S.I. No. 548/2018 - Solicitors (Compensation Fund) Regulations 2018

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 25th December, 2018.

THE LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 4 , 5 and 73 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 , sections 21 and 24 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960 and section 29 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 HEREBY MAKE the following Regulations:

1. Citation

(a) These Regulations may be cited as the Solicitors (Compensation Fund) Regulations 2018.

(b) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 February 2019.

(c) The Solicitors (Compensation Fund) Regulations, 2013 ( S.I. No. 442 of 2013 ) shall cease to have effect as from 11:59 pm on 31 January 2019.

2. Interpretation

(a) In these Regulations, the following terms shall have the following meanings —

"the Principal Act" means the Solicitors Act, 1954 ;

"the Act of 1960" means the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960 ;

"the Acts" means the Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 2015;

"the Application Form" means the form set out in the schedule to these Regulations which may be amended by the Regulation of Practice Committee from time to time;

"the Compensation Fund" has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Act of 1960, as substituted by section 29 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 ;

"Council" includes any committee to which functions of the Council may for the time being be delegated under section 73 of the Principal Act;

"Regulation of Practice Committee" means the committee to which the implementation of the regulations that provide for the time-limit and form for claims on the Compensation Fund is delegated and such other committee as is delegated those functions from time to time; and

"Society" means the Law Society of Ireland.

(b) Other words or expressions used in these Regulations shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Acts.

(c) The Interpretation Act, 2005 shall apply for the purpose of interpreting these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas, except insofar as it may be inconsistent with the Acts or with these Regulations.

(d) A reference in these Regulations to any, directive, statute, statutory provision, statutory instrument or other similar instrument includes:—

(i) any subordinate legislation made under it, and

(ii) any provision which it has superseded or re-enacted (with or without modification) or amended, and any provision superseding it or re-enacting it (with or without modification) or amending it either before, at or after the date of commencement of these Regulations.

3. Any person proposing to apply to the Society for a grant from the Compensation Fund in respect of a loss shall make the application by submission of a completed Application Form to the Society within twelve months after the date when the loss first came to his or her knowledge or within such extended time period as agreed by the Regulation of Practice Committee in accordance with Regulation 4.

4. The Regulation of Practice Committee may from time to time in its sole discretion and upon application being made to the Society, extend the twelve month time limit referred to in Regulation 3 in the case of an individual application where there are, in the opinion of the Society, exceptional circumstances arising which merit such an extension being granted.

5. The Regulation of Practice Committee, before deciding whether or not to make a grant out of the Fund may request the applicant to bring the facts in connection with his/her claim to the attention of An Garda Siochana with the express purpose of providing An Garda Siochana with a comprehensive witness statement to assist in the investigation of allegations of dishonesty against the solicitor in question.

6. Any notice to be made under these Regulations shall be in writing and may be communicated in the following manner:—

(a) it may be served-

(i) by delivering it by hand to that person, or

(ii) by sending it by registered post in an envelope addressed to that person at his/her last known place of business or residence in the State or, if he/she is a solicitor, at the last address appearing in the register of practising solicitors;

(iii) by sending it by ordinary prepaid post in an envelope addressed to that person at his/her last known place of business or residence in the State or, if he/she is a solicitor, at the last address appearing in the register of practising solicitors;

(b) a notice sent by ordinary prepaid post shall be deemed to have been served 48 hours after posting (in the absence of evidence that it has been mis-delivered or returned undelivered), and in proving such service by post it shall be necessary to prove only that the notice was contained in an envelope that was duly addressed and posted in accordance with this Regulation;

(c) where that person is absent from the State or his/her whereabouts is unknown and cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiries, or where the notice or document, having been sent by registered post in the manner specified in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this Regulation has been returned undelivered, the High Court may make such order for substituted or other service, or for the substitution for service of notice by advertisement or otherwise, as may seem just.

Dated this 11th day of December 2018.

SIGNED on behalf of the Law Society of Ireland this 11th day of December 2018.

PATRICK DORGAN,

President of the Law Society of Ireland.

I concur in the making of the above regulations.

SIGNED this 13th day of December 2018.

THE HON. MR. JUSTICE PETER KELLY,

President of the High Court.

SCHEDULE

Application Form

THE LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND CLAIMS FOR REFUNDS OF MONEY PAID TO A SOLICITOR APPLICATION FORM

Use this form to:

• claim compensation because you say that your solicitor was dishonest;

• claim refunds from a solicitor’s firm where the courts or the Law Society now controls the money; or

• both.

When you have filled in this form, please send it to:

The Claims Administrator

Law Society of Ireland

George’s Court

George’s Lane

Dublin 7

Or

DX 1025 Four Courts

Other contact details:

Phone: (01) 879 8700

Fax: (01) 879 8969

Email: cfclaims@lawsociety.ie

Web: www.lawsociety.ie