The British & European Polygraph Association adopts and abides by the Preamble and purpose of the American Polygraph Association and the Code of Ethics and the Standards & Principles of the Practice of the BEPA
The name of this organisation is the British & European Polygraph Association hereinafter referred to as the BEPA.
The goal of the BEPA is to be a valid and reliable means to verify the truth by:
A – Serving the cause of truth with integrity, objectivity and fairness to all persons.
B – Encouraging and supporting research, training and education to benefit members of the Association as well as those who support its purpose and by providing a forum for the presentation and exchange of information derived from such research, training and education.
C – Establishing and enforcing standards for admission to membership and continued membership in the Association.
D – Governing the conduct of members of the Association by requiring adherence to a Code of Ethics and a set of Standards of Practice.
A – This document shall be known as the Constitution of the BEPA.
B – All persons who, at the time this Constitution is adopted, hold offices under any previous Constitution, which offices are continued by this Constitution, shall continue to hold the same offices according to the former tenure thereof.
C – No action or proceeding commenced before this constitution takes effect, and no right accrued, is affected by the provisions of this Constitution, but all provisions thereafter taken herein shall conform to the provisions of this Constitution.
D – Unless the context otherwise requires, the General Provisions hereinafter set forth shall govern the construction of this Constitution and By-Laws established by the Board of Directors.
E – Writing shall include any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. Whenever any notice, report, statement or record is required by this Constitution or the By-Laws of this Association, it shall be made in writing in the English language. The mailing of any notice, report or record by first class mail shall be sufficient compliance with any requirement of this Constitution or except as established by Board policy in accordance with Articles VII and IX of this constitution.
F – Whenever any reference is made to any portion of this Constitution, such reference shall apply to all amendments and additions thereto now or hereafter made.
G – The present tense includes the past and future tense; and the future, the present. The singular includes the plural and the plural the singular. The masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter. “Shall” is mandatory and “may” is permissive.
H – “Accredited school” shall mean any school of polygraph or forensic psychophysiology as accredited by the BEPA
I – “Association” shall mean the BEPA or any successor thereto.
J – “Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Association.
K – “By-Laws” shall mean any set of rules or other writings established by the Board of Directors for the purpose of the administration of the affairs of the Association. The Board of Directors shall establish and maintain By-Laws. The By-Laws shall include, but are not limited to, a Code of Ethics and a set of Standards of Practice.
L – “Director” shall mean any natural person elected to hold office under the provisions of this Constitution.
M – “Elective Year” shall mean the period between meetings of the General Membership held for the purpose of electing Directors and Officers of this Association.
N – “Meeting” shall mean any meeting of the General Membership of this Association, any meeting of the Board of Directors of this Association or any meeting of any committee authorised by this Constitution or convened at the direction of the President or the Board of Directors.
O – “Member” shall mean any natural person, partnership or division as defined and or limited by the Constitution or By-Laws of this Association.
P – “Officer” shall mean any natural person elected to one of the following offices: President, Vice-Presidents (Private, Government and Law Enforcement), Secretary and Treasurer.
Q – “Person” shall mean a human being as opposed to a partnership or division.
R – “Polygraph” may mean “forensic psychophysiology” when used in detection of deception.
S – “Voting Member” shall mean any member of the Association as defined or limited by the By-Laws.
T – BEPA “Year” shall mean the calendar year beginning on January 1 at 0001 hours and ending on December 31 at 2400 hours of any year. The affairs of this Association shall operate on the basis of a calendar year. A fiscal year may be utilized for financial accounting.
U – In the event this Constitution, or any part thereof, or any additions or amendments made subsequently thereto, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, be found in conflict with any law, federal or state, such conflict shall be resolved in favor of the law; provided, that if the provisions of law be less than the requirements of this Constitution, such conflict shall be resolved in favor of this Constitution.
A – Membership in the BEPA is a privilege.
B – There shall be five (5) classes of membership:
1 – Full Member
2 – Associate Member
3 – Life Member
4 – Affiliate
5 – Science & Technology Member
C – Changes or additions to classes of membership or qualifications, rights and privileges of each class of membership shall be recommended only by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Board of Directors as set forth in the By-Laws of the Association. These changes must be approved by a majority vote of all voting members present at any meeting of the General Membership. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the ability of the General Membership to act in accordance with Article XI (C).
D – Subject to the terms and conditions of this Article, membership in the Association may be suspended or terminated by the Board of Directors for:
1 – Any act contrary to the provisions of the Code of Ethics and or the Standards of Practice.
2 – Conduct which brings, or may tend to bring, discredit to the Association or the polygraph profession. In the event of a complaint against a BEPA member this will be investigated by the Ethics and Grievance Director who report back to the full Board meeting. Members are expected to fully comply with all aspects of such an investigation. Members must supply all relevant materials upon request ,providing it is not in breach of any regulations or laws of the land. This includes, but not limited to, the submittion of any video, polygraph chart or other document related to the issue under complaint.
3 – Failure of any member to meet his, her or its financial obligations to the Association when due and payable.
E – In lieu of suspension or termination of membership, the Board of Directors may censure any member, publicly or privately, or impose such other discipline as deemed appropriate, for any violation of Section D of this Article.
F – The Board shall act upon the findings and recommendations of the Grievance Committee at the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors.
G – A member cannot run for a position of Office without being a member for a full three (3) years prior.
H – In the event that a member resigns from the Association they cannot reapply for a full 3 years following the termination of their Membership.
