Statutes

Alliance of NGOs for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

1. Name, location and area of activity

1.1. This Association shall be designated as Alliance of NGOs for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

1.2. The Association has its seat in Vienna and carries out activities in Austria and the territories of all countries and geographical regions covered by the United Nations.

1.3. The Association does not intend to create subsidiary associations.

1.4. The Association's financial year corresponds to the calendar year.

2. Purpose of the Association

2.1. The main purposes of the Association are to promote cooperationbetween its members and the United Nations, in particular the relevant offices, programs and agencies involved in crime prevention and criminal justice, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other relevant offices of the United Nations, including those related to human rights, children, women, terrorism, refugees, migration, peace-keeping and development issues, the Conferences of the State Parties to the UN Conventions against crime (i.e. UNTOC and UNCAC), generally, as well as promoting cooperation among its members, while considering the interests of nongovernmental organizations and civil society as a whole.

2.2. The Association is a non-profit organization and is not seeking to generate profit.

3. Measures for achieving the purpose of the Alliance:

3.1. Organising and participating in meetings, workshops, trainings and conferences related to the purpose of the Association;

3.2. Publications, such as brochures, newsletters and reports;

3.3. Electronic communications, such as websites, social media platforms etc;

3.4. Non-monetary means come from members and supporters of the Association who volunteer and contribute their time, expertise, and other resources to its purpose.

3.5. The Alliance may establish committees, task forces or working parties to focus to particular issues, program areas, and concerns. The Chairpersons of these groups shall participate in the meetings of the Board, to the extent possible.

3.6. The required financial means of the Association, if finances are to be raised to cover essential expenditures, emergencies and future actions as determined by the Board of Directors, for the purpose of the Association, shall be raised through:

3.6.1.Contribution of members,

3.6.2.Donations and sponsoring,

3.6.3.Grants and in-kind contributions,

3.6.4.Interest on bank account

4. Members

4.1. Membership is first and foremost open to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but shall also be open to civil society organisations, their representatives and individual experts, from both the private and public sectors, provided they share the purpose stated in this document, submit to the operational procedures, and adhere to the pursuits of this Association, their admission to be approved by the Board as described in 4.2.1-4.2.3

4.2. The members are subjected to these statutes, as well as any by-laws and rules of procedures derived here from, and will be ordained as:

4.2.1. Ordinary members: all organisations accredited with UN ECOSOC consultative, special consultative or equivalent status or civil society organisations who contribute significantly to the purpose of the Alliance. Each ordinary member organization shall be entitled to appoint, elect, or otherwise select one representative who shall serve as the voting representative to the Alliance. They have voting rights and may be elected.

4.2.2. Extraordinary members, institutions or individuals, are all those who wish to formally support and be included in the activities of this Association, but have no voting rights, nor may be elected.

4.2.3. Honorary members are individuals who are named by the General Assembly upon suggestion by the Board of Directors for their extraordinary achievements supporting the Association and its goals. They have no voting rights.

5. Joining the association

5.1. Organisations or individuals wishing to join the Association shall fill out an application form. Organisations shall be required to provide information about their organisation, status, membership and activities, while individuals shall be required to provide information about their work.

5.2. The Board shall screen applications to determine whether they meet the conditions for membership.

5.3. The Board decides on the acceptance of ordinary and associate members and suggests honorary members to the General Assembly.

6. Suspension and termination of membership

6.1. Members may leave the Association at any point by informing the Board in writing about their decision and must settle any financial obligations.

6.2. Membership is terminated in case of death (for individual members) or in case the member organisation is dismantled or ceases to operate.

6.3. Should a member not abide with these statutes and consequent rules and procedures, or in case of grievous circumstance, the Board may, with a simple majority of votes:

6.3.1. Suspend the voting rights and electability;

6.3.2. Suspend the functions held in the Association bodies, including those to which the member was elected to;

6.3.3. Terminate the membership. Two reminders must be sent before any termination.

6.4. The measures stated in the above number 5.3 may be appealed to the General Assembly, as stated in any by-laws, which appeal in the meantime has no staying effect.

6.5. Automatic termination of the membership will occur in cases of non-payment of the membership fees for 2 consecutive years.

7. Members' roles and responsibilities

7.1. Every member is entitled to request a copy of the Statutes from the Board.

7.2. At least a tenth of the members can request the Board to call for a General Assembly.

7.3. Members are to be informed at the General Assembly by the Board about the activities of the Association and its finances. If at least a tenth of the members requests the release of such information and provides reasons for this request, the Board has to issue this information within four weeks.

7.4. Members are to be informed by the Board about the audited annual accounts. If this occurs at the General Assembly, the Auditors shall be involved.

8. Bodies of the Association

8.1. Bodies of the Association are the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, the Auditors and the Dispute Resolution Body.

8.2. All elections and decisions in the organisation are usually made by a simple majority of the valid votes cast. Resolutions, with which the statutes of the association are to be changed or the association is to be dissolved, require however a qualified majority of two thirds of the delivered valid votes.

9. General Assembly

9.1. The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Association, composed of all members of good standing, present and voting, the non-voting members being present as observers. Absent members may be represented by proxy delivered by letter-mail, facsimile or digital copy, delivered before the beginning of the meeting, to the chair or whoever may assume the function of the chair, assigning as representative a member present and voting. Members present, and voting are limited to holding no more than three proxies.

