The International
Federation of Online Clubs and Aquatic Societies
IFOCAS
is a democratically constituted federation operating worldwide under the
following constitutional guidelines
The Constitution.
English Translation.
ALSO
PUBLISHED IN
GERMAN, FRENCH
AND SPANISH
The basic constitution of the Federation is as delineated below.
We intend that this remain as simple as possible and any and all matters
requiring arbitration will be voted upon by the membership.
1. In all matters the electoral system of one member one vote
will prevail. The persons named in the original membership application will be
accepted as being delegated to cast this vote. Changes can be made by confirmed
email.. All Members of all Membership Categories are eligible to vote.
2. Changes to any conditions or rules will be made by a
two-thirds majority of the votes cast. The webmaster will control any actual
voting procedures and his/her decision on such procedures is final and binding.
3 Proposals for changes will be submitted to members
bi-monthly within six weeks of receipt. Voting forms will be emailed where
required. Forms should be returned within 30 days. Late receipts will be
invalidated. Abstention votes will be allotted to the majority proposal. Results
will be posted on the Federation website.
4. Federation information and material will be forwarded to the
name and address supplied on the original application form
5. All Grades of Membership are subject to the following
conditions
CONDITIONS
OF MEMBERSHIP
There
are Four types of membership
1.
Full Participating Membership. For Societies, Clubs, Aquatic Groups and
Public Aquaria that maintain a web presence
2.
Affiliate Membership. For Societies, Clubs, Aquatic Groups and Public
Aquaria that do not yet maintain a web presence and for our sponsors.
3.
Commercial/Trade Membership. For companies and manufacturers, traders and
commercial aquatic organizations
4.
Experienced Aquarist Membership. Open only to individuals in areas where no
current organization is present and communication via groups is impracticable.
Membership of this grade is not automatic and individuals will firstly be
referred to their nearest IFOCAS member prior to an application
being considered .
Participating
and Trade/Commercial Membership is currently free but dependant upon the following conditions
 | All Participating Members are expected to maintain a regularly updated
website and give clear contact and communication details on their site.
Participating Members who do not update their websites at least quarterly
will be notified and if the site continues to remain outdated, transferred
to an Affiliate Member status. This will incur a small subscription charge
to cover postage and communications. |
| All participating members are expected to respond to enquiries without
undue delay |
| Members requiring publicity for events are expected to supply accurate
details as soon as the event status is ascertained |
| Members requiring publicity for new products to be forwarded to the full
membership list should provide the publicity material plus one sample of the
product at least one month prior to such a circulation request |
| Recorded membership details will be available for the use of all
other Members upon written request unless a specific request not to do so
has been received |
| Membership Lists are and will remain in the public domain and are posted
and updated regularly in the members' section of our website. |
| Members are expected to promote each other wherever possible. The I FOCAS
logo may be used on any members website or publicity material. Artwork
is also available if required. |
| Members are expected to display the membership badge or logos available on
their main websites. It is not a condition of this clause that this logo
will be linked to our site, but it would be promotionally helpful to all.if
a link could be included |
| Members may withdraw from membership at any time by sending an email
request to I FOCAS. Such a request will be rechecked prior to membership
being closed. |
| This Federation is pro-active and members are actively encouraged to
sponsor each other and their products. |
| Any complaints against the organization or its members will be
published for review. The complaints page is in the public domain. |
| New Emergency Rule 1. Members breaching
CITES or even alleged to be breaching CITES regulations will be suspended
immediately without appeal until such times as the full membership can
discuss and vote on the suspension.. |
| New Emergency Rule #2 Non members, and companies
claiming membership who are not members, will be banned indefinitely. This
also applies to any web presence breaching our copyright and intellectual
propery ownership and will also apply to subsequent companies owned by the
same body or individual |
Notice
of intellectual property rights
Except where expressly stated to the contrary, all intellectual property
rights in the text, graphics, information, motifs, logos, designs and databases
contained in this site including the domain names, organisation and layout of
the site and the software used in relation to the site are owned by IFOCAS or its
licensors.
IFOCAS owns a portfolio of registered and unregistered trade marks including but
not limited to IFOCAS. You may not use any trade marks, service marks and/or
other trade names belonging to us from time to time, without our prior written
consent (including without limitation IFOCAS's trade marks IFOCAS and SUPPORTING
BODIES, all are Copyright
You are welcome to copy excerpts of our information for purposes of review,
discussion, academic study and other legitimate pursuits. You do not need to
seek permission for such fair use, although you should acknowledge the source.
However, all information on this site, all motifs, designs and logos are
copyright © IFOCAS, unless specifically stated otherwise. We will vigorously
pursue any violation of our copyright that seeks to exploit our material for
commercial gain or to misrepresent our regulatory stance..
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