Advocates Act

Section Interpretation Section In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires— “ advocate ” means any person whose name is duly entered upon the Roll and— (a) for the purposes of section 26(2) and Part VI of this Act, includes any person mentioned in section 11 ; and (b) for the purpose of disciplinary proceedings under this Act, includes— (i) any person permitted to practice under section 16(6) ; and (ii) any person who carries out work of a nature normally performed by an advocate or who is entitled to act or who purports to act as, or pretends to be, an advocate; “client” includes any person who, as a principal or on behalf of another, or as a trustee or personal representative, or in any other capacity, has power, express or implied, to retain or employ, and retains or employs, or is about to retain or employ, an advocate and any person who is or may be liable to pay to an advocate any costs ; “ contentious business ” means any business done by an advocate in any court, civil or military, or relating to proceedings instituted or intended to be instituted in any such court, or any statutory tribunal or before any arbitrator or panel of arbitrators; “ costs ” includes f...

Section Establishment of Law Council Section There is established a Law Council which shall consist of— If the Chairperson or any of the members of the Law Council appointed under subsection (1)(g) or (h) — a judge of the courts of judicature appointed by the Attorney General after consultation with the Chief Justice, who shall be the Chairperson of the Law Council ; the Chairperson of the committee on legal education and training; the Solicitor General or his or her representative not below the rank of principal state attorney; the President of the Uganda Law Society; the Director of the Law Development Centre; the dean of the Faculty of Law of Makerere University; two practicing advocates elected by the Uganda Law Society; a judicial officer not below the rank of a chief magistrate appointed by the magistrates through their national professional body by whatever name called; and a person co-opted by the Law Council as it may deem necessary. The Chairperson and the members of the Law Council , other than the ex officio members, shall hold office for a period of three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment. dies; resigns; is absent from Uganda for a continuous period exceed...

Section Functions of Law Council Section The functions of the Law Council shall be— to exercise, through the medium of the committee on legal education and training, general supervision and control over professional legal education in Uganda including continuing legal education for persons qualified to practise law in Uganda; to advise and make recommendations to the Government on matters relating to the profession of advocates; to exercise, through the medium of the Disciplinary Committee , disciplinary control over advocates and their clerks; to exercise general supervision and control over the provision of legal aid and advice to indigent persons; and to exercise any power or perform any duty authorised or required by this or any other written law.

Section Funds of Law Council and committees Section The fees under subsection (1) shall include— The Law Council and the committees established under this Act shall have powers to charge fees in the performance of their functions under this Act. fees for application for enrolment under section 13 ; payment for a special practising certificate under section 18 ; payment for expenses of the Disciplinary Committee under section 27 ; and any other payments that may appropriately arise under the provisions of this Act. Notwithstanding the funds obtained under subsections (1) and (2) , any expenses incurred by the Law Council and the committees established under this Act, in the performance of their functions or duties, shall be defrayed out of the money provided by Parliament.

Section Proceedings and quorum of Law Council Section The meetings of the Law Council shall be held at such times and places as the Chairperson of the Law Council may determine. The Chairperson of the Law Council shall preside at all meetings at which he or she is present; in the absence of the Chairperson from any meeting, the Law Council may appoint any of its members to be Chairperson of that meeting. The quorum of the Law Council shall be five, but subject to the requirement of quorum, the Law Council may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership. Any question before the Law Council shall be decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting; and the Chairperson of the meeting shall, in addition to his or her deliberative vote, have a casting vote in cases where the votes are equally divided. Subject to this section, the Law Council shall have power to regulate its own proceedings and for such purpose may make standing orders governing the calling of meetings and the procedure at its meetings.

Section Remuneration and allowances of Law Council and committees Section A member of the Law Council , the Disciplinary Committee and the Committee on Legal Education and Training shall be paid such remuneration and allowances and at such rates as the Minister responsible for public service may, after consultation with the Minister responsible for finance, determine.

Section Secretary to Law Council and expenses Section There shall be a Secretary to the Law Council , whose office shall be a public office. Any expenses incurred by the Law Council in the performance of its functions or duties under this Act shall be defrayed out of money provided by Parliament.

