The by-laws establishing the World Association of Copepodologists and governing its operations were originally approved by a majority of the members present at the 3rd International Conference on Copepoda (ICOC) in 1987 in London. Additional amendments were subsequently approved at the 6^th ICOC in Oldenburg (Germany) in 1996, the 8^th ICOC in Keelung (Taiwan) in 2002, the 10^th ICOC in Pattaya (Thailand) in 2008, the 12^th ICOC in Seoul (Korea) in 2014 and during the e-ICOC in 2022. The current by-laws were approved by WAC membership via on-line voting on 30 September 2025.

The World Association of Copepodologists (WAC) is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote and advance the study of all aspects of the biology, ecology, and evolution of copepods by fostering the exchange and dissemination of information amongst its members.

Anyone interested in any aspect of the study of Copepoda is eligible for WAC membership. Applicants for membership must send an application form to the General Secretary, and pay the annual dues to the Treasurer. The annual membership cycle starts on 1 January. New members who pay their membership dues after 31 July will be covered until the end of the following calendar year (31 December).

The following types of members are recognized for the purpose of assessing dues:

• Regular Member – a person paying the prescribed dues.
• Student Member – a person enrolled as a student at an institution of higher learning.
• Member from LDC (least developed country) as designated by the United Nations (https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list) – eligibility to be assessed by Executive Council on a case-by-case basis. Dues can be waived for a maximum of 2 years after which LDC members will need to apply for regular membership.
• Sponsor – a member contributing USD 200 (or more annually).
• Lifetime Member – a member contributing a one-time payment of USD 1,000 (or more).
• Honorary Member – Emeritus membership awarded to outstanding scientists in the field of copepod research by approval of the Executive Council, upon nomination from any WAC member. Honorary Members shall receive, at no cost, all rights of WAC membership.
• Members in good standing are those (1) whose rights as members of WAC are not under suspension as a consequence of disciplinary proceedings or failure to follow the Code of Conduct (Article 18), and (2) whose membership dues have been paid for the current year. Members whose dues have not been paid within six (6) months of their renewal date shall not be held in good standing and shall lose their rights of membership. Members who are not in good standing may be reinstated upon application and payment of current dues.

The governing body of the WAC shall be the Executive Council.

The officers of the WAC shall be the President, Vice-President, the latest Past-President available, General Secretary, Treasurer, Local Secretary, Webmaster and six Council Members. All of these, with the exception of the Webmaster and the Local Secretary, comprise the Executive Council. The start of a 3-year term of office of all officers will be coincident with the WAC International Conference on Copepoda (ICOC). The President, Vice-President, and Council Members shall be elected by the WAC membership. One of the six Council Members shall be appointed as the Student Program Officer who will form and chair the Student Awards Committee during ICOCs and oversee the annual running of the Student Grant Program. The President shall collect nominations for the offices of General Secretary and Treasurer and submit them to the Executive Council for evaluation and approval. WAC membership will vote at the General Assembly irrespective of the number of candidates shortlisted for either office. Voting will be decided by simple majority (based on members present AND voting, and excluding abstentions). The Local Secretary and Webmaster shall be appointed by the incoming President. After completion of one elected term as President, the President shall succeed to the office of Past-President for a second term to provide important continuity between successive Executive Councils. All officers shall be eligible for re-election, but the Vice-President and Council Members shall serve no more than two consecutive terms. Should the office of President become vacant, the Vice-President shall temporarily assume all duties of the President until the term of the Executive Council is finished. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Past-President the office shall be filled by the latest Past-President available. Other mid-term vacancies in offices, if they arise, shall be filled by an interim presidential appointee, subject to approval by a majority vote of the Executive Council, until the next regularly scheduled election for that office. All members of the Executive Council must be WAC members in good standing at the time of their election and throughout their terms as Officers. Should an elected officer, for reasons of incompetence or breaching the Code of Conduct (Article 18), fail to fully or professionally discharge duties of the office, the Executive Council may act to remove the officer by a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote. The resultant vacancy shall be filled by an interim presidential appointee, subject to approval by a majority vote of the Executive Council.

