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INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION Proc. N. A. S. 
and hold office until the end of the second General Assembly following that of their 
election; provided that the first President and three of the first Vice-Presidents (as 
determined by the drawing of lots) shall retire at the end of the first General Assembly 
following that of their election. The retiring members are re-eligible. 
This Bureau shall be the Executive Committee of the Union. 
The five Vice-Presidents shall be chosen so as to represent the different branches of 
Astronomy. 
In the case of any vacancy occurring among its members, the Executive Committee 
shall have power to fill up such vacancy. Any person so appointed shall hold office 
until the next General Assembly, which shall then proceed to an election. The member 
thus elected shall complete the term of office of the person whose place he takes. 
There shall be an Administrative Office, which, under the direction of the General 
Secretary, shall conduct the correspondence, preserve the archives, prepare and issue 
the publications sanctioned by the Union, and administer its funds. 
IV — Standing Committees 
7. The General Assembly shall appoint Standing Committees, for the study of special 
branches of Astronomy, the encouragement of collective investigations, and the discus- 
sion of questions relating to international agreements or to standardization. 
The Standing Committees shall present reports of their work to the Union. 
8. The President and the members of each Committee are elected by the General 
Assembly on the nomination of the Executive Committee of the Union. They hold 
office until the end of the next ordinary General Assembly, and are re-eligible. 
When a Standing Committee is composed of members appointed partly by the 
Astronomical Union and partly by some other Union connected with the International 
Research Council, it shall have the power to elect its own President. 
Standing Committees shall draw up their own by-laws. They may co-opt other 
members by a majority of two- thirds. Such co-opted members need not necessarily 
be delegates, but shall be subjects of one of the countries adhering to the Union. 
9. With the sanction of the Executive Committee, a Standing Committee may 
issue its publications independently. A Standing Committee may entrust any part 
of its work to any national institution or to individuals. 
V — The GeneraIv Assembly 
10. The General Assembly shall, as a rule, hold an ordinary meeting once every 
three years. The date and place of the meeting, unless determined by the General 
Assembly at its previous meeting, shall be fixed by the Executive Committee, and com- 
municated at least four months beforehand to the adhering organizations. 
11. For special reasons, the President of the Union, with the consent of the Execu- 
tive Committee, may summon an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly. 
He must do so at the request of one-third of the votes of the countries adhering to the 
Union. 
12. All members of the National Committees may attend the meetings and take 
part in the discussions of the General Assembly without power of voting. 
The President of the Union may invite scientific men, who are not delegates, to at- 
tend a meeting of the General Assembly, provided they are subjects of one of the ad- 
hering countries. Such invited guests may take part in the discussions, but shall have 
no power of voting. 
Members of any committees who are not delegates (Article 8) shall have the right to 
attend those meetings of the General Assembly which deal with the subjects referred to 
the Committee. 
13. The agenda of business to be transacted at a meeting shall be determined by the 
Executive Committee and communicated to the adhering organizations at least four 
