STATUTES

STATUTES OF THE WORLD ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY

(as approved by New Delhi General Assembly on December 2, 2016)

 

ARTICLE I- Name

The World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP) (or in French Association Mondiale de Psychiatrie Sociale) was established, by its members as described in the present statutes, according to the French law of July 1st, 1901 and to the decree of August 16, 1901.

English is the working language of the WASP

The WASP is an association of associations. It is a not-for-profit non- governmental organization.

 

ARTICLE II- Objectives

The WASP has the following aims and objectives:

  • to promote greater understanding of the interactions between individuals and their physical and human environment (including their society and culture), and the impact of these interactions on the clinical expression, treatment of mental and behavioural problems and disorders and their prevention;
  • to promote mental health through education of health workers, policy makers and decision makers and the community at large;
  • to promote national and international collaboration among professionals and societies in social psychiatry and related disciplines;
  • to carry out or promote research that can facilitate the understanding of the interaction between social factors, psychological functioning and mental health or illness;
  • to create partnerships with professionals of other scientific disciplines, international agencies and NGOs working in fields related to social psychiatry;
  • to organise and lead relevant international and other congresses and scientific meetings

 

Methods of work:

The WASP will organize a World Congress of Social Psychiatry every three years. It will also organize ad hoc, international, regional and local congresses and co-sponsored conferences and meetings that will facilitate the achievements of its goals.

It will promote the interest in social aspects of psychiatry by the work of its Scientific Sections, by the publication of a newsletter, the maintenance of a website by organising and coordinating studies and through other relevant means.

 

ARTICLE III- Head Office

The head office is located in the working institution of the WASP president or his/her address. It can be transferred by simple decision of the Executive Committee. The Member Societies are then informed about this decision. A permanent office may be established later in a city approved by the EC.

 

ARTICLE IV- Membership and loss of membership:

The WASP is composed of Member societies and Affiliate member societies.

Member Societies:

These are societies with an interest in Social and/or Community Psychiatry stated in their statutes. It is preferable not to have more than one society of Social Psychiatry per country in the WASP. National associations of Social and/or Community Psychiatry that share the objectives of the WASP will be admitted as Member Societies after approval by the WASP Executive Committee of a written application and on payment of annual dues to the WASP. Executive Committee approved applications will be submitted for final approval to the next General Assembly (which will be decided on the matter by a simple majority of votes of those present and voting).

Affiliate Member Societies:

These are societies with multinational or local scope based in countries that do not have a social psychiatry society. They can be also national societies with a partial interest in social psychiatry. Affiliate Member Societies pay no fee to the WASP and have no voting rights.

Loss of Membership:

Membership may be lost by:

–  dissolution of the Member Society or the Affiliate Society;
–  by resignation of the society;
– Cessation of membership decided in a preliminary way by theExecutive Committee for refusal of payment of the dues or for a grave reason. In such cases, the member society will be invited, by a letter to state its views about the matter in question to the Executive Committee. The Executive committee will report on the matter and may propose to the General Assembly to terminate the membership of a society and the Assembly will make a final decision on the matter. There will be no recourse to the Assembly’s decision.Honorary Fellows:Individuals who have done extraordinary service to the field of Social Psychiatry may be proposed by the WASP Executive Committee for an Honorary Fellowship to the General Assembly. The General Assembly will decide on the matter by a simple majority of votes of those present and voting. Honorary Fellows pay no fee to the WASP and have no voting right.Honorary fellowships may be lost by death, resignation or in exceptional circumstances. If such occur, the Executive Committee will invite the honorary fellow to state their views in writing. The Executive committee will then provide a report and make a proposal to the General Assembly and the General Assembly will make a final decision on the matter.

