Article 1

The aims of the Communications Society (hereinafter referred to as the “Society”) shall be to facilitate research and investigation activities in the field of communications, and to contribute to research activities through cooperation with other Societies, in order to promote the development of science and technology in this field.

Article 2

The organization and operation of the Society shall be in accordance with this Bylaw in addition to the Articles of Association of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (hereinafter referred to as “IEICE”), the Regulations of IEICE, and the Regulations of the Societies.

The decision-making of this Society shall be in accordance with “the Bylaw regarding the Process of Decision-Making by the General Assembly and the Board of Directors.”

Article 3

To achieve the aims prescribed in Article 2 of the Regulations of the Societies, the Society shall conduct the following activities in addition to the activities prescribed in Article 3 of the Regulations of the Societies:

• Issue Communications Society Magazine (Japanese Edition).
• Issue Society Newsletters.
• Hold lectures, discussions, courses and study trips.
• Hold international conferences.
• Conduct any other activities such as membership services required to achieve the aims prescribed in Article 2.

Article 4

There shall be the following numbers of Executives:

• President of the Society: 1.
• President-Elect of the Society: 1.
• Chair, Editorial Board: 1.
• Vice President, Chair, Planning and Member Activities Committee: 1; and Vice President, Chair, Council of Technical Committee Representatives: 1.
• Directors, General Affairs: 2; Directors, Finance and Accounting: 2; and Directors, Planning and Member Activities: 4.
• Vice Chairs, Editorial Board: 3.
• Vice Chairs, Council of Technical Committee Representatives: 2.
• A small number of ad-hoc Executives if the President of the Society deems such to be required.

Article 5

1. The President of the Society shall be elected in accordance with Article 5 of the Regulations of the Societies.
2. Chair, Editorial Board; Vice President, Chair, Planning and Member Activities Committee; Directors, General Affairs; Directors, Finance and Accounting; Directors, Planning and Member Activities; Vice Chairs, Editorial Board; and ad-hoc Executives shall be nominated by the President of the Society and appointed by the President of IEICE. Chair, Editorial Board may also serve as Chair, Editorial Committee of Transactions on Communications (English Edition), Chair, Editorial Committee of Transactions on Communications (Japanese Edition), Chair, Editorial Committee of Communication Express, or Chair, Editorial Committee of Communications Society Magazine (Japanese Edition).

Article 6

1. Vice President, Chair, Council of Technical Committee Representatives is nominated by the President of the Society in accordance with recommendations from the Council of Technical Committee Representatives, and appointed by the President of IEICE.
2. Vice Chairs, Council of Technical Committee Representatives are nominated by the President of the Society in accordance with recommendations from the Council of Technical Committee Representatives, and appointed by the President of IEICE.

Article 7

The President of the Society shall report to the President of IEICE on the nomination results of the second item of Article 5, and Article 6 by the end of March each year.

Article 8

1. The term of office for the President of the Society and President-Elect of the Society shall be one year. No reappointment shall be allowed.
2. The term of office for a person appointed as a result of his/her predecessor's resignation during his/her term of office shall be the period remaining on his/her predecessor's term.

Article 9

1. The term of office for the Vice Presidents of the Society shall be two years. No reappointment shall be allowed.
2. The term of office for a person appointed as a result of his/her predecessor's resignation during his/her term of office shall be the period remaining on his/her predecessor's term.

Article 10

1. The term of office for the Chair, Editorial Board; Directors, General Affairs; Directors, Finance and Accounting; Directors, Planning and Member Activities; and Vice Chairs, Editorial Board shall be two years. No reappointment shall be allowed except with the approval of the President of the Society under special circumstances.
2. The term of office for a person appointed as a result of his/her predecessor's resignation during his/her term of office shall be the period remaining on his/her predecessor's term.

Article 11

The term of office for an ad-hoc Executive shall be the term specified by the President of the Society.

