- New agreement to be open ended
- Eligibility for UK judges to be considered to award CACIBs following UK approval to judge a breed at Challenge Certificate level
- Eligibility to be invited provided a judge is listed on the respective directory
- Mutual recognition to Group and Best in Show judges
The previous agreement, which expired on this date, had been in place for five years and has been a success in recognising the experience of judges approved under each governing body.
Both The Kennel Club and FCI representatives proposed amendments to the agreement based on their experience of the approval route for championship judges, taking account of lessons learnt.
The new contract will enjoy an open-ended duration, with the ability for either side to end the agreement or request amendments with a six-month notice period.
Judges listed on either The Kennel Club Find a Judge website or the FCI Judges Directory are eligible to be invited to judge in the UK or FCI countries.
UK judges will be eligible to award CACIBs once they are approved to award Challenge Certificates. This is particularly relevant to those judges approved to judge those breeds which do not yet have championship status in the UK, in addition to judges approved via the A3 pre-approved grandfathering route and via the Judges Education Programme Level 4 progress.
Best in Show judges approved under both The Kennel Club and FCI will receive mutual recognition and are eligible to be invited to undertake these appointments, subject to approval by the national kennel club.
Group judges under both The Kennel Club and FCI will receive mutual recognition for the complementary groups (as set out in the agreement) and are eligible to be invited to undertake these appointments, subject to approval by the national kennel club.
Show societies inviting judges from FCI member counties to officiate in the UK must make use of the mutual agreement route if the judge is not previously approved to award Challenge Certificates in the UK and meets the criteria. This is of benefit to both inviting society and judge in reducing unnecessary paperwork.
FCI judges are required to have awarded CACIBs in at least three different countries over a period of at least five years to be considered for approval to award Challenge Certificates.
For those judges not fulfilling this criterion, an overseas judges questionnaire will need to be completed for consideration by the Judges Committee.
Read the amended contract for show societies to request FCI judges to complete.
Read the document listing the Terms of the Agreement.
Any queries should be directed to Breed Shows (The Kennel Club) .