Statute

Chapter 1 – General provisions

§ 1.

The Institute of Literature, hereinafter referred to as the “Institute” is a national cultural institution operating pursuant to:

  1. the Act of 25 October 1991 on the Organization and Pursuit of Cultural Activity (JoL of 2018, item 1983 and of 2019, item 115), hereinafter referred to as “the Act”;
  2. the Order of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of 25 February 2019 on the Creation of a National Cultural Institution – the Institute of Literature (Official Gazette of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, item 12)
  3. this Statute.

§ 2.

The Institute shall have its seat in Kraków and operate in the Republic of Poland and abroad.

§ 3.

  1. The Institute shall be organized by the minister of culture and national heritage, hereinafter referred to as “the Minister”.
  2. The Institute shall be entered into the register of cultural institutions kept by the Minister and have a legal personality.
  3. The Institute shall be supervised by the Minister.

Chapter 2 – Activities

§ 4.

  1. The Institute shall, through its activities, extend the state’s patronage over contemporary Polish literature writers and researchers, as well as literary critics, and:
    1. create the conditions to support the growth of contemporary literature;
    2. take measures to disseminate contemporary literature;
    3. support contemporary Polish writers and disseminate their works in Poland and beyond;
    4. protect contemporary literature and ensure its presence in publishing;
    5. ensure the presence of contemporary literature in education;
    6. take steps to raise the reading competence of contemporary Polish literature readers and promote readership.
  2. Specifically, the tasks mentioned in § 4.1 shall be achieved by:
    1. publishing activity, including:
      1. editing and publishing the “Nowy Napis” quarterly as a platform for original poetry, prose, and drama, as well as literary debate and in-depth criticism,
      2. editing and publishing several publishing series:
        • Biblioteka Krytyki Literackiej Kwartalnika “Nowy Napis”, i.e. a series of anthologies with scholarly introductions devoted to contemporary literature (especially by poets and prose writers inluded in the high-school core curriculum) or collections of literary criticism,
        • a scholarly series entitled Biblioteka Pana Cogito;
    2. creating specialized websites and databases devoted to writers, scholars, and critics of contemporary Polish literature in Polish and other languages, including:
      1. running a website to bring together the latest literary pieces, current reviews and interviews with writers, writers’ profiles, commentaries on literary events, and archives, supplemented with audiovisual materials and photographs;
      2. collecting and publishing freely available repositories of the texts of literature and literary criticism, as well as multimedia;
    3. disseminating information on contemporary literature, literary studies, and literary criticism, including literary jubilees and anniversaries;
    4. collecting, processing, and updating information on literary life;
    5. distributing publications, including the “Nowy Napis” quarterly and Biblioteka Krytyki Literackiej Kwartalnika “Nowy Napis”, among selected entities active in the field of culture, research, and education;
    6. conducting educational activity, including trainings, workshops, and courses;
    7. organizing the Herbert Workshops;
    8. organizing interdisciplinary creative sessions, conferences, symposia, research seminars, festivals and exhibitions in Poland and beyond;
    9. collaborating with the state authorities, local governments, art and culture institutions, NGOs, and other entities active in the field of culture and research, as well as the media and individual writers with the aim of carrying out the tasks specified in the statute;
    10. enforcing rights that follow from licenses and copyrights;
    11. serving ministerial programs and carrying out the independent programs of the Institute;
    12. awarding prizes and scholarships to writers, critics and scholars of contemporary Polish literature;
    13. carrying out other tasks relevant to the Institute’s mission, as ordered by the Minister.

Chapter 3 – Management and organization

§ 5.

The Institute shall be managed by:

  1. the Director;
  2. the Program Board, hereinafter referred to as “the Board”.

§ 6.

  1. The Director shall manage the activities of the Institute and represent it before external parties.
  2. The Director shall be in charge of implementing the Institute’s statutory tasks, and in particular:
    1. oversee its day-to-day activities;
    2. prepare action programs and financial plans for each calendar year;
    3. draw up content-based reports and annual financial reports for each calendar year;
    4. oversee the Institute’s property and assets and ensure the rational and efficient management of its financial and material resources;
    5. issue orders and other internal acts.
  3. The Director shall be appointed and dismissed by the Minister in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Act.
  4. The Director shall be assisted in the management of the Institute by a deputy.
  5. The Deputy Director shall be appointed and dismissed by the Director, subject to the consent of the Minister.

§ 7.

