General
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FC24
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FC23
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Proceedings Proceedings

FC22
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Proceedings

FC21
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Proceedings Proceedings

FC20
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FC19
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FC18
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FC17
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FC16
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FC15
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FC14
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FC13
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FC12
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FC11
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FC10
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FC09
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FC08
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FC07
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FC03
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FC99
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Note: some of these are superseded by the Foundation guidelines, draft versions of which are available here.

General Guidelines (printable version)

Election Guidelines (printable version)

Copyright Form (printable version)


General Guidelines of the International Financial Cryptography Association Limited

Article I: Name

The name of this organization is the International Financial Cryptography Association Limited, hereinafter referred to as the IFCA.

Article II: Purposes

The purposes of the IFCA are to advance the theory and practice of financial cryptography and related fields, and to promote the interests of its members with respect thereto. To achieve these purposes, the IFCA sponsors the Financial Cryptography conferences, sponsors or co-sponsors other appropriate meetings or conferences,cooperates with appropriate meetings or conferences sponsored by other groups, and takes such other actions as its Board of Directors, hereinafter referred to as the Board, deems appropriate.

Article III: Membership

Membership is open to any person subscribing to the purposes of the IFCA. A person becomes a member or renews his or her annual membership upon registering for the Financial Cryptography conference and paying the appropriate registration fee, or by payment of annual membership dues. Membership period as a result of registering for the Financial Cryptography conference is twelve months beginning with the month in which the conference opens. A member who engages in an activity inconsistent with the purposes of the IFCA may be expelled from the IFCA by a two-thirds vote of the full Board. The member under investigation has the right to examine the charges against him or her and to make a statement defending himself or herself before the vote. The proceedings and documentation are confidential, unless the member wishes to make them public. An expelled member may be reinstated, at the earliest one year after his or her expulsion, by a majority vote of the Board.

Article IV: Officers

The Officers of the IFCA are the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. The term for all offices is one year.  Officers may serve successive terms. The Officers are elected by the Board. The President is responsible, under the supervision of the Board, for the day-to-day functioning of the IFCA. The President represents the IFCA in its dealings with other organizations. The President appoints committees as required to assist him or her in discharging these duties. The Vice President performs such duties as the President or the Board may assign.   The Vice President acts for the President in the President's absence. The Vice President becomes Acting President until the next regular election upon the death, incapacity, resignation, or expulsion of the President. The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the minutes of the Board meetings, the Guidelines and the Bylaws of the IFCA, the records of the members (which include the mailing list), and for the timely mailing of announcements. The Treasurer is responsible for the receipt and payment of funds on behalf of the IFCA and for the maintenance of proper financial records and documents. The Treasurer recommends to the Board any changes in the amount of dues. The Board at its discretion may establish a secretariat with paid personnel to assist the Officers in activities as the Board may direct.

Article V: Board of Directors

The Board consists of five elected Directors. The term of office is three years, with staggered terms, so that at least one term expires every year. Directors are elected by the members at the annual General Meeting, held during the Financial Cryptography conference.  Directors may be re-elected. The Board elects a Chair to preside over its meetings. The Board manages, controls and directs the affairs, funds, and property of the IFCA. Two meetings of the Board are held in conjunction with the annual Financial Cryptography conference. The (outgoing) Board meets before the General Meeting, primarily to wrap up any outstanding matters from the previous year, including those concerning the current conference. The (incoming) Board meets after the General Meeting, primarily to decide matters for the upcoming year, including election of Officers and appointment of General and Program Chair. For urgent business, additional meetings of the Board may be called by its Chair or by a majority of the Directors with two weeks notice with an agenda. The Board may also transact urgent business that arises between meetings by post, fax, telephone, and/or electronic mail. Minutes of Board meetings are taken by a person designated by the Chair. These minutes, after approval and/or correction by the Board, are made available to the membership. A majority of the Board constitutes a quorum. Except as otherwise specifically noted, decisions are made by a majority vote of the Directors present (including proxies) or by a majority vote of the full Board for actions taken outside of the meeting. The Board may invite Officers or other non-Directors to participate in a Board meeting. Only the Directors will have a vote in any decisions of the meeting.

