Statuto

Statuto dell’associazione studentesca
IVSA Bologna.

Article 1

Denomination and office

The university student association called IVSA Bologna has been set up, with registered office in Ozzano dell’Emilia

Article 2

Aim

The Association is apolitical and non-profit making. It pursues cultural, sporting and recreational objectives and, in particular, is inspired by the principles of IVSA Global, whose values it shares:

It is committed to raising the standard of veterinary medical education;
It supports activities aimed at raising the standard of animal welfare;
Organises and promotes seminars and cultural initiatives aimed primarily at the educational and cultural development of students of Veterinary Medicine;
Encourages cooperation between members of the association, student associations and international organisations;
It promotes and organises extracurricular cultural exchanges between students of Veterinary Medicine associated with IVSA and students from other countries.

The Association may not carry out activities other than those indicated above, with the exception of those directly connected to them or those that are accessory in nature to the statutory activities, insofar as they are supplementary to them.

Article 3

Members

Members of the Association are those who join the Association during its existence, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, and who meet the following requirements:

They must be regularly enrolled in the study courses run by the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna;
having paid the membership fee.

If the above-mentioned requirements are no longer met, members shall automatically loose this status.

The Board of Directors may authorise exceptions to the above requirements that Members must meet.

Article 4

Application for membership

Anyone wishing to join the Association must make an express application, declaring that he or she shares the aims of the Association and accepts the Statutes without reservation. The Board of Directors decides on the admission of new Members.

In the absence of a positive decision within sixty days of receipt of the application, it shall be deemed rejected.

Article 5

Rights and duties of the members

Membership of the Association gives all members the right to vote in the Members’ Assembly. Members have the right to hold office within the Association and the right to participate in the life of the Association and in the activities promoted by the Association.

All members have the duty to observe the statutory provisions.

Article 6

Loss of membership

Membership is lost through:

Failure to meet the requirements of Article 3, unless waived by the Board of Directors;
Withdrawal: any member may, at any time, communicate his wish to withdraw from the Association; withdrawal takes effect from the notification of the relative request to the President;
Exclusion for serious reasons decided by the General Meeting of Members;
Death

Members who have ceased to belong to the Association for any reason whatsoever cannot claim the contributions paid, nor can they claim rights to the Association’s common fund.

Article 7

Bodies of the Association

The organs of the Association are
a) The Assembly of Members;
b) The President;
c) The Vice-President;
d) The Board of Directors;
e) The Secretary;
f) The Treasurer.

Article 8

General meeting

The Members’ Meeting is the fundamental moment of confrontation to ensure the proper management of the Association and is composed of all the Members, each of whom has the right to vote.

It is convened, by the President, ordinarily at least twice a year, and extraordinarily when necessary or requested by the Board of Directors or by at least one tenth of the members.

The Members’ Assembly is chaired by the President and, in his absence, the Vice-President takes his place.

In first convocation, the Ordinary Assembly is valid if the majority of the members is present, and deliberates validly with the majority of those present; in second convocation, validity is independent of the number of those present.

The Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting shall deliberate in first call with the presence and favourable vote of the majority of the members, and in second call shall be valid regardless of the number of those present.

Each Member shall have one vote, regardless of his/her position; in the event of a tie, the President shall have the casting vote.

The convocation shall be made by written or telephone communication or by public notice posted on the notice board at the headquarters, at least 5 days before the date of the Assembly and the place, date and time of the convocation must be indicated.

The ordinary Assembly has the following tasks:

Elects the Board of Directors, the President and the Vice President;
Approves the budget and the balance sheet;
Decides on any other matter referred to it.

The Extraordinary Assembly decides on changes to the Statute and on the possible dissolution of the Association.

Minutes of each Assembly are drawn up and signed by the President (or, in his absence, by the Vice President) and the Secretary.

The Assembly’s resolutions are published by making the minutes available.

Article 9

President

The President is elected by the General Assembly from among its members and is the legal representative of the Association for all purposes. His term of office shall be two (2) years and he may be re-elected no more than once (1).

He convenes and presides over the Members’ Assembly and the Board of Directors, signs all administrative acts carried out by the Association; he may open and close bank and postal accounts and make collections.