  1. The Director shall base his/her decisions on the counsel and opinion of the Board.
  2. The Board shall consist of 12 members selected from among the representatives of the community involved in the field of the Institute’s activities.
  3. Board members shall be appointed by the Minister, upon the petition of the Director, for a term of 5 years.
  4. The first session of the Board shall be called by the Director.
  5. The Board shall elect a Chair and Deputy Chair from among its members.
  6. Membership in the Board shall expire before the end of the term if a member:
    1. resigns,
    2. is legally incapacitated or rendered unable to perform his/her duties due to illness;
    3. is legally stripped of public rights;
    4. passes away.
  7. Should a member’s membership in the Board expire, the Minister shall appoint a new member in accordance with the principles indicated in § 7.2.
  8. No remuneration shall be paid for participation in the Board’s activities.
  9. The costs of the activity and maintenance of the Board shall be covered by the Institute.
  10. The employees of the Institute are not eligible to sit on the Board.

§ 8.

The role of the Board shall be to:

  1. issue opinions on the annual and long-term plans and programs of the Institute;
  2. analyze the conditions and tasks taken up by the Institute;
  3. explore new ways of offering organizational, conceptual, and financial support to the Institute’s activities;
  4. express opinions and submit motions to the Director in any crucial matters related to the activities of the Institute;
  5. express opinions and submit motions to the Minister, by way of the Director, in any crucial matters related to the activities of the Institute.

§ 9.

  1. The Board shall meet according to need, but at least twice per year.
  2. The sessions of the Board shall be called by the Chair.
  3. The Director, the Minister’s representative, and other persons invited by the Chair may take part in the sessions of the Board without voting rights.
  4. Special sessions may be called at the behest of:
    1. at least half of the members of the Board;
    2. the Minister;
    3. the Director.
  5. Minutes shall be kept of all Board’s sessions and the relevant documents shall be kept at the seat of the Institute.
  6. The detailed procedures of the Board shall be governed by regulations adopted by the Board.

§ 10.

  1. The Institute may open branches, centers, and specialized departments.
  2. New branches centers, and specialized departments shall be established, merged, and closed down by the order of the Director, subject to the consent of the Minister.
  3. The internal organization of the Institute shall be laid down by organizational regulations established by the Director pursuant to art. 13.3 of the Act.
  4. Any changes to the organizational regulations shall be introduced in accordance with the same procedures that governed their adoption.

Chapter 4 – Property and finances

§ 11.

The Minister shall provide the resources necessary for the maintenance and development of the Institute.

§ 12.

The property and assets of the Institute shall be used for goals relevant to the scope of the Institute’s activities.

§ 13.

The Institute’s financial management shall be based on the principles laid down in the Act and other pertinent legal provisions.

§ 14.

  1. The Institute shall by funded from the revenues generated by its activities, including the sale of movable assets, property lease and rental, as well as state and local government subsidies, resources donated by natural and legal persons, and other sources.
  2. The Minister shall provide the Institute with financial resources in the form of:
    1. earmarked subsidies, designed to fund the day-to-day activities related to its statutory tasks, including building maintenance and repair;
    2. specific-purpose subsidies, designed to fund or co-fund investment costs;
    3. specific-purpose subsidies for selected tasks and programs.

§ 15.

  1. In addition, the Institute may engage in additional paid activities in accordance with the principles laid down by binding provisions, in order to fund activities specified in § 4.
  2. The activity mentioned in § 15.1 may involve:
    1. trading in copyrights, aimed at publishing and selling books, bulletins, magazines, as well as films, photographs, audiovisual and multimedia materials;
    2. organizing and producing events aimed at promotion, dissemination, education, culture and publishing, including conferences, symposia, exhibitions and educational workshops;
    3. advertising and promotion;
    4. selling publications, books, promotional materials and culture industry products, including audiovisual materials and multimedia, other than those mentioned in §4;
    5. organizing and operating literary clubs;
    6. lending, renting, leasing and other forms of using its property and assets.

§ 16.

The Director shall ensure the timely preparation of the annual financial report, its mandatory control by an auditing company, and its submission for approval to the Minister.

Chapter 5 – Representation

§ 17.

The Director shall be legally authorized to act on behalf of the Institute, including in order to submit statements of intent relevant to its property rights and obligations.

§ 18.

  1. The Director may legally appoint attorneys-in-fact to act on behalf of the Institute, always specifying the exact scope of their powers of attorney.
  2. The powers of attorney shall be granted in writing under pain of nullity.
  3. The fact of granting and revoking of the powers of attorney shall be disclosed in the register of cultural institutions kept by the Minister. This provision shall not apply to the powers of attorney ad litem.

Chapter 6 – Final provisions

§ 19.

The Institute shall be merged, divided or closed down by the Minister in accordance with the procedure and rules specified in binding provisions.

§ 20.

Any changes to the statute shall be introduced in accordance with the same procedure that governed its adoption.