Section Functions and meetings of Committee Section The functions of the Committee are— to serve as the medium of the Law Council in exercising general supervision and control over professional legal education in Uganda; to approve courses of study and to provide for conduct of qualifying examinations for the purposes of this Act; to prescribe the professional requirements for admission to the postgraduate bar course and qualifications necessary for eligibility for enrolment as an advocate ; to conduct and promote continuing legal education for qualified legal practitioners; and to prescribe the standards and courses for training and recognition of paralegals and their functions. Meetings of the Committee shall be held at such times and places as the Chairperson of the Committee may determine. The Chairperson of the Committee shall preside at all meetings of the Committee and in the absence of the Chairperson, the members of the Committee present may elect a person from among their number to preside at that meeting. Quorum at meetings of the Committee shall be five members but subject to the requirement of quorum, the Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy at the meeting. Su...

Section Committee on Legal Education and Training Section There is established, for the purpose of discharging the Law Council ’s functions with respect to general supervision of professional legal education, a committee to be known as the Committee on Legal Education and Training, in this Part referred to as the “Committee”.

Section Composition of Committee Section The Committee shall consist of— If the Chairperson or any of the members of the Committee— an experienced law teacher with distinguished service as a legal practitioner appointed by the Law Council who shall be chairperson; a judge of the Courts of Judicature, appointed by the Attorney General in consultation with the Chief Justice; the dean of the Faculty of Law at Makerere University or his or her representative being a person not below the rank of senior lecturer; the director of the Law Development Centre or his or her representative being a person not below the rank of senior lecturer; a representative of the Uganda Law Society elected by that society; a representative of the Ministry responsible for justice appointed by the Attorney General; one person nominated by institutions engaged in continuing legal education, and appointed by the Law Council ; and a representative of the Ministry responsible for education appointed by the Minister responsible for education. The Chairperson and members of the Committee shall hold office for a period of three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment. dies; resigns; is absent from Uganda for...

Section Certain persons exempted from provisions of Act Section This section applies to— Every person to whom this section applies shall, if duly qualified as a legal practitioner, by whatever name called, in any country at the time of his or her appointment to this office, be entitled in connection with the duties of his or her office to act as an advocate but shall not, unless the contrary is expressly provided by regulations made by the Law Council , be subject to this Act. any person holding an office in the service of the Government, a district administration, or any city, municipal or town council; and any other person or class of persons holding an office specified by the Attorney General by statutory instrument.

Section Power to make regulations Section Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act, the Law Council may make regulations with regard to— the safeguarding of the interest or property of the clients of advocates— Any regulations made in respect of non-contentious business may, as regards the mode of remuneration, prescribe that it shall be according to a scale of rates of commission or percentage, varying or not in different classes of business, or by a gross sum, or by a fixed sum for each document prepared or perused, without regard to length, or in any other mode, or partly in one mode and partly in another, and may regulate the amount of remuneration with reference to all or any of the following, among other considerations— Regulations made in respect of non-contentious business may authorise and regulate— any matter concerning the professional practice, conduct and discipline of advocates; the appropriate dress or robe of advocates for their appearance before a court; the manner in which advocates shall keep accounts; the annual submission to the Registrar by advocates of a certificate, signed by an accountant holding one or more of the qualifications specified in th...

Section Jurisdiction to try offences Section Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, all offences under this Act, where no indictment is filed, shall be tried by a magistrate’s court presided over by a chief magistrate or a magistrate grade I.

Section General penalty Section Any person who commits an offence under this Act, for which no penalty is otherwise provided, is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty currency points or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both. Any person who commits an offence under this Act is liable whether or not he or she has been charged with, convicted or acquitted of that offence, to proceedings under Part VI of this Act.

Section Taxing officer Section The taxing officer for the taxation of bills under this Act shall be a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the High Court or, in the absence of the Registrar or Deputy Registrar , such other officer as the Chief Justice may appoint; except that in respect of the taxation of costs between party and party arising out of any contentious business brought in a court subordinate to the High Court, the taxing officer shall be a chief magistrate or a magistrate grade I with jurisdiction in the area where the suit was heard.

