IHPSO Appeals Policy
This Policy explains how certain decisions made by IHPSO may be reviewed or appealed.
Operated by: Biohack Global Holdings LLC
30 N Gould St Ste N
Sheridan, WY 82801
United States
Email: info@ihpso.com
1. Purpose
The purpose of this Policy is to provide a fair, documented and proportionate process for reviewing certain decisions that materially affect a Professional's IHPSO status, Registry publication or eligibility. An appeal is an internal IHPSO review process. It is not a court proceeding, governmental appeal, professional licensing proceeding or substitute for rights that may exist under applicable law.
2. Decisions that may be appealed
Subject to this Policy, a Professional may request review of SUSPENDED Professional Standing, REVOKED Professional Standing, refusal to publish a Public Registry profile, rejection of qualification or eligibility evidence, withdrawal or invalidation of an IHPSO credential, or another decision that materially affects the Professional's current IHPSO status. Routine administrative matters, technical issues or ordinary Membership expiry are not normally appealable. EXPIRED status resulting solely from non-renewal is not a disciplinary decision and is not ordinarily an appeal matter.
3. Decisions not normally subject to appeal
General changes to IHPSO Professional Standards, Membership pricing, education content, ordinary non-renewal or expiry, editorial decisions concerning Resources or Insights, technical downtime, decisions relating to future programmes not yet open, and general commercial or partnership decisions are generally not appealable under this Policy. IHPSO may nevertheless review an administrative error where appropriate.
4. Initial decision
A material adverse decision should ordinarily be made only after IHPSO has identified the issue, reviewed relevant information, considered available evidence, notified the affected Professional where appropriate, provided a reasonable opportunity to respond where circumstances permit, and reached a reasoned decision. The decision notice should identify the decision, effective date, whether an appeal is available, the deadline and the address for submission.
5. How to submit an appeal
An appeal must be submitted in writing to info@ihpso.com with the subject line “IHPSO Appeal - [Professional ID / Name]”. It should include full name, Professional ID where available, email associated with Membership, decision being appealed, date of the decision, reasons for review, relevant supporting documents/evidence and the outcome requested. IHPSO may request additional information where reasonably necessary.
6. Appeal deadline
An appeal should be submitted within 30 calendar days from the date the Professional receives notice of the decision. IHPSO may accept a late appeal where there is a reasonable explanation for the delay, but is not required to do so.
7. Acknowledgement
IHPSO should normally acknowledge receipt of an appeal within 5 business days. The acknowledgement may confirm receipt, whether it appears complete, whether further information is required and the expected next step.
8. Appeal reviewer
Where reasonably practicable, the appeal should not be decided solely by the same person who made the original decision. The appeal may be reviewed by another authorised IHPSO decision-maker, a designated internal review panel, or an external professional/subject-matter reviewer where appropriate. The reviewer must consider the appeal independently and disclose any material conflict of interest.
9. Conflict of interest
A person should not determine an appeal where they have a material personal, professional or commercial conflict that could reasonably call their impartiality into question. Where such a conflict exists, IHPSO should assign the appeal to another appropriate reviewer.
10. Status while an appeal is pending
Submitting an appeal does not automatically suspend the original decision. A SUSPENDED status normally remains SUSPENDED, a REVOKED status normally remains REVOKED, an unpublished Registry profile normally remains unpublished, and a rejected eligibility decision remains effective while an appeal is pending. IHPSO may temporarily modify the effect of a decision where circumstances justify doing so.
11. Review standard
The appeal reviewer should consider whether the original decision was based on materially accurate information, procedurally fair, proportionate to the issue, consistent with applicable IHPSO policies/standards, affected by relevant new evidence, or affected by a material factual/administrative error.
12. Additional evidence
The Professional may submit relevant new evidence with the appeal. IHPSO may also consider information that became available after the original decision where relevant. IHPSO is not required to consider repetitive, irrelevant or clearly abusive submissions.
13. Possible appeal outcomes
The appeal reviewer may confirm the original decision, modify part of it, reverse it, remit the matter for further review/investigation, or request additional information before deciding.
14. Appeal decision
IHPSO should normally issue the appeal decision in writing, stating the outcome, effective date, a concise explanation and any resulting change in Registry or Membership status. Where appropriate, the decision may state conditions that must be met before status can change.
15. Target timeframe
IHPSO should aim to decide a complete appeal within 30 calendar days after all information reasonably required for the appeal has been received. More complex matters may require additional time. If materially more time is needed, IHPSO should inform the Professional.
16. Effect of successful appeal
If an appeal results in modification or reversal, IHPSO will update relevant systems as appropriate, which may include Professional Standing, Registry publication, credential status, eligibility record and internal governance record. Historical audit records may still be retained where reasonably necessary.
17. Public information
IHPSO may display the Professional's current status publicly where the Registry is designed to show that status. IHPSO will not normally publish detailed allegations, evidence or reasons for disciplinary/governance decisions. A profile may show SUSPENDED without publishing the underlying complaint or case file.
18. Confidentiality
Appeal information will be handled with appropriate confidentiality. Information may be shared where reasonably necessary with authorised IHPSO personnel, reviewers, legal/professional advisers, technical providers where necessary, or authorities where legally required. Appeals should not be treated as public proceedings.
19. No retaliation
A Professional should not be disadvantaged merely because they make a good-faith appeal. This does not prevent IHPSO from taking action based on independent misconduct, fraud, safety concerns or other legitimate governance reasons.
20. Abuse of process
IHPSO may refuse or close an appeal that is clearly abusive, fraudulent, repeatedly duplicative without new information, submitted primarily to harass, or unrelated to an appealable IHPSO decision. Any such decision should be documented.
21. Final internal decision
Unless IHPSO expressly offers a further internal review, the appeal decision constitutes the final decision within the IHPSO internal process. This does not remove any rights that cannot legally be waived under applicable law.
22. Record keeping
IHPSO may retain records relating to the original decision, notice, appeal, submitted evidence, reviewer identity, conflicts disclosed, appeal outcome and relevant status changes. Retention is governed by the IHPSO Privacy Policy and applicable legal requirements.
23. Relationship with other IHPSO policies
This Appeals Policy should be read together with the IHPSO Professional Membership Terms, Registry & Credential Policy, Professional Standards and Privacy Policy. Where a specific policy contains additional rules for a particular decision, those rules may also apply.
24. Contact
Appeals and questions concerning this Policy should be sent to IHPSO - International Human Potential Standards Organization, operated by Biohack Global Holdings LLC, 30 N Gould St Ste N, Sheridan, WY 82801, United States. Email: info@ihpso.com.