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RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
Made by Council and modified in 2000 in accordance with By-Law No 65
Expressions used in these Rules shall have the meanings assigned to them by the Bye-Laws, Rules and Regulations of the Institution. The masculine shall imply the feminine.
These Rules are provided to govern the conduct of all
members of the Institution during their professional employment to ensure
that they are guided at all times to serve the best interests of the public,
the profession and their employer and maintain high standards of practice
and professional conduct.
To
that intent
| 1 | A member shall, as far as is reasonable, take all practical steps to ensure that his professional competence is maintained throughout his working life by the knowledge and practice which currently pertains in the science and art of his primary specialism | ||
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| 1.1 | A Corporate member shall undertake the minimum number of hours of continuing professional development (CPD) activity, as prescribed by the Council from time to time, subject only to the exercise of the Council's discretion in exceptional cases | ||
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| 1.2 | A Corporate member shall, in accordance with the Bye-Laws, provide to the Institution in the form currently prescribed an account of his CPD activities or, if appropriate, his reasons for failing to comply, with clause 1.1 above | ||
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| 2 | A member shall, at all times and however employed, use the appropriate skills and competence relative to his grade of membership as approved by Council. | ||
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| 3 | A member shall discharge his obligations to all those with whom he has professional relations faithfully and with integrity. | ||
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| 4 | In promoting himself, a member | ||
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| 4.1 | shall he entitled to use the designatory letters applicable to his grade of membership as currently approved by Council | ||
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| 4.2 | shall not improperly canvas or solicit professional employment | ||
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| 4.3 | in seeking a commission, shall do so in a clear and unambiguous manner and should | ||
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| 4.3.1 | do so in writing | ||
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| 4.3.2 | refrain from making derogatory comparisons with the services available from other practitioners | ||
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| 4.3.3 | not use flamboyant or exaggerated language | ||
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| 4.3.4 | not misrepresent the services available from his company | ||
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| 4.3.5 | ensure that the services being offered are appropriate to the prospective client's requirements | ||
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| 5 | In accepting an appointment a member should ensure that | ||
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| 5.1 | his terms of engagement setting out his obligations and entitlements have been established in writing and accepted | ||
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| 5.2 | his client is informed in writing of any shortfalls in the area of remit given to the member so there can be no dispute as to the extent of the services to be provided | ||
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| 6 | A member shall not maliciously or recklessly injure or attempt to injure, whether directly or indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects or business of another practitioner | ||
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| 7 | A member should not make or subscribe to any statement or reports which are contrary to his bona fide professional opinions | ||
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| 8 | A member who practices in any country outside of the United Kingdom shall order his conduct according to these Rules, so far as they are applicable, but where there are local regulations and recognised standards of professional conduct he shall adhere to them bearing in mind the high standards which the Institution demands of it's members | ||
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| 9 | A member convicted of a criminal offence which in the opinion of Council renders him unfit to be a member shall be deemed to be guilty of improper conduct | ||
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DISCIPLINARY REGULATIONS
Made
by Council and modified in 2000 in accordance with By-Law No 65
| 1 | For the purpose of these Regulations the term ‘member’ shall include both corporate and non corporate members of the Institution. The term ‘improper conduct’ shall have the meaning to be inferred from these Regulations. The masculine shall imply the feminine. | ||
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| 2 | Any allegation of improper conduct on the part of a member, received from any source, shall be referred to an Investigation Panel who may initiate an enquiry where they have reason to suppose that the member concerned may have been guilty of improper conduct. Where the complainant is not a member of the Institution the Secretary shall provide them with a copy of the current Rules of Professional Conduct and these Disciplinary Regulations. | ||
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| 3 | The Investigation Panel will be appointed by the President of the Institution and shall consist of three Fellows who are either current or past members of Council. The names of those appointed shall remain confidential to prevent any improper contact by either the member concerned or the complainant. | ||
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| 4 | Members of the Panel shall stand down at the completion of the enquiry unless otherwise directed by the President. | ||
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| 5 | During any enquiry, communications between the Panel, the complainant and the member concerned shall be by correspondence only, directed through the office of the Secretary of the Institution. Neither the complainant nor the member shall communicate directly with any member of the Panel. | ||
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| 6 | The Investigating Panel may, if they consider the allegation does not disclose a primae facie case, or that it was of such a trivial nature that it called for no action, dismiss the case without informing the member concerned that such an allegation had been made and without hearing the complainant. | ||
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| 7 | In cases where the Investigating Panel decides to conduct an enquiry they shall send written notice to the member concerned giving the nature and particulars of the allegation and invite him to submit his observations in writing to the Investigating Panel. At the same time the member shall be informed that he is under no obligation to make any observations but that if he does not do so, or if the Investigating Panel do not regard any explanations of his as satisfactory, the matter will be referred to a Disciplinary Committee which will give him a full opportunity to present his case. | ||
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| 8 | The Investigating Panel may call for additional particulars, clarification or evidence from the complainant and the member concerned at any time during the course of the investigation. | ||
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| 9 | Where the complainant does not comply within a reasonable period of time to a request by the Investigating Panel for further information, the Panel may dismiss the case and inform the complainant and member concerned. | ||
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| 10 |
On receiving the member's observations the Investigating Panel may dismiss the case if it is satisfied the allegation of improper conduct 10.1 is unfounded 10.2 does not disclose a primae facie case 10.3 is of such a trivial nature that no action is necessary In all other cases the Investigating Panel shall, after investigation, refer the allegation of improper conduct to a Disciplinary Committee. |