 

ARTICLE V- Resources of the WASP:

The financial resources of the WASP can come from:

–  annual fees paid by Member Societies
–  benefits from world congresses of Social Psychiatry and othercongresses and scientific meetings organized by the WASP,
–  subsidies compensating the provision of technical expertise providedby the WASP;
–  Grants for specific projects in line with the aims and objectives of theWASP.
–  Donations by private or public institutions or individuals.The assets of the WASP will be utilized solely to meet its financial liabilities. The Executive Committee will be responsible for the financial management of the WASP in accordance with the WASP plans and budget.Expenditures may include support for the establishment and functioning of a Secretariat, for meetings of the Executive Committee and other committees, for publications, blogs and other informational services for the WASP and for special projects carried out by various WASP components.Members of the Executive Committee, the Council, other Officers will not be paid any salary or fee for their services to the WASP, nor will they be personally liable for debts incurred by the Association. Executive Committee members will be entitled to reimbursement of travel and incidental expenses incurred while carrying out duties for the WASP. The members of the Executive Committee are entitled to a secretarial support commensurate to their activities requiring such support.

 

ARTICLE VI- The Council

The Council is composed of past-presidents of the WASP and immediate past-Secretary general and immediate past-Treasurer. The Council advises the President of the WASP and through him the General assembly of the WASP and its Executive committee. It is chaired by the past but one president of the WASP, after he/she finishes serving as the (individual) advisor to the president. The Council members will be informed of the action of the Executive Committee, and WASP’s plan of work. Between the meetings of the Council, the chairperson of the Council has the duty to ensure that the suggestions of the members of the Council as well as the Council’s decisions are conveyed to the WASP President in a timely fashion.

 

ARTICLE VII- The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) implements the decisions of the General Assembly, and administrates the WASP resources. The Executive Committee is elected by the General Assembly for a period of 3 years. It starts its work at the end of the World Congress of Social Psychiatry during which the General Assembly took place. The EC is composed of 4 members of impeccable ethical and technical standing in the field of social psychiatry.
Members stand for and are elected to specific positions with responsibilities as follows:

The President chairs the EC meetings and decides, after consultation with the other members of the EC, on the agenda of each meeting. The President represents the WASP in every administrative or judicial matter. The President chairs the General Assembly of the WASP where he/she will report on the activities of the WASP in the interim between congresses. No past-president can be candidate again for any position of the WASP EC. The President appoints one personal advisor, the other one being the immediate past-president ex officio. The advisors to the President and the chairperson of the Council may be invited by the Executive Committee to attend its meetings. If invited they will not have the right to vote on issues before the committee.

The President-Elect supports the efforts of the president, replaces him/her in case of absence, and prepares the WASP draft plan of work for the next triennium.

The Secretary General leads the administrative team, and takes care of the archives of the WASP and its secretarial matters, especially the minutes of the EC meetings. The Secretary General presents a report to the General Assembly on the administrative matters of the WASP.

The Treasurer, in collaboration with the President, is responsible for the finances of the WASP, collects the fees of the Member Societies. The Treasurer keeps the accounting of the WASP up-to-date and presents the financial report to the General Assembly. All expenses by the WASP must be authorized by the EC. The accounts of the WASP must be audited before each General Assembly.

The Executive Committee appoints the members of the ad hoc committees and task forces as needed. The Executive Committee meets usually two to more times a year, but must meet at least once in person each year. Teleconferences, as far as possible, should be conducted at least once every two months. Should a vacancy arise within the Executive Committee, a replacement fulfilling the required criteria for the post will be appointed by the remaining members of the Committee to act in a temporary capacity until the next General Assembly. Acting in this way will not prevent the person who has been serving as a co-opted member of the Executive committee to present his/her candidature for election as a member of the EC or its President

 

