CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED SECRETARIES AND REPORTERS OF NIGERIA ACT, 2015

There is established the Chartered Institute of Certified Secretaries and Reporters of Nigeria (in this Act referred to as "the Institute") which-(a) shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal ; and
(b) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

The Institute shall-(a) Subject to section 3 of this Act, determine and review, from time to time, the qualification for membership of the Institute ;
(b) ensure professional ethics, high standard and sound knowledge by members of the Institute ;
(c) secure, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the maintenance of a Register for its members ; and
(d) carry out such other functions as the Board may, from time to time, prescribe.

(1) The members admitted to the Institute shall be enrolled as Certified Secretaries or Certified Verbatim Reporters and be entitled to the use of that status accorded and shall be registered as :
(a) fellows, if they satisfy the Board that-
(i) they are not less than 35 years ofage and have 10 years relevant working experience in any reputable organization or government department of which at least 5 years have been spent on a senior appointment, or
(ii) for the period of three years immediately preceding the date of application or recommendation in that behalf, they have bccn fit persons and have, in addition to being the holders ofapproved academic, professional
qualifications or certificate ofthe final examination of the Institute, contributed to the development of the Institute and are fit persons to be so registered ; or
(b) members, if they satisfy the Board that they-
(i) are at least 30 years of age, have been associate members for not less than three years, have passed examinations prescribed or accepted by the Institute and are fit persons be so registerid ;
(ii) have maintained a good record of membership for at least five years immediately preceding the date of application and, have contributed to the upliftment of the profession and the Institute :
(c) associate members, if they-
(i) have passed relevant examinations prescribed or accepted by the Institute and have at least five years relevant working experience in any reputable organization or government department ;
(ii) have a University First Degree, Higher National Diploma, National Certificate of Education or its equivalent from Government approved institutions and have at least five years post qualification experience ;
(d) graduate members, if they have attained the age of 21 years, have passed examinations accepted by the lnstitute and have at least three years working experience in secretarial or reportorial profession ; and
(e) student members, if they meet the entry requirement as specified by a resolution of the Board.
(2) The Board shall have the power to approve, through its resolution, that any person be awarded the Institute's honorary membership status in recognition ofoutstanding qualities, achievements in industry, education, commerce and contribution to the development of the Institute and the profession but the award shall not entitle the recipient to practise or become a member of
the profession or vote in the affairs of the Institute.
(3) The Board shall have the power to approve the award to a corporare body of the Institute's corporate membership status and such an award shall entitle the recipient to the rights and obligations of just one member.

The designatory letters of the Institute shall be-(a) "FCSR" for professional fellows ;
(b) "FCSR (Hon.)" for honorary fellows ;
(c) "MCSR" for professional members ;
(d) "MCSR (Hon.)" for honorary members ;
(e) "ACSR" for Associates ; and
(f) "ICSR for corporate members.

(1) There shall be for the Institute a President and two Vice-Presidents (First and Second Vice-Presidents) who shall be President elected by the Institute and shall be professional members of the Institute in the categories of follows and members.
(2) The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board and the Institute and, in the absence of the President, the First Vice-President (in whose absence, the Second Vice President) shall preside.
(3) The President and Vice-Presidents shall hold office for a term of two years and shallcease to hold office imrnediately they cease to be members of the lnstitute as specified in subsection (1) of this section.
(4) The President shall hold office for a term of two years and no more.

