Approved at the General Assembly in London on October 16th. 1981 Modified at the 9th World Congress in Sydney on May 1996

SECTION I. Membership

a) Article 4 of the Constitution states: 'The membership of the Federation shall include the national Society or national Federation of any country representing the specialists in uterine cervical pathology of that country'. The Committes of the affiliated Societies shall send each year to the Executive Secretariat the names and addresses of the members of their Committee and a list of the members of the Society if such a list is available.

b)Article 5 of the Constitution provides that: 'The decision as to the granting of refusal of membership shall be taken by the General Assembly which shall not be required to state the reason for its decision'. A national ociety or Federation which submits an application for affiliation to the President of the International Federation between two General Assemblies may be admitted provisionally subject to the final approval by the next General Assembly

c) Article 6 a) of the Constitution provides that: 'Membership of the Federation shall be lost by withdrawal subject to a period of notice to be fixed by the By-Laws'. Notice of withdrawal shall be given to the Chairman of the Executive Board six months before the end of the year. Withdrawal shall become effective only on the expiration of this period of notice. Contributions shall remain due until the expiration of the period of notice.

d) Article 6 b) of the Constitution stipulates that: 'Membership of the Federation shall be lost by defaulting in the payment of contributions to the Federation over a period of time to be fixed by the By-Laws'. Loss of membership by default in the payment of contributions may be decided only when arrears of contribution exceed two years. This period shall be calculated in accordance with the time limit fixed in Section II a).

SECTION II. Contributions

a) Article 7 of the Constitution stipulates that: 'Each national Society shall pay to the International Federation a yearly contribution the amount of which shall be fixed by the General Assembly, in proportion to the number of regular members of each Society'. Each affiliated Society shall pay an annual contribution of 5 U.S. dollars per active member and shall indicate the number of its members. This number shall be used to calculate the number of votes allotted in the General Assembly. The dues shall be paid in U.S. dollars to the Federation no later than December 31st of the current year.

b) If the transfer of foreign currency is not feasible, the equivalent of the annual dues may be deposited in the national currency of the affiliated Society with an official bank in its country at the disposal of the International Federation.

SECTION III. The General Assembly

a) Article 9 of the Constitution provides that: 'The General Assembly is the supreme authority of the Federation. It shall be composed of the delegates of each national Society, or their alternates, and of the members of the Executive Board'. National Societies or Federations shall inform the Executive Board (at least one month before each General Assembly) of the composition of their delegation and, if possible, of the names of alternates. In order to permit the checking of credentials, delegates shall deposit the documents appointing them as representatives of their national Society or Federation at the Secretariat of the International Federation at the Congress' head quarters, preferably two hours before the beginning of the General Assembly.

b) Article 10 of the Constitution stipulates that: 'The General Assembly shall meet in regular session on the occasion of each International Congress organized by the Federation' and that 'the Agenda of the General Assembly shall be arranged by the Executive Board, but provisions will be made for adequate time for introduction of other topics for discussion by the members of the General Assembly'. The Agenda is sent by the Executive Board to all the affiliated Societies three months before the date fixed for the General Assembly; Societies shall make their observations or express their agreement when informing the Executive Secretariat of the composition of their delegation. The General Assembly meets at least twice at the time of each Congress organized by the International Federation. When an extraordinary General Assembly is called by the Executive Board or at the request of at least one fifth of the members of the Federation, the minimum notice for the organization of such an Assembly is three months; the Agenda shall be sent by the Executive Board in the same way as for an ordinary General Assembly; the affiliated Societies shall address their suggestions and the list of their delegation to the Executive Secretariat in the same way as for an ordinary General Assembly.

c) Article 11 of the Constitution states that: 'The General Assembly shall hear reports on the work of the Executive Board and the general activities of the Federation'. In addition to the official delegates, all active members of the affiliated Societies who are interested in the work of the International Federation may attend the General Assembly as observers; the same privileges may be extended to representatives of international medical organizations and other persons who express the desire to attend, provided the President of the Federation agrees in each case. The President may decide that a meeting shall be held in private.

