Article 3. Publication of Association Documents
Article 7. Loss of Member Status
Article 9. Reimbursement of Expenses
Article 11. Validity of General Meetings
Article 14. National Governing Board
Article 15. National Governing Board Meetings
Article 16. Technical & Scientific Committees and Other Committees
Article 17. National Chairperson and National Deputy Chairperson
Article 18. National Treasurer
Article 19. National Executive Committee
Article 20. National Secretary
Article 22. National Board of Internal Auditors
Article 23. National Internal Appeals Board
Article 24. Disciplinary Action Against Members
The logo is an integral part of the association’s name and its use is governed by specific rules drawn up and approved by the national governing board.
If it becomes necessary to change the address of the registered office, the change may be made by resolution of the ordinary general meeting. At the same time, the national executive committee shall inform all institutions and bodies concerned of the change of address.
Branch offices may be established by resolution of the national governing board and the relevant expenditure item must be included in the financial statements.
Article 3. Publication of Association Documents
The association publishes on its website all the information related to its structure and the activities it promotes, including the memorandum of association, the articles of association, the rules of the association, the code of ethics, the composition of its bodies and the related offices (complete organisation chart), a list of associate, honorary and qualified members, the annual membership fees and payment methods, and training courses organised or recognised by the association.
For the benefit of consumers, the association publishes information about the professions of translator and interpreter, including guidelines for choosing a professional in the sector, a directory of professionals which can be searched according to qualifications and language combinations, and the association’s admission and qualification procedures for professionals.
In an area of the website accessible to members only, the association publishes the resolutions of the national governing board, the minutes of ordinary and extraordinary meetings, the financial reports, the budget and the reports of the national board of internal auditors, as well as any other relevant documents.
Funds are to be used to cover the items of expenditure indicated in the annual budget, according to a chart of accounts drawn up by the national treasurer and subject to amendment based on operational needs at the time of approval.
The items in the budget are divided into:
- Current costs
- Capital expenditure
- Extraordinary expenses.
Current costs are those necessary for ordinary administration, including general meetings and the meetings of the national governing board, the national executive committee and the permanent committees; activities related to the functions of the national chairperson and standing officers; publications by any official bodies; the publication and maintenance of the website and the online directory of members; the fees paid to federations and other groupings of associations and the management of a registered office and related consumables.
Capital expenditure involves the purchase of operating assets such as computers, software, furniture and other equipment.
Extraordinary expenses are all those that are not related to ordinary administration (entertainment expenses, public relations and advertising, participation in conferences, the organisation of events, the running costs of temporary committees, subscriptions, etc.).
Disbursements for items 2 (capital expenditure) and 3 (extraordinary expenses) shall only be allowed if residual funds are available after current costs are fully covered.
The national treasurer must be provided with supporting documents for all payments or reimbursement claims. Disbursements for expenditure not included in the budget, or for amounts in excess of the approved expenditure require the authorisation of the national chairperson followed by formal approval by the national governing board.
The national treasurer shall include this expenditure in the financial statements, mention them in the report on the financial statements and state the date of the national governing board meeting that approved them.
Members are grouped into different membership categories.
All members who are up to date with the payment of their membership fees and any contributions have the right to use the services of the association, to use the association’s logo and to vote and stand for election to the bodies of the association. Members lose these rights in the event of expiry of their membership, or their disqualification or removal from the association.
When declaring their membership, in addition to “member of AITI”, members are required to specify the membership category to which they belong: "associate member", "honorary member" or "qualified member".
In the association’s lists and directories, the qualifications and languages accredited by the association are only stated for qualified members and for members who have been moved to the category of associate member for one of the reasons indicated in paragraph 5.1 below. Associate and honorary members whose qualifications and languages have never been accredited by the association are listed only with the working languages presented in their curriculum vitae.
5.1 Retention of Qualified Member Status
In implementation of article 7 of the articles of association, the bodies of the association shall verify, every three years, whether the requirements for “qualified” status, namely, main profession, regular pursuit of the profession and continuing professional development, continue to be met. The requirements are verified at national level.
