PART 5 Miscellaneous

Costs

18.—(1) The Tribunal may make such order as to costs as the Tribunal shall think fit including an order—

(a) disallowing costs incurred unnecessarily; or

(b) that costs be paid by any party judged to be responsible for wasted or unnecessary costs, whether arising through non compliance with time limits or otherwise.

(2) The Tribunal may order that any party bear the whole or a part or a proportion of the costs.

(3) The amount of costs to be paid may either be fixed by the Tribunal or be subject to detailed assessment by a Costs Judge.

(4) The Tribunal may also make an order as to costs under this Rule—

(a) where any application or allegation is withdrawn or amended;

(b) where no allegation of misconduct (including an application under Section 43 of the Solicitors Act) is proved against a respondent.

Re-hearing where respondent neither appears nor is represented

19.—(1) At any time before the filing of the Tribunal’s Order with the Law Society under rule 17 or before the expiry of the period of 14 days beginning with the date of the filing of the order, the respondent may apply to the Tribunal for a re-hearing of an application if—

(a) he neither attended in person nor was represented at the hearing of the application in question; and

(b) the Tribunal determined the application in his absence.

(2) An application for a re-hearing under this Rule shall be made in the form of Form 7 in the Schedule to these Rules and shall be supported by a Statement setting out the facts upon which the applicant wishes to rely.

(3) If satisfied that it is just so to do, the Tribunal may grant the application upon such terms, including as to costs, as it thinks fit. The re-hearing shall be held before a Division of the Tribunal comprised of different members from those who heard the original application.

Adjournment for Law Society to investigate

20.  In the case of an application by a person other than the Law Society, the Tribunal may, before or after certification of a case to answer, adjourn the matter for a period not exceeding 3 months to enable the Law Society to carry out its own investigations and—

(a) if it thinks fit, initiate its own application; or

(b) by agreement with the applicant, undertake the application.

Miscellaneous

21.—(1) Subject to the provisions of these Rules, the Tribunal may regulate its own procedure.

(2) The Tribunal may dispense with any requirements of these Rules in respect of notices, Statements, witnesses, service or time in any case where it appears to the Tribunal to be just so to do.

(3) The Tribunal (or a panel of Tribunal members consisting of not less than 5 members of whom not less than 2 shall be lay members) may give such notices or make such directions concerning the practices or procedures of the Tribunal as are consistent with these Rules and as shall seem appropriate.

(4) The Tribunal shall promulgate notices or directions given or made under paragraph (3) under the authority of the President. Practice Directions in force prior to the date on which these Rules come into force shall remain in full force and effect after that date.

(5) Where the Tribunal has made a finding based solely upon the certificate of conviction for a criminal offence which is subsequently quashed the Tribunal may, on the application of the Law Society or the respondent to the application in respect of which the finding arose, revoke its finding and make such order as to costs as shall appear to be just in the circumstances.

Revocation

22.  The Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 1994(8) are revoked.

Transitional provision

23.  These Rules shall not apply to proceedings in which an Application is made before the date on which these rules came into force and those proceedings shall be subject to the Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 1994 as if they had not been revoked.

SCHEDULE FORMS

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Rules regulate procedure for the making, hearing and determination of applications made to the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal constituted under the Solicitors Act 1974.

In particular, the rules make provision about the following—

(1) the constitution of the Tribunal,

(2) applications to the Tribunal,

(3) procedure and rules of evidence,

(4) other miscellaneous matters.

The Rules revoke the Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 1994.