Complaints procedure

Index

1. Disciplinary Committee established in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act
2. Procedure before Statutory Disciplinary Committee
3. Sanctions
4. Appeal
5. Discipline: candidate legal practitioners
6. Powers of the Court

Members of the public who wish to submit a complaint in respect of the conduct of any legal practitioner may do so either by submitting a complaint in the form of a sworn affidavit to the Directorate of the Law Society of Namibia who will forward such complaint to its Standing Committee on Legal Ethics.

This particular committee will consider the complaint and more particularly whether or not such complaint should be taken further by submitting it to the statutory disciplinary committee as created by the Legal Practitioner's Act. This committee may also take the view that the complaint warrants no further action, or it may refer any matter to the Council of the Law Society for further action together with its recommendations.

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1. Disciplinary Committee established in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act

A complainant may however also complain directly to a statutory disciplinary committee, in which event such complainant shall address his or her complaint to the secretary of such disciplinary committee c/o the Ministry of Justice, Private Bag 13248, Windhoek , Namibia .

This statutory disciplinary committee has been established in terms of Section 34(1) of the Legal Practitioner's Act, Act No 15 of 1995, for the purpose of exercising disciplinary control over legal practitioners and candidate legal practitioners in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Practitioner's Act.

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2. Procedure before Statutory Disciplinary Committee

Any application by the Council of the Law Society or a person affected by the conduct of a legal practitioner shall be made to and be heard by the disciplinary committee in accordance with the Rules made under the Legal Practitioner's Act.

Where in the opinion of the disciplinary committee an application made to it does not disclose a prima facie case of unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct on the part of the legal practitioner concerned, the disciplinary committee may summarily dismiss such application without requiring the legal practitioner to answer to the allegations and without hearing the application.

An applicant who is aggrieved by such decision of the disciplinary committee may appeal to the court against that decision, and the court may either confirm the decision of the disciplinary committee or order the disciplinary committee to hear the application and deal with it in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act.

Where in the opinion of the disciplinary committee an application does disclose a prima facie case of unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct on the part of a legal practitioner or where the court has ordered that the committee hear such complaint the disciplinary committee shall:

• fix a date and time and place for the hearing of the application and notify the applicant and the legal practitioner concerned thereof; and
• not later than 14 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, furnish the legal practitioner concerned with a copy of any affidavit made in support of the application and shall give him or her an opportunity to inspect any document lodged with the disciplinary committee in relation to the application.

The disciplinary committee may appoint a legal practitioner to lead evidence at the hearing of the application and to cross-examine the legal practitioner to whom the application relates and the witnesses called by him or her and to present argument.

The legal practitioner shall be entitled to legal representation at the hearing of an application by the disciplinary committee.

At the conclusion of the hearing of an application the disciplinary committee:

• if it is satisfied that a case of unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct has not been made out against the legal practitioner, shall dismiss the application;
• if it is satisfied that the legal practitioner is guilty of the unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct alleged in the application or in respects other than those alleged, shall act in accordance of the provisions of either subsection 35 (8) or (9) of the Legal Practitioner's Act.

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3. Sanctions

If the disciplinary committee is of the opinion that the unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct of which the legal practitioner is guilty does not justify an application to court for an order to strike the legal practitioner's name from the roll or to suspend him or her from practice, and that the case may adequately be dealt with by itself, it may:

• reprimand the legal practitioner; or
• reprimand him or her and impose upon him or her a penalty not exceeding N$ 10 000-00.

If the disciplinary committee is of the opinion that the unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct of which a legal practitioner is guilty justifies an application to the court for an order to strike the legal practitioner's name from the roll or to suspend him or her from practise, it shall proceed to make such an application to the court.

The disciplinary committee, may also make such order as to the reimbursement of costs incurred by the disciplinary committee in connection with the application, including witness expenses as it may think fit.

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4. Appeal

A legal practitioner upon whom a penalty has been imposed by the disciplinary committee may within 30 days of notification to him or her of the decision of the disciplinary committee appeal to the court against that decision.

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5. Discipline: candidate legal practitioners

In respect of disciplining a candidate legal practitioner the disciplinary committee may:

• reprimand the candidate legal practitioner;
• reprimand and order the candidate legal practitioner to pay a penalty not exceeding N$ 1000-00; or
• withdraw his or her registration as a candidate legal practitioner, either indefinitely or for such period as the disciplinary committee may determine.

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6. Powers of the Court

If in determining an application made to it the court finds that the legal practitioner to whom the application relates is guilty of unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct, it may, given the circumstance of the case and if it seems fit to do so, and instead of granting an order that the name of the legal practitioner be struck off the roll or that he or she be suspended from practice,

• reprimand the legal practitioner; or
• reprimand and order the legal practitioner to pay a penalty not exceeding N$ 10 000-00, and may make any order as to restitution in relation to the case.

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