Regulation & Ethics
Statutes of the Israeli Polygraph Examiners Association
INCLUDES APPENDIX ON THE RULES OF ETHIC OF THE ASSOCIATION
STATUTES
Table of Contents
Chapter I: Definitions, Name and Goals
1. Definitions
2. The name
3. The goals
Chapter II: Membership
4. Fitness for membership
5. Admission as members and of candidates for membership
6. The rights and the obligations of a member and of a candidate for membership
7. Expiry of membership or of candidacy for membership
8. Urgent temporary suspension
Chapter III: Training
9. Fitness for registering as intern
10. Application for registration as intern
11. Trainers
12. Revoking of the permission to be a trainer
13. The period of specialization and examinations
14. Professional discipline of intern
15. The supervisor of intern
16. Prohibition of training (this section has not yet been ratified)
Chapter IV: The Institutions of the Association
17. The General Assembly
18. The Central Committee
19. The Supervisory Committee
Chapter V: Professional Ethics, Courts of Law
20. The rules of professional ethics
21. Breach of the rules of professional ethics or not fulfilling an obligation imposed according to paragraphs 14 or 16
22. The Disciplinary Court – composition and rules
23. Complaints
24. Punishments
25. The Court of Appeals
26. Appealing
27. Disciplinary procedure and criminal procedure
Chapter VI: Changing the Statutes, Voluntary Dissolution of the Association
28. Changing the statutes
Chapter I: Definitions, Name and Goals
1. Definitions
“Polygraph Examination” – An examination intended to assess the veracity of the answers and the statements of a person and/or to reveal information or whether a person has information, based upon his/her physiological reactions during the examination as they are registered by means of the polygraph.
“Examinee” – The person that is undergoing a polygraph examination.
“Engaging in polygraph” – Using polygraph either as an occupation or in return for a remuneration.
“Polygraph Examiner” – A person that has received training to carry out a polygraph examination and to whose full time or part occupation is or was to carry out polygraph examinations as defined above. It does not make any difference – if not stated expressly otherwise in these statutes – whether he/she is self employed or salaried.
2. The Name
The name of the Association is: “The Israeli Polygraph Examiners Association” (I.P.E.A.)
3. The Goals
These are the goals of the Israeli Polygraph Examiners Association, hereafter: “The Association”).
a. To promote the profession of the polygraph and to further the knowledge in this field.
b. To promote and to guard the professional interests of the polygraph examiners in general and of the members of the association in particular.
c. To determine and to establish rules of professional ethics and to ensure their existence and the observance of them on the part of polygraph examiners in general and the members of the association in particular.
d. To determine criteria for the required professional education and knowledge and to ensure their existence and the observance of them on the part of the polygraph examiners in general and the members of the association in particular.
e. To act in favor of the enhancement and the furthering of the knowledge of the polygraph examiners and in favor of providing the required professional education and the knowledge to those that will engage in this.
f. To make contact and to coordinate with organisms and institutions, both in Israel and abroad, that have direct or indirect connection to the subject of the polygraph. To render assistance and to provide counseling to them in everything related to and concerning the profession of polygraph examinations, on conditions that this does not counter the goals of the Association.
g. To initiate activities and research projects about the problems of the profession of the polygraph and the subjects that are related to it.
h. To engage in publishing professional literature.
i. To do anything else that is legal related to any of the above mentioned goals or that stems from it or that is likely to promote its realization.
j. To act in order to legally regulate the profession of the polygraph and to base the rules and the ethics of the profession in the laws of the State.
Chapter II: Membership
4. Fitness for Membership
a. The founders of the Association are members of it as of the day in which it was registered in the Registry of Associations.
b. Any polygraph examiner is fit to be admitted as member of the Association on condition that he/she meets the following conditions:
1) He/she is an Israeli citizen and resides in Israel.
2) He/she is at least 23 years old.
