UK Lawyers' Tribunal Sees Decreased Case Load

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

27 August 2003

The UK's Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has reported that references to the Tribunal fell by 10% from 227 to 205 in the 12 months to the end of April 2003, and that the Tribunal sat for 126 days as opposed to 129. In about a third of cases, solicitors were struck off.

The Tribunal is constituted as a Statutory Tribunal under Section 46 of The Solicitors' Act 1974, and adjudicates upon alleged breaches of rules of professional conduct which are designed to maintain the reputation of the solicitors' profession for honesty, probity, trustworthiness independence and integrity. The Tribunal can award costs but not compensation. The Tribunal's decisions can be the subject of appeal to the High Court.

The Tribunal currently has about 30 members all of whom are appointed by the Senior Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court (The Master of the Rolls). Two thirds are Solicitor Members and one third Lay drawn from a variety of backgrounds.

As in its previous annual reports, the SDT presses for complete financial and administrative independence from the Law Society, to complement its 'undoubted juridical independence'. “The tribunal remains committed to securing its administrative and financial independence from the Law Society so as to buttress its role as an independent and impartial tribunal,” the SDT said. “Its proposal for direct funding from each practising solicitor remains under discussion.” The cost of running the tribunal was £622,000, having steadily risen from £363,000 in 1998. According to the Law Society, which is the 'prosecutor' in over 90% of SDT cases, the Tribunal costs less than £8 per annum for each practising solicitor.

Recommended