Constitution of the Association
Revision 4 – December, 2022
Public Health Palliative Care International is a global membership association that promotes the philosophy, values, concepts and methods of health promotion into palliative care.
Aims
1. The purpose of the Public Health Palliative Care International is to:
1.1 provide exchange and advocacy of public health approaches to palliative and end-of-life care academics, practitioners and communities of practice in all relevant settings where dying, caregiving and loss are experienced at any point in the lifespan;
1.2 lead and support a biennial conference for the development and dissemination of public health approaches to palliative and end-of-life care;
1.3 develop, promote and disseminate evidence reflective of research on public health palliative care;
1.4 be a credible and accessible source of information about public health policy and practices in palliative and end-of-life care for governments, health care organisations, higher education, palliative and end-of-life care charities, and the general public; and,
1.5 support and amplify the voices of community-led organisations supporting people with a life-limiting or terminal illness and their families.
Membership
2. Public Health Palliative Care International, hereby referred in this document as ‘the Association’, is authorised to charge its members fees to cover the costs of its activities that further its objectives.
3. In so doing, the Association will offer a range of benefits to its members as determined by the Association’s governing Council.
Governance and Management (Council membership and roles)
4. The Association shall be managed by a Council of no fewer than six and no more than twelve voting members at any one time, which shall include a president, vice-president, general secretary, treasurer, membership secretary and general Council members. All Council members shall be fully paid-up members of the Association. All terms of office shall normally commence and end at an Annual General Meeting of the Association.
5. The president (or the vice president when delegated) is responsible to:
5.1 chair Annual General Meetings of the Association and have the casting vote when votes cast on each side are equal, in addition to any other vote they may have;
5.2 oversee the program of activities of the Council, including chairing of Council meetings;
5.3 ensure the activities of the Association comply with its Constitution and legal requirements;
5.4 represent the Association when liaising with other bodies; and,
5.5 provide an opening welcome address to all of the Association’s international conferences during their term of office.
6. Three Council members will have responsibilities as:
6.1 treasurer, to have oversight of the finances of the Association, and provide a written report for each Council ordinary meeting and AGMs;
6.2 general secretary, to take and disseminate minutes of Council meetings and AGMs, manage general correspondence and other administrative duties as required; and,
6.3 membership secretary, to promote and monitor membership, and communicate with members as required, and provide a written report for each Council ordinary meeting and AGMs
7. General Council members may be allocated other specific portfolios within the Association, including but not limited to Webmaster, communications officer, newsletter editor, research promotion, and early career research promotion. Each portfolio holder shall have full voting rights due to their role on Council.
8. Co-opted Council Members: Council may co-opt additional Council members as required at any time, to make up a total of twelve voting members. Proposals to co-opt new Council members must be ratified by Council to enable their participation.
9. Ex officio Council members:
9.1 The PHPCI editor of the Association’s journal Palliative Care & Social Practice shall sit ex officio on Council, being accountable to the Council for the quality and direction of the journal and to receive its advice and feedback. The journal editor shall relay the wishes of the Council to the publisher where relevant.
9.2 The Council may approve ex officio Council positions for representatives of organisations with shared interest in public health palliative care. This includes, but is not limited to, nominated representatives of the European Association of Palliative Care Public Health Palliative Care Reference Group; International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care; and Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance. These representatives will provide written or verbal reports to Council regarding matters of shared interest and joint opportunities to advance the shared goals of the Associations; and
9.3 All ex officio Council members, being non-elected members of Council, will not having voting rights on Council except where this is part of their ordinary membership rights.
10. Quorum: A quorum of five members, who must include the president or vice president, and treasurer or secretary, but not any ex officio members, shall be required to conduct Council business.
Election of Council members
11. Calls for nominations for Council membership shall normally be circulated via the Association's web-based mailing list. Any current financial members of the Association can self-nominate, and their nomination should be received prior to the AGM where terms of office are expiring. Where there are two or more nominees for a role, an election by current financial members of the Association shall be held. Where a single nomination is received, the nominee’s appointment must be ratified by Council.
12. The Association shall choose a president and vice-president for one four-year term of office each. Following their terms of office, they may remain on Council ex officio for a further six months to support transition of the roles to their successors, where agreed.
13. The Association shall choose a general secretary, treasurer, membership secretary and general members for four-year terms of office. Following their terms of office, they may renominate for a further four-year term.
14. Council members whose membership ends before their term of office can be replaced by an existing member of Council or a co-opted current financial member of the Association, with ratification by the Council.
15. Attendance and participation at an AGM are not confined to members of PHPCI but only current financial members of the Association may vote. A quorum of 15 PHPCI members, or 10% of the membership, shall be required to conduct the business of the AGM, whichever is the less.
Finance
16. The Association's financial year will begin on 1st April and run through until 31st March. Records of the Association's finances will be subject to inspection by an accountant every year.
17. The Association gives power to the Council to authorise the opening and operation of a bank account. Any bank account must require two signatures for all disbursements from the signatories appointed by the Council. The bank account may utilise internet and telephone banking whereby the power to authorise transactions is held by two Council members including the president or vice president; transactions made by these means must be agreed by two signatories appointed by the president. The Council provides indemnities for use under these instructions.
18. In the event of the winding up of the Association, all monies and assets of the Council shall be collected and used to pay or make provision for the liabilities of the Association. Any remaining monies and assets must be applied directly for the purposes for which the Association has been formed or by transfer to any other organisation for purposes the same or similar to the Association.
Other matters
19. Constitutional changes shall normally be published on the PHPCI website and via the web-based email list of members prior to the AGM at which they are to be discussed. Proposed changes much obtain the support of a simple majority of current financial members of the Association.
20. Any Association matter not covered by this Constitution shall be referred to the Council for action.
ADDENDUM: TERMS OF OFFICE REALIGNMENT SCHEDULE
December 2022
ADDENDUM to REVISION 4 of Constitution of Public Health Palliative Care International
Terms of office for most Council members will expire in the last quarter of 2023 and with
the changed conference cycle following COVID-19, realignment of the terms of office of
Council members is required. It is desirable to realign the terms to the conference cycle.
It supports continuity within Council to offset the terms of the President and Vice-President,
and half the members of Council in each successive Conference year.
The following schedule is approved by Council in September 2022 as follows:
1. The biennial conferences will be held on even-numbered years (ie: 2024, 2026 etc).
2. The terms of office for the Council’s President, Vice-President and Council members
have been realigned with the conference cycle as follows:
2.1. The next term of office for President be amended from 4 to 3 years (ie: 2023-2026)
and return to 4 years thereafter.
2.2. The next term of office for Vice-President be amended from 4 to 2 years (ie: 2023-
2025) and a further single term of 3 years (ie: 2026-2028) and return to 4 years
thereafter. The incumbent serving the initial 2-year term can renominate for the
second term if desired.
2.3. Other Council members’ terms be amended from 2 to either 3 or 5 years and be 4
years thereafter.
New schedule of Council members’ terms.
