Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)

Schedule 1

SUMMONS

CODE OF ETHICS

A professional engineer—

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   1.   owes certain duties to the public, to his or her employers, to other members of his or her profession and to himself or herself and shall act at all times with—

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      (a)     fidelity to public needs;

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      (b)     fairness and loyalty to his or her associates, employers, clients, subordinates and employees; and

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      (c)     devotion to high ideals of personal honour and professional integrity.

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   2.   shall express opinions on engineering matters only on the basis of adequate knowledge and honest conviction;

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   3.   shall have proper regard for the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of his or her professional duties;

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   4.   shall endeavour to extend public understanding of engineering and its place in society;

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   5.   shall not be associated with enterprises contrary to the public interest or sponsored by persons of questionable integrity, or which does not conform to the basic principles of the code;

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   6.   shall sign and/or seal only those plans, specifications and reports actually prepared by him or her or under his or her direct professional supervision;

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   7.   shall act for his or her client or employer as a faithful agent or trustee;

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   8.   shall not disclose confidential information pertaining to the interests of his or her clients or employers without their consent;

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   9.   shall present clearly to his or her clients or employers the consequences to be expected if his or her professional judgment is overruled by non-technical authority in matters pertaining to work for which he or she is professionally responsible;

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   10.   shall not undertake any assignment which may create a conflict of interest with his or her clients or employers without the full knowledge of his or her clients or employers;

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   11.   shall not accept remuneration for services rendered other than from his or her client or employer;

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   12.   shall conduct himself or herself towards other professional engineers with courtesy, fairness and good faith;

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   13.   shall undertake only such work as he or she is competent to perform by virtue of his or her training and experience;

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   14.   shall not compete unfairly with another engineer by attempting to obtain employment, advancement or professional engagements by competitive bidding, by taking advantage of a salaried position or by criticising other engineers;

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   15.   shall not advertise his or her work or merit in a self-laudatory manner, and shall avoid all conduct or practice likely to discredit or unfavourably reflect upon the dignity or honour of the profession;

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   16.   shall advise his or her Association or Institution or the Council of any practice by another professional engineer which he or she believes to be contrary to the code of ethics.

GUIDE TO PRACTICE UNDER THE CODE OF ETHICS

General

ARTICLE 1

A professional engineer owes certain duties to the public, to his or her employers, to other members of his or her profession and to himself or herself and shall act at all times with—

1.  

   (a)     fidelity to public needs;

1.  

   (b)     fairness and loyalty to his or her associates, employers, clients, subordinates and employees; and

1.  

   (c)     devotion to high ideals of personal honour and professional integrity.

DUTIES OF THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER TO THE PUBLIC

A Professional Engineer

ARTICLE 2

shall express opinions on engineering matters only on the basis of adequate knowledge and honest conviction—

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   (a)     he or she shall ensure, to the best of his or her ability, the statements on engineering matters attributed to him or her are not misleading and properly reflect his or her professional opinion;

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   (b)     he or she shall not express publicly or while he or she is serving as a witness before a court, commission or other tribunal opinions on professional engineering matters that are not founded on adequate knowledge and honest conviction.

ARTICLE 3

shall have proper regard for the safety health and welfare of the public in the performance of his or her professional duties—

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   (a)     he or she shall notify the proper authorities of any situation which he or she considers, on the basis of his or her professional knowledge, to be a danger to public safety or health;

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   (b)     he or she shall complete, sign or seal only those plans and/or specifications which reflect proper regard for the safety and health of the public.

ARTICLE 4

shall endeavour to extend understanding of engineering and its place in society—

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   (a)     he or she shall endeavour at all times to enhance the public regard for, and its understanding of his or her profession by extending the public knowledge thereof and discouraging untrue, unfair or exaggerated statements with respect to professional engineering;

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   (b)     he or she shall not give opinions or make statements on professional engineering projects connected with public policy where such statements are inspired or paid for by private interests unless he or she clearly discloses on whose behalf he or she is giving the opinions or making the statements.

ARTICLE 5

shall not be associated with enterprises contrary to the public interest or sponsored by persons of questionable integrity, or persons who do not conform to the basic principles of the code—

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   (a)     he or she shall conform with registration laws in his or her practice of engineering;

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   (b)     he or she shall not sanction the publication of his or her reports in part or in whole in a manner calculated to mislead and if it comes to his or her knowledge that they are so published, he or she shall take immediate steps to correct any false impressions given by them.

ARTICLE 6

shall sign and/or seal only those plans, specifications and reports actually prepared by him or her or under his or her direct professional supervision.