Members who no longer meet even one of the requirements shall be automatically moved to the associate member category.
It is the duty of members to keep the necessary documentation to prove that they continue to meet these requirements.
Any qualified member who ceases to pursue the profession on a predominant basis shall be moved to the associate member category. Compliance with the requirement of pursuit of the profession on a predominant and ongoing basis shall be stated by means of a specific declaration.
Qualified members who do not meet the continuing professional development requirements shall be moved to the associate member category. Compliance with continuing professional development requirements must be recorded by means of certificates of attendance at courses, seminars or training activities issued by third parties or the association.
Qualified members who have become associate members for the reasons indicated above (i.e. for not meeting the requirements of pursuit of the profession on a predominant basis and/or continuing professional development) may return to the qualified member category by declaring they are once again pursuing the profession on a predominant and ongoing basis and/or by showing they have fulfilled the continuing professional development requirement in the subsequent three-year period. At the end of this period, if the requirements have not been met within the above time limits, members who have become associate members are required to re-take the exam to regain qualified member status.
Further procedures are defined in detail in the resolutions of the national governing board.
(Amended by the general meeting of members on 6 April 2019)
5.2 Transfers from One Regional Branch to Another
In the event of transfer of their professional business address to a different location, members should request a transfer to the regional branch that corresponds to their new address.
The transfer request should be made in writing to the regional chairperson of the branch to which the member belongs. The regional chairperson will forward all the documentation relating to the member to the chairperson of the branch to which the member intends to move, including the texts, submitted papers and results of any admission tests and exams.
Transferring members should also send all documents that may be necessary to complete the documentation provided for in article 7 of the articles of association or required by law to the chairperson of the branch to which they intend to move.
Each member shall pay her/his membership fee by bank transfer to the regional branch to which s/he belongs within the time limits set out in article 10 of the articles of association (members should state their name, surname and the year to which the fee applies in the payment reason section of the bank transfer). Payment in cash will not be accepted.
The fee amount is determined periodically by the general meeting of the relevant regional branch. It is the member's responsibility to find out the fee amount and the bank details for payment from the website of the relevant regional branch.
Article 7. Loss of Member Status
Subject to article 8 of the articles of association:
- resigning members should send a dated and signed letter (including by email) of resignation to the chairperson of the regional branch to which they belong. By doing so, they lose their member status;
- members who have not paid their membership fee shall lose their member status as of 1 March of the relevant year. Former members may be readmitted, for valid and proven reasons only, by resolution of the regional governing board, no later than 31 January of the year following the year in which their membership expired, subject to payment of outstanding fees and contributions. After that date, re-admission is subject to the normal admission procedure.
Owners of translation and interpreting agencies and members of other forms of association acting as intermediaries are not eligible for membership of the association. Collaboration between colleagues is permitted up to a maximum limit of thirty per cent of a member’s turnover. In the event of disputes, members shall be required to submit tax documentation or any other objective or third-party documentation proving that this limit has not been exceeded.
Article 9. Reimbursement of Expenses
Even though all offices in the association are unpaid, elected members shall be reimbursed the cost of their travel, meals and accommodation for their participation in the meetings of the national governing board, the national executive committee, the national board of internal auditors and the national internal appeals board in accordance with the procedures set out in the guidelines drawn up by the national governing board.
Similar reimbursements are also provided for representatives of the national chairperson and members of the technical & scientific and other committees.
All reimbursements of expenses shall be subject to the submission of supporting documents.
