Statutes containing special regulations for the award by the Royal Academy of Sciences of prizes from the Nobel Foundation, etc.

The Government decreed on the 7th of April, 1994 that the Statutes of the 29th of June, 1973, containing special regulations concerning the award by the Royal Academy of Sciences of prizes from the Nobel Foundation etc., shall read as follows:

AWARD OF THE PRIZES

§ 1
Competence to submit proposals for the award of prizes, as laid down in § 7 of the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, shall be enjoyed by:
1. Swedish and foreign members of the Academy of Sciences;
2. Members of the Nobel Committees for Physics and Chemistry;
3. Scientists who have been awarded the Prize by the Academy of Sciences;
4. Permanent and assistant professors in the sciences of Physics and Chemistry at the universities and institutes of technology of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, and Karolinska Institutet;
5. Holders of corresponding chairs in at least six universities or university colleges selected by the Academy of Sciences with a view to ensuring the appropriate distribution of the commission over the different countries and their seats of learning; and
6. Other scientists from whom the Academy may see fit to invite proposals. Decisions as to the selection of the teachers and scientists referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 above shall be taken each year before the end of the month of September.

§ 2
The Nobel Committees, which § 6 of the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation prescribes shall be appointed for the Physics and Chemistry groups, shall consist of five members each, all of whom shall be elected by the Academy. Election shall be for a period of three years. Retiring members shall be eligible for re-election, but as a rule for a maximum of three successive periods only. Members who have attained the age of seventy years shall not be eligible for re-election.

If a member retires before the expiry of his term of office, another shall be elected for the remainder of that term.

§ 3
Before the election of a member of a Nobel Committee takes place, proposals shall be put forward by the third class of the Academy in the case of the Committee for Physics, and by the fourth class of the Academy in the case of the Committee for Chemistry. Such proposals shall be submitted to the Academy before the end of the month of November.

If the class which shall submit the said proposals deems it necessary, it may co-opt a specially qualified member from another class of the Academy.

§ 4
The Academy shall nominate from among the elected members of a Nobel Committee one member to act as chairman of the Committee for a period of one year at a time. In the absence of the chairman, the chair shall be taken by the oldest in years among the elected members present.
If the two committees meet in joint session, the chair shall be taken by the chairman who is older in years.

The secretary of a Nobel Committee shall be appointed by the Academy.

§ 5
A Nobel Committee shall be competent to take a decision when at least three members are present. Voting shall be open by ballot. In the event of the votes being equal, the chairman shall have the casting vote.

§ 6
Every year, during the month of September, the Nobel Committees shall send out to such persons as, under the regulations in § 1, are competent to put forward proposals for the award of a prize, invitations to submit their proposals before the first of February the following year, such proposals to be accompanied by evidence in support of them.

§ 7
Before the end of September, the Nobel Committee shall submit to the Academy its opinion and proposals for the award of prizes.

Subsequently, and before the end of October at the latest, that class of the Academy which is concerned shall submit to the Academy its comments and observations in the matter. If the class in question deems it necessary for that purpose, it may co-opt a specially qualified member from another class of the Academy.

The Academy shall take up the matter for a final decision before the middle of the following November.

§ 8
The deliberations, opinions and proposals of the Nobel Committees and classes in connection with the award of prizes may not be made public or otherwise divulged other than in accordance with the provisions of article 10, paragraph 3 of the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation.

In considering an application under § 10, paragraph 3 of the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, the rule shall be that material relating to the research work of a named person may not be released during that person's lifetime. If an application is made for the release of material which includes a special investigation or opinion by a named person who is still alive, the material may not be released without the consent of the person concerned.

§ 9
The remuneration to be granted to permanent or co-opted members of a Nobel Committee, or to persons consulted by a Nobel Committee with the consent of the Academy in their capacity as special experts in connection with a specific investigative assignment, shall be decided by the Academy after obtaining the opinion of the class concerned.

§ 10
To each member of the Academy who takes part in a meeting at which, under article 7, paragraph 2 or 3, a class gives its final opinion or the Academy arrives at a decision on the award of a prize, as also to the keeper of the minutes, shall be given a Nobel medal in gold for each occasion.

At meetings at which the Academy arrives at a decision on the award of a prize a similar medal may also be given to the members and to the secretary of the Nobel Committee present at such a meeting as well as to an official of the Academy who takes part in such a meeting with the secretary's consent.

§ 11
The Academy shall deal with all questions concerning the Nobel Foundation at special meetings. The minutes of such meetings shall be kept separate from those kept at other meetings of the Academy. All expenses incurred in connection with such special meetings shall be defrayed by the Nobel Foundation.

THE NOBEL INSTITUTE

§ 12
Nobel Institutes which the Academy of Science is authorized to establish under § 12 of the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation shall be organized in the manner prescribed by the Academy.

BUDGET

§ 13
A tentative budget concerning the Academy's Nobel activities, shall be remitted to the Nobel Committees and to the concerned classes of the Academy, before submission to the Academy.

AMENDMENTS OF THESE STATUTES

§ 14
Proposals for amendments to these statutes may be put forward by members of the Academy or of a Nobel Committee as well as by the Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation. Before the Academy takes up such a proposal for consideration, an opinion thereon shall be obtained, first from the two Nobel Committees jointly, and then from the third and fourth classes of the Academy jointly. Any proposal for amendment which has been approved by the Academy shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation for consideration and confirmation. As provided by the Swedish Foundations Act, in certain cases an amendment may only occur with the permission of the National Board of Trade.

 

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