SECTION IV. The Executive Board

a) Article 12 of the Constitution provides that: 'The Executive Board shall be elected by the General Assembly and shall consists of 15 members. It shall include the officers of the Federation who are the President, immediate past-President, President-elect, Secretary General, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary/Archivist, and the Assistant Treasurer. In addition to these 7 officers the Executive Board shall include 8 members-at-large who should represent 8 countries selected on a rotating basis from other national societies not represented by the 7 above mentioned officers. Initially, 4 of the members-at-large shall be elected to serve terms of 6 years (i.e. to serve on 2 consecutive executive boards) and the 4 other members-at-large shall be elected for a term of 3 years. Thereafter, 4 new members-at-large will be elected at each meeting of the General Assembly. Their terms will be 6 years. The officers of the Federation shall be elected by the General Assembly for a term of 3 years (election of officers shall be held at each World Congress). The President can not be elected for another term. The Secretary-General and the Treasurer may be re-elected without limitation'. If a General Assembly meeting at the beginning of an International Congress is to hold several sittings, the names of the outgoing members of the Executive Board shall be made known at the first sitting of the Assembly However, the election of the new members and of the Officers shall only take place at the last sitting of this General Assembly The former Officers shall remain in office until the end of the Congress. After the closing ceremony of the Congress, the new Executive Board shall meet. The agenda of this meeting shall be prepared by mutual agreement between the outgoing President and the new President of the International Federation.

b) GUIDELINES FOR THE IFCPC WORLD CONGRESS VENUE SELECTION

PRESENTATION OF THE BID
1) Two years before World Congress eligible societies notified
2) One year before World Congress bid is due
3) Secretary General to circulate proposals to Executive Committee
4) Formal presentation at first General Assembly
5) Voting for Congress Venue at Second General Assembly

VENUE SELECTION GUIDELINES
To keep competition fair and low cost
Permitted: Free Exhibition Booth at Congress
Small, inexpensive souveniers
Mail, e-mail, fax information
Not permitted: Expensive gifts, trips, lunches, dinners, cocktails.
Rules apply to all.
Conflict of interest should be reported

c)Article 13 of the Constitution states that: 'The Executive Board shall meet once yearly or whenever it is convened by the President or at the request of one third at least of its members. The Board shall validly meet if six members are present or represented. Decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of its members. If a member of the board is unable to attend a meeting, he/she may appoint by written proxy either another member of the Executive Board or another representative of his national society to represent him her. In the event that the board member is unable to personally request a proxy, or the executive board member is unable to complete his her term of office, the appointment of a proxy or substitute member will be made by the member's national society'. When the annual session of the Executive Board does not coincide with an International Coogress of the Federation, it may be convened at a certain place, preferably each year in another country A national Society or national Federation may invite the Executive Board to meet in its country on the occasion of either a national Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics or a scientific meeting attended by some members of the Board. The inviting national Society or Federation shall provide the meeting room and, possibly, secretarial staff and interpreters. The agenda shall be planned in such a manner that part of the Board meeting be open to observers who are members of the national Society or Federation acting as host.

