S.I. No. 92/1961 - Rules of High Court and Supreme Court High Court Rules, 1961

S.I. No. 92 of 1961.

RULES OF HIGH COURT AND SUPREME COURT HIGH COURT RULES, 1961

We the Superior Courts Rules Committee constituted pursuant to the provisions of Section 67 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , and reconstituted pursuant to the provisions of Section 15 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1953 , by virtue of the powers conferred upon us by Section 36 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , and Section 68 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do hereby make the annexed Rules of Court.

Dated this 23rd day of March, 1961

I concur in the making of the annexed Rules of Court.

Dated this 26th day of April, 1961.

Oscar Traynor,

Aire Dlí agus Cirt.

SOLICITORS ACTS RULES, 1961

These Rules may be cited as " The Solicitors Acts Rules, 1961 " and shall be read with the Rules of the High Court and Supreme Court and be deemed to be incorporated therewith but shall, so far as inconsistent therewith, amend and alter those Rules accordingly.

I. General

1. In these Rules :—

" The Act of 1954 " means the Solicitors Act, 1954 .

" The Act of 1960 " means the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960 .

" The Acts " means the Solicitors Acts, 1954 and 1960.

" The Society " means the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

" The Committee " means the Disciplinary Committee constituted in pursuance of section 6 of the Act of 1960.

" The President " means the President of the High Court.

A reference to the President shall, where the function or power in question stands delegated under section 6 of the Act of 1954 to a Judge of the High Court, be construed as a reference to such Judge.

2. Service of any document upon the Society under these Rules may be effected by serving the same on the secretary of the Society or by sending the same by pre-paid registered post addressed to the secretary of the Society at the Solicitors' Buildings, Four Courts, Dublin.

3. Service of any document upon any other person under these Rules may be effected in the manner provided in section 30 of the Act of 1960.

II Application for admission as a solicitor

4. Every person desiring to apply to be admitted by the President, and to be enrolled, as a solicitor may apply by lodging a form of certificate of admission with the registrar of solicitors together with the prescribed fees. The Certificate of admission shall be in the Form No. 1 in the Appendix hereto.

5. If the applicant has complied with the requirements of the Act of 1954 concerning admission and the regulations made thereunder the registrar of solicitors shall sign a certificate to that effect and lodge the same, together with the form of certificate of admission, in the Central Office and thereupon the President shall, unless cause to the contrary is shown, admit the applicant as a solicitor by signing the certificate of admission which shall forthwith be returned by the proper officer to the registrar of solicitors.

6. Upon receipt of the said certificate of admission signed by the President, the registrar of solicitors shall enter the name of the applicant on the roll of solicitors and notify him thereof.

III.Disciplinary provisions

7.—(1) Where the Committee make a report which is required to be brought before the Court pursuant to section 7 (3) or section 9 (2) (b) of the Act of 1960, the Society shall bring the report before the Court by presenting a petition to the Court, with the report annexed thereto.

(2) The petition shall be in the Form No. 2 or No. 3 in the Appendix hereto and shall be verified by an affidavit of the secretary of the Society in the Form No. 4 in the Appendix hereto.

8. As soon as a date has been fixed for the hearing of the petition, a copy of the petition with particulars of the date so fixed indorsed thereon shall be served upon the solicitor to whom it relates.

9. Upon the hearing of the petition, the Court may require any notice, affidavit, or other document used or laid in evidence before the Committee or a transcript of any oral evidence given before the Committee to be produced or made available to the Court by the Society or the Committee in such manner as the Court may direct.

10. An application pursuant to section 10 of the Act of 1960 by a person to have his name restored to the roll of solicitors shall be made by motion on notice to the Society in the proceedings in which his name was removed from the roll.

11. An attested copy of every order made by the Court under the Act of 1960 shall be sent by the Society to the Committee for filing with the registrar of solicitors.

IV. Appeals and applications to the President under Parts IV, V, and VI of the Act of 1954

12. Every appeal or application to the President under sections 45, 47(6), 48(3), 49(5), 51(2) or 60(3) of the Act of 1954 shall be brought by notice of motion which shall be a four day notice and shall be entitled in the matter of the apprentice, intending apprentice or solicitor to whom the same relates and in the matter of the Acts.