(1) There shall be a governing board (in this Act referred to as "the Board") charged with the responsibility for formulation of policies for the
administration and general management of the Institute.
(2) The Board shall consist of professional members not below the category of associate members and such other persons on honorary advisory capacity appointed, elected or nominated as follows-
(a) the President of the Institute, as the Chairman of the Board ;
(b) the Registrar of the Institute as the Secretary of the Board ;
(c) the Vice-Presidents of the lnstitute as the Vice Chairmen of the Board ;
(d) one representative each from-
(i) the Government Department charged with manpower development and training (in this Act referred to as "the Government Department"),
(ii) Federal Ministry of Education, and
(ili) Public Service Office in the Presidency ;
(e) one person each to represent-
(i) the universities offering courses relevant to any of the two professions in this Act, to be appointed on a rotational basis by the
National Universities Commission.
(ii) the Polytechnics and Colleges of Education offering courses relevant to any of the two professions in this Act, to be appointed on
rotational basis by the National Board for Technical Education and National Commission of Colleges of Education ;
(f) one person to represent training institutions with relevant courses under the Government Department to be appointed by that Department ;
(g) four persons to be elected by the Institute among its members ; and
(h) a past President of the Institute who shall serve on the Board fora maximum period of three years from the expiration of his or her term as President.

The tenure of office for members of the Board shall be two years with an eligibility for reappointment (or re-election as the case may be) for a further tenn of two years and no more.

(1) A member of the Board may, by notice in writing to the President of the lnstitute, resign his membership of the Board.
(2) Whenever there is a vacancy in the membership of the Board, a person representing the same interest as the member whose exit created the vacancy shall be elected or appointed, as the case may be, to fill such vacancy.
(3) The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the meetings of the Board and the Institute. (First Schedule.)

(1) The Board shall make regulations subject to the approval of the Institute for carrying out any of its policies and functions of the Institute.
(2) The regulations made under this Act shall be published in print media and the Institute's journal as soon as they are made and copies of such rules shall be sent to the Ministry of Education.

The Board may delegate to any person any of its powers which, in its opinion, is calculated to facilitate the carrying out of its functions.

(1) The Institute shall maintain a Fund which shall be applied towards the discharge of its functions and into which shall be paid -
(a) all fees, and other monies payable to the Institute ;
(b) all grants, aids, and solicited funds received for the Institute ; and
(c) proceeds from programmes and activities.
(2) There shall be defrayed from the Fund-
(a) the remuneration and allowances of the Registrar and other employees of the Institute ;
(b) such reasonable travelling allowance, (as determined by the Board and its Committees) incurred in the business or official functions of the Institute;
(c) any expense incurred bythe Board in the discharge of its duties.

(1) The Board may invest the Institute's money in any security created or issued by or on behalf of the Federal Government.
(2) The Board may borrow money for use of the Institute and any interest payable on money borowed by the Institute shall be defrayed from the Fund of the Institute.

(1) The Board shall keep proper accounts of the activities of the Institute in respect of each year and proper records in relation to those accounts and the Board shall cause the accounts to be audited by an auditor appointed from the list and in accordance with the guidelines supplied by the Auditor-
General for the Federation.
(2) The audited accounts shall be submitted by the Board to the members of the Institute for approval at the annual general meeting of the Institute.

Upon the commencement of this Act-(a) all assets held by or on behalf of the Institute of Certified Secretaries and Reporters shall, by virtue of this Act, vest in the Institute and all liabilities incurred before the commencement of this Act by the former Institute shall automatically be transferred to the Institute ; and
(b) any act or thing done by the former Institute shall be deemed to have been done by the Institute.

(1) The Board shall, subject to the approval of the Institute, appoint fit and proper persons, who shall be professional members of the Institute, to be the Registrar and Assistant Registrar (in this Act referred to as the "Registrar" and" Assistant Registrar" respectively
(2) The last person to hold office as the Registrar of the former Institute shall, upon the commencement of this Act, continue in office (for a maximum period ofone year) as acting Registrar of the Institute before the Board appoints the first Registrar of the Institute.
(3) The Registrar-
(a) shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute ;
(b) shall hold office for a term of four years ; and
(c) may be eligible for reappointment for another term of four years and no more.

The Registrar shall prepare and maintain in accordance with the rules made by the Board, a Register of names, addresses, approved
qualifications and such other particulars as may be specified in the manner prescribed by such rules.

