1. NAME
The Association shall be called SOCIETY FOR ALTERNATIVES TO ANIMAL TESTING (SAATSL)

2. ADDRESS
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, No. 25, Kynsey road, Colombo 08, Sri Lanka

3. JURISDICTION OF ASSOCIATION
Whole of Sri Lanka

4. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

• To promote adoption of ‘Replacement’ concept (Alternatives to animal experiments) of the 3Rs principle of laboratory animal science (LAS) in education, research and testing in order to reduce the number of laboratory animals used for research and testing (Reduction) and to reduce suffering of animals (Refinement) which will lead to improve animal welfare and humane care of animals.
• To liaise with all the stakeholders at National level and societies at International level in relation to promotion of Alternatives to animal experiments and Animal Welfare.
• To work in collaboration with the Universities, Institutes, Industry, etc., to bring about newer alternative methods.
• To arrange scientific meetings/workshops/discussions amongst the stakeholders of Alternatives to Animal Experiments.
• To publish Journals/Bulletins/Newsletters, etc., with a view to popularize the concept of Alternatives to Animal Experiments.
• To institute awards/prizes/endowments for commendable activities in the domain of Alternatives to Animal Experiments.
  To provide / organize courses / training in the different versions of alternatives viz., digital, virtual, in vitro, in silico, alternative model organisms, integrated testing strategies (ITS), etc., so as to help human resource development in different domains of alternatives in Sri Lanka.
  
  

5. MEMBERSHIP
The Society shall have following categories of membership.

• FOUNDING MEMBERS
  These are members who participate in the inaugural meeting to establish the society and thus contributed in one or more ways to this noble cause of service to animals. These members shall have all privileges as Life members and certain other privileges as may be prescribed by the Executive Committee from time to time. They are enrolled as Founding members once the lifetime subscription which shall be LKR 5,000/- is paid. The members registered under this category shall be minimum a graduate and associated with animal experiments/animal welfare activities/regulatory affairs.
  
  
• LIFE MEMBERS
  The members shall be enrolled for whole life with one-time subscription of LKR 5,000/. The members registered under this category shall be minimum a graduate and associated with animal experiments/animal welfare activities/regulatory affairs.
  
  
• REGULAR MEMBERS
  Graduates who are associated with animal experiments/animal welfare activities/regulatory affairs shall be enrolled under this category with a renewable subscription fee of LKR 1500/- per annum wherein a year shall be starting with April 1st till March 31st of the following year.
  
  
• SESSION MEMBERS
  Research Students and research scholars may be enrolled as Session Members to attend and present research findings at the scientific sessions, for which the subscription shall be LKR 1000/- on annual basis. Session members do not have voting rights.
  
  
• AFFILIATED MEMBERS
  Technical officers and non-graduates attached to universities and research institutions who are associated with animal experiments/animal welfare activities/regulatory affairs shall be enrolled under this category with a life membership fee of LKR 4,000/- or with an renewable subscription fee of LKR 1500/- per annum wherein a year shall be starting with April 1st till March 31st of the following year.
  
  
• CORPORATE & SERVICE ORGANIZATION MEMBERS
  These are Corporate Companies (Pharma, Toxicology, etc.,), Industries, and Service Organizations / NGOs, who are engaged in animal experiments / alternatives. The subscription shall be LKR 25,000/- per annum. These members shall be entitled for cost-free registration for up to two nominees for the biannual conferences of the Society.
  
  The fee structure included under different membership categories are subjected to change based on the decisions taken by the Executive committee from time to time.

6. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERS

 6.1 All members shall receive receipts for payments made by them.
 6.2 All members except Session members shall receive:

• Notices of the General or Special Meetings of the Association
• The Newsletter/Journal/Bulletins of the Association
• A copy of the proceedings of the Annual General Meeting

6.3 Any member may withdraw from the Association by giving notice in writing duly signed to the Honorary Secretary at least one month before the Annual General Meeting.

• All members shall adhere to the code of ethics of the Association. Transgression of this rule will render the member liable to annulment of membership at a subsequent Annual General Meeting.

6.4 Only Life members have the right to be elected to the Executive Committee and also have the voting rights for such elections.

7. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
Any member whose activities are found to be prejudicial to the interest of the Society shall be disqualified by the General Body (GB) on recommendation of the Executive Committee. If three-fourths of the attending members of GB vote in favor of such disqualifications, he/she shall cease to be a member, and shall not be entitled for any refund of the membership subscription. The membership will also cease on death or insanity.

8. STRUCTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION

A) GENERAL BODY
The General Body shall consist of all the members of the Society under categories A, B, C, E & F. The GB shall be the most powerful Body of the Society.

B) POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE GENERAL BODY
The General body shall meet in general, at least once a year where principal decisions shall be taken. The Annual Meetings of the General body shall take place and the quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be one-fourth of the members of the Association. Members for this purpose shall include all categories of Members except Session Members. Such meetings shall be called by a notice of minimum of 15-days. Special meetings of the General body may also be called by the Honorary Secretary if required.

The Annual General Meeting shall decide on Secretary’s Annual Report, Treasurer’s Annual Report, Executive Committee decisions for ratification and election of office bearers.

Academic Sessions shall consist of the Presidential Address, Communications by members on research and education related to Replacement alternatives. In addition, research communications in laboratory animal science could also be considered.

The General Body shall have powers to:

• Scrutinize and approve the annual report and the Financial statement of the Society, as placed by the Executive Committee, at the annual meeting of the General Body.
• Elect/nominate members of the Executive Committee
• Make amendments to the By-Laws
• Disqualify and/or expel any member
• Review the activities of the Association from time to time
• A special meeting of the GB may also be called by the General Secretary on a written request from at least one-fourth of the total membership to consider an issue of serious concern.
  
