11 september 1988 The Hague, The Netherlands
Professor M. F. Lechat, President of ILA, was in the Chair. The following members were present: Drs. Schaller, Job, Balina, Vice Presidents; Drs. Sansarricq, Waters, Abe, Desikan, Ramasoota, Meyers, Trautman, Terencio de las Aguas, Councillors; Dr. R. H. Thangaraj, Secretary; Dr. W. F. Ross, Treasurer; Dr. R. C. Hastings, Editor. Dr. Convit attended by invitation.
1. The agenda for the meeting was approved.
2. Dr. Rees and Dr. Opromolla sent their apologies.
3. The President Prof. Lechat welcomed all the Members who have made efforts to attend the meeting.
4. The minutes of the Council meeting held on 19 February 1984 in New Delhi were approved.
5. Matters arising: Constitutional amendments-sec below in new clause about President Emeritus.
6. Deaths of members since last Council meeting: Father Dr. Joseph Ambrosoli, Clovis Bopp, Stanley G. Browne, Walter Bungeler, Melville Christian, Robert G. Cochrane, Victor P. Das, Herbert H. Gass, Han Huikeshoven, Tamotsu Imaeda, Georg Klingmuller, Monina G. Madarang, Tetsu Nakayama, Mitsugu Nishiura, James C. Pedley, Charles C. Shepard, and Jose Guerrero Tolentino.
7. Constitutional Amendments: The following amendments were not formally submitted but were raised from the floor at the General Meeting of Members held on 25 February 1984 in New Delhi. The Council discussed these amendments fully and arrived at the following conclusions:
a) Terms of President and Vice-Presidents
4c) The President and Vice-Presidents shall not hold office continuously for more than one term except by a two-thirds majority vote of the General Meeting of Members.
Amendment: The President and Vice-Presidents shall not hold office for more than one term.
The Council felt that there was no need for any change in the clause. The present clause which requires a two-thirds majority is adequate.
b) Officers and Council
4a) Officers of the Association shall be the President; the immediate Past President; the Secretary; the Treasurer; three Vice-Presidents, one from each geographic division of the world (Europe-Africa, Asia and the Americas); and the Editor of the JOURNAL.
Amendment: Officers of the Association shall be the President; the immediate Past President; the Secretary; the Treasurer; four Vice-Presidents, one from each geographic division of the world (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe); and the Editor of the JOURNAL.
The Council approved the amendment.
c) 4b) The Council shall consist of these Officers and fourteen elected Members who shall be elected on the basis of geographical representation. The term of office shall be five years.
Amendment: The Council shall consist of these Officers and fifteen elected members elected on the basis of geographical representation. The term of office shall be the interval between succeeding Congresses. The representation shall be: Africa 3, Americas 4, Asia 5, Europe 3; a total of 15.
The Council approved the amendment.
d) Meetings
8. The Association shall hold Congresses at such intervals and under such conditions as may be determined by the Council.
Amendment: The Association shall hold the Congress at an interval of four years.
The Council felt that there was no need to change since the present Constitution allows flexibility to the Council to recommend different intervals between Congresses.
e) New Clause
President Emeritus. The Council shall be empowered to admit to the role of President Emeritus those Presidents who after their term of office deserve recognition of their signal service to the cause of leprosy.
The Council approved the clause.
8. Nomination for Officers and Councillors
The following nominations were approved by the Council for approval by the Members at the General Meeting:
| President: | Dr. Wayne M. Meyers | |||
| Secretary: | Dr. Yo Yuasa | |||
| Treasurer: | Dr. W. Felton Ross | |||
| Editor: | Dr. Robert C. Hastings | |||
| Vice Presidents: | ||||
| Africa: | Dr. S. J. Nkinda | |||
| Americas: | Dr. Diltor Opromolla | |||
| Asia: | Dr. R. H. Thangaraj | |||
| Europe: | Dr. J. Terencio de las Aguas | |||
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Councillors:
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| Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | |
| Adeleye | Rea | Desikan | Feenstra | |
| Chitimba | Talhari | Lim Kwan Joo | Sansarricq | |
| N'Deli | Trautman | Noordeen | Waters | |
| Zuniga | Ramasoota | |||
| Ye Gan-Yun | ||||
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Honorary Vice-Presidents: Drs. Balina, Job, Rees, and Schaller.
