Code of Ethics

Art. 1 - Purpose and field of application

1. This Code of Ethics (hereinafter referred to as the "Code") states the guiding behavior principles of the people working at the Elpidio Valentino's Notary Office (hereinafter referred to as the “Office") and specifies the duties of loyalty, impartiality, diligence and industry to be applied.

2. The activity of these persons must comply with the position of indipendence typical of the notarial activity, the guarantee tasks entrusted to the notaries, the impartiality of the notarial activity and also with confidentiality obligations.

3. The Code applies to all staff members working for the Office: part time or full time, employees or self employed, trainees, consultants and to all the persons authorized to frequent the Office for studies or researches. When the Code hereinafter only refers to the "employee", it should be interpreted in its wider meaning, that is to say to all parties referred to in this paragraph, even if they are not technically qualified just as "employees".

4. All employees, according to their competences, comply with the rules of law and professional ethics applicable to notaries owners of notary offices.

5. The office's activity is carried out in accordance with the principles of the European notaries' Code of Conduct.

Art. 2 - General Rules

1. The employee undertakes to respect the Code when accepting his assignment and behave according to the principles of loyalty, impartiality, integrity and honesty.

2. The employee must avoid any action or behaviour that violate or could be deemed to violate the law or the regulations, or the contents of the Code.

3. The relationship beetween the Office and the employees is based on trust and collaboration. The employee undertakes to ensure that his relationships with the other colleagues inspires harmony and avoid actions or behaviours that can cause animosity or conflict. The employee bases his activity and the use of the Office's assets on criteria of honesty, value, efficiency and effectiveness. The employee dedicates an appropriate amount of time and energy to the Office's activity, avoiding undue absences.

4. The employee limits to absolute necessity circumstances the use of telephones, copy machines and computers for personal reasons, even in the case of receipt of communications.

5. As regard the external relationships, the employee acts in order to establish trust and cooperation with the persons who get in contact with the Office; he shows courtesy and availability in the communication with the public and deals with the issues efficiently and promptly.

Art. 3 - Impartiality

1. The employee acts impartially, avoiding any preferential or unequal treatment, refrains from undue pressures and rejects them, he takes initiatives and decisions with full transparency and avoids creating or taking advantage from privileged situations.

2. Dealing with persons interested in the Office's activity for any reason, the employee does not make any commitments or make any personal promise which may affect his official duties.

3. The employee gives notice to the owners of the Office of any membership of associations, circles or entities of any kind whose interests may influence the performance of his official duties, taking into account the right of association and the right of membership in political parties and trade unions.

Art. 4 - Integrity

1. The employee does not use the Office for private or personal benefits.

2. The employee does not use his Office's position in order to obtain benefits in his external relationships, even if of a private nature. In private relationships, the employee avoids declaring his position in case there is no objective need.

3. The employee does not make use of information not availble to the public or not released, even obtained on a confidential basis during office activity, for private benefits or interests.

4. The employee avoids receiving benefits of any kind which may be or may appear to affect his independence of judgment and impartiality; furthermore, he does not solicit nor accept, for himself or for others, any gift or other benefit from persons interested in the activity of the Office or who intend to enter into a relationship with it, except gifts of modest value.

5. In case of illegitimate pressures or gifts or other benefits exceeding a modest value, the employee gives immediately notice to the owners of the Office.

Art. 5 - Special Rules

1. Out of the ordinary process of the assignment of files, the employee does not solicit nor receive communications addressed to him, nor send unauthorised letters.

2. The employee takes part only in meetings, including informal ones, relevant to the office's activity, in which his presence is authorized; he also avoids unauthorised contacts with the office activity's beneficiaries, including the indirect ones, or with those who supply or intend to provide goods or services to the Office.

3. The participation of the employees in meetings, seminars and debates is authorised on the basis of transparency, competence, opportunity and rotation criteria, declaring previously the amount of the potential refund or fee received for any reason, that is to say the use of special benefits.

Art. 6 - Conflict of interests

1. The employee works in order to prevent situations of conflict of interests with the Office and gives notice to the owners of any interests, including the ones of financial nature, that he, the spouse, the relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or the cohabitants could have in the activities or decisions of his own competence.

2. The employee abstains in any case from taking part in activities or decisions that determine this kind of conflict and provides the Office's owners of any further information required.

3. The employee abstains from being involved, at least for two years, in the handling of matters that may involve the interests of his former partners in business or, except for authorized cases, his previous employers.

4. The employee abstains in any other case where there could be serious reasons of convenience, or also in case his participation in the handling of the matter may cause a lack of confidence in the impartiality of the Office, even in case of a serious enmity.

5. The employee gives immediateley notice to the owners of the Office of any contacts initiated with the aim of taking on new duties or activities external to the Office, with parties interested, even only potentially, in the activity of the Office.

6. This Code sets the responsability of the employee eventually ceasing to work for Office not to be in conflict of interest with the Office for a period of at least two years.

Art. 7 - Privacy

1. The employee respects the professional secrecy and keeps confidential news or information learnt carring out his duties and that are not subject to transparency, according to laws and regulations. The employee respects the professional secrecy even after job termination.

2. In particular, the employee does not provide information concerning any preliminary, inspecting or investigative activities ongoing at the Office and does not release any information about deeds concluded or still to be signed.

3. The employee only refers to deeds and files to which he is authorised to access and uses them in accordance with his duties, allowing access to those entitled to use them and in compliance with the regulations of the Office.

4. The employee prevents any possible data loss by respecting the security measures given, taking care of deeds and keeping them in order, avoiding making useless copies.

Art. 8 - Relation with the press

1. The employee does not have any relationship with the press or with other media and refrains from any public statement which might affect the image of the Office. If the employee is requested to provide clarification or information to the press or to other media, he immediateley gives notice to the Study owners.

Art. 9 - Collateral activities

1. The employee informs the Office's owners of any writings and articles that he intends to publish concerning matters of Office's competence.

2. The employee does not practice any other activity, as an employed or self-employed person even for consulting jobs, in matters related to the sphere of competence of the Office.

3. The employee does not carry out any other external activities which may conflict with the duties or may affect the proper performance of his duties.

Art. 10 - Updates of the Code

1. This Code may be updated on the basis of the legislation and of the ethical principles and on the basis of the experience acquired.