The General Chiropractic Council (Professional Conduct Committee) Rules Order of Council 2000

PART III U.K. Procedure at hearing on allegation

Application of Part III and preliminary matters U.K.

5.—(1) This part applies in any case where the respondent requires a hearing in accordance with Rule 3(2)(b) or the Committee determines under Rule 3 that an allegation should be the subject of a hearing.

(2) Before the opening of the hearing the Registrar shall nominate a legal assessor to provide advice to the Committee in considering the allegation, and the Registrar shall secure that any such assessor is provided before the hearing with a copy of the allegation as formulated by the Investigating Committee.

Procedure at meeting considering the allegation U.K.

6.—(1) If the respondent does not appear the Committee shall call upon the Solicitor to produce evidence that notice has been given to the respondent under Rules 3(2)(a), (3) or (4) or 4(2) (as the case may be); and if the Committee is satisfied that it was so given, it may determine that proceedings on the allegation shall be heard and determined in the absence of the respondent.

(2) At the opening of the hearing, the allegation shall be read out by the Solicitor.

(3) When the allegation has been so read out, the respondent may—

(a) admit any of the facts alleged (in which case the facts admitted shall be taken as proved);

(b) submit an objection on grounds of law to any allegation or part of an allegation.

(4) If the respondent submits an objection on grounds of law under paragraph (3)(b), before determining the matter the Committee shall give the Solicitor an opportunity to address the Committee and shall consider the advice of the legal assessor.

(5) Subject to paragraph (9), if the Committee is satisfied after hearing the parties and consulting the legal assessor that an objection under paragraph (3)(b) is substantiated, the allegation or part of the allegation in relation to which it is so satisfied shall not be proceeded with further.

(6) Subject to paragraph (7), the order of proceedings in relation to any allegation with respect to which any of the material facts are not admitted by the respondent shall, unless the Committee directs otherwise, be as follows—

(a) the Solicitor shall open the case for the allegation, and shall call evidence in support of it;

(b) the respondent shall present his case, and may call evidence;

(c) the Solicitor shall have a right of reply by way of closing submissions, and with the leave of the Committee before making such submissions to call further evidence dealing only with the rebuttal of any matters raised by the respondent;

(d) the respondent may make closing submissions to the Committee.

(7) At the conclusion of the stage referred to in paragraph (6)(a), the Committee may determine (whether on submissions of the respondent or otherwise) that insufficient evidence has been adduced to satisfy it that the allegation was well founded and dismiss the allegation without hearing evidence for the respondent.

(8) If, after the conclusion of proceedings under paragraph (6), the Committee determines that the allegation is well founded, it may if it thinks fit hear further evidence or submissions from the parties for the purpose of determining the steps to be taken under subsections (3) and (4) of section 22 of the Act, and it shall in any event afford the respondent the opportunity required by paragraph (11) of that section in respect of its exercise of its powers under subsection (4) of that section.

(9) Any witness called to give oral evidence may be cross-examined and re-examined, and may be questioned by the Committee and (with the leave of the Committee) by the legal assessor.

(10) Where all of the material facts of an allegaton are admited and the Committee is satisfied that the allegation is well founded, the Committee shall hear any explanation of the Solicitor of the circumstances surrounding the allegation so far as relevant, and shall hear any submissions in mitigation which the respondent wishes to make; and the Committee may if it thinks fit hear submissions or evidence for the purpose of determining the steps to be taken under subsections (3) and (4) of section 22 of the Act, and it shall in any event afford the respondent the opportunity required by paragraph (11) of that section in respect of its exercise of its powers under subsection (4) of that section.

(11) If it appears to the Committee that the particulars of an allegation as formulated by the Investigating Committee should be amended (whether in consequence of an objection under paragraph (3)(b) or at any other time) and that the amendment can be made without injustice, it may, after hearing the parties and consulting the legal assessor, amend the particulars to such extent as appears to the Committee to be necessary or desirable.

Evidence U.K.

7.—(1) Production of a certificate purporting to be under the hand of a competent officer of a court in the United Kingdom that a person has been convicted of a criminal offence, or an extract conviction of a court in Scotland, shall be conclusive evidence of the offence committed, and the only evidence which may be called by the respondent in connection with an allegation of a conviction so certified or extracted is evidence for the purpose of proving that he is not the person referred to in the certificate or extract.

(2) The Committee may receive oral, documentary or other evidence of any fact which appears to be relevant to the allegation before it, except that, where any matter tendered in evidence is such as would not be admissible in a court of criminal jurisdiction in the country in the United Kingdom in which the allegation is heard, it shall not be received unless the Committee is satisfied, after consulting the legal assessor, that it is desirable in the interests of making due inquiry that it should be so received, having regard to the justice of the case and the difficulty or expense of obtaining evidence which would be so admissible.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2), if satisfied that the interests of justice will not be prejudiced thereby, the Committee may admit in evidence without strict proof copies of documents and other material the originals of which would be admissible, and (without prejudice to the foregoing) maps, plans, photographs, certificates of conviction and sentence, certificates of registration of birth, marriage or death, records (including registers) of the Council, notes of proceedings before the Committee, the Health Committee or the Investigating Committee and any other tribunals and the records of such tribunals; and the Committee may take note without strict proof of the professional qualifications, registration, address and identity of the respondent and of any other person.

(4) A party may admit a fact, and a fact so admitted may be received in evidence without further proof.