DUTIES OF THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER TO HIS OR HER CLIENT OR EMPLOYER

A Professional Engineer

ARTICLE 7

shall act for his or her client or employer as a faithful agent or trustee—

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   (a)     he or she shall be realistic and honest in all estimates, reports, statements and testimony;

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   (b)     he or she shall admit and accept his or her own errors when proven obviously wrong and refrain from distorting or altering the facts in an attempt to justify his or her decision;

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   (c)     he or she shall not accept outside employment to the detriment of his or her regular work or interest, or without the consent of his or her employer;

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   (d)     he or she shall advise his or her client or employer when he or she believes a project will not be successful;

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   (e)     he or she shall not attempt to attract an engineer from another employer by unfair methods;

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   (f)     he or she shall engage, or advise engaging, experts and specialists when such services are in his or her client's or employer's best interest.

ARTICLE 8

shall not disclose confidential information pertaining to the interests of his or her clients or employers without their consent—

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   (a)     he or she shall not use information coming to him or her confidentially in the course of his or her assignment as a means of making personal gain except with the knowledge and consent of his or her client or employer;

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   (b)     he or she shall not divulge, without official consent, any confidential findings resulting from studies or actions of any commission or board of which he or she is a member or for which he or she is acting.

ARTICLE 9

shall present clearly to his or her clients or employers the consequences to be expected if his or her professional judgment is overruled by non-technical authority in matters pertaining to work for which he or she is professionally responsible.

ARTICLE 10

shall not undertake any assignment which may create a conflict of interest with his or her clients or employers without the full knowledge of his or her clients or employers—

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   (a)     he or she shall inform his or her client or employer of any business connections, interests, or circumstances which may be deemed as influencing his or her judgment or the quality of his or her services to his or her client or employer;

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   (b)     when in public service as a member, advisor or employee of a governmental body or department, he or she shall not participate in considerations or actions with respect to services provided by him or her or his or her organisation in private engineering practice;

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   (c)     he or she shall not solicit or accept an engineering contract from a government body on which a principal or officer of his or her organisation services as a member.

ARTICLE 11

he or she shall not accept remuneration for services rendered other than from his or her client or employer—

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   (a)     he or she shall not accept compensation from more than one interested party for the same service or for services pertaining to the same work, without the consent of all interested parties;

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   (b)     he or she shall not accept any royalty or commission on any article or process used on the work for which he or she is responsible without the consent of his or her client or employer;

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   (c)     he or she shall not undertake work at a fee or salary below the accepted standards of the profession in the area;

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   (d)     he or she shall not tender on competitive work upon which he or she may be acting as a consulting engineer;

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   (e)     he or she shall not act as consulting engineer in respect of any work upon which he or she may be the contractor.

DUTIES OF THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER TO THE PROFESSION

A Professional Engineer

ARTICLE 12

shall conduct himself or herself towards other professional engineers with courtesy, fairness and good faith—

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   (a)     he or she shall not accept any engagement to review the work of another professional engineer for the same employer or client except with the knowledge of such engineer, unless such engineer's engagement on the work has been terminated;

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   (b)     he or she shall not maliciously injure the reputation or business of another professional engineer.

ARTICLE 13

shall not compete unfairly with another engineer by attempting to obtain employment, advancement or professional engagements by competitive bidding, by taking advantage of a salaried position, or by criticising other engineers—

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   (a)     he or she shall not attempt to supplant another engineer in a particular employment after becoming aware that definite steps have been taken toward the other's employment.

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   (b)     he or she shall not offer to pay, either directly or indirectly, any commission, political contribution, or a gift or other consideration in order to secure professional engineering work;

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   (c)     he or she shall not solicit or submit engineering proposals on the basis of competitive bidding;

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   (d)     he or she shall not use equipment, supplies, laboratory, or office facilities of his or her employer to carry on outside private practice without consent.

ARTICLE 14

shall undertake only such work as he or she is competent to perform by virtue of his or her training and experience and he or she shall not misrepresent his or her qualifications.

ARTICLE 15

shall not advertise his or her work or merit in a self-laudatory manner, and shall avoid all conduct or practice likely to discredit or unfavourably reflect upon the dignity or honour of the profession circumspect advertising may be properly employed by the engineer to announce his or her practice and availability. Only those media shall be used as are necessary to reach directly an interested and potential client or employer, and such media shall in themselves be dignified, reputable and characteristically free of any factor or circumstance that would bring disrepute to the profession or the professional using them. The substance of such advertising shall be limited to fact and shall contain no statement or offer intended to discredit or displace another engineer, either specifically or by implication.

ARTICLE 16

shall advise his or her Association or Institution or the Council of any practice by another professional engineer which he or she believes to be contrary to the Code of Ethics.