Re: Re: Misuse of the Title Architect – The RIAI Acts!
Section 67 of the Building Control Act 2007 seems to have interesting implications for those claiming establishment for more than five years.
I also note that its the registration body and not the Minister that appears to be empowered to take legal action.
Of course, a court may take the view that someone deliberately using the title “architect” without even attempting to become registered is spoiling for a fight, and that they should at least use approved titles in accordance with their pre-registration status.
Michael O’Neill
O’Neill Quigley & Associates
Planning and Design Consultants
Dipl.Arch. (DIT) 1990
B.Arch. Sc. (TCD) 1990
I can quite legally call myself “Graduate Architect” because of my prescribed qualification under DIR 85/384/EEC and DIR 2006/36/EC
This doesn’t support you signing certs “as an architect” but my evidence was accepted in the High Court on 2009 under the above restrictions.
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67.—(1) Summary proceedings for an offence under Part 3, 4, 5 or 6 may be brought and prosecuted by the registration body.
(2) Notwithstanding section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851, summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be commenced—
[align=:1prokzbj](a) within 12 months from the date on which the offence was committed, or
(b) within 6 months from the date on which evidence sufficient, in the opinion of the person instituting the proceedings, to justify proceedings comes to that person’s knowledge, whichever is later, provided that no such proceedings shall be commenced later than 5 years from the date on which the offence concerned was committed.[/align:1prokzbj]
(3) For the purposes of this section, a certificate signed by or on behalf of the person initiating the proceedings as to the date on which evidence referred to in subsection (2)(b) came to his or her knowledge shall be evidence of that date and, in any legal proceedings a document purporting to be a certificate under this section and to be so signed shall be admitted as evidence without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate, unless the contrary is shown.
(4) It shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that proceedings for an offence under this Act were commenced within the appropriate period.
