The Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 2007

PART 2 Constitution

President, Vice-Presidents and Clerk

3.—(1) The President of the Tribunal holding office immediately before the date on which these rules come into force shall continue to hold office until the Tribunal’s annual general meeting next following 30^th April 2009.

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), the Tribunal, by a simple majority, shall appoint one of the solicitor members to be its President to hold office for a period of 3 years and the person so appointed may be re-appointed for a further period not exceeding 3 years.

(3) The Tribunal, by a simple majority, shall appoint one solicitor member and one lay member to be its Vice-Presidents to hold office for such period or periods not exceeding 3 years as the Tribunal shall think fit and to exercise such functions as are exercisable under these rules by the President as he may direct.

(4) The Tribunal shall meet not less than once in each calendar year and shall publish an annual report, a copy of which shall be delivered to the Master of the Rolls and the Law Society.

(5) The Tribunal shall appoint a Clerk to the Tribunal.

(6) The Tribunal may also appoint other clerks, including clerks appointed to deal with a particular case or cases.

(7) A clerk appointed by the Tribunal under this rule shall be a solicitor or barrister of not less than 10 years standing

(8) A clerk shall vacate his office if—

(a) in the Tribunal’s opinion (with which the Master of the Rolls agrees) he is physically or mentally incapable of performing his duties; or

(b) he retires; or

(c) he is removed from office by a resolution of the Tribunal approved by the Master of the Rolls.

(9) The Clerk shall be responsible to the Tribunal for the administration of the Tribunal in an efficient manner and, for so long as he shall be remunerated by the Law Society, shall be regarded as seconded to the Tribunal.

(10) The services of a clerk may be provided to the Tribunal through a body independent of the Law Society and that body may employ him on such terms (including remuneration and pension provision) as the Tribunal shall think fit.

(11) The Tribunal may prescribe the duties to be performed by the clerks or for which they shall be responsible and those duties shall include arrangements for—

(a) the submission of applications for certification of a case to answer;

(b) making pre-listing arrangements including directions of an administrative nature;

(c) listing of and attendance at hearings;

(d) securing a record of hearings (by tape recording or other means);

(e) advising the Tribunal on matters of law or procedure as may be necessary or expedient;

(f) preparing summaries of allegations, evidence and submissions for inclusion in the Tribunal’s detailed findings;

(g) drawing orders and findings and filing them with the Law Society;

(h) the general supervision of other clerks and the Tribunal’s administration and staff; and

(i) maintaining records and collecting statistics required by the Tribunal.

Constitution of Divisions

4.  Subject to rules 6(1) and 6(3), a Division shall be constituted for the hearing of any application or matter relating to an application. Two of the Division members shall be solicitor members and one shall be a lay member and (unless the President shall determine otherwise) a solicitor member shall act as Chairman.