CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL COURTLY LITERATURE SOCIETY / SOCIETE INTERNATIONALE DE LITTERATURE COURTOISE
As revised at the Eighth Congress, Belfast 1995
CONSTITUTION
1. NAME
(i) This organisation (hereafter called the Society) shall be called the International Courtly Literature Society (ICLS) / Société Internationale de Littérature Courtoise (SILC).
II. PURPOSES
(i) The function of the Society is to promote the study of courts and court-related cultures, with particular reference to the written records of medieval Europe. Appropriate areas include medieval vernacular genres (lay, romance, lyric poetry, drama, etc.), medieval Latin literature, the historical background to court life, and medieval art, architecture and music. Arthurian material is covered only in as far as it corresponds to the interests of the Society.
(ii) The Society shall endeavour to promote contact with all those engaged in the study and teaching of courtly literature and cultures.
III. COMPOSITION AND MEMBERSHIP
(i) The Society shall have constituent branches in all countries in which there is sufficient interest. Residents of other countries may join any branch they choose. Membership is open to all those who share the interests of the Society and each member of a national branch shall be deemed a member of the Society.
IV. INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS
(i) The international officers of the Society shall be the Honorary Presidents, the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Chief Bibliographer and the Editor of Encomia.
(ii) With the exception of the Honorary Presidents, these officers shall comprise the Executive Committee, which shall be the Society’s policy-making body.
(iii) The Executive Committee shall be advised by the Honorary Presidents.
V. NATIONAL BRANCHES
(i) The national branches of the Society shall be those recognised by the Executive Committee.
(ii) Each national Branch shall provide for a President and a Secretary-Treasurer or Bibliographical Correspondent.
VI. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES
(i) The Society shall hold an international congress every three years.
(ii) This congress shall include a business meeting which shall be the Society’s principal decision-making body.
(iii) At each triennial congress the Executive Commitee shall meet with the Presidents of the national branches or their representatives.
VII. AMENDMENTS
(i) Members wishing to propose amendments to the Constitution or Bylaws must send the proposed text to the International Secretary at least four months before the triennial congress.
(ii) The International Secretary will send the text to the Secretary-Treasurer of each national branch at least three months before the congress.
(iii) Amendments duly proposed shall be subject to a majority vote at the business meeting of the congress.
VIII. THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL BULLETIN
(i) The Society shall issue an annual publication entitled Encomia: Bibliographical Bulletin of the ICLS. This publication shall contain an annotated bibliography of all items relevant to the interests and purposes of the Society. It shall also include book reviews, news of members’ activities and any other material which the Editor deems appropriate.
IX. DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY
(i) Upon the dissolution of the Society, the officers shall, after payment of all liabilities, dispose of the assets of the Society to an organisation or organisations formed exclusively for educational purposes.
BYLAWS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL COURTLY LITERATURE SOCIETY / SOCIETE INTERNATIONALE DE LITTERATURE COURTOISE
I. SELECTION OF INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS
(i) The Honorary Presidents, President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected at the triennial business meeting.
(ii) Nominations for the above-mentioned offices may be sent to the Secretary before the relevant meeting or may be made from the floor. Before being nominated, a candidate must have signified his/her willingness to serve.
(iii) In the event that the President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer shall for any reason be unable or unwilling to carry out his/her responsibilities, the remaining officers shall appoint his/her successor to serve until the next triennial meeting.
(iv) The President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall, by majority vote, select the Chief Bibliographer and the Editor of Encomia.
II. DUTIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS
(i) Honorary Presidents shall serve for life unless they wish to resign. Their duties shall be to advise the Executive Committee.
(ii) Other elected officers shall serve for a period of three years or until their successors are chosen.
(iii) The President shall preside at the international congresses and shall provide continuing leadership between congresses.
(iv) The Vice-President shall perform the President’s functions whenever the President is unable to act.
(v) The Secretary is responsible for the Society’s international coordination and correspondence. He/she shall prepare an annual international membership list and forward it to the Editor of Encomia.
(vi) The Treasurer shall inform the various national branch Secretary-Treasurers when their contributions to the international treasury are due. He/she shall receive monies from the branch Secretary-Treasurers and any other sources. He/she shall deposit or suitably invest said monies and shall make payments in accordance with the Society’s purposes. The Treasurer shall keep full financial records and shall present a detailed report annually in Encomia and triennially to the congress.
(vii) The Chief Bibliographer shall gather appropriate bibliographical material from the Bibliographical Correspondents of the national branches, put the whole in order, prepare subject and author indexes and forward suitable copy of the bibliography and indexes in due time to the Editor of Encomia.
(viii) The Editor of Encomia shall produce Encomia and be responsible for the distribution of the correct number of copies to the members of the Society, whether through the Secretary-Treasurer of each national branch or otherwise.
(ix) The Executive Committee, as augmented under the provisions of the Constitution, VI. iii, shall set the Society’s policies insofar as they respect the actions of the triennial business meeting. The Executive Committee shall fix an annual fee per member in payment for Encomia and the price of back issues of Encomia. Its decisions shall be made by a majority vote in person or by mail.
(x) The Executive Committee shall appoint a person or persons to store the back issues of Encomia and to distribute them as authorized by the International Treasurer.
(xi) Other than as provided in section (vi) above, no commitments may be made for disbursements from the Society’s International Treasury.
III. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES
(i) The business meeting shall deal with all business which comes properly before it. Decisions shall be taken by majority vote of members in good standing.
(ii) The business meeting shall determine the place and principal themes of the following congress, unless it wishes to delegate such authority to the Executive Committee.
(iii) The newly elected Executive Committee shall choose the Coordinator of the following congress and shall remain close communication with him/her in order to ensure the appropriate planning.
(iv) The Executive Committee shall grant, as it deems appropriate, sums of money to the Coordinator of the congress. Otherwise, the finances of the Society shall remain separate. The officers of the Society shall not make commitments concerning the arrangements or expenses of the congress without the prior consent of the Coordinator. The Coordinator shall make no financial commitments for disbursements from the Society’s International Treasury.
(v) The Treasurer shall reimburse members of the Executive Committee for travel expenses relating to attendance at triennial congresses (to a maximum amount which shall be set by the AGM), when their application for such funds from alternative sources have proved unsuccessful. Congress fees shall be waived for all members of the Executive Committee.
IV. DUTIES OF NATIONAL BRANCHES
(i) The Secretary-Treasurer of each branch shall maintain accurate membership and financial records. He/she shall handle its mailings and other business and shall make an annual financial report to its membership.
(ii) Each branch shall charge its members dues which it judges appropriate. The Secretary-Treasurer shall solicit the payment of dues annually. Prior to the distribution of Encomia he/she shall send the International Treasurer the fee per member that the International Executive Committee has determined for that year.
(iii) Each branch shall use income in excess of payments for Encomia, as it sees fit, for mailing purposes, organisation of national or regional meetings, to give financial support to its President (or his/her representative) to attend the triennial congress, etc.
(iv) The Secretary-Treasurer shall receive orders and payments for back issues of Encomia and forward the payments to the International Treasurer.
(v) The Secretary-Treasurer of each branch shall forward a membership list to the International Secretary for inclusion annually in Encomia.
(vi) The Bibliographical Correspondent of each branch shall compile material for Encomia and forward it to the Chief Bibliographer.