Solicitors Act 1974

Disciplinary proceedings before Solicitors Disciplinary TribunalU.K.

46 Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. E+W

(1)Applications and complaints made by virtue of any provision of this Act shall be made, except so far as other provision is made by this Act or by any regulations under it, to the tribunal known as the “Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal”.

(2)The Master of the Rolls shall appoint the members of the Tribunal.

(3)The Tribunal shall consist—

(a)of practising solicitors of not less than ten years’ standing (in this section referred to as “solicitor members”); and

(b)of persons who are neither solicitors nor barristers (in this section referred to as “lay members”).

(4)A member of the Tribunal shall hold and vacate his office in accordance with the terms of his appointment and shall, on ceasing to hold office, be eligible for re–appointment.

(5)There shall be paid to the lay members out of money provided by Parliament such fees and allowances as the Lord Chancellor may, with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service, determine.

(6)Subject to subsections (7) and (8), the Tribunal shall be deemed to be properly constituted if—

(a)at least three members are present; and

(b)at least one lay member is present; and

(c)the number of solicitor members present exceeds the number of lay members present.

(7)For the purpose of hearing and determining applications and complaints the Tribunal shall consist of not more than three members.

(8)A decision of the Tribunal on an application or complaint may be announced by a single member.

(9)Subject to subsections (6) to (8), the Tribunal, with the concurrence of the Master of the Rolls, may make rules—

(a)empowering the Tribunal to elect a solicitor member to be its president; and

(b)about the procedure and practice to be followed in relation to the making, hearing and determination of applications and complaints.

(10)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (9)(b), rules made by virtue of that paragraph may in particular—

(a)empower the president of the Tribunal to appoint a chairman for the hearing and determination of any application or complaint;

(b)provide that, if the president does not appoint a chairman, a solicitor member shall act as chairman; and

(c)provide, in relation to any application or complaint relating to a solicitor, that, where in the opinion of the Tribunal no prima facie case in favour of the applicant or complainant is shown in the application or complaint, the Tribunal may make an order refusing the application or dismissing the complaint without requiring the solicitor to whom it relates to answer the allegations and without hearing the applicant or complainant.

(11)For the purposes of any application or complaint made to the Tribunal under this Act, the Tribunal may administer oaths, and the applicant or complainant and any person with respect to whom the application or complaint is made (or, in the case of an application under section 47(1)(b), any of the parties to the application) may issue writs of subpoena ad testificandum and duces tecum, but no person shall be compelled under any such writ to produce any document which he could not be compelled to produce on the trial of an action.

(12)The power to make rules conferred by subsection (9) shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and the M1Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply to a statutory instrument containing such rules in like manner as if the rules had been made by a Minister of the Crown.

47 Jurisdiction and powers of Tribunal.E+W

[F2(1)Any application—

(a)to strike the name of a solicitor off the roll;

(b)to require a solicitor to answer allegations contained in an affidavit;

(c)to require a former solicitor whose name has been removed from or struck off the roll to answer allegations contained in an affidavit relating to a time when he was a solicitor;

(d)by a solicitor who has been suspended from practice for an unspecified period, by order of the Tribunal, for the termination of that suspension;

(e)by a former solicitor whose name has been struck off the roll to have his name restored to the roll;

(f)by a former solicitor in respect of whom a direction has been given under subsection (2)(g) to have his name restored to the roll,

shall be made to the Tribunal; but nothing in this susbsection shall affect any jurisdiction over solicitors exercisable by the Master of the Rolls, or by any judge of the High Court, by virtue of section 50.