The following procedure must be followed for the general meeting to elect the officers of the association:
- by 10 January of the year in which the term of office expires, the national chairperson shall call the elections by sending written notification to all members, including through publication on the official website, and at the same time shall declare the period for candidacy submissions open;
- candidacy submissions, accompanied by a short curriculum vitae, must be made in writing to the national secretary no later than 1 March in the same year and may be submitted by either email or fax; the candidate must also specify whether the candidacy is for the national governing board, the national board of internal auditors or the national internal appeals board. Candidacy submissions received after midnight on 1 March shall not be considered valid;
- if, at the expiry of the time limits indicated in the previous subsection, a sufficient number of candidacy submissions has not been received (at least nine candidates for the national governing board and at least five for the national board of internal auditors and five for the national internal appeals board), the national chairperson may extend the deadlines by a further fifteen days;
- upon expiry of the deadlines indicated in the previous subsection, the national secretary shall publish the full list of candidates on the website, in alphabetical order, together with a short presentation of each candidate. The names of any candidates for the national board of internal auditors or the internal appeals board that have been nominated by the national governing board will be published at the same time.
Article 11. Validity of General Meetings
At the start of each general meeting, the national secretary or her/his representative, who may be assisted by other members, shall record the number of members in attendance and proxies, on dedicated lists drawn up on the basis of the portion of fees paid by each regional branch to the national executive.
During ordinary and extraordinary general meetings, voting takes place by a show of hands; votes may be cast either in person or by proxy. No member shall hold more than three proxies.
12.1 Eligibility to Stand for Election
All members who have duly paid their membership fees for the current year and the ordinary and extraordinary contributions established by the bodies of the association are eligible to stand for election. Members on whom disciplinary measures have been imposed in the previous two years are not eligible to stand for election.
Members who hold office in other associations of translators and interpreters are not eligible to stand for election.
Candidates for the national board of internal auditors must have been members of the association for at least four years, and candidates for the national internal appeals board must have been members for at least eight years.
Voting is secret at the general meetings to elect the officers of the association, and votes may be cast either in person or by proxy, including through electronic platforms. Each member may select no more than nine candidates for the national governing board, and no more than five for the national board of internal auditors and the national internal appeals board, choosing from the candidates listed on the ballot paper provided for the purpose.
The ballot paper for the national governing board must indicate the different member categories. Members may select a maximum of seven candidates from among the qualified members and two candidates from among the other members.
12.2 Voting Procedure on an Online Platform
The national secretary shall upload the names and presentations of the candidates on a dedicated online election platform. The platform must guarantee the confidentiality of the vote whilst allowing for identification of the voters. Members who vote using the online platform may not hold proxies.
Electronic voting shall be opened after 15 March and shall close at least twenty-four hours before the date set for the general meeting in which officers will be elected. During the general meeting, the election committee chairperson, appointed as described in article 13 below, shall access the election platform to download the list of voters and the votes cast.
The national governing board shall promptly adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the security and confidentiality of the online platform used for the elections, by approving the relevant technical specifications which must be kept in the association’s records.
Once the meeting is declared open and its validity has been ascertained, the national secretary shall identify the quorum required for the adoption of resolutions as set forth in the articles of association.
The meeting shall be chaired by the national chairperson or, in her/his absence, by the national deputy chairperson. In the absence of both, the meeting shall be chaired by the eldest board member.
When new officers have to be elected, once the meeting has been deemed duly convened and quorate, an election committee shall be appointed, comprising five members who are not candidates for election. One of these shall act as the chairperson and another as the secretary of the committee.
Once the committee has been established, it shall verify the list of members entitled to vote, drawn up for the purpose by the national treasurer, and declare voting open. The chairperson of the committee shall first download the votes cast using the online platform.
Once the formalities regarding the votes received through the online platform have been completed, the committee shall call for votes to be cast. Each voter called shall come to the voting desk, collect a ballot paper duly signed by a member of the election committee, cast her/his vote in secret and place it in the ballot box. If a member holds proxies, when s/he comes to the voting desk, s/he shall hand the proxy form to the committee chairperson for verification and will receive the corresponding number of duly signed ballot papers, provided the proxy-givers have not already voted using the online platform. Once voting has been completed, the committee shall count the votes in the open and rank the candidates by number of votes received. The committee secretary shall keep minutes of this process.
