Article 1

The name of the Society shall be THE BRITISH SOCIETY FOR ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL PATHOLOGY.

 

Article 2 - Objects

The objects of the Society shall be to promote and encourage the study and practice of oral, maxillofacial and head and neck pathology and to facilitate communication between pathologists particularly those with an interest in head and neck, oral and dental disease.

 

Article 3 - Membership

I. There shall be the following classes of membership:

• Full membership

• Associate membership

• Trainee/ student membership

• International membership 

• Lifetime membership

• Honorary membership

 

II.  Full membership: Nominations for full membership must be accompanied by a brief curriculum vitae which shall include details of qualifications and of experience in connection with Oral, Maxillofacial and/or Head and Neck pathology. The application must also be supported by an existing full member of the Society and should be submitted to the Secretary. These will be considered by the Council which will report its recommendations at the next Annual General Meeting. Full members have full EQA access, are eligible for discounts for the annual conference, are eligible to vote on all BSOMP elections and are eligible to apply for positions on the BSOMP council.  Members from the Republic of Ireland are eligible for full membership, despite financial rules dictating that they cannot pay membership fees. 

 

III. Associate membership: All participants of the head and neck EQA scheme are automatically associate members of the BSOMP. Associate members are not eligible for discounts to the annual conference, are not eligible to vote on BSOMP elections and are not eligible to apply for positions on the BSOMP council.

 

IV. Trainee/student membership: Trainee/student members have access to the EQA without scoring or voting, are eligible to apply for training and research grants.  Trainees are eligible to apply for the Trainee Representative position on the BSOMP council, if in a recognised oral and maxillofacial pathology diagnostic training position in the UK with a national training number.

 

V. International membership is available, without a fee, to applicants from outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland who are involved in teaching or research in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial and/or Head and Neck Pathology. A BSOMP member will need to act as a proposer and all applications will be assessed by the Council on an individual basis to determine suitability. International membership does not confer voting rights or eligibility for appointment to BSOMP Council.

 

VI.  Lifetime Membership may be conferred on members of the Society who have retired from active work in oral, maxillofacial or head and neck pathology. Proposals for the award of this category of membership will be considered in the first instance by the Council which will make recommendations to the next Annual General Meeting.

 

VII.  Honorary membership: Honorary membership is the highest honour which the Society may confer on an individual and may be conferred by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting at the Annual General Meeting on any person of distinction in pathology or dentistry who has contributed to the advancement of oral and maxillofacial pathology.  Nominations for Honorary Membership, which must be in writing, shall be submitted in the first instance to the Council which will make recommendations to be considered at the next Annual General Meeting.

 

VIII. International, Honorary Members and Lifetime Members will not be required to pay a subscription.

 

Article 4 - Officers

I.      The Officers of the Society shall be a President, an Immediate Past-President or a President-Elect, a Secretary and a Treasurer.

II.      The President shall hold Office until the third Annual General Meeting following his/her assumption of that Office.

III.      The Immediate Past-President shall hold Office until the second Annual General Meeting following his/her assumption of that Office; on completion of the Office of Immediate Past-President, the holder will not be eligible for re-election to the office of President-Elect until the third Annual General Meeting following his/her demission of the Immediate Past-Presidency.

IV.      The President-Elect shall hold Office until the Annual General Meeting next following his election to that Office; nominees for the Office of President-elect should: a) be actively engaged in the study and practice of oral, maxillofacial and head and neck pathology, and b) past or present members of BSOMP Council.

V.      The Secretary and Treasurer shall each hold Office until the third Annual General Meeting following their election and shall be eligible for re-election.

VI.      The President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by ballot the outcome of which is ratified at an Annual General Meeting, but the Council may appoint a Secretary or Treasurer to act until the Annual General Meeting following resignation or death of the Secretary or Treasurer.

VII.      Nominations for the Office of President-Elect must be proposed and seconded in writing and countersigned by the nominee and received by the Secretary at least four weeks before the relevant Annual General Meeting.

VIII.      Nominations for the offices of Secretary and Treasurer must be proposed and seconded in writing and countersigned by the nominees and received by the Secretary at least four weeks before the Annual General Meeting at which the Secretary and/or Treasurer are/is to be elected.

VIV. The Treasurer will be responsible for managing the Society’s financial operations, including preparing annual and half-year accounts and presenting financial reports to Council and the AGM. The Treasurer will act as the main signatory on the Society’s accounts, with the option to appoint a named deputy/second signatory.

 

Article 5 - The Council

I.      The Council shall be the Officers and three elected ordinary members. The three ordinary members, one of whom should normally be a registered trainee, will be proposed, seconded and elected by members of the Society.

II.      The Council shall have the power to co-opt additional members of Council including the person responsible for local organisation of the Annual Scientific Meeting, the organiser of the External Quality Assurance scheme, Webmaster and the Specialty Advisers to the Royal College of Pathologists (OMFP and ENT). Co-opted members of Council shall normally serve one year in the first instance and will be eligible for annual reappointment thereafter.  Co-opted members shall be non-voting members of Council.

III.      Nominations for the three elected ordinary members must be proposed and seconded in writing and countersigned by the nominee and received by the Secretary at least four weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

IV.      The election of the three elected ordinary members shall be by ballot and ratified at an Annual General Meeting.

V.      Elected ordinary members shall normally hold Office until the third Annual General Meeting following their election but in the first instance one shall hold Office until the first Annual General Meeting following his/her election and another until the second Annual General Meeting following his/her election.

VI.      Ordinary members shall not be eligible for re-election to the Council for a period of two years following the last period of Office on the Council.

VII.      Four elected members of the Council including at least one Officer shall form a quorum.

 

Article 6 - Duties of the Council

The Council shall conduct the affairs of the Society but may delegate responsibility for organising meetings to the President, Secretary and Treasurer.

 

Article 7 - Meetings

I.      An Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held in every year.

II.      Scientific meetings may be held at any time.

III.      Notice convening meetings shall be sent to members not less than six weeks before the meeting.

IV.      Extraordinary General Meetings may be called by the Council or upon a requisition in writing to the Secretary signed by ten ordinary members.

V. Council shall meet twice yearly:  once at the Annual Scientific meeting, and once in November/December.

 

Article 8 - Subscription

I.      The annual subscription of £50 (or £25) shall be payable by 1st October in each year.

II.      The annual subscription will be considered from time to time by the Council which will make recommendations to the appropriate Annual General Meeting.

III.      Any member whose subscription is more than twelve months in arrears shall cease to be a member of the Society.

 

Article 9 -Expulsion

The Council shall have power to expel any member whose conduct shall in the opinion of the Council render him/her unfit for membership of the Society. Before any member is expelled the Secretary shall give him/her twenty-eight days notice to attend a meeting of the Council and shall inform him/her of the complaint made against him/her. No member shall be expelled without first having an opportunity of appearing before the Council and answering complaints made against him/her unless at least two-thirds of the elected Council then present vote in favour of his/her expulsion.

 

Article 10 -Dissolution

I.      The Society shall be dissolved by a resolution at an Annual General Meeting for which a two-thirds majority of members then present has voted in favour.

II.      Notice of any resolution to dissolve the Society shall be sent to members not less than six weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

III.      In the event of the Society being dissolved the Council shall transfer its assets to a charity to be nominated by the Council.

 

Article 11

The Council shall have power to alter the articles but no such alteration shall take effect until the same has been confirmed at an Annual General Meeting by at least two-thirds of the members then present voting in favour of it. Notice of any alteration to the articles shall be sent to members not less than six weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

 

Approved at the BSOMP AGM Meeting 2026