Article VI: Conferences and Workshops

The IFCA sponsors an annual Financial Cryptography conference. The IFCA may sponsor, or co-sponsor, additional conferences, workshops, or other similar meetings as the Board deems appropriate. The IFCA may cooperate, without financial responsibility, in other worthy meetings or conferences as deemed appropriate by the President and approved by the Board. Registration for the Financial Cryptography conference also serves as the usual method for renewal of membership in the IFCA. The fee for participating in this conference includes the annual dues; this fee is paid in full even by those who do not desire to become IFCA members. A General Chair for each conference sponsored by the IFCA is appointed by the Board. The General Chair has full responsibility for arranging all aspects of the conference except for the technical program and may appoint others to assist in the execution of these duties. The Board also appoints a Program Chair for each conference sponsored by the IFCA. The Program Chair appoints a program committee to assist him or her in ensuring that the program meets a high scientific standard. The Program Chair may not concurrently serve as a Director or Officer of the IFCA.

Article VII: General Meetings

A General Meeting of the membership takes place annually at the Financial Cryptography conference. The General Meeting is presided over by the President of the IFCA or, in case of the President's absence, by the Vice President, or, in case of both their absences, by the Secretary. The General Meeting is open to all members of the IFCA. Twenty-five members constitute a quorum for business at a General Meeting. The President, or his or her representative, reports to the membership the major decisions made by the Board since the most recent General Meeting, and introduces any items proposed by the Board for decision by the membership. These are either accepted or rejected by majority vote of the members present. Motions may also be proposed from the floor by any member and, if seconded, adopted by majority vote of the members present. Minutes of the General Meeting are taken by the Secretary or, in case of the Secretary's absence, by a Director or Officer designated by the Secretary as his or her representative. These minutes, after approval and/or correction by the Board, are made available to the membership. When the President judges that an action taken by the General Meeting does not reflect the position of a majority of the IFCA members, the President may place the question before the entire membership in a written ballot. If fifty members petition the Board for a referendum on an issue, the Board directs the Secretary to place the question before the entire membership in a written ballot. Decisions by the membership (other than election of Directors) may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the Board.

Article VIII: Elections

At the General Meeting the President presents a list of vacant Director positions (including those of Directors whose terms are expiring) and the Board's nominations for these positions, and accepts additional nominations from the floor. Any IFCA member may nominate another member and all nominations must be seconded in order to be added to the ballot. After each of the candidates is given an opportunity to make a statement, the members present at the meeting will vote in accordance with election Guidelines established by the Board. Any premature vacancy in an office is filled by an appointee chosen by the President and then approved, as soon as possible, by the Board. Any premature vacancy in the Board is filled by a candidate chosen by the Board and serves until the next General Meeting, at which the membership elects a replacement for the remainder of the term. Any Officer or Director who engages in an activity inconsistent with the purposes of the IFCA may be removed upon two-thirds vote of the full Board. The person under investigation has the right to examine the charges against him or her and to make a statement defending himself or herself before the vote. The proceedings and documentation are confidential, unless the person under investigation wishes to make them public.

Article IX: Compensation

The Board shall establish compensation for Directors, Officers, and members of the program committee that may consist typically of waiver of registration fees, reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses for attending a meeting or conference, and/or honoraria The position of General Chair will typically be remunerated, either at a fixed level or on a commission basis, or some combination of the two.

Article X: Guidelines

The Board may establish additional Guidelines as deemed necessary to aid in the activities of the IFCA. There will be Guidelines for the duties and responsibilities of the General Chair and Program Chair of the conferences, for IFCA elections, and for other matters as deemed necessary by the Board.

Article XI: Amendments

Amendments to these General Guidelines may be proposed by majority vote of the Board or at a General Meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present. A proposed amendment becomes effective upon subsequent ratification by a two-thirds vote of the Board and by a majority vote of either the members present at a General Meeting or the full membership.

For further information, please contact one of the IFCA officers.