SECTION V. The Officers of the Federation

a) Term and Eligibility
a) Term and Eligibility Article 12 of the Constitution provides that: 'The Executive Board shall be elected by the General Assembly and shall consists of 15 members. It shall include the officers of the Federation who are the President, immediate past-President, President-elect, Secretary General, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary/Archivist, and the Assistant Treasurer. In addition to these 7 officers the Executive Board skall include 8 members-at-large who should represent 8 countries selected on a rotating basis *om other national societies not represented by the 7 above mentioned officers. Initially, 4 of the members-at-large shall be elected to serve terms of 6 years (i.e. to serve on 2 consecutive executive boards) and the 4 other members-at-large shall be elected for a term of 3 years. Thereafter, 4 new members-at-large will be elected at each meeting of the General Assembly. Their terms will be 6 years. The officers of the Federation shall be elected by the General Assembly for a term of three years (election of officers shall be held at each World Congress) every 3 years at the triennial World Congress. The Secretary General and the Treasurer shall be elected for a term of six years. The President can not be elected for another term. The Secretary General, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary and the Assistant Treasurer may be re-elected without limitation. The Secretary General shall be responsible to the Executive Board for the fulfillment of all measures decided by the Executive Board. He/she is in charge of the current business of the Federation. He/she coordinates the work of the officers of the Executive Board. He/she prepares the agenda for the Executive Board and General Assembly meetings in conjunction with the President. For all important questions the Secretary General consults with the President and the officers of the International Federation. The Officers of the International Federation will be elected by the Assembly at its triennial meeting and will serve for a term corresponding to the interval between congresses, usually for three years. Except for the President and President-elect they are eligible for re-election. If a vacancy occurs among the Officers, a substitute shall be chosen among the members of the Board, this substitute shall romain in office until the next General Assembly. The country whose representative is missing on the Board shall appoint a substitute who shall fill the vacancy on the Board until the next General Assembly The Officers of the International Federation cannot be delegates to the General Assembly from their respective countries. If they are holding the position of national delegates when elected, they will resign from such a post involving national representation. During their term of office they will speak and act only in the interest of the Federation as a whole. If their election results in a vacancy on the Executive Board, that country will name another representative.

b) Means of selecting Officers
A Nominating Committee of seven members will be appointed by the Executive Board of the Federation at their meeting approximately 1 year on the occasion of the last Executive Board meeting prior to the World Congress. It will be constituted in order to nominate officers and new board members. The committee will consist of the President, (who will serve as chairman), president-elect, the Secretary General and the Treasurer and 3 members at-large. The members at-large will be representatives of 3 member societies not represented on the Executive Board. The Board will select the societies to be represented and each society, in turn, will select their own, at-large representative. Three member Societies, not on the Board, will also be represented. The Executive Board will notify the constituent Societies so to be represented and these, in turn, will select their representatives. The total committee should be constituted to provide the widest possible geographic, linguistic and cultural representation. The nominating committee should solicit nominations for the officers and board members from all IFCPC member societies and members via posting on the web site, email, mail or other methods they may deem advisable at least 6 months prior to the World Congress. During the first General Assembly, the Chairman of the Nominating Committee will report briefly on the suggestions already received and a general discussion will take place at that time in order to learn of the opinions of the delegations present. In the light of this discussion, the Nominating Committee will elaborate a slate of Officers and member Societies to be represented on the Board, as well as members of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the forthcoming congress, which will be read at the second General Assembly. The Nominating Committee will explain how the slate was prepared. For the election of the candidates proposed by the Nominating Committee, a simple majority is needed. If a delegation at a General Assembly proposes a candidate not included in the slate of the Nominating Committee, a two-thirds majority is necessary for election.

c) Special Qualifications of Officers.
In preparing its slate, the Nominating Committee will bear in mind certain principles: 1. The nomination for the Presidency will, except for some compelling reason, involve simply the endorsement of the President-elect already in office.
2. The of fice of President-elect has been created to provide a period of three years, in which a man may serve on the Executive Board in preparation for his Presidency. As a result of this provision, it is no longer necessary to select one already on the Executive Board, and it will be the responsibility of the Nominating Committee to seek out the specialist in uterine cervical pathology who, regardless of past experience with the International Federation Board, can be counted on to bring to the Federation the most devotion, influence and destinction. At the same time, consideration must be given by the Nominating Committee to some geographic rotation by which the honour of holding the Presidency may be distributed. The general plan, but not an invariable rule, would be to have the continental origin of the President follow that continent's holding of the meeting by six years. In other words, if the sites of successive Congresses were arranged in the continental order of A-B-C-D-, then the Presidency of the International Federation would be from continents C-D-A-B-.

