The documents we are bound by

Objects. The society exists to advance applied science, technology and engineering: by assessing conferences against published standards, by requiring that accepted work is reviewed and published, and by keeping a public record of what it has endorsed. It is a not-for-profit body; no part of its income is distributed to members, officers or their institutions.

Membership. Members are admitted by the Executive Board on the recommendation of the Membership Committee, on evidence of published work in an applied field and of willingness to review. Three classes: Member, Institutional Member (departments and laboratories, not companies) and Fellow. The society levies no membership fee, no subscription and no charge for endorsement, and takes no share of registration revenue from conferences it co-sponsors.

Executive Board. Three to nine members, elected for three-year terms; no individual serves more than two consecutive terms. The Board elects from its number a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer and a Secretary General, and appoints the chairs of the Publications, Membership and Nominations Committees. It meets at least four times a year.

General assembly. Held annually. Quorum is one third of members in good standing, or twenty members, whichever is lower. Ordinary resolutions pass by simple majority. Amendments to these Bye-Laws require two thirds of those present and thirty days' notice to all members.

Dissolution. Any residual assets pass to an academic institution or learned society with compatible objects. No member may receive any part of them.

Notice. Fourteen days' written notice, with the agenda and papers. Business not on the agenda may be taken only if no member objects.

Quorum. A majority of members in office, of whom at least one is an officer. If quorum is lost, the meeting may discuss but may not decide.

Decisions. By majority of those voting. The chair has a casting vote on procedural questions only. Written resolutions circulated by email carry the same weight as a vote in meeting, provided every member has had three working days to respond and none objects.

Conflicts. A member with an interest in an item declares it at the start of the meeting, withdraws from the discussion and does not vote. The declaration and the withdrawal are recorded.

Minutes. Circulated within ten working days, approved at the next meeting, and a summary published to members. Minutes record decisions and the reasons given, and any declaration of interest — not the detail of discussion.

Confidentiality. Personal matters, unresolved complaints and commercially sensitive submissions are taken in closed session; the fact that a closed session was held is minuted.

Who is bound. Board members, committee members, reviewers, and anyone acting for the society in a decision about a conference.

Annual declaration. Each person declares, in writing and once a year: employment and directorships; consultancy or advisory relationships; shareholdings in publishers or conference organisers; editorial roles; and current roles in the organising committees of any conference the society might assess. The register is published and updated within thirty days of a change.

Recusal. In any decision about a conference a person does not take part — does not speak, vote, or see the submission papers — if they are employed by the organising institution, sit on that conference's committee, hold a financial interest in its proceedings, or are a co-author of a submitted paper.

Composition of the deciding committee. Endorsement decisions are taken by the Publications Committee. At least two of its members must hold no role in any conference under consideration at that meeting.

Record. Each decision records who was present, who recused themselves and why, and is kept with the decision number.

Breach. Dealt with by the Nominations Committee; outcomes range from a written warning to removal from office.

Blind review. Double-blind: authors are not identified to reviewers, and reviewers are not identified to authors.

Number and independence. At least two reviewers per paper. Neither may be employed at the authors' institution, nor a recent co-author of theirs. Where only one qualified reviewer can be found, the paper is rejected rather than accepted on a single report.

Reviewer qualification. A doctorate in a relevant field, or a record of peer-reviewed publication in it.

Criteria. Originality, soundness of method, significance to the field, clarity of presentation, compliance with ethics requirements. These are published in the call for papers before submissions open.

Timing. Acknowledgement within three working days; first decision within six weeks of the deadline. Where a decision is late, authors are told the new date in writing.

Revision. Where revision is offered, the required changes are listed point by point and the revised paper returns to the original reviewers.

Record. After the event the conference reports submissions received, papers accepted, and the resulting acceptance rate. The figure is recorded against the conference on this site.

Appeal. Within thirty days, in writing, on the ground that the review was improper or the decision unsupported. The programme chair and one reviewer not involved in the original decision consider it; the outcome is final and stated in writing.

Authorship. Limited to those who made a substantive contribution. The corresponding author confirms that all named authors agreed to submission. Guest and gift authorship are treated as misconduct.

Disclosure. Funding sources, competing interests and the use of AI-assisted writing are disclosed. A tool may not be named as an author.