Section Agreements exempting advocates from negligence to be void Section A provision in any agreement between an advocate and a client that the advocate shall not be liable for negligence or that he or she shall be relieved from any responsibility to which he or she would otherwise be subject as such advocate , shall be wholly void.

Section Power to amend Schedule 1 Section The Minister may, by statutory instrument, with the approval of Cabinet, amend Schedule 1 to this Act.

Section Other Laws to apply in relation to proceedings Section Nothing in this Act shall prejudice or affect— the provisions of any other written law empowering any person, not being an advocate , to conduct, defend or otherwise act in relation to any proceedings; or the provisions of any other written law prohibiting any person or class of persons from conducting, defending or otherwise acting in relation to any proceedings.

Section Roll of Advocates Section The Registrar shall keep, in accordance with this Act, a Roll of Advocates.

Section Admission and enrolment of advocates Section This section applies to a person who— is a Uganda citizen and— Subject to the provisions of this section, a person to whom this section applies shall be eligible to have his or her name entered on the Roll . A person eligible to have his or her name entered on the Roll may make application to the Law Council , and the Law Council , if satisfied that the applicant is so eligible and is a fit and proper person to be an advocate , shall, unless cause to the contrary is shown to its satisfaction, direct the Registrar , on receipt of the prescribed fee, to enter the applicant’s name on the Roll , and the Registrar shall comply with the direction. The Secretary shall, within fourteen days from the date of making a decision by the Law Council under subsection (2) , notify the applicant of the decision made by the Law Council. A person aggrieved by the decision of the Law Council on enrolment, may, within thirty days from the notification of the decision of the Law Council , apply to the High Court for a review. The review of the decision shall be heard by a panel of three judges. The High Court may, upon a review under this section, con...

Section Precedence Section The Attorney General, the Solicitor General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chairperson of the Uganda Law Society shall, in that order, take precedence over all other advocates, including advocates granted a special rank. Advocates who are granted a special rank in accordance with regulations made under section 83(1)(f) shall take precedence over all other advocates, and, inter se , according to the date on which they are granted the special rank. All other advocates shall take precedence thereafter, inter se , recording to the date on which their names are entered upon the Roll .

Section Removal of name from roll on application of advocate Section Any advocate against whom no disciplinary or criminal proceedings are pending or taking place may apply to the Registrar for his or her name to be removed from the Roll , and the Registrar shall thereupon remove the advocate ’s name from the Roll . Notwithstanding subsection (1) , the Registrar, with the approval of the Chief Justice, may remove the name of an advocate from the Roll on that advocate’s application although criminal proceedings are pending or taking place against that advocate, if he or she is satisfied that the proceedings are of such a nature that if the advocate is convicted, his or her conviction will not involve professional misconduct.

Section Issue of practising certificate and right to practice Section The Registrar shall issue a practising certificate to every advocate whose name is on the Roll and who applies for such a certificate on such form and on payment of such fee as the Law Council may, by regulations, prescribe; and different fees may be prescribed for different categories of advocates. A practising certificate shall be valid until the 31st day of December next after its issue, and it shall be renewable on application being made on such form and on payment of such fee as the Law Council may, by regulations, prescribe; and different fees may be prescribed for different categories of advocates. Subject to any regulations made under subsection (4) , or under section 83(1)(f) , every advocate who has in force a practising certificate may practise as such in the High Court or in any court subordinate to the High Court. The Law Council may by regulations prescribe that for a specified period of time after enrolment an advocate shall have a right of audience only before such courts as may be designated. Any advocate who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of regulations made under subs...