SECTION VI. The Congress

The Constitution (Article 2 d) states that: 'To hold at regular intervals world congresses, each successively in a different country'.

a) Place of the Congresses.
The General Assembly which meets on the occasion of an International Congress shall decide on the periodicity of future congresses, on the date and place of the next congress if that has not already been determined and, if possible, on the place and date of the congress which will immediately succeed the next one. The most appropriate place for the congress should, however, be a subject of active study by the Executive Board, for a report to the Assembly. In general, the site of the congresses will be rotated through the four continents in orderly succession, i.e. North America, Europe (with Africa), Latin American and Asia (with Australia, Japan and New Zealand). Delegates from each area should be encouraged to meet and discuss preferred sites in their area, in time to provide suggestions at least six years before the date of the proposed congress. If the national Societies of a given continent are unable to offer a satisfactory place for the congress for that year in which one Society of that continent is entitled to be host, then that continent will be regarded as having lost its turn and the Executive Board will appeal to the next continent in order of succession. The rule for a regular rotation may, however, be suspended by the Assembly for a compelling reason, on recommendation of the Executive Board.

b) Subjects for the Congress.
At the sessions of the General Assembly, there will be time for suggestions to be made on the subjects for the next congress, the type of presentations, the working languages and the publication of reports. Discussion of these suggestions and others will be taken up by the Executive Board when it meets shortly after the final session of the General Assembly and instructions will be formulated for the guidance of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the next congress. Participation in the scientific programme is in general open only to members of affiliated Societies. However, papers of exceptional interest submitted by specialists who are not members of the International Federation, may be considered by the Advisory Committee under exceptional circumstances.

c) The Scientific Advisory Committee.
The Scientific Advisory Committee proposed by the Nominating Committee and elected at each General Assembly, will plan most of the plenary sessions of the congress. The Committee will consist of a Chairman and thirteen members, including the incoming President of the Federation, the President of the previous congress, the President of the next congress, the Chairman of the previous Scientific Advisory Committee, the Secretary General (ex officio), and eight members at large. The Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee will be designated by the Assembly on recommendation of the Nominating Committee. The Scientific Advisory Committee will prepare the programme of the fortcoming congress in accordance with directives received *om the General Assembly and the Executive Board. In the course of the preparation of the programme the Committee will inform and consult the affiliated Societies by means of questionnaires with regards to special topics and preferred speakers. Speakers for the general sessions will be chosen, so far as appears appropiate to the Scientific Advisory Committee, from those suggested in answer to the questionnaire sent to the national Societies. The Scientific Advisory Committee will, however, have the power of final decision, in order that a balanced programme be created. The Scientific Advisory Committee of the Federation will also establish communication with, and offer all possible assistance to, the Programme Committee of the Society acting as host to the next congress.

d) Responsabilities and Privileges of the Host Country.
The national Society or Federation, member of the International Federation, which accepts to serve as host to the International Congress, will assume responsability for all the practical aspects of the organization of the congress. This will include the development of an organizing Committee, the management of finances, the procurement of lecture halls, projection and exhibit rooms, interpreters arrangements for accomodation of the participants, entertainment, press-coverage, and diffusion of information concerning the congress. An office and secretarial help will be placed at the disposal of the International Federation for the duration of the congress. Adequate facilities for the General Assembly, the Executive Board and special Committee meetings should be provided in consultation with the Secretary General. The host Society will also turn over to the International Federation 10% (ten per cent) of the registration fee for the World Congress, but the Executive Board is entitled to make special arrangements in this regard. The Scientific Programme Committee of the host country will also have the final decision on the acceptability of 'free' or 'voluntary' communications which may be submitted by any individual member of the Federation, provided, in general, that this has first had the approval of the individual's own national Society. The host country may also have the privilege and responsability of developing certain plenary sessions assigned to it by the Executive Board or the Assembly The publication of the congress programme (preliminary, provisional and final) shall be the responsibility of the local organizing Committee in consultation with the Scientific Advisory Committee.

SECTION VII. Amendment to the Constitution.

Article 16 of the Constitution states: 'Any proposal for an amendment to this Constitution must be submitted by the Executive Board or by at least one tenth of the members of the Federation. The text of any proposed amendment shall be communicated to all members of the Executive Board at least six months before the opening of the Assembly and copies mailed by the Secretary General to each member Society at least four months before a General Assembly, thus enabling the Societies to brief their delegates to the General Assembly. One half of the members entitled to vote must be present at the General Assembly called upon to take a decision on a proposed amendment to the Constitution. Should this quorum not be reached, the General Assembly shall be convened again within the time-limit prescribed by the By-Laws'. Pursuant to Article 16, it is hereby laid down that, in the event of a quorum not being reached at a General Assembly at which an amendment to the Constitution has been proposed, the time-limit within which the General Assembly shall be re-convened shall be one year.

