Declaration use of the certification title

The Title is granted to those who have proven to be among the top professionals in their field. They have done so by successfully completing the course preparing for this Title and by meeting the related certification requirements.

Using this Title provides the Title holder with impartial recognition of his/her achievement and expertise, from which he/she derives status and third parties gather trust. Title use comes with a large responsibility, not only towards the field of expertise and other Title holders, but also towards the Security Academy. Use of the title is therefore subject to the following conditions.

Use of title

  • Only those who meet the certification requirements to be acquired for the Title are allowed to use the Title.
  • The Title holder may use the Title with his/her name directly after receiving the relevant certificate, for example on business cards, writing paper, in email, but also in a CV.
  • The Title holder is only allowed to use the Title in abbreviated form or in full, strictly in accordance with the notation as prescribed by SECO-Institute. Other ways of notation are prohibited.
  • Use of the title explicitly implies that the Title holder agrees with the terms stated in this document.
  • Use of the title by no means implies that the SECO-Institute makes a judgment about the Title holder’s behaviour or verbal expressions.
  • Use of the title does not in any way imply the right to the use of other titles.

Register

  • Upon receiving a certificate granted by the SECO-Institute the Title holder is included in the Register.
  • Based on this register employers and other parties can verify whether the Title holder is formally authorised to use the Title.
  • If the Title holder does no longer wish to be included in the register, the Title holder is required to provide the SECO-Institute with this information in written form. Subsequently, the SECO-Institute will remove the Title holder from the register.

Expulsion

  • The board of the SECO-Institute is the sole party to determine who is or is not authorised to use the Title.
  • In the case of misuse of the Title, or behaviour which violates the code of conduct, the Title holder can be deprived of the right to use the Title.
  • Fraud during the exam or during the process of writing a required assignment leads by definition to the abrogation of the right to use the Title. This also applies when the fraud is discovered after the event.
  • The Title holder can object to the expulsion by writing to the board of the SECOInstitute. In this case the Title holder is required to prove that the conduct of which
    he/she is accused did not take place, was unwarranted, or the result of a “human error”. However, also in the case of objection the board’s judgment remains ultimately
    binding.
  • In the case of expulsion, the Title holder is removed from the register. If after this measure third parties make a request for verification of the Title, the SECO-Institute will inform them that the Title holder is not (no longer) authorised to use the Title for reasons of violating the conditions and code of conduct. The SECO-Institute will not, however, provide any further details.

Sanction

If the Title holder continues to use the Title after being informed by the SECO-Institute that he/she is no longer authorised to do so, a directly collectable penalty will be imposed of € 100 per day and € 100 each time the Title is unfairly used. This penalty will continue until the Title holder himself/herself has communicated to the parties involved that the Title was improperly used. The SECO-Institute must be able to verify whether the Title holder has actually provided this information to the parties involved.

Modification

The SECO-Institute is at any time authorised to modify the requirements for use of the Title. This also applies to the code of conduct.

Rules

  • The title holder shall conduct himself/herself in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards.
  • The Title holder shall obey the law.
  • On the basis of this certification the Title holder shall exclusively provide correct and complete information.
  • The Title holder shall never use his/her title in a manner which suggests that the SECO-Institute makes a judgment about a particular product, service, organisation or individual.
  • The Title holder shall report (any possible) misuse of the Title by other Title holders or third parties to the SECO-Institute.
  • The Title holder shall report to SECO-Institute (any possible) behaviour on the part of other Title holders which is not in line with the rules.

I have read and understand these statements.