{{noref, date=December 2011 Under an Act passed by the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

in 1931, there was established an Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK), referred to in the Act as "the Council". The constitution of the Council was prescribed by the First Schedule to the Act. The Act made the Council a body corporate by the name Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom. It was habitually referred to colloquially by the

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

ARCUK. When the Warne Report was published in 1993, it was found that its principal recommendation was abolition of this body. Instead, after a consultation process conducted by the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

this body has been reconstituted and renamed as the Architects Registration Board. It now operates under the

Architects Act 1997 The Architects Act 1997 (c. 22) is the consolidating Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the keeping and publishing of the statutory Register of Architects by the Architects Registration Board. ...

The statutory register

The originating Act was the Architects (Registration) Act 1931 ( 21 & 22 Geo. 5. c. 33). Its

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

was "An Act to provide for the Registration of Architects and for purposes connected therewith". It stated that the Council's duty was to set up and maintain a register, referred to in the Act as "the Register of Architects". The Act required the Council to cause to be entered in the Register the name and address of every person entitled to be registered under the Act, and annually to publish and offer for sale copies of the Register, setting forth the names of the registered persons in alphabetical order according to their

surnames In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several giv ...

, with their regular business address. Hard bound copies of all volumes in the annual series so produced, from volume 1 for 1933 and continuing into the years after the name of the registration body was changed to the Architects Registration Board, have been available for inspection by members of the public at the British Architectural Library of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, London.

Qualification

For ascertaining whether a person who claimed to be entitled to be registered was duly qualified, the Act required the Council to appoint annually a

Board of Architectural Education The Board of Architectural Education is no longer appointed. It had been a statutory body in the United Kingdom constituted under section 5 of the Architects (Registration) Act, 1931. The Act was citable with two amending Acts as the Architects ...

referred to in the Act as "the Board", and a committee referred to in the Act as "the Admissions Committee". The constitution of the Board was prescribed by the Second Schedule to the Act. By the Act two duties were ascribed to the Board, namely, to hold examinations in architecture in accordance with the Act, and to make recommendations to the Council in two respects, namely: * the recognition of any examinations in architecture the passing of which ought, in the opinion of the Board, to qualify persons for registration under the Act; and * the holding of any examination in architecture which ought, in the opinion of the Board, to be passed by applicants for registration under the Act. The constitution of the Admissions Committee was prescribed in the Third Schedule to the Act. The duty ascribed by the Act to the Admissions Committee was to consider every application for registration under the Act and to report thereon to the Council as to whether the applicant was, in the opinion of the Committee, qualified for registration. Before a person who had duly applied to the Council could become entitled to be registered, the Act required the Council to be satisfied on a report of the Admission Committee that the applicant was qualified in one of four respects, namely: * membership of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

or of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

; or * practising as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at the commencement of the Act; or * having passed any examination in architecture which was for the time being recognised by the Council; or * possessing "the prescribed qualifications". The Council was required to make regulations in respect of anything which by the Act was to be prescribed, but no regulations of the Council were to be of any force or validity without the prior approval of the Privy Council. Among other things, the 1996 Act abolished the statutory

and the Admissions Committee (subsection 118(2)).

Restrictions on use of "architect"

The

of the originating Act of 1931 was "An Act to provide for the Registration of architects and for purposes connected therewith". By subsection 3(3) of this Act the register which the Council was required to set up, maintain and publish annually was to be called the Register of Registered Architects; and under section 10 of the originating Act persons who were entitled to apply for registration could thereby claim "to take and use the name of 'Registered Architect'" as a statutory right, with effect from 1932. By subsection 3(3) of the Architects Registration Act, 1938 the name of this statutory register was changed to the Register of Architects, and this continues under the

. The change of name was made in connection with the introduction of statutory restrictions on the use of the vernacular word "architect", which were to apply to all persons, including fully qualified practising members of the

(RIBA) or other chartered bodies of architects, or societies or associations. This innovation was imposed under threat of penalty on

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

in a

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

for infringement.

Professional conduct

The Discipline Committee which was constituted under the 1931 Act was abolished under subsection 118(2) of the 1996 Act. Instead there is a Professional Conduct Committee which operates under Part III of the 1997 Act.

The statutory register

Qualification

Restrictions on use of "architect"

Professional conduct

See also