  

9. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

A) The Executive Committee will consist of the followings:

• President- One position
• President Elect- One position
• Honorary Secretary – One position
• Treasurer- One Position
• Editor- One position
• Assistant Secretary- One position
• Assistant Treasurer- One position
• Executive Committee Members: six Nos.
• The Past President and Past Secretary will be Ex-Officio members.
• The total number in the Executive Committee will be 15 members.
• The Executive Committee shall be elected/nominated by the General Body at its annual meeting.
• The nomination for the office bearers shall be selected by the current Executive Committee at the last Executive Committee meeting considering the advice of the senior members.
• Nevertheless, the person who makes arrangements to establish this Society shall be the Founding President and rest of the first Executive Committee, including Office-bearers, shall be nominated by the Founding Members.
• The Executive Committee so nominated / elected shall have at least three meetings in a year to monitor the working of the Society.
• One-fourth of the members of the Executive Committee shall form the quorum for the meeting where the attendance of the Honorary Secretary and the Treasurer are compulsory. The tenure of the Executive Committee shall be two years.

B) POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE BEARERS

1. PRESIDENT
The President will be the Head of the Executive Committee and General Body. He/She shall preside over the meetings of EC and GB, and hold such other responsibilities as may be assigned by the EC and GB. He/She shall represent the Society in case of invitation to/participation of the Society from Government and/or other Regulatory / Consultative Agencies (This role shall be shared by the President, President Elect and Honorary Secretary, by consensus).

2. PRESIDENT ELECT
In the absence of the President, the President Elect, in consensus, will carry out all the functions of the President. The President Elect may be assigned responsibilities as may arise from time to time.

3. HONORARY SECRETARY
The Honorary Secretary is the executive authority of the Society and will execute all decisions taken by the Executive Committee. He/she shall keep and preserve all the documents of the Association, issue notices of all meetings and keep minutes of the meetings. He/she shall manage the general correspondence of the Association and the distribution of publications of the Association. He/she shall present an annual report on the work of the Association for the relevant year at the Annual General Meeting. He/She will carry out the functions of the Executive Committee as decided by the General Body and the Executive Committee in the respective meetings. The Honorary Secretary shall call the Executive Committee meetings and the General Body meetings and special meetings as required under the constitution. He/She shall represent the Society in case of invitation to/participation of the Society from Government and/or other Regulatory / Consultative Agencies (This role shall be shared by the President, President, Elect and Honorary Secretary, by consensus).

4. ASSISTANT SECRETARY
The Assistant Secretary will assist the Honorary Secretary in Society’s functions and in his/her absence will carry out the duties of the Honorary Secretary. Their roles may be specified by the Executive Committee, and the Honorary Secretary may assign responsibilities and invite assistance.

6. TREASURAR
The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the funds of the Society and will use them as directed by the Executive Committee and passed by the President or Honorary Secretary, as the case may be. He/she shall duly notify members of their subscription dues. He/she shall present duly audited accounts of the Association’s financial position at the Annual General Meeting. It is the duty of the Treasurer to obtain approval of the General body to appoint Auditors during his tenure of office.

7. ASSISTANT TREASURER
The Assistant Treasurer will assist the Treasurer in his/her duties and in the absence of the Treasurer shall carry out his/her duties.

8. EDITOR
The Editor is responsible for the production of publications.

• Newsletters/Journals/Bulletins – These should contain material specifically related to Replacement alternatives. Information related to laboratory animal science could be included.
• Proceedings of the Scientific sessions – This should include the abstracts of the papers to be presented at the Annual sessions. In the following years, the text of the presidential address held in the previous time and other special presentations if any should be included.

9. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Executive Committee members will help in executing the programs of the Society, as decided by the General Body and Executive Committee of the Society and may suggest ways and means to improve the functioning of the Society.

10. RESIGNATION
A member of the Executive Committee or office bearers of the Society may resign from office by a notice in writing addressed to the President / Honorary Secretary and such resignation shall be effective from the following meeting of the Executive Committee. The place may be filled up by the Executive Committee till the next elections.

11. AMENDEMENT OF BYE-LAWS
No alteration of these rules shall be made except by the General Body in its meeting. No alteration shall be made unless two-third of those voting is in its favor.

12. FUNDS OF THE SOCIETY
The funds of the Society shall be under the control of Executive Committee who shall have the powers to expend such funds for the promotion of objectives and missions of the Society as it deems fit. However, the funds will be operated through a bank account, to be operated jointly by the Treasurer and Honorary Secretary/President, in a manner as decided by the Executive Committee.

12. AUDIT OF INCOME AND EXEPNDITURE
The accounts of the Society shall be audited by an Auditor and authenticated by the Treasurer, Honorary Secretary and the President.

13. RESPONSIBILITY OF LEGAL ACTION BY THE SOCIETY OR FOR THE SOCIETY
Any legal action by the Society or for the Society shall be handled by the Honorary Secretary on the advice of the Executive Committee which shall be responsible for such action.

14. RECORDS OF THE SOCIETY
Proper records of the Society shall be maintained by the Honorary Secretary and the Treasurer with following registers kept up to date. An electronic version of all records will be kept.

a) Membership Register providing details of the all registered members including their subscription, etc.
b) Minutes Register recording the minutes of the General Body and Executive Committee meetings.
c) Stock Register showing all the entries of assets of the Society.
d) Cash Book to be maintained by the Treasurer to show the accounts of the receipts and payments.

15. DISSOLUTION OF SOCIETY AND DISPOSAL OF DISOLVED PROPERTY
The disposal of the property of the dissolved Society shall be undertaken as per Societies Registration Act.