ARTICLE VIII General Assembly

The General Assembly is the governing body of the WASP. It determines the direction of the WASP, confirms membership and ratifies the membership dues proposed by the EC. It is composed of delegates of Member Societies, who are up to date with their membership fees. It meets on the occasion of the World Congress. Member Societies will be informed of the date, and venue of the meeting at least SIX months prior to the meeting and receive the Agenda two months before the Assembly’s meeting. The President, assisted by the members of the EC, chairs the Assembly and presents the President’s report. The Secretary General presents an administrative and activity report. The Treasurer presents the financial report. The General Assembly will be considered valid when at least 15% of member societies are represented when the General Assembly opens its meeting. Member societies have the right to vote on issues presented during the Assemblies of the WASP. The voting power of each member society is 1 vote on all matters except the election of the members of the Executive Committee where voting

power is proportional to the number of paid-up members registered to the WASP as follows: 1 to 100 members 1 vote; 101 to 250 members 2 votes; 251- 500 members 3 votes; 501-750 members 4 votes; 751-1000 members 5 votes; 1001 – 2000+ members 6 votes. For all other purposes each member society will have 1 vote.

All decisions of the General Assembly except those for election of Executive Committee members will be made by a simple majority vote of the Member Societies present. Each member society will be represented by its president or his/her representative. The vote will be expressed by the president of the Member Society or his/her nominee. There will be no voting by proxy.

Members of the Council and president’s advisor, chairpersons of the WASP scientific sections and Honorary Fellows have the right to attend the GA but without voting right.

Observers may attend the general assembly at the invitation of the president but do not contribute to discussions unless invited to do so by the president. They have no voting rights.

The Accreditation Committee validates the delegates of the Member Societies and other participants in the General Assembly and recommends the voting strength allocated to them, in accordance with the Statutes. The Accreditation Committee consists of four members, including the Secretary general who will chair it, the Treasurer and two more members appointed by the President after consultation with the Executive Committee, except when any of the above members are themselves candidates for the election.

The Nomination Committee: receives nominations concerning elections for all elective posts of the WASP. It consists of four members including a chairperson appointed by the Executive Committee. Every effort will be made to achieve geographical balance. The members will serve for three years. The Chairperson of the Nomination Committee shall report to the Executive Committee.

Having only 4 members in the WASP Executive Committee, it is not allowed to have two persons from the same country at the same time in the EC. The Treasurer and Secretary General may be elected to serve a maximum of two terms in office except where one is subsequently appointed as the president-elect (who becomes the president). As much as possible, a geographical balance should be reached in the composition of the Executive Committee.

Other committees, Scientific Sections, Task Forces and Special Advisors to the President:

Scientific sections focus on scientific issues relevant to the work of the WASP. The President may establish scientific sections, Task Forces and Special Advisors after consultation with the Executive Committee for specified tasks till the end of the president’s term. All scientific sections and task forces are renewable. Scientific section with no activity during one term is simply dissolved.

The Extraordinary General Assembly

An Extraordinary General Assembly can be convened to change the statutes of the WASP or at the request of two-thirds of the Member Societies.

 

ARTICLE IX Rules of Procedure

By-Laws covering details of function of the Association will be formulated by the EC and submitted for approval by the General Assembly.

 

ARTICLE X Dissolution

The dissolution of the WASP must be decided at an Extraordinary General Assembly at the request of the Executive Committee, or at the request of more than two-thirds of the Member Societies. The General Assembly will, with a two-thirds majority of Member Societies, order the dissolution of the Association.

On liquidation, all sums remaining within the central funds of the WASP will be distributed in accordance with the decisions of the Extraordinary General Assembly and in harmony with the aims of the WASP. They will be handed over to an organization with similar goals. On no condition, however, will these funds be distributed among the members of the WASP or utilized by them. In case of dissolution, one or several liquidators are appointed

 

Amendment of Statutes and By-laws

The Statutes of the WASP may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote taken in the General Assembly and the By-laws by a simple majority of those present and voting.

Recommendations for the change of the Statutes can be made by the Executive Committee, the Council and by Member Societies. Any recommendation for a change of the Statutes will be circulated to all Member Societies and has to be submitted to the Executive Committee at least nine months before the meeting of the General Assembly.