Statute

STATUTE

  • Article 1 Establishment of the Centre

1. The Centre for European Legal Studies on Macro-Crime – MACROCRIMES is hereby established at the University of Ferrara, and shall be housed in the Department of Law, Corso Ercole I d’Este 37, 44121 Ferrara.
2. The Centre shall be organised as an ordinary centre, proposed by the Department of Law.

 

  • Article 2 Objectives and activities

1. The Centre shall pursue the following objectives:

a) the study, also in an interdisciplinary perspective, of the legal issues relating to the fight against “macro-crime” in its different manifestations (“macro”, that is, in view of the considerable offensive capabilities of the perpetrators, often organised, and/or the serious and widespread nature of the effects: from crimes against humanity to those tied to immigration, organised and transnational crime, mafia-type groups and terrorism; from economic crime to environmental or food-related crime, crimes against life, health and safety in their collective dimension), by harnessing the resources and competences of the Department of Law and of the University of Ferrara in this specific field and developing collaborative networks with counterpart institutions and scholars;
b) collaboration with organisations and institutions actively committed to the fight against “macro-crime” and to the protection of fundamental rights at a local, national, European and international level;
c) dissemination of the knowledge acquired within the student community and among citizens in general, also with a view to creating a conscious culture geared toward combating organised crime and “macro-crime” in all its manifestations.
2. In the pursuit of these objectives, the Centre shall engage in the following activities:
a. research, in particular through scientific initiatives, investigations and publications, both individual and collective, of personnel affiliated with the Centre, also in collaboration with external actors having specific competence in the field;
b. drafting of opinions and provision of consultancy services in the areas of competence of the Centre, also upon the request of public and private entities;
c. teaching, in particular through the organisation of initiatives aimed at students and doctoral researchers, the creation of teaching modules dedicated to the study of “macro-criminal” phenomena and the legal instruments for combating them, as well as through the launching of undergraduate and graduate study programmes aimed at training specialists in the field;
d. training initiatives aimed at professionals (also within a framework of continual training) and civil society in general.

 

  • Article 3 Financial resources

1. The Centre may draw on the following resources:

a) own revenues, in accordance with current laws and regulations;
b) funds allocated in the university’s annual and three-year budgets;
c) any other fund specifically earmarked for the purposes and activities of the Centre.

 

  • Article 4 Human resources

1. The Centre shall carry out its activities mainly with members of the staff of the Centre and, in regard to the administrative-accounting and technical-IT aspects, with personnel of the Department of Law as per Article 6(1).

 

  • Article 5 Membership

1. Professors and researchers, as well as research fellows and doctoral candidates at the Department of Law and other interested University Departments may request to join the staff of the Centre.
Individuals and organisations outside the University with specific competence in the Centre’s field of activity may request to be affiliated with the same.
2. The above-mentioned requests shall be sent by e-mail to the Director of the Centre, who shall submit them for acceptance to the Executive Committee, which shall decide at its next meeting. The requesting parties shall receive e-mail notification of the acceptance or rejection of their requests, reasons for which shall be duly provided.
3. The laboratory of interdisciplinary studies on the mafia and other forms of organised crime (MaCrO), created in the Department of Law, shall constitute a division of the Macrocrimes Centre, and shall conduct its activities within the framework of the latter. Personnel who are members of or affiliated with MaCrO may organise further divisions or specific research groups with the approval of the Executive Committee.

 

  • Article 6 Administrative-accounting and asset management

1. The Department of Law shall be responsible for the administrative-accounting and asset management of the Centre.
2. Shared use of scientific equipment of common interest should be guaranteed, in particular as regards any tools provided by the University or acquired through University contributions.
3. The Director of the Department of Law shall be responsible for overseeing the facilities used by the Centre for the purpose of carrying out its activities, unless another person is expressly entrusted with this responsibility.
4. If the Centre closes down, the assets and facilities shall remain assigned to the Department, which shall oversee its management.

