Epigraph Vol. 10 Issue 1, Winter 2007-2008

Governance Restructuring Discussion

Solomon L. Moshé
Solomon L. Moshé, Secretary-General, ILAE

Since its founding as a small group of concerned professionals in Budapest almost a century ago, the ILAE has grown into a truly worldwide organization with members on all of the inhabited continents. The growth in the size of the League together with improved communication technology has led to an explosion of regional activities as well as collaboration among the different regions. Because much of the work now focuses on issues that are regional and global, it may be time for the structure of the League’s leadership to evolve to reflect the new global membership of the League and to ensure that the leadership is always aware of the different perspectives that the regions have. To achieve this goal the League is considering amending its constitution to ensure participation of all regions in the Executive Committee.

At the moment the Executive Committee consists of the President, three Vice Presidents, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and the Immediate Past President as elected members. In addition there are five to six ex-officio non-voting members (The President, Secretary-General and Treasurer of the International Bureau for Epilepsy, the Editor(s)-in-Chief of Epilepsia and the Information Officer).

The proposed change is the addition of six regional Vice Presidents who will be elected by their respective regions and who will also serve as chairs of their regional commissions. These regional Vice Presidents will be voting members of the Executive Committee. This change will require a change in the League’s constitution which must be ratified by the League’s Chapters.  Although the regional Vice Presidents will bring the perspectives of their regions to the Executive Committee it is expected that they will work on behalf of, and in the best interests of the ILAE globally.  The new total number of Vice Presidents will be seven: one Vice President elected by world-wide vote and six regional Vice Presidents.

The Management Committee will now consist of the President, one Vice President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President, and it will continue to carry out the policies set by the Executive Committee to govern the League between meetings of the Executive Committee.

This brief description was written to inform the League’s members of the proposed changes. A more complete description follows below. As we prepare the final formal amendment, we invite comments from all our members to ensure that the constitutional changes accurately represent the wishes of our chapters and representatives. Please send the comments to my attention at smoshe@ilae.org. The documents will also be provided to allow discussion at the Chapter Conventions held in conjunction with the 2008 Regional Congresses.

We wish to have the constitutional amendments drafted and presented for ratification at the 2009 Budapest International Epilepsy Congress. If ratified, the new structure would then be implemented for the 2013 Executive Committee election.

We look forward to your thoughtful insights and suggestions.

I would like to thank the League’s Vice President, Emilio Perucca, who worked closely with me in the preparation of these proposed constitutional changes. His insights and suggestions were essential to the creation of the proposal.

Solomon L. Moshé
Secretary-General, ILAE

ILAE Governance Restructuring Discussion Document

Proposed Changes to the Constitution

Over the first century of its existence, the International Against Epilepsy League (ILAE) has achieved world wide success with its programs promoting outstanding delivery of health care, education and research. This success is reflected by the growth of regional activities and the collaboration among different regions (Asia/Oceania, Europe, North America, Latin America, Eastern Mediterranean and Africa). To better represent its constituency, the League is considering amending its constitution to ensure participation of all regions in the governance of the League at the highest level with membership to the Executive Committee

This goal can be accomplished by restructuring the Executive Committee and its acting branch, the Management Committee.

Background: The current constitution describes the Executive Committee as follows:

The Executive Committee shall consist of:

a) The President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, Vice Presidents, and the Immediate Past President as elected members. Only elected members shall have the right to vote.

b) The President, Secretary-General and Treasurer of the International Bureau for Epilepsy as ex-officio, non-voting members.

c) The Editor-in-Chief of Epilepsia and the Information Officer as non-voting members.

The geographic distribution of the elected officers, including the president, shall be restricted as follows: Each of the five elected officers must be primary members of different chapters. Primary membership is defined by the location of where professional activities are performed. No more than two members of the Management Committee shall come from the same region, as defined by the geographical division accepted within ILAE, and no more than three of the five elected officers shall come from the same region. The by laws define the Management Committee consisting of the President, Secretary-General and Treasurer and that it shall act as in between meetings of the Executive Committee. Their actions shall be subject to ratification by the Executive Committee.

In the event that after the global elections of President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary General, and Treasurer, and the appointment of Editor-in-Chief and Information Officer, any fully operational region of the ILAE (as determined by the Executive Committee) is not present on the Executive Committee, the Chapters of this region shall elect an additional Vice President. This Vice President will be a voting member of the Executive Committee and not be considered as a regional Vice President but unrestrictedly share the global responsibilities of the Executive Committee (“the Danish amendment”).

It should be noted that the Constitution does not further define objective criteria by which a region may be decreed to be “fully operational”. Rather it is left to the Executive Committee to make the assessment and decision. This issue was eloquently stated by the current Past President, Professor Giuliano Avanzini in a letter circulated in April 2007 to ILAE Executive Committee members, members of the Election Commission and ILAE Chapters. Professor Avanzini specifically pointed out that “any decisions made by the Executive Committee on this issue could be contested by an excluded region that could feel penalized by the procedure”.

Proposal: In the proposed restructuring, the Executive Committee will consist of:

a) The President, Vice President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, the Immediate Past President and six Regional Vice-Presidents as elected members. Only elected members shall have the right to vote.

b) The President, Secretary-General and Treasurer of the International Bureau for Epilepsy, as ex-officio, non-voting members.

c) The Editor(s)-in-Chief of Epilepsia and the Information Officer as non-voting members.

The Executive Committee will meet at least twice a year and will be responsible for the policies and the order of priorities of the League during its term, following a long plan endorsed by all chapters which includes short and long term goals. The six Regional Vice Presidents will be one elected from each region recognized by the League (Asia/Oceania, Europe, North America, Latin America, Eastern Mediterranean and Africa) and will also serve as chairs of the Regional Commission. Each regional Vice President will attend the Management Committee meeting held in his/her region in conjunction with the regional congress. The Regional Vice-Presidents will work on behalf of, and in the best interests of the ILAE globally, and will not act narrowly as 'regional representatives’.

The Management Committee will now consist of the President, one Vice President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President. The Management Committee will be to carry out the policies set by the Executive Committee and govern the League between meetings of the Executive Committee.

We invite comments from all our members to ensure that the constitutional changes accurately represent the wishes of our chapters and representatives. Please send the comments to my attention at smoshe@ilae.org. This document will be also distributed for discussion at the Chapter Conventions held in conjunction with the 2008 Regional Congresses.

The goal is to have the Constitutional Amendments drafted and presented at the 2009 Budapest International Epilepsy Congress. The new structure would then be implemented for the 2013 Executive Committee election. 

Should the constitutional amended is accepted, the By-Laws will be also changed to document the election procedures that will be used to elect the new Executive Committee. The amendment s of the By-Laws will identify a two step electoral procedure. First, the members of the Management Committee will be elected first by world-wide voting. Please note that no more than two members of the Management Committee shall come from the same region (excluding the Immediate Past-President), as defined by the geographical divisions recognized by the ILAE.

Following the elections of the members of the Management Committee, each region will elect a regional Vice President who will also be the chair of the Regional Commission. Each regional Vice President is elected by the chapters of the specific region using the one country one vote method.

Thus, all regions will have a Vice President, irrespective of the representation of the regions in the Management Committee.

We are looking forward to your thoughtful insights and suggestions.

Solomon L. Moshé
Secretary-General, ILAE