Bylaws:

Scandinavian Association of Urology (Nordisk Urologisk Förening) is an association of the five Nordic National Urological Associations (NNUAs). These are Dansk Urologisk Selskab (Danish Urological Society), Suomen urologiyhdistys/Finlands Urologförening (Finish Urological Association), Islands Urologförening (Icelandic Urological Association) Norsk Urologisk Forening (Norwegian Urological Association) and Svensk Urologisk Förening (Swedish Urological Society). The official abbreviation for the association is NUF.

For NUF does the following bylaws apply:

§ 1

The association’s task is to work for the development of Urology in the Nordic countries and to promote cooperation among Nordic urologists. This task includes not only healthcare activities and research, but also education and issues concerning, among other things postgraduate speciality training, skill requirements and healthcare organisation. Cooperation with other urological associations both in Europe and worldwide should be pursued. The official language of NUF is English.

§ 2

All members in the NNUAs are considered a member in NUF, and each member has the right to participate in NUF meetings.

A person can be elected as an Honorary member if, as a result of his or her efforts, they have significantly promoted the association or contributed to the development of Urology. Honorary members are elected by the Board.

§ 3

The Executive and Decision-making bodies of NUF are the Board and the General Assembly. In addition, NUF has a controlling body (the reference group) consisting of the leaders of the NNUAs and the Leaders of the Collaboration Groups.

§ 4

The Board

The board consists of the President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer and two board members.

Each NNUA should be represented in the board.

The President is elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years and re-election can take place once.

The Secretary general is elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years and re-election can take place twice.

The Treasurer is elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years. The Treasurer is responsible for the association’s accounts and has the right to supervise the association’s financial situation. He or she must submit a report to the General Assembly about this and, if necessary, make proposals for the necessary measures in order to ensure a good economy in the association.

The 4th and 5th Board members are elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years and reelection can take place once. These individuals will be responsible for communication within and outside NUF (i.e., internal newsletter and social media).

The board reports on its activities to the General Assembly.

§ 5

The General Assembly

The General Assembly convenes in conjunction with the Congress. Each member of the NNUAs has the right to participate with voting rights. The General Assembly takes a position on the board’s activity report and on issues related to freedom from liability. It also conducts statutory elections and makes decisions on matters referred by the board for decisions.

Input that is to be included in the agenda for the General Assembly must be sent to the board at least 4 weeks before the General Assembly is held. The agenda for the General Assembly must be available to the members at least two weeks in advance.

The General Assembly decides on the establishment of collaboration groups within the individual areas of interest.

When voting, a simple majority usually applies. However, a 2/3 majority of those present is required to amend the articles of the association.

§ 6

The Reference Group

The reference group consist of the leaders of the NNUAs and the leaders of the Collaboration groups.

The reference group has an independent role in overseeing the activities of the Board. The reference group and Board shall meet every year for a physical meeting. In those years where a NUF congress is taking place, the meeting will be held in conjunction with the congress. In non-congress years, the Board is responsible for arranging the annual meeting.

The reference group chooses it leader internally. If the reference group deems it necessary, they have the right to put forward matters of interest to the General Assembly.

§ 7

The Collaboration Groups

Two national delegates are appointed to collaboration groups by each national association (one from Iceland). The mandate period is 2 times 4 years. If there are special reasons, a representative may in individual cases be granted a 3rd term of office. Such reasons could be that a suitable representative in the cooperation group’s area cannot be obtained within a particular country. The mandate period for delegates to the residents collaboration group is four years, or until two years after board certification as urologists.

The collaboration groups elect their Chair internally. Non-functioning members can be replaced. In such cases, the leader will approach the Board, who will ask the respective NNUA to replace the member.

The Collaboration groups may have affiliated members, but they are not reimbursed for costs by NUF

§ 8

The congress is organized, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise, every two years in the participating countries according to the following arrangement: Denmark – Iceland – Finland – Norway – Sweden – Denmark – etc.

The NNUA in each country decide where to hold the Congress. The congress should be held within the framework of the directives given by the Board and supported the General Assembly.

There should be close collaboration between the Board and the local organising committee. If deemed necessary by the Board, the Secretary General of the NUF has the right to become a member of the local congress committee. An eventual economic surplus of a congress is split 50/50 between NUF and local organising committee.

§9

The “Nordic secretaries” of the NNUAs must continuously inform the Board about their association’s scientific meetings etc. that may be of general Nordic interest.

§ 10

The General Secretary takes minutes at the General Assembly and at the meetings of the board.

He/she compiles the member lists of the NNUAs, archives documents and is responsible together with the President for ensuring that the work within the board is carried out purposefully and efficiently according to specified guidelines.

Furthermore, the Board must compile the information received from the NNUAs and forward this information to the members to the extent that may be considered desirable.

§ 11

Review of the association’s economic activities is carried out by two auditors selected by the general meeting. They must submit their report one month before planned congress and must thereby make the submissions that the review prompts.

The auditors are elected by the general meeting for a period of 4 years, with the possibility of reelection twice.

§ 12

The association’s election committee consists of a representative from each member country. The members of the election committee are elected by the general assembly for 4 years, with possibility of re-election 2 times. The possibility of re-election ceases upon retirement. The members of the election committee elect their own leader.

§ 13

NUF can only be dissolved after a decision made by the General Assembly following standard rules of procedure. For the resolution to be valid, it must be approved by a 2/3 majority in a vote among the regular NUF members. Upon dissolution of the Nordic Urological Association, the assets are transferred to the national urological associations in proportion to their membership.

The statutes were last revised and approved at the General Assembly in NUF, Bergen, Norway 2023