secretary-General and a Treasurer who shall comprise the Executive, assisted by the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council, who shall be nominated by the President, shall consist of the two previous past Presidents, any Honorary Presidents and five (5) members actively engaged in laser medicine or research. There shall be in addition an adequate number of liaison secretaries as required.
Section 3: Election of the Executive and Members of the General Council
(a) The Positions of President, President Elect, Secretary-General, and Treasurer, and Members of the General Council shall be confirmed and elected at each bi-annual meeting, the candidates being proposed at each meeting by a Nominating Committee. Section 4: Tenure of Office The elected Officers shall serve for a two-year term, but may be elected for a further two year term making a maximum of two terms or four (4) years. The exceptions shall be the posts of Secretary-General and Treasurer, who for the sake of continuity may be re-elected for a maximum of four (4) consecutive terms, or eight (8) years. Tenure of the members of the Advisory Council shall be two (2) years, with the possibility of renomination for a further two (2) years. Section 5: Meetings The Executive should attempt to meet at least once a year between meetings and the Council should meet during each meeting. Section 1: Congresses The Society congresses shall be held on a bi-annual basis, the location to be decided on by the Membership. Congresses shall be held in turn in the major geographical regions, (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Asian Pacific, or any other developing area). No congress shall be held twice in succession in any one region in any four years. The location of each congress shall be decided upon by the Membership. The congresses shall consist of a scientific session, a business meeting and a General Assembly. The scientific session shall be open to all interested inpiduals, the business meeting shall be limited only to the Executive and Advisory Council members, and the General Assembly to those active members entitled to vote. Section 2: Notice of Congresses Section 3: Extraordinary Meetings Extraordinary meetings may be called by any member of the Executive, the members of the Advisory Council or by written petition of at least ten percent (10%) of the active membership. Such meetings may be held either physically or virtually, with attendees able to comment and vote by email. Section 4: Quorum The Quorum necessary for a General Assembly shall be twenty percent (20%) of the active members entitled to vote. If a GA shall be Inquorate, the meeting shall be closed, and reopened 30 minutes later when a quorum shall be deemed to exist. Section 5: Local Congress Arrangements
Each Society congress shall be the responsibility of a local Organizing Committee, under the control of the President of the congress, who shall assume that post immediately after the congress preceding their own. Section 6: Congress Program Each Organizing Committee shall have the duty to provide a printed program of their congress, which shall include the Abstracts of the presentations planned for that congress. Section 7: Congress Proceedings At the discretion of the local Organizing Committee, the Proceedings may be produced in some format for the meeting. Recorded audio tapes of the meeting may be produced at the discretion of the Organizing Committee for sale or distribution to interested members and attendees. Section 8: Congress Presentations
(a) Papers for presentation at the congress scientific session shall be given by members of the Society only. Notwithstanding the above, Non-members may be invited by the local Organizing Committee to present papers or to become members of the Society. The official journal of the Society shall be Laser Therapy, published by JMLL, Tokyo, Japan, as proposed by the Executive Committee at the meeting held during the 17th ISLSM congress in Florence, Italy, November 2007, and ratified by the General Assembly at the 18th ISLSM GA, Tokyo, Japan, November 29th, 2009. Any changes to the official journal shall be decided by the Council and ratified by the Membership. All papers for publishing should be submitted to the Editor of the journal on completion of each meeting, if desired. The Society urges all members to submit papers for publication in the official journal. Abstracts of the papers shall be published in the official program for each meeting, the cost of which shall be included the registration fee of that meeting. Section 1: Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least three active members appointed by the President. This committee shall propose the list from which Officers of the Society and Executive Council Members shall be elected. Section 2: Membership Committee The Membership Committee shall consist of at least three (3) active members who will screen all applicants for membership and report their findings to the Executive Council, which will in turn report to the Society Membership. Section 3: Continuity of the Society A Newsletter shall be produced at least once between Society meetings and circulated by the current Secretary-General to all active members in the Society. This Newsletter should be authored by the President and Secretary-General. The Newsletter should report on actions of the Executive and Advisory Council, highlights of the business meeting of the previous Society Congress and information about the subsequent Meeting. ARTICLE VII Under the umbrella of the World Federation of Societies for Laser Medicine and Surgery and in cooperation with the International Academy of Laser Medicine and Surgery, the ISLSM will co-manage the International Medical Laser Specialist (IMeLaS) initiative. This initiative is designed to provide qualified medical and dental laser specialists, scientists and researchers, and qualified senior paramedical personnel with an internationally-recognized accreditation. Full details of the initiative and candidate requirements are as set out in Schedule 2 hereto. This initiative will offer to candidates for IMeLaS certification a didactic and hands-on training program for lasers in surgery and