3) He/she holds an academic degree in the fields of the Behavioral Sciences (Psychology, Criminology, Social Work, Education) from an institution recognized as an institute of higher education for purposes of granting such a degree, according to the Law of the Council of Higher Education of 1958 or he/she holds a degree which the Central Committee has recognized as equivalent in the aspect that is relevant to our interest, regarding these degrees.
4) He/she has successfully completed training for carrying out polygraph examinations in the format and according to the program that has been recognized by the Central Committee, according to the case, as providing suitable education.
5) He/she has successfully completed the specialization as detailed below in these Statutes and the examinations for admission to the Association, having demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the Central Committee, knowledge and expertise in carrying out a polygraph examination.
6) He/she has carried out by him/herself at least 250 polygraph examinations over a period of the last 3 years before applying for membership in the Association or, alternatively, has carried out by him/herself at least 500 polygraph examinations of which at least 100 were carried out over the period of the three years preceding the application for membership in the Association.
7) According to the Central Committee, there is no obstacle – for reasons of the security of the public or the past, characteristics or behavior of the applicant – for admitting him/her as a member.
8) He/she has proved to have a good command of the Hebrew language.
c.
1) As an alternative to sub-paragraph 3 in paragraph ‘b’ above, the applicant holds an academic degree from an institution recognized as an institution of higher learning for purposes of granting such a degree, according to the Law of the Council of Higher Education of 1958, and has an experience of at least 5 years as interrogating investigator in a State institution.
2) A polygraph examiner that applies for membership in the Association on the basis of sub-paragraph 1 of this paragraph, will be required to prove his/her knowledge in the basic areas of Psychology, whether on the basis of special examinations or appropriate diplomas, everything to the satisfaction of the Central Committee.
d. In special cases that are justified from the professional viewpoint and for reasons that will be recorded, the Central Committee is entitled to waive any one of the conditions set above in paragraphs ‘b’, ‘c’ and/or to add special conditions.
e. The Central Committee is entitled to admit a polygraph examiner to the Association as a candidate for membership. The candidacy will last for periods of half a year each and altogether no more than two years will be accumulated. As candidates for membership will be accepted:
1) Interns at the end of one half a year of specialization as stated in paragraph ‘d’ of item No. 13.
2) Special cases according to reasons that will be recorded.
5. Admission as Members and of Candidates for Membership
a. A person that wishes to become a member or a candidate for membership in the Association will fill in a special application form provided to him/her by the Secretary of the Association in which, among others, he/she will sign a declaration regarding his/her acknowledgement of the goals of the Association and its statutes, as well as his/her willingness to follow the instructions of the statutes and the decisions of the General Assembly of the Association, if and when he/she is admitted to the Association
b. The decision regarding the admission of the applicant as a member or as a candidate for membership in the Association or denial of the admission is made by the members of the Central Committee, although the applicant has the right to appeal in writing, which will be transferred by the Committee to the next assembly of the Association.
c. An applicant whose application and/or appeal were rejected is entitled to apply again after one year or more from the date of his/her previous application.
d. The application will be accompanied by documents proving the fulfillment of the conditions set in item No. 4
e. Should the applicant base him/herself in his/her application upon sub-paragraph 1 of paragraph ‘c’ in item No. 4 and he/she does not possess the diplomas that prove knowledge in Psychology as required in sub-paragraph 2 of the same paragraph, he/she is entitled to request first to undergo the appropriate examinations on the part of the Association.
f. Upon submitting the application a fee will be paid in the sum that will be determined from time to time by the Central Committee. If the applicant is admitted to the Association, this sum will be deducted from the membership dues
6. The Rights and the Obligations of a Member and of a Candidate for Membership
a. A member of the Association is entitled to participate and to vote in every General Assembly of the Association and will represent one vote in every voting. A candidate for membership is entitled to participate in every General Assembly of the Association, but with no right to vote.
b. A member is qualified for being elected to every institution of the Association unless he/she has been disqualified for occupying the position by the Disciplinary Court.
