(1)The Council shall set up a committee, to be known as the Investigating Committee, for the preliminary investigation of cases in which—
(a)it is alleged that a registered insurance broker or enrolled body corporate is liable to have his or its name erased from the register or list on any ground specified in section 15 of this Act; or
(b)a complaint is made to the Council by or on behalf of a member of the public about a registered insurance broker or an enrolled body corporate or an employee of a registered insurance broker or an enrolled body corporate.
Any such case is hereinafter referred to as “a disciplinary case”.
(2)A disciplinary case shall be referred to the Investigating Committee who shall carry out a preliminary investigation of it and, unless they are satisfied that there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that the registered insurance broker or enrolled body corporate is liable to have his or its name erased from the register or list, the Committee shall refer the case, with the results of their investigation, to the Disciplinary Committee set up under the next following section.
(3)The Council shall make rules as to the constitution of the Investigating Committee.
(1)The Council shall set up a committee, to be known as the Disciplinary Committee, for the consideration and determination of disciplinary cases referred to them under the last foregoing section and of any other cases of which they have cognizance under the following provisions of this Act.
(2)The Council shall make rules as to the constitution of the Disciplinary Committee, the times and places of the meetings of the Committee, the quorum and the mode of summoning the members thereof.
(3)Rules under this section shall secure that a person, other than the Chairman of the Council, who has acted in relation to any disciplinary case as a member of the Investigating Committee does not act in relation to that case as a member of the Disciplinary Committee.
(1)If a registered insurance broker or enrolled body corporate—
(a)is convicted by any court in the United Kingdom of any criminal offence, not being an offence which, owing to its trivial nature or the circumstances under which it was committed, does not render him or it unfit to have his or its name on the register or list, or
(b)is judged by the Disciplinary Committee to have been guilty of unprofessional conduct,
the Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the name of the insurance broker or body corporate shall be erased from the register or list.
(2)If it appears to the Disciplinary Committee that a registered insurance broker or an enrolled body corporate has contravened or failed to comply with any rules made under section 11 or section 12 of this Act and that the contravention or failure is such as to render the insurance broker unfit to have his name on the register or the body corporate unfit to have its name on the list, the Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the name of the insurance broker or body corporate shall be erased from the register or list.
[F1(2A)The Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the name of a registered insurance broker or enrolled body corporate shall be erased from the register or list if it appears to the Committee that any responsible person has concluded that the broker (or a related person) or the body corporate has contravened or failed to comply with—
(a)any provision of the Financial Services Act 1986 or any rule or regulation made under it to which he or it is or was subject at the time of the contravention or failure; or
(b)any rule of any recognised self-regulating organisation or recognised professional body (within the meaning of that Act), to which he is or was subject at that time.
(2B)In subsection (2A) above—
(a)“responsible person” means a person responsible under the Financial Services Act 1986 or under the rules of any recognised self-regulating organisation or recognised professional body (within the meaning of that Act) for determining whether any contravention of any provision of that Act or rules or regulations made under it or any rules of that organisation or body has occurred; and
(b)“” means a partnership or unincorporated assocation of which the broker in question is (or was at the time of the failure or contravention in question) a member or a body corporate of which he is (or was at that time) a director.]
(3)Where—
(a)the name of a director of an enrolled body corporate is erased from the register under subsection (1) above, or
(b)a director of any such body corporate is convicted of an offence under this Act, or
(c)the name of a registered insurance broker employed by any such body corporate is erased from the register under subsection (1) above and the act or omission constituting the ground on which it was erased was instigated or connived at by a director of the body corporate, or, if the act or omission was a continuing act or omission, a director of the body corporate had or reasonably ought to have had knowledge of the continuance thereof,
the Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the name of the body corporate shall be erased from the list:
Provided that the Disciplinary Committee shall not take a case into consideration during any period within which proceedings by way of appeal may be brought which may result in this subsection being rendered inapplicable in that case or while any such proceedings are pending.
