STATUTE OF THE ESTONIAN COMMISSION ON STRATIGRAPHY

Approved by the Council of the Estonian Geological Society on June 9, 2022.

1 General Provisions

1.1 The Estonian Commission on Stratigraphy (hereinafter the Commission) is a commission operating within the Estonian Geological Society (hereinafter the Society), which, in its activities, follows not only the statutes of the Society but also its own regulations.

2 Objectives

2.1 The objectives of the Commission are to provide geologists and other interested parties with information on stratigraphy, to organize Estonian-language stratigraphic terminology and classification, and to compile suitable stratigraphic schemes for characterizing the Estonian subsurface.

2.2 In updating the stratigraphic framework, the Commission takes into account developments in neighboring countries and globally.

2.3 The Commission´s activities are aimed at implementing up-to-date stratigraphic terminology and framework in databases, research, and publications.

2.4 The Commission gathers information on the stratigraphic units and their type sections used in Estonia and initiates, as necessary, the evaluation of existing stratotypes and the establishment of new ones.

2.5 The Commission represents Estonian expertise in stratigraphy in international organizations, consortia, collaborative projects, and other initiatives, either as a whole or through its members.

3 Composition

3.1 The Commission is composed of specialists in stratigraphy representing the main research institutions and state agencies in Estonia.

3.2 Since the Commission develops stratigraphic frameworks and classifiers together with institutions responsible for geological databases, these institutions are permanently represented in the Commission.

3.3 The chairman of the Commission is elected at a meeting of the Society´s council.

3.4 Upon the chairman´s proposal, the Society´s council approves the composition of the Commission.

3.5 Upon the chairman´s proposal, at the first meeting of the new composition of the Commission, a vice-chairman and secretary are elected from among the members.

3.6 The chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary may be re-elected once consecutively.

3.7 The chairman may, based on a decision of the Commission´s meeting, invite specialists from outside the membership to participate in the Commission´s work.

3.8 The Commission may establish specific working groups as needed.

3.9 The term of office of the Commission´s composition is three years.

4 Management

4.1 The chairman organizes the work of the Commission, represents the Commission, prepares the agenda for meetings, convenes meetings, chairs meetings, invites other individuals to meetings as necessary, signs Commission documents, and performs other tasks arising from the regulations.

4.2 The vice-chairman substitutes for the chairman in the latter´s absence or in other cases where the chairman cannot fulfill their duties. 4.3 The secretary records summaries of discussions and all decisions taken at meetings and publishes the minutes on the Commission´s website after they have been signed by the secretary and the chairman of the meeting.

5 Meetings

5.1 The main form of work of the Commission is meetings.

5.2 Upon the chairman´s proposal, meetings may be held electronically or in hybrid form.

5.3 Commission meetings are held as necessary but not less than once a year.

5.4 The time of the next meeting is usually decided upon the chairman´s proposal at the end of the previous meeting.

5.5 The chairman sends the agenda of the meeting and additional materials to the Commission members at least seven days before the meeting.

5.6 Decisions are generally taken by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, the matter is put to a vote, where decisions are made by a majority of votes cast.

5.7 A meeting is quorate if more than half of the Commission members, including the chairman or vice-chairman, participate.

5.8 If the organization of the meeting incurs costs, these are covered from the budget of the hosting institution.

6 Results

6.1 Stratigraphic schemes and other materials are published on the Commission´s website.

6.2 Institutions participating in the Commission´s work base their activities in stratigraphy on the decisions of the Commission.

7 Reorganization and Termination

7.1 The decision to amend this regulation, reorganize the Commission´s work, or terminate its activities is made by the Society´s council. In case of termination of activities, the Commission´s documents are handed over to an institution continuing substantive stratigraphic activities in the country or to the Society´s archive.