c. A member or a candidate for membership is entitled to participate in the activities of the Association and to enjoy from all the services that the Association offers to its members.
d. The Central Committee, with the authorization of the General Assembly, is entitled to determine a membership fee, the payment of which will be obligatory for all members. A candidate for membership will pay the membership fee in its entirety.
e. The expiry of the membership or the candidacy for membership in the Association does not exempt one from having to make the payments owed to the Association by the member or the candidate for membership just before the expiry of his/her membership, for the period up until the expiry of his/her membership or candidacy for membership.
f. A member or a candidate for membership must fulfill every obligation imposed upon him/her in these statutes, including the rules of the professional ethics and any obligation, rule or procedure deriving from a decision made by any one of the institutions of the organization within the realm of its authority, except an obligation that is in opposition to the binding instructions of the public organization for whom the member or the candidate works or worked as polygraph examiner.
7. Expiry of the Membership or the Candidacy for Membership
a. The membership or candidacy for membership expires:
1) When the member or the candidate for membership dies.
2) When he/she abandons the Association by serving notification regarding his/her leaving to the Central Committee.
3) When he/she is expelled from the Association by the General Assembly in the cases mentioned in sub-paragraph ‘b’ 2 of this item.
4) When he/she is expelled from the Association according to a verdict of the Disciplinary Court as said in these statutes.
5) By a decision of the Central Committee to suspend urgently and temporarily a member or a candidate for membership as said in item No. 8.
b. The General Assembly is entitled, according to a proposal on the part of the Central Committee, to decide to expel a member or a candidate for membership from the Association for the following reasons:
1) The member or candidate for membership did not pay the dues owed to the Association.
2) The member or candidate for membership did not fulfill the instructions of the statutes or a decision of the General Assembly.
3) The member or candidate for membership acts in a way contrary to the goals of the Association.
4) The member or candidate for membership has been convicted of an offence that entails dishonor.
c. The Central Committee will not propose to the general Assembly to expel a member or a candidate for membership from the Association before it has given to the candidate sufficient opportunity to state his/her claims and it will not propose out of the reasons mentioned in sub-paragraphs ‘b’ 1), 2) or 3) of this paragraph before it has warned the member or the candidate for membership and has given to him/her a reasonable period of time to correct the distortion.
a. Should a member or candidate for membership be investigated for a criminal offense or a disciplinary offense or be on trial or a disciplinary hearing for one of these offenses, then the Central Committee is entitled to temporarily suspend his/her membership or candidacy for membership in the Association until the end of the investigation, trial or disciplinary hearing.
b. The Central Committee will not suspend a member or candidate for membership as said, unless it has first been convinced that the offense or offenses attributed to him/her are so grave that the continuation of his/her membership or candidacy for membership for the duration of the investigation, trial or disciplinary hearing is likely to affect the good name of the profession and/or the goals of the Association.
c. Should a member or candidate for membership be urgently temporarily suspended as said, it is forbidden for him/her to use the title “Member of or Candidate for Membership in the Israeli Polygraph Examiners Association” or to present him/herself as such, as long as the suspension has not been lifted.
Chapter III: Professional Training
9. Fitness for Registering as Intern
a. Every person is entitled to register as intern on condition that he/she meets the following conditions:
1) He/she is an Israeli citizen and resides in Israel.
2) He/she holds an academic degree in the field of the Behavioral Sciences (such as Psychology, Criminology, Social Work, Education) from an institution that has been recognized as an institution of higher learning for purposes of granting such a degree, according to the Law of the Council of Higher Education of 1958 or he/she holds a degree that the Central Committee recognized as equivalent, in the aspect that is relevant to our interest, to these degrees.
3) He/she has successfully completed training for carrying out a polygraph examination in the format and according to the program recognized by the Central Committee, according to the case, as providing appropriate training.
