Making a complaint

All members of CIAT have to adhere to its professional Code of Conduct. In the unlikely event that any member fails to reach the required standard of professional practice, the Institute does have a procedure to deal with these occurrences.

In these circumstances, the person complaining is required to complete a Complaint Receipt Form which must identify the relevant clauses contained in the Code of Conduct which was in force at the time, that the complainant considers to have been breached by the member. This should be accompanied with full information in support of the complaint which is then sent to the member who is entitled to a right of reply.

The Conduct Committee is then convened to investigate any breaches of the Code of Conduct. The Conduct Committee has the power to determine, in the first instance, if there is a case to answer or further information is required. If it is found that there is a case to answer then the issue is taken to a formal hearing. The Conduct Committee has the power to reprimand, suspend or expel the member with ratification from Council.

  Complaint receipt form

  Complaint receipt form

It is understood that in some instances, the above procedure may not be suitable as it is not a legal proceeding and the Conduct Committee cannot make any decisions in respect of fees or award costs etc. The Institute, therefore, has in place a Dispute Resolution Scheme which is run independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The Scheme allows for a Mediator to come to a compromise between the parties. If this is not possible, an Arbitrator is appointed to make a legal determination upon the outcome and award costs as appropriate. It should be noted that both parties have to agree to this course of action. For further information please see:  www.idrs.ltd.uk/consumer/CIAT.asp

N.B When completing the Complaint Receipt Form, please ensure that the correct Code of Conduct is referred to in all of the submitted documentation.
(Please use the following guidelines to determine the correct Code: if your complaint is derived from a project pre 1 March 2004, use the Code which is effective from 1 March 2003   Code of Conduct effective 1 March 2003 . If the complaint is post 1 March 2004, then use the Code which is effective from 1 March 2004   Code of Conduct effective 1 March 2004 . If the complaint is post 1 March 2005, then use the Code which is effective from 1 March 2005   Code of Conduct effective 1 March 2005 . If the complaint is post 1 May 2007, then use the Code which is effective from 22 July 2005   Code of Conduct effective 22 July 2005 . If the complaint is post 1 May 2009, then use the Code which is effective from 1 May 2007   Code of Conduct effective 1 May 2007 . If the complaint is post 1 May 2010, then use the Code which is effective from 1 May 2009   Code of Conduct effective 1 May 2009 )