The Statutes

1st Statute:
The Petropolitan Association of Sciences and Letters approved the 1st Social Statute in the Assembly of August 3, 1922, with Eugenio Lopes Barcellos as President. There is no issue nor copy or publication. It had a provisional nature for the entity´s organization.

2nd Statute:
Approved in the General Assembly on January 16, 1924, registered under the number 67, book III and published in the State Official Daily on October 12, 1924, with Aristides Werneck as President. The literary society takes the denomination "Association of Sciences and Letters" and, as a registered document, is the foundation Statute, once the 1st one hasn´t had an official registration. It defines the entity as a literary culture, artistic and scientific society, of indeterminate duration, with unlimited number of members divided in effective and corresponding. The Board of Directors is defined by 1 President, 2 Secretaries and 1 Treasurer, with annual mandate and elected by each year´s last General Assembly and swearing in on the January 15th of the immediate year. The main body is the general Assembly. It stipulates the date of foundation on August 3, 1922, and considers the founders the members registered in the Statute´s approval date. Attended to the Assembly the following members: Aristides Werneck, Arthur Barbosa, José Bento de Freitas Mello, Aloysio Silva, Soleyman Antoun, Raul Serrano, Carmello Paladino, Joaquim Heleodoro Gomes dos Santos, Eugênio Libonatti, José Veira, Murillo Cardoso Fontes, Armando de Lacerda and Salomão Pedro Jorge.

3rd Statute:
Approved in the General Assembly of December 30, 1929, with Nair de Teffé Hermes da Fonseca as President. The literary society´s alteration was deep, starting with the denomination: stopped being Association of Sciences and Letters to become the Petropolitan Academy of Letters. Other news: the number of effective members is limited in 50 and can be allowed intellectuals "with published or being printed works or those whose cultural intelligence had already been proved under the form of speeches, lectures, journalistic chronicles, etc.; the number of corresponding members is limited in 20; the Board of Directors remains with 1 President, 2 Secretaries and 1 Treasurer, and the way of election is the same of the previous Statute; the date of foundation is kept on August 3, 1922, and the founders members according to the preceding Statute. Present to the Assembly were: Alfredo de Mattos Rudge, Antônio Joaquim de Paula Buarque, Arthur Barbosa, Alcindo de Azevedo Sodré, Armando Martins, Priest Conrado Jacarandá, Joaquim de Gomensoro, Décio Cesário Alvim, Barbosa Gonçalves, Walter João Bretz, Reynaldo Antônio da Silva Chaves, Sylvio de Abreu Fialho, Álvaro Machado, Anthero Palma, Salomão Pedro Jorge, Armando Lima, Paulo Monte, Raphael Mayrinck, Durval de Moraes, Ernesto Tornaghi, Octávio Venâncio da Silva, Eugênio Libonatti, Flávio Vieira Maciel, José Bento de Freitas Mello, Aloysio Silva, Vicente Amorim, Aristides Werneck, Arthur de Sá Earp Filho, Mário de Paula Fonseca, Mário Dias, Frederico Villar, Luiz Quirino de Magalhães Gomes, Paulo de Mattos Rudge, Sylvio Leitão da Cunha Filho, Luiz Amaral, Eugênio Lopes Barcellos, Francisco Carauta de Souza, Henrique Mercaldo, Leôncio Corrêa. Alfredo Mariano d 'Oliveira, and the Board of Directors that promoted the deep statute alteration: Nair de Teffé Hermes da Fonseca (President), Priest Lúcio Gambarra (1st Secretary), Joaquim Heleodoro Gomes dos Santos (2nd Secretary) and Soleyman Antou (Treasurer).

4th Statute:
Approved in the General Assembly of May 16, 1934, minutes published on the August 3, 1934´s Official Daily and registered under the number 46, book III, in Petropolis´ 4th Office´s Registry Office, on August 21, 1934, with Alcindo de Azevedo Sodré as President. The main modification was the creation of 5 members categories: effective, title holder, honorary, honour and corresponding. The effective, called academic, were fixed in 40, according to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, with unchanging patronymic seats, with chosen names among the more illustrious Brazilian people, secured the academic vitalicity.

5th Statute:
Approved in the General Assembly of October 30, 1947, with José Joaquim Serpa de Carvalho as President, affirming the previous one and altering the Board of Directors, as it follows: 1 President, 1 General-Secretary, 2 Secretaries, 1 Treasurer and 1 Librarian.

6 th Statute:
Approved in the General Assembly of May 11, 1958, with Antônio Virginio de Moraes as President. With some adaptation´s atualizations, it hasn´t altered the entity´s general structure. To the Board of Directors was added the post of 2nd Treasurer and confirmed the Public Relations post, which had come from "ad referendum" decision of the General Assembly.

7th Statute:
Approved in the General Assembly of April 5, 1975, with Joaquim Eloy Duarte dos Santos as President, it has had, as the most important atualization, the Academy fitting as a non-profit entity and the legal declaration that "in case of dissolution the goods will be distributed to congenial institutions" as a proof of being a institution recognized by public powers as a public utility´s entity.

8 th Statute:
Approved in the Extraordinary General Assembly of December 28, 1979, with Olavo Dantas as President. Besides some adaptations in the functional formal aspects, it adds a post on the Board of Directors, the Vice-President´s.

9th Statute:
Approved in the Extraordinary General Assembly of December 28, 1988, with Joaquim Eloy Duarte as President. It establishes important modifications and new regulations; among the most important ones are:
1) Determination of 5 members categories: effective, the same ones existents, in number of 40, with numbered seats and fixed patrons; emeritus, honoraries, honours and correspondents, being the last ones with numbered seats and fixed patrons taken from deceased academics and expressive personalities of Petopolitan cultural life;
2) General Assembly rite´s reformulation;
3) Keeping the composition of the Board of Directors posts, and creating the Inspection Council;
4) Creation of the "Internal Regulations" to regulate the Statute;
5) A new rite for vote in the assemblies, eliminating votes by letter and telegram;
6) Creating the chapter regarding to the "Property";
7) Set the annual "Budgetary Forecast"; and
8) Official adoption of the Academy symbol, Maria Helena de Avellar Palma´s creation.

10th Statute:
Approved in the Extraordinary General Assembly from January 21 to March 11, 1955, with José de Cusatis as President. There was a big and unexplainable cut in the previous Statute, eliminating the "Internal Regulation" and, replacing it, being created a "suited rule" to be set; restoring the vote by letter and telegram; eliminating the "Budgetary Forecast"; changing the title "title holder" for "Effective academic", remaining the other categories; and eliminating from the Statute´s body the fixed patrons´names from the effective´s seats. This last Statute, in force, was registered in the Petropolis´ 4th Office´s Registry Office, protocol nº 15985, book A-1, under the number 1075, on June 13, 1996.

Important Note: the General Assembly needs to study carefully the new Statute, to correct its faults, to update it before life´s dynamic in the new 21st Century. The theme must be a project for the current and future administrations.