4) He/she has proven to have good command of the Hebrew language.
b. In cases in which the applicant has an experience of at least 5 years as interrogating investigator in a public institution, it is possible to waive sub-paragraph 2 of paragraph ‘a’ of this item, on condition that he/she holds an academic degree from an institution that has been recognized as an institution of higher learning for purposes of granting such degree according to the Law of the Council of Higher Education of 1958 and after he/she has proved his/her knowledge in Psychology, whether on the basis of special examinations or appropriate diplomas , everything to the satisfaction of the Central Committee.
c. In special cases that are justified from the professional viewpoint and for reasons that will be recorded, the Central Committee is entitled to waive one of the conditions set above in paragraphs ‘a’ and ‘b’ of this item, all of them or part of them and/or to add special conditions.
d. The Central Committee is entitled, after it has given to the applicant opportunity to state his/her clams, not to register him/her as intern despite his/her qualification according to paragraph ‘a’ and/or ‘b’, if facts have been discovered in light of which the Central Committee thinks that the applicant is not worthy of being a polygraph examiner.
10. Application for Registration as Intern
a. The person that wants to specialize will submit to the Central Committee a request to be registered as intern and will append to his/her request diplomas proving that he/she is entitled to register as intern according to item No. 9, as well as a written confirmation from a trainer who is willing to accept him/her as intern.
b. Should the applicant want to base his/her request on paragraph ‘b’ of item No. 9 and he/she does not possess the diplomas that prove his/her knowledge in Psychology as requested, he/she is entitled to request first to undergo the appropriate examinations on the part of the Association.
c. Upon submitting the request a fee will be paid, which will be determined to that end.
d. Should the request of the intern be approved, it will be considered as the day on which the specialization started the date indicated by the trainer in his/her notification as the date of the actual commencing of the specialization or the date on which the request was received at the office, whichever is latest.
11. Trainers
a. The specialization will take place with a trainer and under his/her direct supervision and responsibility.
b. A person is entitled to be a trainer if he/she meets the following conditions:
1) He/she is a member of the Association.
2) He/she has an experience of at least 5 years as a polygraph examiner.
3) The member has not been disqualified for serving as trainer for reasons that will be recorded by the Committee
12. Revoking of the Permission to be a Trainer
a. The Central Committee is entitled, after it has given to the member the opportunity to state his/her claims, to disqualify the member for serving as trainer if one of the following cases occurs:
1) The Central Committee has verified that the member in fact has not fulfilled his/her role as trainer with respect to a intern or interns despite his/her having undertaken to do so.
2) The member has been convicted by the Disciplinary Court of the Association and, in light of his/her conviction, the Central Committee thinks that he/she is not worthy of serving as trainer.
b. The member is entitled to submit an appeal to his/her disqualification for serving as trainer, according to paragraph 12 ‘a’, to the Court of Appeals within forty five days from the day of receipt of the notification of disqualification.
13. The Period of Specialization and Examinations
a. The period of specialization will last two to three years according to the decision of the Central Committee.
b. Upon finishing the period of specialization the intern that requests to become a member of the Association has to undergo the examinations of the Association and to demonstrate the qualifications required for membership in the Association as formulated in Chapter II item No. 4.
c. The program of the examinations and its order will be determined in the rules by the Central Committee with the approval of the General Assembly.
d. At the end of a period of specialization of at least half a year in which he/she will carry out at least 50 polygraph examinations, the intern is entitled to submit a request to be admitted to the Association as a candidate for membership, even if he/she has not finished the period of his/her specialization.
14. The Professional Discipline of the Interns
During the period of his/her specialization up until the final decision regarding his/her admission as member on the part of the Committee, the intern is subject to the authority of the Association and its disciplinary jurisdiction. The intern will be obligated to fulfill any obligation imposed upon him/her in these statutes, including the rules of the professional ethics and any obligation, rule or procedure deriving from a decision made by any one of the institutions of the Association within the realm of its authority, except an obligation that is contrary to the binding instructions of the public institution for which the intern worked or works in the field of his/her specialization.
