Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994

Suspension of practising certificates.

58.—(1) Where a solicitor fails to comply with any provision of the Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994, or with any regulations made thereunder or with any conditions specified in a direction relating to a practising certificate under section 59 of this Act, and the Society are of the opinion that such failure to comply is serious and warrants the making of an application under this section, the Society may, on notice to that solicitor, apply to the President of the High Court and the President of the High Court may (after hearing such evidence and receiving such submissions from the Society, the solicitor concerned and such other person or persons as the President of the High Court thinks fit) by order do one or more of the following things, namely—

(a) suspend the current practising certificate of the solicitor for such period as the President of the High Court thinks fit up to and including the end of the current practice year;

(b) direct the Society not to issue to the solicitor a practising certificate during any subsequent practice year until such time as the President of the High Court thinks fit;

(c) direct the solicitor to take such action as the President of the High Court thinks fit to remedy any consequences of his failure to comply with such Acts, regulations or conditions;

(d) direct the solicitor to take such action as the President of the High Court thinks fit to ensure that the solicitor does not in the future so fail to comply with such Acts, regulations or conditions;

(e) adjourn the application and direct that further enquiries be made by the Society in regard to the matter, or require the Society to furnish further information to the Court;

(f) adjourn the application for such period as the President of the High Court thinks fit, to enable the solicitor to comply with any direction or directions of the President of the High Court under paragraph (c) or (d) (or both) of this subsection;

(g) dismiss the Society's application.

(2) The Society shall, unless otherwise directed by the President of the High Court, arrange to publish, as soon as possible after it is made, the terms of any order made by the President of the High Court under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section in the Iris Oifigiúil and in the Gazette of the Society and in any other manner as the Society may think fit.

(3) Any application made by the Society pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be without prejudice to the right of the Society under section 7 (as substituted by this Act) of the Act of 1960 to apply to the Disciplinary Tribunal for an inquiry into the conduct of the solicitor concerned on the ground of alleged misconduct.