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Legal Services Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 149: 149:After Clause 170 , insert the following new Clause— ““Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal In section 46(9) of the Solicitors Act 1974 (c. 47) (solicitors disciplinary tribunal), after ““Tribunal,”” insert ““The Legal Services Board and””.”” The noble Lord said: This part of the Bill deals with an organisation which we have not come across in our discussions about the Bill—the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The Bill makes changes to the tribunal’s rules and procedures which, up to now, have been drafted by the tribunal, though approved by the Master of the Rolls. It deals mainly with such matters as the form of application to the tribunal, rules of evidence and the conduct of hearings. The rules are designed, as I understand it, to comply with the requirement that the tribunal satisfies conditions of an independent and impartial judicial body with respect to professional misconduct. Clauses 171 to 173 contain provisions allowing the LSB to require changes and the Secretary of State to specify changes to those rules after going through what is—if I can be forgiven saying so by the department—an extremely complicated process of consultation. The tribunal could not, of course, reasonably object to obtaining the approval of the LSB to any changes to rules as well as or instead of the involvement of the Master of the Rolls. Clause 171 would enable the LSB to impose rule changes on the tribunal and give directions under Clause 172. It is extremely unlikely that sensible changes to the formal rules would not either be proposed by the tribunal or agreed between the tribunal and the LSB. The reservation of the right of the LSB or the Secretary of State to impose rule changes against the wishes of the tribunal seems both unnecessary and undesirable. It undermines the tribunal’s independence. Incidentally, it also seems strange that the Secretary of State can only make changes recommended by the Legal Services Board when it has power to impose such changes anyhow under Clause 171(2)(b) and (4). Moreover, the mechanism which the Legal Services Board and the Secretary of State have to adopt in order to impose changes is extraordinarily convoluted. Clause 171(2) to (6) and Clauses 172 and 173 contain a mass of requirements which are incorporated by reference to alterations to regulatory arrangements affecting the Law Society. For all those reasons, I ask the noble Baroness to accept our amendment. I beg to move.