Section Refusal of practising certificate Section Notwithstanding section 16 , the Registrar shall refuse to issue or renew a practising certificate of any advocate who, on the date of his or her application for the certificate— is being proceeded against for professional misconduct or for an offence under this Act; but— is an undischarged bankrupt or in respect of whom a receiving order in bankruptcy is in force; is a person adjudged to be suffering from mental illness under the Mental Health Act; has not paid any fine or costs awarded against him or her under this Act; has not satisfied any regulations made by the Law Council with regard to the annual submission of his or her accounts; has not paid his or her subscription as a member of the Uganda Law Society for the current year; is serving the Government under a contract, and the period of the contract has not yet expired; the Chief Registrar shall only refuse to issue or renew a practising certificate , or in the case where a practising certificate has been issued or renewed, and notwithstanding section 27 , the certificate may be suspended by the Disciplinary Committee, if the Disciplinary Committee is of the view that there...

Section Temporary admission to right of practice Section A person referred to in subsection (1) is only entitled to appear or act— Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Part, the Law Council may, subject to the person obtaining a special practising certificate , admit to practise as an advocate for the purpose of any one case or matter, legal practitioner, by whatever name called, of any country operating the common law system and designated by the Law Council under section 13(8) (b) who has come or intends to come to Uganda for the purpose of appearing in that case or matter. in the case or matter for which that person is admitted; and if that person is instructed by, and if when appearing in any court in the conduct of the case or matter, that person appears together with an advocate with a valid practising certificate or a person mentioned in section 11 . On payment of the prescribed fee for such a special practising certificate , the Registrar shall issue a special practising certificate to any person admitted to practise under subsection (1) . A person who is admitted to practise as an advocate under this section shall be subject to the provisions of this Act as if he o...

Section Cancellation or suspension of practising certificate Section Whenever an advocate is adjudicated bankrupt— the advocate shall return the practising certificate to the Registrar , who shall return the practising certificate to the advocate when— the suspension shall continue until— Whenever an advocate ’s name is removed or struck off from the Roll for any cause, his or her practising certificate shall immediately be deemed to be cancelled, and he or she shall return it to the Registrar . Whenever an advocate ’s right to practise as such is suspended, his or her practising certificate shall likewise be suspended; and he or she shall return it to the Registrar who shall retain it for so long as the advocate ’s suspension is in force. the official receiver shall, after hearing a representative of the Law Council , notify the Registrar of the adjudication; the adjudication shall operate immediately to suspend the advocate ’s practising certificate ; the adjudication in bankruptcy is discharged; or subject to the order of the Law Council , the adjudication in bankruptcy is terminated under paragraph (d)(ii) . the Law Council , on the petition of the advocate , in it’s discretion...

Section Offences and penalties Section An advocate not in possession of a valid practising certificate or whose practising certificate has been suspended or cancelled who practices as an advocate commits an offence; but no prosecution shall be commenced under this subsection before the 1 st day of March next following the expiry of the validity of an advocate ’s practising certificate if the reason the advocate is not in possession of a valid certificate is only because he or she has neglected to renew the certificate which expired on the 31st day of December previous to that first day of March. Any person who, for the purpose of securing the entry or removal of his or her name upon or from the Roll , or of securing the issue of a practising certificate , knowingly makes any statement whether written or oral which is false in any material particular, or makes any such statement which he or she does not know to be true commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding forty currency points or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both.

Section Protection of clients of advocates Section Where— in any proceedings, for any reason, an advocate is lawfully denied audience or authority to represent a party by any court or tribunal; then— an advocate practises as an advocate contrary to section 16(1) ; or no pleading or contract or other document made or action taken by the advocate on behalf of any client shall be invalidated by any such event; and in the case of any proceedings, the case of the client shall not be dismissed by reason of any such event; and the client who is a party in the proceedings shall, where necessary, be allowed time to engage another advocate or otherwise to make good any defects arising out of any such event. An advocate not in possession of a valid practising certificate or whose certificate has been suspended or cancelled and who practices as an advocate , commits professional misconduct ; and the Law Council or any person may make a complaint to the Disciplinary Committee in respect of the misconduct; and subsection (1)(b)(i) and (b)(ii) shall apply with necessary modifications. In addition to any punishment prescribed under any provision of this Act, the client of an advocate to whom subse...

Section Advocates to be officers of Court Section Every advocate and every person otherwise entitled to act as an advocate shall be an officer of the High Court and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court and, subject to this Act, to the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Committee .