The Register shall consist of five parts, one part each in respect of-(a) professional fellows ;
(b) professional members ;
(c) associate members ;
(d) graduate members ;
(e) affiliate and student members ; and
(f) honorary fellows, corporate and honorary members.

(1) The Board shall make rules in respect of the form of the Register, its maintenance, the entries to be made therein and-
(a) mode of application, enrolment and registration ; and
(b) all fees to be paid to the Institute including annual subscriptions.

The Registrar shall-(a) correct, in accordance with the directives of the Board, any entry on the register which in the Board's opinion was incorrectly made ;
(b) make, from time to time, any necessary alteration in the registered particulars of persons ;
(c) remove from the Register, the name of any enrolled or registered person who has died ; and
(d) record the names of members who are in default for more than six
months in the payment of annual subscriptions, and take such action in
relation thereto (including removal of the names of defaulters from the
Register) as the Board may direct.

If the Registrar-(a) sends by post to any registered or enrolled person, a registered letter, addressed to him at his address on the Register enquiring whether the registered particulars relating to him are correct and receives no reply to
the letter within the period of six months from the date of posting it, and
(b) upon the expiration of that period, sends in like manner to the person in question a reminder and receives no reply to that letter within three months from the date of posting it,the Registrar may remove the particulars relating to the person from the Register, and where the Board directs that such removed particulars be restored to their appropriate place in the Register, the Registrar shall comply.

The Registrar shall cause-(a) the Register to be printed, published and put on sale to members of the public not later than two years from the day he assumed office ;
(b) to be printed, published and put on sale each year (after the first publication), eithera corected edition ofthe Register or a list of alterations made to it since it was last printed ; and
(c) a print of each edition of the register and each list of corrections to be deposited at the Head Office of the Institute and the Board shall make the Register and lists so deposited available at all reasonable times for inspection by members of the public.

(1) A document purporting to be a print of an edition of the Register or list of corections to it published under section 21 of this Act shall be so registered at the date of the document, and that any person not so specified is
not registered.
(2) Where, in accordance with subsection (1) ofthis section, a person in any proceeding is known to not have been registered or have been registered at a particular date, he shall, unless the contrary is proved, be taken for the purpose of that proceeding as having at all material times thereafter continued
to be so or not so registered.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act or rules made under it, a person shall be entitled to be enrolled or registered as Certified Secretary or Cenified Verbatim Reporter if such a person-
(a) passes a qualifying examination for membership conducted by the
Institute and completes the practical training prescribed ;
(b) holds a relevant qualification granted by a government -owned institution which is of equivalent standard ; or
(c) holds a qualification granted outside Nigeria which is acceptable to the Board and satisfies the Board to be of sufficient practical experience as a Certified Secretary or Certified Verbatim Reporter.
(2) In addition to subsection (1) of this section, the applicant shall satisfy the Board that he -
(a) is of good character and high integrity ;
(b) has attained the age of 21 years ; and
(c) has never been convicted of an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or gross misconduct.
(3) The Board shall, from time to time, publish in its intemal Newsletter, Federal Government Gazefte and National Dailies, the qualifications acceptable for enrolment or registration by the Institute.

The Board may provisionally accept a qualification produced in respect of provisional registration of an application and in such case direct that any
entry made in the Register shows that the registration is provisional and shall
not be converted into full registration without the written consent of the Board
to that effect.

The Board may approve any qualification for the purpose of this Act and may approve -(a) a course or training at an approved institution which is intended for persons who are seeking to become or are, already Certified Secretaries and Verbatim Reporters or which the Board considers designed to confer
on persons completing it, as sufficient knowledge and skill for admission
into the Institute : and
(b) a qualification which as a result ofan examination taken in conjunction
with a course or training approved by the Board under this section, is granted
to candidates reaching a standard at the examination which affords the candidates knowledge, and skill to practice as Certified Secretaries or Certified Verbatim Reporters.

