Aurelle Standards: who decides, and how to complain
Aurelle Standards writes the six criteria, decides each election and re-election, hears appeals and complaints, and publishes the conflict-of-interest policy and the yearly Index.
Status, November 4, 2026. This is a draft charter, version 0.1. No reviewer has been named yet. Reviewers are named at the first election in January 2027, with their credentials and any tie to Aurelle.
Charter (draft version 0.1)
- Purpose. To decide, on published criteria, who holds a seat, and to say why.
- Powers. It writes and changes the criteria. It elects and re-elects seats, lapses them, decides appeals and hears complaints.
- Members. At least three reviewers, named at the first election. At least one is licensed in Canada and one in the United States. No member holds a seat, pays Aurelle for anything, or is paid by a seat holder or a sponsor.
- No election without reviewers. If three reviewers are not named by the first election, the election waits, and this page says so.
- How it decides. Each decision is in writing, gives its reasons, and is made by a majority of the reviewers who took part. A reviewer with a conflict takes no part.
- Records. Decisions are kept for the life of the seat and three years after. Totals appear in the Index.
Changes to the rules
Every change to the charter, the criteria or this policy is dated and logged on the corrections page before it applies.
Members
Until the first election, the founder, who is not named and is not a lawyer, an accountant or a planner, drafts these documents and decides nothing about any applicant.
| Name | Credentials | Licensed in | Ties to Aurelle |
|---|---|---|---|
| No reviewer has been named yet. Reviewers are named at the first election in January 2027. | |||
Conflict-of-interest policy (draft version 0.1)
Aurelle is paid by the professionals it elects, and may be paid by sponsors. That is a conflict of interest. This policy limits what that money can touch.
- A seat fee is invoiced only after the election or re-election it covers has been decided.
- A reviewer who has a financial, family or business tie to an applicant or a seat holder takes no part in that decision, and the record says so.
- Reviewers hold no seat and take no money from a seat holder or a sponsor. Any tie to Aurelle is shown in the table above.
- Payment does not decide who is named in an Introduction, or in what order. The rule that does is published on the Introductions page.
- Aurelle sells no financial products and takes no share of what a client pays a professional.
Sponsors
A sponsor buys a labelled slot, such as a named message on a series or in the newsletter. No sponsor is named on any Aurelle site today.
- A sponsor never sees an application, speaks to a reviewer about one, proposes or vetoes a criterion, or appears on a profile or in an Introduction.
- The Index names every sponsor and what each paid for.
- A sponsor who asks for more than a labelled slot is refunded and named in the Index.
Bureau customers
A firm that buys Bureau pays for production, not for a verdict. Its seat is decided like any other, and each episode carries the line "Made for [firm name] by Aurelle".
Complaints about a seat holder
You tell Aurelle
Use the form, or write to standards@aurelle.institute. Give the seat number, what happened and when.
Aurelle replies within five business days
It sends the complaint to the seat holder, who answers within 14 days.
Aurelle Standards decides
It tells both sides the reason, and aims to decide within 60 days. If it needs longer, it says so.
If it is upheld
The seat lapses, and the record says why.
Aurelle Standards does not give advice about your own case. A complaint to Aurelle does not replace one to the professional's regulator, which has its own complaints page.
The Aurelle Index
The Index is a yearly report of totals. The first one covers 2027 and is due in the first quarter of 2028. It names no applicant, client or complainant. The roll names seat holders; the Index does not.
What it counts
- Seats elected, lapsed and re-elected.
- Applications received, decided and appealed, with the outcomes.
- Complaints received and upheld.
- Reviews asked, published and held back, with the reasons.
- Every sponsor, by name, and what each paid for.
- Every change to the criteria.