On the basis of the aforesaid ranking, the national chairperson, or the person acting on her/his behalf, shall announce the nine members elected to the national governing board, the five members elected to the national board of internal auditors and the five members elected to the national internal appeals board.
Article 14. National Governing Board
Given the importance of the roles of the national governing board, its elected and ex officio members shall fulfil the commitment undertaken by assiduously and personally taking part in all meetings of the national governing board.
Representation by delegation of powers should also be limited insofar as possible, as set forth in article 14 of the articles of association.
In the event that a regional chairperson does not participate in two consecutive meetings, s/he may be issued an informal warning, pursuant to article 24 below.
Subsequent absences may result in the initiation of disciplinary proceedings by the internal auditors or in the national chairperson temporarily taking on the office of regional chairperson until the regional chairperson has been replaced by her/his regional governing board.
If a board member resigns or loses office, s/he shall be replaced by the first runner-up.
If, for the reasons described above, the national governing board is unable to operate, the national chairperson shall call elections as soon as possible, and the elections shall take place at the subsequent general meeting.
Article 15. National Governing Board Meetings
National governing board meetings shall be recorded in minutes, signed by the national chairperson and countersigned by the national secretary, to be read and approved at the start of the subsequent meeting.
National board members may only give a proxy to another national board member, whereas regional chairpersons may only give a proxy to another member of their regional governing board.
Pursuant to article 14.1 of the articles of association, national governing board resolutions may also be adopted by electronic voting. It is the responsibility of the national governing board to establish the technicalities of the voting procedures. The adopted resolutions shall in any case be incorporated into the minutes of the subsequent meeting, together with the date on which they were adopted, the number of voters and the number of votes cast. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted for electronic voting.
Article 16. Technical & Scientific Committees and Other Committees
Committees can be either standing committees or special committees.
The standing committees are those that:
- perform regulatory activities;
- perform research and operations regarding legal and professional status, training, continuing professional development and contractual relations;
- coordinate the various categories represented by AITI (e.g. technical & scientific translators, literary translators and interpreters).
Special committees are those that are established for a specific purpose; they have a limited duration.
The members of the committees are appointed by the national governing board. Where possible, there should be at least one member of the national governing board in these committees.
Geographical distribution criteria should be applied when forming coordination committees.
The national governing board is also responsible for deciding on the association’s official publications, for which it shall appoint dedicated editorial committees following the same procedures as adopted for appointing the other committees. Committees must periodically submit reports on the activities carried out.
A dedicated item shall be included in the financial statements for the funds required for the operations of the committees. Each committee shall therefore provide the national treasurer with an estimate of expenses, including any reimbursement for participation in necessary meetings. Each committee shall operate within the limits of the allocated funds; any additional expenses may be authorised by the national chairperson, in agreement with the national treasurer and the national executive committee, for valid and substantiated reasons only.
A dedicated item shall be included in the financial statements for expenses for the printing and distribution of the official publications.
Article 17. National Chairperson and National Deputy Chairperson
The national chairperson shall preside over all of the association’s meetings and shall be an ex officio member of all its committees.
As the association’s representative, the chairperson shall take part in all events or activities in which the association is invited to participate.
The national chairperson shall have the exclusive power to represent the association in its dealings with other associations, assisted where necessary by representatives of the national committees, or by her/his personal representatives, solely within the scope of the powers delegated to them.
The national chairperson may delegate powers to personal representatives to perform specific tasks on a temporary or permanent basis, depending on the circumstances.
Temporary delegations of powers shall be conferred in writing by the national chairperson on a personal representative designated for a specific purpose. The delegation of powers shall remain in effect until the assigned task has been fully completed.
Permanent delegations of powers shall be conferred for specific tasks and situations and allow the delegate a certain degree of freedom in performing her/his duties. Nevertheless, the delegate shall keep the national chairperson informed of all activities carried out and shall provide an up-to-date list of persons with whom s/he is in contact, indicating their names, roles and addresses.
The national chairperson may revoke the delegation of powers at any time if the representative fails to adequately perform her/his duties.
