STATUTE FOR THE CENTRE FOR THE STUDY AND PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 327.591

STATUTE FOR THE CENTRE FOR THE STUDY AND

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

16th February, 2018

LEGAL NOTICE 55 of 2018.

This statute may be cited as the Statute for the Centre for the

Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution.

In this Statute, unless the context otherwise requires

“the Board” shall mean the Board of the Centre for the Study and

Practice of Conflict Resolution; and

“the Centre” shall mean the Centre for the Study and Practice of

Conflict Resolution.

The Centre for the Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution is

hereby established as an institution within the University of Malta.

The aims of the Centre shall be

(a) to conduct studies and academic research in any of the

following fields

-

the deep-rooted causes of interpersonal, communal,

national and international conflict and the

connections among these levels of conflict;

-

the relationship between human rights and conflict;

-

the relationship between justice and conflict;

-

the relationship between law and conflict;

-

conflict emerging from migration and integration in

the domestic and international spheres; and

-

conflict resolution practice, including assessment,

evaluation and other forms of research that focus

on improving the practice of conflict resolution.

(b) to promote research-informed conflict resolution

practice through capacity-building in the facilitation,

mediation, resolution and transformation of conflicts;

(c) to design, run and evaluate conflict interventions such

as community dialogues, problem solving workshops,

negotiations and consensus-building initiatives;

(d) to design, run and evaluate short trainings in any of the

areas within the scope of the Centre;

(e) to conduct academic programmes in the discipline/s

within the scope of the Centre;

(f)

to provide continuous education both at the

undergraduate and postgraduate levels within the

scope of the Centre subject to the Statutes, Regulations

and Bye-Laws of the University;

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

(g) to collaborate with European and international

institutions with the aim to enhance the profile of the

Centre within the regional, European and international

research area, in areas related to conflict analysis and

conflict resolution and any of the disciplines referred to

in sub-paragraph (a) of this article; and

(h) to disseminate acquired knowledge through online

media, publications, seminars, conferences and

teaching programmes.

The Centre shall be governed by a Board that shall consist of the

following

(i)

Chairperson: Rector or his delegate;

(ii)

Vice-Chairperson: Director of the Centre;

(iii) a person appointed by the Council of the

University;

(iv)

two persons appointed by the Senate of the

University, of whom, one from the Faculty of

Laws and one from the Department of

International Relations;

(v)

two academics nominated by the School of

Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason

University, Virginia, USA;

(vi)

one representative of the students registered

within the Centre; and

(vii)

one representative of the academic staff

lecturing or conducting research within the

Centre.

The Registrar or her delegate shall act as Secretary to the Board.

All members of the Board, other than those appointed ex offi-

cio, any representatives of the academic staff and any representatives of

the students shall be appointed for a period of one year, renewable for up

to four years. A retiring member shall be eligible for re-appointment.

The functions of the Board shall be

(a) to govern the affairs of the Centre, subject to the

provisions of these statutes and of such regulations,

policies or directions as may from time to time be

approved by the Council and the Senate;

(b) to decide the policy of the Centre, to supervise its

activities and administration, and without prejudice to

the generality of the foregoing, the Board may

(i)

approve business plans and annual estimates of

revenue and expenditure of the Centre for

consideration and approval by the Council;

(ii)

with the written concurrence of the Rector,

enter into agreements with third parties for

funding of the Centre or of particular activities;

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

(iii)

publish an annual report;

(iv)

enrol the Centre in associations or institutions

sharing similar aims and interests;

(v)

propose regulations and bye-laws to the

Senate;

(vi)

require staff members of the Centre to produce

reports on academic matters, including the

curricula of courses of study, qualifications for

admission to courses, examinations and

certificates of attendance or qualification;

(vii)

recommend to the Council the creation or

removal of academic and non-academic posts

in the Centre; and

(viii)

propose for approval to the Senate, Board of

Studies and Boards of Examiners for

undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

The Centre shall have a Director and Staff

(a) the Director of the Centre shall be appointed according

to the procedure for the appointment of Directors of

Institutes and Centres as approved by the Council of

the University, for a duration of one year, with the

possibility of renewal annually subject to established

performance criteria, the needs of the Centre and the

needs of the University, for a total period not

exceeding four (4) years; and

(b) the staff of the Centre shall be appointed by the

University according to the usual practice.