15. The Supervisor of the Interns
a. The Central Committee is entitled to appoint a member of the Association for the position of supervisor of the intern (hereafter: “The Supervisor”).
b. The supervisor is authorized to voice an opinion before the Central Committee regarding the quality of the specialization of a intern and, to this end, he/she will be authorized to carry out written and oral inquiries with both the trainers and the intern.
16. Prohibition of Training (this section has not yet been ratified)
a. A member of the Association will not train in any way, for carrying out a polygraph examination, persons that do not meet the basic standards determined as conditions for admittance to the Association in the realm of education, experience and their behavioral past as they were presented in the relevant paragraphs in Chapter II paragraph 4.
b. In special cases, for reasons that will be recorded and without waiving the reasonable professional logic, the Central Committee is entitled to request from a member of the Association to give up on one of the conditions set above as they were presented in the relevant paragraphs in Chapter II paragraph 4, all of them or part of them, and to grant a special approval for training.
c. This prohibition is not in force for the training of examiners abroad that are not Israeli citizens.
Chapter IV: The Institutions of the Association
1) Once a year the Central Committee will convene an ordinary general assembly of the members of the Association.
2) The Central Committee is entitled to convoke an extraordinary general assembly at any time and it must do so by means of a written demand – while indicating the agenda of the assembly requested – on the part of the Supervisory Committee or not less than one third of the total of members of the Association that have the right to vote in the general assembly, as well as to sign the demand. Should the Central Committee not have convened an extraordinary general assembly within 30 days from the day on which the demand was submitted to them as said, the demanders are entitled to convene it.
b. The general assembly will be legal if:
1) A written notification regarding the date of its convening, the venue and its agenda was sent to the members of the Association that have the right to vote, at least 14 days before the date.
2) At the date and time set for the beginning of the assembly were present at least one third of the members that have the right to vote and there was no legal quorum at the set time as said, the time of the assembly will be postponed for one hour and it will be carried out and be legal regardless of the number of participants after one hour.
c.
1) The ordinary general assembly will receive reports on the actions of the Central Committee and of the Supervisory Committee, discuss them and the report on the financial state and the balance that were presented to the assembly and will decide about approving or disapproving them, will elect the Central Committee, the Supervisory Committee and the Disciplinary Court, as well as take care of any other matter accorded in the convocation to the assembly. Any matter that was not included in the convocation will not be discussed in the assembly unless three quarters of the members present that have the right to vote have agreed to discuss the matter.
2) An extraordinary general assembly convened by the Central Committee by its own initiative will discuss any matter accorded in the convocation to the assembly and will not discuss any other matter unless three quarters of the members present that have the right to vote have agreed to discuss the matter.
3) An extraordinary general assembly convened according to a demand as said in sub-paragraph a. 2) of this item, will not discuss any matter that was not indicated in the demand.
d. Every general assembly will elect a Chairman and a Secretary from among the members of the Association that have the right to vote and are present in the assembly.
e. Subject to what is said in paragraph ‘g’ of this item, every member that has the right to vote will cast one vote only. However, a member that has the right to vote and is absent from the assembly is entitled to give to another member that has the right to vote a written empowerment to represent him/her in a determined general assembly. In such a case, the empowered person will have, in addition to his/her vote, an additional vote in the name of the member that empowered him/her. A member that participates in the assembly will be able to vote by means of the empowerment for one absent member only. The right to vote by means of an empowerment is valid for voting in the general assembly on any issue except matters and voting regarding which it is expressly said in these statutes that actual presence is required.
f. Voting in the general assembly is done by raising the hand. However, following a demand on the part of at least one quarter of the members present that have the right to vote, the voting will be secret.
g. Despite anything else that is said in these statutes, the Central Committee is entitled to decide that the members that have not paid their membership fee until the ordinary general assembly will not be entitled to vote in it, on condition that such decision be notified in the convocation to the assembly and that it not be in force regarding a member that paid his/her membership fee before the beginning of the assembly or has a special exemption given by the Central Committee.
h. The decisions of the general assembly will be made by a majority of the votes of the voters if these statutes do not instruct otherwise. Should there be a tie in the number of votes, then the Chairman of the assembly is entitled to decide.
i. The Chairman of the general assembly is entitled, with the consent of the assembly, to postpone the continuation of the assembly and he/she must postpone it to another date if he/she is requested to do so by the majority of the members present that are entitled to vote.
j. In every general assembly minutes will be taken, which will contain its decisions. The minutes will be signed by the Chairman of the assembly and a Secretary and, once signed, it will represent an apparent proof of its contents. Any copy or photocopy of it, certified by the Chairman of the assembly or by the Secretary, is to be considered just like the original.
18. The Central Committee
a. The Central Committee is the executive institution of the Association and has the authority that was not assigned to any other institution of the Association.
b. The Central Committee will be composed of 5 members of the private sector and 3 members of the public sector.
c.
1) The Central Committee will be elected in the ordinary general assembly according to the procedure detailed below:
First, the generality of the members, from both sectors, will elect a Chairman of the Committee. After that, the other four members of the Committee will be elected, whereas each sector (the private and the public) will elect its own representatives only, who, together with the elected Chairman, will constitute the full Committee comprising two representatives from the State-public sector and three from the private sector.
As said in sub-paragraph 17 ‘b’, until the establishment of a Central Committee the founders will serve as Central Committee.
2) Should it be forbidden to the representatives of the public sector, according to an internal instruction of theirs, to be counted among the members of the Central Committee, the Central Committee will include 3 representatives from the private sector who will be elected by the generality of the members, including those of the public sector.
3) In everything related to the activity of the Association, a member will be considered as belonging to one sector only. In case of doubt in this respect, the Central Committee will decide whether to regard the member as belonging either to the private or the State-public sector.
4) The General Assembly will elect, from among the members of the Committee, in addition to the Chairman of the committee, a Secretary that will occupy the position of treasurer too. Until the establishment of the first Central Committee the founders will elect a Chairman, a treasurer and a Secretary from among themselves.
6) The Central Committee will be elected for a period of two years.
7) No member will function as Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer for over two consecutive terms unless he/she has obtained a majority of 75% of the votes in the assembly. Should the aforementioned candidate obtain a regular majority in the assembly, but has not passed the line of 75%, a new voting will take place without his/her candidacy after additional candidates have been given an opportunity to launch their candidacy.
d.
1) The Central Committee will officiate from its election in the general assembly until another general assembly will elect a new committee. A member of the outgoing committee may be elected again to the new committee.
2) The tenure of a member of the Central Committee will come to an end upon serving notification of resignation in writing to the Central Committee or, as the case be, upon leaving or being expelled or suspended from the Association, or should he/she be declared disqualified or bankrupt.
e.
1) Should the place of a member of the Central Committee become vacant, the remaining member(s) is/are entitled to appoint another member of the Association to officiate as member of the Central Committee until the next general assembly. Until such appointment the remaining member(s) is/are entitled to continue acting as Central Committee.
2) Should a member of the Central Committee not be able to fulfill his/her role, then the remaining member(s) is/are entitled to appoint a member of the Association to fill in his/her place until he/she returns to his/her position. Until such an appointment, the remaining member(s) is/are entitled to continue to act in the Central Committee.
1) The Central Committee is entitled to arrange by itself the date of its meetings, the convocations to them, the required quorum in them and the way of carrying them out.
2) The decisions of the Central Committee will be made by a majority of votes. Should there be a tie in the number of votes, the proposal will not be accepted. A unanimous decision of the Central Committee may be taken outside the framework of its meetings. In such case, the members of the Central Committee will sign the document bearing the decision made not in a meeting of the committee.
h. The Central Committee will keep protocols in which will be recorded the minutes of its meetings and its decisions. Every member may, at any reasonable time, peruse in the protocol books.
i. It is possible to appeal a decision of the Central Committee in either an ordinary or an extraordinary general assembly as said in Section 17.
19. The Supervisory Committee
a. Every ordinary general assembly will elect a Supervisory Committee composed of an odd number of members in the Association. However, the ordinary general assembly is entitled to decide by a majority of two thirds that the functions of the Supervisory Committee will be entrusted to an accountant appointed by the Central Committee. Once such decision has been taken and an accountant has been appointed as said, that same accountant will serve as is meant in these statutes until the convening of the next ordinary general assembly.
b. The Central Committee will examine the financial interests of the Association and its accounting books and will recommend to the ordinary general assembly to approve or to disapprove them. A member of the Supervisory Committee is entitled at any time to peruse the accounting books of the Association and all the documents related to them and to get from the Central Committee and from any other worker of the Association any information and explanation that he/she needs, in his/her opinion, in order to carry out his/her function as member of the Supervisory Committee.
c. Until the establishment of the first Supervisory Committee the founders will elect a temporary Supervisory Committee from among themselves.
d. The instructions of paragraphs ‘d’, ‘e’, ‘g’ and ‘h’ of Section No. 18 will be in force, with the necessary changes, regarding the members of the Central Committee too.
e. No person will officiate as member of the Central Committee and of the Supervisory Committee at the same time.
Chapter V: Professional Ethics, Courts
20. Rules of Professional Ethics
a The Central Committee is entitled to prepare rules for ensuring the observance of a high level of professional ethics on the part of those that engage in polygraph examinations in general and the members of the Association in particular. These rules will be binding upon all the members of the Association, the candidates for membership and the interns.
b. The rules as said, will be in force if they are approved by an ordinary general assembly or an extraordinary general assembly that will be convened for this purpose, by a majority of two thirds.
c. As long as they have not been changed, the rules of professional ethics added to these statutes will be regarded as binding rules that have been lawfully decided upon and approved.
21. Infringement of the Rules of Professional Ethics or not Fulfilling an Obligation According to Paragraph 6 ‘f’ or Section No. 14
A member of the Association or a candidate for membership, including a intern, who infringes any one of the rules according to the instructions in paragraph 19 that pertain to him/her or that does not fulfill an obligation imposed on him/her according to paragraph 6 ‘f’ or Section No. 14, will be liable for that before the Disciplinary Court of the Association (hereafter: “The Court”).
22. The Disciplinary Court – Composition and Procedural Rules
a. The Court will be elected by means of the ordinary general assembly of the Association and will be composed of no less than three and no more than seven members who will not fulfill any other function in any one of the institutions of the Association – it has been suggested to deleted this condition – on condition that it has a representation of both the private and the public sectors.
b. The members of the Court will elect one of them as Chairman and one as his deputy.
c. Any complain regarding an infringement of the professional ethics or not fulfilling an obligation according to paragraph 6 ‘f’ or Section No. 14 as said, will be discussed by a team of three members of the Court who will be determined for that purpose by the Chairman or, in his/her absence, his deputy, on condition that both the private and the public sectors be represented in the team. The Chairman or, in his/her absence, his/her deputy, is entitled to add to the mentioned team a jurist from among the members of the Association or from the outside, as advisor in conducting the trial.
d. During the trial the members of the Court will determine the procedures of the trial and the order of the sessions and will act according to their conscience and to the best of their knowledge, all this in order for the defendant to receive a fair opportunity to dwell upon the details of the demand, to present his/her evidences and to present his/her arguments.
23. Complaints
The Court will deal with any complaint about infringement of the rules of the professional ethics or not having fulfilled an obligation imposed according to paragraph 6 ‘f’ or Section No. 14 as said, that be presented to it whether by the initiative of a person or any other organism.