The President shall preside over the Executive Council and may invite other officers (Webmaster, Local Secretary) during EC business meetings as required. In the President’s absence, the Council is chaired by the Vice-President and in the Vice-President’s absence by the General Secretary. The Executive Council shall formulate general policy and procedure on the basis of input from the WAC membership, conduct the business affairs, oversee the basic operations of the Association, and approve the annual budget for submission to WAC membership. Members of the Executive Council shall serve to represent the best interests of WAC membership, actively promote the Association through recruitment of new members, and chair standing committees and any ad hoc ones the Council deems appropriate. They will provide input and guidance on the content and structure of the WAC website, while the technical maintenance remains the responsibility of the Webmaster. The President will call the Executive Council to have regular online meetings each year to discuss progress, challenges, and new initiatives.

The Treasurer shall be in charge of funds, make necessary disbursements and keep the financial records of the WAC, including membership dues. The Treasurer shall submit an annual audited statement (see Article 8) of financial accounts to the Executive Council for majority approval and to WAC membership during the triennial General Assembly.

of the conference plan and selection of venue for the next ICOC meeting. The Local Secretary shall take a leading role in organizing the conference, in close consultation with the Executive Council, and appoint a local and international organizing committee.

The Secretary shall keep the WAC calendar of events, prepare and receive applications for membership, advise Officers of deadlines, issue notices for meetings of the Executive Council, record minutes of online Council meetings, conduct the correspondence of the Executive Council with WAC membership, be responsible for mailing ballots, and present an annual report of WAC’s activities to the membership.

Two Auditors shall be recruited from the Executive Council by the incoming President. The Auditors shall audit the accounts of the Treasurer annually after which he/she will present a report to the Executive Council for majority approval.

Nominating activities of the Executive Council shall be directed by the President. Members may, as individuals or by group-petition, submit the names of nominees to the President. Nominations for any office, with the exception of those of the Local Secretary, Past-President and Webmaster, may be made in writing by any member of the WAC in good standing not later than two months in advance of the ICOC General Assembly, during which election of Officers will take place. Each nomination must be seconded by another WAC member in good standing. Self-nominations are also possible. Nominees must declare that they are willing to stand for office and serve if elected. Nominations shall be submitted to the President ahead of the deadline and must be accompanied by a brief biographical sketch and motivation statement written by the nominee. The Executive Council shall approve a slate of recommended candidates for the next election with at least one nominee listed for each open office. In the event no nominations were received for one or more WAC Officer positions after the deadline has passed, additional nominations may be made by the Executive Council during their meetings.

Elections shall be conducted online at the General Assembly of the WAC. The Local Secretary will be responsible for setting up an online voting system that enables only members in good standing to vote. Should the interval between meetings exceed three years, the Executive Council shall arrange an online ballot election. In that case the Executive Council shall announce voting to the membership in the election year. A brief biographical sketch and motivation statement of what the candidate will contribute to WAC shall accompany the ballots. Only WAC members in good standing are eligible to vote, either in person or online. The Executive Council shall appoint a scrutinizing committee of three to four people to count and record the votes. All Officers shall be elected for a term of three (3) years by a simple majority vote of the members voting in the election. When the vote results in a tie, the Executive Council shall vote to resolve it. Should a tie still persist, the President shall cast the deciding vote. Newly elected Officers shall assume the responsibilities of their office with immediate effect on the Monday of the first week following their election.

The expenses of the WAC shall be paid from the funds of the WAC, within the limits of its budget. The capital and income of the WAC shall be devoted solely to the furtherance of the objectives of the WAC, as stated in its mission (Article 1).

The class of membership shall determine the dues. The annual dues shall be established on the recommendation of the Executive Council. They shall be payable in the currency used by the treasury of the WAC, either by International Money Order or by any other means accepted by the WAC, to the Treasurer. Discounted dues are offered to members who pay more than one year in advance. At the discretion of the Executive Council, dues of some members may be waived or reduced.

