DEONTOLOGICAL CODE
Considering the relevance of the private investigator activity, in which the figures of the commercial informer and the security operator must also be included and to whose exercise access the people equipped with specific requirements expressly provided by law, subject to specific police authorization. Considering, moreover, the delicacy of the individual operations carried out in carrying out the investigative activity, which often involve interference, with the information assumed, in the private sphere of the recipient of the same, with evident legal and ethical repercussions. Moreover, given the new legislation adopted by the Italian legislator, which, in application of a community directive, has regulated and protected the confidentiality (so-called privacy) of natural and legal persons, introducing significant limits to the use of personal data. Consequently, it was deemed necessary to establish homogeneous rules for the professional category of private investigators in addition to the rules envisaged by both the TULPS referred to in RD no. 773/1931 and the related Implementing Regulations, both by Law 675/1996. Given the provisions of Articles 134 - 137 of the RD n. 773/1931, by the articles 257 et seq. of the Implementation Regulation of the Consolidated Law on Public Safety Laws, of the Legislative Decree n. 271 of July 28, 1989 and articles 38 and 222 of the Implementation, Coordination and Transitional Rules of the Criminal Procedure Code as well as those established by the Law of 31 December 1996 n. 675 and subsequent provisions of the Guarantor - including that taken on 27 November 1997 b, 2/1997 "Authorization to process data suitable for disclosing the state of health and sexual life" published in the Official Gazette of 29 November 1997 n. 279 and provision no. 6 of 29.12.1997. Federpol - Italian Federation of Private Institutes for Investigations, Commercial Information and Security -, a professional association of a national nature representative of the interests of holders of government authorizations, pursuant to art. 134 et seq. of the Consolidated Law on Public Safety Laws and 38 and 222 of the Implementation, Coordination and Transitional Rules of the Criminal Procedure Code adopts the following Code of Conduct. The professional activity of a private investigator, in its broadest sense, is based on scrupulous observance of the fundamental rules of moral integrity, professional responsibility and confidentiality beyond normal compliance with all applicable laws.
Chapter 1
General principles
Title I
Trust and moral integrity
Art. 1 The private investigator, in the exercise of the professional activity, must scrupulously observe the normal rules of correctness, dignity, sensitivity and high professionalism, even outside the workplace must maintain irreproachable conduct, given that in explaining the delicate task entrusted to him by the client, the investigator not only performs acts of private interest but also a main social function of public utility, joining, in the cases provided for by law, the police.
Art. 2 The behavior that the investigator must take towards the Customer is of particular importance: it is his first duty to inform the latter about all the rules that regulate the investigative activity and about the legal consequences deriving from the action carried out by the operator, with particular reference to the provisions established by Law no. 675/1996.
Art. 3 The attitude that the private investigator must hold towards third parties, whether they are private citizens or public authorities, must be based on criteria of maximum availability and general respect, always within the limits established by current laws. With regard to the bodies to which the investigator is subjected to the control, he must give his utmost collaboration both in providing all necessary clarifications on the conduct of the investigative activity, and in providing his own work in cases where he is asked for an intervention to assist the purposes of justice.
Art. 4 The license holder as well as his collaborators, previously reported to the competent Prefecture, must always fulfill their professional duties with the utmost scruple and commitment, always and in any case avoiding to commit acts limiting individual freedom. In particular, the same, in being kept in the utmost confidentiality on the information acquired in the exercise of the investigative activity, must ensure scrupulous compliance with the provisions of Law 675/1996 concerning the protection of privacy.
Art. 5 In compliance with the law and professional ethics, the private investigator must represent and / or defend his client in such a way that his interest prevails over his own and that of a colleague or third parties in general; if he does not believe he is able to fulfill the assignment, he must expressly renounce the assignment.
Title II
Professional secret
Art. 6 Fundamental duty of the investigator, especially in reference to compliance with the privacy legislation referred to in art. 4, is to inform the Customer of the confidentiality of the information acquired against the recipient of the investigation, in cases where he is exempted from informing the latter of being in possession of his personal data; as well as to make the customer aware when the same is exonerated from requesting the consent of the interested party for the processing of the data acquired.
