Confederación Americana de Urología

REGULATIONS

CHAPTER I

Of the Member Societies and the Individual Members.

ARTICLE 1

The National Societies of Urology of the American and Iberian Peninsula countries, one for each country, shall be Member Societies of the CAU. There shall also be Affiliate Societies and Sections, integrated by an Assembly resolution. In order to be admitted, the Sections must be integrated by a significant number of urologists from their country.

ARTICLE 2

The partners of any category of the Member Societies or Sections of the CAU, for this sole reason, are Associate Individual Members of the Confederation and have the right to request their admission as Proprietary Individual Members in accordance with article 4 of these Regulations. The Associated Individual Members are exempt of contributions to the CAU.

ARTICLE 3

The CAU may designate as Honorary Members Medical Doctors that, for their merits, are worthy of such a high distinction. The request for such designation must be presented to the Executives of the Confederation by at least five (5) voting members of an Assembly of Delegates, which, if it considers the request appropriate, shall present it to the Assembly of Delegates for its approval and acceptance, with a necessary 2/3 of the votes in a secret voting.

ARTICLE 4

The Proprietary Individual Members must meet the following requirements: To be an Associate Individual Member, which means to be partner of a Member Society or Section of the CAU. To be a candidate for Proprietary Member of the CAU, approved by the respective Member Society or Section. To be accepted by the Board of Directors of the CAU. Life Members are those founding or proprietary members that, after being members of the CAU for 25 (twenty-five) years, or reaching 65 (sixty-five) years of age and at least 10 (ten) years of seniority, are let off from their duties. In unforeseen cases, the request shall be analyzed by the Steering Committee.

ARTICLE 5

Proprietary Individual Members shall have the following rights and responsibilities: To receive the Diploma of Proprietary Individual Member. To participate in the scientific activities of the Confederation, enjoying the economic advantages that may be granted. To hold executive and representative positions in the Confederation. To receive the Official Magazine of the CAU. To appear in the directory of Proprietary Individual Members. To contribute to supporting the CAU through the payment of established fees.

ARTICLE 6

The following members shall cease to be Proprietary Individual Members: Members whose separation is proposed by the corresponding National Society of Urology or Section, for justified cause, and agreed upon by the Board of Directors of the Confederation. Members that, without acceptable motive verified by the respective Urology Society, cease to pay the contribution fees to the CAU for 4 (four) consecutive years. Members that present their written resignation to their condition of Proprietary Individual Member.

ARTICLE 7

Affiliate Individual Members are:
Urologists in whose countries there are no National Societies of Urology, or where these are not members of the CAU, that have expressed their interest in becoming members of this Confederation. The admission of these Affiliate Individual Members shall be resolved by the Board of Directors. Medical Doctors of other branches of medicine interested in Urology, proposed by the Board of Directors of a Member Society of the CAU, and accepted by the administration of this Confederation.

ARTÍCULO 8

Affiliate Individual Members shall have the following rights and responsibilities: To receive the Diploma of Affiliate Individual Member. To participate in the scientific activities of the Confederation, enjoying the economic advantages that may be granted. To receive the Official Magazine of the Confederation. To appear in the partner registry.
To contribute to supporting the CAU through the payment of established fees.

ARTICLE 9

The following persons shall cease to be Affiliate Individual Members: a. Members whose separation is proposed by their respective Society of Section for justified causes, and agreed upon by the executives of the CAU, or directly resolved for justified causes by the Board of Directors of the Confederation. b. Those that, without acceptable motive, cease to pay their contribution fees to the CAU. c. Those that present their written resignation to their condition of Affiliate Individual Member.

ARTICLE 10

Individual Members (Proprietary or Affiliate) that pay their outstanding fees until their readmission date may be readmitted. Those partners that have resigned without justified cause will have to pay a readmission fee, and the outstanding readjusted fees up to the date of the readmission.

CHAPTER II

Of the Assembly of Delegates.