All outgoing correspondence shall contain the wording "on behalf of the national chairperson" and the signee’s name and office by virtue of the delegated powers, with a copy sent to the national chairperson. All communications with institutions shall be made solely by the national chairperson. Any invitation to events or other meetings shall be addressed and sent to the national chairperson, who shall furnish the necessary authorisation. Official participation by the association is strictly contingent on the availability of funds.
Article 18. National Treasurer
The national treasurer shall draw up the financial reports, the budget and the accompanying report at least thirty days prior to the date set for the general meeting at which they are to be discussed.
The reports shall describe the measurement criteria used to calculate the provisions, changes, the data on the number of members, interest expenses, study expenses, travel, advertising and relations with other associations, federations or entities, referring, in each case, to the data and items for the previous year.
The national treasurer shall provide information on the association’s performance, its financial position and its relations with the regional branches and with banking institutions.
The national treasurer shall deposit the association’s funds in a bank approved by the national governing board and shall have signatory powers with regard to such funds.
The national treasurer shall also keep accurate, up-to-date lists of members based on the payment of membership fees, and shall draw up the lists of those with voting rights pursuant to article 13 of the articles of association.
The national treasurer shall attend, either personally or through representation by the deputy treasurer, the meetings of the national governing board and the national executive committee and all those in which issues involving budget commitments are to be discussed. The deputy treasurer shall be appointed during a meeting of the national governing board.
Article 19. National Executive Committee
The national executive committee may be opened to the participation of other members of the national governing board.
The national executive committee shall prepare the agenda for all the association’s meetings, assist the national chairperson in adopting urgent measures and ensure that the resolutions of the national governing board are implemented properly.
Upon delegation of power by the national governing board, the national executive committee shall conduct the preliminary investigation for disciplinary proceedings, gathering the statements of defence of the person accused and the summary information.
Article 20. National Secretary
The national secretary shall attend all meetings of the national governing board and draw up the minutes. If necessary, the minutes may be drafted by another member of the national governing board appointed by it for this purpose. The secretary shall be responsible for all the association’s correspondence, may sign documents and certificates regarding official information in her/his possession and keep records of correspondence.
21.1 Representation
The regional chairperson shall legally represent the regional branch. As legal representative, s/he may represent the regional branch in its relations with public and private bodies or in judicial matters, provided it is always in a strictly local context.
The regional chairperson shall serve as the link between the regional branch and the national governing board, and therefore must, on the one hand, keep her/his branch’s members constantly up to date on all the activities of the national governing board, sharing information and any other material received from the national chairperson with them, and on the other, bring the concerns of the members of her/his own branch to the national governing board. At national governing board meetings, the regional chairperson may only be represented by a duly delegated member of her/his own regional governing board.
The regional rules, to be adopted pursuant to article 22 of the articles of association, shall specify the composition and operation of the regional bodies, as well as the methods and voting procedures for elections for regional positions and for voting in the regional general meeting and within the regional bodies.
Within thirty days of the elections, the regional branches must inform the national chairperson of the composition of the elected bodies, and the addresses and contact details of those who hold office at regional level. The complete organisation chart must be published on the website, as well as the addresses and opening hours of the regional registered offices, as applicable.
The regional rules and any amendments to them shall be valid only after they are ratified by the national governing board.
21.2 Duties
a. The primary function of each regional branch shall be to organise continuing professional development and training for members, coordinating in advance the calendar of activities with the national continuing professional development committee. Training activities may be self-organised (as regards both the educational content and delivery and the financing of events) or provided through third parties.
b. The regional branches shall be required to maintain lists of their current and newly enrolled members based on the database of members. They are therefore required to continually update their lists, by recording all new registrations, withdrawals or changes, and reporting payments of membership fees, determinations of compatibility (pursuant to article 9 of the articles of association) and any disciplinary proceedings. Any changes must be promptly communicated to the person in charge of the national directory of members.
c. The regional branches shall pay the portion of membership fees due to the national office as follows: payment of ordinary and late membership fees by 15 April and of any further membership fees and/or outstanding amounts by 15 December. All payments must be accompanied by a list of the names of the members whose membership fees have been paid.