Data. Where a paper reports experimental work, the data underlying the conclusions are available to reviewers, and a data-availability statement is published with the paper.

Similarity. Every submission is checked for text overlap before review. Overlap that is not declared and cited is grounds for rejection.

Corrections. Published where an error affects the interpretation of results, linked from the original paper, stating what was wrong and what is now correct.

Retraction. Decided by the Proceedings Editor with the Publications Committee, not by the society's officers alone. The notice states the reason plainly and names who decided. Authors are informed before publication and may record dissent in the notice.

Sanctions. From a requirement to correct, to rejection, to a period of exclusion from submission. Any sanction beyond a correction may be appealed.

Scope. Members, officers, committee members, reviewers, authors, attendees and anyone representing the society — at society business and at conferences it endorses.

Expected. Criticism addressed to the work rather than the person; respect for differing views; acknowledgement of others' contributions; compliance with the safety and visa requirements of the host country.

Not tolerated. Harassment of any kind, including unwelcome sexual attention; discrimination on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or career stage; intimidation of reviewers or authors; retaliation against a person who reports a concern.

Reporting. In writing to the Secretary General, or in person to the conference chair, who must pass it on within one working day. Reports are handled confidentially and the person reporting is told the outcome.

Interim measures. Where safety is at risk the conference chair may exclude a person from the venue immediately, pending a decision.

Decisions. Within thirty days, by the Secretary General with two Board members not otherwise involved. Appeal lies to the Board.

What may be complained about. An endorsement decision; the conduct of a review or an editor; the behaviour of a member or officer; a decision taken under any other document on this page.

How. In writing, identifying the decision or event and the outcome sought. No form, and no fee.

Timescales. Receipt acknowledged within five working days, naming the person handling it. A decision within sixty days. If it will take longer, the complainant is told why and when to expect it.

Stages. (1) Secretary General; (2) the relevant committee; (3) the Executive Board; (4) a panel of three, at least one of whom is not a member of the society, whose decision is final.

Fairness. Anyone complained about is told the substance of the complaint and may respond in writing before a decision. Nobody decides a complaint about their own conduct.

Record. Each year the society publishes the number of complaints received, how many were upheld, and the median time to decision. Names are never published.

What endorsement means. That a conference has been assessed against the standards on this page — reviewing, timing, publication route, ethics — and that the society is satisfied those standards will be met. It is not a guarantee of the quality of any individual paper, and it carries no money in either direction.

Criteria. A conference is eligible where all of the following hold:

• a named organising committee, with institutional affiliations, published on its site;
• at least two independent reviewers per paper, under the Peer Review Policy;
• review criteria and a decision timeline published before submissions open;
• a designated proceedings venue, identifiable by ISSN or publisher, named in the call for papers;
• a written ethics statement covering authorship, disclosure and misconduct;
• no practice that misrepresents the venue, the proceedings, or the acceptance rate.

Application. The organising committee submits in writing: title, edition and series history; host institution; committee names and affiliations; review process and expected acceptance rate; proceedings venue; previous editions with submissions received and accepted for each.

Decision. The Publications Committee reviews within forty-five days and recommends to the Board, which decides by majority with conflicts declared under Document 3. Each decision carries a reference number and a date, and is recorded in the public list of endorsed conferences.

Outcomes. Endorsed; Deferred, with the specific gaps to close; Declined, with reasons. A Declined decision may be appealed under Document 7.

Withdrawal. Where a conference departs materially from what it declared — a change of reviewing method, of proceedings venue, or of committee — endorsement is withdrawn and the withdrawal is published with reasons.

Permitted. An endorsed conference may state “Technically co-sponsored by ISASTE”, with the year of the decision, on its call for papers, website and proceedings front matter.

Not permitted. Describing the society as organiser, publisher or owner of the conference; implying that the society guarantees the quality of individual papers or the standing of the proceedings; using the mark in advertising for paid services, recruitment or unrelated events.

Term. Limited to the endorsed edition, ending six months after the conference closes, except in the published proceedings themselves.

Enforcement. Written notice, then a public statement withdrawing the endorsement and requiring removal of the mark within fourteen days. Persistent misuse may result in refusal of future applications.