Art. 7 Regardless of the correct and scrupulous observance of the provisions established by Law no. 675/1996, the relationships that the private investigator must keep with the press, television or journalistic, must be based on the respect and protection of the confidentiality of the information acquired through his office. In particular, in rare cases where the duty of secrecy and confidentiality is not required to be observed, the private investigator must, however, carefully evaluate the consequences that may derive from the information provided to the media, by issuing balanced statements. and, of course, never detrimental to the professional dignity of another colleague or the whole category.
Art. 8 Any form of commercial advertising is free, the private investigator can undertake any initiative he deems most appropriate to advertise his business; forms of misleading advertising, aimed at advertising professional services not falling within the scope of the police title issued to the private investigator, nor forms of so-called advertising are not allowed. deceptive, such as to induce the Clientele to consider possible services which cannot be legitimately performed by the holder of the police title. Any abuse will be prosecuted in civil and criminal proceedings and through disciplinary action as provided for in this code in the following articles.
Title III
Granting and termination of the mandate
Art. 9 The holder of the police authorization cannot delegate the direction of the investigative activity to others; in the case in which it makes use of the work of collaborators, it must give punctual directives and operational indications for the purpose of the correct conduct of the investigations and the operators cannot, for any reason, take decisions or take initiatives without the consent of the private investigator.
Art. 10 The private investigator can take advantage of the work of a colleague for the performance of particularly complex assignments and upon communication to the Client who must express his consent, also in relation to the remuneration for the performance made by the colleague collaborator.
Art. 11 Before accepting a professional assignment, the investigator must carefully evaluate whether there are cases of incompatibility with other previously hired services; in particular, it must verify the existence or otherwise of conflicts of interest between the various Clients and whether, if necessary, renounce one of the tasks assigned to it.
Art. 12 Given the nature of a freelance activity, the private investigator must maintain a position of impartiality and independence even when joining corporate or association organizations of a political and / or party nature; therefore, it can never be influenced in the performance of its activity, let alone alter the result of the performance in order to favor the organism to which it belongs.
Art. 13 The private investigator, who is required to obtain an explicit mandate from the Client that takes into account above all the provisions of Law no. 675/1996, must renounce the assignment when it is contrary to laws or regulations or entails the performance of services expressly prohibited by applicable laws or may still hinder the normal conduct of judicial police investigations.
Art. 14 The private investigator cannot accept the assignment of a new customer if the confidentiality of the information provided by an old customer risks being violated or when the knowledge by the investigator of the old customer's business would benefit the new.
Art. 15 The above rules are equally applicable in the case of exercising the profession in a corporate form which may, however, give rise to one of the conflicts of interest described in articles 12, 13 and 14. Art. 16 The private investigator cannot to use, for no reason, the information acquired through your office, least of all in order to derive a direct or indirect benefit for yourself or for others; his position must always be based on maximum professional correctness and seriousness, especially when the nature of the information in his possession is particularly delicate.
Title IV
Determination of the remuneration
Art. 17 The private investigator is required to respect, in stipulating the professional performance contracts, the tariff limits set out in the tables, duly posted to the public vision at the Institute's headquarters, approved by the competent Prefecture, in order to avoid forms of unfair competition.
Art. 18 The fee requested by the private investigator must be illustrated to the Customer in all its items and must be fair and fully justified.
Art. 19 The investigator must not conclude agreements with which the remuneration refers to the result obtained; in particular, it must not enter into agreements with the Customer which oblige the latter to recognize a part of the result to the investigator, be it the sum of money or any other goods or value obtained at the conclusion of the investigation.
Art. 20 When the private investigator requests the payment of a deposit on the expenses and / or tariffs applied, this must not go beyond a reasonable estimate of the prices legitimately practiced, based on the tariff approved by the competent Prefecture, and of the probable disbursements required by the nature of the investigative assignment.
Art. 21 It is absolutely forbidden to divide the remuneration deriving from the investigative assignment with persons who are not also persons belonging to the professional category.