Section Pro bono legal services Section Every advocate shall provide pro bono services when required by the Law Council or pay a fee prescribed by regulations made by the Law Council in lieu of such services. Where any advocate does not comply with subsection (1) , the Law Council shall refuse to issue or renew a practising certificate to that advocate under section 16(1) or (2) . In this section, “ pro bono services” means professional services of an advocate given for the public good to indigent persons without charge.

Section Saving of disciplinary powers of courts Section Nothing in this Act shall supersede, lessen or interfere with the jurisdiction of any court, inherent or otherwise, to deal with misconduct or offences by an advocate , or any person entitled to act as such, committed during, or in the course of, or relating to, proceedings before the court.

Section Establishment of Disciplinary Committee Section There is established a committee called the Disciplinary Committee which shall consist of— the Solicitor General or his or her representative not below the rank of principal state attorney; the Director of the Law Development Centre; the President of the Uganda Law Society; any other two members appointed by the Law Council from among its members. The members of the Disciplinary Committee shall hold office for so long as they are members of the Law Council and shall be eligible for re-appointment. The Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee shall be appointed by the Law Council from the members of the Disciplinary Committee and shall preside at all meetings at which he or she is present. During the absence or inability to act of the chairperson or any member of the Disciplinary Committee , the Law Council may nominate any member of the Council to act as the temporary chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee or as a temporary member of the Disciplinary Committee , as the circumstances require, during the period of such absence or inability to act. Quorum of the Disciplinary Committee shall be three and any question before th...

Section Proceedings of disciplinary committee Section For the purposes of any application or complaint made to the Disciplinary Committee under any of the provisions of this Act, the Disciplinary Committee may administer oaths or affirmations, and the complainant and the advocate to whom a complaint relates, and an applicant making any application to the committee, may take out a summons to give evidence or to produce documents, but no person shall be compellable under any such summons to produce any document which he or she could not legally be compelled to produce at the trial of a suit . A person appearing as a party before the Disciplinary Committee may be represented by an advocate ; and the Disciplinary Committee may, at any stage of proceedings under this Part, appoint an advocate to represent a party who is not represented or otherwise to assist the Disciplinary Committee . For the purposes of enabling the Disciplinary Committee to carry out the duties imposed upon it by this Act, the Disciplinary Committee shall have power to interview and correspond with such persons, including the advocate to whom the complaint relates, as it thinks fit. The Disciplinary Committee may ma...

Section Complaints against advocates Section After hearing the complainant and the advocate to whom the complaint relates, if he or she wishes to be heard, and considering the evidence adduced, the Disciplinary Committee may order that the complaint be dismissed or, if of the opinion that a case of professional misconduct on the part of the advocate has been made out, the Disciplinary Committee may order— Where a sole practitioner has been suspended from practice or struck off the Roll , the Law Council — Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Act, a complaint against an advocate of professional misconduct may be made to the Disciplinary Committee by the Law Council or by any person. Upon receipt of a complaint, the secretary to the Disciplinary Committee shall, as soon as is practicable, refer the complaint to the Disciplinary Committee , which shall fix a date for the hearing of the complaint. The Disciplinary Committee shall give the advocate against whom the complaint is made an opportunity to appear before it, and shall furnish him or her with a copy of the complaint, and of any affidavit made in support of the complaint, and shall give him or her an opportunity of...

Section Decisions of Disciplinary Committee and action on them Section On the termination of the hearing of a complaint, if the Disciplinary Committee decides to suspend an advocate or strike him or her off the Roll , the Disciplinary Committee shall notify the Registrar of its decision and the Law Council shall— cause the decision of the Disciplinary Committee to be published in the Gazette and also in a newspaper circulating in the whole of Uganda; cause the Registrar of the High Court to be notified of the decision; and cause all chief magistrates to be notified of the decision.