The functions of the President are:

To ensure the smooth running of the meetings of the Assembly;
to perform representative duties inherent to his functions and to represent the Association in court and before third parties;
To control the correct application of the decisions of the Assembly;
To keep the social acts and resolutions of the Assembly, as well as the Association’s budgets and accounting records;
Administering the Association’s assets and resources according to the will of the Assembly.

In case of absence of the President, his functions shall be carried out by the Vice President.

The President grants special powers of attorney to Members for the management of various activities, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.

Article 10

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of 4 (four) and a maximum of 15 (fifteen) members elected by the Members’ Assembly from among its own members and shall remain in office for 2 (two) years.

The Board of Directors comprises the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, the latter two being elected within the Board of Directors.

In the event of the resignation of a member of the Board of Directors, the Members’ Meeting shall replace him/her.

The Board of Directors is the executive body of the Association and meets whenever the President deems it necessary or at least 2 (two) of the Board members request it.

The convocation is made known by telephone or written communication to each of the members indicating the place, date and time of the meeting.

The Board of Directors has all powers of ordinary administration.

In the ordinary management its tasks are:

To draw up the budget and balance sheet, which must contain the individual items of expenditure and income for the period of one year, accompanied by the report on the activities carried out;
To elect the Secretary and Treasurer from among its members;
Prepare the acts to be submitted to the Assembly;
To formalise proposals for the management of the Association;
To implement the general directives passed by the General Meeting of Members;
To establish the amounts of the annual membership fees
deciding on the admission of members.

The Board of Directors is validly constituted with the presence of the majority of the directors in office and deliberates validly with the favourable vote of the majority of those present.

In the event of a tie, the vote of the President prevails. Minutes are kept for each Board meeting.

Article 11

Vice-President

The Vice-President is elected by the General Meeting from among its members. His term of office shall be two (2) years and he may be re-elected a maximum of one (1) time.

He carries out the functions of the President in the event of his absence, impediment or resignation.

In the event of the resignation of the President, he shall, within one month, convene the Members’ Meeting to elect a new President.

Article 12

Secretary

The Secretary is elected by the Board of Directors from among its members and his term of office lasts 2 (two) years. The Secretary shall draw up the minutes of the General Meeting and of the Board of Directors.

Article 13

Treasurer

The Treasurer is elected by the Board of Directors from among its members for a term of 2 (two) years. The Treasurer shall act in support of the President by assisting him/her in the management of the Association’s assets in accordance with the directives of the Board of Directors and shall assist the President in maintaining the Association’s financial statements and accounting records.

Article 14

Gratuity of offices

All offices are free of charge. Members are only entitled to reimbursement of various expenses that are duly documented.

Article 15

Common Fund

The economic resources of the Association consist of:

Property, real estate and furniture
contributions;
Donations and legacies;
Any other type of income compatible with the nature of the Association.

Members’ contributions are made up of annual membership fees and any extraordinary contributions.

Money donations, donations and legacies are accepted by the Assembly, which decides on their use, in harmony with the statutory aims of the organisation.

It is forbidden to distribute, even indirectly, profits or surpluses as well as funds, reserves or capital during the life of the Association, unless the destination or distribution is not required by law.

Article 16

Financial management

The financial year begins on 1st January and ends on 31st December of each year.

The Assembly approves the budget and the balance sheet prepared by the Board.

The balance sheet shall be made available no later than 5 days prior to the meeting for inspection by each member.

In addition to the books and accounts prescribed by law, the Association keeps the minute books of the meetings and resolutions of the Assembly and the Board of Directors, as well as the books of the members of the Association.

Article 17

Challenge to institutional offices

The Members’ Meeting, in the event that two/thirds (2/3) of the signatures of the Members are collected, may call for a vote of no-confidence in the President or in the other institutional offices, proposing at the same time the new member who will hold the office.

Article 18

Dissolution

The dissolution of the Association is decided by the Extraordinary Meeting. The remaining common fund of the Association shall be devolved to an association with similar purposes or for purposes of public utility.

Article 19

Disputes

Any dispute that may arise in connection with the execution or interpretation of this contract and that may be the subject of a compromise, shall be referred to an arbitrator who shall judge fairly and without procedural formalities, resulting in informal arbitration. The arbitrator shall be chosen by common consent of the disputing parties; in the absence of agreement, the President of the Court of Bologna shall appoint the arbitrator.

Article 20

Final provisions

For all matters not provided for in these Articles of Association, the relevant laws in force shall apply.