The official and legal statutes of the association are in Norwegian. This is a translation into English for practical purposes and has no legal status.
Statutes for the association:
IEWG - International Ecumenical Working Group for deaf ministry
§ 1 Name of the Association
The name of the association is: "IEWG - International Ecumenical Working Group for deaf ministry" short "IEWG" and it was formally founded 14.12.2016 in Oslo, Norway
§ 2 Purpose
IEWG shall:
• provide an international and ecumenical organisation for those who work in Churches with pastoral care, education and diaconal work among Deaf People.
• provide regular training opportunities through conferences, seminars, workshops and other appropriate means
• encourage and extend ministry among Deaf People by exchanging experiences and information, and by providing opportunities for instruction and advanced training for those involved in Deaf Ministry, especially in mission areas and developing countries.
• share and exchange information and ideas primarily through the organisation’s web-site.
IEWG works to:
• advance the right of deaf people to take a full part in the life and leadership of the Church.
• encourage and enable deaf people to speak on their own behalf and encourages them to teach and guide members of IEWG, hearing churches and society, and to help others understand the language and culture of the deaf community.
• promote the right of deaf people to use sign language in the Church, particularly in liturgical settings.
• encourage the provision of properly trained pastors, catechists and deacons among deaf people.
§ 3 Legal person
The association is a self-owned and independent legal entity with limited liability for debt. The members are not personally liable.
§ 4 Members
New members must be approved by the existing members at the annual meeting or extraordinary meeting. The members may make internal rules about who can be a member and who can propose new members. At least one of the members must be resident in Norway and registered as the contact for the association. An amendment to exclude a member will be handled in the same way as any other amendment and will require 2/3 majority
§ 5 Voting rights and eligibility
All members are entitled to vote and be elected to office for the association.
§ 6 Subscription
Dues are determined by the annual meeting and paid in advance.
Members that are not paid dues for more than two years, have no voting or other rights, and may be delisted as a member of the association by the administrator. A delisted member, cannot re-join the association until outstanding fees have been paid.
§ 7 Officials’ remuneration
Elected officials shall not receive remuneration for their services.
§ 8 Annual Meeting
The annual meeting, which is held once every two years, is the highest representative body of the association. Members must be notified of the date and venue of the annual meeting with at least two months’ notice. Proposals to be considered at the annual meeting shall be sent to the administrator no later than one month before the annual meeting. The final agenda must be available to members at least one week before the annual meeting.
All members have access to the annual meeting. Other persons and/or media may also be invited to be present.
The annual meeting has a quorum that is the number of voting members in attendance. No one has more than one vote, and voting can be done by proxy.
The chairman for the meeting is elected by the annual meeting.
The annual meeting may only consider proposals for changing the statutes that are listed in the agenda no later than one week before the annual meeting.
The annual meeting cannot consider proposals that are not listed on the agenda, unless 2/3 of the members demand it. Such a decision can only be taken when the agenda is authorised.
In the event of a tie, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
§ 9 Voting at Annual Meeting
Unless otherwise stated, a decision, to be valid, must be passed by a simple majority of the votes cast. Blank votes are considered as not admitted.
Election shall be by ballot if there is more than one proposal. Only candidates may be listed on the ballot paper. Should more be elected by the same vote, the ballots must contain the number of different candidates that shall be elected. Ballots that are blank or that contain no candidates, or more or fewer names than the number to be elected will not count, and votes are considered as not having been made.
For individual elections, or if a candidate does not achieve more than half of the given votes, a bnew election between the two candidates who have received the most votes will be held. If the new election results in a tie, the election is decided by lot.
All who are elected under the above, must achieve over 50% of the votes. This does not apply when selecting deputies. If an insufficient number of candidates have achieved this in the first place, those are considered elected who have received more than half the votes. There will be a new election to decide the remaining candidates. If this new election results in a tie, the election is decided by lot.
§ 10 Annual meeting tasks
The annual meeting shall:
1. Receive the annual report
2. Receive the annual accounts
3. Consider proposals
4. Agree the subscription due
5. Agree the budget
6. Elect
a) Chair
b) Administrator
c) if necessary, other board member(s) and deputies
§ 11 Association Meetings or extraordinary annual meeting
Association meetings have the same status as extraordinary annual meetings and must be held when the chairman decides, or at least 1/3 of the voting members require it.
Members must be given notice of the date, time, and place of the meeting with at least 14 days’ notice.
Association meetings cannot consider proposals that are not listed on the agenda, unless 2/3 of the members demand it. Such a decision can only be taken when the agenda is authorised.
In the event of a tie, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
§ 12 Board
The association is headed by the chairman with support from the administrator and other Board members as determined by the AGM. The board is the highest authority between annual meetings.
Board by the Chairman shall: the Board has authority to:
1. Implement the decisions of annual and association meetings.
2. Manage and perform the necessary review of the association's finances in accordance with the prevailing instructions and regulations.
3. Represent the association externally.
The Board shall meet when the Chairman or a majority of the board members requests.
The board may make decisions when a majority of its members are present. Decisions are made by a simple majority of the votes cast. In the event of a tie, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
The association signatories will normally be the Chair and/or administrator as authorised.
§ 13 Amendments
Amendments to these statutes may only be made at an ordinary or extraordinary annual meeting. Proposed amendments must be listed on the agenda, and require a 2/3 majority of the votes cast in order to be passed.
§ 14 Dissolution gathering and sharing
Dissolution of the association can only be considered at the annual meeting. If the dissolution is adopted by at least 2/3 majority, an extraordinary annual meeting as to be announced three months later. At this meeting, the proposal for dissolution must be re-adopted by a 2/3 majority. The board could choose a liquidator to conduct liquidation. The ordinary board could be elected as liquidation board, and if no decision is made, this will be the default position.
After the associations dissolution and payment of all liabilities the association's assets shall accrue to the purpose of the association’s work by transferring to a fund affiliated to Døvekirkenes fellesråd.
No members are entitled to the association's assets or part of these.
Merging with other associations or division of the association is not considered as dissolution.
Decision on merger / division and necessary amendments relating to this must be made in accordance with the provisions of the statues § 13. The Board shall draw up a plan for the merger / division for the members at the annual meeting to vote on. For merging or division, consent shall be obtained from the association's creditors.