Legal Practice Act, 2014 (Act No. 28 of 2014)Chapter 4 : Professional Conduct and Establishment of Disciplinary Bodies41. Appeal against conduct or finding of disciplinary committee |
(1)
| (a) | Subject to section 44, a legal practitioner, candidate legal practitioner or juristic entity may, as determined in the rules and within 30 days of being informed of the decision by a disciplinary committee, lodge an appeal with an appeal tribunal established in terms of subsection (2) against a finding of misconduct by the disciplinary committee or against the sanction imposed, or both. |
| (b) | A complainant who is aggrieved by— |
| (i) | the manner in which an investigating committee conducted its investigation or the outcome of the investigating committee as referred to in section 37(3)(b); or |
| (ii) | the outcome of a disciplinary hearing referred to in section 40, may, as determined in the rules and within 30 days of being informed of the decision by the investigating committee or the disciplinary committee, as the case may be, lodge an appeal with an appeal tribunal established in terms of subsection against any conduct or finding of the investigating committee or disciplinary committee, as the case may be. |
| (2) |
| (a) | An appeal tribunal must consist of not less than three and not more than five persons appointed by the Council, one of whom the Council must designate as chairperson officer thereof. |
| (b) | members of the appeal tribunal must include at least— |
| (ii) | one lay person drawn by the Council from a list of persons established and maintained by the Office of the Ombud who has been approved by the Office of the Ombud, as being suitable to serve on appeal tribunals and who is paid an allowance for this purpose determined by the Council and published in the Gazette. |
| (c) | The members of the appeal tribunal must, subject to paragraph (b)(ii), be legally qualified with relevant expertise and may not be persons who were involved in any investigation or proceedings which gave rise to the appeal. |
| (d) | A decision of the majority of the members present at any proceedings of an appeal tribunal constitutes the decision of the appeal tribunal. |
| (e) | In the event of a deadlock in the voting, the chairperson of the appeal tribunal has a casting vote, in addition to a deliberative vote. |
| (3) | An appeal tribunal may— |
| (a) | dismiss the appeal against the finding of an investigating committee or a disciplinary committee and confirm the finding or sanction or both; or |
| (b) | uphold the appeal against the decision of a disciplinary committee wholly or in part and set aside or vary the finding or sanction or both. |
| (4) | If a legal practitioner, candidate legal practitioner or juristic entity who or which has been found guilty of misconduct lodges an appeal in terms of subsection (1), the decision of the disciplinary committee may not be enforced before the appeal tribunal has decided the appeal. |
| (5) | The provisions of section 38(3) are applicable with the changes required by the context in respect of appeal tribunals. |