Образовательная деятельность СIPR на примере Международного института бизнеса

President the elected President for the time being of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Other words and expressions defined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Institute shall have the meanings there assigned to them.

The singular includes the plural and vice versa.

2.     The Complaints Procedure: general management of business

The Complaints Procedure, including Conciliation and proceedings of the Professional Practices Committee and Disciplinary Committee, is governed by the rules of natural justice.  In particular, the procedure will be managed at all times to ensure that the Defendant has a fair and proper opportunity to answer the Complaint.

The standard of proof at all times is the balance of probabilities.

Unless a Committee decides otherwise, all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Complaints Procedure and these Regulations will be borne by the Institute.

Failure to comply with these Regulations in any case will not render the procedure void, but the Chairman of either Committee may act as necessary to redress the failure if he or she considers that it may have disadvantaged the Defendant or the Complainant.

The Complaints Procedure is not invalidated if a relevant communication is accidentally not sent, or is not received.

Any disagreement about the conduct of the Complaints Procedure, including the interpretation or application of these Regulations, will be resolved by the President.

The Institute will retain all records of the Complaints Procedure (excluding records of Conciliation) until the Council decides otherwise.

Any documents served in connection with the Complaints Procedure shall be deemed to have been validly served on the Defendant and/or the Complainant:

if sent by registered post or recorded delivery post to the last address known by the Institute or an address that they specified in writing (including the address of their legal adviser);

if handed to them in person;

if served in any way which may be directed by the Chairman of either of the Committees.

3.     Confidentiality

Details of a Complaint and of its progress through the Institute’s Complaints Procedure must be treated as confidential by the Complainant, the Defendant and all Conciliators, Assessors and Committee members without time limit, except that:

a Committee Chairman may decide at any time that facts (other than details of any Conciliation) may be published if they are of public concern;

decisions of the Committees will be published, with the approval of the Council.

Any breach, or alleged breach, of confidentiality may itself give rise to a further Complaint.

4.     Making Complaints

Any person (whether a Member of the Institute or not) may bring a Complaint against a Member.  So too may the Director General, on behalf of the Institute, if it appears to be in the public interest.  Members of the Institute have a duty to bring a Complaint against a Member, where it is in the public interest to do so.

Complaints may relate to others, who may or may not be Members (e.g. subordinates or subcontractors), for whose work the Member was directly responsible at the time of events that are the subject of the Complaint

5.     The Institute’s initial response to Complaints

The Institute will maintain a register of all Complaints received and the Committees’ decisions on them.

The Institute will

check that the Complaint concerns a Member of the Institute at the time of the events complained about;

identify the clause(s) in the CIPR Code of Conduct to which the Complaint refers;

clarify any matters of uncertainty with the Complainant;

tell the Complainant about the Complaints Procedure, these Regulations and the Institute's disciplinary powers: specifically, Regulation 3 (Confidentiality);

explain that the Defendant will be notified of the Complaint in order that he or she may exercise the right of reply.

If the Complainant wishes to proceed with the Complaint, the Institute will

obtain a written statement of the Complaint, provided or approved by the Complainant;

send the written statement to the Defendant and invite him or her to submit a written response to it;

tell the Defendant about the Complaints Procedure, these Regulations and the Institute's disciplinary powers: specifically, Regulation 3 (Confidentiality).

The Defendant's written response will be forwarded to the Complainant.

Unless both the Complainant and the Defendant agree that the Complaint should be withdrawn, the Institute will ask the Chairman of the Professional Practices Committee to start the Conciliation process under Regulation 8 (Duty to conciliate) or, if either the Complainant or the Defendant does not agree to that, to initiate a hearing by the Professional Practices Committee.

The Complaint should be referred to the Chairman of the Professional Practices Committee, as in paragraph f) of this Regulation, no later than eight weeks after the Complaint was received, unless both the Complainant and the Defendant agree otherwise.

6.     Professional Practices Committee, Disciplinary Committee and Conciliation panels: membership

The Chairman of the Professional Practices Committee will, whenever necessary, appoint three members of the Professional Practices Committee to act as a panel of conciliators, one of them as Chairman of the panel.

The quorum of the Professional Practices Committee is not less than four, of the Disciplinary Committee not less than three, and of a Conciliation panel two.

Unless the Council decides otherwise, once a Committee has started to hear a Complaint, its members remain in membership until the hearing has been completed, even if they were due to retire from the Committee in the meantime.

A Committee member shall play no part in considering a Complaint if he or she

has had previous dealings with the Defendant or Complainant personally or professionally;

has prior knowledge of any matters relating to the Complaint; or

has taken part in any previous consideration of the Complaint or any aspect of the Complaint, including Conciliation.

The names of Committee members who will take part in a hearing will be listed in the convening notice for it.  Within five days of the date of that notice the Defendant and Complainant may object in writing to any of the members, stating their grounds.  If the Chairman considers that the objection is well founded, he or she shall bar the member(s) in question from hearing that Complaint. The Defendant and Complainant have the same right of objection to anyone who is subsequently appointed as an alternate.

