Professional Practice and Regulations: Registration, Conduct and Certification
What this domain tests
Who may lawfully do what in Hong Kong, the standard of care attached to it, and what happens when statutory duty collides with the client's commercial interest. Questions are typically short scenarios asking you to identify the correct registrant, the correct body, or the correct course of action.
Registration framework
- Architects Registration Ordinance (Cap. 408) protects the title 'architect'; registration is held by the Architects Registration Board.
- Authorized Person, Registered Structural Engineer and Registered Geotechnical Engineer are separate registrations administered by the Building Authority under the Buildings Ordinance.
- A company cannot be an AP. The individual is appointed, and the statutory duties attach personally.
- Building works must be carried out by a registered contractor, and specialist works by the appropriate registered specialist contractor.
Duties and conduct
- The AP has personal duties under the Buildings Ordinance: supervise the works, notify the Building Authority of contraventions, and never certify what has not been checked.
- In certification the architect acts independently and fairly, not as the client's advocate. Site records, inspection reports and written instructions are the evidence of that.
- Professional indemnity insurance, conflicts of interest, confidentiality and copyright in drawings all appear as scenario issues.
- Fees are a commercial matter; the real conduct issue is accepting work beyond your competence or capacity.
Worked example
A client asks an AP to apply for an occupation permit for a fit-out completed while the AP was overseas, relying on photographs sent by the site agent. Reasoning: the certification asserts that works were carried out in accordance with approved plans and under proper supervision. Photographs are not supervision. The correct answer is to arrange verification - inspection under the supervision plan, checking records and any required test certificates - then certify or refuse. Certifying on hearsay exposes the AP to disciplinary action and prosecution, and gives the client nothing durable.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating certification as a client service rather than a statutory act.
- Confusing Architects Registration Board discipline with HKIA membership discipline.
- Assuming 'architect' and 'authorized person' are interchangeable titles.
- Overlooking that the AP's duties cannot be delegated to the contractor's staff.