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9. Secretary's Report
The Secretary gave a brief report on the organization and finances of the XII International Leprosy Congress held in New Delhi in 1984.
He said that the admission of new Members to the International Leprosy Association (ILA) was rather cumbersome and forwarding the applications to a Selection Committee never worked efficiently. He wanted the Council to make a decision.
The Secretary mentioned that the ILA is a founding member of the Council of the International Organization of Medical Sciences (CIOMS). He is not only on the Executive Committee but also a Vice-President of CIOMS.
He visited Amsterdam and The Hague several times, along with Prof. Lechat, in connection with the XIII Congress arrangements. He also visited Brazzaville and Havana along with Prof. Lechat.
Relationship with ILEP: The President and Secretary had several meetings with ILEP members regarding the relationship between them in the organization of the Congress. Following these discussions, it was agreed that ILEP will be a co-sponsor for this Congress, and it was most appreciated both by ILA and ILEP.
The Secretary also mentioned the high costs involved in simultaneous translation at the Congress sessions. The main activities of the ILA at present are 1) holding the Congress once in five years and 2) publishing the JOURNAL. He hoped that the new Council will try to broaden these activities during the years to come.
He thanked the President and the Councillors for their cooperation during his term of office.
10. Editor's Report
The number of times an original article in the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEPROSY is cited in other publications has steadily increased since 1980. Our JOURNAL is now in the top 5% of scientific journals in this regard.
Total page counts in the last 5 years have shown gradual increases. This, by and large, is a reflection of supplements and an increasing amount of current literature. The largest number of new manuscripts come from India, followed by the U.S.A. The total number of new submissions per year has remained relatively constant, as has the overall acceptance rate of approximately 60%.
We remain continually in debt to a distinguished group of reviewers and to an eminent group of authors for making the JOURNAL possible and for maintaining its quality.
11. Treasurer's Report
The Treasurer reported that the accounts of the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEPROSY, which include the accounts of the ILA itself, remain in balance but that this is largely due to the substantial donations, amounting to about half of the annual income, received from members of ILEP.
He said the cost of distributing the JOURNAL by surface mail has increased substantially recently and, although a combination of bulk shipment to major centers with local regular mail is still more expensive than surface mail alone, the reduction in delivery time is so great he recommended that we adopt the bulk shipment service offered by our printer.
The Treasurer also reported that costs of producing the JOURNAL continue to rise and, in order to cover these costs and reduce our dependence on donations, he recommended an increase in membership fees of $ 10 to a total of $70 per year and an increase in institutional fees of $20 to a total of $100 per year. These recommendations were accepted by the Council.
12. Venue for the Next Congress
The Council received prior information concerning the proposed sites for the next Congress to be held in 1993 (Brazzaville, Congo; Havana, Cuba; Honolulu, U.S.A.; Orlando, U.S.A.; and Seoul, South Korea).
These were thoroughly reviewed in light of the following considerations: origin of invitation, conference facilities, amenities, travel costs and accessibility, hotels-rooms available and price range, cost estimates, sources of finance, visa requirements and availability, strength of local organizing committee.
After extensive debate and further questions concerning the experience of the conferences held at these locations, the question was put and the Council agreed to recommend to the Meeting of Members that Orlando, Florida, U.S.A., be selected as the venue for the 1993 Congress.
13. Other Business
a) Board of Directors -INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEPROSY. The following two Councillors were elected to the Board of the JOURNAL: Dr. Thomas H. Rea and Dr. Michael F. R. Waters.
b) Procedure for admission of members to ILA
It was agreed to simplify the procedure for admitting members by authorizing the Secretary to act on behalf of the Selection Committee except in exceptional cases when he considers that further consultation will be in the best interest of the Association.
There being no other business, the President closed the meeting. He thanked all of the Council members for their valuable contribution at the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ R. H. Thangaraj
Dr. R. H. Thangaraj
Secretary