• The WAC shall co-sponsor an International Conference on Copepoda (ICOC) every three years, if possible. The purpose of these conferences shall be the promotion of WAC’s objectives. Financial responsibility for the conferences shall rest with the local organizing committee. The Executive Council must meet with the Local Secretary at least two times a year for updates on meeting progress. The Local Secretary must follow the best practices policy of WAC as determined by the Executive Council. They will also provide a platform for the conduct of WAC’s business, including nomination and election of officers, and adoption and amendment of the by-laws. All business decisions shall be taken by the vote of the membership quorum, and can be in person during the General Assembly during the ICOC conference, and/or at an online business meeting, at any other time, called at the discretion of the Executive Council.

• Smaller scientific meetings, workshops and webinars may also receive co-sponsorship from WAC (on the condition that they are relevant to the WAC objectives), subject to financial availability. Organizers must submit a detailed application to the Executive Council which shall determine the level of financial support.

• WAC offers up to three student research grants per year under the Standard Grant-in-Aid programme in accordance with the availability of WAC funds to support copepod research. Applications must be submitted to the General Secretary and will be evaluated by members of the Executive Council.

The constitution and by-laws of the WAC can be amended only by a simple majority of WAC members in good standing voting by online ballot at the ICOC General Assembly or at any other time when WAC membership is approached by the Executive Council. Amendments may be proposed by any two members in writing to the General Secretary for the appropriate transmission to the membership.

In the event that WAC is dissolved, by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members, the Executive Council shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of the Association, dispose of all of the assets of WAC and transfer them to some institution or organization approved by the Executive Council that has objectives similar to those of the WAC and shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

The triennial Monoculus Award may be awarded to scientists for their exceptionally devoted service and contributions to the activities of the World Association of Copepodologists. The President shall receive and compile nominations for the Monoculus Award. The award will be presented at the discretion of the Executive Council.

Prior and during each International Conference on Copepoda (ICOC) the Executive Council shall enlist at least five WAC members, in good standing and present at the meeting, to form an ad hoc Student Awards Committee to judge the merits of enrolled student WAC members who give oral presentations and posters and select those deserving of special recognition by WAC. Judging will be based on a defined list of prescribed criteria drafted by the Executive Council.

The Zbigniew Kabata Student Award (named after the Founder President of WAC) will be awarded triennially during ICOC for the best oral presentation given by a student participant. Free communications from all fields of copepodology will be considered. Students presenting poster contributions are not eligible recipients for this award. In addition, up to ten other awards will be presented for other outstanding research (up to five for oral communications and up to five for poster presentations) in the student category. All student awardees will receive a certificate and a cash prize.

Members of the WAC and/or attendees of any event organized under its patronage voluntarily abide by WAC’s Code of Conduct. Events organized under the auspices of WAC are open only to members in good standing whose rights as members of WAC are not under suspension as a consequence of disciplinary proceedings or violating the Code of Conduct.

Safety and Harassment: The WAC seeks to promote a safe, inclusive, and scientifically productive environment, regardless of gender, geographic provenance, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and physical appearance. The WAC prohibits intimidating, threatening, or harassing conduct. These conducts encompass verbal comments and/or offensive gestures related to gender, geographic provenance, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and physical appearance in public spaces; inappropriate physical contact or unwelcome attention; deliberate intimidation and stalking, including through photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events at conferences. Participants asked to stop any of the behaviour above by the recipient of that behaviour (or other attendees witnessing the event) are expected to comply immediately. If a participant or exhibitor engages in, or is accused of harassing behaviour, the meeting host and/or the EC members will investigate the report and may take action as appropriate, ranging from a simple warning to the expulsion from this and future conferences and WAC membership.

Authorship: All those listed as authors should qualify for authorship by having made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. All authors listed in a conference abstract must agree on the general content of the presentation and disclose any conflict of interest.

Photography and Social Media: The WAC supports the communication of science in all formats. Hence, information included in a presentation (original data, slides, or other visual representations) may be summarized and discussed by attendees and science writers, including in social media and blogs. However, we ask that this be done respectfully and that permission be obtained from the presenter before reproducing visual materials. Presenters not wanting attendees to discuss specific contents of their presentation are encouraged to make this explicit—e.g., through the use of no-posting symbols.