The International Federation of Sports Chiropractic     (F.I.C.S.)

English Version. This is a translation of the statute. The French version represents the true legal statute of the F.I.C.S. 

STATUTES

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I. Name and seat

Article 1. The International Federation of Sports Chiropractic (F.I.C.S.) is an association under article 60 of Swiss civil law.

F.I.C.S. is politically and constitutionally neutral and abides by the rules governed by Swiss law , as well as to rules that apply against discrimination as adopted by the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.).

Its headquarters are based in Paris.

II. Goals and tasks

Article 2. The goals of F.I.C.S. are not only to maintain the application and promotion of sports chiropractic, but also to safeguard the professional conduct of chiropractors, and especially of those in sports chiropractic. Critical to F.I.C.S.’s identity is the acknowledgement that this is an independent healthcare profession, and its goals must be obtained by:

a) representing the chiropractic profession and to pursue professional relationships between it, sports authorities, other health professions, the general public and other private organisations;

b) recognising and respecting its professional status as an independent healthcare profession in the area of sport;

c) adopting these ideals through higher levels of postgraduate education in academic institutions;

d) gaining equitable prerogatives that imply this status;

e) correcting text and equivocal information;

f) providing information about sports chiropractic to the relevant authorities and the general public;

g) maintaining the highest of standards in sports chiropractic by using, and applying the code of ethics that exist within the profession;

h) promoting postgraduate education in sports chiropractic and  to encourage its study;

i) promoting and maintaining good working relationships between its members;

j) providing assistance to all its members, with advice, moral and effective support;

k) adhering to the rules of the respective National Sports Councils as adopted by its respective members.

III. Affiliation

Article 3. F.I.C.S. is composed of ordinary members, associate members and honorary members.:  

a) Ordinary Members: All members of the national sports chiropractic associations (called National Chiropractic Sport Councils - N.C.S.C. ) can become ordinary members. Each N.C.S.C. must delegate one of its members to vote at the General Assembly. This individual member is given a vote according to the following classification: individual member A1 (IFM = Individual Full Members); The N.C.S.C's have the right to one or two votes as Individual Full members depending on the size of the Sports Council (N.C.S.C). The number of votes is classified as follows: between 1 and100 Individual Members equates to 1 vote. 101 Individual members and more equates to 2 votes. Individual members A2 (IM = Individual Members) have one vote and are made up of the board members allowing each member of the board one vote.  

 

b) Associate members: Any individual of good standing and character (that belongs to the chiropractic profession) who is interested in the goals of F.I.C.S. can ask for admission as an associate member. Associate members have no voting rights.

 

c) Honorary members: Any individual who has worked in the interest of public health and particularly in the area of the sports chiropractic, can be nominated as an honorary member by the General Assembly as long as they have been proposed by the Executive Council. Honorary members can participate ad libitum in the activities of F.I.C.S. and are exempt of having to pay any financial contributions.

Article 4. Applications for admission are to presented in writing at the Executive Council. Admission is approved by the General Assembly.

Resignations must be presented in writing to the Executive Council one month prior to the Annual General Meeting. They can only be accepted if the resigning member has fulfilled all their financial obligations for that year.

F.I.C.S. members will be excluded if found to participate in the following:  

Acting against the interest of F.I.C.S.,

Failure to pay dues despite reminders,

Continued absence from the General Assembly.

Members can be excluded by nomination to the Executive Council, or by a majority vote under secret ballot at the General Assembly (majority = 2/3 of the

participating members that have voting rights).

The members concerned have to be informed in writing of the circumstances.

Members that have been excluded will still be held responsible for their obligations towards F.I.C.S even tough they lose the benefits of F.I.C.S.

IV. Rights and duties of members  

Article 5. The rights of the members of F.I.C.S.;

The rights of the ordinary members, members of the Executive Council and honorary members during the General Assembly include the following;

- Receiving information concerning the activities of

the Executive Council and representatives of  F.I.C.S.;

- Each new member will receive the F.I.C.S. statutes and the code of ethics;

- Respecting the code of ethics;

- Punctual payment of annual dues, the amount being fixed by the General Assembly following a proposal put by the Executive Council;

- Participation at the General Assembly; in the cases of an emergency absence from the General Assembly is accepted. The Executive Council must be informed in writing .

Article 6. The administrative year is defined as the time between two consecutive General Assemblies. The financial year commences on the 1^st of January and ends on the 31^st of December.

Article 7. F.I.C.S. is made up of the following :

the General Assembly (G.A.),

the Executive Council (E.C.),

the headquarters,

the auditors.

Article 8. The General Assembly (G.A.)

The G.A. is the supreme body of the association. The President, the Executive Council or a third of the ordinary members can call the assembly. Except in emergency, notification of the meeting must be sent to all the members at least 60 days before the date of the meeting.

