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Legal Services Regulation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020

Tuesday, 23 June 2020

Ceisteanna (307)

Gerald Nash

Ceist:

307. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the establishment of the legal practitioners' disciplinary tribunal as provided for in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015; the indicative commencement date for the tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11696/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The regulatory reform of the legal services sector has been taking place since the enactment of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and the establishment of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority on 1 October 2016 and as set out in the Authority’s Strategic Plan for 2018-2020 which was laid before the Houses. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority is independent in the performance of its functions.

Part 6 of the Legal Services Regulation Act provides for the introduction of an independent complaints and professional conduct regime for legal practitioners including the separate establishment and appointment of an independent Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal. The new Tribunal will have a mix of lay-persons and lawyers in its membership and will deal with allegations of serious misconduct by both solicitors and barristers. It is set to replace the existing bodies which currently operate for that purpose under the Law Society and the Bar Council who will be winding-down their residual caseloads.

Extensive preparations were completed by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority to put the necessary procedural, staffing, IT and other supports in place so that the new complaints regime could come into operation in tandem with my commencement of the relevant provisions on 7th October 2019. The Authority has been processing complaints since that date and has established a new Complaints Committee and Review Committee in support of that function as required under the 2015 Act. It is now, I understand, at the point of preparing to submit relevant matters to the new Tribunal.

My current focus and that of my department is on the nomination, in the required manner, of the relevant lay and legal members of the independent Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Over seventy applications for lay membership of the Tribunal have been received as advertised through the Public Appointments Service and are being considered at present. The remaining nominees will be proposed by the respective legal professional bodies. While this process has inevitably been interrupted by the exigencies of the COVID emergency, it is now close to completion. I therefore expect the selection of nominees for membership of the Tribunal to be concluded in the coming weeks. At that point I will be putting forward the relevant nominees for appointment by the President of the High Court as required under the terms of the 2015 Act. While the Tribunal will, of course, be independent in the performance of its functions under its own chair, it is anticipated that it will commence its work later this year.

Question No. 308 answered with Question No. 304.
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