Statutes

A brief history of our Statutes 


  • Our statutes were confirmed by the Annual General Meeting on the 17th of September 1999, in Grimstad, Norway
  • The english version was confirmed by the Annual General Meeting on the 14th of September 2001, in Visby, Sweden
  • Chapter 2, 3 and 5 were changed and the former chapter 9 was deleted, confirmed by the Extraordinary General Meeting on the 16th of October 2010, in Tallinn, Estonia
  • A draft for restructuring the organization was presented to NACS in August 2018
  • A new version of the statutes, Version 2.0, was created by the task force in October 2018
  • The new version was amended by the task force in April 2019
  • There were executed some last edits and minor amendments by Tommi Paalanen and Tiina Vilponen in July 2019
  • The statutes were confirmed by the Annual General Meeting on the 21st of September 2019, in Gothenburg, Sweden 
  • A draft for upgrading and changing some of the statutes were presented and confirmed by the NACS board members in June 2022


Some defenitions used in the Statutes 


  • General Assembly: The highest decision‑making body of the Association. The ordinary General Assembly meets annually before the end of October and confirms annual statements, action plans, budgets, financial statements and amendments to the statutes 
  • Executive Board: The executive body of the Association, which includes the Officials, the Treasures and the General Secretary. The Board drafts all official documents and directs to work of Committees. The Board consists of the delegates from the six founding associations (see §3 for details)
  • President: The representative of the Association, who leads the work of the NACS Board. The President is elected by the NACS Board
  • Annual Conference or Annual Meeting: The Conference of NACS, which will be organized annually in different countries within the regions. The General Assembly is traditionally held during the conference

Statutes


§1 Name of the association

The name of the Association is the Nordic Association for Clinical Sexology, abbreviation NACS.


§2 Aim and values

The aim of the Association is to promote scientific and professional exchange and practical cooperation in sexology in Nordic and Baltic regions. The Association and all of its members commit to the WAS Declaration of Sexual Rights, NACS Ethical Guidelines and all NACS position statements in all sexological practice including research, training, education, medicine, counselling, therapy and other professional sexological work.


§3 NACS membership

The founding members of NACS are:

‑ Danish Association for Clinical Sexology

‑ Estonian Academic Society of Sexology

‑ Finnish Association for Sexology

‑ Icelandic Sexology Association

‑ Norwegian Society for Clinical Sexology

‑ Swedish Association for Sexology

These membership organizations are legally and economically independent in their relationships to the Nordic Association for Clinical Sexology. 

Organizations that follow the aim and values of NACS (§2) may apply for membership. The basic criteria for membership are that the applicant is reputable and established (2 years of continuous activity), and able to provide documentation including statutes, annual statements and member lists (if applicable). 

The applications are approved by the General Assembly for the full membership. 

The membership can be terminated by the Board in case of misconduct or breach of NACS Statutes or aims and values (§2). The member may file a complaint of the Board's decision to the Ethical Committee of NACS, which examines the case. If the Ethical Committee dismisses the case, the termination of membership will prevail. If the Ethical Committee accepts the complaint, the next General Assembly will decide on the termination of the membership.


§4 The General Assembly of NACS

The General Assembly is the supreme decision‑making body of the Association. The ordinary General Assembly will be held before the end of November. Invitation, agenda and relevant documents for the General Assembly must be sent to members no later than a month before the General Assembly will be arranged. An Extraordinary General Assembly will be arranged if the Board so decides or if requested by the majority of member organizations. At the General Assembly the member organizations will have votes according to their membership category and the number of their members (see appendix 1). 

The General Assembly will elect a Chair, a Secretary and two Tellers and Inspectors for the Assembly. The Secretary will record Minutes of the Assembly, which will be amended and confirmed by the Inspectors andapproved by the next General Assembly.

In case of election or a vote, a motion will be carried out by simple majority. Changes to the statutes will be carried out by ⅔ majority.

The ordinary General Assembly should include the following items in the agenda:

1. Approving the invitation and the agenda

2. Electing the Chair, Secretary and two Tellers and Inspectors for the Assembly

3. The memberships organizations present a report of its activities.

4. Decide on membership issues

5. Other matters


§5 The Executive Board of NACS

The Executive Board of NACS consists of 6 delegates from the founding associations. Each founding association will appoint a Member of the Board at least a month before the start of a new term. 

The term for the Members of the Board is 3 years; the maximum number of sequential terms for an individual is 3 terms (9 years). If decided by the founding organization, the member of the board representing that very country, may be replaced before the end of such a term.


§6 The President of NACS and the Officers

The Board will choose the President of NACS and the General Secretary amongst themselves for the term of the Board. 

The President is responsible for organizing the work and meetings of the Board and representing the Association.

The tasks of the General Secretary are to manage any day‑to‑day business of the Association, record Minutes of the Board meetings, and to draft the Annual Action Plan and Annual Report.


§7 Statutory Committees

The Association has the following statutory committees: Ethical Committee and Authorization Committee. Both Committees have a Chair and 2‑10 members. The Board approves the Committee Chairs and the Committee member lists. The term of the Committee Chair and members is 3 years, and the maximum number of sequential terms for an individual is 4 terms (12 years).

The primary tasks of the Committees are:

  • Ethical Committee: The Committee meets if needed and does not have regular meeting. The committee manages complaints of misconduct or breaches of statutes and aims and values of NACS. The committee also examines disputes regarding termination of membership. The committee has an advisory function to the board. Members from national ethical committees, no NACS board member


  • Authorization Committee: The committee consist of all the nationally elected national authorization committee members and manages authorization applications of Sexuality Counsellors, Clinical Sexologists, Sexuality Educators and Sexual Health Promoters, and Sexual Scientists. The Committee maintains the authorization requirements and protocol, and drafts authorized persons.amendments to them for the Board to decide upon. The Committee maintains the registry of authorized persons.

    • The Committees will have the Terms of Reference, which includes the committee's purpose, tasks, organization, and responsibilities. The Terms of Reference are approved by the Board.


    §8 Amendment of the Statutes

    Amendment of these Statutes will require a ⅔ majority of the votes cast at the General Assembly. Proposals for amendments must be sent to the members of the membership organizations at least one month before the General Assembly.


    §9 Dissolution of the Association

    Dissolution of the Association requires a ⅔ majority of votes cast at two successive General Assemblies of which the latter has to be the ordinary General Assembly.


Appendix 1: Membership votes


Appendix 2: Terms of Reference for the

committees

Note: 

‑ Tasks of the committee

‑ Qualification of the Chair and Members

‑ Protocol of conducting business

‑ Documentation

‑ Complaints

‑ Annual reporting


References

‑ WAS Declaration of Sexual Rights

‑ NACS Ethical Guidelines

‑ List of NACS Position Statements