Courts and Legal Services Act 1990

28 Rights to conduct litigation.E+W

(1)The question whether a person has a right to conduct litigation, or any category of litigation, shall be determined solely in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

(2)A person shall have a right to conduct litigation in relation to any proceedings only in the following cases—

(a)where—

(i)he has a right to conduct litigation in relation to those proceedings granted by the appropriate authorised body; and

(ii)that body’s qualification regulations and rules of conduct have been approved for the purposes of this section, in relation to F1. . . that right;

(b)where paragraph (a) does not apply but he has a right to conduct litigation in relation to those proceedings granted by or under any enactment;

(c)where paragraph (a) does not apply but he has a right to conduct litigation granted by that court in relation to those proceedings;

(d)where he is a party to those proceedings and would have had a right to conduct the litigation, in his capacity as such a party, if this Act had not been passed.

[F2(2A)Every person who exercises in relation to proceedings in any court a right to conduct litigation granted by an authorised body has—

(a)a duty to the court to act with independence in the interests of justice; and

(b)a duty to comply with rules of conduct of the body relating to the right and approved for the purposes of this section;

and those duties shall override any obligation which the person may have (otherwise than under the criminal law) if it is inconsistent with them.]

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)Where, immediately before the commencement of this section, no restriction was placed on the persons entitled to exercise any right to conduct litigation in relation to a particular court, or in relation to particular proceedings, nothing in this section shall be taken to place any such restriction on any person.

[F3(4A)A court may not limit the right to conduct litigation in relation to proceedings before the court to only some of those who have the right by virtue of the provisions of this section.]

(5)In this section—

• “authorised body” means—

(a)the Law Society; F4. . .

[F5(aa)the General Council of the Bar;

(ab)the Institute of Legal Executives; and]

(b)any professional or other body which has been designated by Order in Council as an authorised body for the purposes of this section;

• “appropriate authorised body”, in relation to any person claiming to be entitled to any right to conduct litigation by virtue of subsection (2)(a), means the authorised body—

(a)granting that right; and

(b)of which that person is a member;

• “qualification regulations”, in relation to an authorised body, means regulations (however they may be described) as to the education and training which members of that body must receive in order to be entitled to [F6, or to exercise,] any right to conduct litigation granted by it; and

• “rules of conduct”, in relation to any authorised body, means rules (however they may be described) as to the conduct required of members of that body in exercising any right to conduct litigation granted by it.

[F7(5A)Nothing in this section shall be taken to require the General Council of the Bar or the Institute of Legal Executives to grant a right to conduct litigation.]

(6)Section 20 of the M1Solicitors Act 1974 (unqualified person not to act as a solicitor), section 22 of that Act (unqualified person not to prepare certain documents etc.) and section 25 of that Act (costs where unqualified person acts as a solicitor) shall not apply in relation to any act done in the exercise of a right to conduct litigation.