 

 

 


Election Guidelines for the IFCA

Last Revision: August 6, 2001

Election of Board of Directors

Nominations

Eligibility

Any member of IFCA present at the General Meeting is eligible for nomination.

By the Board

During the General Meeting, the President will present a list of vacant Board of Director positions (including Board members whose terms are expiring) and the current Board's nominations for those positions, which will appear on the list of candidates.

From the Floor

Any IFCA member in attendance at the General Meeting may nominate a current IFCA member, also in attendance, during that General Meeting. Self nominations are permitted. A member may not nominate more than one nominee until all other IFCA members present have had the opportunity to nominate a candidate. Floor nominations must be seconded to be added to the list of nominees (hereinafter ``the candidates'').

Candidate Statements

After the nomination process has closed, the candidates will each be given an opportunity to present statements to the floor not to exceed five minutes per candidate.

Voting

Eligibility

All members of IFCA in attendance at the General Meeting are eligible to vote in the election of Board members.

Tellers' Committee Selection

The Tellers' Committee shall consist of a Chairman and two tellers.

The Vice President shall be the Chairman of the Tellers' Committee unless the Vice President is a candidate in the current election. In that event, the Secretary shall serve as the Chairman of the Tellers' Committee. In the event that both the Vice President and the Secretary are candidates for vacant Board positions, the President shall appoint a non-candidate Officer or Director, if available, and otherwise a non-candidate member in attendance, to serve as the Chairman of the Tellers' Committee.

The Chairman of the Tellers' Committee shall select two volunteers from the attendees of the General Meeting who are not candidates in the current election to serve as tellers during the election.

Ballots

The Tellers' Committee shall provide blank sheets of paper upon which Members may mark their candidate selection(s). However, any single sheet of paper upon which a Member writes a valid selection of candidate(s) may be properly used.

Voters should write the name of the candidate whom they would like to elect on their ballot. In the event that more than one Board position is vacant, voters may designate up to as many names as there are vacancies.

A voter need not select a candidate for each open Board position. However, any ballot with more selections than open Board positions will be considered an illegal ballot. If a voter submits more than one ballot, no ballots from that voter shall be counted.

The Tellers' Committee shall collect the marked ballots from the Assembly.

Counting and Recording the Ballots

Ballots will be counted and voter eligibility will be verified by the Tellers' Committee. Any IFCA member present who so desires may witness the counting of the ballots.

Tellers' Sheet and Report

The Tellers' Committee Chairman shall provide the tellers with a sheet of paper to help them tally the ballots. A sample Tellers' Sheet is provided as Appendix A to these Guidelines.

Counting the Ballots

The Tellers' Committee shall separate the ballots into three piles according to the following categories: blank, legal, and illegal. A ballot is blank if contains no names. A legal ballot must only contain names from the list of candidates and may contain up to as many names as there are Board vacancies. Furthermore, all names on a legal ballot must be clearly readable. Any other ballot is an illegal one. Illegal ballots include, but are not limited to: (1) a ballot containing more names than vacancies; (2) a ballot which contains at least one name which is not clearly readable, even if other names on that ballot are clearly readable; (3) a ballot which contains multiple votes for the same candidate; (4) a ballot that shows signs of tampering.

Blank ballots are discarded since they are not counted towards the total number of votes cast. The Chairman shall count the legal ballots and write the total number of those ballots on each of the Tellers' Sheets on the line marked ``Number of Votes Cast.'' Any illegal ballots shall be counted and the number of those ballots shall be written on the line marked ``Number of Illegal Votes Cast.''

The Chairman shall then calculate the ``Number of Votes Required to Elect'' by performing the following steps: (1) sum the Number of Votes Cast and the Number of Illegal Votes Cast; (2) perform an integer division by two on that total; (3) add one to that result. This can be represented by the following formula:


Number of Votes to Elect= Number of Votes Cast + Number of Illegal Votes Cast

2
+ 1

The Number of Votes to Elect shall then be entered by the Chairman on the appropriate line of each of the Tellers' Sheets. Next, the list of candidates' names shall be entered under the ``Names'' column on each of the Tellers' Sheets. The Chairman shall then read aloud the names written on each of the legal ballots. As the names are read, the two tellers shall mark a tally in the appropriate cell on their Sheets.

