Cancellation of Certificates and Awards is done only for the reasons announced — departure from Scientology to set up some splinter group, or setting up a splinter group, or merely announcing a departure from Scientology (but not by reason of leaving an org, a location or situation or death), or for committing one or more Suppressive Acts (see HCO Pol Ltr of 1 March 1965).
Enrolment in or employment by, or direct knowing assistance to, a group antagonistic to Scientology or seeking to suppress Scientology, or enrolment in a group following some other divergent path after Certification in Scientology brings about a cancellation of Certificates, earned or honorary, and all classifications and other awards of whatever kind.
Certificate cancellation is only done for the above reasons, or committing Suppressive Acts (see HCO Pol Ltr 7 March 1965, Issue I). All other offenses where they concern certificates, awards and classification changes are handled by suspension of certificates, classification or awards or reduction to a lower certificate or award by Committees of Evidence. Other punishments may be recommended by a Committee of Evidence than those relating to status.
Cancellation requires no Committee of Evidence for obvious reasons (the person not usually available as an interested party in the case of departure or high crimes).
Cancellation may be recommended by any HCO Secretary or any Committee of Evidence.
Only the Chairman of the International Board may finally cancel certificates and awards, being the issuing authority, although cancellation is recommended by HCOs or Committees of Evidence.
Any recommendation for cancellation of certificates or awards must be accompanied by actual evidence of announced departure from Scientology or departure or the committing of a Suppressive Act.
Recourse from cancellation may be had by the accused or punished person or group applying to the nearest Convening Authority for a Committee of Evidence to be held on the subject. Such a Committee may only hear evidence that the report of departure and related reports, or reports of Suppressive Acts, were true or false (see HCO Pol Ltr of 7 March 1965, Issue I). Such a Committee of Evidence follows the usual procedures and forwardings but must be convened if requested.
A request for recourse must be requested within one month of receipt of notification of cancellation and must be addressed to the nearest HCO Secretary.
To cancel any one certificate, certificates or awards, or to cancel all certificates and awards, an HCO Secretary takes the following steps:
1. Receives direct evidences of departure from Scientology such as Suppressive Acts, the person’s announced intention to depart from Scientology, demand of refunds; accusations of fraud; accepting treatment from a splinter group; dependency on other mental or philosophic procedures than Scientology (except medical or surgical) after certification, classification or award; resignation of all certificates, classifications and awards (but not posts or positions or locations); discovery of theft or espionage for another group or government; public accusations or condemnations of Scientology by the person or group; or similar data indicating hostility to Scientology, as outlined in Suppressive Acts (HCO Pol Ltr of 7 March 1965, Issue I).
2. Carefully ascertains the correctness of the information.
3. Writes a letter of recommendation to the Chairman of the International Board as follows:
To: L. Ron Hubbard
From: HCO Secretary
Subject: Cancellation of Certificates, Classifications and Awards of (+person’s name in capitals).
I request cancellation of the Certificates, Classifications and Awards of (person’s name or group name in capitals) for the following reasons:
(a) (giving all circumstances. Keep to provable facts and do not engage in slanderous or critical remarks.)
I have investigated the evidence and find it correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signed ________________
HCO Secretary
4. A copy of the letter is at once posted on the public bulletin board and the original sent by fastest mail to Saint Hill.
5. Should the situation vanish and the person recant while the letter is en route, a cable or wireless should be sent to Saint Hill withdrawing the letter.
6. The HCO Secretary who requested it receives a letter from the Chairman to be delivered to the person, stating the cancellation as a fact.
7. If the situation has vanished before the letter is delivered to the person, does not deliver it but returns it to Saint Hill.
8. Enters a copy of the Saint Hill letter in the local Justice files, posts a copy on the local public bulletin board, files another copy in the person’s local CF file, has an entry made in the Certificate log and other pertinent records. (Saint Hill publishes the announcement under Legal Notices in The Auditor.)
9. Sends the cancellation letter on to the person.
10. Waits one month for any request for recourse under which a Committee of Evidence would have to be convened.
11. Gets the Committee convened or considers the matter ended, one month being the limitation of time in which the person could request a Committee of Evidence. No suit or punishment may be served or given to any HCO personnel for the above procedure regardless of the Committee Findings.
12. The HCO Secretary tries to recover the actual Certificates, Classifications and Awards after the month period or the Committee has met and confirmed. This is not vital, but something should be attempted like a letter requesting them or a reward to anyone who can obtain them and forward them all to HCO. Rendering such null and void includes reporting their cancellation to the public of the person’s area and informing any caller or enquirer interested in the person of the fact for as many years as the person takes no steps to gain new Certificates.
It is quite obvious by experience that few, if any, persons departing Scientology have clean hands. They commit continuous overts and therefore can’t gain under processing. They have gone, usually, and would not be available for a Committee of Evidence if one were called to gather evidence and so using Committees of Evidence in Cancellation cases just burns up time.
If we are to escape eventual pressure to limit this to a Committee of Evidence type crime, we must (a) be sure of our facts and (b) commit no flagrant injustices in using it.
By posting before it is done, the HCO Secretary can usually halt any widespread damage and often bring the person to his senses. HCO errors in posting cannot bring about any reprimand of HCO personnel or award of damages.
If the person comes to his or her senses before the final letter from Saint Hill is delivered, then do the following:
A. Tell the person to stop committing present time covert overts so he or she can get a case gain.
B. Require a letter from the person to all persons of any group or any dissidents influenced by the person to the effect that the person’s action in committing Suppressive Acts or in departing Scientology was in error and [stating] any self discreditable motivations, but not because of “no case gain”, and promising the group or influenced people that the person writing will cease to commit continuous present time averts, and try to mend his or her ways. Any person duped or sexually wronged, or any group deluded by the offender, must also receive a full written apology, any reasonable recompense for damages and/or full refund of any sums charged by the offender in his act of duplicity. None of these letters or confessions may contain assertions blaming others, auditors or Scientology.
C. Order some effective Division 2 (Training and Processing) retraining or processing at the person’s expense but not wildly beyond his ability to pay.
D. Make a note in the person’s CF folder of the incident and file all papers and a report in Justice files, as such cases often repeat, having secret vices or committing covert hostile acts to “solve their environment” rather than processing — in short they have other solutions they think work, always anti-social.
E. If at some future date the person comes to the HCO Secretary’s attention and seems to be doing well and getting case gains, the fact is noted in the Justice files and in the CF folder of the person, but no such entry should be made within weeks or months.
The same exact procedure is followed when the person whose certificates, etc. have been cancelled wants to be restored to grace except E. In this case it is
E One: Enrol the person in the Academy HAS Course to start all over again, if the D of T will have him or her, inform the Chairman at Saint Hill and note the fact in the local Justice files and the person’s CF folder.
Repeating the substance of it, departures from Scientology result from continuing averts which stall case gains; the action of departure is met by cancellation of all certificates, classifications and awards; the offense of departure from Scientology falls outside Committees of Evidence and amnesties.