 

  • Article 7. Bodies and Officers

1. The bodies and officers of the Centre are:

a) the Executive Committee;
b) the Director;
c) the Vice Director;
c) the Scientific Committee.

  • Article 8 Executive Committee

1. The Executive Committee is made up of seven members. Ex officio members are:

a) the Director pro tempore of the Department of Law;
b) the Coordinator of the Single-Cycle Law Programme (Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza) set up in the Department. If there is more than one Single-Cycle Programme, the choice shall be made by the Department Committee, preferably based on the affinity between the scientific-academic expertise of the Coordinator and the areas of interest of the Centre.
c) the Coordinator of the Doctoral Research Programme in European Union Law and National Legal Systems.
Members appointed by the Department Committee are:
d) a representative of the MaCrO Laboratory;
e) three members, selected from among the professors and researchers working in the Department.

The appointment is made taking into account, among other things, that the Committee should be representative of all scientific personnel active in the Centre.

2. The Executive Committee is formally appointed by the Director of the Department of Law and shall remain in office for a renewable term of three years.

3. In the event that one of its members vacates office for any reason, a replacement member shall be appointed within thirty days; pending the reconstitution of the Committee, the validity of its composition shall not be prejudiced. The appointment of the replacement member shall be effective from the date of the appointment until the expiry of the term of the Executive Committee.

 

  • Article 9 Tasks of the Executive Committee

1. The Executive Committee shall perform functions of orientation, planning and coordination of the Centre’s activities.
2. In particular it shall:

a) elect a Director and Vice Director;
b) approve requests to join the staff of the Centre;
c) approve, upon the Director’s proposal, the annual report to be submitted for approval by the Academic Senate and the Board of Directors, in the case of allocation of funds for specific initiatives/projects;
d) approve, on a yearly basis and upon the Director’s proposal, the general plan of the Centre’s activities.

 

  • Article 10 Functioning of the Executive Committee

1. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be called by the Director of the Centre via an e-mail notice sent to all committee members at least five days before the scheduled meeting date.
2. The notice of call shall contain a specification of the date, time, venue and topics on the agenda and of the online tools that may be used in the case of remote participation. The meeting may also take place entirely online. The Director may invite individuals other than members of the committee to take part in meetings, without voting rights.
3. The validity of resolutions shall be determined as per Article 54 of the Statutes of the University.
4. The minutes of meetings shall contain:

a) a specification of the meeting date and the time at which the meeting started and ended;
b) a specification of the attending and absent members and excused absences;
c) a specification of who is chairing the meeting and who is acting as secretary and taking the minutes;
d) a declaration that the committee meeting is validly constituted;
e) a specification of the topics included on the agenda;
f) a declaration regarding the discussion of the topics on the agenda;
g) an account of the events taking place during the meeting and the statements made by the participants.

5. The minutes of meetings, signed by the Director and the Secretary who has taken the minutes, shall be sent by e-mail to the Executive Committee.

6. The notices of call and minutes of meetings shall be sent by e-mail to the Director of the supervising Department; the secretary or administrative manager of the Department shall see to it that they are entered into the University’s document management system.

 

  • Article 11 Appointment of the Director

1. The Director shall be elected by the Executive Committee from among its members, other than the ex officio members; an absolute majority of votes shall be required.
2. He or she shall be formally appointed by the Director of the supervising Department.
3. The elections shall take place at the first meeting of the Executive Committee, which shall be called by the most senior member of the Executive Committee within thirty days after the date of appointment of the Committee itself. The Executive Committee shall decide whether to hold the election by open vote or secret ballot, following the submission of candidacies, in accordance with the principle of gender equality.
Voting shall be valid with the participation of at least four members.
The minutes of the meeting shall specify the method whereby the election took place and shall be sent to the Director of the Department of Law.
The conduct of the electoral procedure shall be supported by the administrative secretary of the Department of Law.
4. The Director’s appointment shall terminate upon the expiry of the term of the Executive Committee. The Director may be re-elected. Should the Director vacate office for any reason, a replacement shall be appointed within 30 days. The appointment of the new director shall be effective from the date of the appointment until expiry of the term of the Executive Committee.