(1) The Board may, if it deems fit, withdraw any approval under this Act in respect of any course, qualification or institution but before doing so the Board shall, in the following order-
(a) obtain consent to that effect from the Government Department;
(b) give notice of its intention to persons appearing to it to be the conductors;
(c) afford persons in paragraph (6) of this section an opportunity for making representations to the Board with regards to the proposal ; and
(d) take into consideration any representation made in pursuance of paragraph (c) of this section.

(1) Any withdrawal of approval under section 26 of this Act takes effect on the day the instrument of withdrawal is signed by the President.
(2) The Board shall, as soon as possible, publish every instrument of withdrawal of approval in the Institute's Newsletter or in the Federal
Government Gazette.

The Board shall keep itself informed of the nature of the-(a) instruction given at approved institutions ; and
(b) examinations as a result of which approved qualifications are granted.

(1) The Board shall constitute an Exarnination and Training Monitoring Committee (in this Act referred to as the "Monitoring Committee")
for the purpose of section 28.
(2) The Monitoring Committee shall report to the Board on the adequacy of the instructions and examination given by the institutions visited by it and any other matter relating to such instructions and examinations, but no member of the Monitoring Committee shall interfere with the giving or holding of
instructions and examinations.
(3) Upon the receipt of a report made in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section, the Board may send a copy of it to the management of the institution to which the report relates or to the person responsible for the examinations requesting that comments be made on the report within a stipulated period (not less than one month) from the date of the receipt of the request.

(1) There shall be for the Institute an Investigating Panel responsible for conducting a prelirninary investigation in a case of alleged professional misconduct and deciding whether such a case be referred to the Disciplinary Committee.
(2) The Investigating Panel shall consist of five members to be appointed by the Board from other members of the Institute.

(1) There shall be for the Institute a Disciplinary Comrnittee which shall be responsible for considering and determining -
(a) cases brought before it by the Investigating Panel ; and
(b) any other case that it takes cognizance of.
(2) The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of-
(a) a chairman and four members of tlre Institute to be appointed by the Board ; and
(b) one representative from the Government Department;
(3) The Second Schedule to this Act applies accordingly in relation to the Discipl inary Committee and Investigating Panel. (Second Schedule)
(4) The Board shall make rules as to what acts constitute professional misconduct for-
(a) the procedures of the Investigating Panel and Disciplinary Committee;
(b) the mode of appeal and serving of notice ; and
(c) all matters incidental to the duties of the Investigating Panel and Disciplinary Committee.

(1) Where a person enrolled or registered under this Act is-
(a) adjudged by the Disciplinary Committee to be guilty of infamous conduct in any professional manner,
(b) convicted by acourt of competent jurisdiction of an offence which in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee, is incompatible with the status of a member of the Institute, or
(2) The Disciplinary Committee may, if it deems fit, defer or further defer its decision as to the giving of a directive under subsection (1) of this Section until a subsequent meeting of the Disciplinary Committee but-
(a) no decision shall be deferred under this section for periods exceeding one year in the aggregate; and
(b) no person shall be a member of the Disciplinary Committee for the purposes of reaching a decision which was been deferred or further deferred unless he was present as a member of the Disciplinary Committee when
the decision was deferred.
(3) Forthe purpose of sub-section (1) (b) ofthis Seciion, a person shall not be treated as convicted unless the conviction stands at a time when no appeal, further appeal or application for extension of time to appeal out of time is pending in connection witlr the conviction.
(4) Where the Disciplinary Committee gives directive under subsection (1) of this section, the Disciplinary Committee shall cause notice of the directive to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(5) The person to whom a directive given under sub-section (1) of this Section relates, may, at anytime within 30 days from the date of service on him of notice of the directives, appeal against the directives to the Federal
High Court and the Disciplinary Committee may appear, as respondent to the
appeal and for the purpose of enabling directives to be given as to tlre costs of
the appeal proceedings before the Federal High Court, the Disciplinary Committee shall be deemed to be a party whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(6) A directive of the Disciplinary Committee under subsection (1) of this section shall take effect where-
(a) no appeal under this section is brought against the directive within the time limit for the appeal ;
(b) the appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, on the withdrawal and striking out of the appeal ; or
(c) the appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out if and when the appeal is dismissed.
(7) A person whose name has been struck of fthe Register in pursuance of a directive of the Disciplinary committee under this section shall not be entitled to be registered again except in pursuance on a direction in that behalf
given by the Disciplinary Committee on the application of that person.
(8) A directive under this section for the striking off of the name of a person from the Register may prohibit an application under subsection (7) of this section by that person until the expiration of such period from the date of
the directive (and where he has recently made such an application from the
date of his last application) as may be specified in the directive.

