Architects (Registration) Act 1931 (Repealed 21.7.1997)

7 Removal of name from Register for criminal offence or professional misconduct. E+W+S

(1) If any registered person is convicted of a criminal offence, or if the committee appointed for the purposes of this section, after an inquiry held thereunder in respect of any registered person, report to the Council that that person has been guilty of conduct disgraceful to him in his capacity as an architect, the Council may, subject to the provisions of this section, cause the name of that person to be removed from the Register, and where the name of any person is duly removed from the Register under this subsection, he shall, during such period thereafter as the Council may determine on the occasion of the removal, be disqualified for registration under this Act:

Provided that the Council may at any time, either of their own motion or on the application of the person concerned, cause his name to be restored to the Register, either without payment of a fee or on payment of such fee not exceeding the fee payable for registration under this Act as the Council may determine.

(2) For the purposes of this section there shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be appointed annually by the Council a committee (in this Act referred to as “the Discipline Committee”) consisting of eight persons, of whom four shall be registered persons nominated by the Council (including one person who is practising as an architect in Scotland), one shall be nominated by the Commissioners of Works, one shall be nominated by the Minister of Health and two shall be nominated by the President of the Law Society, and it shall be the duty of the said Committee, if so directed by the Council, to inquire into, and report to the Council on, any case in which it is alleged that a registered person has been guilty of conduct disgraceful to him in his capacity as an architect:

Provided that, in the case of any inquiry under this section in respect of a registered person who is a member of any of the bodies referred to in the First Schedule to this Act, the council or other governing body of each such body of which the registered person is a member shall (except where the Discipline Committee already includes a member of that body) be entitled to nominate one person for membership of that Committee, and upon the name of any person duly nominated as aforesaid being submitted to them in the prescribed manner, the Council shall appoint that person to be an additional member of the Discipline Committee for the purposes of the inquiry and of the report of the Committee in connection therewith.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Council to direct the Discipline Committee to hold an inquiry under this section in any case in which it appears to the Council that such an inquiry is necessary.

(4) Where the Council direct the Discipline Committee to hold any inquiry under this section in respect of a registered person, the Council shall forthwith cause to be served on that person a written notice of the proposed inquiry, specifying the time and place at which it is to be held and the subject matter thereof, and that person shall, on application made in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed period from the date of the service of the said notice, be entitled to be heard by the Discipline Committee at the inquiry, either in person or by counsel or a solicitor.

(5) Where the Council intend to remove the name of any person from the Register in pursuance of this section, then, before so doing, the Council shall cause a written notice of their intention to be served on that person and shall, on application made by that person in the prescribed manner within three months from the date of the service of the said notice, consider any representations with regard to the matter which may be made by him to the Council, either in person or by counsel or a solicitor.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Functions of Commissioners of Works now exercisable by Secretary of State: S.R & O. 1945/991 (Rev. XV, p. 232: 1945 I, p. 1414), S.I. 1962/1549 and 1970/1681

C2 Functions of Minister of Health under this Act now exercisable by Secretary of State: S.I. 1951/753, 1900 (1951 I, pp. 1354, 1347), 1965/319 and 1970/1681

C3 S. 7(5) amended (E.W.) (1. 1. 1992) by S.I. 1991/2684, arts. 2, 4, 5, Sch.1