Impartiality Policy
Certification and assurance decisions must be based on defined criteria, documented evidence, and the approved scope, not commercial pressure or personal interest.
Clear rules for applicants, certificate holders, buyers, and relying parties.
These pages are written to support practical use: what AQX expects, what the holder may claim, how concerns are handled, and what information should be sent when clarification is needed.
Conflict screening
AQX checks whether assigned reviewers have relationships, financial interests, consulting involvement, or prior work that could affect impartial judgment.
Evidence-led decisions
Certification outcomes are based on the submitted file, review criteria, scope wording, and applicable route requirements.
Separation of roles
Where support, review, and decision activities could create a conflict, AQX separates responsibilities or escalates the file for independent review.
Escalation channel
Applicants, certificate holders, buyers, and relying parties can raise impartiality concerns for documented review.
How AQX handles this governance topic.
Receive
Identify any relationship or commercial pressure that may affect a file.
Classify
Record the concern and pause conflicted review activity where needed.
Review
Assign a suitable reviewer or decision function that is not affected by the conflict.
Respond
Document the outcome and communicate the practical next step.
Important note
Impartiality does not mean every file is accepted. It means approval, refusal, suspension, withdrawal, and scope wording decisions follow the available evidence and stated criteria.
For certificate-specific questions, include the holder name, certificate ID, scope wording, and the reason the record is being reviewed.
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