The Chairman must be present throughout the hearing of a Complaint.  If any other member of a Committee is absent from any part of the hearing, he or she shall take no further part in it.  This will not invalidate the hearing, so long as the number of members present throughout the substantive hearing of the Complaint is not reduced below the quorum.

If a Committee Chairman is unable to carry out any particular Committee duty, that duty may be carried out by any other member nominated in writing by the President.

Other things being equal, paragraphs c) to g) of this Regulation also apply to members of any Conciliation panel.

7.     Assessors

The Chairman of a Committee may appoint one or more Assessors, who may have specialised knowledge or experience that would assist the Committee.

No Assessor shall be appointed who has taken part in Conciliation under Regulation 8 (Duty to conciliate).

Assessors are not members of the Committees and have no vote on decisions.

8.     Duty to conciliate

The first step in resolving a Complaint, if the Complainant and the Defendant agree to it, is a process of conciliation, mediation or arbitration (‘Conciliation’).

Conciliation is an informal process managed at the discretion of the Chairman of the Professional Practices Committee and of any Conciliators whom the Institute appoints.

Conciliation is a confidential process: no records will be kept afterwards, and no details of it will be forwarded to the Professional Practices Committee or Disciplinary Committee.

The Conciliators may investigate any facts and circumstances of the Complaint and take whatever legal or other advice they consider necessary.  However, unlike at a formal hearing of a Complaint, they are not aiming at a complete understanding of the facts surrounding the Complaint.

9.     Conciliation: management of business

Members of the panel (‘the Conciliators’) will receive copies of the Complaint and the Defendant’s response to it.

The Conciliation process should start and run as quickly as possible, and will end in any event within three months after the Conciliators were appointed.

The Complainant and the Defendant are expected to speak for themselves at Conciliation meetings, but they may be accompanied by any other person they choose, whom the Chairman may allow to address the Conciliators.

The Complainant and the Defendant may state their position and any relevant issues in writing at any time.

The Conciliators do not have to reveal to the Complainant what they have been told by, or have said to, the Defendant; and vice versa.

The Conciliators may adjourn a Conciliation meeting at any stage.

Conciliation will come to an end if:

the Complainant withdraws the Complaint, or part of it, in writing;

the Chairman of the panel of Conciliators reports to the Chairman of the Professional Practices Committee – without giving reasons – that Conciliation has not been successful;

either the Complainant or the Defendant withdraws from the Conciliation process;

the Complainant and the Defendant have not reached agreement within three months.

10.   Professional Practices Committee and Disciplinary Committee: general management of business

The Defendant and the Complainant have the right to appear in person before the Committees and may be accompanied at the hearing and may be represented by any person, whether legally qualified or not.

Committees normally consider information and evidence that have been submitted in advance.  However, in exceptional circumstances, such as where information and evidence were not previously available, the Chairman may allow the Defendant and Complainant to submit new information at a hearing.

The Committees may require the Complainant and the Defendant to attend and may request witnesses to attend.

The Committees may proceed even if the Defendant fails to attend or fails to make use of the rights of the Defendant under these Regulations in any other way, provided that the Institute has duly notified the Defendant of his or her rights and obligations as set out in these Regulations.

In any instances not explicitly covered by these Regulations, the Chairman may manage the business of the Committee as he or she sees fit: for example, in approving any application to postpone a hearing which has not begun, or in adjourning a hearing from time to time to seek further information, or to give the Defendant or Complainant time to consider a response.

The Chairman may decide that more than one Complaint against the same Member, or Complaints against more than one Member, will be handled together.

The Committees do not have access to any information relating to Conciliation under Regulation 8 (Duty to conciliate). Otherwise, they may require the Defendant and Complainant to provide additional information as necessary; and the Defendant and Complainant must provide it within a specified time.

The Committee may consider any evidence or information that has not been submitted by a due date, provided that the Defendant is not disadvantaged as a result.

The Committees may instruct a solicitor and/or counsel to represent them at a hearing if they think fit.

Decisions of the Committees will be published, with the approval of the Institute’s Council.

The Committees may admit evidence of any sort, whether or not it would be acceptable in a court of law; although the Institute is expected to take reasonable steps to validate any hearsay evidence with direct evidence.

A majority vote is sufficient on every allegation in the Complaint.  If votes are tied, the finding or decision is the one that is more favourable to the Defendant.

Findings and decisions will be set down in writing and signed by the Chairman and all members of the Committee present.

The Committee Chairman may take whatever steps he or she considers necessary at any time to ensure that the case is handled fairly and efficiently.  This may include extending or abridging any time limit that has been imposed on the Defendant or the Complainant or that governs the procedures of the Committee.

11.   Professional Practices Committee hearing

If a Complaint is not resolved by Conciliation under Regulation 8 (Duty to conciliate), it will be considered at a hearing of the Professional Practices Committee.

At least six weeks’ notice will be given of the hearing. The convening notice will

set out details of the procedure to be followed at any hearing, including the procedures in Regulation 10 (Professional Practices Committee and Disciplinary Committee: general management of business);

be accompanied by the written submissions supplied by the Defendant and Complainant.