A – Only Voting Members authorized by the By-Laws shall hold office as a Director or as an Officer.
B – Directors – Directors shall perform the duties and fulfill the obligations of their office as defined in the By-Laws of the Association. There shall be five operational Directors (5) Directors and other Directors without specific areas of responsibility.
Each Director shall be elected to and shall serve a term of three (3) years or until the next meeting of the General Membership thereafter and may be reelected to consecutive terms.
C – Officers -Officers shall perform the duties and fulfill the obligations of their office as defined in the By-Laws of the Association. The Officers shall be five (5) in number and shall be the:
1 – Chairperson – The Chair shall be elected to a term of three (3) elective years and may be reelected to consecutive terms.
2 – Secretary – The Secretary shall be elected to and serve a term of three (3) elective years and may be re-elected to consecutive terms.
3 – Treasurer – The Treasurer shall be elected to and serve a term of three (3) elective years and may be re-elected to consecutive terms.
4 – Membership Director -The Membership shall be elected to and serve a term of three (3) elective years and may be re-elected to consecutive terms.
5 – Ethics and Grievance Director- The Ethics and Grievance Director shall be elected to and serve a term of three (3) elective years and may be re-elected to consecutive terms.
A – The Board of Directors (BOD) shall be seven (8) in number and shall consist of:
1 The Chair
2 – The Secretary
3 – The Membership Director
5 – 3 Directors without portfolio
6 – The Ethics and Grievance Director
The Board of Directors is responsible for the administration of the affairs of the Association and is authorized to take any action necessary to protect the best interests of the Association.
A – The General Membership of the Association shall meet once each calendar year for the purpose of acting upon any business brought before it. The General Membership may elect to meet at any other time for any other purpose. The Board of Directors shall establish the date, time and place of the annual seminar and annual General Membership Meeting. Elections for positions of office will be held every three (3) years. Any member may run for any position providing they have been a member of the BEPA for a full three (3) years prior.
B – Voting Members as defined, present at any meeting of the General Membership, shall constitute a quorum to transact any and all business brought before the membership by proper motion. A simple majority vote, unless otherwise provided in the motion, shall be sufficient to carry any motion. All votes, other than those for elective office, shall be taken by voice vote unless the motion requires a vote by secret written ballot in which case the vote shall be taken by secret written ballot.
C – The election of Officers and Directors shall be held by secret ballot; provided, the election of any unopposed candidate may be by voice vote. If there are two candidates for a specific office, the candidate with the largest number of votes will be elected. If there are three or more candidates and the first ballot does not achieve a majority vote, the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a run-off election with the larger number of votes electing the candidate. All Officers and Directors shall take office immediately upon taking the oath of office at the annual banquet.
D – In the event of death, resignation or the inability to act of any Officer or Director, the Board of Directors shall immediately appoint any Voting Member to serve the unexpired term of the deceased, resigned or disabled Officer or Director. The immediate Past President will fill any unexpired term of the President. Members of the Board of Directors may be removed, for cause, by a majority vote of the General Membership.
E – Any Member, shall be entitled to speak on the floor at any meeting of the General Membership. Only Voting Members as defined in the By-Laws shall have the right to vote upon motions, elections or any other business brought before the general membership.
F – Dues, and the amount thereof, may be established by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Dues shall be levied against all members in equal amount; provided, no dues shall be levied against Life Members, Honorary Members or Retirees, and the amount of dues levied against Divisional Members shall be determined by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors, by a unanimous vote, may waive the dues of a member if it is in the best interest of the BEPA.
G – For the sole purpose of providing recruitment incentives, when deemed appropriate, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to waive, suspend, adjust, or modify the existing membership dues and/or fees for specified groups of applicants or potential applicants when such action is deemed to be in the best interest of the British and European Association of Polygraphers.
H – Special Assessments, and the amount thereof, may be established and levied by the Board of Directors; provided, no single special assessment shall exceed the amount of dues levied in the year in which the special assessment is imposed. All members, except Honorary members, may be subject to any assessment.
A – The President shall establish the following standing committees and shall appoint a general chairperson from the membership of the Board of Directors for each committee:
1 – Ethics and Grievance Committee
2 – Legislative Committee
3 – Membership Committee
4 – International Liaison Committee
5 – Research and Development Committee
6 – Educational Accreditation Committee
7 – Public Relations and Information Committee
8 – Continuing Education Committee
B – The General Chair will nominate to the President appointment of eligible EPA members to serve as chairpersons of each committee.
C – The Chairpersons report to the General Chair and supervise the operation of the various Committees
D – The General Chair is responsible for presenting the status of the committee actions to the President and the Board of Directors.
E – The President may establish Ad-Hoc committees for the purpose of administering the goals and objectives of the Association and may appoint any Voting Member to act as Chairperson of any such committee. Ad-Hoc committees shall dissolve upon the completion of their stated purpose, dissolution by the President or upon the expiration of the office of the appointing President.
F – Policies and Procedures established by the Board of Directors in administrating the Association shall be documented as historical record by the Secretary and retained at the National Office.
A – By-Laws to this Constitution shall be established and maintained by the Board of Directors for the purpose of promoting the mission of the Association and administering the goals and objectives thereof.
B – Unless otherwise specified, By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the ten (10) voting members of the Board; provided, no amendment or other revision shall be voted upon unless a copy of the proposed amendment or revision has been mailed or otherwise provided to all members of the Board at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting upon which the amendment is to be voted.
