Legal Form
CROWN is constituted as an association (association) under Articles 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code (Code civil suisse). The association is registered in the Commercial Register of the Canton of Geneva (Registre du commerce du Canton de Geneve), entered on 2 March 2026. Its registered seat is in the Canton of Geneva, with its domicile at c/o CROWN, Rue de la Tour-de-l’Ile 4, 1204 Geneve.
This legal form was chosen deliberately. A Swiss association provides the institutional credibility required for academic partnerships with the University of Geneva and ETH Zürich, the governance transparency expected by public and private funders, and the legal flexibility to operate across European jurisdictions — all while ensuring that the organisation’s resources are allocated exclusively to its mission.
Statutes
CROWN’s governance is defined by thirteen articles adopted at the constitutive assembly on 9 February 2025. The statutes were modelled on the template provided by the Centre d’Accueil de la Geneve Internationale (CAGI), reflecting the governance standards expected of Geneva-based international organisations.
Key provisions include:
Purpose. The association’s purpose, as defined in its statutes, is the fight against identity-based discrimination through research, technology, clinical practice, and legislative advocacy. All activities and resources are directed exclusively toward this purpose. No economic advantage accrues to members.
Collective signature. The association operates under a regime of collective signature requiring two authorised signatories (signature collective a deux). This ensures that no single individual can commit the organisation financially or legally without a second co-signatory’s approval — a governance safeguard standard among Swiss nonprofit institutions.
Board composition. The board (comite) comprises the President (Yanina Soumaré) and the Vice-President and Treasurer (Seydou Soumaré). Board members serve without compensation. All resources raised by the association are allocated to programme delivery, research, and operational costs — not to board remuneration.
General Assembly. The General Assembly (Assemblee generale) is the association’s supreme governing body. It convenes annually within six months of the fiscal year-end. The statutes permit virtual and multi-site assemblies, reflecting the association’s commitment to accessibility and its distributed operational model.
Dissolution. In the event of dissolution, any remaining assets are transferred to a nonprofit organisation pursuing a similar purpose. No assets may be returned to members. This provision ensures that contributions to CROWN’s mission remain permanently dedicated to the fight against identity-based discrimination.
Dual-Jurisdiction Operations
CROWN’s mission is European in scope. While the association’s legal seat and primary governance remain in Geneva, CROWN is planning the establishment of a complementary entity in France under the association loi 1901 framework, targeted for Q3 2026. This dual-jurisdiction structure serves three purposes:
First, it enables CROWN to access French research funding mechanisms and operate within the French philanthropic framework, where the mecenat system provides donors with a 60 per cent tax deduction on contributions up to EUR 2 million.
Second, it positions CROWN to support France’s legislative process on hair discrimination — the Proposition de loi Serva — with locally generated CDI data and research partnerships with French academic institutions.
Third, it creates an operational base for CROWN’s corporate training programmes and salon partnerships in the French market, the largest in continental Europe for textured hair care.
Transparency
CROWN is committed to the governance standards that its institutional partners — the University of Geneva, ETH Zürich, potential grant-making bodies — expect of a research-driven nonprofit. This includes annual financial reporting to the General Assembly, adherence to Swiss accounting standards for nonprofit organisations, and compliance with both Swiss and EU data protection regulations (GDPR and nDSG) in all research activities.
Our statutes, team biographies, and theory of change are published on this site. As CROWN’s research programme matures, we will publish annual impact reports documenting progress against the quantifiable milestones defined in our mission.
For questions about CROWN’s governance or to request copies of official documents, contact contact@crown.ngo.