21.3 Financial Autonomy – Limitations and Obligations
The regional branches are administratively autonomous and must obtain their own taxpayer identification numbers (as a professional association) and current account for which the regional chairperson and regional treasurer shall have signatory powers;
- the regional branches may adopt the tax regime that they deem best meets their needs and the local situation and shall justify the decision in a report to the national governing board. They shall not implement the chosen tax regime prior to receiving the approval of the national governing board;
- the regional branches shall submit their financial reports to the national governing board and, if they have a tax regime with a VAT number and the obligation to maintain normal accounts, the financial reports must be accompanied by a report by an accountant certifying that they comply with the accounting entries and attesting that the activities carried out by the branch do not conflict with the rules set out in the articles of association;
- the regional branches’ financial reports shall serve as the basis for the decisions of the national governing board concerning any contributions to those regional branches with less financial capacity to organise local events;
- in the case of events organised locally, but of a national nature (general meetings, meetings of the national governing board, conferences, round tables in conjunction with the national general meeting), the organisational expenses shall by borne by the national treasury;
- for regional activities that may involve the liability of the national chairperson or the image of the entire association, or that may involve the use of the association’s logo on published materials, the regional branch shall be required to obtain the authorisation of the national chairperson;
- in the case of events organised locally, but which, by their nature, may have positive effects on the association’s image at the national level, the regional branch may request a contribution from the national treasury. The request will be examined by the national governing board, which will decide whether it will provide a contribution and in what amount, once it has evaluated the importance of the event and the national treasury’s financial resources;
- the regional branches shall not undertake initiatives that fall outside of their local scope without the authorisation of the national chairperson and the subsequent confirmation of the national governing board (e.g. contacts with government departments on matters regarding the national association, with national or foreign bodies on behalf of the national association, etc.).
21.4 Monitoring
The national chairperson or her/his representatives shall monitor the operations of the regional branches by making visits specifically for this purpose. During such visits, which shall be agreed with appropriate advance notice, s/he shall meet with the regional governing board, and possibly the entire regional general meeting. In addition, s/he shall have the right to examine the documents and records of the regional branch (minutes of general meetings and regional governing board meetings, financial reports and supporting documents) in addition to member records and admissions figures. The national chairperson’s representatives shall prepare a report of their activities to be presented to the national governing board.
Branches that have operational difficulties may request a visit by the national chairperson or her/his representatives, to be conducted as described above.
Article 22. National Board of Internal Auditors
The chairperson shall be appointed by the board itself, preferably from among those members with greater competence in accounting and association-related matters.
Any internal auditor undergoing disciplinary proceedings at national or regional level shall be suspended from this position for the entire duration of the proceedings. S/he will lose office if one of the relevant disciplinary measures is applied.
Internal auditors may only be removed from office for just cause. If an internal auditor resigns or loses office, s/he shall be replaced by an alternate internal auditor ranked according to votes received in the election or length of time in the association (in the event of a tie). If these alternate auditors also resign or lose office, they shall be replaced by the first runner-up for the national board of internal auditors.
The new internal auditors shall remain in office until the next general meeting, which must elect the standing or alternate internal auditors needed to complete the board.
The term of office of the newly elected auditors shall expire at the same time as the term of the internal auditors already in office.
The national board of internal auditors shall provide members with a report on the results of the tax year and on the keeping of accounts. The board shall also submit its observations and proposals regarding the financial reports and their approval, at least fifteen days before the general meeting.
The internal auditors shall have the right, including individually, to carry out inspections and audits and to ask to receive information from the national governing board on the status of association matters or individual issues.
The board shall meet at least twice yearly and keep a register of the minutes of its meetings and its decisions.
The internal auditors must call the general meeting if the national governing board is inactive.