Section Appeal against order of Disciplinary Committee Section Any party aggrieved by any order of the Disciplinary Committee made under section 27 may, within fourteen days after the receipt by that party of the notice to be given to that party under section 28 , appeal against the order to the High Court by giving notice of appeal to the Registrar and shall file with the Registrar a memorandum setting out the grounds of the appeal within thirty days after the giving by that party of the notice of appeal. The High Court shall set down for hearing any appeal filed under subsection (1) and shall give to the parties to the appeal and the Law Council not less than fourteen days’ notice of the date of hearing. Pending an appeal under subsection (1) , if the Disciplinary Committee has ordered the appellant advocate’s name to be struck off from the Roll or has suspended his or her right to practise, the advocate shall not be entitled to practise except in the case where his or her right to practise has been suspended and the period of suspension lapses before the hearing of the appeal, in which event he or she shall be entitled to practise after the period of suspension has expired.

Section Representation before high court Section The parties to the appeal may be represented by an advocate before the High Court and the Law Council shall have the right to appear, by advocate , for the purpose of representing to the High Court the findings of the Disciplinary Committee . A complainant who appeals against the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and who is unable to afford to pay for the services of an advocate shall be assigned an advocate by the High Court at the expense of the State and that advocate may be paid for his or her services a sum not exceeding an amount prescribed by the Attorney General by statutory order made in consultation with the Minister responsible for finance.

Section Powers of High Court Section The High Court shall, after hearing an appeal from the decision of the Disciplinary Committee — refer the matter back to the Disciplinary Committee with directions for its finding on any specified point; or confirm, set aside or vary any order made by the Disciplinary Committee or substitute for the order such order as it may think fit.

Section Powers of high court to be exercised by three judges Section The powers conferred upon the High Court by section 31 shall be exercised by three judges of the High Court. The decision of the majority of the judges on any appeal filed under section 29 shall be taken to be the decision of the High Court. Every decision or order of the High Court made under section 31 shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to appeal to any other court.

Section Registrar to draw up orders Section Where an order has been made by the High Court under section 31 , the Registrar shall, within one week from the date of the making of the order, cause the order to be drawn up.

Section Orders to be noted on roll Section The Registrar shall cause a note of the effect of a final order to be entered in the Roll against the name of the advocate concerned, and where the order so directs shall strike off his or her name from the Roll . The Registrar shall send to the Secretary of the Uganda Law Society and to the Registrar of the High Court of each prescribed country a certified copy of every final order made under this Act striking off the name of an advocate from the Roll or suspending an advocate from practice. Where an advocate is a member of an Inn of Court, Law Society or other professional body outside Uganda, or is subject to the jurisdiction for the purposes of discipline of a professional body outside Uganda, the Registrar shall also send to that professional body a certified copy of every final order made suspending or striking off the name of the advocate from the Roll . In this section— “prescribed country” has the meaning assigned to it by section 35 ; “final order” means— (a) an order made by the Disciplinary Committee under section 27 , if no appeal has been preferred against such order; or (b) an order made on appeal under section 31 .

Section Reciprocal enforcement of suspensions, etc. Section If any advocate who is also an advocate or legal practitioner (by whatsoever name or style designated) of, or is entitled to practise as such in, any prescribed country, is suspended from practice or struck off the Roll or list of advocates or legal practitioners, otherwise than at his or her own request, in that country by order of a competent court or other competent authority in that country, he or she shall be deemed to have been suspended from practice as an advocate in Uganda for the period for which his or her suspension from practice in that country remains effective or to have been struck off the Roll , as the case may be; and the Registrar shall cause a note of the suspension (specifying the period of the suspension) to be entered against the name of the advocate on the Roll or shall strike off the Roll the name of the advocate , as the case may require; but if in any such case the name of the advocate is restored to the aforesaid Roll or list of advocates or legal practitioners in that country, or if he or she otherwise becomes entitled again to practise as provided in this subsection in that country, his or her...

Section Uganda Law Society to be informed Section The Registrar shall inform the Secretary of the Uganda Law Society of the making of any entry in respect of any advocate on the Roll and of the removal from or the striking off the Roll of the name of any advocate in accordance with this Act. The Registrar shall cause to be published in the Gazette a notice that a final order has been made in respect of any advocate by which he or she has been suspended from practice or by which his or her name has been struck off the Roll . In this section, “final order” has the same meaning as in section 34 .

