Solicitors: Misconduct

(asked on 12th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Lord Chief Justice about immigration cases refused for review on the grounds of being without merit where presiding judges have failed to report solicitors to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.


Answered by
Baroness Scott of Bybrook Portrait
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This question was answered on 25th November 2020

Following the case of R (Hamid) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 3070 (Admin), the High Court affirmed that it has the power to oversee the conduct of lawyers in immigration cases. The disciplinary process, known as the Hamid jurisdiction, is part of the court and tribunal’s powers to govern its own procedure and to ensure that legal practitioners abide by their duties to the court or tribunal and otherwise conduct themselves according to the proper standards of behaviour. This jurisdiction is engaged when a case is advanced in a professionally improper manner and is not confined to circumstances when the underlying claim is totally without merit, nor restricted to immigration cases.

As the Hamid jurisdiction comes within the court and tribunal’s inherent powers, the MoJ does not keep records of referrals made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. If the Hamid jurisdiction is activated, any court or tribunal orders made in relation to the referral may be published and placed in the public domain and any such publication will include the explanation provided by the legal representative. The judiciary is independent of Government, and the Government has made no such assessment of the use of the jurisdiction.

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