Legal Practice Act, 2014 (Act No. 28 of 2014)Chapter 4 : Professional Conduct and Establishment of Disciplinary Bodies38. Procedure for dealing with complaints of misconduct and procedure to be followed in disciplinary hearing |
| (1) | The Council must make rules to determine the procedure to be followed by disciplinary bodies established in terms of section 37 for dealing with all complaints of misconduct relating to legal practitioners, whether practising as an advocate, an attorney, a candidate legal practitioner or a juristic entity, and such complaints must be lodged in writing with the Council. |
| (2) | Before the Council makes any rule contemplated in subsection (1) or amends any rule, the Council must publish a draft of the proposed rule or proposed amendment in the Gazette together with a notice, calling on interested persons to comment in writing within a period stated in the notice, which may not be less than 30 days from the date of publication of the notice. |
| (3) | Particulars of all disciplinary hearings, including the particulars of— |
| (a) | the allegations of misconduct being dealt with; |
| (b) | the members of the disciplinary committees in question; |
| (c) | the legal practitioners, candidate legal practitioners or juristic entities involved in the dispute; and |
| (d) | the outcome thereof and any sanction imposed in terms of section 40(3), if applicable, must, subject to subsection (4)(a), be— |
| (i) | published on the website of the Council; |
| (ii) | updated, at least, once every month by the Council; and |
| (iii) | available for inspection by members of the public during business hours of the Council and relevant Provincial Councils. |
| (4) |
| (a) | The proceedings of all disciplinary hearings are open to the public, unless the chairperson of a disciplinary committee directs otherwise, on good cause shown, on application by a person having an interest in the matter, whereafter the provisions of section 154(1) to (5) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), apply with the necessary changes required by the context. |
| (b) | The complainant in the matter is entitled to be present during all proceedings in a disciplinary hearing relating to his or her complaint in the same manner as a complainant in criminal proceedings. |
| (5) |
| (a) | A decision of the majority of the members present at a disciplinary hearing constitutes the decision of a disciplinary committee. |
| (b) | In the event of a deadlock in the voting, the chairperson has a casting vote, in addition to a deliberative vote. |