Section Limitation of time for certain applications Section Subject as hereafter provided, no advocate shall be liable to have his or her name struck off the Roll on account of any defect in his or her admission and enrolment, unless the application to strike his or her name off the Roll is made within twelve months after the date of his or her enrolment; except that this section shall not apply to any case where fraud is proved to have been committed in connection with the admission or enrolment.

Section Restoration to roll Section The Law Council may make regulations as to the manner in which petitions made under subsection (2) shall be heard and any such regulations may— The Disciplinary Committee may, in its discretion, order the Registrar to replace on the Roll the name of any advocate whose name has been struck off the Roll for professional misconduct and may revoke any order made suspending an advocate ’s right to practise; except that unless new material facts have come to the knowledge of the Disciplinary Committee since the order for striking off or suspension was made, no order shall be made under this section within two years of the order of striking off or suspension. An advocate whose name has been struck off the Roll or whose right to practise has been suspended may petition the Disciplinary Committee to make an order under subsection (1) . limit the frequency with which the petitions may be made; and make provisions for the giving of security for the costs of the petition. On hearing any petition made under this section, the Disciplinary Committee may make such order as to costs as it may think fit. Any advocate whose petition under this section is refused ma...

Section Disciplinary powers as to clerks Section An application may be made by the Law Council or by any person to the Disciplinary Committee for an order directing that, as from a date to be specified in the order, no advocate shall, in connection with his or her practice as an advocate , without the written permission of the Disciplinary Committee which may be given for such period and subject to such conditions as the committee may think fit, take into or retain in his or her employment or remunerate any person who, being or having been a clerk to an advocate — has been convicted of any offence mentioned in Chapters IX or XXIV to XXX of the Penal Code Act; has been convicted of any other offence involving fraud or deceit; has been a party to any act or default of an advocate in respect of which a complaint has been or might be made against that advocate to the Disciplinary Committee ; has so conducted himself or herself while employed as a clerk to an advocate that had he himself or she herself been an advocate , the conduct might have formed the subject of a complaint against him or her to the Disciplinary Committee ; or has acted in the manner referred to in section 81 or 82 ....

Section Clerk’s right of appeal Section A person against whom an order has been made by the Disciplinary Committee under section 39 may, within fourteen days of the date of the order, appeal against the order to the High Court, by giving notice of appeal to the Registrar, and shall file with the Registrar a memorandum setting out his or her grounds of appeal within thirty days after the giving by him or her of the notice of appeal. The High Court shall set down for hearing any appeal filed under subsection (1) and shall give to the Law Council and to the appellant not less than twenty-one days’ notice of the date of hearing. The provisions of sections 30 , 31 , 32 and 33 shall, with necessary modifications, apply mutatis mutandis to the hearing of appeals under this section, except that such appeals shall be heard and determined by a single judge of the High Court.

Section Offences and penalties with respect to employment of clerk against whom order is in force Section A person against whom an order made under section 39 is in force who seeks or accepts employment by, or remuneration from, an advocate in connection with his or her practice as an advocate commits an offence. An advocate who knowingly acts in contravention of an order made under section 39 , or in contravention of any condition subject to which the permission of the Disciplinary Committee may have been given under subsection (1) of that section, commits an offence.

Section Order of Disciplinary Committee to be received in evidence Section Every report and every order made by the Disciplinary Committee under this Act shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee, and any document purporting to be a report or an order so signed shall be received in evidence in any judicial proceedings or in any proceedings under this Act, and shall be deemed to be such a report or an order without further proof of its contents unless the contrary is shown.

Section Proceedings under this part to be in addition to other remedies Section No proceedings, whether civil or criminal, and whether pending or terminated, shall be a bar to disciplinary proceedings under this Part based on the same or substantially the same facts as those to which the civil or criminal proceedings relate. No disciplinary proceedings under this Part, whether pending or terminated, shall be a bar to any civil or criminal proceedings or other remedy based on the same or substantially the same facts as those to which the proceedings under this Part relate.