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ISHA Constitution

Updated October 2020

1. The Society shall be called the “International Society for Hip Arthroscopy” (‘ISHA’) and  will be taken as formed on 18th May 2008 in Paris, France. As proposed and confirmed by the ISHA Board of Directors and ratified by the general membership, the society name was changed to “ISHA: The Hip Preservation Society” on 13th October 2017.

2. The Mission of the Society is to be the premier international society for education and research in arthroscopic and open hip preservation surgery to imprive patient treatment and outcomes.

3. The Vision of the Society is to achieve its mission through meetings, discussions and publications.

4. Description. ISHA is a non-profit-making Society which aims to stimulate research and education in hip arthroscopic and open hip preservation surgery and thereby expand the network of healthcare professionals undertaking the procedure safely, thus improving the treatment provided to patients.

5. Membership

  • Active Membership is open to either surgeons or physicians who have a special interest in hip arthroscopic and open preservation surgery as shown by either their research or publications in the field, or by the presentation of a paper to the Society, and who have been in orthopaedic clinical practice for a minimum of two years, or are Board certified (or equivalent). Exceptions may be made following consideration by the ISHA Board of Directors (BOD). Application for Active Membership should be made to the Membership Secretary on the online application form, to be reviewed and proposed for membership by the Membership Committee. The application will be inspected by the BOD and membership will be granted only after consideration by the Ordinary Members at an Annual General Meeting (AGM), or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Only Active Members may stand for ISHA Office, attend Business Meetings and vote.
  • Honorary Membership may be offered to distinguished surgeons, physicians, scientists, and other practitioners who have a special interest in hip preservation. This status, which is by invitation from the ISHA BOD only, will be confirmed by the BOD and presented to the Ordinary Membership at an AGM or EGM for their approval. Honorary Members will not be eligible for office, to vote, or to attend the Business Meetings.
  • Associate Membership is open to surgeons and physicians in training, including Fellowships. This status will be confirmed by the BOD and presented to the Ordinary Membership at an AGM or EGM for their approval. Application for Associate Membership should be made to the Membership Secretary on the online application form, to be reviewed and proposed for membership by the Membership Committee. Associate Members are not eligible to vote on matters concerning the Society.
  • Affiliate Membership is open to those who are not surgeons or physicians and/or who do not possess a medical qualification. Application for Affiliate Membership should be made to the Membership Secretary on the online application form, to be reviewed and proposed for membership by the Membership Committee. The application will be inspected by the BOD and membership will be granted only after consideration by the Ordinary Members at an Annual General Meeting (AGM), or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Affiliate Members are not eligible to vote on matters concerning the Society.
  • Emeritus Membership is open to Active Members who have provided valuable contributions to ISHA and have reached the age of 65 years. This status will be confirmed by the BOD and presented to the Ordinary Membership at an AGM or EGM for their approval. Emeritus Members are not eligible to vote on matters concerning the Society unless they are also members of the Executive Committee.

Cessation of Membership will occur on:

  • Receipt of a Member’s written resignation, or
  • After failing to pay any subscription fee for two years, or
  • Failing to attend a minimum of one Society annual meeting every three years (required for Active Membership only), or
  • As a result of a decision by the BOD that cessation is in the best interests of the Society. Examples might include, but not be limited to, loss of license to practice, criminal behavior, or unethical practice of any kind.
  • A member of the Executive Committee can be removed from their post either by a unanimous vote of all other members of the EC, or if they fail to attend more than two consecutive meetings of the EC.

6. Governance of the Society will be provided by The ISHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS (BOD). The BOD will comprise an Executive Committee (EC) of 7 Members (below) and upto a maximum additional 13 General Council Members.

  • President
  • Immediate Past President
  • 2nd Past President
  • President-Elect
  • Vice President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • General Board Members (13)

The Executive Committee will act officially on behalf of the Society between Council Meetings, but its actions must be ratified by the full BOD, either at the next Annual Scientific Meeting, or by electronic ballot.