13. The notice of motion shall state the order or decision of the Society or the registrar of solicitors (as the case may be) in respect of which the appeal or application is brought, the grounds of the appeal or application and the order (if any) sought by the appellant or applicant on such appeal or application.

14. The notice of motion shall be served on the Society or, in the case of an application under section 47(6) of the Act, on the registrar of solicitors, within one month from the date on which the appellant or applicant was notified of the order or decision of the Society or the registrar (as the case may be).

15. The appeal or application shall be entered by the appellant or applicant by delivering a copy of the notice of motion (with the date of service thereof indorsed), together with any affidavit intended to be used in support thereof, to the proper officer at the Central Office atlatest upon the dayafter the date of the service thereof upon the Society, or the registrar of solicitors (as the case may be).

16. The evidence upon the hearing of any such appeal or application shall be by affidavit, except in so far as the President may direct oral evidence to be given.

17. The President shall have power, subject to the provisions of the Acts, to give any decision or make any order which ought to have been given or made and to make such further or other order as the case may require.

18. In case of an application to the President under the said sections 47(6) or 48(3), any order made thereon by the President shall be served by the applicant on the registrar of solicitors who shall forthwith take all such steps as may be necessary to comply therewith ; and in every other case, any order made by the President on the appeal or application may be served by the appellant or applicant on the Society which shall forthwith take all such steps as may be necessary to comply therewith.

V. Applications relating to the control of a solicitor's property

19. Every application to the Court under section 19(2) (b) of the Act of 1960 or under paragraph 15(2) (b) of the Fifth Schedule to the Act of 1954 shall be brought by summary summons, which shall be in the Form No. 3 in the Appendix of Forms to the Rules of the High Court and Supreme Court, 1926, and be entitled in the matter of the Acts, and the person having possession or control of the documents to which the application relates shall be named as respondent.

20. Every application to the Court under section 19(4) of the Act of 1960 or under paragraph 15(4) of the Fifth Schedule to the Act of 1954 shall be brought by summary summons, which shall be in the Form No. 3 aforesaid and be entitled in the matter of the Acts, and the Society shall be named as respondent.

21. Every application by the Society to the Court under section 20(1) of the Act of 1960 or under paragraph 17 of the Fifth Schedule to the Act of 1954 shall be governed by the following provisions :—

(a) The application may be made on motion ex-parte grounded on an affidavit of the secretary or other officer of the Society duly authorised entitled in the matter of the solicitor to whose banking account or to whose firm's banking account the application relates and in the matter of the Acts.

(b) Any order of the Court directing that no banking company shall, without leave of the Court, make any payment out of a banking account in the name of such solicitor or his firm shall be served upon such banking company or companies and in such manner (if any) as shall be specified in the order, and no such banking company shall, without such leave, make any payment out of any such banking account after the service of such order upon it.

(c) Any order of the Court directing that a specified banking company shall not, without leave of the Court, make any payment out of a banking account in the name of such solicitor or his firm shall be served upon the said banking company in such manner (if any) as shall be specified in the order and the said banking company shall not, without such leave, make any payment out of any such banking account after the service of such order upon it.

(d) Any order made as aforesaid shall be served upon the solicitor or the firm whose account is affected thereby within such time as may be specified in the said order or within such extended time as may be fixed by any subsequent order unless the Court shall dispense with such service.

(e) The solicitor or firm whose account is affected by any such order as aforesaid or any banking company on which any such order has been served may at any time apply to the Court by motion on notice to the Society to discharge, set aside or vary the said order, and thereupon the Court may discharge, set aside or vary the said order upon such terms as may be just.

(f) An application for leave to make any payment out of a banking account affected by any such order as aforesaid may be made by motion on notice to the Society.

(g) The Society or any other interested party may at any time apply to the Court by motion to discharge or vary any such order as aforesaid and notice of such application shall be given to the persons affected thereby unless the Court shall dispense with such notice.