(4)If the Disciplinary Committee are of opinion as respects an enrolled body corporate that the conditions for enrolment in section 4 of this Act are no longer satisfied, the Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the name of the body corporate shall be erased from the list.
(5)Where a registered insurance broker dies while he is a director of an enrolled body corporate, he shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (4) above to have continued to be a director of that body until the expiration of a period of six months beginning with the date of his death or until a director is appointed in his place, whichever first occurs.
(6)When the Disciplinary Committee direct that the name of an individual or body corporate shall be erased from the register or list, the registrar shall serve on that individual or body a notification of the direction and a statement of the Committee’s reasons therefor.
Textual Amendments
(1)Where the name of an individual or body corporate has been erased from the register or list in pursuance of a direction under the last foregoing section, the name of that individual or body corporate shall not again be entered in the register or list unless the Disciplinary Committee on application made to them in that behalf otherwise direct.
(2)An application under subsection (1) above for the restoration of a name to the register or list shall not be made to the Disciplinary Committee—
(a)within ten months of the date of erasure; or
(b)within ten months of a previous application thereunder.
(1)If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Disciplinary Committee that any entry in the register or list has been fraudulently or incorrectly made, the Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the entry shall be erased from the register or list.
(2)An individual may be registered or a body corporate enrolled in pursuance of this Act notwithstanding that his or its name has been been erased under this section, but if it was so erased on the ground of fraud, that individual or body corporate shall not be registered or enrolled except on an application in that behalf to the Disciplinary Committee; and on any such application the Disciplinary Committee may, if they think fit, direct that the individual or body corporate shall not be registered or enrolled, or shall not be registered or enrolled until the expiration of such period as may be specified in the direction.
(3)Where the Disciplinary Committee direct that the name of an individual or body corporate shall be erased from the register or list under this section, the registrar shall serve on that individual or body a notification of the direction and a statement of the Committee’s reasons therefor.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 17 extended (E.W.) (1.11.1999 in relation only to England and otherwiseprosp.) by 1999 c. 8, ss. 39(2), 67(1); S.I. 1999/2793, art. 2(1)(a), Sch. 1
(1)At any time within twenty-eight days from the service of a notification that the Disciplinary Committee have under section 15 or section 17 of this Act directed that the name of an individual or a body corporate be erased from the register or list that individual or body corporate may appeal to the Court.
(2)The Council may appear as respondent on any such appeal and for the purpose of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of any such appeal the Council shall be deemed to be a party thereto, whether they appear on the hearing of the appeal or not.
(3)Where no appeal is brought against a direction under section 15 or section 17 of this Act or where such an appeal is brought but withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, the direction shall take effect on the expiration of the time for appealing or, as the case may be, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal.
(4)Subject as aforesaid, where an appeal is brought against a direction under either of those sections, the direction shall take effect if and when the appeal is dismissed and not otherwise.
(1)For the purpose of any proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee in England or Wales or Northern Ireland the Disciplinary Committee may administer oaths, and any party to the proceedings may sue out 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.
(2)The provisions of section [F236 of the Supreme Court Act 1981] or of the M1Attendance of Witnesses Act 1854 (which provide a special procedure for the issue of such writs so as to be in force throughout the United Kingdom) shall apply in relation to any proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee in England or Wales or, as the case may be, in Northern Ireland as they apply in relation to causes or matters in the High Court or actions or suits pending in the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.
(3)For the purpose of any proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee in Scotland, the Disciplinary Committee may administer oaths and the Court of Session shall on the application of any party to the proceedings have the like power as in any action in that Court—
(a)to grant warrant for the citation of witnesses and havers to give evidence or to produce documents before the Disciplinary Committee, and for the issue of letters of second diligence against any witness or haver failing to appear after due citation,
(b)to grant warrant for the recovery of documents, and
(c)to grant commissions to persons to take the evidence of witnesses or to examine havers and receive their exhibits and productions.
