PART III.

The Disciplinary Committee.

13. —(1) The Society shall appoint annually, from among members of the Council and such former members of the Council as are practising as solicitors, a disciplinary committee (in this Act referred to as the Disciplinary Committee) consisting of not less than seven and not more than ten persons.

(2) The Society may remove a member of the Disciplinary Committee, may fill a vacancy therein and, subject to the limits stated in subsection (1) of this section, may increase or reduce the number of persons thereon.

(3) The members of the Disciplinary Committee shall go out of office on their successors being appointed under subsection (1) of this section, but any such member shall be eligible for reappointment.

(4) The Disciplinary Committee may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy in their membership.

(5) The quorum of the Disciplinary Committee shall be five.

(6) An appointment or removal under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall not be made save with the approval of the Chief Justice.

14. —(1) The following applications shall be made to the Disciplinary Committee:

(a) an application by a solicitor to procure the removal of his name from the roll,

(b) an application by another person or the Society to strike the name of a solicitor off the roll on any of the following grounds:

(i) that the solicitor has been guilty of misconduct, including conduct tending to bring the solicitors' profession into disrepute,

(ii) that the solicitor has contravened a provision of this Act or of an order or regulation made under this Act,

(iii) that the solicitor has been convicted of treason or of a felony or misdemeanour or has been convicted outside the State of a crime or offence which would be a felony or misdemeanour if committed in the State,

(c) an application to require a solicitor to answer allegations contained in an affidavit,

(d) an application for replacement on the roll of a name which has been removed from or struck off the roll.

(2) An application under this section shall be in writing, shall be signed by the applicant and shall be sent to the Disciplinary Committee together with—

(a) an affidavit by the applicant setting forth the matters relied on in support of the application, and

(b) the documents relied on in support of the application or copies of those documents.

(3) The Chief Justice or any judge of the High Court may, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, exercise any jurisdiction over solicitors which he might have exercised if this Act had not been passed.

15. —Where an application under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 14 of this Act is duly made, the Disciplinary Committee shall consider the application and supporting affidavit and documents and—

(a) if they decide that the applicant is entitled to have his name removed from the roll without further inquiry, they shall order accordingly,

(b) if they decide that there is cause for inquiry, they shall hold an inquiry.

16. —(1) Where an application under paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) of section 14 of this Act is duly made, the Disciplinary Committee shall consider the application and supporting affidavit and documents and—

(a) if they decide that a prima facie case has not been shown, they shall so notify the applicant and the solicitor and shall take no further action,

(b) if they decide that a prima facie case has been shown, they shall serve on the solicitor—

(i) a copy of the application,

(ii) a copy of the affidavit,

(iii) copies of the documents or, at the discretion of the registrar, a list of the documents, and

(iv) a notice requiring the solicitor to send to the Disciplinary Committee, within a specified period, an affidavit by him in answer to the application, together with any documents, or copies thereof, which he relies on in support of his answer.

(2) Where a notice under subsection (1) of this section is served, either party may inspect the documents furnished by the other.

(3) After the expiration of the period specified in a notice under subsection (1) of this section, the Disciplinary Committee shall consider the application and the supporting affidavit and documents and such (if any) affidavit and documents as have been furnished by the solicitor and—

(a) if they decide that there is no cause for further inquiry, they shall so notify the applicant and the solicitor and shall take no further action,

(b) if they decide that there is cause for inquiry, they shall hold an inquiry.

(4) Where an applicant has been notified under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) or paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section, the Disciplinary Committee shall, if so required by the applicant, make a formal order embodying their decision.

17. —Where an application under paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 14 of this Act is duly made, the Disciplinary Committee shall consider the application and supporting affidavit and documents and shall by order either refuse the application or direct that the name in question be replaced on the roll.

18. —(1) Where the Disciplinary Committee hold an inquiry, they may make an order providing for one or more of the following:

(a) the dismissal of the application,

(b) the admonishment of the solicitor,

(c) the suspension of the solicitor from practice,

(d) the removal from or striking off the roll of the name of the solicitor,

(e) the payment by any party to the inquiry of costs, or of a stated sum as a contribution towards costs,

(f) the making by the solicitor of such restitution or satisfaction to any aggrieved party as the Disciplinary Committee think fit.

(2) The Disciplinary Committee may postpone the making of an order under this section.

(3) Where the making of an order under this section is postponed, the Disciplinary Committee may, on request made to them in that behalf when the matter is considered after the postponement, allow the application to be withdrawn without any order being made under this section.

(4) The Disciplinary Committee may, on the application of the solicitor to whom an order under this section relates, suspend the operation of the order pending an appeal under subsection (1) of section 23 of this Act.