The duties of the Director/Vice-Chairperson of the Centre shall

include

(a) promoting the development and implementation of the

research and practice agenda of the Centre;

(b) developing and organizing the implementation of

academic programmes as deemed appropriate by the

Board: this duty shall entail

(i)

compiling and submitting to the Registrar by

the time stipulated by Senate, an updated

comprehensive prospectus of any courses

offered by the Centre including descriptions of

all current and projected study-units as per

guidelines established by the Programme

Validation Committee and ensuring that the

study-units are delivered as advertised;

(ii)

monitoring the running of examinations and

ensuring that all assessment and examination

results are submitted to the Registrar by the

stipulated deadlines;

(iii)

promoting students’ academic and personal

welfare, providing first-line support to students

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

with any difficulties they may encounter during

their studies related to the activities of the

Centre;

(c) delivering and implementing the strategic plan of the

Centre under the guidance of the Board;

(d) administering the Centre in full consultation with the

members; monitoring and approving requests for leave

of absence of members of the Centre; maintaining

records of all leave taken by members and passing on

these records to the Director of Human Resources

Management and Development upon request;

(e) encouraging and facilitating co-operation with other

universities and other institutions;

(f)

chairing meetings of the Board in the absence and with

the permission of the Chairperson;

(g) ensuring and facilitating the further development and

training of academic and administrative staff;

(h) participating at any meeting

of

the

University

congruent with the post;

(i)

representing the Centre during official functions of the

University;

(j)

compiling and submitting to the Secretary of the

University by the end of September of each academic

year, an annual report outlining the activities of the

Centre for the outgoing year, which should include,

amongst others, information that may be requested by

the Secretary: a comprehensive list of recent

publications of all members of the Centre; a synopsis of

all projects involving members of the Centre which are

wholly or partially externally funded; a list of all

conferences/seminars/meetings attended abroad by

members of the Centre during term time; and an outline

of the Centre’s collaboration with third parties

including local industry, Government or civil society at

large;

(k) compiling and submitting to the Director of Finance of

the University by not later than end of May of each

academic year budgetary estimates for the following

year;

(l)

monitoring the performance of the administrative staff

attached to the Centre;

(m) authorising the Centre’s procurement of any equipment

as required for the proper and efficient running of the

Centre;

(n) performing other duties which may be assigned by the

University from time to time.

The Director moreover

(a) is to report directly to the Chairperson of the Board

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

governing the Centre and shall collaborate with all

senior administrative officers of the University;

(b) shall normally be a Resident Academic engaged with

the University on a full-time basis for the duration of

his tenure as Director of the Centre;

(c) shall not be engaged in any other activity outside the

University which may be in conflict with, or distract

him from, his duties at the University;

(d) is expected to be present on campus or any designated

University of Malta site at least during normal office

hours from Monday to Friday throughout the year

subject to the exigencies of an academic in accordance

with the University’s practices and needs and subject

to normal leave entitlement and public holidays as

provided for at law; should his absence be necessary

and justified he must ensure that he is contactable

through the secretarial staff of the Centre;

(e) shall not give access to any information to any third

party that is not associated with the University of

Malta, about any work or data that relates to tasks

conducted at the University of Malta without the prior

approval of the University of Malta; all work carried

out within the Centre must be treated according to

Maltese data protection legislation; and

(f)

is to abide with the statutes, regulations, bye-laws and

policies of the University of Malta, which are in force

now or will become effective during his/her tenure.

The Director of Finance of the University shall be the Treasurer

of the Centre.

PRACTICE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION