Pursuant to section 109 of the Architects Act 2002 (the Act), the Code of Practice made by the Board was approved under Public Works Amendment Regulation (number 1) 2005 on 9 June 2005.

• A Registered Architect shall endeavour to promote architectural excellence through his work and by the encouragement of others.
  
  
• A Registered Architect shall carry out the duties he undertakes under the Client/ Architect Agreement to the best of his ability and shall have a proper regard for the interests of all those who may be expected to use or enjoy the result of his efforts.
  
  
• A Registered Architect shall at all times, whether in the course of business or not, conduct himself with the honesty, integrity and propriety to be expected of a member of an honourable profession. He shall not act in any manner which is liable to bring the profession of architecture in Qatar into disrepute.
  
  
• A Registered Architect shall act impartially and professionally at all times. He shall administer building contracts under his control with fairness and integrity.
  
  
• A Registered Architect shall not have any interest, financial or personal, in connection with any business which may be inconsistent or in conflict with his professional obligations, unless such interest or connection is fully declared to all parties likely to be affected by such interest.
  
  
• A Registered Architect shall rely only on ability, performance and experience as the basis for his business advancement, and shall not maliciously criticise the work of another architect.
  
  
• A Registered Architect shall be automatically disqualified to serve or act as a partner or director of any architectural practice proffering services to the public when he becomes an undischarged bankrupt or has his application for renewal of registration rejected by the Architects Registration Board.
  

Code of Professional Conduct and Practice

The objective of this Code of Professional Conduct is to promote the standard of professional conduct or self discipline required of Registered Architect (RA) in Qatar in the interests of the public.

In meeting their obligations under this Code, the Emirate Qatari Union of Architects ((QUA )) expects Members to have due regard for the need to conserve and enhance the quality of the environment, its natural resources and cultural heritage.

Registered Architects (RA) must at all times be guided by the spirit of the Code as well as by its precise terms and must have regard for the provisions of this Code irrespective of their field of activity, contract of employment or membership in any association.

RA’s may be required to answer inquiries concerning their professional conduct and are liable to reprimand, suspension or expulsion if their conduct is found by the Disciplinary Committee to be in contravention of the Code or otherwise inconsistent with their status as Members or derogatory to their professional character.

Throughout this Code:

• “Board” means the Emirate Qatari Union of Architects (QUA ) established in accordance with the Architects Registration Act (1987).
• “Registered Architect” (RA) and Registered Architect’s (RA’s) means a person or persons registered as architect(s) under the architects Registration Act (1987).
• “Client” means the person or body corporate or unincorporated with whom the Member makes an agreement or contract for the provision of services or the supply of goods.
• “Contractor” means a Member who undertakes the performance and /or supply of goods.
• “Body corporate or unincorporated” includes a central government department, a local authority, public board or corporation or any society.

One gender shall be read as including the other gender, a word in the singular as including the plural; and a word in the plural as including the singular.

Integrity, Impartiality, Competence and Responsibility

1. A RA should discharge his duties at all times with integrity. Including to his client, the employer and contractor in a construction contract, members of the public, fellow members of the profession and other professionals in the construction industry.
2. A RA owes a duty to his client to be competent and ready to perform the architectural services which the member undertakes on his behalf, and should serve his client in a conscientious, diligent and efficient manner. A member shall arrange that the work of his office and any branch office insofar as it relates to architecture is under the control of an architect.
3. A RA should be both candid and honest when advising clients. He has a duty to hold in strict confidence all information acquired in the course of the professional relationship concerning the business and affairs of his clients. He has a duty to hold in strict confidence all information acquired in the course of the professional relationship concerning the business and affairs of his client, and he should not divulge any such information unless he is expressly or impliedly authorized by his client or required by law to do so.
4. A RA is required at all times to protect the good name and public perception of the architectural profession by maintaining a high standard of deportment and conduct.
5. A RA should not make, support or acquiesce in any statement, written or otherwise which is contrary to his own knowledge or bona fide professional opinion, or which he knows to be misleading or unfair to others or otherwise discreditable to the profession.
6. A RA is expected to contribute a reasonable portion of his time and endeavors towards the affairs of the Institute, with the objectives of maintaining the integrity of the profession and improving the performance and quality of architects and architecture.
7. A RA should not hold, assume or consciously accept a position in which his interest is in conflict with professional duty. In circumstances not specifically covered in the Code where he finds that his interests whether professional or personal are in conflict, he shall, as the circumstances may require either withdraw from the situation or remove the source of conflict or declare it and obtain the agreement of the parties concerned to the continuance of his engagement.
8. A RA shall act impartially in all cases in which he is acting between parties. Where he has responsibilities as architect under a building contract, or is similarly acting between the parties, he shall interpret the conditions of such contract with fairness and impartiality.
9. A RA should assist in preventing the unauthorized practice of architecture.
10. A RA shall not improperly influence the granting of planning consents or statutory approvals.
11. A RA undertakes, on becoming personally or professionally insolvent or being disqualified under the Companies Act, to notify the Chairman of (QUA ) of the facts.
12. A RA undertakes to report to the (QUA ) if convicted of any indictable criminal offence including a suspended sentence or court order and personal or professional disqualification from acting as a Director.

Engagement, Fees and Payments

1. A RA member shall when making an engagement, whether by an agreement for professional services, by a contract of employment or by a contract for the supply of services or goods, have defined beyond reasonable doubt and recorded the terms of the engagement including the scope of the services, the allocation of responsibilities and any limitation of liability, the method of calculation of remuneration and the provision of termination.
2. A RA undertakes when offering services as an independent consultant, not to quote a fee without receiving an invitation to do so and sufficient information on the nature and scope of the project to enable a quotation to be prepared which clearly indicates the service covered by the fee.
3. A RA should not stipulate for, charge or accept any fee which is not fully disclosed in the Client/Architect Agreement for architectural services.
4. A RA shall not sub-commission or sub-let work without the prior agreement of his client nor without defining the changes in the responsibilities to those concerned. (What about contract drafting?).
5. A RA should be remunerated solely by professional fees payable by the client or by a salary payable by the employer. A member should not accept remuneration from any source in connection with the works and duties commissioned except in circumstances described in Clause 3 of this code.
6. A RA must not accept any work which involves the giving or receiving of discounts, commissions or gifts from contractors or tradesmen, whether employed upon the works or not.
7. A RA shall not make, promise to make, not accept contributions of money, goods, or service for the purpose of securing a commission or influencing the engagement or employment of a particular architect or firm for a project.
8. A RA may be architectural consultant, advisor, or assistant to building contractors, decorators, manufacturers, house and estate agents, estate development firms or companies, or firms or companies trading in materials used in or whose activities are otherwise connected with the building industry, provided that remuneration is by fee, salary or royalty and not by commission on sales or profits, and provided the member dies not either directly or indirectly solicit orders for the firm or company.
9. A RA who is engaged as an architectural consultant, advisor or assistant, as described in Clause 2.8, acting in a professional capacity for a third party to whom his principals owe a contractual duty, is not permitted normally but, if mutually agreed between all the parties, may act as an independent architect on the direct instructions of the said third party and received the payment of fees directly.
10. A RA shall not permit the insertion of any clause in tenders, Bills of Quantities or other contract documents which provides for payments to be made to him by the contractor whatever may be the consideration, unless with the full knowledge and agreement in writing of his client.

Outside Interests

1. A RA who engages in another profession, business or occupation concurrently with the practice of architecture must not allow such outside interests to jeopardize his professional integrity, independence or competence. A member undertakes to declare in writing to any prospective client or employer any business interest, the existence of which, if not so declared would, or might be likely to raise a conflict or interest and doubts about his integrity by reason of an actual or apparent connection with or effect upon his engagement. If the prospective client or employer does not in writing accept these circumstances, the Member must withdraw from the situation.
2. A registered architect (RA) may be director, principal, partner or manager, and may participate in the profit of a bank, trust, company, insurance company, housing society or other financial institution engaged in the lending of funds for construction of buildings, provided there is no undue use of influence in the institution to procure work for the member or the firm in which that member is employed and provided that remuneration for any professional work done personally or under the member’s control is by a salary or by fee. All potentially conflicting interests must be openly declared and noted in advances of decisions.
3. A RA shall not simultaneously practice as, or purport to be, an independent consulting architect and engage in or have as a partner or co-director a person who, whether or not in a separate firm, is a director, principal partner or manager of a development or construction company, that is a company which designs, constructs and/or finances buildings, or of a firm making or dealing in building materials or components, unless
   1. a signed declaration, in the form shown as Appendix (I) to this code is given to each client before receiving instructions, and to each contractor and nominated subcontractor before he is invited to tender or take part in the work.
   2. for any professional work undertaken for the development company, construction company or other, remuneration is by a fee, salary or royalty and not by commission on sales or profits.
4. If a RA has any monetary interest other than due fee, salary or royalty in any building or other development work, including the circumstances described in 3.2 and 3.3, or has any other interest which might, or might appear to prejudice judgment or impartiality in dealings with client or contractor, the member shall in addition to complying with the requirements of 3.3 (i) arrange for the appointment of an (QUA ) itrator, and an alternative (QUA ) itrator, who shall both be Registered Architects.

   Agreement between those concerned shall be made in accordance with the form at Appendix (II) to this code.

5. A RA shall not and shall not purport to carry out the independent functions of an architect or any similar independent functions in relation to a contract in which he or his employer is the contractor.
6. A RA shall ensure that whenever he offers or takes part in offering a service combining consulting services with contracting services the consulting component is not presented as independent of the combined service.

Advertising and Competition

1. A RA may make his availability and experience known by any means provided that the information given is in substance and in presentation factual, relevant and – neither misleading nor unfair to others – nor otherwise discreditable to the profession.
2. A RA should not
   1. indulge in self-laudatory, exaggerated, misleading, or false publicity
   2. endorse a product, service or process connected with the building industry for recommendation?. May be required to supply evidence of statements.
   3. Permit the use of the member’s name or photograph as endorsement of a product or service.
   4. Solicit, or authorize others to solicit advertisements or other support toward the cost of any publication presenting the member’s work except if the publication is a project of the (QUA ).
3. A RA may sign buildings designed by him, may inscribe his name outside his offices and may exhibit his name on buildings in the course of construction, alteration and extension provided that such signs are not ostentatious, exaggerated or misleading.
4. A RA should not take any part in an open architectural design competition unless the Executive Council has approved the competition to ensure that provisions are made for standards of competence and integrity that are reasonably necessary for the protection of the professional and the public. Members asked to take part in a limited design competition should at once notify the Secretary of the (QUA ), submitting particulars of the competition.
5. A RA should not act as architect or joint architect for a work which is or has been the subject of a design competition in which the member has been engaged as Assessor. A member who is consulting architect should not act as competition, nor in any professional capacity in matter connected with the work which has been the subject of the competition, provided always that the member may act as (QUA ) itrator in any dispute between the promoters and the selected architect.
6. If a RA is officially approached by promoters for advice as to the holding of a design competition with a view to acting as Assessor and the position is accepted and the process officially begins if eventually it is decided not to hold the competition but to appoint an architect to carry out the work, the member originally approached in an advisory capacity should not act as architect for the work in question without the approval of the (QUA ).

Employment and Relations with other Registered Architects (RA's)

1. A RA who holds public office, should in the discharge of his duties adhere to standards of conduct as high as those which this code requires of a RA.
2. A RA employed as a full-time salaried and official architect by a central or local government department or by a statutory undertaking, and who is by reason of the office held is in a position to grant or influence the granting of any form of statutory or other approval, must not undertake private work notwithstanding any permission from the employing authority to do so, unless satisfied that the position held, and action in the matter will be free from any suspicion or suggestion of abuse and totally unrelated to the RA’s office and authority.
3. A RA employed as a full-time salaried architect must not undertake private architecture or related work without prior agreement with the employer.
4. A RA shall not have or take as a partner or co-director in his firm any person who is disqualified for registration by reason of the fact that his name has been removed from the Register under the Architects Registration Act; any person disqualified for membership of any professional institution by reason of expulsion under the relevant disciplinary regulations.
5. A RA shall have a proper regard for the professional obligations and qualifications of those from whom he receives or to whom he gives authority, responsibility or employment, or with whom he is professionally associated. A member who employs architects shall define their conditions of employment, authority, responsibility and liability.
6. A RA who is offering services as an independent consulting architect shall not revise a fee quotation to take account of the fee quoted by another architect for the same service.
7. A RA shall not attempt to oust another architect from an engagement.
8. A RA on being approached to undertake work upon which he knows, or can ascertain by reasonable inquiry, that another architect has an engagement with the same client shall notify the fact to such architect.
9. A RA, except a member in Government service charged by Law or his appointment to do so, should not report on nor give advice on the work of another member without also giving notice to that member or the Executive of the (QUA ).
10. RA’s may refer disputes with or breaches to this Code by other RA’s of the Executive of the (QUA ).
11. A RA undertakes not to maliciously or unfairly criticize or attempt to discredit another RA or his work.
12. A RA undertakes appropriately to acknowledge the contribution made to his work by others.
13. A RA undertakes subject to any restriction imposed by law or the courts, to report to the (QUA ) any alleged breach of code of which he may become aware and assist them in its investigation.
14. A RA undertakes to respect and maintain confidentiality in any matter involving breaches, either alleged or proven, of the Code of Professional Conduct by a RA.

Practice in other countries

1. When practicing in foreign countries a RA should abide by the code of ethics/conduct of the relevant professional institution/body of that Country.
2. Registered Qatar Architects agree to abide by the International Code of Ethics adopted by the Union Internationale des Architects (UIA) hereunder.

   INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ETHICS

   Article 1. (1) In all professional undertakings, it is essential to consider the system of values and culture prevailing in each country, and standards must be determined on a national basis. This is dictated by the consideration that standards which are valid for the most advanced industrial countries may be inappropriate or may entail unwarranted social costs for the developing countries. (2) There shall be no attempt to impose solutions of one society on other societies.

   Article 2. Based on the principle that the responsibility for the development of every country rests primarily upon itself, the local consultant or professional shall have the primary duty to interpret the needs of his people, and his vision as to how his country’s environment could be built, planned, improved or enhanced shall be entitled to respect.

   Article 3. The environment that the professionals are committed to fashion shall be expressive of the genius of the people and reflective of the substance of their culture.

   Article 4. As a corollary to the foregoing principles, every consultant from a foreign country, whether the work is a result of a government-to-government agreement or a requirement of the funding institution or a project from a private sector, shall associate and work harmoniously with consultants or professionals of the country where the project is located.

   Article 5. To accelerate the transfer of appropriate technology, consultants from developing and developed countries shall, through their interaction, extended to each other the fullest assistance and access to information.

   Article 6. Consulting services shall be performed by individual professionals or consultants possessing the necessary qualifications, education, experience and legal registration and license to practice or by firms whose principals and heads are professionals qualified to perform the required services and are responsible for the performance of the staff of said firms.