(2)Subject to subsection (3) and to section 54, on the hearing of any application or complaint made to the Tribunal under this Act, other than an application under section 43, the Tribunal shall have power to make such order as it may think fit, and any such order may in particular include provision for any of the following matters—

(a)the striking off the roll of the name of the solicitor to whom the application or complaint relates;

(b)the suspension of that solicitor from practice indefinitely or for a specified period;

(c)the payment by that solicitor or former solicitor of a penalty not exceeding £5,000, which shall be forfeit to Her Majesty;

(d)in the circumstances referred to in subsection (2A), the exclusion of that solicitor from legal aid work (either permanently or for a specified period);

(e)the termination of that solicitor’s unspecified period of suspension from practice;

(f)the restoration to the roll of the name of a former solicitor whose name has been struck off the roll and to whom the application relates;

(g)in the case of a former solicitor whose name has been removed from the roll, a direction prohibiting the restoration of his name to the roll except by order of the Tribunal;

(h)in the case of an application under subsection (1)(f), the restoration of the applicant’s name to the roll;

(i)the payment by any party of costs or a contribution towards costs of such amount as the Tribunal may consider reasonable.]

[F3(2A)An order of the Tribunal may make provision for the exclusion of a solicitor from legal aid work as mentioned in subsection [F4(2)(d)]where the Tribunal determines that there is good reason for doing so arising out of—

(a)his conduct, including conduct in the capacity of agent for another solicitor, in connection with the provision for any person of services under the Legal Aid Act 1988; or

(b)his professional conduct generally.

(2B)Where the Tribunal makes any such order as is re–referred to in subsection (2A) in the case of a solicitor who is a member of a firm of solicitors, the Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, order that any other person who is for the time being a member of the firm shall be excluded (either permanently or for a specified period) from legal aid work.

(2C)The Tribunal shall not make an order under subsection (2B) excluding any person from legal aid work unless an opportunity is given to him to show cause why the order should not be made.

(2D)Any person excluded from legal aid work by an order under this section may make an application to the Tribunal for an order terminating his exclusion from such work.]

(3)On proof of the commission of an offence with respect to which express provision is made by any section of this Act, the Tribunal shall, without prejudice to its power of making an order as to costs, impose the punishment, or one of the punishments, specified in that section.

[F5(3A)Where, on the hearing of any application or complaint under this Act, the Tribunal is satisfied that more than one allegation is proved against the person to whom the application or complaint relates it may impose a separate penalty (by virtue of subsection (2)(c) ) with respect to each such allegation.]

[F6(4)If it appears to the Lord Chancellor that there has been a change in the value of money since the relevant date, he may by order made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament substitute for the sum for the time being specified in subsection (2)(c) above such other sum as appears to him to be justified by the change.

(5)In subsection (4) above “the relevant date” means—

(a)in relation to the first order under that subsection, the date of the coming into force of section 56 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982; and

(b)in relation to each subsequent order, the last occasion when the sum specified in subsection (2)(c) above was altered.]

[F7(6)In this section references to a person being excluded from legal aid work are references to his being excluded from those who may be selected or assigned for the purpose of providing for any person services under the Legal Aid Act 1988.]

[F8[F847A Power of Tribunal to impose sanctions for inadequate professional services. U.K.

(1)The powers conferred on the Tribunal by this section shall be exercisable on the hearing of—

(a)any application or complaint made to the Tribunal under this Act by or on behalf of the Society; or

(b)any application made to the Tribunal under section 45(5A) by a lay observer.

(2)Where, on the hearing of any such application or complaint with respect to a solicitor, it appears to the Tribunal that the professional services provided by the solicitor in connection with any matter in which he or his firm had been instructed by a client were in any respect not of the quality that could reasonably have been expected of him as a solicitor, then (subject to subsection (4) ), the Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, do one or more of the following things, namely—

(a)determine that the costs to which the solicitor shall be entitled in respect of those services shall be limited to such amount as may be specified in its determination and by order direct the solicitor to comply, or to secure compliance, with such one or more requirements falling within subsection (3) as appear to it to be necessary in order to give effect to its determination;

(b)by order direct the solicitor to secure the rectification, at the expense of the solicitor or his firm, of any such error, omission or other deficiency arising in connection with the said matter as it may specify;

(c)by order direct the solicitor to take, at the expense of the solicitor or his firm, such other action in the interests of the client as it may specify.