(5) The Committee may of its own motion or on the application of a party require a witness to appear before it and give evidence, and may require a person to attend to produce documents; and it shall call the person making the allegation to appear before it if that person is not called as a witness by the Solicitor, unless in the view of the Committee there are special reasons why that person should not, or is not able, so to appear.

(6) Without the leave of the Committee, a person who is not a party to the proceedings or the person making the allegation concerned may not give evidence on any matter (other than evidence as to the giving, service or receipt of notice or other documents, evidence to comprise only the production or verification of documents or evidence in rebuttal of evidence given by another person) unless he has been absent from the proceedings until called to give evidence.

(7) The Committee may administer oaths.

(8) The posting or leaving of a notice under Rule 21(1) for the purposes of Rules 3(2), (3) or (4), 4 or 10(4) may be proved by a certificate in writing purporting to be signed by the person posting or leaving it, to which there shall be annexed (in the case of posting) any confirmation or the posting issued by or on behalf of the Post Office or other postal operator.

Production of documents etc. U.K.

8.—(1) The Solicitor shall at a reasonable time before the hearing send the respondent a list of the names of the persons he proposes to call to give evidence and of any documents he proposes to adduce in evidence; and he shall on the request of the respondent send him a copy of any statement of evidence made by such a person and of any such document, and of any other statutory declaration, affidavit, explanation or other statement sent to the Council by the person making the allegation or made by any person to be called by the Solicitor to give evidence and of any communication between the Solicitor and the person making the allegation or such a witness.

(2) The respondent shall at a reasonable time before the hearing send the Solicitor a list of the names of the persons he proposes to call to give evidence and of any documents he proposes to adduce in evidence; and he shall on the request of the Solicitor send him a copy of any statement of evidence made by such a person and of any such document.

(3) The respondent and the Solicitor may at any time give the other notice to produce any document relevant to the allegation in question and which is alleged to be in the possession of that other; and on receipt of such a notice the respondent or Solicitor shall use reasonable endeavours to produce the document.

(4) If a party fails to produce any document in accordance with paragraph (3), the Committee may (notwithstanding that the hearing has not begun) require it to be produced to the Registrar so that it may be made available to the party giving notice under that paragraph.

(5) The Solicitor and the respondent shall, as soon as practicable after supplying the other with the list referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2), send to the Registrar three copies of the list and of any statement of evidence made by any person listed in it and of any other documents referred to in it; and the Registrar shall secure that the legal assessor and members of the Committee are provided with a copy of the same.

(6) Nothing in paragraphs (1) and (3) shall require the Solicitor to release a document or other material in the nature of advice between him and the Council, and no party shall be required to give any evidence or produce any document or other material under these Rules which he could not be compelled to give or produce in civil proceedings in any court in that part of the United Kingdom in which the hearing takes place.

Hearing to be in public U.K.

9.—(1) Subject to Rules 6(1) and 10(5) and to the following provisions of this Rule, the hearing shall take place in the presence of the parties or their representatives and in public.

(2) The Committee may, if satisfied that it would be in the interests of the person making the allegation, or of any person giving evidence or of any patient, determine that the public should be excluded from being present in any part of the proceedings.

(3) The Committee may deliberate together in the absence of the parties and their representatives and of the public at any time, subject always to Rule 3(2) and (3) of the General Chiropractic Council (Functions of Legal Assessors) Rules 2000 where they receive the advice of the legal assessor.

Adjournment of hearing U.K.

10.—(1) The Committee may adjourn the hearing from time to time as it thinks fit.

(2) The Committee may in particular adjourn any hearing after it has determined that an allegation is well founded for the purposes of allowing time to deliberate on the terms of any conditions of practice order that it is minded to make.

(3) Unless adjourned proceedings are to resume (so far as they are to be in the presence of the parties) at a time, date or place not determined at the time of adjournment, upon adjourning the Committee shall announce the time, date and place of the resumption of proceedings which are to be in the presence of the parties.

(4) If an adjournment of proceedings which are to be in the presence of the parties is to a time, date or place not determined at the time of adjournment, the Registrar shall secure that reasonable notice is given to the parties of the time, date and place of the resumption; and the Registrar shall also notify the person making the allegation of that time, date and place.

(5) If, on a hearing resuming after adjournment, a party who was present in the earlier proceedings is absent, the Committee may proceed in that party’s absence if it is satisfied that the time, date and place of the resumption were announced under paragraph (3) or notice under paragraph (4) was duly given to the party.

Representation U.K.

11.—(1) At any hearing, the respondent shall be entitled to be legally represented.

(2) The Solicitor may, with the approval of the Registrar, instruct Counsel to present the case for the allegation.

Scope of the proceedings U.K.

12.—(1) The Committee may consider and determine at the same hearing more than one allegation against the respondent.

(2) Unless the Committee is of the view that there is a risk of conflict of interest between respondents, the Committee may consider and determine at the same hearing allegations against different respondents where the subject matter of each of the allegations is the same or substantially related one to another.

Notification of person making allegation U.K.

13.  Any notification of the person making the allegation under Rules 3(6), 4(2) or 10(4) may be sent pursuant to Rule 21(2) to such address of that person as the Registrar considers appropriate; but any failure or delay in the delivery of a notification so posted shall not invalidate, or in any way prejudice the standing of, any proceedings under this Part.