9.2. The annual General Assembly will be held in Vienna, during the days of one of the main annual meetings of the UNODC on crime, inasmuch as is convenient, within the premises of the Vienna International Centre, or, when it is not feasible, in an accessible place within the city of Vienna. The General assembly may be convened extraordinarily by the chair, on the chair's own initiative, or at the request of the Board, or of one tenth of the members.

9.3. The chair will convene the meeting, with a provisional agenda, giving a notice of four weeks or more together with the list of nominees, in case of elections. A quorum, including proxies, being at first call half of the members, and, on second call one fifth of the members.

9.4. The Annual General Assembly will elect its chair, up to five vice-chairs, a treasurer and a secretary, as well as up to five other members of the Board of Directors and appoint the Auditors, all for a term of two years, renewable for one consecutive term.

9.5. The members of these steering bodies will be elected as follows: Their names will be placed on a list. Each member must be seconded by no less than two members other than the candidates; if no list or lists are presented, nominations from the floor, for each individual position will be accepted, subject to the consent of the nominees.

9.6. All elections and decisions in the organisation are usually made by a simple majority of the valid votes cast. Resolutions, with which the statutes of the association are to be changed or the association is to be dissolved, require however a qualified majority of two thirds of the delivered valid votes.

10. Responsibilities of the General Assembly

10.1.Adoption of a provisional budget;

10.2.Acceptance and approval of the most recent financial report and the audited annual accounts;

10.3. Election of the Members of the Board (if necessary);

10.4. Election of Comptroller(s) (if necessary);

10.5. Approval of a contract between auditors and the Association:

10.6. Release of the Board;

10.7. Voluntary dissolution of the Association;

10.8. Discussion and adoption of miscellaneous items on the agenda.

11. Board of Directors

11.1.The Board of Directors is the executive committee of the Association, and is composed of a chair, who represents the Association, with powers of delegation, up to five vice chairs, a secretary, a treasurer and up to five members. In case of a tie further guidance can be provided in any by-laws.

11.2.The Board of Directors will meet as convened by the chair, ordinarily, up to three times a year, during the days of a main conference at the UNODC, with notice of at least fifteen calendar days, and, extraordinarily, whenever the chair convenes, due to an urgent matter, with notice of at least ten days, the agenda being restricted to this purpose.

11.3.Vacancies in any of the steering bodies, will be replaced by resolution of the Board of Directors, following proposal of the chair or one third of the board of directors.

11.4.Before any financial obligation is entered into by the Alliance, the treasurer and at least one class of the following officers, chair, vice-chairs or secretary, have to co-sign. Expenses over 3000,00€, not expressed in the approved budget, shall be agreed by the board of directors.

11.5.The Association is liable with its assets for any liabilities. Members of the Board of Directors or the Auditors are not liable with their personal assets for liabilities of the Association.

12. Auditors

12.1.Two Auditors, who should be recognized professionals in this field or experienced as such and may be subsidized, are appointed by the General Assembly for a duration of two years. Re-appointment for a second term is possible. The Auditors must not be part of any other body of the Association, with the exception of the General Assembly, the activities of which are subject to their scrutiny.

12.2.The Auditors are responsible for the on-going monitoring of the Association's business activity and for the examination of the Association's financial management and annual financial statements, with a view to determining the correctness of the accounting and the proper use of funds in line with the statutes. The Board of Directors shall provide the Auditors with the necessary documents and information. The Auditors must report their findings to the Board of Directors and the General Assembly.

12.3.Any contracts between the Auditors and the Association must be authorized by the General Assembly.

12.4.The term of a Comptroller ends in the event of his/her death, resignation or dismissal by the General Assembly.

13. Dispute resolution body

13.1. The dispute resolution body is set up to resolve all disputes stemming from relations with the Association. It is a “dispute resolution body” in line with the Associations Act 2002.

13.2. The dispute resolution body is composed of three ordinary members of the Association. It is established when one party to a dispute notifies the Board of Directors about the dispute and names an ordinary Association member as a member of the dispute resolution body. Within seven days, the Board of Directors calls on the other party to the dispute to name another member of the dispute resolution body within 14 days. Within a further seven days after the designation of the second member of the body, both designated members of the body are notified by the Board of Directors and within 14 days, the two choose a third member to chair the dispute resolution body. If there is no agreement on the third member then each of the designated members nominates a third member and a selection is made by drawing lots. Members of the dispute resolution body must not be part of any other body of the Association that is party to the dispute, with the exception of the General Assembly.

13.3. The dispute resolution body makes a decision by simple majority vote, after hearing both sides with all members being present. It decides in good faith. Its decisions are final within the Association.

14. Voluntary dissolution of the Association

14.1. The voluntary dissolution of the Association can only be decided upon in a General Assembly and only by a two-thirds majority of all valid votes cast with a quorum of two-thirds of eligible voting members, with a quorum of half of eligible voting members.

14.2. If the Association still holds assets, a decision on liquidation must be taken during the General Assembly in question. In particular, the General Assembly must appoint a liquidator and decide on the party to whom the Association's remaining assets are to be transferred once its liabilities have been covered. All members are excluded as recipients of this final donation.

15. Use of assets in case of dissolution, official cancellation or loss of the charitable purpose

15.1. In case of dissolution of the Association, official cancellation or loss of the charitable purpose, the remaining assets shall be used for charitable purposes pursuant to Sec 34 et seq. of the Austrian Fiscal Code (BAO). To the extent that is possible and legal, the assets shall be transferred, by the liquidator, to an organisation that pursues the same or similar purposes as this Association.