A Name That Cannot Be Used Without Legal Authority The Legal Sovereignty of Arbitration Titles in Culinary & Gastronomy

In an era where professional titles are increasingly borrowed without mandate, and sovereign terms are used without legal foundation, it becomes essential for serious institutions to clearly distinguish between legal status and mere claims, between institutional authority and media visibility.
This article is published as an institutional reference analysis, affirming a fundamental principle: arbitration titles are not generic expressions, but legal competencies that may only be exercised by right.

A Name Is Not a Term — It Is a Legal Mandate

The name International Culinary & Gastronomy Arbitration Ltd is neither a descriptive phrase nor a freely usable label. It is a legally owned name, attached to a duly registered UK entity, and it expressly designates a defined scope of authority:
arbitration and regulatory standard-setting in culinary arts and gastronomy.

Under established principles of institutional and commercial law, a name is legally protected when it meets the following criteria:

• Legal legitimacy (formal registration)

• Actual use (effective practice)

• Functional distinctiveness (no likelihood of confusion)

• Prevention of misrepresentation (Passing Off)

When combined, these elements grant the name legal protection that prevails over notoriety or historical presence.

When a Name Becomes Authority

What fundamentally distinguishes this name is that it does not refer to:

• a professional association,

• a competition,

• a training platform, or

• a media initiative.

It explicitly refers to Arbitration, meaning:

• authority to adjudicate,

• normative and standard-setting power,

• an independent regulatory function.

Arbitration is, by nature, a sovereign function. It cannot be borrowed, implied by custom, or acquired through reputation alone. It can only be established through a competent legal entity.

The Affiliated Framework: Names Operating Under This Authority

International Culinary & Gastronomy Arbitration Ltd exercises its mandate within an integrated institutional framework. The following names and structures operate under its regulatory and arbitration authority:

• International Culinary & Gastronomy Arbitration (ICGA) – the core arbitration and regulatory framework

• International Culinary Competitions Authority (ICCA) – the regulatory body for arbitration-based culinary competitions

• International Culinary Judge Program – the international accreditation pathway for culinary judges

• Global Culinary Arbitration Instructor Program – the training framework for arbitration instructors

• International Sensory Evaluation Judge Framework – the sensory and gastronomic judging system

• Culinary & Gastronomy Arbitration Standards – the approved arbitration standards framework

• Professional Culinary Arbitration Titles Registry – the official registry of professional arbitration titles

All these denominations:

• operate under a single unified mandate,

• are governed by the same legal and regulatory framework,

• and may not be used or granted without explicit authorization from the legal owner of the name and authority.

Why No Other Entity May Use These Names

Because:

• associations represent members,

• organizations host activities,

• academies deliver education.

Arbitration, however:

• establishes rules,

• grants legal capacity,

• and creates professional and institutional effects.

Accordingly, any entity—regardless of its size, history, or global visibility—has no right to use these names or any confusingly similar designations if such use implies an international arbitration authority that has not been legally constituted.
Visibility does not create jurisdiction, and longevity does not confer sovereignty.

Protecting the Field From Misrepresentation

The unauthorized use of arbitration-related titles:

• misleads professionals,

• distorts the market,

• empties titles of their meaning,

• and reduces arbitration to a marketing tool rather than a responsibility.

Protecting the name is therefore not an act of self-defense, but a protection of the arbitration function itself.

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A Message to the Global Culinary Sector

This article does not target any specific organization.
It does not engage in comparison or controversy.
It simply states one institutional truth:

Arbitration is a legal authority.
The arbitration name is the title of that authority.
Whoever does not hold the authority does not hold the name—
nor the right to use it.

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Conclusion

In a landscape crowded with labels, legitimacy remains the only true distinction between a name and a claim.
Names that are not grounded in a legal entity, a defined mandate, an effective practice, and institutional accountability will fade.
Authorities will remain.

Published in the official journal as an institutional analytical article.