If the Committee considers that a Complaint discloses a prima facie case for disciplinary action, it will:

proceed as in Regulation 12 (Referring a Complaint to the Disciplinary Committee) or Regulation 13 (consent orders) or Regulation 14 (letters of advice); or

order that no further action be taken on the Complaint.

If it considers that the Complaint does not disclose a prima facie case for disciplinary action, it will dismiss the Complaint.

If the Defendant breaches an order made under Regulation 13 or Regulation 14 he or she may be subject to a further Complaint.

The Chairman may determine that it is in the public interest to resolve a Complaint urgently.  In this case the Chairman, in consultation with one or more members of the Committee, is entitled to act on behalf of the Committee in all matters, and will report his or her actions to the Committee as soon as reasonably practicable.

12.   Referring a Complaint to the Disciplinary Committee (Regulation 11 – Professional Practices Committee hearing – c) i) refers)

The Professional Practices Committee may take into account any facts or matters which were considered by the Institute on previous occasions in relation to the Defendant.

To refer a Complaint to the Disciplinary Committee, the Professional Practices Committee will submit

a statement of the alleged offence(s);

a summary of the facts and matters considered by the Committee;

a copy of the initial written submissions made by the Complainant and the Defendant;

any other relevant information that it has gathered from the Complainant or Defendant in the meantime.

13.   Consent orders (Regulation 11 – Professional Practices Committee hearing – c) i) refers)

The Professional Practices Committee will tell the Defendant in writing that

it intends to make one or more of the orders set out in paragraph b) of this Regulation;

if the Defendant does not agree within 21 days to this course, the case will be referred to the Disciplinary Committee.

The Committee may order

that the Defendant be reprimanded or severely reprimanded

that by a specified date the Defendant must return to a client all or part of a fee which the client has paid or remit to a client funds which have been retained by the Defendant in or towards payment of a fee;

that the Defendant pay to the Institute by a specified date a sum to compensate for all or part of the costs arising from this Complaints Procedure.

The Committee will report the outcome to the Council.  If the Defendant has agreed to the consent order, the decision will be published, with the approval of the Council.

14.   Letters of advice (Regulation 11 – Professional Practices Committee hearing – c) i) refers)

The Committee may order the Defendant to obtain and follow advice from specified sources if it considers that the Complaint has arisen because the Defendant's business, or the business in which the Defendant is employed, has been managed inefficiently.

Where relevant, the Committee may seek the assistance of the Defendant's employer in implementing the advice.

15.   Convening the Disciplinary Committee

Not less than eight weeks in advance, a convening notice will be circulated that

gives the date, time and place for hearing the Complaint;

sets out the procedure to be followed at the hearing, including the procedures in Regulation 10 (Professional Practices Committee and Disciplinary Committee: general management of business);

is accompanied by copies of any documents forwarded by the Professional Practices Committee as in Regulation 12 (Referring a Complaint to the Disciplinary Committee)

gives a date, time and place for a pre-hearing review, in the event that the Chairman later decides that one is necessary;

explains the purpose and management of a pre-hearing review, as set out in Regulation 16 below.

At the time of the convening notice, the Defendant will be required within four weeks:      

to state in writing whether he or she accepts the allegations in the Complaint; and, if not, which allegations are denied, and why;

to deliver two copies of any additional documents (paginated and indexed) to support his or her defence.

At the time of the convening notice, Defendant and Complainant will be required within four weeks:

to state in writing whether they intend to attend and/or be represented at the hearing and the identity of any representative;

to state in writing whether they accept the facts as stated in the accompanying information; and, if not, which facts are denied, and why;

to state in writing whether they wish to challenge the authenticity of any of the accompanying documents;

to provide the names and addresses of any witnesses they wish to call, and to deliver a written statement of the evidence of each witness.

The Chairman will decide as soon as practicable whether any or all of the witnesses proposed by the Defendant and Complainant, and their evidence, are admissible.

Any additional documents submitted by the Defendant under paragraph c) ii) of this Regulation will be copied to the Committee and the Complainant.  If the Complainant chooses to submit a response, this must be received with two weeks and will be copied to the Defendant.

16.   Pre-hearing review

The Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee may conduct a pre-hearing review to clarify the issues before the Committee and generally to ensure that the case is handled fairly and efficiently.

The Chairman will give at least two days’ notice if he or she decides that a pre-hearing reviewis unnecessary (Regulation 15 – Convening the Disciplinary Committee – paragraph a) iv) refers).

The Chairman may direct the Defendant to appear in person at a pre-hearing review.

The pre-hearing review may consider, and the Chairman may issue subsequent directions relating to, the following matters:    

whether the hearing should be held in private or in public;

whether more than one Complaint should be considered together by the Disciplinary Committee;

application to strike out allegations;

attendance of witnesses;

admission of documents;

admission of facts;

the estimated duration of the hearing;

any other relevant matters.

The Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee may adjourn the pre-hearing review from time to time as he or she considers appropriate.

The directions made by the Chairman resulting from the pre-hearing review will be issued to the Complainant and the Defendant.