Pressure mounts for restructuring of lawyers’ disciplinary body

Oct 29, 2017 News

The pressure appears to have mounted over a need for the restructuring and strengthening of the disciplinary committee for lawyers.
The Laws of Guyana provide for a disciplinary body or Legal Practitioners Committee (LPC) to be set up under the Legal Practitioners’ Act. According to the law, the statutory body which comprises 15 lawyers, 12 of whom are appointed by the Chancellor and the remainder being state officials from the Attorney General’s Chambers who are ex-officio members, hears complaints against lawyers.
Article 36 of the Act gives the committee the power to “(a) dismiss the application; (b) impose on the attorney-at-law to whom the application relates, a fine not exceeding $200,000 as the Committee thinks proper; (c) reprimand the attorney-at-law to whom the application relates; or (d) make an order as to costs of proceedings as it thinks fit, and in addition, except where the application is dismissed, the Committee may order the attorney-at-law to pay the applicant or person aggrieved a sum by way of compensation and reimbursement and any further sum in respect of expenses incidental to the hearing of the application and the consideration of the report as it thinks fit.”
The Act also states that if the committee is of the opinion that a more severe punishment such as suspension from practice or removal from the Court Roll is justifiable, it shall forward to the Chancellor and to the Attorney General a copy of the proceedings before it and its findings.
“Once the committee establishes that there is a case for misconduct against a lawyer, it has to report its findings to the judges of the court. The attorney-at-law in question is given an opportunity to show cause why an order to remove him from the Court Roll shall not be made against him and the Attorney-General or an attorney-at-law nominated by him may also be heard.”
However, while the act makes provision for some measure of disciplinary to be meted against attorneys found culpable; several persons are of the view that this is not enough to keep lawyers in check.
In most cases, complainants would meet a compromise with the attorneys and they would come to an agreement and the monies are reimbursed.
However, observers and social commentators have been very vocal on need to have the LPC restructured and strengthened to help make lawyers be more accountable for their actions.
In one of his most recent pieces on the topic Christopher Ram, who is also an Attorney at Law by profession cited a lack of resources, commitment and courage to deal with the “egregious infractions by some members of the profession,” among the hindrances to the work of the committee.
He said that he recently learnt of a matter in which a lawyer committed what amounts to a fraud on the courts. The matter was known to other lawyers, but they were reluctant to raise the issue.
Ram was also critical of what he described as stories of case files being ducked. His concerns indeed would come at a time when there have been complaints against lawyers.
“Lawyers are bound by a Code of Conduct under the Legal Practitioners Act, but many, it seems, pay little attention to its prescriptions, confident that they will get away with whatever. Even when lawyers are found “guilty”, the strongest punishment they face is being told to refund the fees or money paid to them by their hapless clients,” Ram claimed in a letter.
He said that in a civilised environment, such action would require publication.
“Here in Guyana, there is no more than whisper among lawyers while the offending lawyer is free to continue the offending practice. My recommendation would be for the Legal Practitioners Committee to be headed by a retired Judge enabled with capable full-time staff, and for all its findings to be publicised. The public needs protection from unscrupulous practitioners.”
Meanwhile, Kaieteur News understands the LPC is not sitting at present. The body is set to be revamped.
Members of the public aggrieved by actions of officials of the legal fraternity are still encouraged to file their complaints via the Court of Appeal.
“When the LPC sits, the complaints will still be valid,” an official attached to the Appellate Court told Kaieteur News. “Forms are available for such matters to be filed.”

1 thoughts on “Pressure mounts for restructuring of lawyers’ disciplinary body”

Kassem_B October 29, 2017 at 3:57 am

‘Members of the public aggrieved by actions of officials of the legal fraternity are still encouraged to file their complaints via the Court of Appeal.’
How do you do that for non-lawyers?
Why can’t the Forms be available online?