Clause 29

by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsections:“(1) Any complaint of the conduct of an advocate and solicitor —

shall be made to the Society in writing;

shall include a statement by the complainant —

as to whether, to his knowledge, any other complaint has been made to the Society against the advocate and solicitor, by him or by any other person, which arises from the same facts as his complaint; and

if so, setting out such particulars of each such complaint as the Council may require and he is able to provide; and

shall be supported by such statutory declaration as the Council may require, except that no statutory declaration shall be required if the complaint is made by any public officer.(1A) Subject to subsection (4A), the Council shall refer every complaint which satisfies the requirements of subsection (1) to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel.”;

by deleting the words “Disciplinary Committee” wherever they appear in subsections (3)(b) and (4) and substituting in each case the words “Disciplinary Tribunal”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (3), the following subsections:“(3A) Notwithstanding subsections (1A), (2) and (3), where any complaint is made to the Society of, the Council wishes to refer any information touching upon, or any Judge of the Supreme Court has referred any information to the Society touching upon, the conduct of an advocate and solicitor who is registered by the Attorney-General under section 130N to practise Singapore law in a Joint Law Venture or its constituent foreign law practice, a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice or a licensed foreign law practice and who at the time of the conduct did not practise in any Singapore law practice —

the Council shall consult the Attorney-General on whether to proceed in accordance with this section; and

if the Attorney-General directs the Council not to proceed in accordance with this section, the Council shall refer the complaint or information to the Attorney-General as a complaint under section 130R instead of proceeding in accordance with this section.(3B) Where any conduct of an advocate and solicitor registered by the Attorney-General under section 130N to practise Singapore law in a Joint Law Venture or its constituent foreign law practice, a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice or a licensed foreign law practice has given rise to any proceedings under this Part, those proceedings, and any decision, determination or order arising from those proceedings, shall not in any way affect the jurisdiction of the Attorney-General under Part IXA to take such action as he deems appropriate against the advocate and solicitor in respect of the same conduct.”;

by deleting “(1)” in subsection (4) and substituting “(1A)”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (4), the following subsections:“(4A) Subject to subsection (4C), the Council shall not refer a complaint of the conduct of an advocate and solicitor to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel under subsection (1A) if the complaint is first made to the Society after the expiration of the period of —

6 years from the date of the conduct; or

where the complaint relates to any fraud alleged to have been committed by the advocate and solicitor, 6 years from the earliest date on which the complainant discovered the fraud or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it, if that period expires later than the period referred to in paragraph (a).(4B) Subject to subsection (4C), the Council shall not refer any information touching upon the conduct of an advocate and solicitor to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel under subsection (2) after the expiration of the period of —

6 years from the date of the conduct; or

where the information relates to any fraud alleged to have been committed by the advocate and solicitor, 6 years from the earliest date on which the Council discovered the fraud or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it, if that period expires later than the period referred to in paragraph (a).(4C) The Council may, with the leave of the court —

refer a complaint of the conduct of an advocate and solicitor to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel under subsection (1A) after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (4A); or

refer any information touching upon the conduct of an advocate and solicitor to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel under subsection (2) after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (4B).(4D) An application for the leave of the court under subsection (4C) shall be —

made by the Council by originating summons; and

accompanied by an affidavit —

setting out —

every document constituting the complaint of the conduct of the advocate and solicitor concerned, including every statutory declaration in support of the complaint (if any); or

the facts constituting the information touching upon the conduct of the advocate and solicitor concerned,as the case may be;

explaining why the complaint was not made to the Society before the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (4A), or why the information was not referred to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel before the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (4B), as the case may be; and

explaining why the complaint or information, as the case may be, should be referred to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel, notwithstanding the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (4A) or (4B), as the case may be.(4E) The application and affidavit referred to in subsection (4D) shall be served on the advocate and solicitor concerned.”;

by deleting subsection (6) and substituting the following subsection:“(6) Where any complaint or information touching upon the conduct of any advocate and solicitor is referred to the Chairman of the Inquiry Panel under subsection (1A), (2) or (3), the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Inquiry Panel shall, within 2 weeks, constitute a Review Committee consisting of —