SECTION VIII. Dissolution of the Federation.

Article 17 of the Constitution states: 'A decision to dissolve the Federation shall be taken by a General Assembly specially convened for the purpose and composed of at least two-thirds of the members entitled to vote. Should this quorum not be reached, the General Assembly shall be convened again within the time-limit prescribed by the By-Laws'. Pursuant to Article 17, it is hereby laid down that, in the event of a quorum not being reached at a General Assembly at which the dissolution of the Federation has been proposed, the time-limit within which the General Assembly shall be re-convened shall be one year.

SECTION IX. Standing Committees of the Federation.

a) The Executive Board of the International Federation may appoint Standing Committees for the study of particular problems relating to research, education and practice in the field of uterine cervical pathology. In general, such a Committee will consist of 8 to 12 members and will be headed by a Chairman.

b) The Chairman is appointed for a term of office of three years with the possibility of re-election. He/she will be nominated by the General Assembly on proposition by the Executive Board.

c) The Chairman will direct the activities of his Committee and will present a progress report on the work of the Committee and its future programme at each meeting of the Executive Board.

d) The Chairman of each Standing Committee will be invited to attend the meetings of the Executive Board. However, he/she is not entitled to vote, except on matters relating directly to the Standing Committee he/she is chairing.

e) The Chairman will be assisted by a Vice-Chairman. The Vice-Chairman will be chosen among the members of the Committee, and will be appointed by the President of the International Federation on suggestion by the Chairman of the Committee.

f) The membership of the Committee will be discussed, modified, and completed by the Executive Board at its annual meetings. The term of office of the members is three years, with the possibility of re-election.

g) The Chairman is entitled to nominate new members with the agreement of the President of the International Federation. The latter is empowered to accept or reject the proposition made. h) The Standing Committees will convene at each world congress of the Federation, immediately before the sessions of the Executive Board.

i) Between these meetings, the Chairman is entitled to direct the activities of Committee as he/she considers it best, by organizing meetings, workshops statistical investigations, etc. If a meeting of the Committee cannot be organized, the Chairman will consult the members of the Committee by correspondence. He may also request the Societies affiliated with the International Federation to nominate a liaison officer with the Committee, in order to establish direct contacts.

j) Furthermore, the Chairman of the Committee may establish links with F.I.G.O. in view of a cooperation in certain projects. The President of the International Federation will be kept informed on such activities. The Chairman of the Committee may also cooperate with other international organizations as, for instance, U.I.C.C., the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease, etc. whenever he/she deems it fit. He/she will ask the agreement of the President of the International Federation for such a project.

k) Each Standing Committee will see to the financing of its activities. However the Chairman may request a contribution from the International Federation for secretarial work and other activities of the Committee. The request of the Chairman must be submitted every year and will mention how the grant contributed by the Federation has been used. Non-claimed annual contributions cannot be accumulated from year to year.

SECTION X. The International Federation's Relations with other International Organizations.

Special international scientific societies devoted to the study of subjects relating to uterine cervical pathology, and grouping not only gynecologists, obstetricians, colposcopists, cytologists and pathologists, may be recognized by the International Federation as approved organizations for cooperation and mutual exchange of information. Such a recognition will be decided upon by the Executive Board. A delegate of such organizations will be invited to participate in the world congress of the International Federation and to attend the General Assemblies in the capacity of observer. The invited delegates will pay no registration fees at the world congresses. The recognized societies may nominate a liaison officer to the International Federation, or a liaison officer to some of the Standing Committees. All relevant documents will be forwarder to these liaison officers either by the Secretary General or by the Chairman of the Standing Committee concerned. Joint actions between such societies and the International Federation or one of its Standing Committees may be implemented with the agreement of the Executive Board.

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