(3)The requirements referred to in subsection (2)(a) are—

(a)a requirement to refund the whole or part of any amount already paid by or on behalf of the client in respect of the solicitor’s costs in respect of his services in connection with the said matter;

(b)a requirement to remit the whole or part of those costs;

(c)a requirement to waive, whether wholly or to any specified extent, the right to recover those costs.

(4)The Tribunal shall not exercise any of its powers under this section unless it is satisfied that it would in all the circumstances be appropriate to do so; and in determining whether in any case it would be appropriate to exercise any of those powers the Tribunal may have regard—

(a)to the existence of any remedy that could reasonably be expected to be available to the client in civil proceedings; and

(b)where proceedings seeking any such remedy have not been commenced by him, to whether it would be reasonable to expect him to commence such proceedings.

(5)Where the Tribunal has given a direction under subsection (2)(a) in order to give effect to a determination by it under that provision as to the costs of a solicitor in respect of any services provided by him, then—

(a)for the purposes of any taxation of a bill covering those costs the amount charged by the bill in respect of those costs shall be deemed to be limited to the amount specified in the Tribunal’s determination; and

(b)where a bill covering those costs has not been taxed in accordance with paragraph (a), the client shall, for the purposes of the recovery of those costs (by whatever means) and notwithstanding any statutory provision or agreement, be deemed to be liable to pay in respect of those costs only the amount specified in the Tribunal’s determination.

(6)Where a bill covering those costs has been taxed in accordance with subsection (5)(a), the Tribunal’s direction under subsection (2)(a) shall, so far as relating to those costs, cease to have effect.

(7)In subsections (2)(c) and (4)(a) “client”, in relation to any matter in which a solicitor or his firm has been instructed, includes any person on whose behalf the person who gave the instructions was acting.]]

48 Orders of Tribunal.E+W

(1)An order of the Tribunal shall be filed with the Society, and a statement of the Tribunal’s findings, signed by the chairman or by some other member of the Tribunal authorised by him in that behalf, shall either be prefaced to the order or added to the file containing the order as soon as may be after the order has been made.

(2)Where an order which has been filed includes provision for any of the matters referred to in paragraphs [F9(a) to (i)]of [F10section 47(2)][F10subsection (2) of section 47, or was made under subsection (2B) of that section or under section 47A,], the Society—

(a)shall cause a note of the effect of the order to be entered on the roll against the name of the solicitor [F11or former solicitor]with respect to whom the application or complaint was made; and

(b)except where it only makes provision for matters referred to in [F12paragraph (e), (f), (h) or (i) of section 47(2)], shall forthwith upon filing the order cause a notice stating its effect to be published in the London Gazette.

(3)Subject to section 43(5), any file kept by the Society under this section may be inspected during office hours without payment.

(4)An order which has been filed shall be treated, for the purpose of enforcement, as if it had been made by the High Court.

49 Appeals from Tribunal. E+W

(1)An appeal from the Tribunal shall lie—

(a)in the case of an order on an application under section 43(3) or [F1347(1)(d), (e) or (f)]or the refusal of any such application, to the Master of the Rolls;

(b)in any other case, to the High Court.

(2)Subject to subsection (3), an appeal shall lie at the instance of the applicant or complainant or of the person with respect to whom the application or complaint was made.

(3)An appeal against an order under section 43(2) shall lie only at the instance of the person with respect to whom the application was made.

(4)The High Court and the Master of the Rolls shall have power to make such order on an appeal under this section as they may think fit.

(5)Subject to any rules of court, on an appeal against an order made by virtue of rules under section 46(10)(c) without hearing the applicant or complainant, the court—

(a)shall not be obliged to hear the appellant, and

(b)may remit the matter to the Tribunal instead of dismissing the appeal,

(6)Any decision of the Master of the Rolls on an appeal under this section and any decision of the High Court on an appeal against an order under section 43(2) shall be final.

(7)The Master of the Rolls may make regulations about appeals to him under this section.