medicine, followed by a written examination. On successful completion of the course including attaining a pass mark in the examination, candidates will be awarded IMeLaS certification at the requisite grade (see Schedule 2 hereto). ARTICLE VIII Section 1: Dues There shall be an initiation fee of fifty US dollars (US $50.00) upon acceptance of an applicant for Membership to the Society. Yearly dues as per Schedule 1 hereto shall be as set by the Council and announced to the General Assembly or communicated to the active membership by mail. Section 2: Special Assessments There shall be no special assessments without the recommendation of the Council and approval of the majority of the active Membership in good standing at the next General Assembly. Special assessments shall be made only if the income from the meetings is insufficient for the running of the Society. Monetary deficits at any meeting shall be the responsibility of the local Organizing Committee for that meeting. Section 3: Banking The monies collected from all sources including Society dues and meetings shall be deposited and held in a US dollar bank account nominated by the current Treasurer. The current office is located in Chennai. Section 4: Drawing of Checks and other Disbursement of Funds Society checks shall be signed by the Treasurer. And authorized by the President. Likewise any other disbursement of funds must be approved in writing by both the Treasurer and President. Section 5: Audit There shall be an audit presented at each bi-annual meeting by an Audit Committee appointed by the President. This Audit Committee shall review the books of the Society and the expenses and receipts of the meeting. Membership of this Committee shall consist of the Chairman (from the local Organizing Committee), the Society treasurer, and two (2) other members in good standing appointed by the president. In addition, the accounts shall be audited by an independent certified accountant. Any remaining monies should be returned to the Treasurer of the Society to help defer organizational expenses. ARTICLE IX
Amendments to, alterations or repeal of any of the Bylaws must be proposed in writing and signed by three voting members of the Society in good standing, and submitted in writing to the Secretary-General, who shall communicate such proposed changes to the Executive and Advisory Council members. A copy shall be mailed to the active membership of the Society prior to the following meeting at which any such changes are to be considered. A two-thirds affirmative vote of those present and eligible to vote at the General Assembly is necessary for the acceptance of the change.
SCHEDULE 1 to the ISLSM BYLAWS Membership dues (as proposed and ratified by the Council and presented to the General Assembly of the 18th congress of the ISLSM, Tokyo, Japan, November 29th, 2009. The current annual membership dues shall be set at US $100 per anum. Life Membership for members sixty (60) years of age or over shall be available for a one-time-only payment of US $400, with the fee of US $1000 for members under 60 years of age. [Other life membership fees to be discussed]. Suggestion:
Members may choose in the future to have membership without receiving a hard copy of the journal, Laser Therapy, instead being able to access an online version of the journal on a password-protected members-only section of the website. A suggested membership fee of $50 would reflect this. SCHEDULE 2 to the ISLSM BYLAWS World Federation of Societies for Laser Surgery and Medicine and International Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery Certification Criteria for INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL LASER SPECIALISTS General Information
The WFSLMS together with the ISLSM will certify and grade candidates for International Medical Laser Specialist (IMeLaS) certification according to the following three criteria: General Information
The Grading System is tentatively pided into 4 ranks, namely Grades 4 to 1, starting from the lowest to the highest grades.
The ranks and titles of IMeLaS grading are as follows, from highest to lowest: Requirement for application to the appropriate grade (starting from the lowest) See also Table 1 below. Please note that in the case of published articles, any article written as the first author will count as 2 oral contributions, and only as 1 oral contribution for the 2nd or subsequent author of an article.
4th Grade, C-IMeLaS: The applicant must be a licensed medical doctor of the country or the region in which he or she is practicing.
3rd Grade, B-IMeLaS: In addition to the requirements for the 4th Grade Certificate, the applicant must fulfil the following:
2nd Grade, A -IMeLaS: In addition to the requirements for the 3rd Grade Certificate, the applicant must fulfil the following:
1st Grade, I-IMeLaS: In addition to the requirements for the 3rd Grade Certificate, the applicant must fulfil the following:
Upgrade Policy Upgrading from an existing grade to a higher grade is possible once the appropriate criteria have been fulfilled, including the length of active ISLSM Membership, and on payment of the appropriate fee (Table 2). It is possible to apply for initial certification at any grade from the 2nd to the 4th grades (A-IMeLaS – C-IMeLaS), but applicants for 1st Grade certification (I-IMeLaS) must first hold an A-IMeLaS (2nd Grade) certification. Notwithstanding the above, if a candidate joins the ISLSM as a Life Member, then the length of ISLSM membership criterion will be deemed to have been satisfied for all grades of IMeLaS certification. Renewal of Certification Certification at any grade is valid for 5 years, always provided the holder remains as a Member in Good Standing of the ISLSM. After that 5-year period, a renewal fee will be required to maintain certification (Table 2). On upgrading from any grade to a higher one, the 5-year period of validity will start from the date of the upgrade. Table 1: Certification criteria summarized
R: Required NR: Not required Table 2: Fee structure for ISLSM and IMeLaS (in US $)
*Once only payment |
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Prof. (Dr). B. Krishna Rau
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