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| 11 | Should the Investigation Panel determine that the allegation does not breach the Rules of Professional Conduct or that no case of unprofessional conduct has been established or where the investigation has been terminated as in 10 above, the Panel shall report to Council accordingly and, subject to the complainant and member concerned being informed in writing, this shall conclude the matter. The Council will not make public the Investigation Panel's findings unless not doing so would be detrimental to the member concerned | ||
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| 12 | The Investigating Panel will not normally investigate allegations which fall within the competence of a criminal court, industrial tribunal, local ombudsman or other duly appointed body. However, in such cases the Panel shall consider whether any findings of fact constitute a breach of the Rules of Professional Conduct and/or bring the Institution into disrepute. If they do and if the Investigating Panel accepts those findings, they shall refer the matter to a Disciplinary Committee | ||
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| 13 | The Disciplinary Committee shall be appointed by the President and shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be past Presidents or Chairman of Council and three Fellows who shall be past or present members of Council but none of whom shall have been members of the Investigating Panel considering the case. The Disciplinary Committee may employ a practising Barrister or Solicitor of at least seven years' standing to advise them as to the manner in which they should best exercise their functions. | ||
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| 14 | Subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct and these Regulations, the Investigating Panel and the Disciplinary Committee shall have the power to regulate their own practice and procedures to suit the particular case under investigation and will not be bound by the strict application of the laws of evidence and may adjourn the proceedings for any reason. | ||
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| 15 | Once the allegation has been referred to a Disciplinary Committee, the Secretary shall arrange that the member concerned be given notice that the matter has been referred to a Disciplinary Committee. | ||
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| 16 | The Investigating Panel shall place before the Disciplinary Committee such information available to them following their investigation. The Disciplinary Committee will, in the first instance, invite the member concerned to respond to the allegations against him in writing and may, if they consider they have sufficient evidence to do so, make a ‘documents only decision’. However, should they consider it more appropriate, or should the member so request, they will call a meeting of all interested parties to hear evidence, in person. | ||
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| 17 | As soon as practicable after the decision to hold a Hearing, and subject to any observations by the member concerned, the Secretary shall give notice to the member concerned of the date of the Hearing, the practice of the Disciplinary Committee in relation to the hearing of an allegation and the manner in which he may be represented. | ||
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| 18 | At the meeting of the Disciplinary Committee a member of the Investigating Panel shall present the evidence received as a result of their investigation. The member concerned shall be given the fullest opportunity of being heard and of calling witnesses and cross examining any other witness testifying before the Committee. He shall be allowed to conduct his own case, or to be represented by a solicitor, counsel or another member of his choice, but not by any other person. The Disciplinary Committee will reserve its judgement at the Hearing and issue its decision in writing at a later date. | ||
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| 19 | The Disciplinary Committee may take into consideration, act on and give such weight as they think fit to any information that may be available to them, whether or not such information would or would not be admissible as evidence in a Court of Law. | ||
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| 20 | Disciplinary
action may be taken by Council against any member who is found 20.1 to have contravened the provisions of any of the Rules of Professional Conduct 20.2 guilty of unprofessional conduct rendering him unfit to serve the public in his professional capacity or to be a member of the Institution 20.3 to have brought the Institution into disrepute |
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| 21 | In the event that the Disciplinary Committee finds the allegation that a breach of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other improper conduct has been proved beyond all reasonable doubt, they shall inform the member concerned of their decision and their reasons, together with their proposed recommendations to Council. The member concerned will then be offered the opportunity to make representation to the Disciplinary Committee in mitigation of the proposed recommendations, either in writing, by appearing before the Committee in person, or by being represented as in 18 above. The Disciplinary Committee shall take such representations into account in finalising their recommendations and report to Council. | ||
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| 22 | In considering a report from the Disciplinary Committee that a breach of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other unprofessional conduct has been established, Council, in its absolute discretion, may | ||
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| 22.1 | warn the member as to his future conduct | ||
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| 22.2 | reprimand, or seriously reprimand, the member | ||
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| 22.3 | publish the member’s name and brief details of the complaint | ||
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| 22.4 | determine that the member should not hold office within the Institution, or any subsidiary company, for such a period as considered appropriate | ||
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| 22.5 | suspend the member from membership of the Institution for such a period as considered appropriate | ||
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| 22.6 | terminate the member's membership of the Institution | ||
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| 22.7 | require the member to pay the Disciplinary Committee’s costs for any Hearing, including the cost of any legal advice or representation | ||
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| 22.8 | combine any of the above penalties as they consider appropriate | ||
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| 23 | Council
shall not impose a more severe penalty than that recommended by the Disciplinary Committee |
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| 24 | In cases where the Disciplinary Committee finds that a member’s conduct, whilst not constituting an offence as defined in 20 above, fell short of the recognised standard of professional practice and behaviour, it shall. make such findings known to Council who may advise the member as to the propriety of his actions and his future conduct. | ||
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| 25 | The examination of a complaint against a member shall be concluded by the Secretary who shall send a letter to both the member concerned and the complainant giving notice of | ||
| 25.1 | Council's decision under either Regulation 22 or 24 | ||
| 25.2 | the Investigating Panel's decision under either Regulation 10, 11 or 12 | ||
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| 26 | To ensure receipt of all notices, the despatch of correspondence to either the complainant or the member shall be by recorded delivery. | ||
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| 27 | In implementing any decision under these Regulations, Council reserves the right to give such publicity thereto as it may, in its absolute discretion, deem appropriate having regard for the interests of the public and the Institution | ||
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