The legal form of the KrimZ

The KrimZ is a registered society according to German law, i.e. regular members of the institute are the Federal Republic of Germany and all the federal states. The Federal Republic holds 44 % and the remaining members 56 % of the votes. Members are represented by their Ministers and Senators of Justice who, as a rule, delegate this function to administrative departments concerned with criminological matters. Current expenses of the KrimZ are met by its members; 50 % by the Federal Government, 50 % by the federal states.
Members’ meetings take place twice a year. Mainly, these meetings provide for the election of the board of directors, the nomination of the advisory board, budget appropriation, giving consent to contracts of researchers and considering research projects.
In regard to the research tasks KrimZ is advised and assisted by the advisory board. The twelve board members are representatives of the criminal justice system, of police institutions and the German Research Council, as well as university professors specialising in subject areas relevant to criminological research. Additionally, there are corresponding members, some of them foreign institutions for criminological research and documentation, with whom cooperation has been arranged. Others are former members of the advisory board.