Legal Services Ombudsman Act 2009

PART 4

Complaints and Reviews

Making of complaints.

21.— (1) Subject to subsection (8), a person who has made a complaint of misconduct to the Bar Council under the Disciplinary Code in relation to a barrister may, within the period specified in subsection (6), complain to the Legal Services Ombudsman concerning the handling of the complaint by the Barristers’ Professional Conduct Tribunal or, in the case of an appeal against a decision of the Tribunal in respect of the complaint, the Professional Conduct Appeals Board.

(2) Subject to subsection (8), a person who has—

(a) made a complaint to the Law Society under section 8 (as amended by section 39 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 ) or 9 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 in relation to a solicitor, or

(b) made a complaint of misconduct in relation to a solicitor,

may, within the period specified in subsection (6), complain to the Legal Services Ombudsman about the handling of the complaint by the Law Society.

(3) A person who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Law Society relating to—

(a) the refusal to make a grant to that person,

(b) the amount of a grant made to that person, or

(c) the method of payment of a grant made to that person,

may, within the period specified in subsection (6), complain to the Legal Services Ombudsman concerning that decision.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), a complaint to the Legal Services Ombudsman shall be in writing in such form as may be approved by the Ombudsman.

(5) The Legal Services Ombudsman may receive a complaint made orally if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, but any such complaint shall be recorded in writing by the Ombudsman as soon as practicable after its receipt.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the period within which a complaint shall be made to the Legal Services Ombudsman is—

(a) in the case of—

(i) a complaint under subsection (1), the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the determination by the Barristers’ Professional Conduct Tribunal of the related complaint or, in the case of an appeal against a decision of the Tribunal in respect of the related complaint, the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the determination of that appeal by the Professional Conduct Appeals Board, or

(ii) a complaint under subsection (2), the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the determination by the Law Society of the related complaint,

or

(b) in case of a complaint under subsection (3), the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the determination by the Law Society of the application for the grant to which the complaint relates,

but the Ombudsman may accept a complaint made after the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, if it appears to the Ombudsman that special circumstances exist that make it proper to do so and, where he or she does so, the complaint is deemed to have been made to the Ombudsman within the period referred to in that paragraph.

(7) A person may make a complaint even if—

(a) in the case of—

(i) a complaint under subsection (1), the related complaint was determined by the Barristers’ Professional Conduct Tribunal or, in the case of an appeal against a decision of the Tribunal in respect of the related complaint, the appeal was determined by the Professional Conduct Appeals Board, before the commencement of this section, or

(ii) a complaint under subsection (2), the related complaint was determined by the Law Society before the commencement of this section,

or

(b) in the case of a complaint under subsection (3), the application for the grant to which the complaint relates was determined by the Law Society before the commencement of this section,

provided that the determination concerned was made not more than 6 months before that commencement.

(8) Subject to section 22 , a person shall not make a complaint under subsection (1) or (2) if—

(a) the related complaint has been or is in the course of being determined by a court,

(b) the related complaint—

(i) has yet to be investigated or determined, or

(ii) is still in the course of being investigated or determined,

by the Barristers’ Professional Conduct Tribunal or the Law Society,

(c) the related complaint has been or is the subject of an application for an inquiry by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal,

(d) the related complaint concerns the alleged charging of excessive fees by a solicitor and the bill of costs in issue has been taxed or submitted to a Taxing Master of the High Court for taxation on a solicitor and own client basis,

(e) in the case of an appeal against a decision of the Barristers’ Professional Conduct Tribunal in respect of the related complaint, the appeal has yet to be determined by the Professional Conduct Appeals Board,

(f) the related complaint was made in relation to a barrister by another barrister or a judge of a court established in the State, or

(g) the person was not entitled to make the related complaint.

(9) A person shall not make a complaint under subsection (3) if—

(a) the application for the grant to which the complaint relates is in the course of being determined by the Law Society, or

(b) the person was not entitled to make an application to the Law Society for a grant.

(10) A complaint to the Legal Services Ombudsman may be made by any person on behalf of another person.

(11) As soon as practicable after receiving a complaint under this section, the Legal Services Ombudsman shall provide the professional body concerned with a copy of the complaint.