  • The President shall hold office for one year only, and is not normally eligible for re-election. After one year, the President will become the Immediate Past President
  • The Immediate Past President shall hold office for one year, and then become the Second Past President
  • The Second Past President shall hold office for 1 year, and shall then retire from the Board of Directors
  • The President-Elect shall hold office for one year and succeed the President at the end of the Presidential term of office.
  • The Vice President shall be elected for a term of one year and succeed the President-Elect at the end of the Presidential term of office.
  • The Secretary shall be elected for a period of three years and may be re-elected once.
  • The Treasurer shall be elected for a period of three years and may be re-elected once.
  • The General Board Members shall be elected for three years and may be re-elected once.

The President, Executive Committee and ISHA Board of Directors each has the power to co-opt other members for specific duties from time to time.

 7. Committees

The following Standing Committees will be formed:

  • Educations Committee
  • Membership Committee
  • Technology & Communicaiton Committee
  • Research Committee
  • Academy Module Committee
  • Regional Societies Committee
  • Industry Liaison Committee
  • Physiotherapy Committee
  • Registry Committee

Additional Committees or task forces may be formed by the Executive Committee as required.

All Committees report to the Executive Board for approval of ALL actions or activities and would be required to submit recommendations for action in a specific business like format for action including but not limited to resources to be used, time frame for implementation, responsible person and benchmarks to update the Board on progress. A report of actions to the Executive Board in required every 6 months, at the half year and full year meeting of the Board of Directors. Upon request of the President or Executive Board the report should be more regularly, eg. at every Executive Board meeting. The chair of the vicechair of the committee should give a personal presentation about activities of the past year and future activities and plans at the meeting of the Board of Directors during the Annual General Meeting.

The committees consist of a chair and vice chair and a maximum 13 members (incl. chair & vicechair), preferably the number of members should be odd to ensure “clean” voting; number of members can be increased with approval by executive board. committee members need to be ISHA member for at least 1 year. It is recommended but not mandatory that each continent (NA, SA, E, Asia, Afrika/Middle East, Australia) is represented by at least 1 member. New members can be appointed to/voted in from the committee. The chair and vicechair will be appointed by the executive board; chair should be an existing general board member of the general; vice chair will usually not become chair unless enter the board. Committee members are appointed/voted for 2 years and can be extended for another term of 2 years. chair is appointed by the executive board for 2 years and stays in the committee for another 2 years after chair.

Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee shall be composed of the Immediate Past President of the Society who shall serve as Chair of the Committee, one (1) member appointed by the Current ISHA President, and five (5) additional members to be elected by the membership at the business session of the AGM of the Society. In addition, the 2nd Past President will be included as a non-voting Member of the Committee. The 5 members to be voted into the committee shall include 1 representative of each of the following 5 regions:

1)      Europe

2)      North America

3)      South America

4)      Asia-Pacific

5)      Africa-Middle East (including Turkey)

Nominations for each such member to be elected may be made from the floor at such meeting by any duly qualified voting member of the Society with the following provisos-

  • Members may not recommend themselves
  • Recommended candidates must be ISHA Active or Honorary Members in good standing (all dues paid)
  • There are no geographical limitations on recommendations (in other words people can recommend persons outside their own region for the nominating committee).
  • Nominations may also be made from the Board of Directors and the outgoing Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee will be geographically balanced based on the 5 voted regions, and no one region can have the majority, however, the Immediate Past President, the Presidential appointee and one voted member may all be from the same region.

The person with the greatest number of votes from a given region will serve as the nominating committee member representing that region.

Upon presentation of its recommendations to the Board and membership the term of each elected member of the Nominating Committee shall expire.  A member cannot serve two (2) successive terms on the Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee will recommend the number of new General Board Members each year which is required to fill all vacancies.

