Statute
NOTARY DR. ROBERTO QUARANTA
Via Santo Stefano 11, Bologna
REGISTRY N. 66876
COLLECTION N. 21678
Italian Society of Victimology
Article 1
Name, Headquarters, and Operational Scope
1. The Association, named "Italian Society of Victimology," is headquartered in Bologna, at a location designated by the current President.
2. The Association, which has no profit motive and cannot distribute profits, carries out its activities as a research and study center at the international, national, and local levels.
Article 2
Purpose
1. The purpose of the Association, in the spirit of freedom in scientific research, is to promote, analyze, and design all initiatives aimed at enhancing the protection of crime victims and, in general, victims of deviance, injustice, marginalization, violence, war events, and environmental disasters, taking into account social and cultural influences that affect them individually or collectively, hereinafter referred to as "victims" unless otherwise specified.
2. In pursuing this goal, the Association aims to become a scientific-cultural reference structure for all entities, both public and private, that wish to innovatively contribute to addressing the issue of victimology, supporting societal development with adequate protection of individual rights and interests.
3. Within the scope of the Association’s investigations are:
a) - analyzing the ability of crime victims to effectively participate in investigations and trials;
b) - analyzing the techniques and methods of any type of assistance available to victims or those who are directly or indirectly harmed by unjust events;
c) - analyzing the above issues with specific regard to urban security.
4. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the Association:
a) - promotes and establishes, independently or in collaboration with organizations of high organizational capacity and recognized scientific level, university courses and universities in Italy and abroad.
b) - conducts studies and analyses, including statistical ones, and develops projects with a scientific method and approach;
c) - promotes and implements, also internationally, educational and awareness-raising activities involving public and private entities to analyze the condition of victims;
d) - organizes reflection meetings aimed at developing more effective state and local policies for the protection of victims;
e) - promotes, jointly with universities and through specialized training and in-depth courses or seminars, the creation of expertise in managing the protection of victims in both public and private sectors, including the third sector or non-profit area;
f) - carries out all activities necessary to create or support communication networks structurally and functionally capable of providing optimal protection for victims;
g) - collaborates with other research institutes, professional bodies, and individual professionals to develop initiatives consistent with achieving its objectives;
h) - promotes and organizes conferences, seminars, lectures, and similar events with informative or scientific content related to its initiatives.
i) - promotes the lifelong learning of members in accordance with Law No. 4/2013 and certifies the quality and professional qualification of services provided by its members in accordance with Articles 4, 7, and 8 of the aforementioned law.
5. The Association may carry out all activities related, supplementary, or ancillary to those indicated in the preceding paragraphs.
Article 3
Activities
1. To achieve its goals, in compliance with the law and this Statute, the Association:
a) - enters into any act or contract, including those aimed at financing its activities, useful and necessary for their achievement. It may also enter into agreements, protocols, and other similar acts of collaboration and coordination with public and private entities;
b) - manages and administers the property it owns or possesses in any way;
c) - in forms required by specific circumstances, may assume responsibility for, delegate, or grant, free of charge or for a fee, the management of third-party activities, ensuring strict adherence to the terms reserved for them if necessary or mutually agreed upon;
d) - in forms required by specific circumstances, may entrust members with the management of operational sections of its activities that prove uneconomical or ineffective to manage directly, entering into the necessary assignment agreements with them;
e) - may participate in associations, institutions, and national or international organizations whose activities are directed, directly or indirectly, towards achieving goals similar to its own;
f) - may establish or contribute to the establishment of and participate in, always in an ancillary and instrumental manner, directly or indirectly in pursuit of its goals, partnerships or corporations;
g) - does not engage in commercial activities or product sales for payment, pursuing its associative goals through donations, grants, or other sources;
h) - carries out any other activity suitable for achieving its goals within the limits set forth in Article 2, paragraph 5.