All ordinary members are encouraged to attend the G.A. Members that are unable to attend can delegate their vote by proxy, in writing, on any of the items appearing on the agenda of the G.A.

A simple majority of the ordinary members present validates the decisions made at the G.A.

Decisions made at the G.A. supersede any other decisions previously validated by the association. It ratifies the decisions proposed by the Executive Council. It ratifies the proposals of admission, resignation and exclusion of its members.

The G.A. can delegate responsibilities to specific delegates or commissions by request.

The ordinary G. A. is called once a year.

The agenda is composed as follows:

1.  a list of those present and apologies from those unable to attend

2. approvals of the minutes of the last General Assembly

3. reports:

president’s report

secretary general’s report

general director’s report

commissioners’ report

4. membership (admissions, resignations and exclusions) report

5. the annual accounts and proposed budget

treasurer’s report

auditor’s report

6.annual dues

7.elections for,

the president,

the other members of the Executive Council,

the auditors,

representatives other than sporting bodies or organisations

honorary members

8. the yearly program

9. possible modifications to the statutes

10. proposals from individual members; that have been submitted to the Executive Council at least 90 days before the G.A.

11. reports from the NATIONAL CHIROPRACTIC SPORT COUNCILS

12. candidates to host future G.A.

13. Any other business.

For business not previously announced, a decision can be made at the meeting only if an emergency  prevented  the preliminary information to be sent in time.  

Article 9. The Executive Council

It is elected for four years by the G.A.; its members are eligible for re-election at the end of their term of office. The Executive Council is

Composed of:

a) the president

b) the 1st vice-president

c) the 2nd vice-president

d) the secretary general

e) the treasurer

f) the general director

g) one board member

This can be extended to two members, depending on the needs of the association.

Each member of the Executive Council has the right to one vote during the G.A.

The president is elected separately, with the other members being elected in rotation. 

The Executive Council can distribute the responsibilities between its members without authorisation from the G.A. 

The responsibilities of the Executive Council include:

to realise the goals of F.I.C.S.

to manage the responsibilities it has been given under the statutes and the decisions made at the G.A., to plan and enforce the yearly program,

to propose the yearly budget.

The Executive Council can make a decision when at least four of its members are present. The Executive Council has an annual budget,  presented and agreed by the G.A.;

Expenses not covered by this budget or not anticipated before the G.A., must be submitted for approval at the following G.A. The president must justify these unforeseen expenses with invoices and documentation.  

Article 10. The headquarters are under the direction of the Executive Council, It is responsible for the overall administrative functioning of F.I.C.S. It is the responsibility of the general director to manage the headquarters.  

Article 11. The Auditors.

There are two account auditors. The G.A. elects an auditor every other year. Each auditor are eligible for another term after their contract period is over.

They can, at any time, study and request any information they require with respect to the accounts . A fiduciary company can replace the Auditors if necessary.

They will produce a report on the appearance of accounts and their acknowledgement of the decisions made by the G.A. and the necessary statutory regulators.

Article 12. Finances - Payment of contributions

F.I.C.S. expenses are covered by contributions, donations and other unspecified sources of income.

Annual contributions must be paid before the end of February.

If the contributions remain unpaid after this date the Treasurer has the right to pursue these contributions are paid with the use of appropriate authorities.

Article 13. Responsibilities

The financial commitments of F.I.C.S. are guaranteed only by the assets of the association; and there is no personal guarantee provided by any of its members.

The signatures of two members of the Executive Council are needed to honour  F.I.C.S commitments.

Article 14. Litigation

All litigation will be submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Paris (Switzerland), and processed according to the laws of the

arbitration  for sport.

Article 15. Modifications of statutes

Any modifications to the statutes can only be made by a formal proposal to the G.A.; and when more than half of the ordinary members with voting rights are present and if their vote carries a two-thirds majority.

Any modifications to the statutes must be submitted in writing to the Executive Council at least 90 days prior to the G.A.

Article 16. Dissolution

The dissolution of F.I.C.S. will not be pronounced as long as there are ten members committed to insure its continuation.

In the case of dissolution of F.I.C.S., the archives and its assets will be kept on deposit and managed by the FICS Foundation who will hold

them in case a new association is formed with similar goals. If no new association is founded during the next ten years, the dissolution of F.I.C.S., its archives and its assets will be donated to the Foundation Pierre de Coubertin.

Article 17. This statute supersedes all previous statutes. They have been approved by the General Assembly on the 4^th July  2002 in Paris and therefore take effect immediately as of this date.

This is a translation of the statute. The French version represents the true legal statute of F.I.C.S.

FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE CHIROPRATIQUE DU SPORT