BY-LAWS OF

INDO-AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION, INC

(A Not-for-Profit Corporation)

ARTICLE I:  OFFICES

The Principal off ice of the Corporation shall be located in the City of East Meadow, County of Nassau, State of New York.  The Corporation may also have such offices at such other places within or without the State as the Board of Trustees may from time to time determine.

ARTICLE II:  MEMBERS

SECTION I:  QUALIFICATIONS

Admission into residency training in psychiatry and are required to be a voting member of IAPA.  Completion of residency training is required to hold an elected office.

SECTION II:  CATEGORIES

1. General Members: Psychiatrists of Indian Origin or Descent who have completed the required training in psychiatry, are board eligible and live in the United States or Canada.  The annual fees for membership is $50 per calendar year and is not prorated.

2.   Life Member:  Psychiatrists eligible for General Membership who pay a one time  

    dues of $250.

1. Member-in-Training: Physicians of Indian Origin or Descent who are in an approved residency training program in psychiatry in the United States or Canada.  They can become General or Life Members at the completion of their training and becoming board eligible.  No fee.

4.   Associate Life Member:  Non-psychiatric physicians of Indian Origin or Descent, other  mental health professionals and psychiatrists from countries other than India who live in the United States or Canada.  One time annual dues of   $150.

5.   Corresponding Member:  Psychiatrists or mental health professionals of Indian Origin    

     or Descent who live outside the United States or Canada.  The annual fees are $25.

1. Honorary Members:  Individuals elected by the IAPA Executive Council and

     approved by the Board of Trustees for outstanding contributions to the field of mental

     health and/or for promoting the goals and objectives of IAPA.  The honorary

     members do not pay any dues.

Catergory 1, and 2 are voting members and categories 3, 4, 5 and 6 are nonvoting members.

SECTION II:

Procedure for Admission

1. Completion of application form
2. Payment of applicable fees.
3. Recomendations from 2 Life Members.

SECTION IV:

Termination of Membership:

1. Members dues are in arrears for more than one calendar year.
2. Members medical license is suspended or revoked in any State of USA or Canada.
3. Member is suspended or expelled by APA or CPA.
4. Member indulges in conduct unworthy of a practicing professional.

The procedure is as follows:

The President of any member can bring the above to the attention of the EC.  The President will appoint a committee that submits a report in 15 days and recommends a course of action based on facts gathered.  The EC sends the recommendations to BOT after deliberations.  The BOT votes for or against termination.  The secretary keeps minutes of all deliberations and votes.

SECTUION V:

DUES

The current dues in US $ are as follows:

General Member: $50 annually (calendar year)

Life Member:  $250 (one time)

Member-in-Training: No annual fee.  

Associate Life Member: $150 (one-time)

Corresponding Member: $25 annually

Honorary Member: Fees waived

Fees can be revised as follows: The EC will vote on appointing a committee to revise the fees.  The committee will submit a report to the EC in 30 days.  The EC will pass a resolution of the revised dues and ask the BOT for approval.  If the BOT approves, the revised dues will be posted on the Website and the application forms.  The secretary will keep minutes of the discussion.

SECTION VII:

Reinstatement

Any member who has been suspended or expelled can apply for reinstatement if the issues for which he/she was suspended/expelled have been resolved.  He/she should attach a written explanation regarding the resolution of the issues.  The EC will first discuss if the member can be reinstated and pass it on to the BOT for approval.  The Life Member will not have to pay any further dues, but the other membership categories will have to pay the appropriate dues.

ARTICLE III:  OFFICERS of the IAPA Executive Committee (EC)

SECTION I:

The following are the elected officers of EC:

President: Assumes the office at the annual meeting which is held in conjunction with the APA annual meeting, generally in May.  The term is for two years.

President-elect: Elected for a term of two years and automatically assumes the office of the President when the term of the outgoing President expires. To be eligible for election, should have served on the EC for a minimum of four years and preferably in an elected office in a local chapter for two years.

Secretary: Elected for a term of two years.  Preferably should have served as an officer in a local chapter for two years and on the EC for two years, but there are no minimum requirements.

Treasurer:  Elected for a term of two years.  Preferably should have served as an officer  in a local chapter for two years and on the EC for two years, but there are no minimum requirements.

SECTION II:

The following are the appointed positions on the EC. The time served count towards eligibility for office of President-elect:

Editor: Preferably appointed a year before assuming office by the President-elect and start working with the current Editor.

Council Members: Maximum three Life Members appointed by the President for a term of two years.  One Council Member will be an early career psychiatrist. Council Members' time on EC counts towards qualifications for President-elect's position.

One MIT and ECP each appointed by the President for a term of two years. They are non-voting members and their time on EC does not count towards towards qualifications for the President-elect's position.

The Council Members will be given specific responsibilities by the President, like chairing a specific committee or accomplishing a specific task.

SECTIONJ III:

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

The duties of the elected officers have been outlined in the Constitution.

The President shall assign duties to the Council Members and shall from time to time assign additional duties to the elected officers.

The President shall also appoint Committees for specific tasks, like the Nominating, Awards, etc.:

1. The term will be for 2 years and will begin when the President takes office and expires when the President leaves office.  In the event of the President leaving office before expiry of term, the incoming replacement President can dissolve the existing committees and appoint new committees with a new Chair, except the Nominating Committee which shall be constituted as described in no. 3 below.
2. The Committees will consist of voting members; the Committees can have other members like Associate or Corresponding or Honorary or MIT/ECP members in the role of advisers, called advisory members; they can help with the specific areas of their expertise but cannot vote.
3. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the Immediate Past President as Chair, a representative from the BOT, a Chapter President, the President-elect and one Life Member.  The nominating committee shall nominate for candidates for elections to the EC and the BOT.  Any candidate desiring to contest for office cannot serve on the nominating committee.   

The President shall also appoint Liaisons to various organizations like the APA, IPS, BIPA, etc.  The Liaisons term will be for two years, beginning when the President assumes office and will end when the President leaves office. In the event of the President leaving office before expiry of term, the incoming replacement President shall appoint a new Liaison for the remainder of the term.  

ARTICLE V: BOARD OF TURSTEES (BOT) OF THE IAPA

SECTION I:

The BOT will have a minimum of 5 members and a maximum of 7 members.  The three Immediate Past Presidents will serve on the Board and four members will be elected.

SECTION II:  Qualifications for nomination to BOT

1. Serve on the EC for at least 6 years or
2. Serve on the EC for four years and serve in an elected office in a local chapter for four years.

SECTION III:  Term of office:

1. Each Immediate Past President will serve for a term of six years.  Thus, every two years one Immediate Past President will rotate out and the new Immediate Past President will replace him/her.
2. The term for the elected members will be four years.  Two members will be elected every two years to replace two who will rotate out.  In case there are a total of only 5 total members only one trustee will rotate out after two years.

SECTION IV: Vacancy:

In case one of the trustees leaves before expiry of term, as long as there are five trustees, the vacancy will not be filled. If there are less than five trustees, an Acting Trustee who meets the qualification will be appointed by the BOT to be ratified for the remainder of the term at the next annual meeting or to serve out the term if there is no annual meeting prior to the expiry of the term of the original trustee.