a chairman, being the Chairman or Deputy Chairman himself or a member of the Inquiry Panel who is an advocate and solicitor of not less than 12 years’ standing; and

a legal officer who has not less than 10 years’ experience,to review the complaint or information, and such review by the Review Committee shall start within 2 weeks of its constitution.”;

by deleting the words “On the completion of a review under subsection (6), a Review Committee shall” in subsection (8) and substituting the words “A Review Committee shall complete its review under subsection (6) within 4 weeks of its constitution, and”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (8), the following subsection:“(8A) The Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Inquiry Panel may, on the application in writing of a Review Committee, grant to the Review Committee an extension of the period specified in subsection (8) if he is satisfied that the circumstances of the case justify the grant of the extension, except that any extension granted shall not extend beyond a period of 6 weeks from the date of the constitution of the Review Committee.”;

by deleting the words “the Chairman shall immediately” in subsection (10) and substituting the words “the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Inquiry Panel shall, within 3 weeks,”;

by inserting, immediately after the word “solicitor” in subsection (10)(a), the words “of not less than 12 years’ standing”;

by deleting the words “shall not be” in subsection (11) and substituting the words “shall not thereby be disqualified from acting as”;

by deleting subsection (17) and substituting the following subsections:“(17) Any person who makes a complaint to the Society under this Part shall furnish to the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Inquiry Panel, or the chairman of a Review Committee or of an Inquiry Committee, such statutory declarations or affidavits in support of the complaint as that Chairman, Deputy Chairman or chairman may require within such time as that Chairman, Deputy Chairman or chairman may specify.(17A) Where a complaint is made to the Society under this Part, and the whole or any part of the complaint or any document furnished in support of the complaint is in a language other than English —

the complainant shall furnish to the Society an English translation of that whole or part of the complaint or document which is verified by the affidavit of a person qualified to translate it; or

if the complainant fails to do so, the Society —

may arrange for the translation into English of that whole or part of the complaint or document; and

shall be entitled to recover from the complainant all reasonable costs of such translation as if they were a debt due to the Society.(17B) Where any voice recording is tendered in support of a complaint made to the Society under this Part —

the complainant shall furnish to the Society —

a transcript of the recording, such transcript to be verified by the affidavit of the person who transcribed the recording; and

if the transcript is in a language other than English, an English translation of the transcript which is verified by the affidavit of a person qualified to translate it; or

if the complainant fails to do so, the Society —

may arrange for the transcription of the recording and, if the transcript of the recording is in a language other than English, the translation into English of the transcript of the recording; and

shall be entitled to recover from the complainant all reasonable costs of such transcription and translation as if they were a debt due to the Society.”;

by deleting “$500” in subsection (18) and substituting “$1,000”;

by deleting the words “necessary costs and expenses” in subsection (18) and substituting the word “costs”; and

by deleting subsection (19) and substituting the following subsections:“(19) Where the complaint is found to be frivolous or vexatious —

the Inquiry Committee may, after hearing the complainant (if he desires to be heard) —

order the complainant to pay to any person all or any costs reasonably incurred by that person in the proceedings before the Inquiry Committee; and

in such order, specify the amount of those costs or direct that the amount be taxed by the Registrar;

any sum deposited under subsection (18) shall be applied for the payment of those costs, and any balance of that sum shall be returned to the complainant; and

if no sum has been deposited under subsection (18), or if any sum deposited under subsection (18) is insufficient to cover those costs, the person awarded those costs may sue for and recover the costs which remain unpaid as if they were a debt due to him.(19A) Where —

an Inquiry Committee has made any order under subsection (19)(a); and

the complainant is dissatisfied with that order,the complainant may, within 14 days of being notified of that order, apply to a Judge for a review of that order.(19B) An application under subsection (19A) shall be —

made by originating summons; and

served on the Society and on every person against whom any relief is sought.(19C) At the hearing of an application under subsection (19A), the Judge may —

affirm, vary or set aside the order of the Inquiry Committee; and

make such order for the payment of costs as may be just.”.