FAQ

You become a member of ICON•S by paying your annual membership fee on the Join ICON•S page. Your ICON•S account is created at the same time.

• Regular Membership: $150 USD per year, which also includes (upon request) an online subscription to I•CON—the International Journal of Constitutional Law.
• Discount Membership: $80 USD per year, for scholars from non-OECD countries, students, and post-doctoral scholars, with the same rights and privileges as the regular membership.
• Patron of the Society: $250 USD per year, for those in a position to support the Society as one of its “patrons”, with all the available membership rights. All patrons of the Society are publicly acknowledged.

Memberships are valid for one year; full details are on the Join ICON•S page. If you are not in a position to pay the membership fee, please see the question on fee waivers below.

All memberships cover the registration fee for the Annual Conference during the membership period, and include the right to vote in the Council elections and to participate in activities that are organized for members only. Members are informed by email of all the Society’s events and activities. Members still need to register for each Annual Conference.

Memberships are renewed automatically at the end of each subscription period. To switch to another membership level or to cancel your membership, log in via Member Login and select Change or Cancel under My Memberships.

We understand that financial hardship, or legal restrictions on making payments, can be a barrier to participation, and we offer a limited number of fee waivers each year. To apply, please complete the Waiver Application Form on our fee waivers page, briefly explaining your reasons. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis, all information provided is kept confidential, and waivers have to be approved by the Co-Presidents of the Society. For the 2027 Annual Conference, new requests must be received by 15 November 2026. For any questions, please contact us at icons@icon-society.org.

You will receive an invoice via email once you have paid your annual membership fee. You can also find your invoices under Order History after logging in via Member Login. To change the postal address on future invoices, update it under Edit Profile. Please contact us via email (icons@icon-society.org) if you need anything else. For example, if you need an invoice under your name but addressed to the institution that will refund your membership fee, please contact us to request such an amended invoice.

To access the online subscription to the I•CON journal, please get in touch with us at icons@icon-society.org.

Your ICON•S account is created when you pay your membership fee on the Join ICON•S page; it is not possible to create an account without becoming a member. You can log in to your account to manage your membership and access your invoices.

Your account remains, but your membership is no longer active. Your membership is active as long as the membership fee is paid (or a fee waiver has been granted). To become an active member again, log in and pay the membership fee on the Join ICON•S page.

Log in via Member Login, select Edit Profile, and update your email address there. Your membership and invoices stay with your account.

Select ‘Lost Password?’ on the Member Login page to reset it. Once logged in, you can also change your password under Change Password. If you are still having trouble, please contact us at icons@icon-society.org.

ICON•S chapters can work cooperatively with other organizations, particularly academic organizations. Nevertheless, the chapters should always remain distinct and avoid being captured by specific interests.

ICON•S chapters need to report their activities to the Society once a year, promote the Society’s growth, and respect the decisions of the Society’s Executive Committee. Members of the governing bodies of ICON•S chapters are expected to be active members of ICON•S and pay the ICON•S annual membership fee regularly. All ordinary chapter members are encouraged to join ICON•S as active members and pay the annual fee. The Co-Presidents of ICON•S can grant exceptions upon request if this is considered beneficial to the growth of the local chapter.

Chapters are expected to organize academic activities such as local conferences and workshops. They can mentor junior scholars, create a legal blog, collaborate with other academic institutions and other ICON•S chapters, organize publications, and collaborate with the ICON•S Annual Conference.

ICON•S chapters usually have a gender-balanced leadership, including two co-chairs and a Board. Some chapters also include other positions and bodies, such as secretary-general and specialized committees.

Only ICON•S members can propose the creation of an ICON•S chapter.

ICON•S members who wish to establish a new national or regional chapter should draft a proposal including the rules of their chapter according to the guidelines and criteria in the Chapter Development FAQs (PDF), which outline the entire process. Existing chapters are listed on the Chapters page.

An ICON•S Interest Group consists of a group of scholars hoping to build deeper connections with a view to future collaboration on research and engagement on a particular theme. The key aim of an Interest Group is to enhance the capacity of ICON•S to serve as a forum for supporting cross-national and inter-disciplinary research both at our conferences and beyond. There is a range of existing Interest Groups in the Society which you may be interested in joining; a full list can be found on our Interest Groups page.

Only ICON•S members can propose the creation of an ICON•S Interest Group. Ideally, proposals should come from a diverse group of scholars rather than individual scholars, and suggestions should include some first ideas of the broader goals and plans of the proposed group.

A proposal for an Interest Group must include:

• the full name, email address and institutional affiliation of the convener
• the title of the Interest Group
• a description of the purpose of the Interest Group (no longer than 250 words)
• any plans for the group (e.g. joint conferences or publications, or specific projects to be pursued by group members)

To propose a new Interest Group, please contact Elisabeth Perham, Director of Interest Groups, at icons.interestgroups@gmail.com.