Should engineers be publicly regulated?

In the United States engineers undertaking certain work must be registered. This group of engineers, called Professional Engineers (PEs), is governed by public regulation. It could be said that the equivalent of this in the UK is the Chartered Engineer, where registration is voluntary. Should engineers be governed by statute? What are the advantages and disadvantages of registration compared to other forms of regulation? The author discusses the issues involved with public regulation of engineering. The author discusses whether the regulation should be by statute law or common law and self-regulation by professional societies.