Article 12

1. The Society shall include the Board of Directors, Editorial Board, Council of Technical Committee Representatives, and Planning and Member Activities Committee. There may also be Technical Committees for Workshop Type 3 and ad-hoc committees as deemed necessary.
2. The Editorial Board shall include the Editorial Committee of Transactions on Communications (English Edition), Editorial Committee of Transactions on Communications (Japanese Edition), Editorial Committee of Communication Express, and Editorial Committee of Communications Society Magazine (Japanese Edition).
3. The Council of Technical Committee Representatives shall include the Technical Committees. It may also include Ad-hoc Technical Committees as deemed necessary.
4. The Planning and Member Activities Committee shall include the International Affairs Committee, and, the Publicity and Web Management Task Team. It may also include a Membership Task Team or a New Project Planning Task Force as deemed necessary.

Article 13

1. The President of the Society shall oversee the activities of the Society and shall be its main representative.
2. The President of the Society shall report or make proposals to the Board of Directors of IEICE on the deliberations results of the Board of Directors of the Society.
3. The President-Elect and Vice Presidents of the Society shall assist the President of the Society and act on behalf of the President of the Society during his/her absence.
4. The Chair, Editorial Board; Directors, General Affairs; Directors, Finance and Accounting; Directors, Planning and Member Activities; and Vice Chairs, Editorial Board shall oversee the administrative work of the Society and correspondence with related committees.
5. Ad-hoc Executives shall perform the duties specified by the President of the Society.

Article 14

To ensure the smooth operation of the Society, a Board of Directors consisting of the Executives specified in Article 4 shall be established as the highest decision-making body of the Society. The Board of Directors shall undertake the following:

1. Deliberate, determine, and execute the operational policy and annual plan of the Society.
2. Formulate, execute and close the budget of the Society.
   The activities report and account statements for the current fiscal year and the activities plan and income and expenditure budgets for the following fiscal year shall be submitted to and approved by the Board of Directors of IEICE.
3. Formulate the action policy of the Editorial Board of the Society.
4. Explore interdisciplinary areas through cooperation and exchange with other Societies.
5. Provide relevant information to Society members.
6. Invigorate IEICE activities, explore new research fields, investigate future research topics by holding technical group meetings, Society Conferences, international conferences, lectures, courses, etc.
   Proper coordination with other Societies and local Sections shall be carried out as deemed necessary; for example, exchange of views and co-sponsorship.

Article 15

Decisions by the Board of Directors of the Society shall be made as follows:

• The Board of Directors shall be chaired by the President of the Society assisted by Directors, General Affairs.
• The Board of Directors shall be convened six or more times a year. It may additionally be convened as deemed necessary by the President of the Society.
• The quorum of the Board of Directors shall be one half of the number of Executives of the Society. Substitution is permitted for the Chair, Editorial Board and Vice President of the Society. Such substitutions shall be included in determining a quorum.
• The voting method of the Board of Directors may be signed ballot, secret ballot, show of hands or verbal as selected by the President of the Society based on the outcome of deliberations on this matter. However, if any voting member puts forward a motion that proposes a certain method, the voting method shall be determined by show of hands. In all voting, the President of the Society; President-Elect of the Society; Chair, Editorial Board; and Vice Presidents of the Society shall each have one vote, and the decision shall be by majority vote. If there is a tie in votes, the Chair of the Board of Directors shall cast the deciding vote.

Article 16

The bylaws of the Editorial Board shall be stipulated in the Editorial Board Bylaws.

Article 17

The Society Conference shall be held once a year. The Society Conference Executive Committee drafts a plan for a Society Conference and executes the plan after it has been approved by the Council of Technical Committee Representatives and reported to the Board of Directors of the Society.

Article 18

The bylaws of the Council of Technical Committee Representatives shall be stipulated in the Council of Technical Committee Representatives Bylaws.

Article 19

The bylaws of the Planning and Member Activities Committee shall be stipulated in the Planning and Member Activities Committee Bylaws.

Article 20

The audit of the Society shall be in accordance with Item 4 of Article 12 of the Regulations of the Societies (The Society shall be audited by the Auditor of IEICE).

Article 21

Changes to this bylaw shall be applied after they have been deliberated by the Board of Directors of the Society, and approved by the Board of Directors of IEICE.

Supplementary provisions