When all of the ballots have been counted, the tellers shall total the votes for each candidate and mark the result under the ``Total'' column on their respective Tellers' Sheets. The tellers shall then confirm that their totals agree. If there is a discrepancy in the totals, the committee shall begin the vote count anew, on fresh copies of the Tellers' Sheet.

Once the totals have been confirmed, the Chairman shall make one or more of the following designations on both of the Tellers' Sheets. ``Majority'' shall be marked next to each candidate receiving a total of votes equal to or greater than the Number of Votes to Elect. If no one receives a majority vote, the phrase, ``no election,'' is written on the Tellers' Sheets. If more candidates receive a majority vote than there are positions open ("N"), the N candidates receiving the highest number of votes among the majority candidates are considered elected. Should a tie prevent determination of who shall be elected, a run-off election between the tied candidates shall be held pursuant to these Election Guidelines. When the candidates receiving the highest number of votes have been determined, the committee Chairman shall mark ``elected'' next to each of the appropriate candidates' names. Finally, each member of the Tellers' Committee signs both copies of the Tellers' Report.

Resolution of Deadlocks

In the event that an insufficient number of candidates are elected to fill all of the open positions, a run-off election shall be held pursuant to these Guidelines. For purposes of the run-off, the list of candidates shall contain only the names of those candidates not elected. If no majority emerges from the first round of the run-off, each candidate's name shall be written on a separate slip of paper and placed in an opaque container, from which the Chairman of the Tellers' Committee will draw once per vacant position, and the drawn candidate shall be deemed elected.

Filing the Results

The Chairman of the Tellers' Committee shall file all of the ballots and one of the Tellers' Sheets with the Secretary.

Report of the Tellers' Committee

The Tellers' Report shall consist of the following items of information: (1) Number of Votes Cast; (2) Number of Illegal Votes; (3) Number of Votes to Elect; (4) All names and vote totals for each candidate, including those who are not elected. The Chairman of the Tellers' Committee shall orally present the Tellers' Report, followed by an announcement of the newly-elected Board members. Newly-elected Board members shall take office immediately.



Appendix A - Tellers' Sheet and Report




Number of Votes Cast:     _______________  

Number of Votes to Elect: _______________  

Number of Illegal Votes:  _______________  

 

Name

Tally Marks

Total

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

Tellers' Committee Signatures:

 

  1. ___________________________________________

  2. ___________________________________________

  3. ___________________________________________




International Financial Cryptography Association
Copyright Form

Policy on copyrights and publication

In connection with its publishing activities, it is the policy of the International Financial Cryptography Association (hereinafter referred to as "IFCA") to own the copyrights to all copyrightable material in its technical publications and to the individual contributions contained therein, in order to promote research in Financial Cryptography, to protect the interests of the IFCA, its authors and their employers, and, at the same time, to facilitate the appropriate archiving and distribution of this material by others. The IFCA currently contracts with a commercial publisher to distribute its technical publications throughout the world, using various means such as traditional paper printing, Internet distribution, and CD-ROM media. IFCA may also abstract and translate its publications, and articles contained therein, for inclusion in various compendiums and similar publications, etc. When an article is submitted to the IFCA for publication, the author implicitly consents that the IFCA has the rights to do all of these things.

Policy on Public Dissemination

This policy applies to all material submitted to IFCA: The IFCA must of necessity assume that material presented at its meetings or submitted to its publications is properly available for general dissemination to the world. It is the responsibility of the authors, not the IFCA, to determine whether disclosure of their material requires the prior consent of other parties and, if so, to obtain it.

Furthermore, the IFCA must assume, if authors use within their article material that has been previously published and/or is copyrighted by another party, that permission has been obtained for such use and that any required credit lines, copyright notices, etc., are duly noted.

IFCA Obligations

In exercising its rights under this agreement, the IFCA will make all reasonable efforts to act in the interests of the authors and employers as well as in its own interest. In handling third-party republication requests for an IFCA work, the IFCA requires that the consent of the first-named author be sought as a condition in granting republication (of a full paper) to others.; and 2) the consent of the employer be obtained as a condition in granting permission to others to reuse all or portions of a paper for promotion or marketing purposes.