ARTICLE 11

Each member Society shall designate an Official Delegate and a Substitute Delegate that must be members of the Board of Directors of the country they represent. They will hold a position among 2 (two) congresses of the CAU. Their election depends of each country, and the National Society must report to the Board of Directors of the CAU their names, posts and location (address, telephone, fax, etc.), and any changes that take place.

ARTICLE 12

a.Each Member Society of the CAU will have the right to one vote in every matter approached in the Assembly of Delegates. This right shall be exercised by one of their members, as an Official Delegate, or as a Substitute Delegate in absence of the first. Each Affiliate Society may send an Official Delegate and a Substitute with the right to a say for every topic approached by the Assembly, and with the right to vote for three specific issues: the election of authorities (Board of Directors), the establishment of the venue of future Congresses, and the establishment of the topics to be approached in them. Each Section can send 1 (one) Delegate with the right to a say, but not to a vote.
b.The members of the Board of Directors of the CAU, and each one of the former Presidents (as Permanent Counselors) have an individual vote in all matters dealt with in the Assembly of Delegates. The acting President shall have the right to a double vote in case of a tie in an election of the Board of Directors, or in an Assembly of Delegates.
c.The following requirements must be met in order to hold the position of Delegate with the right to vote in an Assembly: IV. The Member or Affiliate Society represented by the Delegate must have no outstanding fees.
d.The Delegate (Official or Substitute) must be a Proprietary Individual Member of the CAU and have no outstanding payments.
e.The right to vote shall be exercised exclusively and completely in accordance with subsection a) of this article. It shall otherwise be invalid.
f.It is established that the quality of Official Delegate can only be transferred to the Substitute designated timely and officially by the principal Society.

ARTICLE 13

The tasks of the Delegate are:
1. To transmit the information of the CAU Board of Directors to the local Society of Urology, and vice versa. This information shall be mainly: a. Grants
b. Post-Graduate courses and seminars
c. Continued Medical Education
d. CAU Congress (including contests)
e. Congresses of the country of the Delegate

1.To keep the database of the CAU members of his/her country up to date.
2.To assist the Treasurer of the CAU, when necessary, in the collection of the annual fees of the CAU members.
3.To promote and disseminate the image of the CAU as an organism among the Members of the Society to which it belongs.

ARTICLE 14

The Assembly of Delegates shall meet in an ordinary session summoned by the President of the CAU, and it shall constitute with the components of the Board of Directors, the Permanent Counselors and the Delegates of the Members Societies that are present when the Congresses take place. It shall meet in an extraordinary session as requested by the Board of Directors of the CAU, or as requested by at least 2/3·of the Member Societies.

ARTICLE 15

The Assembly of Delegates shall be the sovereign entity of the CAU, and shall have knowledge of all activities. The main tasks of the Assembly will be: a. To establish the principles and action plans of the Confederation. b. To accept or reject the membership of Societies, where entitled: Members, Affiliates and Sections. c. To take notice and judge the reports of the Board. d. To establish the economic contribution of the Member and Affiliate Societies, of the Sections, and of the Proprietary and Affiliate Individual Members. e. To examine and judge the financial balance, and to approve the budget. f. To elect the Board of Directors of the CAU in accordance with the Statutes and the General Regulations. g. To select the country and substitute country of the next Congress, whose Member Societies shall be in charge of organizing, subject to the Regulations of Congresses. The Delegate of the Affiliate Societies has a say in all the exposed cases, and in others unforeseen cases which may not contemplated in these provisions. However, it is established that they have the right to vote only in the last two matters.

ARTICLE 16

The Assembly shall be chaired by the exercising President of the Board of Directors of the CAU. All resolutions shall be made by the simple majority of the votes, except when the Statutes state otherwise, and shall transcript to the Record Book. Upon approval of the corresponding record, it shall be signed by the Members of the Board of Directors, the Permanent Counselors and the Delegates present at the moment of the approval.