A person not being a member of the Institute who, but for this Act would have been qualified to apply for and obtain membership ofthe Institute, may, within the period of six months from the commencement of this Act,
apply for mernbership ofthe Institute in such manner as may be prescribed in the rules made by the Board and where an application under this section is approved by the Board ; the applicant shall be enrolled or registered.

(1) A person shall be deemed to practise privately as Certified Secretary or Certified Verbatim Reporter (in this Act referred to as 'the profession") if, in consideration of remuneration, he engages in activities designated by the Board to be service constituting private practice.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) ofthis section shall be construed as exempting persons who, which employment, are required under the terrns or in the course of such employment to perform the duties of professionally certified Secretary or Certified Verbatim Reporter or both.

A member who passed the Institutes' Final Examination, or has attained Associate grade of the Institute shall not stagnate salary-wise but continue to progress to Grade Level 17 with a special career path created for
the member-(a) the training ;
(b) supervision and regulation of employment;
(c) subscription and renewal of subscription ;
(d) licence to practise and practising fees ; and
(e) restriction of right to practice privately of persons engaged in the profession shall be regulated by the Board.

A person who-(a) for the purpose of procuring the enrolment or registration of any name, makes a statement which he believes to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false materially,
(b) is not a member of the Institute but takes or uses any name, title or description implying that he is a member of a body affiliated to the Institute after the commencement of this Act, or
(c) being the Registrar or any other person employed by or on behalf of the Institute, wilfully makes any falsification in any matter relating to the Register, commits an offence and is liable upon-
(i) summary conviction to a fine not exceeding N5,000, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both fine and imprisonment ;
(ii) conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding N10,000.00, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both fine and imprisonment.

(1) The Board shall provide and maintain a library for the Institute.
(2) The Library shall comprise books and publications of the Board.
(3) The Board shall encourage research in the profession and allied subjects.

The fixing of the seal of the Institute shall be authenticated by the signature of the Registrar and the President of the Institute or some other members of the Board authorised to do so.

Any member of the Board or a committee of the Board who has a personal interest in any contract to be considered or entered into by the Institute shall disclose such interest to the Board and shall not vote on any question
relating to the contract.

Members of the former Institute shall be registered as members of the Institute and staffof the former Institute shall become staff of the Institute with corresponding status, designation and functions, upon the commencement of this Act.

Any member seeking an amendment to this Act shall propose such Amendment.
amendment at an Annual General Meeting of the Institute and if approved by
two thirds majority of members present and voting, the proposed amendment
shall be sent to the National Assembly.

In this Act-
"fees" includes all subscriptions ;
"former Institute" means the Institute of Certified Secretaries and Reporters ;
"professional member of the Institute" means an enrolled
professional fellow, member, associate and graduate qualified to practise the profession ;
"profession" means the art and science of secretary-ship and verbatim reporting for dissemination of information for management decision making and for the guidance of effective executive actions ;
"registered affiliate student" means person undergoing an academic program leading to qualification and career in the profession.

This Act may be cited as the Chartered Institute of Certified Citation.
Secretaries and Reporters of Nigeria Act, 2015.