As a supplement to its Standing Rules of the 19th October 2003, and pending the resolutions of the Members’ Assembly on the 9th December 2008, which are to provide for the introduction of Classes in an amendment to the Standing Rules, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, reg. Ass., having also been appointed a National Academy of Sciences by the “Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz” (GWK) on the 18th February 2008, adopts the following Election Regulations upon a Senate decision made on 21st September 2012:
The election of members serves the academic enrichment of the Academy. It is accomplished via the Presidium, extended for this purpose, in co-ordination between the Presidium, the Classes and the Sections.
A. Basic Principles
1. The election of members is initiated via the individual specialist Sections of the Academy. Applications are to be filed to the Academy office. To this end, each Section appoints a working group to which, alongside the Section representative or Senator, at least two or three further members of the Section belong. This working group meets at least once a year, and one of the duties it has towards the Section or the Subsection is to prepare a certain number of election proposals in accordance with Part B of these Election Regulations. Here, it is supported by a staff member of the Academy office. Minutes are to be taken of the sessions of the Section working group, at which the election proposals are discussed. The minutes are part of the election procedure.
2. Election applications with detailed reasons given in writing may be submitted by any Full or Corresponding Leopoldina Member; individual applications with the signatures of several applicants are possible. If the person proposed happens to be a student of the nominator, the application has to be signed by at least one further member. These election applications are discussed in the Section working group too.
3. After consultation with the Section representative, the Presidium may make further election proposals that are introduced into the ongoing election procedure at the level of the Section working groups.
4. The election procedure takes place on the basis of the preceding voting situation (assessment) in the Sections (1st Reading).
5. The candidates for election and the result of the first Reading are subsequently discussed at the responsible Class session (2nd Reading). There, a rating of the candidates is drawn up.
6. The ballot (3rd Reading) is held at the Presidium, which for this purpose is extended by the responsible Class spokesperson and the responsible Section representative, both of whom enjoy the right to vote. Should the need arise, the Presidium can obtain further expert opinion.
7. The persons proposed for election should be actively involved in academics, which has to be borne out by academic publications over the last 5 years. There is no age limit.
8. In agreement with the Senate, the Presidium defines the number of Full Members below the age of 75 years for each Class (guide size). On completion of his or her 75th year of life, the member’s place becomes vacant and can be newly filled. The rights of these members remain untouched by this.
9. A member may apply to retire from his or her duties for a limited or unlimited period. The Presidium decides on the acceptance of the application. All rights to vote and all duties then expire. If a member retires from his or her duties for life, his or her place then becomes vacant for a new member.
B. Running of the election procedure
1st Reading
1. The applications prepared by or submitted to the Section working group are compiled by the Section representative as a list of names of the candidates for election containing a curriculum vitae, the reasons for election / encomia as well as a survey of the 5 to 10 most important publications. This list (together with the Annex) is handed on together with an evaluation sheet for written evaluation in the Sections to all members of the Sections or Sub-Sections.
2. The members of a Section (or the responsible Sub-Section) evaluate the candidates (1st Reading) according to a system of points:
Abstention is ruled out.
The members return their evaluation sheets, which are to be handled confidentially, together with a statement giving the reasons for their vote to the Academy within the period stated.
Candidates may only enter the 2nd Reading if three quarters of the members of a Section or Subsection who have not completed their 75th year of life have voted.
3. In accordance with the evaluation by the Section members, the Section representative draws up a rating of the candidates that he or she sends to the responsible Presidium member together with his comments once a year.
4. The responsible Presidium member or the Presidium can obtain further expert opinion from members outside the voting Section, and also from non-members, as well.
2nd Reading
5. The Section representatives present the application for election and the facts and circumstances to the Class session. All representatives of the respective Sections attend the Class session, which is chaired by the elected Class Spokesperson, or by his or her Deputy in the event of his or her being unable to attend. The responsible member of the Presidium as well as an academic assistant are invited to the Class sessions as guests. Minutes are to be taken of the Class election session.
6. Annex I of these Election Regulations shows how the Sections are assigned to the Classes.
7. An oral discussion of all candidates is held in the Class session. On the basis of the places available and academic need, the Class draws up a rating of the candidates. Each Section has a vote, independently of the number of representatives a Section may have. Sections that are not personally represented at a Class session do not have a vote.
8. Additional membership of a further Class is possible for all Sections. They have no vote there but may only attend in an advisory capacity.
3rd Reading
9. At an extended session (in accordance with § 1, 6), the Presidium decides on the election of the individual candidates for each Class once a year. Each election requires the positive votes of two-thirds of those entitled to vote. Those entitled to vote are the Presidium members, the responsible Class spokesperson and the responsible representative in whose Section a member is to be adopted; abstention is not possible. The votes of Presidium members, the responsible Class spokesperson and the responsible Section representative who are absent are to be obtained in writing. If possible, the responsible Class spokesperson and at least one representative per Section ought to personally attend the ballot.
10. The President gives the elected candidates written notice of their election. They are informed in detail about the Leopoldina’s goals, structures and mission and are asked whether they are willing to actively participate in the Academy’s tasks.
11. Election is completed once the candidates have given their written approval of the election result and of working for the Academy. The Class spokesperson, the Section representative, the applicant and also, subsequently, the members of the Section are informed about the result.
12. The technical and administrative details are governed by a procedural rule.
1. All Full and Corresponding Members of a Section/Subsection elect a member of their Section as a representative in a secret written ballot, which as a rule is conducted as a mail ballot. All Full Members are eligible for election and re-election once regardless of their age. The period of office is four years. Re-election is possible once.
