The Association of Certified Commercial Diplomats (ACCD) is the extraterritorial rules-based professional body and regulatory authority that examines, qualifies, and accredits passionately driven and highly-skilled prospective, aspiring and experienced commercial diplomatic practitioners (including international trade policy professionals, managers of international trade disputes/international trade arbitrators and commercial diplomatic practitioners).

Regulatory Arm:

• Commercial Diplomats Regulation Authority (CDRA) - regulatory and standardization enforcement oversight arm

Founding

• Established in 2006 with administrative roots in the City of London, United Kingdom. 

Autonomy, Sovereignty and Extraterritoriality

• The organisation is independent of government and does not owe allegiance to any political party. As an extraterritorial rules-based representative body and global voice of the commercial diplomatic profession, its activities include advocating 'Responsible Commercial Diplomacy' [RCD], ensuring, enhancing and advancing professionalism, standardization and better impactful regulation of 'accredited commercial diplomats' and 'commercial diplomatic practice'.

Professional Designations: 

• Qualified Policy Advocate (QPA),
• Qualified Certified Diplomat (QCD),
• Mastership (CD.M), and
• Accredited Commercial Diplomat (Plenipotentiary) (C.Dipl).

Key Functions and Roles

1. Professional Standardization
2. Acting, through the Commercial Diplomats Regulation Authority (CDRA),
3. Examination, qualification, accreditation, and better impactful regulation of commercial diplomatists. 

Global Representation

1. Serves as an independent, non-profit representative and standardization enforcement body for commercial diplomats, commercial diplomatists and the commercial diplomatic profession.
2. Umbrella of the Extraterritorial Rules-based Regulatory Body

ACCD is the first ever extraterritorial rules-based representative body and regulatory authority for:

• commercial diplomats and accredited commercial diplomatists
• the commercial diplomatic profession
• commercial diplomatic institutions. 

The organisation is independent of government and does not owe allegiance to any political party. As an extraterritorial rules-based representative body and global voice of the commercial diplomatic profession, its activities include advocating 'Responsible Commercial Diplomacy' [RCD], ensuring, enhancing and advancing professionalism, standardization and better impactful regulation of 'accredited commercial diplomats' and 'commercial diplomatic practice'.

Practitioners’ Core Focus Areas

Qualifying Specialism-based Expertise Focuses on:

• international trade policy analysis
• international trade facilitation
• international trade negotiation
• international trade promotion
• international trade arbitration
• international investment policy for development
• international investment arbitration/mediation
• international commercial arbitration

Qualification and Certification of Commercial Diplomats

1. The extraterritorial rules-based representatory body examines, qualifies, certifies and accredits highly-skilled, highly-knowledgeable, highly-experienced, highly-competent and highly-influential practitioners involved in the role and value-added function of commercial diplomats
2. The extraterritorial rules-based representatory body certifies and accredits vocational education and training providers or institutions involved in the promotion, advancement and provision of approved and recommended related-relevant sector-specific vocational training and comprehensive learning activities or programmes on commercial diplomacy and commercial diplomatic practice.

Core Focus

• Focuses on trade policy analysis, facilitation, negotiation, promotion and the resolution, settlement and management of trade and commerce-related disputes, specifically international trade arbitration, international commercial arbitration, international investment dispute settlement, and multilateral trading systems.