NO. 1

CERTIFICATE OF ADMISSION

.........................SITTINGS, 19......

For as much as, upon examination and enquiry touching the fitness and capacity of         of                  in the County of           to act as a solicitor, I am satisfied that the said           is duly qualified so to act.

I do, by this writing under my hand, admit the said             to be a solicitor of the Courts of Justice and I direct that his name be entered on the roll of solicitors.

............................................................ .......

Enrolled the day of 19......

.......................................................

Registrar of solicitors.

NO. 2

PETITION BRINGING A REPORT BEFORE THE COURT UNDER SECTION 7(3) OF THE ACT OF 1960

HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

In the matter of A.B., a solicitor

And in the matter of the Solicitors Acts, 1954 and 1960.

To the High Court of Justice

The humble petition of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland

Showeth as follows :

1. On the   day of           C.D. of        (or your petitioners) pursuant to the provision of section 7 of the Solicitors Act, 1960, applied to the Disciplinary Committee for an inquiry into the conduct of the above named A.B. of            , a solicitor.

2. Pursuant to the provisions of the said section 7, the Disciplinary Committee held an inquiry on (date or dates), and on completion thereof embodied their findings in a report to the Court, which is annexed hereto.

3. As appears from the said report, the Disciplinary Committee found that their has been misconduct on the part of the said A.B. in respect of (some of) the matters complained of in the said application, or that the said A.B. has not satisfactorily answered the allegations against him.

Your petitioners therefore pray that, in accordance with the provisions of section 8 of the Solicitors Act, 1960, the Court may consider the said report and that after consideration thereof, it may be pleased to order:

(1) that the name of the said A.B. be struck off the roll of solicitors (or as the case may be)

(2) (where appropriate) that the said A.B. do make such restitution to as the Court may think fit (or as the case may be)

(3) that the costs incurred by the said C.D. (or your petitioners) in the proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee be paid by the said A.B.

(4) that the costs of these proceedings be paid by the said A.B.

(5) that such further or other order may be made as the Court may think fit.

And your petitioners will ever pray

Dated

(Signed) for and on behalf of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland

.........................................

Secretary

NO. 3

(Title as in Form No. 2)

To the High Court of Justice

The Humble Petition of

The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland

Showeth as follows :

1. On the     day of           the above named A.B. of       , a solicitor, pursuant to the provisions of section 9 of the Solicitors Act, 1960, applied to the Disciplinary Committee to have his name removed from the roll of solicitors.

2. Pursuant to the provisions of the said section 9, the Disciplinary Committee held an inquiry on (date or dates) and not being of opinion that the application should be granted without making a report to the Court, they made a report to the Court, which in annexed hereto.

Your petitioners therefore pray, that, in accordance with the provisions of the said section 9, the Court may consider the said report and that after consideration thereof it may be pleased to order :

(1) that the said application be refused (or granted)

(2) that the costs of your petitioners in the proceeding before the Disciplinary Committee and of these proceedings be paid by the said A.B.

And your petitioners will ever pray.

Dated

(Signed) for and on behalf of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland

..............................................

Secretary

NO. 4

AFFIDAVIT VERIFYING PETITION

(Title as in Form No. 2).

I,             of            , Secretary of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, make oath and say as follows :—

1. I beg to refer to a copy of the petition herein upon which marked with the letter " A " I have indorsed my name before swearing this affidavit.

2. Such of the statements therein as relate to my own acts and deeds are true and such of the statements therein as relate to the acts and deeds of the Disciplinary Committee or any other person or persons I believe to be true.

3. The signature " E.F." to the report annexed to the said petition is the signature of E.F. who was the chairman (or as the case may be) of the Disciplinary Committee who conducted the inquiry therein referred to.

4. I make this affidavit on behalf, and with the authority, of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

Sworn, etc.

EXPLANATORY NOTE AS TO HIGH COURT RULES, 1961

These rules deal with applications for admission as solicitors, disciplinary provisions, appeals and applications to the President of the High Court and applications relating to the control of a solicitor's property in accordance with the provisions of the Solicitors Acts, 1954 and 1960.