CHAPTER III

Of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 17

The Board of Directors of the CAU shall consist of the Main Council and the Associate Council. The Main Council shall be made up of the President, a President-elect, a Secretary General and a Treasurer, who will hold their positions for two years. The Secretary General and the Treasurer may be reelected 2 (two) times for the same office. The positions for Treasurer, Secretary General and President-elect shall be chosen among the Proprietary Individual Members at the Assembly of Delegates during the Congresses, by secret vote and the simple majority of the attending, in accordance with the provisions of article 18. The President-elect must have held an executive post for at least two years.

ARTICLE 18

Each post shall be elected by secret vote without name proposals. If one of the candidates receives half plus one of the votes, he/she will be immediately elected. If this does not occur, a second round will take place between the first two majorities. The person with the simple majority in this second round will be elected.

ARTICLE 19

Of the President.
The President is the acting President and may not be reelected. The faculties of the President are: to represent the CAU legally and extra legally, with the option to delegate these powers. To preside the meetings and agreements of the Board of Directors and the Assemblies, and to name the commission deemed necessary. To assist the Treasurer and Secretary in their tasks, and to govern the development strategies of the CAU. In case of a tie during the elections, he/she shall have the quality vote. The temporary or definite absences of the acting President shall be substituted by the President-elect.

ARTICLE 20

Of the President-elect.
The President-elect shall substitute the acting President when they finish their administration. The President-elect assists the President and replaces him/her when not available, or when necessary. The President-elect shall resume the post of President during the following period to which it was elected. He/she collaborates with the President on the continuity of the objectives and programs.

ARTICLE 21

Of the Secretary General.
The Secretary General works with the office of the Permanent Headquarters, of which he/she is the director. The tasks of the Secretary General are: To coordinate the relations of the multiple Societies and Sections with the Confederation. To support the preparation of Congresses, in accordance with the Organizing Committee of the venue country. To organize the functioning of the CAU and maintain contact with the other members of the Board of Directors. To assist the Treasurer in their tasks. To present a report of the Confederation activities that are the competence of the Assembly of Delegates. To edit a Bulletin that shall be regularly published. This Bulletin must include information about the next CAU Congress, available grants and their requirements, interesting news, future events, etc., in general, all aspects that are considered of interest by the members. To organize awards and Roundtables for the CAU Congresses. To communicate with the delegates (through the Administration Seat) in reference to fees, new members and any other issue. To maintain a registry of Individual Members with their date of admission, retirement and credentials, as well as the correspondence archive of the Confederation and the notes received from the Presidency. The Secretary General shall keep the Record Book of the Assemblies of Delegates. Each record shall be signed by the Board, the Permanent Counselors and the Delegates present at the time of its final approval.

ARTICLE 22

Of the Treasurer.
The tasks of the Treasurer are: to do the accounting books, to collect the contributions from member Societies and Individual Members, to receive, together with the President, the donations and the percentage from the Congresses and any other benefits, to carry out the payments, with the authorization of the President, to maintain the CAU budget, to establish contacts for money investment and to be accountable when the Presidency deems it necessary. At the end of his/her term, he/she will present a report to the Assembly of Delegates. The Treasurer shall keep the accounting books, which shall be presented to the Assembly of Delegates at the end of his/her term along with the proofs of payment carried out and received and the proofs of the accounts receivable.

ARTICLE 23

Of the Associate Council.
It will be made up of seven Offices:

1. OFFICE OF THE MAGAZINE

Formed by a Scientific Editor (who is the Director) and an Editorial Committee. The Editorial Committee shall have members with defined responsibilities in various sub-specialties. The Editor will be in charge of coordinating the Editorial Committee, which shall be elected in accordance with the Board of Directors. In addition, they will be responsible for the regular and timely publication and distribution, and shall have the representation (support) of the Confederation in order to obtain sponsors and hire the editorial company for the printing. The Editorial Committee will evaluate and select the papers to be published in the magazine and the website.