2. In carrying out its activities, the Association may avail itself of the contribution of external parties with the required expertise, including honorary members as per Article 5, paragraph 4, with whom it may enter into the necessary assignment agreements if needed.
Article 4
Duration
1. The duration of the Association is set until December 31, 2030, unless extended or dissolved prematurely by the Assembly with an absolute majority vote.
Article 5
Members
1. Members are distinguished into founding members, ordinary members, professional associate members, and supporting members. Founding members are those who participated in the constitutive act.
2. Ordinary members and supporting members are natural or legal persons, public or private, interested in pursuing the association's goals, who apply to the President and are accepted by the Assembly upon proposal by the Board of Directors.
3. Professional associate members include trainees and those who join SIV to participate in individual activities promoted by the Association.
4. Ordinary members and supporting members pay an annual and multi-year contribution to the Association, respectively. All members must comply with the provisions of this Statute and conform to decisions validly adopted by the competent bodies of the Association.
5. On the proposal of the Board of Directors, the Assembly may appoint "honorary members" who have distinguished themselves for their scientific expertise or their civic or professional commitment in the field of victimology, and who, if applicable, contribute actively to achieving the Association's goals. They, being formally external to the entity, are not required to pay membership fees, although they have the right to be informed about the social life but do not have active or passive voting rights for social offices, nor do they contribute to forming quorums required for the functioning of collegiate bodies. The conditions for losing honorary member status are analogous, where compatible, to those provided for members in Article 6.
Article 6
Loss of Membership Status
1. Membership status is lost in the event of:
a) - dissolution of the Association;
b) - resignation communicated by registered letter to the President;
c) - death or bankruptcy of the member;
d) - failure to pay the membership fee; in this case, loss of membership status is automatic after sixty days of delay, unless a justified impediment is recognized by the Board of Directors;
e) - expulsion by the Board of Directors for behavior contrary or incompatible with the goals pursued by the Association, following notification to the member concerned.
2. A member who ceases to belong to the Association for any reason cannot request the return of contributions made, nor will they have any rights over the common fund.
Article 7
Funding Endowment
1. To achieve its goals, the Association relies on:
a) - annual and multi-year fees paid by ordinary and supporting members;
b) - extraordinary allocations related to specific study and research objectives;
c) - contributions and subsidies from other entities, public or private;
d) - financial proceeds from institutional, auxiliary, instrumental, and connected activities carried out on a fee basis under agreement, contract, or similar consensual acts with public and private structures;
e) - all other resources and income accruing to the Association for any other purpose related to the pursuit of its goals.
Article 8
Governing Bodies
1. The governing bodies of the Association are:
a) - the Assembly;
b) - the Board of Directors;
c) - the President
2. The Association may also avail itself of a Scientific Committee.
Article 9
The Assembly
1. The Assembly is composed of founding, ordinary, and supporting members.
2. The Assembly meets at least once a year within four months of the end of the fiscal year and is responsible for approving the financial statement, determining directives for the Association’s activities, electing its officers, and addressing any other matters within its purview or submitted for its consideration by the Board of Directors or the Scientific Committee.
3. The Assembly, convened and presided over by the President, is also convened whenever deemed appropriate or upon request by at least one-quarter of the members with a justified request.
4. The notice of convocation is sent to members via registered letter, hand-delivered, or email at least ten days before the date set for the meeting and must include the place, day, time of the meeting, and the list of topics to be discussed.
5. In the first convocation, the Assembly is validly constituted when the majority of members are present or represented as per paragraph 10, and resolutions, unless otherwise provided for by this Statute, are taken by a majority of those present. In the event of a tie, the President’s vote prevails.
6. In the second convocation, which can take place on the same day as the first convocation provided at least one hour has elapsed since the latter, the Assembly is valid regardless of the number of attendees, and resolutions are taken, unless otherwise provided for by this Statute, by a majority of those present. In the event of a tie, the President’s vote prevails.