(4)The Council shall make rules as to the procedure to be followed and the rules of evidence to be observed in proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee; and in particular—
(a)for securing that notice that the proceedings are to be brought shall be given, at such time and in such manner as may be specified in the rules, to the individual or body corporate alleged to be liable to have his or its name erased from the register or list;
(b)for securing that any party to the proceedings shall, if he so requires, be entitled to be heard by the Disciplinary Committee;
(c)for enabling any party to the proceedings to be represented by counsel or solicitor or (if the rules so provide and the party so elects) by a person of such other description as may be specified in the rules;
(d)for requiring proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee to be held in public except in so far as may be provided by the rules;
(e)for requiring, in cases where it is alleged that a registered insurance broker or enrolled body corporate has been guilty of unprofessional conduct, that where the Disciplinary Committee judge that the allegation has not been proved they shall record a finding that the insurance broker or body corporate is not guilty of such conduct in respect of the matters to which the allegation relates;
(f)for requiring, in cases where it is alleged that a registered insurance broker or enrolled body corporate is liable to have his or its name erased from the register or list under section 15(2) of this Act, that where the Disciplinary Committee judge that the allegation has not been proved they shall record a finding that the insurance broker or body corporate is not guilty of the matters alleged.
(5)Before making rules under this section the Council shall consult such organisations representing the interests of insurance brokers and bodies corporate carrying on business as insurance brokers as appear to the Council requisite to be consulted.
(6)In this section and in section 20 of this Act “proceedings” means proceedings under this Act, whether relating to disciplinary cases or otherwise.
Textual Amendments
F2Words substituted by Supreme Court Act 1981 (c. 54, SIF 37), s. 152(1), Sch. 5
Marginal Citations
(1)For the purpose of advising the Disciplinary Committee on questions of law arising in proceedings before them there shall in all such proceedings be an assessor to the Disciplinary Committee who shall be
[F3(a)a person who has a 10 year general qualification, within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990;
(b)an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least 10 years’ standing; or
(c)a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland of at least 10 years standing.]
(2)The power of appointing assessors under this section shall be exercisable by the Council, but if no assessor appointed by them is available to act at any particular proceedings the Disciplinary Committee may appoint an assessor under this section to act at those proceedings.
(3)The Lord Chancellor or, in Scotland, the Lord Advocate may make rules as to the functions of assessors appointed under this section, and, in particular, rules under this subsection may contain such provisions for securing—
(a)that where an assessor advises the Disciplinary Committee on any question of law as to evidence, procedure or any other matters specified in the rules, he shall do so in the presence of every party, or person representing a party, to the proceedings who appears thereat or, if the advice is tendered after the Disciplinary Committee have begun to deliberate as to their findings, that every such party or person as aforesaid shall be informed what advice the assessor has tendered;
(b)that every such party or person as aforesaid shall be informed if in any case the Disciplinary Committee do not accept the advice of the assessor on any such question as aforesaid,
and such incidental and supplementary provisions, as appear to the Lord Chancellor or the Lord Advocate expedient.
(4)Subject to the provisions of this section, an assessor under this section may be appointed either generally or for any particular proceedings or class of proceedings, and shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of the instrument under which he is appointed.
(5)Any remuneration paid by the Council to persons appointed to act as assessors shall be at such rates as the Council may determine.
(6)The power to make rules conferred by this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
Textual Amendments
F3Words substituted by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 37), s. 71(2), Sch. 10 para. 41
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C2S. 20: functions of the Lord Advocate transferred to the Secretary of State, and all property, rights and liabilities to which the Lord Advocate is entitled or subject in connection with any such function transferred to the Secretary of State for Scotland (19.5.1999) by S.I. 1999/678, arts. 2, 3, Sch. (with art. 7)
S. 20: transfer of certain functions (1.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/1750, arts. 1(1), 2, Sch. 1 (with art. 7); S.I. 1998/3178, art. 3