The National Qigong Association (NQA) has adopted this Code of Due Process in order
that it be of support to its Members and to ensure the highest quality of Qigong practice,
teaching, and healing through the proper and effective use of Qigong, in any form, by its
Membership. All Members of the NQA, as a condition of membership, shall subscribe to
the NQA Code of Ethics & Integrity, which makes up the criteria upon which NQA Due
Process deliberations are based. Robert’s Rules of Order is adopted and followed.
Application of Due Process
1. Any person, whether or not a Member of the NQA, may initiate a charge of ethical violation against a Member of the NQA.
2. Any charge/allegation of ethical violation must be submitted in writing to the Ethics and Integrity Committee, must specify the time and place of the alleged violation and must be signed by the complainant.
3. The Due Process Team (a sub-committee of the Ethics and Integrity Committee made up of the Chair, Vice-Chair, and one additional Ethics and Integrity Committee Member elected by their membership) shall inform the accused Member, through a private, informal communication, of the violation charges and solicit the Member’s response to the charges. The Due Process Team will then informally communicate this response to the complainant. If the complainant drops the charge(s), the matter is deemed to have been resolved and no further action is to be taken.
4. If, upon hearing the response of the accused Member, the complainant does not drop the charges, and the Due Process Team determines that there is a factual basis for the charge(s) and that cause for further inquiry exists, the Due Process Team shall set a time and place for a hearing and shall notify the Member and the complainant, by certified mail, of the time and place of such hearing.
5. The purpose of the Due Process Team hearing shall be to gather all the facts related to the alleged violation. The charged Member may appear in person or by a representative, or may submit a written defense to the Due Process Team at least 24 forty-eight (48) hours prior to the time of the hearing. At the hearing, the charged Member shall have the right to cross examine the complainant and any witnesses who may appear against the Member. He or she shall have the right to know and confront any and all other evidence supporting the charge. The charged Member shall also have the right to present witnesses or documents in his or her defense. The complainant shall be able to direct questions to the charged Member only through a Due Process Team member. The hearing shall be recorded and a transcript of the proceedings, if any, shall be available at cost.
6. No later than thirty (30) days following the hearing, the Due Process Team shall submit a report of the findings to the Board of Directors and recommend either:
a) dismissal of the charges;
b) censure or warning;
c) suspension;
d) exclusion from Membership; or
e) expulsion.
The Due Process Team shall send, by certified mail, a copy of the report and recommendation to the charged Member.
7. If the Due Process Committee recommends censure, warning, suspension, exclusion from membership or expulsion, the Member shall have thirty (30) days from the receipt of the Due Process Team report and recommendation to submit to the Board written objections to the findings and/or recommendations of the Due Process Team.
8. The Board shall review the findings and recommendation of the Due Process Team and any written objections submitted by the Member and shall reach a final decision. The Board shall notify the Member, in writing, by certified mail, of its decision.