2. OFFICE OF HUMAN RESSOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Under the responsibility of a Director, its mission is to evaluate the available human and technological resources in each member country. This information shall be used in collaboration with the Office of Post-Graduate Education in order to improve the urology of the member countries.

3. OFFICE OF GRANTS

It is made up of a Director and a Grants Committee. The Director is responsible for disseminating the availability of grants and their respective requirements to the Delegates of each country, and to the Grants Committee. The Director receives the applications and sends them to the Grants Committee. In addition, the Director tries to establish new contacts for new Grants. The Grants Committee shall consist of four members of different Sections. This Committee will analyze the applications received from the Director, and the decisions shall be made by vote of the five members.

4. OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNET

Under the responsibility of a Director, and in collaboration with the Office of the Magazine, it must keep the CAU website updated. Also, it will receive information from the Secretary's Office, the Treasurer's Office, the Directors of other Offices and the Delegates.

5. OFFICE OF WORKGROUPS

It shall coordinate collaborative research papers among different countries. It will favor the preparing of treatment guidelines and recommendations for specific topics. It shall be under the responsibility of a Director, who will designate a Responsible Coordinator in each Workgroup.

6. OFFICE OF EDUCATION

In charge of conducting and coordinating post-graduate courses within the CAU. It shall be under the responsibility of a Director and will have an Advisory Committee of 5 members from different Sections.

7. OFFICE OF STATUTES

Governed by a Director and in direct contact with the Main Council, this Office shall be in charge of analyzing the necessary changes made to statutes and regulations, in order to present them to the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 24

The Director of each Office shall be designated by the Assembly, when suggested by the President for a two year term, with a possible reelection. When possible, the Directors of the Office must belong to different Sections. The members of the Committees of each Office shall be designated by the Director of each Office, with the approval of the Main Council. Each Office will have a Substitute Director who will replace the proprietary when necessary. When possible, the members of the Committees must also belong to different Sections.

ARTICLE 25

Of the General Assembly.
It is the sovereign organism of the Confederation. It will consist of: The four Members of the Main Council.
The seven Directors of the Offices of the Associate Council. The former Presidents (Permanent Counselors). The Delegates of the member countries.
The General Assembly shall meet every two years during the CAU Congress. During this meeting, the elections of Treasurer, Secretary General and President-elect shall take place. In addition, the designations of the Directors of the Offices shall also take place. This Assembly must also approve or reject the reports of the Main Council and the Offices, and analyze any other matter relevant to the functioning of the institution.

ARTICLE 26

Of the Delegates.
They shall be designated by the National Societies that make up the CAU. The Delegates must be Proprietary Individual Members and have no fees outstanding. There will be one Delegate for each country, and a Substitute Delegate that shall represent him/her when necessary.

ARTICLE 27

The temporary or definite absence of the Secretary General and the Treasurer shall be substituted by whom the Board of Directors designates among the members of the Associate Council.

ARTICLE 28

The Board of Directors shall be consulted by notification of the President when it is necessary for the interests of the CAU. The quorum for the decisions shall be of 6 (six) of its members, whether in physical presence or by a valid opinion issued by mail or any other adequate means of communication. The resolutions of the Board of Directors shall be made by simple majority of the votes, and proven by the Secretary General in the Book of Resolutions of the Board of Directors. In case of an urgent matter, the President will personally resolve and inform the Board of Directors as soon as possible.

ARTICLE 29

The Board of Directors shall be entitled to choose the topics of the Roundtables and their speakers in the Congresses of the CAU. For this purpose, it can request the collaboration of a Scientific Committee designated for that objective.

ARTICLE 30

The CAU shall have an Historian, designated by the Assembly, who, in turn, will name Advisors. They will have the mission of collecting all the historical information relevant to the organization.

CHAPTER IV

Of the Administration Seat.

