DIVISION III. PROVISIONS FOR THE GOVERNANCE OF THE CODE
- The Code may be modified only by action of a plenary session of an International Botanical Congress on a resolution moved by the Nomenclature Section of that Congress.1
- Permanent nomenclature committees are established under the auspices of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy. Members of these committees are elected by an International Botanical Congress. The committees have power to co-opt and to establish subcommittees; such officers as may be desired are elected.
- General Committee, composed of the secretaries of the other committees, the rapporteur-général, the president and the secretary of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and at least 5 members to be appointed by the Nomenclature Section. The rapporteur-général is charged with the presentation of nomenclature proposals to the International Botanical Congress.
- Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants.
- Nomenclature Committee for Bryophytes.
- Nomenclature Committee for Fungi.
- Nomenclature Committee for Algae.
- Nomenclature Committee on Fossils.
- Editorial Committee, charged with the preparation and publication of the Code in conformity with the decisions adopted by the International Botanical Congress. It is chaired by the rapporteur-général of the previous Congress, who is charged with the general duties in connection with the editing of the Code.
- The Bureau of Nomenclature of the International Botanical Congress. Its officers are: (1) the president of the Nomenclature Section, elected by the organizing committee of the International Botanical Congress in question; (2) the recorder, appointed by the same organizing committee; (3) the rapporteur-général, elected by the previous Congress; (4) the vice-rapporteur, elected by the organizing committee on the proposal of the rapporteur-général.
- The voting on nomenclature proposals is of two kinds: (a) a preliminary guiding mail vote and (b) a final and binding vote at the Nomenclature Section of the International Botanical Congress.
Qualifications for voting:- Preliminary mail vote:
- No accumulation or transfer of personal votes is permissible.
- Final vote at the sessions of the Nomenclature Section:
- All officially enrolled members of the Section. No accumulation or transfer of personal votes is permissible.
- Official delegates or vice-delegates of the institutes appearing on a list drawn up by the Bureau of Nomenclature of the International Botanical Congress and submitted to the General Committee for final approval; such institutes are entitled to 1–7 votes, as specified on the list. No single institution, even in the wide sense of the term, is entitled to more than 7 votes. Transfer of institutional votes to specified vice-delegates is permissible, but no single person will be allowed more than 15 votes, personal vote included. Institutional votes may be deposited at the Bureau of Nomenclature to be counted in a specified way for specified proposals.2
1 In the event that there should not be another International Botanical Congress, authority for the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants shall be transferred to the International Union of Biological Sciences or to an organization at that time corresponding to it. The General Committee is empowered to define the machinery to achieve this.
2 Prior to each International Botanical Congress any institution desiring to vote in the coming Nomenclature Section (and not listed as having been allocated a vote in the previous Nomenclature Section) should notify the Bureau of Nomenclature of the IBC of its wish to be allocated one or more votes and provide relevant information regarding its level of taxonomic activity.
2 Prior to each International Botanical Congress any institution desiring to vote in the coming Nomenclature Section (and not listed as having been allocated a vote in the previous Nomenclature Section) should notify the Bureau of Nomenclature of the IBC of its wish to be allocated one or more votes and provide relevant information regarding its level of taxonomic activity.