7. Each member has a single vote, which must be cast personally.
8. For statutory amendments, the presence of the majority of members is required.
9. The resolutions of the Assembly must be recorded in minutes signed by the President and the General Secretary. In the absence or incapacity of the President, the Assembly is presided over by the Vice-President or, failing that, by the oldest member present.
10. Members unable to attend the Council meetings may be represented by written proxy to another member. Each member, subject to paragraph 7, cannot hold more than three proxies.
Article 10
Board of Directors
1. The Board of Directors consists of four members appointed by the Assembly, one of whom is among the names proposed by the founding members.
2. The Board appoints from among its members the President, Vice-President, and General Secretary.
3. The Board of Directors serves for three fiscal years, and its members are eligible for reappointment. In the event of a tie in voting, the President’s vote prevails.
4. A Director who resigns from their position must notify the President in writing, who will then convene the Assembly as soon as possible to appoint a replacement.
5. At the end of their term, Directors cease their duties effective from the moment the new Board of Directors is reconstituted.
6. Taking into account the directives of the Assembly and the indications and proposals expressed by the Scientific Committee, if constituted, the Board deliberates in particular the annual activity program, the proposal for the financial statement, and the amount of annual and multi-year membership fees due from ordinary and supporting members.
7. Based on this program, the Board administers the Association in accordance with Article 3.
Article 11
The President
1. The President represents the Association before third parties and in legal proceedings and holds the social signature.
2. The President presides over the Assembly, the Board of Directors, and the Scientific Committee; exercises the powers delegated to them by the Board; oversees ordinary administration matters; and, in cases of urgency, adopts measures within the Board’s competence, subject to ratification within sixty days. In the event of absence or temporary incapacity, their functions are exercised by the Vice President.
3. It is the President’s duty to provide members with biannual concise information on the progress of activities and summarize the results in a report delivered, even orally, at the opening of the Assembly session dedicated to the approval of the financial statement.
Article 12
The General Secretary
1. It is the task of the General Secretary, based on the directions and delegations granted by the President:
a) – to manage the administrative life of the organization, safeguarding and progressively updating the members' book and the book containing the minutes of the Assembly, as well as administering its assets and financial resources;
b) – to support, with investigative and propositional functions, the activities of collegiate bodies by developing the definition of their activity programs or supervising, if necessary with managerial powers, the execution of their implementation.
c) – to ensure effective management of resources aimed at implementing specific study, research, or other dedicated activities.
Article 13
The Scientific Committee
1. The Scientific Committee is composed of a number of members ranging from three to nine, appointed by the Board of Directors from among the members, including honorary members, and/or others deemed capable of usefully contributing to guiding the Association's activities with a method and approach consistent with its scientific vocation.
2. The Committee, chaired by the President of the Association assisted by the General Secretary, formulates recommendations and proposals to the Board of Directors regarding activity programs and monitors the quality of research conducted during their implementation.
3. The Scientific Committee may appoint one or more Scientific Directors for individual activities initiated by the Association from among its members.
4. The decision to establish or not establish this Committee is left to the Assembly.
5. The Committee remains in office for three fiscal years, unless otherwise decided by the Assembly.
Article 14
Fiscal Year
1. The fiscal year runs from January 1 to December 31 of each year.
2. At the end of each fiscal year, the General Secretary prepares the economic-financial statement and submits it to the President. The President is responsible for presenting the statement to the Board of Directors and the Assembly for approval within four months of its closure.
3. The fiscal year statement is prepared in accordance with the law, with the obligation to reinvest any surplus in favor of the institutional activities provided for by this Statute.
4. During the life of the Association, profits or surpluses, as well as funds, reserves, or capital, cannot be distributed among members, even indirectly, except as otherwise permitted by law.
Article 15
Final Provision
1. For anything not provided for by this Statute, the applicable legal provisions shall apply.
Statute registered with the First Revenue Office of Bologna on November 17, 2017, Series 1T, No. 20807