(5) An order under this section shall not, while suspended, be filed or enforceable under subsection (1) of section 21 of this Act.

19. —(1) The Disciplinary Committee shall, on an inquiry held by them, have the powers, rights and privileges, vested in the High Court or a judge thereof on the occasion of an action, in respect of—

(a) the enforcement of the attendance of witnesses and their examination on oath or otherwise, and

(b) the compelling of the production of documents,

and a summons signed by a member of the Disciplinary Committee may be substituted for and shall be equivalent to any formal process capable of being issued in an action for enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents.

(2) Where the Disciplinary Committee hold an inquiry and a person—

(a) on being duly summoned as a witness at the inquiry makes default in attending,

(b) being in attendance as a witness at the inquiry refuses to take an oath legally required by the Disciplinary Committee to be taken, or to produce any document in his power or control legally required by the Disciplinary Committee to be produced by him or to answer any question to which the Disciplinary Committee may legally require an answer, or

(c) does any other thing which, if the Disciplinary Committee were a court of law having power to commit for contempt, would be contempt of the court,

the offence of that person may, by certificate signed by two members of the Disciplinary Committee, be certified to the High Court and the High Court may thereupon inquire into the alleged offence and, after hearing any witnesses who may be produced against or on behalf of the person charged with the offence and any statement that may be offered in defence, punish or take steps for the punishment of that person in like manner as if he had been guilty of contempt of the High Court.

(3) A witness at an inquiry held by the Disciplinary Committee shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he were a witness before the High Court.

20. —(1) The Disciplinary Committee, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice, may make rules regulating applications to the Disciplinary Committee and the hearing, conduct and determination of such applications and of inquiries held by the Disciplinary Committee.

(2) Rules under this section may provide, in particular, for extending the period for the furnishing of any affidavit or document, or for receiving an application or affidavit notwithstanding any irregularity in its form, where it appears to the Disciplinary Committee to be just to do so.

(3) Rules under this section may provide for award of costs and for taxation thereof by a Taxing Master of the High Court (subject to appeal to the High Court) under the scale of costs applicable to High Court proceedings, and any costs so taxed shall be recoverable as if they had been taxed under an order of the High Court.

21. —(1) An order made by the Disciplinary Committee shall contain a statement of their findings and shall be signed by two of their members and filed with the registrar, and as soon as it has been so filed shall be acted upon by the registrar and be enforceable as if it were a judgement or order of the High Court.

(2) Where, by an order made by the Disciplinary Committee, the name of a solicitor is ordered to be removed from or struck off the roll or a solicitor is suspended from practice, the registrar shall, unless the Disciplinary Committee otherwise direct, forthwith cause a notice stating the effect of the operative part of the order to be published in Iris Oifigiúil and shall also cause the notice to be published in such other manner as the Disciplinary Committee may direct.

(3) The registrar shall maintain separate files on which all orders made by the Disciplinary Committee shall be entered in the following manner:

(a) on a file to be termed File A, there shall be entered, in alphabetical order of the names of the solicitors concerned, each order directing that the name of a solicitor is to be removed from or struck off the roll or that a solicitor be suspended from practice,

(b) on a file to be termed File B, there shall be entered, in order of date, all other orders.

(4) On receipt of a copy of an order made on an appeal under section 23 of this Act, the registrar shall enter the order on File A or File B (as may be appropriate).

(5) The registrar shall furnish a copy of an entry on File A or File B to a person who applies in writing for such copy.

(6) Notwithstanding subsection (5) of this section, where—

(a) application is made for a copy of an entry on File B, being an entry under a date which is earlier than two years before the date of the application, or

(b) application is made for a copy of an entry on File A or File B, being an entry as respects which the Disciplinary Committee have directed the insertion of a note that the furnishing of a copy thereof might cause injustice,

a copy of the entry shall (save where the copy is furnished under an order of a court) be furnished only by permission in writing of the Society.

22. —An application to or an inquiry or other proceeding before the Disciplinary Committee shall be a legal proceeding within the meaning of that expression as used in the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1879.

23. —(1) An appeal against an order made by the Disciplinary Committee shall lie to the Chief Justice at the instance either of the applicant to the Disciplinary Committee or of the solicitor to whom the order relates.

(2) An appeal shall also lie to the Chief Justice against the refusal of the Disciplinary Committee to suspend the operation of an order under section 18.

(3) The Society shall be entitled to appear and to be heard upon the hearing of an appeal under this section.

(4) A copy of an order made on an appeal under this section shall be sent to the registrar.