 

  • Article 12 Tasks of the Director

1. The Director shall perform the following functions; he/she shall:

a) represent the Centre and have the task of putting forth proposals;
b) call and preside over the meetings of the Executive Committee at least once a year and any time he/she deems it appropriate, or upon a duly justified written request submitted by at least a third of its members;
c) appoint a secretary, selected from among the members Executive Committee, to take the minutes;
d) present the annual report as well as outlining the results achieved over the course of the year; the report shall be submitted for approval by the Academic Senate and the Board of Directors, in the case of allocation of funds for specific initiatives/projects;
e) implement the resolutions of the Executive Committee.

 

  • Article 13 Appointment of the Vice Director

1. The Vice Director shall be elected by the Executive Committee from among its members.
2. As regards the voting method and the duration of the appointment, the provisions of Article 11 shall apply.

 

  • Article 14 Tasks of the Vice Director

1. The Vice Director shall perform the following functions; he/she shall:

a) Substitute for the Director in the event of the latter’s absence or incapacity;
b) By delegation of the Director, oversee specific areas of activity, within the scope of the Centre’s objectives established under Article 2.

 

  • Article 15 Scientific Committee

1. The Scientific Committee shall be made up of the Director of the Centre, the Vice Director and 6 other members. The Executive Committee may, by an absolute majority of votes, resolve to increase the number of external members to a maximum of 16.
2. The Scientific Committee shall have the function of formulating proposals and providing advice in relation to the Centre’s activities; it shall express opinions on the initiatives proposed and undertaken and contribute to assuring the scientific quality of the activities conducted.
3. The members of the Scientific Committee shall be scholars and experts with proven experience in the field of combating macro-crime, and may also be from outside the University; they shall be designated by the Director with the approval of an absolute majority of the Executive Committee. They shall remain in office for three years and this term shall be renewable consecutively only once.
4. The Scientific Committee shall meet, also online, at least once a year. The notice of call to meetings shall be sent by the Director of the Centre to all members via e-mail at least 15 days before the scheduled meeting date.
5. Meetings of the Scientific Committee shall be chaired by the Director of the Centre or by the Vice Director.
6. The provisions of Article 10 of this Statute shall apply for all other matters.
7. The appointment as member of the Committee shall not give rise to any entitlement to remuneration.

 

  • Article 16 Modification of the Centre

1. Any proposal to modify the Centre shall be presented by the Executive Committee and approved by the Committee of the Department of Law; it shall contain a draft text of the amended Statute.
2. Centres shall be modified by Decree of the Rector, subject to the favourable opinion of the Academic Senate and the approval of the Board of Directors.

 

  • Article 17 Closure of the Centre

1. Any proposal to close the Centre shall be submitted by the Executive Committee or the Department Committees concerned.
2. The Centre shall be closed by Decree of the Rector, subject to the favourable opinion of the Academic Senate and the approval of the Board of Directors.
3. The closure proposal may be submitted directly by the Academic Senate and in such a case the Centre shall be closed by Decree of the Rector, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.
4. The closure proposal may be submitted directly also by the Board of Directors and in such a case the Centre shall be closed by Decree of the Rector, subject to the favourable opinion of the Academic Senate.

 

  • Article 18 Report on the activities of Centres

1. By the end of the month of September of every year, the Director of the Centre to which funds have been allocated for specific initiatives or projects shall prepare a report accounting for the aforesaid funds. The report shall be approved by the Executive Committee and sent by e-mail to the Rector, who, through the competent office, shall arrange for it to be submitted for approval by the Academic Senate and the Board of Directors.

 

  • Article 19 Entry into force of the Statute and start-up of the Centre

1. This Statute shall enter into force on the date specified in the Rector’s Decree establishing the Centre.
2. The Centre shall be active as of the date on which the governing bodies and officers are appointed.

 


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