Author/Company Rights

If you are employed and you prepared your paper as a part of your job, the rights to your work may rest initially with your employer. In that case, when you sign the copyright and consent to publish agreement, IFCA assumes you are authorized to do so by your employer and that your employer has consented to all the terms and conditions of this form. If not, it should be signed by someone so authorized. (See also the Public Dissemination policy above.)

Joint Authorship

For jointly authored works, all of the joint authors should sign, or one of the authors should sign as an authorized agent for the others. In the case of multiple authorship where one or more authors are signatories under Part II of this copyright transfer form, but at least one author is not, the non-signatory of that Part should sign Part I of this copyright transfer form.



Copyright Agreement

 

Name of paper (hereinafter
referred to as "the Work"):



________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Name of publication:



________________________________________________

Author(s):



________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Name and address
of corresponding author:



________________________________________________

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PART I

(Government employees whose work is not subject to copyright should so certify by signing Part II below.)

The undersigned hereby assigns all copyright rights in and to the above work to The International Financial Cryptography Association (hereinafter referred to as "IFCA"). The undersigned also represents and warrants that the work is original and that the undersigned is the author of the work, except possibly for material such as text passages, figures, and data that clearly identify the original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required. The undersigned also represents possession of the power and authority to make and execute this assignment.

In return for these rights, the IFCA recognizes the retained rights noted in Items 1 and 4 below, and grants to the above authors and employers for whom the work may have been performed a royalty-free license to use the material as noted in Items 2, 3, and 4. Item 6 stipulates that authors and employers must seek permission to republish in cases not covered by Items 2, 3, 4, and 5.

1.  Employers (or authors) retain all proprietary rights in any process, procedure, or article of manufacture described in the work.

2.  Authors/employers may reproduce or authorize others to reproduce the above work, material extracted verbatim from the above work, or derivative works for the author's personal use or for company use provided that the source and the IFCA copyright notice are indicated, that the copies are not used in any way that implies IFCA endorsement of a product or service of an employer, and that the copies themselves are not offered for sale.

3.  Authors may publish their contributions on their respective personal Web pages after the conclusion of the Conference to which their papers have been accepted, subject to the restriction that it should carry a prominent copyright notice of the form "© IFCA" to indicate that the copyright for this contribution is held by IFCA. In addition, because IFCA uses a commercial publisher to distribute its work, it is suggested that authors include a link to the primary source of publication, which at this time is http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/index.html.

4. Authors/employers may make limited distribution of all or portions of the above work prior to publication provided they inform the IFCA of the nature and extent of such limited distribution and gain the consent of IFCA prior thereto.

5. IFCA recognizes that work performed under a Government contract or grant may require that the Government retain royalty-free permission to reproduce all or portions of the above work, and to authorize others to do so, for Official Government purposes only. IFCA further recognizes that certain non-Government contracts or grants may have similar requirements. In either case, appropriate documentation may be attached, but IFCA's Copyright Form MUST BE SIGNED.

6. For all circumstances not covered by Items 2, 3, 4, and 5, authors/employers must request permission from the IFCA to reproduce or authorize the reproduction of the work or material extracted verbatim from the work.

_____________________________________________

_________________

Authorized Signature

Date


PART II to be completed in case an author is a Government employee

Authors who are Government employees in jurisdictions which preclude the copyright of Official work are not required to sign Part I of the IFCA Copyright Form, but any non-Government coauthors are required to sign Part I (see Joint authorship above).

Authors whose work was performed under a Government contract or grant, but who are not Government employees, are required to sign Part I of this form. (Note: If your work was performed under Government contract but you are not a Government employee, sign Part I of this form and see item 5).

This will certify that all authors of the above work are employees of the Government and performed this work as part of their Official duties and that the work is therefore not subject to copyright protection.

 

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Authorized Signature

Date

 

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Country


Please direct all questions about IFCA copyright or this form to the President or Vice President of the IFCA.

(IFCA copyright form, 2001-08-23)