By-Laws

CIVIL ENGINEERING RISK AND RELIABILITY ASSOCIATION (CERRA)

as approved by the Charter Assembly and effective as of May 27, 1987;

amended by a General Meeting of Members, Sydney, Australia, December 15, 1999;

amended by a General Meeting of Members, San Francisco, July 7, 2003.

1. Purpose

The International Civil Engineering Risk and Reliability Association (CERRA) has been formed for the purpose of promoting professional analysis of risk and reliability associated with Civil Engineering Systems. The principal activity is the sponsoring and overseeing of the organization of the International Conferences on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Soil and Structural Engineering (ICASP). These conferences have been and will be held about every four years. The conferences will address all relevant aspects of the subject of the safety and reliability of civil engineering systems, including probabilistic structural mechanics, soil mechanics, and risk analysis. There will be emphasis on applications as well as theory.

2. Members

Membership in CERRA is granted automatically to those who register for an ICASP conference. Membership remains valid until 2 months after the succeeding ICASP conference. The registration list for the most recent ICASP conference is the ‘de facto’ current membership list of CERRA.

3. Meetings of Members

General Meetings of Members of the Association are held at the time of ICASP and are called by the President. The members present shall constitute a proper quorum.

4. Board of Directors of CERRA

The Association is organized under the direction of the Board of Directors. The Board shall comprise the President and 12 members.

• 4.1 President - The Chairman of the most recent past ICASP shall hold the title of President. The President is the senior office bearer of CERRA. The role of the President is

  • (i) to act on behalf of CERRA as and when required. He shall report such activities to the Executive.

  • (ii) to call and preside over meetings of the Members of the Association as under (3) above,

• 4.2 Chairman - The Chairman of the Board shall be the Chairman of next ICASP conference (Chairman ex officio) selected by the Board at the time of the immediately past ICASP conference.

• 4.3 Past Chairmen - The chairmen of the three most recent past ICASP conferences, (ex. officiis)

• 4.4 Board Members - Eight members elected by the General Meeting of CERRA Members. They shall be elected for staggered nominally 8 year terms. The elections shall be held at the time of the ICASP conference.

• 4.5 Secretary - The Board of Directors shall elect one of its members to serve as Secretary for the period to the next ICASP conference. The Secretary shall make a record of the proceedings of each general meeting of members of the Association and communicate to the members the minutes as soon as possible following the meeting. This may take the form of a web-bcased posting. Individual members need not be advised personally. The secretary shall also make a record of the proceedings of each meeting of the Board of Directors.

• 4.6 Treasurer - The Board of Directors shall elect one of its members or co-opt a non-member to serve as Treasurer for a period to be decided by the Board and normally for a period up to twelve months beyond the date of the next ICASP conference. The treasurer shall arrange to keep the books of the Association according to accepted legal and best practice for the country where the funds of the Association are held, to report at meetings of the Association and to report at meetings of the Board of Directors as required.

• 4.7 Executive - The President, Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and the Past Chairmen shall constitute the executive. The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall be the Chairman of the Executive.

5. Functions and Powers of the Board of Directors

• The Board of Directors has the following functions and powers:

  • (i) to appoint a National or Local Committee for the organization of the next ICASP

  • (ii) to decide on broad matters of format and budget of ICASP

  • (iii) to review acceptance of contributions proposed for presentation at ICASP

  • (iv) to manage the financial affairs of CERRA

  • (v) establish awards and honours of CERRA, and

  • (vi) to foster the international development of reliability and risk analysis in civil engineering.

6. Resignations

Following the resignation of one or more of the office bearers (President, Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer) the most senior remaining member of the Board of Directors shall call a meeting (virtual or actual) of the Board to elect or co-opt replacement office-bearers. The order of seniority shall be as follows: President, Chairman, the Past Chairmen by order of length of service on the Board and the Members of the Board by order of length of service on the Board and if equal by age. At its discretion the Executive may fill casual vacancies in Board Membership under 4.4 for that part of the remaining term of office to the next General Meeting of CERRA.

7. Failure to act

If in the opinion of any three members of the Board an office bearer fails to act according to the CERRA ‘rules’ or fails to act in the best interest of CERRA, they may call a (virtual or actual) meeting of all members of the Board in order to discuss the most appropriate course of action. The most senior office bearer not involved in the issue(s) shall preside (see 6). A two-thirds majority is required to remove a person from office.

8. Amendments of Rules

The ‘Rules’ may be amended at any general meeting through at least a two-thirds majority vote of the members present.

9. Headquarters and Secretariat

The official location of the (Headquarters and Secretariat of the) Association and its bank account(s) shall be as decided from time to time by the Board of Directors.