Constitution of the ACL Special Interest Group in the Lexicon (SIGLEX)

I. Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) Special Interest Group on the Lexicon (SIGLEX) shall be:

• To promote interest in the Lexicon.
• To provide members of the ACL having a special interest in the Lexicon with a means of exchanging news of recent research developments and other matters of interest in the Lexicon.
• To sponsor meetings and workshops on the Lexicon that appear to be timely and worthwhile.

SIGLEX will operate within the framework of the ACL’s general guidelines for SIGs.

II. Membership

Membership is open to anyone who professes an interest in the lexicon. Membership will be terminated on request, or automatically if no reply is received within 6 months of posting an annual membership list update message.

III. Elected Officers

The elected officers of the SIG shall consist of a President, a Vice-President Elect, a Secretary, a Vice-Secretary Elect, and representatives of the Sections. The President, the Vice-President Elect, the Secretary, and the Vice-Secretary Elect shall be members in good standing of the ACL.

The term of all elected officers of the SIG shall be two years.

The duties of the President shall be:

• To have primary executive authority over actions and activities of the SIG.
• To prepare a written report on the activities of the SIG for the Executive Committee of the ACL, for presentation to the ACL at its Annual Business Meeting.
• To designate such other officers as may be needed from time to time to fulfill the goals of the SIG, in particular a returning officer as specified in Sections IV and VI below.
• To train the Vice-President Elect to serve as the future President.

The duties of the Secretary shall be:

• To maintain a membership roster of the SIG.
• To be responsible for any money awarded to the SIG by the ACL; to collect and manage any dues that may be required by the organization; and to present a written annual report on the SIG finances to the Executive Committee of the ACL.
• To maintain, in consultation with the President and the other SIGLEX Officers, a document stating the aims of the group and the names and affiliations of the current officers, suitable for sending to prospective members and other inquirers.
• To train the Vice-Secretary Elect to serve as the future Secretary.

The duties of the Vice-President Elect and the Vice-Secretary Elect shall be:

• To communicate with members of the SIG.
• To answer inquiries about the SIG.
• To ensure that up-to-date information of relevance to the SIG members is available from the SIGLEX website.
• To assist the President and the Secretary in their duties as needed.

The duties of the Section representatives shall be:

• To communicate with members of the respective Section of the SIG.
• To answer inquiries about the respective Section of the SIG.
• To ensure that up-to-date information on the respective Section of relevance to the SIG members is available from the SIGLEX website.

IV. Election of Officers

All officers of the SIG except Section representatives (see below) shall be elected by a vote of its membership, with exception of Section representatives, who will be elected by a vote of its respective Section membership.

The candidates for Vice-President Elect and Vice-Secretary Elect must be nominated by two members, must accept nomination, and must be members in good standing of SIGLEX. In the case of Section representatives, the two members must belong to the respective Section.

The Vice-President Elect and the Vice-Secretary Elect will automatically become President and Secretary, respectively, upon the completion of their 2-year term, and they will serve in these new positions during the following 2-year term. This would ensure the institutional memory of the SIGLEX board.

Elections shall take place at least two months before the expiration of current terms of office. In the event of a casual vacancy, an extraordinary election shall be held for an officer to complete the current term of office.

Votes may be entered by electronic or physical mail, and votes arriving by the notified closing date will be counted by a returning officer appointed by the President and agreed to by all candidates. Nominations shall be called at least three months prior to the election, and shall close two months prior to the election. All members shall be notified of the election date and the nominations at least four weeks prior to the close of voting, and results shall be notified to the members within four weeks after the close of voting.

Notification shall signify dispatch of mail by the medium and to the address last notified to the secretary.

V. Dues

Subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the ACL the SIG may levy annual membership dues, where the rate is determined by the Executive Committee. In certain circumstances, the Executive Committee may decide to waive the fee.

VI. Referenda

A change to this constitution, or a motion on any other matter, may be initiated by five members (petitioners) in writing or by agreement of the President and Secretary (on the suggestion of a member or otherwise). The motions will be put to the members within six months of receipt of a petition, if the petitioners so request. Otherwise, constitutional amendments and other motions will be put to the vote in conjunction with the regular elections.

Members will be given notification at least three months in advance of any referendum, and further motions or amendments proposed by two members shall be accepted up to two months before the close of voting. Votes may be entered by electronic or physical mail, and votes arriving by the notified closing date will be counted by a returning officer appointed by the President and agreed to by all petitioners. All members shall be notified of the date of the referendum and the proposed motions and amendments at least four weeks prior to the close of voting, and results shall be notified to the members within four weeks of the close of voting.

Any change to this constitution requires a two-thirds majority of the SIGLEX membership and is subject to approval by ACL. Any other matter requires a simple majority of those actually voting.

Notification shall signify dispatch of mail by the medium and to the address last notified to the secretary.

VII. SIG Sections

SIGLEX will have an internal structure in the form of Sections. SIGLEX will maintain a list of active Sections. Each Section will have a statement of purpose which is in agreement with point I of this constitution. The Sections will maintain a website and a list of members. In order to be a Section member one needs to be a SIGLEX member as well. Each section will elect a Section representative who will then be an officer of SIGLEX.

In order to create a Section, the SIGLEX board (all elected officers) must approve its creation.

A Section will cease to exist if any of the following requirements is not met:

• The website is not updated at least annually.
• The membership list is not updated annually.
• The Section does not perform any activity with the collaboration of SIGLEX.
• The Section no longer reflects an area of active research of interest to the SIGLEX community.

In addition, the SIGLEX board can decide to cancel a Section after a reasoned debate.

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The SIGLEX board

April 1, 2020