Art. 22 The art. 21 does not apply as regards the sums or fees of any kind paid by a private investigator to the heirs of a deceased colleague or to a colleague who has withdrawn in the event of his sub-entry, as successor in the practices already followed by that colleague.
Title V
Professional liability insurance
Art. 23 It is not mandatory but certainly desirable that, as a guarantee for the activity carried out, the private investigator, in addition to the deposit paid to the competent Prefecture at the time of issuing the police title, takes out specific insurance for his professional responsibility within the reasonable limits, taking into account the nature and extent of the risks that it assumes in the course of its business.
Title VI
Relations with the Prefecture and the territorially competent Police Headquarters
Art. 24 The private investigator must carry out the activities for which he has expressly obtained the police authorization, which he is required to renew annually, following the directives given to him by the territorially competent Prefecture, also complying with the laws in force on the matter.
Art. 25 The private investigator, holder of the license pursuant to art. 134 TULPS approved with RD n. 773/1931, is required to personally manage the activity, for which he is accountable to third parties and to the administrations responsible for its control, being unable in any way to delegate anyone to these tasks.
Art. 26 The private investigator must, in particular, record on the daily operations register, the keeping of which is mandatory pursuant to art. 135 TULPS and the related Implementing Regulations, previously endorsed by the competent Police Authority: A) the name, date and place of birth of the persons for whom the business or operations are carried out. B) the date and type of the same, the agreed fee and the outcome of the transaction. C) the details of the identity document or other document having equivalent value.
Art. 27 It is a duty of the investigator to lend his work in favor of the PS Authority who makes a specific request, also adhering to all the requests addressed by him also for the purpose of checking the activity by the private investigator.
Art. 28 The private investigator must, before hiring personnel assigned to collaborate in carrying out his professional activity, communicate the individual names to the territorially competent Prefecture, which will take note of this.
Art. 29 The Quaestor is institutionally responsible for operational control over the correct exercise of the activity of the private investigator, who is required to give the utmost collaboration in the event of requests and inspection inspections.
Title VII
Relations between Private Investigators
Art. 30 The spirit of connection requires a relationship of trust between private investigators in the interest of their customers; it must never put the interests of private investigators in contrast with those of justice, especially when it operates in carrying out investigative activities for criminal defense.
Art. 31 The private investigator will recognize as colleagues all investigators who have obtained the required police authorization issued by the competent Prefecture. Art. 32 Given the extremely delicate nature of the activity carried out by the private investigator, all
communications between colleagues are to be considered confidential. This means that the private investigator does not detect communications to third parties and does not send a copy of the correspondence itself to his Client; when such communications are made in writing they must carry, however, the wording "confidential".
Art. 33 In the event that the recipient is unable to give correspondence the "confidential" character, it will be required to return it to the sender without revealing the content.
Art. 34 The private investigator cannot request a fee or anything else from a colleague or a third party or accept a fee for having referred or recommended a customer.
Art. 35 The private investigator cannot also pay anyone a fee or anything else in return for presenting a client.
Art. 36 The private investigator cannot assume an investigative or informative assignment if he is aware of the fact that the potential client is already professionally assisted by a colleague, unless the client (client) expressly relieves him of this obligation in the mandate or that the colleague communicates that he has renounced the service.
Art. 37 If a private investigator replaces a colleague in an investigative or information service, he must previously notify the latter and make sure that all the necessary provisions have been made for the regulation of the expenses and fees due to the replaced. This obligation does not, however, make the private investigator responsible for paying the compensation to his predecessor.
Art. 38 If urgent services are to be carried out in the interest of the Customer, before the formalities provided for by art. 37, the private investigator has the power-duty to do so on the condition, however, to immediately inform the colleague whom he has replaced.
Art. 39 The private investigator in charge of working alongside a colleague in a specific service must inform the latter. The rules of the aforementioned code of ethics have been approved by the central governing bodies, immediately operational towards the individual members of Federpol, who are required to strictly respect them. In the event of non-compliance with the provisions listed above, the members will be subject to the disciplinary procedure indicated below.