2. The election is initiated by the responsible member of the Presidium by his or her giving the members of the Section the reasons for the need for an election and adding a list of Section members eligible for election as a ballot paper for the Section.
3. All Section members elect their representative from the circle of candidates by clearly marking his or her name on the ballot paper, which they return to the Academy office within four weeks. The Section member with the largest number of votes is the elected Section representative. If there is a tie, it is up to the Presidium to take a decision. The Presidium supervises the electoral procedure. It ascertains that the election complies with the regulations and confirms the elected Section representatives in their office. Deputies are elected in a second ballot in an analogous manner.
1. In accordance with the speciality it focuses on, each Section belongs to one Class (see Annex I of these Election Regulations). The Class is the structural unit in which the Section representatives draw up a competitive rating (2nd Reading) of the new Members proposed by the Sections (1st Reading).
2. All Senators of a Class elect a Section representative of their Class as a spokesperson for the Class in a secret written ballot that is, as a rule, conducted as a mail ballot. The period of office is four years. Re-election is possible once.
3. All Sections may also be members of a second Class, but they do not enjoy the right to vote there.
4. The ballot is initiated by the responsible member of the Presidium, who submits a list of the Section representatives running for candidates as a ballot paper. Electing is by clear marking of the name on the ballot paper, which has to be returned to the Academy office within four weeks’ time. Whoever has collected the largest number of votes is elected Class spokesperson. If there is a tie, it is up to the Presidium to take a decision. The Presidium is responsible for monitoring the ballot process. It checks whether the ballot has been orderly and confirms the elected Class spokesperson in his or her office. The Deputy is elected in analogy in a second ballot.
1. The Academy has one district each in Austria and Switzerland.
2. The members of the respective district can elect one of their members Regional head in a secret written ballot which, as a rule, is conducted as a mail ballot. In the run-up to the ballot, the Presidium obtains the consent of the members eligible for election that they will accept office should they be elected.
3. The Regional heads are elected in the same manner as the Section representatives (Article 2 of these Election Regulations).
1. In accordance with §7, Subparagraph 1 of the Statutes, Section representatives (Subparagraph 1a) and Regional heads (Subparagraph 1b) are elected members of the Senate by the members in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 respectively of these Election Regulations; the additional Senators (Subparagraph 1c) are elected by the Senate for four years on the recommendation of the Presidium. Re-election is possible once.
2. Five of these last-mentioned Senators are to have a seat and vote in the Leopoldina Senate as representatives of the public in the immediate environment of science, and so are five further ones ex officio as presidial representatives of the following institutions:
In Sections with only one elected representative, he or she is also a Senator. In Sections with two or three representatives, one of these becomes Senator for the Section as a whole following an additional ballot by all Section members. If there are three Section representatives, the deputy is elected in a second ballot, while with two Section representatives, the deputy of the Senator is whoever is second in the ballot.
4. The two Regional heads for Austria and Switzerland are simultaneously Senators.
1. The Senate formed in accordance with § 7 of the Statutes and § 5 of the Election Regulations elects the Presidium in accordance with § 6, Subparagraph 1 of the Statutes. All full members may be elected, regardless of their age. The period of office is five years. Re-election is possible once.
2. The election of the President as well as of the Vice-President is prepared by a Selection Committee appointed by the Presidium.
The Selection Committee is comprised of the following members:
Each Senator as well as the members of the Presidium are entitled to nominate candidates.
All nominations are addressed to the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will prepare a proposal, and will give written notice to the members of the Senate in due time prior to the ballot. A separate ballot is required for each seat in the Presidium, and block votes are not permitted.
3. The Presidium serves as the Selection Committee for all other members of the Presidium.
4. The electoral process will be managed by an electoral commission comprised of three members, appointed by the Senate ad hoc. The Senate constitutes a quorum if more than half of the Senators are present (or take part in the ballot in writing). Whoever more than half of the votes are cast in favour of is elected. If none of the candidates gets more than half of the votes, a second ballot is held in which only the best-positioned candidates of the first ballot are nominated. The candidate is then elected with a simple majority of votes, and if there is a tie, the decision is by lot.
Membership is terminated by
1 A member’s death.
2 Withdrawal from the Academy, declared in writing vis-à-vis the President. The President is entitled to fathom out whether the member if withdrawing on his/her own free will.
2 Expulsion from the Academy.
The precondition for initiating expulsion proceedings is that at least ten members apply to the President for a member’s expulsion giving detailed reasons for it in writing. The President is required to assess the circumstances. A written statement by the responsible Section representative and, should this be appropriate, the Regional head has to be obtained. The President reports to the Presidium about the matter, and the latter is required to assess whether, and to what degree, damage has been done to the Academy. The member in question is called on to explain his or her view on the matter to the Presidium in writing or, if he or she requests this, orally. If the Presidium identifies by majority sufficient reasons for an expulsion, the Senate is to be notified of the application for an expulsion as well as of detailed reasons for it. In accordance with § 7, Subparagraph 1 of the Statutes, the Senate then decides on the expulsion with a simple majority in a written voting procedure. No appeal shall lie.
These Election Regulations enter force following a resolution by the Senate on the 7th October 2008 and replace the Election Regulations of the 24th September 2006.
They are subject to the amendment of the Statutes aimed at the introduction of Classes to be adopted by the Members’ Assembly on the 9th December 2008.
