Solicitors Act 1974

Disciplinary proceedings before Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal

46 Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal

(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 [1946 c. 36.] Statutory 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

(1) Any application—

(a) to strike the name of a solicitor off the roll, or to require a solicitor to answer allegations contained in an affidavit, or

(b) by a former solicitor whose name has been struck off the roll or to have his name restored to the roll,

shall be made to the Tribunal; but nothing in this subsection 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, oh 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, that is to say—

(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;

(c) the payment by that solicitor of a penalty not exceeding £750, which shall be forfeit to Her Majesty;

(d) 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 ;

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

(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.

48 Orders of Tribunal

(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 (a) to (e) of section 47(2), 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 with respect to whom the application or complaint was made; and

(b) except where it only makes provision for matters referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) of that subsection, 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

(1) An appeal from the Tribunal shall lie—

(a) in the case of an order on an application under section 43(3) or 47(1)(b) 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.