Disciplinary proceedings
Art. 40 The disciplinary measures that can be adopted against associates, in the event of violation of the behavioral rules described in this code are: A) Written warning: which consists of a warning regarding the violation made and the warning that this does not have more to repeat. B) Censorship: consisting of a formal declaration of the violation and the consequent blame. C) Suspension: or the inhibition, for a period of not less than two months and not more than one year from the quality of associate with the relative impossibility of participating in social activities. D) Expulsion: consisting in the definitive loss of the quality of associate and in the consequent cancellation from the shareholders' book.
Art. 41 It is also possible to impose the precautionary suspension, which constitutes a particular tool with which the member is temporarily suspended from his quality, in the event that the same is found in the following conditions: 1) admitted to the hospital psychiatric or in custody or care home. 2) subjected to the application of a non-custodial security measure pursuant to art. 25 of the Italian Criminal Code or the provisional application of an ancillary penalty or a security measure.
Art. 42 Precautionary suspension may also be imposed if the associated private investigator is subject to special surveillance, or is the recipient of a warrant or arrest warrant.
Art. 43 The written warning can be inflicted when the associated private investigator, in violating one of the provisions of this code, demonstrates such superficiality and negligence, however, that it does not cause damage to third parties (Customer, colleague or whatever).
Art. 44 The complaint can be determined in the case of several violations that fall within the written warning that occurred in the course of two years, if of different species, of one year in the case of violation of the same species.
Art. 45 The suspension, on the other hand, concerns violation of the provisions of this code, the result of activities intentionally directed at causing unjust damage to others and / or causing undue profit or utility to oneself or to others.
Art. 46 The expulsion can take place in cases in which the associate, in addition to having carried out more deliberately and intentionally violating acts of the above provisions, adopts behaviors in open contrast with the duties of associate or which in any case cause damage and prejudice to the Federpol image; the associate may also be expelled if, following abusive behavior, the police license is revoked by the territorially competent Prefecture.
The administrative procedure
Art. 47 The competent authority to decide the application of the disciplinary sanctions of the written Recall and the Censorship is the Council of the Region where the private investigator subjected to disciplinary proceedings is carrying out the activity; during the appeal, it is competent to decide the College of Provibiri established at the headquarters of the National Federation in Rome.
Art. 48 The Competent Body to decide the application of the disciplinary sanctions of the Suspension (also precautionary) and of the Expulsion is the College of Provibiri installed at the headquarters of the National Federation in Rome; at the appeal stage, only for cases of suspension, the National Council may be referred.
Art. 49 The decisions taken and not appealed or confirmed during the appeal are final.
Art. 50 Disciplinary proceedings begin either ex officio or at the request of the interested party; as soon as it reaches the competent body (Regional Council or Arbitration Board), the latter carries out a summary preliminary investigation on the facts to assess its validity and relevance, as well as its competence to judge, simultaneously informing the investigator by registered letter with return receipt. interested. In the event of a conflict of competence, between the Regional Councils or with the Board of Arbitrators, the decision lies with the National Council, to which the documents of the conflicting bodies are sent, which give notice to the interested party, which in the following 10 days can forward his observations for the purposes of the conflict decision.
Art. 51 The requested body may: 1.- close the procedure, if the information is unfounded or irrelevant. The renunciation of the complainant does not undermine the disciplinary procedure; 2.- carry out the investigation, acquiring, where produced, both the arguments adduced to justify by the interested party, and information also from third parties on the episode in dispute, feeling the same associate, if he expressly requests it.
Art. 52 At the end of the preliminary investigation phase, the requested body will issue the decision in the Council Chamber: to file or apply the disciplinary sanction, also arranging the degree of the relative sanction.
Art. 53 Against the disciplinary sanction imposed, in the cases in which it is admitted, the interested party can appeal to the competent superior body, as foreseen by art. 47 and 48 of this code, no later than 30 days from the date of communication of the sanction imposed.
Art. 54 The procedure for the appeal decision is identical to that for the first instance procedure.
Art. 55 Federpol, through its regional and national bodies, will communicate to the competent prefectures the disciplinary sanctions definitively imposed on its members, for any measures that they will autonomously want to take against them.