ARTICLE 31

The country of the Administration Seat shall be elected by simple majority of the votes in the Assembly of Delegates of the CAU. The Administration Seat, as the name indicates, shall have solely administrative tasks, and from no point of view, deliberative nor executive.

A) OBJECTIVES OF THE ADMINISTRATION SEAT

1- To concentrate all previous, current and future information and documentation in a defined and permanent address, in a country chosen by the Assembly of the Members of the CAU.

2.- To facilitate the communication among the Members of the Board of Directors, and between the Board and the Members of the CAU, in both directions.

3.- To publicize all the information that the Board of Directors (President, President-elect, Secretary General and Treasurer) indicates.

4.- To keep updated:

a.the directory of the acting Board of Directors.

b.the directory of the confederate Urology Societies.

c.the directory of the Delegates of the Societies part of the CAU confederation.

d.the directory of the Members of the CAU.

e.the directory of the Members of the different Societies of Urology of the Confederation (with explanation as to those that are Members of the CAU).

5.- To receive, file and report all matters concerning the CAU indicated by the acting Board of Directors.

6.- All information received by the Administration Seat addressed to any Member of the Board of Directors must be reported to each one of the remaining Members.

7.- All correspondence that leaves the Administration Seat must be issued by a numbered notice.

8.- Before the admission of a new Member of the CAU:

a.It will send the new Member, as stipulated by the Board of Directors, a notification with the acceptance of the application, with copy to the Presidency, Presidency-elect, Secretary General and Treasurer's Office.

b.It will draw up the Diploma that accredits the Member as such, which will be awarded during the next Congress of the CAU. In case the new Member does not attend the Congress, the Administration Seat will subsequently send the Diploma by mail to the Member's address.

c.It will enter all the information of the new Member in the general directory of the CAU, in order to keep it up to date.

9- After each CAU Congress, it must notify the international societies about the new authorities of the American Confederation of Urology, with the addresses of the new members of the Board of Directors and the Administration Seat.

10.-It must prepare an annual report of the administrative activities and expenses, and send it to the Offices of the President, the President-elect, the Secretary General and the Treasurer.

B) OPERATIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATION SEAT

1. - The Administration Seat shall be located at the address of the National Society of Urology chosen to be the seat.

2.- That National Society of Urology shall present to the Board of Directors of the CAU the information of 3 possible coordinators and 3 possible assistant coordinators (all must be CAU Members), so that the Board can choose among them the Coordinator and the Assistant Coordinator for that two-year period.

3. - The resources offered by the National Society of Urology shall be used where the Administration Seat operates. The CAU shall cover the cost of postal stamps, stationery, fax, telephone, copies, Internet and any other expenses convened with the National Society of Urology where the Administration Seat operates.

CHAPTER V

Of the financial resources of the CAU.

ARTICLE 32

The wealth of the CAU shall consist of:

a. The contribution of Member Societies, Affiliate Societies or Sections.

b. The contribution of Individual Members.

c. 50% of the profits from the CAU Congresses.

d. Donations, bequests and subsidies.

e. Benefits resulting from the "Urología Panamericana" (Pan-American Urology) Magazine.

CHAPTER VI

Final Provision.

ARTICLE 33

The Congresses of the Confederation shall take place preferably alternatively in the countries of the different areas of America, as also in the Iberian Peninsula.

ARTICLE 34

These Regulations may only be modified in an Assembly of Delegates with the approval of a simple majority of the Members of the Board of Directors, Permanent Advisors and Delegates of the Member Societies with the right to vote.

ARTICLE 35

The texts of these Regulations in Spanish, English and Portuguese are to be considered official.

ARTICLE 36

All matters unforeseen or insufficiently foreseen in these regulations shall be resolved by the Board of Directors of the Confederation, and subject to the consideration and approval of the next Assembly of Delegates.

ARTICLE 37

Upon the approval of these Regulations, all previous ones are to be repealed, along with all their modifications.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2000.

Download Regulations