LARA

The Management Committee (MC) for COST Action … has been set up in accordance with the provision of Chapter VII (the Management Committee) of doc. COST 270/07 (“Rules and Procedures for Implementing COST Actions”). The MC shall consist of no more than two representatives for each Party and no more than one representative for each non-COST institution admitted to participate in the Action1. The members of the MC shall be appointed for the duration of the Action. The COST Office shall be notified of any amendments to such appointments.

The main responsibilities of the MC are defined in particular in Chapter VII - the Management Committee with some additional provisions in Chapter VIII - Reports and Chapter IX - Property rights.

Each Party shall have one vote in the MC. If a member representing a Party is unable to attend, this power may be delegated to an officially appointed deputy. Other participants have the right to express their views but not to vote.

The members of the MC, with the agreement of both the relevant COST National Coordinator and the MC Chair, may appoint experts or advisors to accompany them or substitute for them in case of absence. Attendance at the meeting shall be strictly limited to members and their appointed experts or advisors as well as to specialists invited in connection with specific items on the agenda. Only MC members and officially invited experts will be entitled to be reimbursed. In case the Action does not operate under the COST Grant system, the names of the experts, advisors or specialists shall be communicated to the COST Office before each meeting. Subject to the approval of the MC and budgetary cover, any member may also invite representatives of international organisations or experts to participate as observers in some of its activities in accordance with requirements.

The MC may decide that some of its discussions or certain Minutes of meetings and other documents be considered confidential. Documents are not considered confidential unless this is clearly stated on the front page. The information supplied by the members of the MC shall not be published without their agreement.

If in the course of this Action results are obtained or expected, which could give rise to intellectual (industrial or non industrial) property rights, the MC shall take the necessary steps, be it by written agreement among the participants or otherwise, in order to protect these rights, with respect to the principles set out in Chapter IX of the “Rules of Procedure for implementing COST Actions”.

The MC shall appoint from among its members representing Parties or European bodies, by a simple majority vote, a Chair and a Vice-Chair for the duration of the Action. If the Chair is unable to attend, his/her place shall be taken by the Vice-Chair. In the event of the premature termination of the appointment of the Chair or Vice-Chair, they shall be replaced for the remainder of the term of office in question, again by a simple majority vote.

Meetings of the MC shall be officially held only if at least two-thirds of the Parties are represented. The decisions of the MC shall be taken by a simple majority of the Parties present and voting. If appropriate, a secret ballot may be carried out and the votes shall be counted by the COST Office representative. In the event of a tie, the procedure may be repeated.

The MC shall be convened by the Chair as often as required for the performance of its tasks, and should meet at least once per year. It may also be convened at the request of members representing at least three Parties.

Support for the MC shall be provided by the COST Office, or by a competent authority or research institution in one of the Parties, or directly by the Action MC in the case of support through the annual grant system. In the latter case, a grant holder institution is appointed (normally that of the Chair or Vice-Chair of the MC) provided it can demonstrate appropriate competence in administrative and financial matters (see Article 11).

Correspondence shall be dealt with by the COST Office, which shall be responsible for all contacts with the Chair, Vice-Chair and members of the MC other than in the case of the annual grant system (see Article 10). The COST Office will receive copies of all correspondence. Documents to be distributed by the COST Office or the grant holder at the meetings should be sent at least three weeks before, for their duplication. For last minute documents to be distributed during meeting sessions, a sufficient number of copies should be brought, in order to avoid duplication on the spot. Whenever possible, documents should be duplicated and mailed by the authors directly to the participants and the COST office/grant holder. The COST Office will maintain master copies of all documents when it provides the secretariat. In the case of Actions supported under the COST grant system, this is the responsibility of the grant holder.

Meetings shall be held where the MC considers it advisable to meet, at the invitation of an institution in a Party. The COST Office shall only undertake the organisation of the meetings held in Brussels. The cost of organisation of meetings elsewhere shall be borne by the host country.

The working language of the MC is usually English. Documents from the COST Office will be issued in this language.

The travelling expenses incurred by and allowances due to a maximum of two members and for a maximum of three meetings per year of the MC will be borne by the COST budget for representatives of a Party eligible for reimbursement. Details of the reimbursement are covered by the “Rules for reimbursement of expenses for experts eligible for reimbursement”.

These Rules of Procedure may be amended by the MC following a valid vote as long as the changes do not contravene the basic principles set out in these Articles nor the “Rules and Procedures for implementing COST Actions” or adversely affect the functioning of the Action. Proposals for the amendment of these rules shall be circulated one month prior to their discussion to the members of the MC and to the COST Office.