Election process

General Board Members will be recommended by the Nominating Committee. Maintaining geographical balance will be taken into consideration in making these recommendations. The recommendations must be ratified by a majority of the Membership at the AGM. Should the nominations be rejected, the Nominating Committee can be asked to further consider their recommendation.

The new Vice President will be elected by the Board of Directors each year. To be eligible to become Vice President the Board Member must have served at least one year on the Board.

The Treasurer and Secretary will be elected by the Board of Directors for a period of 3 years, and may be elected for one further 3 year term. To be eligible to become Treasurer or Secretary the Board Member must have served at least one year on the Board.

8. Meetings

The dates for meetings will be selected by the EC. The President may alter any date for an Executive Committee meeting or cancel any regular meeting which has been scheduled.

There will be two types of meeting of the Society – Scientific and Business. These may take place concurrently.

Scientific Meetings

The Society will normally hold a Scientific Meeting once a year at a time and place recommended by the EC.

Scientific Meetings of the Society shall be open to both Members and non-Members, although different fees may be set for each category.

Business Meetings

The Board of Directors will meet at least once each year, a quorum for voting being four EC members.

An Annual Business Meeting for the membership only will take place during the AGM of the Society.

At the AGM the result of any elections will be announced and an Annual Report from the Treasurer, supported by a detailed balance sheet, will be received.

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Ordinary Membership may be held either at the request of the Executive Committee or if requested by 30% of the Ordinary Membership.

Chairmanship

The President shall take the Chair at all Business Meetings.

In the absence of the President, or if he/she declines to take the Chair, the President-Elect shall take the Chair.

In the absence of both the President and the President-Elect, or if both decline to take the Chair, the Vice-President shall take the Chair.

If the President, President-Elect and Vice-President are absent, or if all of them decline to take the Chair, the Executive Committee members present will choose one of their number to preside.

Order of Business

Unless the Chair directs otherwise, the order of business at EC meetings shall be:

  1. the Chair shall be taken
  2. apologies for absence will be read and introductions made, as appropriate
  3. the Minutes of the preceding meeting shall be taken as read and, subject to any correction, confirmed
  4. matters arising from the Minutes will then be discussed
  5. individual reports from Committee Chairs will be taken
  6. any other business shall be taken in the order directed by the Chair
  7. the date and location of the next meeting will be decided

 Motions

Motions may be proposed at BOD meetings by:

  1. the Chair
  2. individual BOD members

Motions shall be included in the agenda for the meeting if notice has been received not less than 21 clear working days before the meeting and, in the opinion of the Chair, the motion relates to the affairs of the Society. A BOD Member’s motion which has not been received within 21 clear working days before a BOD meeting shall be taken only in case of urgency, as determined by the Chair.

Voting

Decisions taken at an EC meeting may be confirmed by a simple majority vote, which may include the Chair. In the event of a voting tie, the Chair of the meeting will have a further casting vote.

If deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee, a decision at the Annual Business Meeting of Members shall require a majority of votes of the Ordinary Members and Honorary Members present. In the event of a voting tie, the Chair of the meeting will have a further casting vote.

When deemed appropriate, voting by the Executive Board, the Board of Directors, or the general membership may be carried out electronically.

9. Finance

There shall be an annual subscription, the level of which will be decided by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Treasurer, and payable by direct debit to the Society’s bank on an annual basis. The membership year will be from the 1st June. Associate Members, Affiliate Members and Emeritus Members will be permitted a reduced subscription rate, at a level to be decided by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Treasurer. The ISHA may also receive grant support from external sources including, but not limited to, grant-giving bodies and orthopaedic manufacturers.

ISHA will manage the funds of the Society in a financially efficient manner which may include the formation of a Charitable Organisation.

10. Amendments to the Constitution

No change in the Constitution of the Society will be confirmed except at an AGM or EGM, and after a minimum of 30 days’ notice has been given to the Ordinary Members, and then approved by a majority of the Ordinary Members present at the AGM.