The internal auditors must carry out their duties diligently, are responsible for the truthfulness of their certifications and must maintain the confidentiality of any facts or documents that come to their attention on account of their office.
Article 23. National Internal Appeals Board
For dealing with individual matters, the board may comprise standing and/or alternate members, provided there are no more than three and the chairperson, who is the board’s external interface, is always included. In the event of conflicts of interest or the unavailability of a standing member of the board, an alternate member will replace her/him.
If, for any reason, all or some members of the internal appeals board are unable to serve in office, the national governing board shall immediately call a new election. In any case, an election must be called when the number of members of the internal appeals board (standing or alternate) falls below three.
The board members have the authority to decide as arbitrators, on a fair and equitable basis, on all appeals brought against decisions of the national governing board concerning relations within the association and appeals on disciplinary matters and elections.
The board will make its decisions on the basis of fairness, without any attendant formalities.
Article 24. Disciplinary Action Against Members
The association is responsible for monitoring the conduct of its members, without restricting their freedom and their membership and subject to their right to appeal to the national internal appeals board.
Disciplinary proceedings
Members of the association who are responsible for actions that do not conform to standards of professional decorum and dignity, or for actions that harm their own reputation or dignity or that of the profession, or who do not observe the provisions of the articles of association, the rules of the association or the code of ethics shall be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
Disciplinary proceedings may be officially commenced by the national governing board or by request of the regional governing board.
The national governing board has the authority to make disciplinary decisions.
If a member of the national governing board is subject to disciplinary proceedings, s/he shall be referred to the national board of internal auditors.
Disciplinary measures shall be determined on the basis of a reasoned decision by the national governing board or the internal auditors after a hearing with the member subjected to the disciplinary measures.
These measures are:
- formal warning;
- censure;
- disqualification;
- removal.
A formal warning, given in the event of low-level misconduct, entails identifying the disciplinary offence and drawing the member’s attention to her/his duty towards her/his colleagues (including colleagues who are not members of the association) and towards consumers.
Formal warnings may also be administered directly and informally by the national chairperson.
If the warning is the result of a disciplinary decision, it shall be administered by the national governing board, put into minutes and delivered by way of a simple letter from the national chairperson.
A censure shall be administered in cases of serious misconduct or disciplinary offences and consists of a formal reprimand for a proven breach of conduct.
Disqualification may be administered against members whose conduct has seriously harmed professional dignity, as in those cases set out under article 8 of the articles of association.
Removal may be administered in cases where the moral and civil behaviour of a member has harmed professional dignity to a degree that her/his membership of the association conflicts with dignity itself.
Removal must always be administered in the event of a criminal conviction for offences that harm the image and reputation of the association.
No disciplinary action, except for informal warnings, may be administered unless the person accused has been invited to appear before the national governing board or the national executive committee duly empowered for this purpose.
Once the necessary and conclusive information has been gathered, the national governing board shall set out the allegations against the member by registered letter with notice of receipt, indicate any evidence gathered and give her/him a period no shorter than thirty days for a hearing to be scheduled.
The member shall also be entitled to submit documents and statements of defence as an alternative to an in-person hearing.
Once the preliminary investigation has been concluded, any disciplinary measures shall be determined by secret ballot. The person concerned must be notified of said measures within thirty days of the decision.
The limitation period for application of disciplinary action is five years after the fact.
Any person disqualified from the association as a result of disciplinary measures may ask to be readmitted five years after the date of her/his disqualification. S/he shall, however, be required to re-apply de novo through the admission procedure.
Unlike disqualification, removal precludes the possibility of re-admission.
Appeals against disciplinary measures may be submitted to the national internal appeals board within two months of the official notification of the order.
Amendments to these rules and regulations are subject to the authority of the ordinary general meeting, provided the topic has been included on the agenda.
These rules were approved by the extraordinary general meeting held in Bologna on 26 May 2012 and have been in force since that date.
Section 21.2 was amended by the general meeting held in Ancona on 14 April 2018.