24. Punishments
Should the Court find that a member or a candidate for membership or a intern has infringed any one of the rules of the professional ethics or has not fulfilled an obligation imposed in paragraph 6 ‘f’ or in Section No. 14, it will have the authority to impose upon that member or intern one or more of the following punishments:
1. A warning
2. A reprimand
3. Disqualification to serve in a position in the institutions of the Association for a determined period of time.
4. Suspension from the Association for a determined period of time no longer than three years.
5. Being expelled from the Association.
6. To pay a fine.
7. Paying the direct or indirect expenses involved in dealing with the complaint.
The Court is entitled to entrust the Central Committee with the publishing of its sentence, in full or part of it, whether while indicating the name of the member or the candidate for membership or the intern or not.
25. The Court of Appeals – Composition and Procedural Rules
a. The Court of Appeals will be elected by the ordinary general assembly of the Association and will be composed of no less than three and no more than seven members who will not fulfill any other function in any one of the institutions of the Association, on condition that both the public and the private sectors be represented in it.
b. The members of the Court will elect one from among themselves as Chairman and one as his/her deputy.
c. Any appeal to a decision of the Disciplinary Court will be discussed by a team of three members of the Court of Appeals that will be determined by the Chairman, on condition that both the private and the public sectors be represented in it or, in his/her absence, his/her deputy is entitled to add someone from the members of the Association or from the outside as advisor in conducting the trial.
d. During the trial the members of the Court of Appeals will conduct themselves according to their conscience and to the best of their knowledge, will determine the procedures of the discussion and the order of the sessions and will allow the parties to state their arguments.
e. The Court will not be subordinated to the procedural rules and to the laws of the evidences in force in the Courts of Law.
f. (This paragraph has not yet been ratified) The Assembly is entitled to decide, as the case be, that it will act as Court of Appeals in a specific case. Should the number of members in that assembly, when the Assembly acts as Court of Appeals, be even, one of the members will be discounted by a raffle before sentencing.
26. Appealing
a. The Court of Appeals will discuss any appeal to a decision of the Disciplinary Court that be presented by the parties concerned or by one of them.
b. The appeal has to be presented in writing to the Secretary of the Association within 45 days from the day on which the decision of the Disciplinary Court was notified to the parties.
c. Upon receiving the appeal the Secretary will hand it over to the Chairman of the Court of Appeals or, in his/her absence, to his/her deputy, together with the file of the Disciplinary Court.
d. (This paragraph has not yet been ratified) In cases in which the expectation is that the appeal will be heard before the General Assembly whereas this one acts as Court of Appeals, according to paragraph 25 f), the General Assembly will be summoned to an extraordinary session that will be devoted to that end and the relevant material will be handed over to the members.
27. Disciplinary Procedure and Criminal Procedure
a. A disciplinary discussion according to these statutes should not delay or cancel a criminal discussion due to the same deed or neglect. A discussion in criminal matters will not delay a disciplinary discussion, subject to paragraph ‘b’ of this section.
b. Should a member of the Association or a candidate for membership, including a intern due to a deed or a neglect that serves as cause for a discussion before the Disciplinary Court according to these statutes, then the Disciplinary Court is entitled to interrupt its discussion until a final sentence in criminal matters has been passed.
Chapter VI: Changing the Statutes, Voluntary Dissolution of the Association
28. Changing the Statutes
These statutes may be changed by a decision of an extraordinary general assembly, on condition that the version of the changes to be decided upon has been added to the notification about its date and venue and the changes will be approved by three quarters of the members of the Association that have the right to vote and who are present in the assembly and participate in the voting.
29. Voluntary Dissolution
The Association will voluntarily dissolve itself if this is so decided by force of a decision of the general assembly in which participate at least three quarters of the members that have the right to vote, on condition that the proposal of dissolution was indicated in the notification about the date of the general assembly and its venue, which as said, was sent to all the members of the Association at least 21 days in advance and that the decision was made by at least two thirds of the members that have the right to vote and are present in the assembly and participate in the voting. Should it be decided to dissolve the Association as said, the General Assembly will also decide on the ways to carry out the dissolution and the use of the property of the Association that will not be required for paying its obligations.